Unyielding Sword Sect, Mission Hall
The return to the sect was a return to their respective roles, but the script had been irrevocably altered.
Gu Xuan was once again the ghost of the Discarded Records Pavilion, a silent shadow dusting scrolls no one else would touch.
But inwardly, he was a different man. He sat in the pre-dawn quiet of his room, analyzing the Qi in his dantian.
The night at the Willow Creek Inn had been a revelation. The energy from that single, controlled union was orders of magnitude purer than the chaotic explosion in the cave.
Where the first breakthrough had left his new power feeling crude and volatile, this second session had refined it, polishing the rough edges, making his control over his Foundation Establishment power seamless and stable.
The scripture was right. The "flux" was the key. The nascent trust and shared purpose with Su Linyue had acted as a spiritual catalyst, turning a base act into a true alchemical refinement.
His path forward was now crystal clear: power came not from conquest, but from connection.
Later that day, he met Su Linyue at the Mission Hall to officially log their success and collect their reward.
The hall was crowded, but a wide, respectful circle formed around Su Linyue. Her new cultivation realm was a palpable force, and the story of her rebirth had already become a sect legend.
Deacon Chen, the portly man at the counter, practically bowed. "Senior Sister Su! A resounding success! The magistrate of Willow Creek sends his deepest thanks."
He pushed a heavy pouch of contribution points across the counter. "Your reward, as befits an expert of your stature."
He then glanced at Gu Xuan, his eyes flicking to the name on the report. "Ah, and... Gu Xuan. You were with her. Right. Here are your points." He slid a second, minuscule pouch over, the one reserved for low-level assistants.
Gu Xuan reached for it, his face a perfect mask of humble gratitude, but Su Linyue's voice cut through the air, as cold and sharp as her new aura.
"Deacon Chen."
The man flinched. "Yes, Senior Sister?"
"The report states we were partners on a high-risk mission. The reward is to be split equally."
The hall went silent. Disciples stared, dumbfounded. Why would a Foundation Establishment genius care about the pittance given to a Qi Condensation weakling?
Deacon Chen's face turned blotchy. "But, Senior Sister... he is... I mean..."
"He is the partner listed on the report," Su Linyue stated, her voice leaving no room for argument. "And he was instrumental in our success. Fix your ledger."
Gu Xuan watched, his heart beating a steady, calm rhythm. This was not just about money.
This was a public declaration. A subtle, yet unmistakable signal of their alliance. It was a thread of the "flux," being woven in broad daylight.
Red-faced, the deacon hastily reapportioned the points, sliding the much heavier pouch to Gu Xuan, who accepted it with a quiet, "Thank you, Senior Sister."
As they turned to leave, a new voice, smooth and laced with arrogance, blocked their path. "Well, well. The rumors are true. The Crippled Phoenix flies again. A recovery, or just a new trick, Linyue?"
Gu Xuan's eyes narrowed. The man before them was tall, dressed in the fine blue robes of a core Inner Sect disciple.
His handsome face was twisted in a condescending smirk. This was Zhang Wei, Elder Zhang's grandson.
The man who had, according to Gu Xuan's research, personally sabotaged Su Linyue a year ago.
Su Linyue's expression turned to solid ice. "Step aside, Senior Brother Zhang. I have no business with you."
Zhang Wei's eyes roved over her, a predatory glint in them. "No business? After all we... shared? You wound me. And to see you not only recovered, but cavorting with... this?" He gestured at Gu Xuan with a flick of his chin, as if he were something unclean.
"Be careful, Linyue. Filth is easy to acquire, but so very hard to wash off."
Before Su Linyue could respond, Gu Xuan stepped forward half a pace, placing himself slightly between them. He bowed his head deeply.
"Senior Brother Zhang," Gu Xuan's voice was quiet, almost trembling, the perfect picture of a terrified Outer Disciple.
"Senior Sister Su is a true genius. She merely allowed this one to follow in her shadow. I will trouble you both no longer."
He bowed again and began to shuffle away, a pathetic, ignorable figure.
Zhang Wei laughed, his attention drawn back to Su Linyue. "See? Even your pet knows its place."
His laughter died as Su Linyue's hand rested on the hilt of her sword. "If you ever speak to me again, Zhang Wei," she hissed, her new power washing over him, "I will take it as a formal challenge to the death. Now, move."
Zhang Wei's smirk vanished, replaced by a flash of shock and anger. He could feel the potency of her cultivation. She wasn't bluffing. With a final, venomous glare, he stepped aside.
Su Linyue swept past him without another look.
That night, there was no tap on the adjoining door. A small pebble hit Gu Xuan's window.
He met her in the shadows of a disused courtyard, far from the dormitories. The moon was a sliver, cloaking them in darkness.
"You knew he would be there," she stated. It wasn't a question.
"I knew he would seek you out," Gu Xuan replied, his voice back to its normal, calm tone. The Veil was still active. "His pride could not stand to see you restored."
"He's the one who sabotaged me," she said, her voice flat, but her fists were clenched so tight her knuckles were white.
"Yes. A poisoned spiritual catalyst, slipped to you by a 'trusted' junior sister, paid for by him. All to ensure he would remain the unchallenged prodigy of his generation after you were gone."
The air crackled with her silent, murderous rage. She did not ask him how he knew; she simply accepted it.
This was his value. This was why he, of all people, was her partner.
"I will kill him," she whispered, the words a vow.
"You will," Gu Xuan agreed. "But not yet. He is just a pawn. His grandfather, Elder Zhang, is the true player. And I suspect even he is a pawn for someone else. Someone connected to my family's destruction."
He stepped closer, the distance between them shrinking. "Your anger, your desire for revenge... the scripture can feed on that. That is 'flux,' just as much as trust is. This bond between us, this shared need for vengeance... that is what will make us strong."
Su Linyue looked at him, her eyes dark, bottomless pits in the night. The wall of ice she had built around herself for a year was still there, but now, he was inside it with her.
"Tomorrow," she said, her voice low, "I begin my application for the Inner Sect's Alchemy Pavilion. I will need... resources. Pills."
Gu Xuan understood immediately. The next piece of the puzzle. "I've been reading about a certain alchemist. A prodigy named Bai Xiaofei. They say she has a... unique constitution. And an even more unique temper."
A cold, dangerous smile touched Su Linyue's lips. "Then I will make her my first project as a true Inner Sect disciple. And you will tell me exactly how to break her."