The first rule of surviving in a cultivation sect was simple.
Never attract the attention of an elder.
The second rule was even simpler.
If an elder had already noticed you, leave before he became curious.
Unfortunately, Li Tian had failed at both.
He sat cross-legged on his wooden bed, staring at the blue system screen floating before his eyes.
Emergency Alert: An unknown entity has identified the host's location.
Recommendation: Leave the area immediately.
Li Tian rubbed his temples.
"System, define 'immediately.'"
No response.
"Does it mean within one hour? Ten minutes? Before breakfast?"
The screen remained silent.
Li Tian sighed.
"Wonderful. A mysterious system with thousands of years of stored cultivation, and it cannot answer a simple question."
From the windowsill, the white fox crunched a spiritual fruit.
"Perhaps it doesn't like you."
Li Tian turned toward it.
"Perhaps you should stop eating my food."
"I brought this one myself."
"Then why are you eating it in my room?"
"Your room has better sunlight."
Li Tian stared at the fox.
The fox stared back.
After a moment, Li Tian stood up, opened the door, and pointed outside.
"Out."
The fox jumped from the windowsill and landed on his shoulder.
"No."
"Out!"
"I have decided to protect you."
"From what?"
"Your terrible hospitality."
Li Tian almost threw it out himself.
Then the system flashed again.
Warning: An unfamiliar spiritual fluctuation has been detected within the sect.
The fox's playful expression disappeared.
Its ears turned toward the mountain behind the outer disciple quarters.
"He's waking faster than I expected," it whispered.
Li Tian heard it.
"Who is waking?"
The fox closed its eyes.
"Nobody important."
"Then why are you worried?"
"I'm not worried."
"Your tail is shaking."
The fox immediately sat on its tail.
"Cold weather."
It was the middle of summer.
Li Tian decided that asking questions was pointless when the other party was determined to lie.
He picked up his sword.
If something dangerous was waking beneath Heavenly Cloud Sect, he needed information. But he would not rush blindly into danger. That was the kind of foolishness practiced by young masters who died in the first ten chapters.
He intended to survive all 2,500 chapters of his life.
Preferably more.
"Where are we going?" the fox asked.
"I'm going to investigate the library."
"Why?"
"Because books usually contain information."
The fox looked disappointed.
"How boring."
"You're welcome to stay here."
"Absolutely not. What if someone steals your remaining spiritual fruit?"
Li Tian left before he committed a crime against a spirit beast.
At the eastern training ground, Elder Zhao was conducting his own investigation.
He stood beside the assessment stone with both hands behind his back. A thin strand of spiritual energy moved through the stone, examining its internal inscriptions.
He had inspected the pillar dozens of times.
Its formation was intact.
Its spiritual core was stable.
Its readings were accurate.
And yet he remembered the moment Li Tian had touched it.
For an instant, the stone had registered something that did not belong to a Qi Refinement Layer One cultivator.
It had been so brief that he could not even determine its nature.
"Elder Zhao."
A young disciple approached and bowed.
"What is it?"
"Your instructions regarding the inspection records."
"Leave them there."
The disciple placed a scroll on the table and hurried away.
Elder Zhao ignored it.
His attention remained on the assessment stone.
"Could it be an unusual spiritual root?" he murmured.
No. Li Tian's spiritual root had been tested when he entered the sect three years ago. It was mediocre, but not defective.
Could the boy have concealed his progress?
That was possible, although the thought seemed absurd. Concealing cultivation was a difficult technique that required considerable skill.
An outer disciple who had failed three advancement examinations was unlikely to possess such an ability.
Still, Elder Zhao had lived long enough to know that unlikely things sometimes happened.
He took out a jade slip and recorded Li Tian's name.
Li Tian. Outer disciple. Qi Refinement, Layer One. Monitor discreetly.
He paused before adding another line.
Do not provoke.
Elder Zhao was not afraid of a weak disciple.
He was cautious about things he did not understand.
That distinction had kept him alive for more than two centuries.
Unfortunately, his next decision would bring him much closer to a secret he was not prepared to discover.
He decided to observe Li Tian personally.
The Heavenly Cloud Sect library occupied three floors of a stone building near the inner mountain.
The first floor contained basic cultivation manuals, sword techniques, medicinal knowledge, and historical records. The second floor was reserved for inner disciples and elders. The third floor remained locked except during special occasions.
Li Tian preferred the first floor.
It was quiet, dusty, and full of books nobody wanted to read.
Perfect.
He walked past several disciples studying basic sword forms and stopped before a shelf labeled Sect History and Unusual Phenomena.
The white fox leaped from his shoulder onto the shelf.
"You're looking for the coffin," it said.
Li Tian quickly glanced around.
"Keep your voice down!"
"Why? Are you afraid the books will hear us?"
"I'm afraid the people will hear us."
The fox looked at the nearest disciple, who was struggling to memorize a breathing technique.
"That one couldn't hear an earthquake."
"You're not helping."
Li Tian pulled a dusty volume from the shelf and opened it.
The book described the founding of Heavenly Cloud Sect, the migration of its first disciples, and several wars fought against demonic forces.
Most of it was ordinary history.
Then he reached a passage marked with a faded red symbol.
During the Era of Broken Stars, the founders discovered an underground chamber beneath the western mountain. The chamber was sealed by an unknown formation. By order of the founding patriarch, no disciple was permitted to approach it.
The following page had been torn out.
Li Tian read the passage again.
"The western mountain," he whispered.
The fox had stopped grooming its fur.
For the first time, Li Tian noticed a thin scar running across its left ear.
"Have you seen this formation?" he asked.
The fox did not answer.
"Hey."
Still nothing.
Li Tian turned the book toward it.
"This is the same mountain where the system detected the unknown force."
The fox's eyes narrowed.
"Put the book back."
"Why?"
"Because some knowledge is safer when forgotten."
Li Tian closed the book.
"That sounds suspiciously like something people say when they want to hide a terrible secret."
"Perhaps you are becoming intelligent."
"I was intelligent yesterday."
"Then you have made progress."
Li Tian decided to ignore the insult.
He returned the volume to the shelf and picked up another book. It described several ancient sealing formations, including one called the Nine Heavens Locking Formation.
According to the text, the formation could restrain beings whose power exceeded the limits of ordinary cultivation.
The last surviving diagram contained nine interlocking rings.
The fox suddenly jumped onto the table.
"Do not study that."
Li Tian looked at the diagram.
"Why?"
"Because it is incomplete."
"Then I can look for the missing parts."
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because you are an outer disciple with no talent, no authority, and a habit of asking questions that will get you killed."
Li Tian slowly turned toward it.
"You know, for a creature that claims to be protecting me, you are remarkably unpleasant."
The fox sighed.
"And for a man who possesses a mysterious cultivation system, you are remarkably determined to make my life difficult."
Before Li Tian could reply, a shadow fell across the table.
"Interesting reading material for an outer disciple."
A deep voice came from behind him.
Li Tian froze.
The fox's ears stood straight up.
Standing at the end of the table was Elder Zhao.
Elder Zhao glanced at the book, then at Li Tian.
"Do you understand the formation?"
Li Tian bowed immediately.
"This disciple was only reading out of curiosity."
"Curiosity is not a crime."
The elder pulled out a chair and sat down.
"But curiosity can lead people into places they do not belong."
Li Tian nodded.
"That is why I usually avoid it."
Elder Zhao raised an eyebrow.
"Usually?"
"Occasionally, books are placed at eye level."
For a moment, the elder said nothing.
Then he laughed.
It was not a loud laugh, but it was genuine.
"You have an unusual way of speaking, boy."
"I apologize, Elder."
"Do not apologize for every sentence. It makes you sound guilty."
Li Tian immediately stopped speaking.
Elder Zhao leaned forward.
"I have a question. Yesterday, during the inspection, did you notice anything unusual about the assessment stone?"
Li Tian considered his answer carefully.
"No, Elder."
"Did you feel any strange spiritual fluctuations?"
"No, Elder."
"Did you recently practice a technique that conceals your aura?"
Li Tian's heart skipped a beat.
The fox sat perfectly still beside the book.
"No, Elder."
Elder Zhao studied his face.
Li Tian had practiced lying in front of powerful people for three years. He had learned that elaborate explanations often created more suspicion than silence.
So he looked precisely as ordinary as he was supposed to look.
Elder Zhao leaned back.
"Very well."
Li Tian relaxed slightly.
Then the elder continued.
"Let us test something."
He placed two fingers against the table.
A faint ripple of spiritual energy spread through the wood.
The air around Li Tian grew heavy.
It was not an attack. Elder Zhao was simply releasing a small portion of his cultivation to observe how the boy reacted.
Most ordinary disciples would have felt pressure in their chest, perhaps even a slight tremor in their spiritual energy.
Li Tian felt nothing.
The Hidden Cultivation System concealed his aura so completely that the pressure seemed to slide away from him.
But he knew better than to remain perfectly comfortable.
He deliberately stiffened his shoulders, lowered his head, and took a small step backward.
Elder Zhao watched every movement.
"How do you feel?"
"Rather uncomfortable, Elder."
"Can you withstand it?"
"I would prefer not to try."
The elder slowly increased the pressure.
Li Tian's knees bent.
At least, they appeared to.
In reality, he could have stood there all day.
Elder Zhao stopped.
"Enough."
The pressure disappeared.
Li Tian straightened and bowed.
"Thank you, Elder."
Elder Zhao's expression was thoughtful.
He had seen no obvious sign of concealed cultivation. The boy's spiritual energy remained weak, and his physical reaction had been believable.
Perhaps he had misjudged him.
Yet something still bothered him.
Li Tian had reacted to the pressure exactly as a weak disciple should.
Almost too exactly.
"Elder Zhao," a voice interrupted.
Both turned.
A middle-aged librarian stood near the entrance.
"The Sect Master requests your presence."
Elder Zhao rose.
"Tell him I will come shortly."
The librarian bowed and left.
Elder Zhao looked at Li Tian one final time.
"Continue your studies. But remember that ancient formations are not toys."
"Yes, Elder."
The elder walked away.
Li Tian waited until he was certain the man had left the building.
Then he exhaled.
"That was unpleasant."
The fox nodded.
"You nearly exposed yourself."
"I did nothing."
"Exactly. You did nothing so carefully that it became suspicious."
Li Tian stared at it.
"Is there anything I do correctly?"
"You survived."
"I'll take that."
The fox jumped onto his shoulder.
"Come on. We need to leave."
"Why?"
"Because Elder Zhao is not the only person looking for answers."
Li Tian had barely reached the library entrance when someone called his name.
"Li Tian!"
He turned.
Mei Ling stood beneath the stone archway, holding a bundle of wooden practice swords.
Her white training robes moved gently in the breeze, and the sword at her waist carried the faint spiritual pressure of a refined weapon.
Li Tian's heart sank.
Another one.
Mei Ling approached with a curious expression.
"I saw Elder Zhao speaking with you."
"He asked about the book I was reading."
"What book?"
"An old one."
"About formations?"
Li Tian looked at the book under his arm.
He had forgotten to put it back.
"Yes."
Mei Ling tilted her head.
"I didn't know you were interested in formations."
"I'm interested in many things."
"Such as?"
"Food. Sleep. Avoiding unnecessary trouble."
She laughed.
"You're impossible."
"That is what my friend tells me."
Mei Ling glanced at the white fox on his shoulder.
"Where did you get that little fox?"
Li Tian looked at the creature.
The fox looked back with innocent eyes.
"Found it in the forest."
"Is it your spirit beast?"
"No."
The fox lifted its head.
"I am an independent and distinguished spiritual being."
Mei Ling blinked.
"It talks?"
"Unfortunately," Li Tian replied.
The fox smacked him on the back of the head with its tail.
Mei Ling laughed again.
For a moment, the tension in Li Tian's shoulders eased.
Then she held out one of the wooden swords.
"I was going to practice the basic sword forms. Would you like to join me?"
Li Tian looked at the sword.
Then at Mei Ling.
Then at the sky, as though seeking guidance from the heavens.
"Today?"
"Yes."
"Is tomorrow acceptable?"
"You said that yesterday."
"Then the day after tomorrow?"
Mei Ling crossed her arms.
"Li Tian."
"Yes?"
"You are the only person I know who negotiates with practice schedules."
"Negotiation is an important skill."
She handed him the sword anyway.
"Ten movements. That's all."
Li Tian accepted it.
Ten movements would not hurt.
Probably.
They moved to a quiet corner of the courtyard beside the library. Mei Ling demonstrated the first form, a simple horizontal cut followed by a controlled recovery.
Li Tian copied her movements.
His technique was deliberately restrained. He used the minimum strength necessary, keeping his steps short and his sword angle ordinary.
Mei Ling watched carefully.
"Your form is stable," she said. "But you hesitate before each strike."
"I prefer to think before acting."
"On the battlefield, hesitation can get you killed."
"On the battlefield, charging forward can also get you killed."
She paused.
"That's true."
Li Tian almost smiled.
He had not expected her to concede the point so easily.
Mei Ling adjusted her grip on the sword.
"Then perhaps the answer is knowing when to hesitate and when to act."
For a moment, her expression became serious.
It was the kind of thought that came from genuine experience rather than memorized instruction.
Li Tian looked at her with new interest.
She was young, but her talent was not merely a matter of cultivation speed. She observed, questioned, and learned from the people around her.
That was more dangerous than raw strength.
And far more useful.
"One more time," she said.
Li Tian sighed.
"Of course."
They practiced until the sun climbed above the rooftops.
When they finally stopped, Mei Ling gave him a small nod.
"Your sword form has improved."
"Thank you."
"But you're still avoiding the difficult movements."
"Perhaps I am saving them for a special occasion."
She smiled.
"Then I hope that occasion arrives before the next tournament."
Li Tian handed back the practice sword.
"I hope it doesn't arrive at all."
Mei Ling shook her head, amused.
"You really do want a peaceful life."
"More than anything."
For a brief moment, she looked as though she wanted to ask him something else.
Instead, she said, "Take care, Li Tian."
Then she walked away.
The fox watched her leave.
"Interesting."
Li Tian immediately turned toward it.
"Don't."
"I haven't said anything."
"You were about to."
"I was going to say she has good swordsmanship."
"Then say that."
"She also looks at you rather often."
Li Tian started walking.
The fox grinned.
"Ah, young love."
"One more word and you can find your own spiritual fruit."
The fox fell silent.
Some threats were too terrible to ignore.
That evening, a bell rang from the inner mountain.
Unlike the ordinary bells used to announce inspections or sect gatherings, this one sounded low and heavy.
Its vibration traveled through the ground.
Every disciple within Heavenly Cloud Sect stopped what they were doing.
The sound rang a second time.
Then a third.
Li Tian was in his courtyard, repairing the tear in his robe, when the needle slipped from his fingers.
The Hidden Cultivation System appeared.
Hidden Cultivation System
SEAL INSTABILITY DETECTED
Location: Western Mountain, underground chamber.
The unknown force is interacting with an ancient sealing formation.
Estimated time until the next major fluctuation: Unknown.
Special Warning: The host may be connected to the sealed entity.
Li Tian stared at the final line.
May be connected?
He had never visited the chamber.
He had never touched the formation.
He had never even known it existed until that morning.
"System, explain the connection."
No response.
"System?"
Silence.
He clenched his fist.
For the first time, he considered spending some of his stored cultivation to investigate the seal directly.
He had more than a thousand years of accumulated cultivation. If necessary, he could release a fraction of it and move through the sect without being noticed.
But the system's warning gave him pause.
If the entity beneath the mountain could identify him, approaching it might reveal even more.
He needed information before taking action.
"Fox."
No answer.
Li Tian looked around.
The windowsill was empty.
The fox had disappeared.
On the table lay a small white feather and a single spiritual fruit.
Beside them was a scrap of paper.
Li Tian picked it up.
The writing was uneven, as though the author had been in a hurry.
Do not go to the western mountain tonight.
Below the message, someone had drawn a tiny fox.
And beneath that drawing were six words:
If it calls you, do not answer.
Li Tian read the message twice.
Then the bell rang again.
This time, the sound was accompanied by a faint whisper that seemed to come from beneath the ground.
Not a voice carried by the wind.
Not a sound heard through the ears.
A voice that appeared directly inside his mind.
Li Tian.
He stopped breathing.
The whisper came again.
My child.
The system screen flickered violently.
For the first time, the Hidden Cultivation System displayed a message he had never seen before.
CRITICAL SYSTEM ALERT
An external entity has bypassed the host's aura concealment.
Identity: Unknown.
Connection: Bloodline resonance detected.
Warning: The system cannot guarantee the host's safety.
Li Tian stood motionless in the darkening courtyard.
He had spent three years trying to become the least noticeable person in Heavenly Cloud Sect.
He had hidden his strength from elders, avoided the attention of geniuses, and refused every opportunity that might draw him into trouble.
Yet something buried beneath the sect had found him anyway.
And it had called him my child.
Li Tian slowly folded the fox's message and placed it inside his sleeve.
"Peaceful cultivation," he whispered bitterly. "Was that really too much to ask?"
Far beneath the western mountain, the ancient coffin shook.
A crack spread across its surface.
And from within the darkness, the unknown voice spoke once more.
"Come home, Li Tian."