Li Xiuying walked back toward the Azure Phoenix Sect with careful, measured steps, fighting every instinct that screamed at her to run.
Mei Lin's memories whispered tactical advice: Never let the enemy see your true strength until you're ready to strike. Information is the deadliest weapon. But applying military strategy to sect politics felt surreal, like using a sword to perform surgery.
The spiritual energy flowing through her meridians was intoxicating after three years of emptiness, the sensation of actually cultivating felt like being able to breathe after drowning. But it was also terrifying. How could she explain advancing two entire stages overnight without revealing the system's existence?
Think, she commanded herself. Elder Wu is expecting to dismiss a failure. Instead, he'll find someone who's mysteriously broken through. I need a story that makes sense.
The sect's outer buildings came into view, their familiar silhouettes offering no comfort. In a few hours, she would face the most important conversation of her life. One wrong word could expose her secret and lead to execution as a heretic.
Li Xiuying slipped through the servants' entrance, grateful that most disciples were asleep. The fewer people who saw her return, the better. She needed time to prepare, to practice looking surprised by her own advancement.
"Out late tonight, aren't we?"
Li Xiuying nearly jumped out of her skin. Cook Yang emerged from the kitchens, wiping flour-covered hands on her apron. The older woman's sharp eyes took in Li Xiuying's disheveled appearance and the subtle changes that came with cultivation advancement.
"Auntie Yang," Li Xiuying managed, trying to keep her voice steady. "I was... thinking. About tomorrow's meeting with Elder Wu."
Cook Yang studied her for a long moment. Something shifted in the woman's expression—not suspicion, exactly, but recognition of a fundamental change.
"Thinking, were you?" Cook Yang's voice was carefully neutral. "Must have been some powerful thoughts. You look... different."
Li Xiuying's heart hammered against her ribs. If Cook Yang could sense the change, what would Elder Wu notice? What would the other disciples see?
"This disciple doesn't understand—"
"Child." Cook Yang's voice cut through her protest gently but firmly. "I've worked in this sect for thirty years. I know what breakthrough looks like." She paused, then added quietly, "I also know what desperation looks like. Both can be dangerous."
The words hung in the air like a blade. Li Xiuying realized with cold certainty that Cook Yang suspected something maybe not the truth, but enough to be concerned.
"Auntie Yang, I—"
"Don't." The older woman held up a hand. "Whatever happened tonight, whatever you discovered or achieved, keep it to yourself until you understand it completely. The sect has many eyes and even more tongues. Trust carefully."
Cook Yang disappeared back into the kitchens, leaving Li Xiuying standing alone in the corridor. The warning was clear: others would notice her advancement, and not all of them would be friendly about it.
Li Xiuying made her way to the servants' quarters, where her fellow outer disciples slept in blissful ignorance. She settled onto her narrow cot and tried to plan for the morning, but Mei Lin's memories kept intruding. The general's tactical mind automatically assessed threats and opportunities with military precision.
The sect hierarchy operates like a battlefield, Mei Lin's voice whispered. Elder Wu holds absolute authority over outer disciples. He can elevate or destroy with a word. Approach him as you would a superior officer—respectful but confident.
But I was never confident before, Li Xiuying thought desperately. If I suddenly act different, he'll know something changed.
Then you must be the same mouse who happens to have found a crumb of cheese, Mei Lin replied with what felt like gentle amusement. Grateful but still small.
The night passed slowly. Li Xiuying dozed fitfully, startling awake whenever system notifications flickered at the edge of her vision. The countdown to her next trial continued relentlessly: eighteen hours, thirty-seven minutes until she would experience Master Chen Wulong's assassination.
Dawn brought the familiar routine of chores, but everything felt different now. Li Xiuying moved through her tasks with unconscious efficiency, her enhanced spiritual senses picking up details she'd never noticed before. The sect hummed with spiritual energy like a living thing, and for the first time, she could truly perceive it.
"Well, well. Look who decided to grace us with her presence."
Chen Weilong's voice cut across the morning air like a blade. Li Xiuying looked up from sweeping the courtyard to find him approaching with his usual entourage. But something was different—his spiritual pressure felt less overwhelming than before, more manageable.
That's because you're stronger now, Mei Lin observed. Still weaker than him, but no longer helpless.
"Senior Brother Chen," Li Xiuying said with a respectful bow, fighting to keep her voice submissive. "This disciple greets you."
Chen Weilong circled her like a predator sensing wounded prey. "I trust you're prepared for your meeting with Elder Wu tonight? I imagine it will be... illuminating."
"This disciple will accept whatever guidance Elder Wu provides," Li Xiuying replied carefully.
"Guidance." Zhang Fei snickered. "Is that what we're calling dismissal notices now?"
Liu Meihua stepped forward, her recent advancement making her eager to demonstrate superiority. "Sister Xiuying, you seem... different this morning. More confident. Have you finally accepted your limitations?"
Li Xiuying's enhanced perception caught something she'd missed before, a flicker of uncertainty in Liu Meihua's spiritual aura. The other girl was projecting more confidence than she actually felt.
She's insecure about her own advancement, Mei Lin noted with tactical interest. Afraid of being surpassed. Use that.
"This disciple has been reflecting on her path," Li Xiuying said quietly. "Perhaps acceptance is the first step toward understanding."
It was a deliberately ambiguous response that could mean anything. Chen Weilong's eyes narrowed slightly, but he seemed satisfied that she was acknowledging defeat.
"Wisdom at last," he declared. "Remember that humility when you're packing your belongings tonight."
They left her alone, but Li Xiuying noticed the way they watched her like they sensed something different but couldn't identify what. She needed to be more careful about hiding her advancement.
The day passed with agonizing slowness. Li Xiuying performed her duties while constantly monitoring the system's countdown. Sixteen hours. Fourteen hours. Twelve hours until her next trial.
She also noticed other changes in herself. Her movements were more fluid, her balance better. The spiritual energy in her meridians provided a constant sense of vitality that made everything feel sharper, clearer. It was intoxicating and terrifying in equal measure.
[SYSTEM REMINDER]
[NEXT TRIAL IN: 8 HOURS, 23 MINUTES]
[RECOMMENDATION: COMPLETE CURRENT OBJECTIVES BEFORE INITIATION]
[NOTE: TRIAL DURATION UNPREDICTABLE - PLAN ACCORDINGLY]
The reminder made Li Xiuying's stomach clench. She still had to survive her meeting with Elder Wu, but the system clearly didn't care about her mundane concerns. In eight hours, she would be dragged into another death regardless of what was happening in her actual life.
As evening approached, Li Xiuying found herself walking toward Elder Wu's chambers with leaden feet. The building sat at the heart of the outer sect, its elegant architecture speaking of authority and tradition. Disciples in the corridors bowed respectfully as she passed, their expressions mixing pity with curiosity.
Everyone knows, she realized. They all expect this to be my last night here.
Elder Wu's chambers were austere but comfortable, dominated by shelves of cultivation manuals and alchemical treatises. The man himself sat behind a simple wooden desk, his Core Formation aura carefully restrained but still imposing. His spiritual pressure made the air feel thick, pressing against Li Xiuying's consciousness like a physical weight.
"Li Xiuying," he said without looking up from the scroll he was reading. "Please, sit."
Li Xiuying settled onto the cushion across from his desk, fighting to keep her breathing steady. This was it—the conversation that would determine her fate.
"Three years," Elder Wu said finally, setting down his scroll. "Three years of resources, instruction, and patience. Tell me, child, what do you have to show for it?"
The question hung in the air like a sword. Li Xiuying met his gaze and made a calculated decision.
"This disciple has learned patience, Elder Wu. And perhaps... something more."
His eyebrows rose slightly. "Something more?"
Li Xiuying closed her eyes and deliberately circulated spiritual energy through her meridians, allowing just a fraction of her advancement to become visible. When she opened her eyes, Elder Wu was staring at her with undisguised shock.
"Qi Refinement 2nd Stage," he breathed. "When did this happen?"
"Tonight, Elder Wu. While meditating by the outer waterfall." The lie came smoothly, prepared through hours of careful rehearsal. "This disciple has been... struggling with acceptance. Perhaps letting go of desperation allowed the breakthrough to occur naturally."
Elder Wu studied her with the intensity of a master reading the deepest secrets of a cultivation manual. Li Xiuying held perfectly still, praying that her deception would hold.
"Remarkable," he said finally. "And the timing is... convenient."
The word 'convenient' carried dangerous implications. Li Xiuying forced herself to look confused rather than terrified.
"Elder Wu?"
"Nothing, child. Simply... remarkable timing." He leaned back in his chair, his expression thoughtful. "Tell me about this breakthrough. Describe the experience."
Li Xiuying had anticipated this question. She drew on every cultivation manual she'd ever read, every overheard conversation about advancement experiences.
"It felt like a dam breaking, Elder Wu. Three years of accumulated effort suddenly flowing freely. The spiritual energy that had always felt distant became... accessible."
It was truth wrapped in careful misdirection. Elder Wu nodded slowly, seemingly satisfied.
"And now? How do you feel now?"
"Grateful," Li Xiuying said honestly. "And determined to prove worthy of the sect's continued faith."
Elder Wu was quiet for a long moment, his spiritual sense examining her with uncomfortable intensity. Li Xiuying held her breath, wondering if he could detect traces of the system or Mei Lin's foreign memories.
"Very well," he said finally. "You may remain at the sect. However, this breakthrough while promising does not erase three years of stagnation. You will be closely monitored. Any sign of regression or... unusual development... will result in immediate review."
The warning was clear. Li Xiuying bowed deeply. "This disciple understands and accepts Elder Wu's guidance."
"Good. Return to your quarters and rest. Tomorrow, you begin remedial training with the other second-stage disciples."
Li Xiuying rose and bowed again, then walked calmly from the chamber. Only when she was safely in the corridor did she allow herself to breathe normally.
Survived, she thought with relief. But he suspects something. I need to be careful.
[SYSTEM ALERT]
[NEXT TRIAL IN: 2 HOURS, 15 MINUTES]
[PREPARE FOR SOUL TRANSFER]
Li Xiuying's relief evaporated. In just over two hours, she would experience Master Chen Wulong's murder while trying to appear normal to anyone who might be watching.
The deception had only just begun.