The war reports grew grimmer with each passing week.
Wang Ben sat in the morning briefing, listening to casualty figures that had become almost numbing in their regularity. The Frozen Jade Kingdom's sustained pressure was grinding Azure Dragon Fortress down slowly, each successful defense purchased with lives that couldn't be replaced fast enough.
"Enemy probing attacks have increased by thirty percent over the last month," Commander Feng reported. "They're testing our response times, mapping our patrol patterns, identifying weak points in our coverage."
"We don't have the personnel to cover everything," another officer noted. "Every sector we reinforce means weakening another."
"Which is exactly what they want." Wang Ben spoke without realizing he had intended to. All eyes turned toward him, and he continued despite the attention. "They're not trying to break through with any single attack. They're forcing us to constantly redistribute resources, wearing down our efficiency through sustained maneuvering."
Commander Feng's expression showed approval. "Continue."
"The strategy suggests they're preparing for something larger. These probing attacks are reconnaissance for a major offensive. When they've identified our weakest configuration, they'll strike with concentrated force." Wang Ben indicated positions on the tactical map. "Based on their testing patterns, they're most interested in the western approaches. The terrain there favors their Ice techniques."
"Your recommendation?"
"Reinforce the west, but do it gradually. Make it look like routine rotation rather than strategic repositioning. If they realize we've anticipated their approach, they'll adjust."
The commander considered, then nodded. "Implement it. Section commanders, coordinate with Wang Ben's formation teams to ensure defensive array coverage matches the new deployment."
"What about the southwestern approach?" another officer asked. "With Iron Gate still rebuilding..."
"The Prince's garrison holds there." Commander Feng's tone carried a note of something that might have been relief. "His imperial protectors have made the enemy cautious about pressing that direction. Our concern remains the west."
The meeting continued, but Wang Ben felt the weight of responsibility settling more heavily on his shoulders. His tactical analysis was becoming central to the fortress's survival strategy. Each correct prediction saved lives; each mistake could cost them.
This is what it means to matter, he thought. The burden of being essential.
...
The private investigation into Li Mei's condition consumed his remaining energy.
Wang Ben had compiled everything he knew: the Yue Clan records describing her grandmother as marked for death, his grandfather's observations about her deteriorating seals, the medical reports from the clan physicians who treated her without understanding what they were treating.
[ANALYSIS: Li Mei's Blood Seal Deterioration]
[Original seal placement: Approximately 30 years ago]
[Intended effect: Suppress Ice bloodline manifestation, conceal "contaminated" bloodline signature]
[Projected lifespan post-sealing: 15-20 years (per Yue Clan records)]
[Actual survival: 30 years, ongoing]
[Current status: Seal integrity declining at accelerating rate]
[Anomaly: Subject has survived significantly longer than expected duration. Mechanism unknown]
She was supposed to be dead by now. The knowledge burned in Wang Ben's chest. The Yue Clan expected their hunters to find her decades ago. Instead, Grandmother Xu's seals kept her hidden.
But Li Mei had survived. Through determination, through whatever strength her supposedly contaminated bloodline provided, through sheer refusal to die on the schedule the Yue Clan had set.
The protective seals are failing because they were never meant to last forever, Wang Ben realized. But Mother outlived every prediction the clan that hunted her ever made.
The cultivation session that night pushed him toward a threshold he could feel approaching.
[CULTIVATION SESSION: Azure Dragon Fortress]
[Duration: 6 hours]
[Qi absorbed: 598 motes]
[Qi retained: 114 motes]
[Retention efficiency: 17.0%]
[Elemental composition:]
[- Earth: 231 motes (38.6%)]
[- Metal: 158 motes (26.4%)]
[- Fire: 119 motes (19.9%)]
[- Water: 57 motes (9.5%)]
[- Wood: 33 motes (5.6%)]
[Environment: Azure Dragon Fortress (Mixed signatures)]
[Effective combat assessment: Standard Azure Sky cultivators operate at 2-5% retention efficiency. Host's ability to cultivate, retain, and utilize qi at 17% efficiency allows techniques to execute with greater force than cultivation level would suggest. At Qi Condensation Stage 6, host's effective combat output approaches that of late-stage Qi Condensation cultivators operating at standard efficiency]
[Status: Efficiency holding steady. Second milestone (20%) remains a long-term goal]
[Observable effect: Host's perception of own meridian system gradually improving. Energy pathways becoming clearer to internal observation over time]
Wang Ben ended the meditation with a slow exhale, noting the incremental improvements in his awareness. His meridians, once abstract concepts, were becoming easier to sense with each session.
Progress was steady, if not dramatic. The war demanded his attention, leaving little time for the intensive cultivation that might accelerate his efficiency gains.
Slow and steady, he thought. The second milestone will come when it comes.
But for now, morning brought new demands, new responsibilities, new battles to fight. The war didn't pause for personal advancement.
...
The western reinforcement proceeded according to plan.
Wang Ben coordinated with formation teams to adjust the defensive arrays, strengthening coverage in the sectors his analysis had identified as vulnerable. The work was complex, requiring careful calibration to ensure the improvements weren't obvious to enemy observation.
"You've grown." Liu Feng observed during a working session. "Six months ago, you were a talented formation master. Now you're directing strategic deployment."
"The war forces rapid adaptation."
"It's more than that." Liu Feng's voice carried respect that had deepened over their months of cooperation. "The commanders listen to you. They implement your suggestions. That's not something that happens to qi condensation cultivators."
"I'm useful. That's what matters."
"You're more than useful. You're becoming essential." Liu Feng paused in his work. "Be careful with that, Wang Ben. Essential people attract attention. Sometimes the wrong kind."
The warning was well-meant. Wang Ben acknowledged it with a nod, even as he knew that hiding had become impossible. His contributions were too visible, his impact too significant. The fortress needed what he provided, and that need had elevated him beyond the obscurity he had once sought.
The gap between what I appear to be and what I actually am grows wider every day, he thought. Eventually, something will have to give.
But that reckoning could wait. For now, the fortress needed protecting. His mother needed saving. His cultivation needed advancing.
Tomorrow, he would push for the milestone. Tonight, he would plan.
...
The Wang Clan's new communication array had been worth every spirit stone.
His father had commissioned it the moment their finances allowed, citing "business needs" - but Wang Ben knew the real reason. With Li Mei's condition worsening, Wang Tian needed to stay connected to their son. The formation was a lower grade than the portable one Shen Wuyan had provided for their communications, but it served its purpose well enough.
Wang Tian's voice came through the formation that evening, tired and strained in ways Wang Ben had never heard before.
"She's getting worse, Ben'er. The flickering Ice energy during meals. The moments when the seals visibly weaken." A pause. "The physicians are helpless. Their treatments were never designed to cure her. Just to manage symptoms. We need something different. Something that addresses the actual problem."
Wang Ben closed his eyes. "I'm working on something. I don't know if it will work yet, but I'm not giving up."
Silence stretched through the formation. When his father spoke again, his voice was thick with emotion.
"Your mother is here. She heard you." Another pause. "She's crying, Ben'er. Not from despair, but from hope. She believes in you. We both do. Whatever you need, whatever resources can help, the Wang Clan will provide. Just save her. That's all that matters now."
"I will," Wang Ben said. "I promise."
"We're waiting for you."
The formation dimmed as the connection faded.
The promise carried weight that Wang Ben felt in his bones. His mother's life. His family's future. His own development.
Everything connected. Everything depended on what came next.
Tomorrow, he decided. Tomorrow I reach for the second milestone.
And hope it gives me what I need to save her.