The morning after Li Tian’s quiet breakthrough, Heavenly Cloud Sect appeared almost peaceful.
The disciples practiced their techniques in the courtyards. The sound of wooden swords clashing echoed through the mountains, while thin streams of spiritual energy drifted between the ancient pines. Somewhere in the distance, an elder was shouting at a group of disciples for accidentally destroying three medicinal gardens.
It was an ordinary morning.
Which, in Li Tian’s experience, meant trouble was probably waiting around the corner.
He sat beneath an old tree with his eyes closed, silently examining the changes within his body.
Silent Dao Circulation.
The name sounded impressive, but the technique fragment was barely understood. It did not increase his cultivation in the usual manner. Instead, it seemed to remove unnecessary movements from his spiritual energy, allowing every trace of power to flow along the most natural path.
When he circulated spiritual energy through his meridians, there was no turbulence, no wasted force, and almost no detectable fluctuation.
It was as though his body had become a quiet lake that refused to reveal how deep it was.
Li Tian opened his eyes.
“Interesting.”
He paused.
“Also potentially troublesome.”
The system window appeared before him.
[Hidden Cultivation System]
Host: Li Tian
Public Cultivation: Qi Refinement Layer 1
Stored Cultivation: 1,160 years
Memory Recovery: 0.04%
Silent Dao Circulation: Comprehension 1%
Meridian Stability: 76%
Warning: Continued comprehension may cause unexpected resonance with the Ninth Seal.
Li Tian stared at the warning.
“Can you explain what unexpected means?”
No response.
“Does it mean the mountain shakes? The sect explodes? Or that something inside the coffin starts calling me its beloved child again?”
The system remained silent.
Li Tian sighed.
“Excellent. Even my system has learned to avoid responsibility.”
A rustling sound came from behind the tree.
“Li Tian!”
Chen Wei appeared, carrying two steamed buns in one hand and a small wooden box in the other. His expression was unusually serious.
Li Tian immediately became suspicious.
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
“Then why are you looking like someone has announced your execution?”
Chen Wei glanced left and right before sitting beside him.
“I have been thinking.”
“That is usually the first sign of danger.”
“Listen carefully. Yesterday, I bravely helped evacuate the disciples, protected our courtyard, and personally assisted the investigation into the mysterious attackers.”
“You ran in circles while carrying a serving tray.”
“A tactical diversion!”
“You screamed when a leaf landed on your head.”
“It was a suspicious leaf!”
Li Tian reached for a steamed bun.
Chen Wei slapped his hand away.
“This is serious. I have discovered something.”
Li Tian looked at him.
For once, Chen Wei did not immediately launch into another ridiculous explanation. His fingers tightened around the wooden box, and his gaze drifted toward the western mountain.
“Yesterday, when the black light appeared, I saw something.”
Li Tian stopped smiling.
“What did you see?”
Chen Wei opened his mouth.
Then he hesitated.
“I don't remember all of it. There was a flash of light, and for a moment, the entire mountain looked different. Like there was another mountain standing behind it.”
Li Tian's expression remained calm, but his attention sharpened.
“Another mountain?”
“Not exactly. It was more like… the mountain was a shadow covering something enormous. I saw nine circles in the sky. Eight were silver, and the last one was black.”
The atmosphere around them seemed to grow colder.
Li Tian glanced at the wooden box.
“What is that?”
“Something I found near the eastern corridor.”
Chen Wei opened it.
Inside lay a small, broken piece of stone covered in faint silver markings.
Li Tian's pupils contracted almost imperceptibly.
The markings were similar to those carved around the Ninth Seal.
Before he could examine it, Chen Wei quickly closed the box.
“I was going to give it to Elder Zhao, but then I remembered that mysterious things have a habit of exploding whenever responsible people touch them.”
“That is not a reliable theory.”
“It has worked twice.”
“You have only encountered two mysterious things.”
“Exactly. A perfect record.”
Li Tian almost laughed.
Almost.
“Keep it hidden for now. Don't touch the markings, and don't show it to anyone else until we know what it is.”
Chen Wei nodded, then leaned closer.
“And Li Tian?”
“Hmm?”
“If you discover something dangerous, tell me before you run toward it.”
Li Tian looked at his friend.
For all his cowardice, exaggeration, and astonishing talent for making bad situations worse, Chen Wei had remained beside him through everything.
Li Tian's expression softened.
“I'll try.”
Chen Wei studied him for a moment.
“That sounds suspiciously like something a person says when he has no intention of doing it.”
“Eat your bun.”
“Fine. But if you die, I'm inheriting your room.”
“You can have the broken chair.”
“Cruel. Absolutely cruel.”
For a brief moment, the world felt normal again.
Then a voice interrupted them.
“Li Tian.”
Both men turned.
Mei Ling stood a short distance away, wearing her usual pale training robes. Her sword rested at her waist, and her dark hair was tied neatly behind her head.
Her expression was calm.
Somehow, that made Li Tian more nervous.
“Come with me,” she said.
Chen Wei immediately stood.
“Of course! I shall accompany—”
“I meant Li Tian.”
“Oh.”
Chen Wei sat down again.
Mei Ling looked at him.
“Alone.”
Chen Wei slowly turned toward Li Tian with the expression of a man watching his friend walk toward a battlefield without armor.
“Brother,” he whispered, “remember that I believed in you.”
Li Tian rose.
“I'll remember that you tried to sell me a medicinal soup yesterday.”
“That was an investment in your future!”
Mei Ling turned and walked away.
Li Tian followed.
Behind them, Chen Wei watched with great concern.
After several seconds, he muttered, “If she asks him to explain his cultivation, we're finished.”
He paused.
“Actually, if she asks him to explain anything, we're probably finished.”
Then he picked up the second steamed bun.
“Better save my strength.”
Mei Ling led Li Tian to the eastern training grounds, a quiet section of the sect surrounded by tall stone pillars.
Unlike the main courtyard, this place was used by disciples who wanted to practice sword techniques without attracting a crowd.
A few fallen leaves drifted across the stone floor.
Mei Ling stopped beside a weathered training post.
“Show me your sword control.”
Li Tian blinked.
“My sword control?”
“You remember what happened yesterday.”
“Your wooden sword was probably damaged.”
“I replaced it.”
She drew a fresh wooden sword from her storage pouch and tossed it toward him.
Li Tian caught it.
Mei Ling watched his hand.
“You caught that without looking.”
“Good reflexes.”
“You also redirected my strike without moving your feet.”
“Lucky.”
“You knew where my sword would land before I changed direction.”
“An educated guess.”
She folded her arms.
“And last week, you avoided a technique from someone whose cultivation was two levels higher than yours. During the western forest incident, you somehow escaped a spatial chain that should have caught you. Yesterday, you noticed a weakness in the formation before Elder Zhao did.”
Li Tian considered his options. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
He could pretend to faint.
Unfortunately, Mei Ling was the kind of person who would probably check his pulse before allowing him to escape.
“You have been paying attention,” he said.
“Someone has to.”
There was no anger in her voice.
That was worse.
Mei Ling stepped closer.
“Li Tian, what are you hiding?”
The question settled between them.
For a moment, he heard the distant sounds of the sect: swords striking wood, disciples calling to one another, birds singing in the pines.
He could lie.
He had lied to elders, enemies, and ancient beings that seemed to know more about his existence than he did.
Lying to Mei Ling should have been easy.
Yet he found himself struggling to produce even a simple answer.
“Something dangerous,” he finally said.
Mei Ling's eyes narrowed slightly.
“Dangerous to you?”
“Possibly.”
“To the sect?”
“Possibly.”
“To the people around you?”
Li Tian did not answer.
She looked away first.
“I am not asking you to tell me every secret you have. I understand that people have reasons for keeping things to themselves.”
Her fingers rested against the hilt of her sword.
“But if you think that protecting someone means making every decision alone, then you are mistaken.”
The words struck closer than Li Tian expected.
He remembered the ancient voice inside his dreams.
Every bond he forms will become another chain.
Was that why the Ninth Seal had been created?
Was he meant to remain alone?
Or had someone convinced him that loneliness was the only way to protect the people he cared about?
Li Tian looked at Mei Ling.
“I don't want you to get hurt because of something connected to me.”
“Then help me become strong enough to decide what risks I am willing to take.”
She met his gaze without hesitation.
“I don't need you to protect me from every danger. I need you to trust me enough to stand beside you when the danger comes.”
For once, Li Tian had no clever response.
After a moment, he raised the wooden sword.
“Fine. One training session.”
Mei Ling's expression brightened slightly.
“One?”
“Two, if you promise not to ask any more questions.”
“Three.”
“That's not how negotiations work.”
“Four.”
Li Tian sighed.
“Why do I feel like I have already lost?”
“Because you have.”
She raised her sword.
“Now defend yourself.”
Her first strike was fast.
Li Tian parried it.
The second came from the opposite side, followed by a low sweep and a sudden thrust toward his shoulder.
He avoided the attacks with minimal movement.
Mei Ling's eyes sharpened.
She increased her speed.
The wooden swords collided repeatedly, their impacts echoing across the empty training ground. Her technique was precise and elegant, every movement built on years of disciplined practice.
Li Tian could have ended the match in a single exchange.
Instead, he adjusted his movements to match the level of an ordinary outer disciple.
He let his shoulders tense. He allowed his steps to become slightly clumsy. He deliberately left small openings in his defense.
Mei Ling noticed.
Naturally.
“Stop doing that.”
“Doing what?”
“Pretending you are worse than you are.”
Li Tian's wooden sword paused halfway through a defensive movement.
Mei Ling attacked.
He barely managed to block.
“See?” she said.
“You nearly hit me.”
“That was the intention.”
She stepped back, breathing steadily.
“Again.”
They resumed.
This time, Li Tian concentrated on using only the smallest amount of power necessary. He allowed Silent Dao Circulation to guide his movements, keeping his spiritual energy smooth and contained.
For several exchanges, everything went perfectly.
Then the training ground changed.
A faint vibration passed through the stone floor.
Li Tian felt it before he saw anything.
The ancient pillars surrounding the courtyard began to glow.
Thin golden lines emerged from their surfaces, forming a pattern beneath their feet. The design spread outward in concentric circles, each ring intersecting the next.
Mei Ling immediately retreated and drew her real sword.
“What is this?”
Li Tian stared at the pattern.
Nine circles.
Eight silver.
One black.
The same structure he had seen beneath the western mountain.
Only this time, the formation was incomplete. Most of its lines remained dormant, but one golden thread had appeared in the center.
The thread pulsed.
Once.
Twice.
Then it connected to Li Tian.
A sharp warmth spread through his dantian.
[System Warning]
Unexpected resonance detected.
Source: Ancient sword-training formation.
Connection: Ninth Seal — partial.
Silent Dao Circulation has activated an unidentified response.
Li Tian's expression darkened.
He had barely begun understanding the technique, and it had already attracted attention from something buried beneath the sect.
Mei Ling moved to his side.
“Li Tian, can you disable it?”
“I think so.”
“That's not very reassuring.”
“I was trying to be honest.”
The golden pattern brightened.
A sharp sound rang through the courtyard.
One of the stone pillars cracked.
Mei Ling immediately slashed toward the glowing line nearest her. Her sword struck the formation, releasing a burst of spiritual energy that sent her sliding backward.
Li Tian caught her arm before she fell.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
She steadied herself, then looked at the formation.
“It reacted to my sword.”
Li Tian examined the lines more carefully.
The formation was not attacking them directly. It was drawing energy from the surrounding spiritual veins, using their movements to complete a pattern that had remained unfinished for centuries.
His Silent Dao Circulation had awakened the central line.
Mei Ling's sword strike had activated the outer ring.
If the process continued, the entire formation might connect to the Ninth Seal.
He could destroy it.
But doing so would release an enormous amount of energy, possibly exposing his true cultivation to everyone nearby.
Instead, he lowered his wooden sword and took a slow breath.
The world seemed to become quiet.
He felt the formation's energy flowing through the stone pillars, the underground veins, and the air itself.
There.
A single point where the energy was moving against its natural direction.
Li Tian rotated his wrist.
The wooden sword touched the ground.
A barely visible ripple passed through the formation.
The golden lines flickered.
Then, one after another, they went dark.
The stone pillars stopped vibrating.
The courtyard returned to silence.
Li Tian straightened and looked at the wooden sword in his hand.
It had split down the middle.
He stared at it.
Mei Ling slowly turned toward him.
“Li Tian.”
“Yes?”
“You just stopped an ancient formation with a wooden sword.”
“When you say it like that, it sounds impressive.”
“It was impressive.”
He blinked.
She wasn't smiling.
Mei Ling looked at the broken weapon, then at the darkened formation.
“I don't know what you are, Li Tian. I don't know where you learned to move like that, and I don't know why ancient formations keep reacting to you.”
She sheathed her sword.
“But I know what I saw.”
Li Tian waited.
“I'm not going to force you to tell me everything,” she continued. “However, the next time something like this happens, don't tell me it was luck.”
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then Li Tian gave her a small, genuine smile.
“I'll try to do better.”
Mei Ling studied him, as if deciding whether that answer was worth accepting.
Finally, she nodded.
“Good. And next time, bring a proper sword.”
“I have a limited budget.”
“You have a limited sense of responsibility.”
“Those are related problems.”
A faint smile touched her lips.
For the first time that morning, the tension between them eased.
Neither noticed the tiny golden mark that had appeared along the edge of Mei Ling's sword.
It vanished before either could see it.
But far beneath the western mountain, the black coffin responded.
Inside the sealed chamber, the ninth ring trembled.
A golden thread stretched across its dark surface, reaching toward the ancient inscriptions carved into the surrounding walls.
Old Ghost Qiu stood before the coffin with his walking stick clenched in one hand.
His usual drunken expression had disappeared.
“So,” he murmured, “the old sword formation finally woke up.”
Behind him, a shadow stirred.
“You knew it was connected to the Ninth Seal.”
Qiu Ming did not turn around.
“I knew it was possible.”
“You allowed the formation to remain active.”
“I allowed many things to remain active.”
The shadow's voice grew colder.
“And now the girl has been marked.”
For the first time, Qiu Ming's hand trembled.
“Is the mark complete?”
“No. Only a fragment.”
“Can it be removed?”
Silence.
Then the shadow answered.
“Not by anyone in this world.”
Qiu Ming closed his eyes.
For centuries, he had feared the day the Silent One would awaken. He had feared the return of memories, the reopening of the seal, and the terrible truth buried beneath the ancient war.
Yet he had never considered that the first person to awaken alongside the Silent One might be an ordinary sword cultivator.
A girl who had done nothing more than refuse to abandon a friend.
Qiu Ming looked at the coffin.
“Why her?”
A faint golden light pulsed beneath the ninth ring.
The voice that emerged was old, tired, and impossibly gentle.
“Because he has begun to care again.”
Qiu Ming's face went pale.
The shadow behind him slowly raised its head.
“Then the plan must change. The Void Court will no longer need to force the Silent One to open the seal.”
A thin smile appeared beneath the shadow's hood.
“They have found another door.”
That evening, Li Tian returned to his room and immediately checked the system.
[Hidden Cultivation System]
Public Cultivation: Qi Refinement Layer 1
Stored Cultivation: 1,160 years
Memory Recovery: 0.04%
Silent Dao Circulation: Comprehension 1%
New Discovery: Ancient Sword Formation Resonance
Unknown Connection: Detected
Target: Mei Ling
Status: Incomplete Mark
Li Tian's expression turned cold.
“Explain.”
The system window flickered.
Warning: The mark is connected to a sealed spatial pathway.
Warning: External entity has detected the target.
Warning: Host's concealment is insufficient to protect all associated individuals.
Li Tian stood motionless.
For the first time in a long while, his desire to remain unnoticed felt less like a sensible choice and more like a dangerous weakness.
He had hidden his cultivation to protect his peace.
He had concealed his abilities to avoid becoming involved in conflicts beyond his understanding.
But the people around him were becoming entangled in those conflicts anyway.
He clenched his hand.
“Can the mark be removed?”
Insufficient information.
“Can the target be protected?”
Protection probability cannot be calculated.
“Can you tell me anything useful?”
The system vanished.
Li Tian stared at the empty air.
“Wonderful.”
A soft scratching sound came from his window.
Bao Bao squeezed through the gap, carrying a stolen spiritual peach nearly as large as his head.
He took one look at Li Tian's expression and stopped chewing.
“Oh,” the fox said. “You've discovered the mark.”
Li Tian turned toward him.
“You knew this could happen.”
Bao Bao slowly lowered the peach.
“I suspected.”
“That's not an answer.”
“It is the only one I have.”
Li Tian stepped closer.
“Tell me how to remove it.”
For once, Bao Bao did not make a joke.
His nine tails remained hidden, but his eyes had taken on an ancient seriousness.
“The mark is not merely attached to Mei Ling's sword. It is attached to a possibility.”
“What possibility?”
“That she may become important to the Ninth Seal.”
Li Tian's jaw tightened.
Bao Bao sighed.
“The Void Court cannot easily reach you while you remain concealed. They cannot measure your cultivation, predict your movements, or force you to reveal your strength. So they are searching for something that will make you move without thinking.”
He glanced toward the window, where the moon shone above the distant mountains.
“Someone you refuse to abandon.”
Li Tian said nothing.
After a long silence, Bao Bao added, “There is one more thing you should know.”
“What?”
“The ancient sword formation was not built to test disciples.”
Li Tian looked at him.
“What was it built for?”
Bao Bao's ears lowered.
“To recognize the people who were permitted to stand beside the Silent One.”
Before Li Tian could respond, a distant bell rang from the western mountain.
Once.
Twice.
Then a third time.
The sound passed through the sect, and every spiritual lamp in Li Tian's room went dark.
A new system notification appeared.
[Emergency Warning]
The Ninth Seal has recognized a second individual.
Identity: Mei Ling.
Designation: The Sword That Opens the Way.
Li Tian stared at the words.
Deep beneath the western mountain, the black ring began to crack.
And from somewhere beyond the sealed door, a voice whispered a name that had not been spoken for ten thousand years.
“Mei Ling.”
To be continued…