The morning light spilled across Canglan City.
Streets bustled with merchants and pedestrians.
The smell of smoke, wet stone, and cooking filled the air.
Everything looked ordinary.
But beneath the surface, the city pulsed with unseen energy.
Veins formed, grew, and whispered to those who could sense them.
Lin Xuanye moved quietly through narrow alleys.
Silk pouch at his side.
Eyes scanning every rooftop.
Every crack in the walls.
Every stray vibration beneath the ground.
Every flicker of faint energy.
Spiritual Density sixty-eight.
Every pulse mattered.
Every hidden vein secured brought him closer to dominance.
A faint tremor beneath a broken market stall drew his attention.
Low-grade crystals forming in rubble.
He stepped lightly over discarded carts.
Palms pressed against stone.
Energy flowed outward from his meridians into the vein.
Control. Stabilization. Compression.
The crystals lifted faintly, shimmering.
Another resource secured.
Spiritual Density sixty-nine.
Above, a gust of wind brushed across rooftops.
Han Tianyu.
Always observing. Always testing.
Lin Xuanye allowed himself a faint smile.
"You never stop."
He continued across the district.
Every abandoned alley scanned.
Every rooftop checked.
Every narrow street measured for hidden energy.
A flicker caught his attention near a collapsed shrine.
Mid-grade crystals, early formation.
Perfect for concealment.
He descended carefully.
Energy spiraled into the veins.
Crystals shimmered and lifted.
Hidden, stored, secured.
Spiritual Density seventy.
Movement behind him.
Two low-tier cultivators crept silently.
Greedy, unobservant.
Lin Xuanye allowed a faint pulse of energy to drift toward them.
Fear spread instantly.
They froze.
Then fled silently.
Another threat neutralized. Another minor advantage secured.
He climbed a crumbling rooftop, overlooking the western district.
Warehouses, alleys, rooftops, and the river shimmered with hidden energy threads.
Han Tianyu's wind currents brushed along the edges of buildings, probing.
Testing. Waiting. Watching.
Lin Xuanye exhaled slowly.
Every hidden vein mattered.
Every pulse of energy stacked him higher.
The Spiritual Tide had not yet arrived.
But the first moves of the hidden war were underway.
Another pulse beneath an abandoned dock drew his attention.
Early-stage mid-grade crystals forming faintly.
He leapt down silently.
Energy flowed outward.
Crystals shimmered, responding to his presence.
Stored, compressed, refined.
Spiritual Density seventy-one.
A rustle behind him.
Two novice cultivators creeping through debris.
Lin Xuanye allowed a small leak of energy toward them.
They froze.
Fear spreading.
They fled without hesitation.
Another minor threat neutralized.
He moved across rooftops, scanning alleys below.
Every crack, every hidden doorway, every abandoned warehouse.
Another faint pulse beneath a shrine caught his attention.
Early-stage low-grade crystals forming along the floor.
He descended carefully.
Energy threads spiraled into the vein.
Crystals shimmered and lifted.
Hidden in a cavity. Stored, secured, compressed.
Spiritual Density seventy-two.
Across the city, Han Tianyu moved silently.
Wind brushed rooftops.
Testing. Observing. Waiting.
Lin Xuanye allowed a faint smirk.
"You are always close," he murmured.
A faint tremor beneath a collapsed shrine drew him in.
Mid-grade crystals barely visible.
Perfect for hiding.
He pressed his palms lightly against the floor.
Energy spiraled outward.
Crystals lifted and shimmered.
Hidden, stored, refined.
Spiritual Density seventy-three.
Sunlight climbed higher.
People moved obliviously below.
Vendors shouting, children running, carts rattling.
The city seemed ordinary.
Beneath it, every pulse of energy, every hidden vein, every novice unaware of what had formed was now part of his advantage.
A subtle vibration drew his attention to a collapsed warehouse near the river.
Early-stage mid-grade crystals forming along the cracked floor.
He descended silently.
Energy flowed from his body into the crystals.
They lifted, shimmered faintly.
Hidden in a cavity. Stored. Secured.
Spiritual Density seventy-four.
The wind shifted above.
Han Tianyu's presence lingered, invisible.
Probing, testing, always present.
Another pulse beneath a market alley.
Low-grade crystals forming almost invisibly.
Perfect for a hidden cache.
Lin Xuanye moved carefully.
Energy spiraled into the veins.
Crystals shimmered and lifted.
Stored, compressed, refined.
Spiritual Density seventy-five.
A sudden rustle behind him.
Three novice cultivators had followed him, unaware.
Greedy, careless.
Lin Xuanye allowed a subtle leak of energy toward them.
Fear spread.
They froze.
Then ran silently.
Another minor threat neutralized. Another hidden advantage stacked.
He paused on a rooftop overlooking the western district.
The sun dipped low, reflecting off broken tiles.
The city pulsed with energy threads faint and scattered.
Han Tianyu's wind currents brushed the edges of buildings, probing.
Lin Xuanye exhaled slowly.
Every minor victory counted.
Every hidden resource mattered.
Every minor rival tricked or neutralized stacked him closer to supremacy.
Another faint tremor beneath a ruined dock drew him in.
Mid-grade crystals forming faintly in the rubble.
He descended carefully.
Energy spiraled into the veins.
Crystals shimmered and lifted.
Stored, refined, compressed.
Spiritual Density seventy-six.
The city was alive with energy beneath every street, every abandoned warehouse, every ruined building.
Lin Xuanye moved lightly across rooftops, scanning alleys and hidden courtyards.
Every pulse, every vein, every minor advantage stacked him closer to dominance.
The sun dipped below the horizon.
Shadows stretched across streets and rooftops.
Lin Xuanye stood on the riverbank.
Crystals hidden. Herbs secured. Minor cultivators neutralized or misled.
Han Tianyu's presence lingered somewhere above.
Always observing. Always testing.
Lin Xuanye exhaled slowly.
The first full day of the hidden war complete.
Every small victory mattered.
Every pulse of energy stacked him higher.
Every rival observed, every minor vein secured, every hidden cache stored moved him closer to supremacy.
He stopped on the riverbank.
Wind brushing his coat.
Eyes scanning every alley, rooftop, and ruined building.
The Spiritual Tide had not yet arrived.
But the city had already become a battlefield.
Lin Xuanye smiled faintly.
"The game has begun.
And I will win."