Morning arrived quietly on Broken Cloud Mountain.
There were no city sounds here. No voices, no carts, no bells. Only wind moving through trees and the distant cry of birds. Lin Yuan opened his eyes before the sky fully brightened, the habit deeply ingrained from a lifetime that didn't belong to this body.
He stayed still for a moment.
Listening came first.
The mountain wasn't silent. True silence meant a place had been stripped clean of life. Here, there was movement everywhere—leaves shifting, insects stirring, something heavy scraping against stone far away.
Danger lived here naturally.
Lin Yuan sat up slowly and looked around. The place he had chosen to rest remained undisturbed. No new footprints. No broken branches. No lingering pressure in the air that would suggest cultivators had passed nearby during the night.
Good.
He rose carefully and took a sip from his water pouch. His body felt rested, but he didn't let that relax him. Comfort was how people made mistakes.
As the light strengthened, he moved back toward the ruins, keeping to cover and avoiding the main paths. Yesterday had given him a general picture. Today was about confirming details.
Once he reached a high vantage point, he opened the system.
The interface appeared instantly, calm and emotionless as always.
His gaze went straight to the location status.
Broken Cloud Mountain — Under Evaluation
Nothing else had changed.
No new permissions. No warnings. No rewards.
Lin Yuan stared at the line for a few seconds, then nodded.
"That makes sense," he said quietly.
If the system approved locations after one night, it wouldn't be worth trusting.
He closed the interface and took out a small piece of charcoal and a folded cloth. They weren't special tools—just subtle enough to leave marks without drawing attention. He began mapping the area.
The work was slow and dull.
He counted steps to measure distances. He marked slopes that carts couldn't handle. He noted where the ground felt unstable and where Qi flowed unevenly, places that might interfere with formations later.
Every few minutes, he stopped to listen.
At one point, movement nearby made him freeze. A large spirit beast lumbered into view—a boar-like creature with thick hide and dull, watchful eyes. It snorted at the ground for a while, then wandered off.
Lin Yuan didn't move until it disappeared completely.
He wasn't here to fight.
He was here to learn.
By midday, several conclusions were clear.
First, Broken Cloud Mountain was bigger than it appeared from below. The ruins occupied only a section of it. Beyond them were ridges, hidden valleys, and narrow passes—some defensible, others dangerous.
Second, the suspected spirit vein wasn't concentrated in one spot. Its Qi leaked weakly through several areas. That explained why no one had managed to fully claim it yet—and why conflicts here never settled.
Third, the mountain saw regular traffic.
Not constant, but consistent.
Tracks overlapped. Old ones faded beneath new ones. Cultivators came, checked the area, and left. No one stayed long. No one planted flags.
That pattern mattered.
Lin Yuan crouched behind a rock outcropping and watched another pair of cultivators cross the ruins. They moved carefully but without urgency, scanning the area before continuing on.
They didn't see him.
They never did.
To them, Broken Cloud Mountain was inconvenient.
Interesting enough to investigate.
Not valuable enough to die for.
Not yet.
As the sun lowered, Lin Yuan retreated to a safer area and opened the system again.
This time, a new line appeared beneath the location status.
Extended observation recommended.
That was all.
Lin Yuan let out a slow breath. "So you want proof," he murmured. "Not guesses."
He understood.
A sect wasn't founded on potential. It was founded on what endured pressure.
He closed the interface and leaned back against a tree.
He couldn't secure this mountain alone. That much was obvious. The moment he tried to claim it openly, someone stronger would crush him without hesitation.
But he didn't need to claim it yet.
He needed to prepare.
And preparation didn't stop on this mountain.
On Earth, the website was no longer just a rumor.
It still hadn't appeared on major platforms, but within certain online circles, almost everyone had heard of it. Screenshots spread. Registration confirmations were shared. Group chats buzzed nonstop.
The biggest debate wasn't whether it was real.
It was whether it would be good.
"Anyone else think this is just an ARG?"
"ARGs don't ship hardware."
"Watch this be some billionaire's pet project."
A post gained traction on a mid-sized gaming forum.
Title: Helmet Arrived Today
Body:
Not trolling. Box showed up this morning. No logo. No return address. Helmet feels solid, not plastic junk. Haven't powered it on yet, but yeah—this isn't fake.
Replies flooded in immediately.
"Pics or it didn't happen."
"That's just a shell."
"Okay but that design actually looks premium."
Soon, photos appeared.
The helmet was matte black, smooth, with no visible ports or branding. No cables. No obvious power source.
Speculation exploded.
"Military tech?"
"Neural interface startup?"
"Bro this thing looks expensive."
Later that evening, a small streamer went live, unboxing his helmet on camera.
"It feels weird," he said, turning it over. "Not heavy, not light. Hard to explain."
Chat scrolled rapidly.
"Put it on."
"Don't, what if it fries your brain."
"Do it for science."
He laughed. "Nah. I'm reading the terms first."
The terms were short.
Closed beta.
Limited slots.
Data collection.
No resale.
No refunds.
Standard stuff.
Almost nobody read them carefully.
By the end of the day, registration numbers had climbed again. Still not enough to attract mainstream attention—but enough to matter.
Back on Broken Cloud Mountain, Lin Yuan stood as night approached.
He looked at the ruins one last time.
"This place won't change," he said quietly. "People will keep coming. Beasts will keep roaming. Trouble won't stop."
Which was exactly why the system hadn't approved it yet.
A perfect location wasn't peaceful.
It was manageable.
Lin Yuan turned and began descending the mountain, already planning his next steps. He needed supplies. Information. And eventually, people.
But not yet.
Rushing would get him killed.
Before leaving the mountain entirely, he opened the system one final time.
Nothing new unlocked.
Nothing dramatic.
Just the same calm interface, quietly watching.
Under Evaluation.
Lin Yuan smiled faintly.
"Alright," he said. "I'll prove it."
Then he disappeared into the trees.