The news didn't spread.
It leaked.
Quietly. Inevitably.
By morning, every sect within three hundred li knew Iron Lake City had been tested—and found unbroken.
The first to arrive wasn't an army.
It was a letter.
No seal.
No Heavenly mark.
Just a sword imprint burned into jade.
The Falling Snow Sect.
Mid-tier. Old. Proud of staying alive rather than standing tall.
Their envoy arrived alone.
A woman in plain white robes.
No ornaments.
No arrogance.
She bowed properly.
"We wish to observe," she said.
Xueyi's eyes sharpened.
"That's how it starts," she muttered.
I read the letter.
One line stood out.
We believe understanding should not be a crime.
I smiled.
"Tell your sect leader," I said, "that observation is allowed."
She hesitated.
"And… cooperation?"
"Costs more," I replied.
She nodded.
Satisfied.
And left.
That evening, a second group approached.
Not openly.
Three scouts from a righteous sect.
Spying poorly.
I corrected their footwork from fifty paces away.
They fled.
By nightfall, Iron Lake City became neutral ground.
Not declared.
Recognized.
Heaven noticed.
Above the clouds, mandates layered.
Threat calculations updated.
But no strike came.
Not yet.
Xueyi joined me on the walls.
"They're waiting," she said.
"For what?"
"For you to become something they can name."
I chuckled.
"That'll take a while."
Far away, sect leaders argued.
Support meant survival.
Opposition meant reward.
Neutrality meant delay.
And delay… favored me.