Orion woke to the sound of someone arguing outside his room.
“No.”
“Senior Xuan, the physicians have already—”
“No.”
“But—”
“No.”
Orion opened one eye.
The medical pavilion had relocated him to a different building after Gu Yan destroyed the previous one.
This room possessed considerably more walls.
Orion considered that an improvement.
Outside, the physician tried again.
“His condition is stable.”
“Stable does not mean healthy.”
“He possesses an unusually strong constitution.”
“I know.”
“His wounds have already closed.”
“I know.”
“Then—”
“No.”
Orion smiled.
Apparently Xuan Mei had discovered a remarkably efficient debate technique.
He sat up.
Nothing tore.
Excellent.
His chest remained sore.
Less excellent.
The door opened.
Xuan Mei entered.
She carried a bowl of medicine.
Orion’s smile disappeared.
“No.”
Her silver eyes narrowed.
“You don’t even know what this is.”
“It smells medicinal.”
“It is medicine.”
“Then my instincts were correct.”
“Drink.”
Orion stared at the dark liquid.
“I survived an assassination attempt.”
“And?”
“I feel like I’ve suffered enough.”
Xuan Mei sat beside him.
“Drink.”
Orion drank.
There were opponents one simply could not defeat.
⸻
The tournament had given him twenty-four additional hours before the Final Sixteen began.
Apparently assassination attempts by infiltrating demonic cultivators constituted sufficient grounds for scheduling flexibility.
Orion appreciated the consideration.
Gu Yan’s identity had already become the largest scandal of the tournament.
The Nine Rivers Sword Pavilion publicly confirmed that he had been detained after displaying demonic cultivation.
They did not reveal his target.
Tournament authorities did not reveal the details of the attack.
But rumors—
Rumors required considerably less evidence.
Half the Concordant Peaks seemed to know Orion had nearly been assassinated.
The other half had somehow concluded that Orion and Gu Yan had fought one-on-one across seventeen mountain peaks.
Orion had heard one outer disciple claim he’d survived the Silent River Sword by awakening an ancient dragon bloodline.
He hadn’t corrected him.
Mostly because Orion wanted to know how much worse the story would become.
Xuan Mei placed the empty medicine bowl aside.
“How do you feel?”
“Better.”
“Truth.”
“Better and annoyed.”
“Acceptable.”
She reached toward the bandaging around his chest.
Her fingers carefully checked the dressing.
Orion watched her.
Something had changed between them after that night.
Not drastically.
Xuan Mei had already cared about him.
Already chosen him.
Already worried about him.
But there was a softness now that hadn’t been there before.
Something increasingly difficult to pretend was merely an engagement between two people getting to know each other.
The system had described it.
Genuine Romantic Love Emerging.
Orion was trying not to think too hard about those words.
Which naturally meant he had thought about them constantly.
Xuan Mei finished inspecting the wound.
“You’re staring.”
Orion blinked.
“Sorry.”
“At what?”
“You.”
Her hand paused.
“Why?”
Orion considered several possible answers.
Then chose honesty.
“I like looking at you.”
Xuan Mei’s expression became completely blank.
Orion immediately realized he had miscalculated.
“Too direct?”
Her cheeks slowly warmed.
“I apologize.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Not particularly.”
She stood.
“I’ll get another bowl.”
Orion’s eyes widened.
“Wait.”
The door closed.
“That was retaliation!”
From outside—
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Orion sighed.
Then—
[Ding.]
A translucent screen appeared.
[First 50% Affection Milestone achieved.]
[Sign-In System evolution requirements satisfied.]
Orion straightened.
“Oh.”
The interface changed.
Golden text rearranged itself.
[Daily Sign-In functionality retiring.]
[Reason: Bond development has entered Intermediate Stage.]
[Companion reward quality recalibrating.]
[Weekly Sign-In unlocked.]
[Weekly rewards will prioritize meaningful cultivation resources, artifacts, techniques, and relationship-support items.]
[Low-value Mortal-tier reward frequency drastically reduced.]
Orion nodded slowly.
“Thank you.”
No more blankets.
Probably.
[30-Day Grand Sign-In remains active.]
[365-Day Divine Sign-In remains active.]
Then—
[New Function Unlocked.]
[Affection Shop.]
Orion stared.
“A shop?”
The screen opened.
Rows of items appeared.
Thousands.
Spirit herbs.
Pills.
Techniques.
Artifacts.
Beast cores.
Formation materials.
Spirit stones.
Cultivation chambers.
Rare metals.
Things Orion recognized.
Things Orion absolutely did not.
His eyes moved toward the corner.
[Affection Points: 187 AP]
Orion blinked.
“Where did those come from?”
The system answered.
[Affection Points are generated through genuine meaningful relationship experiences.]
[Affection Percentage and Affection Points are separate values.]
[AP cannot be obtained through repetitive artificial behavior.]
[Attempted emotional farming will not generate AP.]
Orion laughed.
“So I can’t tell Xuan Mei she’s beautiful a thousand times?”
Nothing.
“I wasn’t planning to.”
Silence.
“Probably.”
He examined the shop.
[Essence-Replenishing Pill — Low Earth Tier — 25 AP]
[Meridian Nourishing Dew — Low Earth Tier — 40 AP]
[Second-Grade Spirit Stones ×100 — 60 AP]
[Moonvine Spiritual Herb — Mid Earth Tier — 85 AP]
Reasonable.
Then—
[Heaven-Tier Movement Art: Ninefold Cloud Crossing — 2,400 AP]
Orion looked at his balance.
“Right.”
He continued scrolling.
[Ancient Starlight Tempering Pool — 46,000 AP]
[Celestial Beast Bloodline Awakening Crystal — 120,000 AP]
[Primordial Meridian Reconstruction Lotus — 710,000 AP]
Orion’s eyebrows climbed.
Then he saw it.
[Solar Crown of the First Dawn]
[Grade: Divine]
[Effect: ???]
[Cost: 8,500,000 AP]
Orion stared.
Then at his balance.
Then at the crown.
Then back to his balance.
“Why did you show me this?”
No response.
“That’s rude.”
Orion stopped scrolling.
Some mysteries were better left unexplored.
He considered buying a recovery pill.
Then dismissed the idea.
The tournament physicians had already treated him.
Xuan Mei had apparently declared war on his remaining injuries.
AP was scarce.
Wasting it because he was impatient seemed stupid.
He closed the shop.
Another prompt remained.
[Sun-Moon Resonance Scripture — Unclaimed]
Orion’s expression softened.
“Not yet.”
That one—
He wanted to claim with Xuan Mei.
Not alone.
⸻
That afternoon, the Final Sixteen bracket was posted.
Gu Yan’s name was gone.
A black mark beside the empty position read:
Disqualified — Tournament Council Order
Because the bracket had lost one competitor, reseeding had occurred.
Seven matches.
One participant received advancement by tournament draw.
Orion was not that participant.
Naturally.
He stared at his opponent.
Bai Ren — Hollow Bell Temple
9th Stage Essence Gathering
Orion sighed.
Beside him, Xuan Mei frowned.
“Again?”
“Apparently Ninth Stage is becoming a theme.”
Bai Ren’s name carried weight.
Hollow Bell Temple specialized in vibration and resonance techniques.
Unlike Zhao Kun, whose strength had been direct and overwhelming, Bai Ren’s techniques attacked through defensive layers.
Internal organs.
Meridians.
Balance.
Exactly the sort of opponent Orion’s durable body did not automatically solve.
Wonderful.
Chen Rui approached.
“Bad draw.”
Orion nodded.
“Helpful.”
“But if you win—”
“I know.”
Top eight.
Automatically within the tournament’s top ten.
The condition would be fulfilled.
Orion stared at the bracket.
One fight.
After everything—
One more.
Xuan Mei’s hand slipped into his.
He looked sideways.
She wasn’t looking at him.
Her gaze remained on Bai Ren’s name.
“Come back.”
The same words.
Orion smiled.
“I will.”
⸻
Across the tournament grounds, Lianmo stood before another bracket.
Her own opponent was Third Stage Meridian Foundation.
She barely noticed.
Her neon-yellow eyes had settled on another name.
Orion Atlas.
Bai Ren.
Ninth Stage Essence Gathering.
Lianmo considered the matchup.
Orion’s unusual physical resilience would be less useful against vibrational force.
His current injuries could worsen significantly.
His solar Essence possessed excellent density.
His footwork had improved.
His adaptability remained his greatest strength.
Probability of victory—
“Lianmo.”
Her sectmate appeared beside her.
“You’ve been staring at the wrong bracket for a while.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
He looked where she was looking.
Then smiled.
“Orion again.”
Lianmo frowned.
“I am evaluating.”
“Naturally.”
She ignored him.
Tomorrow—
She intended to watch.
For tactical reasons.
Obviously.