Chapter 7
Morning arrived quietly in Spirit Hall, the kind of quiet that made people uneasy rather than calm.
Bai Ze noticed it the moment he opened his eyes.
No arguing guards. No hurried footsteps. No elders whispering behind layered barriers. Even the air felt heavier, like the world was holding its breath.
He lay there for a few seconds longer than usual, staring at the ceiling.
"…Yeah," he muttered, "this is definitely not normal."
He rolled off the bed and stretched, bones cracking lazily. Spirit power moved on its own, flowing smoothly through his meridians without effort or intent. Every morning it felt a little denser, a little calmer, like a lake deepening instead of widening.
Outside his room, Spirit Hall was already awake.
Not busy.
Alert.
Ling Yu was waiting for him in the corridor.
She wasn't leaning against the wall this time. She stood straight, hands behind her back, eyes sharp and focused. The playful edge she usually carried was gone.
Bai Ze stopped walking.
"…You look like you're about to scold me."
"I am," she said.
"But you haven't yet."
"Because I'm deciding whether to hit you first."
He thought about it.
"…Fair."
She turned and walked without waiting for him, heels clicking softly against the white stone floor. Bai Ze followed, hands in his sleeves, expression relaxed enough to annoy anyone who looked at him for more than two seconds.
They reached a balcony overlooking the inner training grounds.
Below, Spirit Hall disciples were sparring—but not casually. Formations were tighter. Movements sharper. Even the instructors looked tense.
Ling Yu spoke quietly.
"Spirit Hall made contact with Nuoding City last night."
Bai Ze raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? Friendly?"
"No."
She glanced at him sideways.
"Tang San was involved."
That name landed differently this time.
Bai Ze didn't react immediately. He leaned against the railing and looked down at the training grounds, watching spirit rings flash and fade like brief sparks.
"So," he said after a moment, "the protagonist has officially stepped on stage."
Ling Yu frowned.
"…You talk strangely when you're serious."
"Do I?" He smiled faintly. "I thought this was my normal tone."
She didn't smile back.
"Spirit Hall's envoy reported interference during an observation mission. Nothing overt. No clash. Just… obstruction. Coincidences. Delays. Misdirection."
She paused.
"All centered around one academy."
Bai Ze exhaled slowly.
"Nuoding."
"Yes."
Far away, in that very academy, Tang San stood in the courtyard with his hands behind his back.
Students passed by him, laughing, arguing, living their small, ordinary lives. He saw none of it.
His mind replayed the previous night again and again.
The Spirit Hall observers hadn't attacked.
They hadn't threatened.
They had simply appeared… and failed.
Traps he hadn't consciously laid delayed them. Patrol routes shifted at the wrong time. Even the weather had turned inconvenient.
Too many coincidences.
Yu Xiaogang's words echoed in his mind.
A variable.
Tang San clenched his fingers.
Variables could be controlled.
Or removed.
Back in Spirit Hall, Bai Ze tilted his head.
"So what did Tang San do?"
Ling Yu hesitated.
"…Nothing."
That made Bai Ze laugh.
A quiet laugh, almost fond.
"There it is."
She stared at him.
"You're enjoying this."
"Not enjoying," he corrected. "Recognizing."
She crossed her arms.
"You realize Spirit Hall will escalate."
"They always do."
"And you're the common factor."
Bai Ze shrugged.
"I was born unlucky like that."
Ding.
Passive Effect: Extreme Romantic Fortune Activated
He froze.
Ling Yu narrowed her eyes.
"…Why did you suddenly stiffen?"
"Nothing," he said quickly. "Muscle cramp."
She didn't believe him.
That afternoon, Bai Ze was dragged—physically—into the medical wing.
By Ling Yu.
"Explain," she demanded, arms locked around his neck in a headlock that absolutely should not have been possible for her to apply.
"I literally did nothing," Bai Ze protested, half-choked. "Again!"
"Then why did three female disciples confess to you today?"
"That sounds like their problem!"
She tightened her grip.
"And why did the healer ask if you were free for dinner?"
"I was polite!"
She hit him.
Not hard.
Just enough.
"This," she said coldly, "is why you get beaten."
He sighed into the floor.
"At least you're consistent."
By nightfall, Spirit Hall had made its decision.
Not publicly.
Not loudly.
But decisively.
Observation priority shifted.
Resources adjusted again.
And one name appeared higher than before.
Tang San.
Bai Ze saw it while passing an open hall.
He stopped.
Looked.
Then kept walking.
Ling Yu noticed.
"You're not going to interfere?"
"Already did."
"When?"
He smiled faintly.
"Three days ago."
That same night, Tang San meditated beneath the stars.
For the first time since awakening his spirit, something felt… blocked.
Not suppressed.
Redirected.
His cultivation still progressed, but the path felt narrower, more resistant.
Like walking upstream.
He opened his eyes.
Somewhere far away, someone was lying down instead of cultivating.
And fate was bending around them.
Tang San stood.
"If you're a variable," he murmured to the night, "then I'll calculate you."
In Spirit Hall, Bai Ze lay flat on his bed, staring at the ceiling again.
Ding.
Event Chain Updated
"Protagonist hostility detected."
"…Took him long enough."
"Host emotional state?"
Bai Ze smiled.
"Still lazy."
The world outside was accelerating.
Plans forming.
Lines crossing.
And the villain?
He closed his eyes.
Still resting.