The council hall of the Heaven-Splitting Sword Sect was carved into the mountain's heart, its ceiling high as the sky, banners of sword intent unfurling from the rafters. Upon its dais sat the elders of the sect, robes gleaming, expressions sharpened like unsheathed blades.
Disciples were barred from entry. Only those with lineage, authority, or grievance stood at the foot of the hall. And tonight, grievance filled the air like smoke.
At the center of the hall, kneeling before the elders, were the Bai clan's representatives. Bai Heng stood among them, face pale, sleeve still torn from his humiliating defeat. His uncle, Elder Bai Rong, stood tall, his eyes gleaming with cunning malice.
"Honored elders," Bai Rong began, voice smooth as oil over steel. "We come not with petty rivalry, but with grave concern for the future of this sect."
The Supreme Elder inclined his head faintly, his hawk-like eyes cold. "Speak."
Bai Rong bowed. "The disciple Xu Tian — though brilliant, though rapid in cultivation — carries a Dao that is unnatural. Already, disciples whisper that his silence cuts fate itself. He cracks ancient stones, he disrupts Heaven-Steel rings, he rises faster than Heaven permits. Such a path, if unchecked, invites not honor, but calamity."
Murmurs rippled through the chamber. Some elders frowned, others nodded grimly.
Elder Bai Rong raised his hand, and attendants brought forth scrolls. "We present testimony — assassins struck at him, and he lived. Heaven thundered at his blade, and still he walked. Are these signs of Heaven's blessing? No. These are omens of Heaven's wrath waiting to fall upon us all."
He spread his arms. "I ask — nay, I beg — the sect to act before his curse becomes our doom. Expel Xu Tian, before we are dragged into Heaven's tribulation."
A heavy silence followed. The banners above stirred as though in unseen wind.
At last, Elder Ming rose from his seat. His voice rang like struck bronze. "Enough. Xu Tian's Dao is sharp, yes, but not cursed. He saved his fellow disciples in ambush, he spared assassins where others would kill, and he has honored the sect in every trial. To call him calamity is to call Heaven's silence heresy. Do you propose that our sect quails at shadows?"
Bai Rong's lips curled. "Elder Ming, you defend him because you are blind to the truth. His speed is beyond natural. At his age — Core of Yin and Yang? Even your famed discipline cannot explain this. Unless he cultivates by theft. Unless he walks upon the corpse of Heaven's decrees."
Gasps echoed. Theft of cultivation was a grave crime — the draining of others' Qi, or forbidden devourings. None had accused Xu Tian of it openly until now.
The Supreme Elder raised his hand, and the murmurs stilled. His gaze cut across the hall, lingering on Bai Rong. "Proof?"
Bai Rong's eyes gleamed. He gestured, and a disciple was dragged forward — bloodied, trembling.
"This," Bai Rong declared, "is Ren Shi, disciple of the Pavilion archives. He swears he saw Xu Tian leave the Pavilion at midnight, bearing forbidden scrolls. He swears Xu Tian's cultivation surged unnaturally the very next dawn."
All eyes turned toward the disciple. Ren Shi trembled, face pale, eyes darting like trapped prey. He spoke in a choked whisper: "I… I saw him. Silver light in his sleeve. He… he took what was not his."
The hall erupted.
"Forbidden theft!""Evidence at last!""He must be expelled!"
Elder Ming's palm struck the table with a crack. "This is hearsay. Dragged from a trembling child. Do we damn disciples upon shadows and rumor?"
Bai Rong's eyes narrowed. "Would you stake the sect's survival upon your faith in one boy? If Heaven strikes, it will not fall upon Xu Tian alone. It will fall upon us all."
The Supreme Elder's voice cut through the chaos, smooth and merciless. "Enough."
The hall hushed.
He leaned forward, eyes like a hawk stooping upon prey. "We will summon Xu Tian before this council. He will answer these charges. If he cannot, the sect will decide his fate."
That night, word spread like wildfire.
"Xu Tian stole from the Pavilion.""His cultivation is cursed, stolen from Heaven itself.""The elders will cast him out!"
Disciples whispered in shadows, some with awe, more with venom. Bai Heng walked among them like a king reborn, his humiliation washed away by slander's tide.
But in his courtyard, Xu Tian sat calm. Zhou Wei burst in, face pale.
"Tian-ge! They've turned the council against you. Bai Rong dragged a witness — says you stole from the Pavilion, that your Dao is theft! They'll summon you at dawn!"
Xu Tian opened his eyes. His Qi was steady, surging stronger with each breath, the new core within him pulsing faintly with Yin-Yang resonance.
"Threads," he murmured. "They think they weave a net. But nets reveal their pattern most clearly when complete."
He rose slowly, sheathing his sword at his back. His eyes gleamed faintly, calm yet sharp enough to cut the night.
"Let them summon me. I will show them what silence reveals."
Above, thunder rumbled faintly — as though Heaven itself awaited dawn.