The outer sect's training yard buzzed with heat and sweat.
Sunlight poured through the clear blue sky, reflecting off stone tiles worn smooth by decades of footsteps, blood, and battle. Rows of outer disciples sparred under the supervision of their instructors—bamboo staves clashing, fists thudding into flesh, grunts of effort punctuating the air.
Among them, Xian Lei stood calmly, his sleeves rolled to the elbow, eyes closed in quiet concentration.
He wasn't meditating.
He was waiting.
He could feel the tension crackling behind him like flint meeting steel—jealous eyes, simmering resentment, someone pacing closer and closer.
Then—
"Hey, trash."
The voice rang loud and smug.
Xian Lei opened his eyes slowly, turning to face the voice he already knew too well.
Ren Kuo.
Sixteen. Stocky. Son of a minor sect steward, emboldened by nepotism and his older cousin's position in the inner sect. In Xian Lei's last life, this pig-faced bully had tormented him endlessly—tripping him during chores, stealing his contribution points, laughing when he vomited blood after botched cultivation attempts.
And he wasn't alone.
Three other disciples flanked him—grinning, eager to show off.
The usual entourage.
"Didn't expect to see you strutting around like some genius," Ren Kuo sneered, cracking his knuckles. "Top ten, huh? What trick did you use? Got on your knees for an elder already?"
Xian Lei didn't speak.
Didn't blink.
He simply looked at Ren Kuo the way one might study a slug squirming on a blade.
The silence made Ren Kuo twitch.
"Oi! I'm talking to you!"
He stepped forward and slammed his palm into Xian Lei's chest.
Hard.
In the past, that would've sent Xian Lei reeling.
Today?
He didn't budge an inch.
"…Huh?" Ren Kuo blinked.
Xian Lei's eyes were calm. His voice, flat.
"Are you finished?"
A pause.
Then came the expected response—a red-faced snarl. Ren Kuo raised his fist and swung it with all the strength of his Qi Condensation Stage 3 muscles.
A perfect telegraphed haymaker.
Xian Lei didn't dodge.
He stepped into it—closer, faster—angled his body, and caught the punch mid-air.
Bones popped.
Ren Kuo screamed.
In one fluid motion, Xian Lei twisted the arm, swept his leg under Ren Kuo's ankle, and slammed him flat onto the stone floor.
The thud echoed across the yard.
Gasps rang out.
His followers backed up in shock, eyes wide.
Xian Lei didn't move. He stood over the squirming, red-faced boy and spoke softly:
"You've mistaken silence for weakness."
Ren Kuo clawed at his sleeve, sputtering.
"You… You're just a—!"
Before he could finish, Xian Lei raised his hand.
Not in a strike.
In gesture.
Emotion Pulse: Malice. Humiliation. Panic.+488 Qi Points Gained.
The tether trembled.
From somewhere far in the mountain range—too far to see—Yue Qianlan felt a spike of interest. He felt it echo through his soul like a note struck on a sacred harp.
Bound Entity Emotion: Surprise. Mild Interest.+263 Qi Points Gained.Synchronization: 12.4%
The sudden surge in qi made Xian Lei's dantian swirl violently. The energy coursed into his limbs, sharpening his senses, hardening his meridians.
Breakthrough Achieved:Qi Condensation – Stage 5 → Stage 6
A glow radiated briefly from his body—barely visible, but real.
Everyone saw it.
Even the instructor at the far end of the yard stopped mid-sentence.
"…A breakthrough?" one disciple whispered.
"Just now?!"
"But he didn't even—wasn't he—?!"
Ren Kuo stared up at him, stunned.
The man he used to call trash… had grown stronger mid-fight.
And worse—he hadn't even used a single martial technique.
That evening, word spread like wildfire.
"Did you hear about the new top ten outer disciple? The one who humiliated Ren Kuo?"
"I heard he broke through during the fight!"
"No one knows what cultivation method he's using…"
Xian Lei ignored it all.
Let them talk.
Let them guess.
Let them chase shadows while he climbed.
He returned to his dorm that night in silence, arms folded behind his back, the System's interface glowing faintly behind his eyes.
Qi Condensation – Stage 6Qi Stability: OptimalResonance Feedback Loop: StableNew Trait Unlocked: Emotional Echo (Passive)
Small echoes of the bound entity's emotions can now be retained in memory for later cultivation enhancement.
His lips curled faintly.
Every time I shake her emotions… I grow. Every time I grow… she feels it. Eventually, she'll notice.
He sat cross-legged, shut his eyes, and sank into meditation.
But behind his calm exterior, he replayed the moment Yue Qianlan's curiosity had stirred.
She watched. She felt it. The tether doesn't lie.
Far above, in the frost-tempered inner sanctum, Yue Qianlan stood alone beneath a waterfall that froze mid-air.
Her robes clung to her body, soaked in spiritual ice, yet she neither shivered nor faltered.
But her fingers had tightened slightly around her hilt.
"A spike," she murmured. "A ripple."
Something… someone… had touched her soul for the briefest instant.
Not pain. Not harm.
Just presence.
A resonance.
As though something had begun that should not yet exist.
Her eyes narrowed.
And far below, Xian Lei opened his eyes with a quiet smile.
Let her sense him.
Let her wonder.
Because next time… he wouldn't just awaken her curiosity.
He would stir her heart.