1. Meditation Is Supposed to Be Peaceful. This Is Not.
Ne Job sat cross-legged on the ethereal floor, doing his best impression of someone who knew how meditation worked.
He did not.
Qi-Yun stood behind him like a judgmental mountain.
"Empty your mind," the mentor said.
Ne Job closed his eyes.
…his mind immediately filled with:
the Red Tape Leviathan screaming,
the Forgotten Court whispering,
Yue yelling at him to stop breaking things,
Ling threatening to staple his soul to a mission report,
and his own internal voice chanting I'M GONNA DIE.
Ne Job winced. "Sir, my mind refuses to empty."
Qi-Yun nodded. "Yes. I can hear it."
Ne Job opened one eye. "You… can hear my thoughts?"
"No," Qi-Yun said.
"I can hear your panic. It is louder."
Ne Job groaned.
---
2. Qi-Yun Demonstrates "Calmness." It's Terrifying.
Qi-Yun sat down opposite him.
Instantly, the Archive around them dimmed—like reality didn't want to distract him.
Ne Job stared.
"Sir… are you suppressing the lighting with meditation?"
"Yes."
"I can't even suppress a sneeze!"
Qi-Yun ignored this.
"Lesson Five," he said, "requires achieving a baseline state of serenity."
Ne Job nodded weakly.
He tried.
He breathed in.
He breathed out.
He breathed in again—
BOOM.
A spiritual pressure wave blasted out of him like he had inhaled dynamite.
Qi-Yun blinked. "…Interesting."
Ne Job was shaking. "My serenity exploded."
"Yes," Qi-Yun said.
"That happens to beginners."
"What?! What kind of BEGINNER—"
Another wave burst from Ne Job's chest.
Qi-Yun elegantly summoned a barrier to block it.
"Ne Job," he said, "you are over-exhaling your worries."
Ne Job threw his hands up. "I DIDN'T KNOW WORRIES WERE EXHALABLE."
---
3. The Archive Itself Gives Up on Him
The Archive lights flickered.
The scroll-walls trembled.
A glowing error message appeared above Ne Job's head:
> CALMNESS FAILURE: 37
CAUSE: INTERNAL ANXIETY SURGE
SUGGESTION: TRY AGAIN (OR DON'T)
Ne Job felt personally insulted.
"WHY DOES THE ARCHIVE HAVE AN OPINION ON MY SPIRITUAL STATE?!"
Qi-Yun stood, brushing off his robes.
"The Archive adjusts to the emotional stability of its users."
"So it's calling me unstable?!"
"It is observing you," Qi-Yun corrected politely.
"OBSERVING ME FAIL IS STILL INSULTING."
Qi-Yun ignored this and tapped the glowing error message.
It multiplied.
Suddenly, a dozen floating labels circled Ne Job:
> EXCESSIVE FEAR
EXCESSIVE SELF-AWARENESS
EXCESSIVE INTERN ENERGY
ALERT: HEART RATE APPROACHING 'ABOUT TO RUN IN CIRCLES'
Ne Job covered his head.
"STOP LABELING ME LIKE A FAULTY PRODUCT!"
Qi-Yun breathed out slowly.
The labels dissolved.
"New lesson," he said.
"Lesson Six: Do not react to your own reactions."
"…Sir. I react to everything."
"Yes," Qi-Yun said.
"That is why you need the lesson."
---
4. Qi-Yun Pushes Him Into a Mental Lake (Metaphorically, Except Not Really)
Qi-Yun clapped his hands.
The Archive shifted.
The floor liquefied into a perfectly still lake of shimmering memory-ink.
Ne Job squeaked.
"Sir what is THAT—"
"The Calmness Pool."
"What does it do—"
Qi-Yun shoved him.
SPLOOSH.
Ne Job sank like a stone.
Inside the ink-water, he heard dozens of whispers—his own intrusive thoughts, echoing like gossiping spirits.
> What if Yue dies because of you?
What if Ling never respects you again?
What if Qi-Yun is disappointed?
What if you're not worthy of the Audit Pen—
Ne Job flailed underwater.
"NOPE. NOPE. I HATE THIS LESSON."
Qi-Yun's voice echoed omnidirectionally above the surface:
"You must listen without reacting."
"I AM REACTING VERY REASONABLY!"
"This is not reaction," Qi-Yun said.
"This is thrashing."
"IT'S CONTROLLED THRASHING."
"No. It is flailing."
"SIR—"
Qi-Yun touched the surface of the lake.
The water stilled.
Ne Job's panic stilled with it.
…just for a moment.
And for the first time since entering the Archive, he felt something like silence.
Real silence.
His heartbeat slowed.
His breath deepened.
His mind—
actually cleared.
Ne Job whispered, "Sir… I think it's working."
Qi-Yun nodded once.
"Then hold it."
---
5. Ne Job Achieves Inner Peace for 0.7 Seconds
Ne Job inhaled.
Serenity…
Serenity…
Seren—
A thought suddenly screamed:
> WHAT IF YOU FAIL THIS TOO?!
Ne Job blew up.
BOOOOM.
The entire Calmness Pool erupted in a geyser of ink.
Qi-Yun's barrier activated automatically.
Ne Job landed face-down on the ethereal ground, twitching.
Qi-Yun looked down at him.
"…0.7 seconds," he said.
"Your new record."
Ne Job groaned into the floor.
"Sir… please just let me fight another Leviathan…"
---
6. Qi-Yun Assigns the Impossible Homework
Qi-Yun lifted him by the collar and set him upright.
"We will continue tomorrow."
Ne Job nearly cried.
"TOMORROW?! We're doing this again TOMORROW?!"
"Yes."
"And the day after?!"
"Yes."
"And the day after that?!"
Qi-Yun paused.
"…Depending on your progress."
Ne Job curled into a ball.
Qi-Yun conjured a scroll and handed it to him.
"This is your homework."
Ne Job unrolled it.
It read:
> ACHIEVE CALM FOR 1 FULL SECOND
(WITHOUT DETONATING)
Ne Job stared.
"This is IMPOSSIBLE."
Qi-Yun placed a hand on his shoulder.
"That is why it is homework."
Ne Job wanted to scream but had no energy left.
---
7. Outside, Yue Misinterprets Everything (Again)
Back in the Void Storeroom, Yue's hand was pressed against the sealed Archive.
She exhaled shakily.
"I felt it. A spike. Then… calmness? Then a violent explosion?"
Ling stared at her.
"Are you sure he's training and not—dying repeatedly?"
Bao, holding snacks, shrugged.
"With Ne Job, those might be the same thing."
Yue glared.
"This time felt different. Like he found clarity and then immediately lost it."
Ling crossed her arms.
"So… a typical Ne Job moment."
Yue nodded grimly.
"But the surge at the end? It wasn't fear."
Ling raised an eyebrow. "Then what?"
Yue looked at the Archive, pale.
"…Frustration."
Ling blinked.
"That's worse."
Bao crunched loudly.
"Yeah. If Ne Job's frustration can shake divine barriers, we should probably… I dunno… brace?"
Yue swallowed hard.
"Brace for what?"
Bao pointed at the Archive.
"For when he comes out."
Yue went silent.
Because that was, indeed, the correct answer.
---
END OF CHAPTER 191