Morning in Xuandao Sect was a punishment.
The cold didn't just bite—it cut.
Wind rattled ancient roof tiles.
Frost spread across cracked stone like a slow disease.
Disciples shivered as they gathered in the courtyard.
Their breaths came in ragged plumes of white.
Mud sucked at their boots, crusted with brittle ice.
No one spoke above a whisper.
Fear had weight.
It crushed jokes.
Silenced boasts.
Wei Lian walked in barefoot, as always.
His feet were cracked and raw.
Blood had frozen into dark smears along his toes.
He didn't look at it.
Didn't even feel it anymore.
He found his place at the edge.
Folded his arms, breathing slow.
The wind caught his robe, snapping it like a flag around his thin frame.
He watched the others file in.
Jin Xiu was there, lips chapped and cracked, face bruised purple from their last match.
He didn't smirk today.
He stood stiffly, arms crossed, glaring at the ground.
Han Zi limped to his spot.
One arm in a crude sling, eyes hollow.
He didn't look at Wei Lian at all.
They all watched Elder Mu.
Waiting.
He stood at the front of the courtyard like a monument to scorn.
Thin arms folded in ragged sleeves.
Eyes black and empty.
He let them suffer in silence for a long time.
Wind howled through the gaps in the courtyard walls.
Old wooden gates banged and creaked.
When he spoke, it was dry as dead leaves.
"Two weeks."
Silence.
"Two weeks until the Outer Sect Trial."
A ripple of sound.
Not relief.
Not excitement.
Just fear.
"Already?"
"He's joking."
"I can't. I'm not ready."
Mu didn't shout.
He didn't need to.
His voice was a rasp.
"You will be tested on your cultivation. Your obedience. Your ability to learn. And most importantly…"
He leaned forward, voice dropping.
"Your worth."
No one moved.
"Most of you will fail."
A boy flinched.
Another girl bit her knuckle until it bled to keep from crying out.
"Some will run. I won't chase you. Saves me the effort."
"Some will break before you even see the trial field. I'll have them dragged out like rotting meat."
A collective shudder.
No one dared protest.
Wei Lian didn't blink.
He let the words settle in his bones.
Mu's mouth twisted in disgust.
"But for those who pass…"
Silence.
A different kind of hush.
Hunger.
He let it hang.
Watched them.
Measured them.
"Those who prove they're not worthless feed will earn rewards."
A gasp.
Someone's stomach growled audibly.
Mu's lip curled.
"You want heated rooms? Rooms with braziers, less crowded, fewer lice? Pass the trial."
A boy blinked hard, eyes shining.
"Heated…"
"You want less latrine duty? No hauling shit buckets in freezing wind? No scrubbing blood out of the courtyard at dawn? Pass."
A girl actually sobbed once, covering her mouth fast.
"You want spirit stones? You'll get three low-grade stones per month. Enough to buy salve for your cracked bones. Or buy time to cultivate instead of scrubbing floors."
Jin Xiu's eyes narrowed with greed.
"You want a talisman? Crude. Cheap. But enough to help you gather Qi faster than the trash you are now? Pass."
Murmurs.
"A talisman…"
"Three stones…"
"That's… real."
Wei Lian listened.
Calm.
Cold.
"And you want to learn something other than this dog-brawler Bone-Breaking Fist?"
He laughed once, sharp and humorless.
"You'll earn permission to study a proper Sect technique. One that actually uses Qi. Not just your hate and fear."
Another wave of noise.
Excited.
Fearful.
Desperate.
Mu let them tremble.
Then his voice turned to ice.
"But don't you dare think this makes you Inner Sect."
Silence slammed down.
"Inner Sect won't even look at you yet. This is the first culling. Just scraping the scum off the top."
"You'll still be Outer Sect. Just with better beds and fewer rats."
"The real opportunities come after you survive again. After the second trial. Maybe even the third. Then they'll bother to see if you're worth feeding."
Someone whimpered.
Another boy clenched his fists until blood dripped onto the mud.
Mu's gaze swept them.
Disgust.
Pity?
No.
Only indifference.
"This isn't a reward. It's bait."
"And only idiots think bait doesn't have a hook in it."
The wind howled over the courtyard wall.
He waited.
Let them shiver.
Let them hope.
Let them hate.
Then he spat in the dirt.
"You want it? Fight for it. Bleed for it. Or leave now."
He turned.
Voice flat.
"Begin your drills. Bone-Breaking Fist. Now."
No one moved for a heartbeat.
Then they scrambled.
Desperation turned to frantic motion.
Mud splashed.
Breath steamed.
Grunts and curses filled the air.
Jin Xiu grabbed his partner, snarling.
"You hold back, I'll break your arm myself."
Han Zi limped into stance, wincing, but he didn't leave.
Wei Lian watched them all.
He walked to his usual patch.
Dropped into stance.
He inhaled slowly.
Felt every crack in his skin.
Every bruise.
Every old scar splitting again.
Inside, the ember burned at 2nd layer.
Steady.
Hot.
Demanding.
The crack in his dantian pulsed.
Not wide enough yet.
But it would be.
He closed his eyes for a moment.
Listened to Elder Mu's voice echo in memory.
"This isn't a reward. It's bait."
Good.
He didn't want easy rewards.
Didn't trust mercy.
He wanted tools.
Power.
The chance to survive.
To return.
He exhaled.
Let the cold fill his lungs.
He felt Qi crawl through his arm.
Resist.
He forced it.
Made it sink.
He punched.
The air cracked.
Blood sprayed onto the frozen mud.
He didn't smile.
Didn't curse.
He punched again.
And again.
He heard the others gasp.
Cry.
Swear.
He didn't look at them.
He only saw the path ahead.
Because tomorrow wasn't for mercy.
It was for earning the right to survive one more day.