Chapter 6: Shadows of the Inner Court
Even after leaving the ancestral chamber, Zhao Yuchen felt the warmth of the map-seal in his palm. It pulsed faintly, like it was alive, like it was waiting.
But he wasn't alone anymore.
Rumors of his presence in the sealed chamber had already begun to stir within the Zhao Clan's inner court.
In the outer courtyard, cultivators of his generation trained with artificial spirit weapons. But in the inner court — where bloodline purity determined value — things were colder. Sharper. Less forgiving.
Yuchen walked toward the clan library, head low, steps steady. He could feel the stares already.
"Did you hear?" someone whispered.
"He unlocked the old map chamber."
"That chamber hasn't opened in decades. Who does he think he is?"
The speaker didn't hide their voice — and Yuchen recognized it. Zhao Qiren. A direct-line cultivator, son of one of the High Elders. Tall, broad-shouldered, with eyes that always carried calculation.
Yuchen kept walking.
But Qiren stepped into his path.
"So," Qiren said, his voice calm, "the silence-breaker returns. Do you know what that chamber means, Zhao Yuchen?"
Yuchen didn't answer. He didn't need to.
Instead, he stepped aside — as if Qiren was nothing but another obstacle on the road. A cloud that would pass.
Qiren's smile twitched.
"You think a forgotten branch like yours has the right to awaken clan relics?" he said sharply. "You think a spirit brand makes you worthy?"
Yuchen met his gaze. Not with arrogance — but clarity.
"If the brand had chosen you," he said, voice quiet but firm, "you'd be standing where I am."
The inner court fell silent.
Then Qiren struck.
A flash of violet qi surged from his palm — a lightning arc technique infused with ancestral blood energy.
But before it could land—
Boom!
A thin barrier of golden flame erupted around Yuchen, dispersing the attack like water over stone. The ground cracked, but Yuchen didn't move an inch.
The spectators gasped. Some stepped back. Others stared at the flame mark on Yuchen's palm.
"The Root Flame…" someone whispered. "It's real…"
Qiren stared at him, stunned. "You… you've bonded with it already?"
Yuchen didn't reply. He didn't need to explain to people who only saw power in rankings and names.
He turned away.
The clan library awaited — and he needed answers.
Because the map in his palm wasn't just a location tool.
It was a key. And something — or someone — out there was trying to stop him from using it.