"…Huh?" Haotian's brows drew together. "Lectures?"
The sect master leaned forward, resting one arm on the armrest. "Yes. You will share your knowledge with the halls. You've already disrupted the foundations of alchemy with your methods, impressed the forging masters, and trained a beast-handling team beyond expectation. If such skill remains locked in your own hands, the sect gains nothing."
Haotian's expression stayed blank for a long moment. "…I don't like crowds."
The sect master's lips twitched. "Consider it training — for your voice, your presence, and your patience."
From the side, Elder Yao grinned far too widely. "I'll make sure the alchemy hall attends in full."
The sect master's tone hardened slightly. "It is non-negotiable. In exchange, I will grant you immediate clearance to the third and fourth floors of the sect library — all formation and rune texts included."
That made Haotian pause. "…Immediate access?"
The sect master nodded. "Today, if you wish."
Haotian exhaled slowly, gaze drifting toward the high windows. The thought of the golden texts in his inner world expanding with advanced formation and rune knowledge was too tempting to ignore. He imagined the diagrams, the arrays, the methods — finally filling the gaps in his understanding.
"…Fine," he said at last. "I'll do it."
The sect master's eyes narrowed slightly. "You'll commit to it. One lecture to each hall within the month. After that, we will reassess."
Haotian inclined his head. "Deal."
Moments Later – Sect Library Steps
With a freshly inscribed jade pass in hand, Haotian ascended the steps toward the library's upper floors. The attendant at the entrance to the third floor looked at the pass, blinked, then quickly stepped aside.
The air beyond was denser, humming faintly with the stored qi of thousands of carefully sealed scrolls and tomes. Racks upon racks of leather-bound manuals stretched into the shadows, each bearing the intricate seals of the sect's most guarded knowledge.
The Eyes of the Universe lit faintly in Haotian's gaze.
It was time to begin.
Haotian stepped into the third floor proper, the scent of old parchment and faint metallic ink settling over him like a cloak. The light here was dimmer, filtered through high, latticed windows, and the air carried a weight — the subtle pressure of knowledge protected by seals and wards for generations.
His gaze roamed until it found the dedicated shelves for Formation Theory and Rune Architecture. Scroll tubes carved with protective sigils, thick tomes bound in spirit beast hide, and stacked manuals with faintly glowing covers crowded the section.
Haotian's fingers brushed the spine of the first text. The instant he opened it, the Eyes of the Universe flared in both eyes, golden rings turning faster as streams of luminous script poured from the page. Each line was dissected, absorbed, and transferred to the Golden Text Library within his inner world.
Inner World – Golden Text Library
Rows upon rows of floating golden books hung in endless space. As the new knowledge flowed in, books shimmered, multiplied, and restructured themselves.
Sections labeled "Basic" split into "Intermediate" and "Advanced" without Haotian consciously directing them. Intricate diagrams of multi-layered formations unfolded in the air, intersecting with complex rune arrays that rotated in perfect synchronicity.
The previously "basic" runic matrices reformed into sprawling, interlocking webs — showing him how different formations could merge with weapon inscriptions, spirit beast contracts, and even alchemical processes.
Some of the golden texts pulsed, faint threads linking to older knowledge, forming new volumes entirely: Integrated Craft Arrays, Symbiotic Formation Systems, Runic Amplification of Qi Constructs.
Back in the Library
Haotian flipped through book after book with quiet, relentless speed. The table beside him quickly piled with open texts, some balanced in precarious towers. The more he read, the more connections lit up in his mind — ideas for forging techniques reinforced by runes, alchemy processes stabilized by formation patterns, beast gear linked directly to qi signatures.
By the time he looked up, the day had faded toward dusk. His jade pass allowed him to stay, but his thoughts were already buzzing with the urge to apply this.
The Golden Text Library in his inner world glowed with fresh additions, its shelves now towering far higher than when the day began.
The last light of day bled across the library steps as Haotian descended, jade pass tucked away. His mind was still humming — not just with knowledge, but with shapes, patterns, and flows.
By the time he reached his quarters, his hand was already fishing out brush, ink, and sheets of fine talisman paper. He sat cross-legged at the low table, lit a lamp, and began sketching.
The first strokes outlined Yueying's frame — the distribution of muscle, the curve of her spine, the width of her paws. Over that, Haotian layered a defensive formation keyed to her qi signature, with runes etched into the armor plates that would redirect impact force along channels, dispersing it harmlessly into the ground.
For Xiaoque, the design was lighter and more fluid. A speed-amplifying array interwoven with lunar resonance runes, allowing her to temporarily double her acceleration during pounce or retreat. Her armor segments would be connected by flexible spirit silk, each joint inscribed with micro-runes to enhance balance mid-air.
Golden Text Library – Inner World
As he drew, the diagrams in the air around him inside the golden library shifted and rotated, feeding him corrections and optimizations in real time. A new section had appeared — Applied Symbiosis Arrays — showing how to bind the formation cores of two separate pieces of gear, allowing Yueying and Xiaoque's equipment to share qi flow in certain conditions.
Haotian's brush never hesitated. Every line was deliberate, every rune calculated to match not just the Moonfangs' physical forms, but their evolving combat patterns from recent training.
When he finally set the brush down, two full sets of schematics lay before him — not simply armor, but living extensions of Yueying and Xiaoque's power.
A faint smile tugged at his lips. "Next… the forge."
Morning mist still clung to the sect's stone paths when Haotian arrived at the Forging Hall. In one hand, he carried a sealed scroll tube containing the schematics; in the other, a jade token granting him access to their main forge.
The moment he entered, the air shifted — not from his presence, but from the quiet ripple of recognition. Word of his earlier forging feats had not faded; smiths and apprentices glanced over from their stations, some abandoning their work entirely to follow as he made his way to the central hall.
The Forgemaster, a broad-shouldered man with soot permanently etched into his skin, raised a brow. "You're back. And I hear it's for your Moonfangs this time."
Haotian placed the schematics on the worktable and unrolled them. The Forgemaster's expression tightened — not in disapproval, but in the sharp focus of a craftsman recognizing complexity.
"Formation cores… runic linkages… and these?" He tapped a section where the armor's joint plates bore micro-runes the size of grains of rice. "You've layered talisman-grade engraving into combat armor."
Haotian nodded once. "It's tuned to their qi flows. If it's off by even a hair, the effect will collapse."
The Forgemaster's lips twitched into a rare grin. "And you plan to make this… here? In front of everyone?"
"Yes."
The Work Begins
The main forge roared to life, its bellows pumping in rhythm. Haotian began with Yueying's chest plate — heating the refined moonsteel until it glowed a pale silver, then hammering with precise, almost delicate strikes. Every impact fell exactly where the Eyes of the Universe showed him the metal's internal grain was weakest, sealing potential flaws before they existed.
Once shaped, he shifted to the engraving bench. With a fine-pointed rune chisel, he began inscribing the primary qi-channel runes, each stroke followed by a subtle flare of light as the metal absorbed the mark.
The Forging Hall gathered close, murmuring as they saw him lay a secondary formation array directly into the metal's inner layer — something even senior smiths rarely attempted without a talisman master assisting.
By midday, the chest plate was complete — formation core sealed, runes stabilized, qi conduction flawless. It wasn't just armor; it was a weaponized defense.
Haotian didn't pause. He moved straight into crafting Xiaoque's speed array harness, the spirit silk shimmering faintly as he wove in lunar resonance runes with needle-fine precision.
The Forgemaster exhaled slowly. "Every time I think I've seen the limits… you move them further."
Haotian only replied, "There are no limits."
By the time the forge fires dimmed that evening, both sets of gear lay side by side on the long central table — Yueying's gleaming silver-gray lamellar with flowing rune channels and a compact formation core embedded at the breast, Xiaoque's sleek brigandine harness of spirit silk and moonsteel plates, each joint inscribed with micro-runes so small they could only be seen when they caught the light.
Haotian examined them one last time with the Eyes of the Universe, watching the qi conduction pathways hum to life in perfect harmony. Satisfied, he packed the sets into reinforced cases and carried them himself to the training grounds.
Training Grounds – Next Morning
The sun was barely over the horizon when Yueying padded into the yard, her fur catching faint threads of silver light. Xiaoque trotted in beside her, bow tie slightly crooked as always. Lianhua and the guards followed, curiosity written all over their faces.
Haotian set the cases down and opened them. The collective intake of breath was audible.
"Yueying," he called. The Moonfang stepped forward, and he began fastening the lamellar over her shoulders and chest, securing the leather straps and checking the fit along her ribs. The formation core pulsed once, syncing with her heartbeat before settling into a steady rhythm.
Then Xiaoque's turn — Haotian slid the brigandine harness over her, tightening the silk fastenings until they were snug but unrestrictive. The micro-runes shimmered faintly, then disappeared as they activated, invisible to normal sight.
The Trial
"Form up," Haotian commanded.
They began with a speed run. Yueying's armor responded instantly, qi conduction boosting her acceleration without throwing off her balance. She hit top speed in half the time she normally needed, her steps leaving shallow cracks in the training ground stone.
Xiaoque's test came next — a pounce from an elevated platform. The moment her claws left the stone, the speed-amplifying array engaged, doubling her momentum. She landed with pinpoint precision exactly where Haotian pointed, her tail flicking once in satisfaction.
Then the defense trial — Jinhai's hammer struck Yueying's flank at full force. The impact shuddered through her armor, redirected into the ground in a clean discharge that left her standing unshaken. Xiaoque's silk harness flexed and absorbed a sword strike from Lianhua without any tear.
The guards were speechless. Even Lianhua's stern expression cracked into a faint smile.
Haotian only said, "Now… we'll see how they hold up under live combat."
The clatter of weapons and the sharp bark of orders echoed across the training grounds as a ten-man Martial Hall squad took their positions. Each member wore standard sect combat gear, and their leader — a tall, scarred inner disciple named Rong Wei — rested a heavy glaive across his shoulder.
"This is the new beast team everyone's whispering about?" Rong Wei's tone was skeptical, but his eyes were sharp. "Good. Let's see if the stories are just wind."
Haotian stepped forward, Yueying on his left, Xiaoque on his right, the guards forming up behind him. Lianhua nodded once, her hand resting lightly on her sword hilt.
The Eyes of the Universe in Haotian's gaze flickered faintly as he studied the squad's stances, noting weaknesses and habits.
"Begin!" the referee called.
Opening Exchange
The Martial Hall squad moved as one, five rushing the front while the others flanked. Yueying exploded forward, her new armor channeling qi into her legs, closing the gap with terrifying speed. Her shoulder slammed into the lead attacker — the impact absorbed by her armor's runic discharge — sending him tumbling back before he could even swing.
Xiaoque darted low through the chaos, her harness arrays flaring as she blurred under an opponent's guard, flicking out with a claw strike at their ankle before vanishing back into formation.
Haotian flowed forward, his blade intercepting two simultaneous strikes. He pivoted, calling, "Yueying, left intercept!" The tiger spun on command, slamming into a spear-wielder mid-thrust.
Mid-Battle Coordination
The squad regrouped, forming a semi-circle to pen them in. Haotian adjusted his stance — a subtle shift that Yueying and Xiaoque mirrored instantly. When the squad lunged, the Moonfangs didn't just defend; they moved in perfect time with Haotian's strikes, hitting from angles the squad couldn't cover.
At one point, Rong Wei swung his glaive in a sweeping arc aimed for Xiaoque. The cub leapt, her speed-boosting runes igniting mid-air, clearing the strike and landing directly behind him. Yueying was already there, forcing him to turn his weapon awkwardly — just as Haotian's blade tapped his neck.
"Dead," Haotian said simply, before stepping back.
Final Push
The remaining squad members came in a desperate wave. Haotian gave a sharp whistle — Yueying and Xiaoque split to opposite flanks, collapsing the formation from both sides while the guards pressed the center. Within moments, all ten Martial Hall members were "down," weapons grounded in concession.
Aftermath
Breathing hard, Rong Wei pulled off his helmet and gave a short, respectful nod. "Not just wind."
From the sidelines, several Martial Hall elders exchanged glances, clearly reevaluating what they'd just witnessed.
Haotian simply reached down to scratch Yueying behind the ear and pat Xiaoque's head. "Good work. Again tomorrow."
For the next several days, Haotian split his mornings between Yueying and Xiaoque's synchronized drills and the Beast Handling Hall's testing grounds. The trials were harsher here — obstacle runs lined with illusory hazards, formation mazes that disrupted beast-handler linkages, and simulated hunts in cramped, twisting terrain.
Under Haotian's direction, the Moonfang pair passed each with growing precision. By the third day, the Beast Handling instructors had stopped trying to handicap him; no matter the trap, the formation, or the feint, Yueying and Xiaoque adapted faster than the test could reset.
Forging Hall Summons
On the fourth day, a runner arrived at the training grounds, holding a sealed summons marked with the Forging Hall's crest.
Inside: Request for immediate assistance. Priority level: High.
When Haotian arrived at the Hall's main forge, the Forgemaster himself met him at the gates. "You've come quickly. Good — I don't like wasting time when something's bleeding resources."
He led Haotian into the central workshop, where a partially completed weapon sat on a reinforced anvil — a massive glaive with interlocking runic channels along the blade's curve.
"This is a commissioned order for an elder of the Outer Sect Council," the Forgemaster explained, voice tight. "We've failed it four times already. The runes keep destabilizing during the quenching phase. We've already lost rare materials to the failures. If we don't deliver soon, it'll be an embarrassment to the Hall ."
Haotian stepped closer, running his fingers lightly along the incomplete blade. The Eyes of the Universe lit in his gaze, tracing the flawed flow of the existing work — the instability points, the mismatched rune sequencing, the uneven heat treatment.
He nodded once. "I'll do it."
The Forging
The forge roared to life, and Haotian began by disassembling the problem — stripping away the unstable sections without damaging the rest. He reset the forging temperature, adjusting the bellows in precise increments while preparing a stabilizing formation beneath the anvil.
Every strike of his hammer fell exactly where the blade's metal grain demanded. When it came time to re-engrave the runes, he altered their sequence entirely, matching them to the glaive's natural qi resonance instead of forcing a standard array.
The quenching phase came — the point of failure for all prior attempts. Haotian activated a second formation, redirecting excess heat evenly through the blade, while subtly infusing the quenching medium with a qi channel to stabilize the runic pattern.
The forging hall was silent except for the sound of metal meeting water. When the steam cleared, the glaive lay whole, every rune pulsing in perfect sequence.
The Forgemaster's eyes widened. "Perfect… on the first try."
Haotian simply set the weapon on the rack. "It was only a matter of understanding what it wanted to be."
The moment the glaive was mounted on the display stand, the murmurs began. Forging masters clustered around it, tracing the flawless rune channels, the seamless balance in the haft, the perfectly tuned resonance that sang faintly under a breath of qi.
An elder with a long silver beard shook his head slowly. "Four failures, and he walks in and finishes it in one attempt. I'd call it arrogance if it weren't sitting right in front of us."
Another snorted. "If he can do this, think of the backlog of 'impossible' requests we could clear — commissions from the inner council, the sect's armory, even the tournament champions—"
The Forgemaster cut him off, already sensing where the conversation was going. "You're thinking of claiming him for the Hall. You won't be the first."
And indeed, word reached the Martial Hall before the day was out. A messenger carried the news to the Beast Handling Hall as well. The early murmurs of yet another tug-of-war were already forming when a crisp, commanding message from the sect master arrived:
"Enough. He stays with the Martial Hall . No more poaching attempts."
Sect Master's Hall
Later that afternoon, Haotian was summoned again. The sect master leaned back in his chair, a faint sigh escaping him. "You've managed to stir three Halls in as many weeks. I suggest you redirect that… influence… to the lectures I told you about. Sooner rather than later."
Haotian caught the pointed tone and cupped his hands in salute. "Understood."
He bowed, turned, and left.
Outer Sect Walkway – Sunset
The sky burned orange and gold as he crossed the long stone walkway toward his quarters. Waiting by the steps was Lianhua, her hair catching the light.
"You're back." Her voice held a note of relief. "I've barely seen you these past days."
He was about to answer when she added, with a small smile, "Let's go for a walk. Just us."
Haotian glanced toward the fading sun, then nodded. "Alright."
They fell into step side by side, the noise of the sect fading behind them as they took the winding path toward the gardens, the quiet between them comfortable.
The garden path wound between stands of bamboo and moss-covered stone lanterns, the air carrying the faint scent of night-blooming orchids. Lianhua walked with her hands clasped loosely behind her back, her steps unhurried.
After a moment, she glanced sideways at him. "You've been… everywhere lately. Beast Handling, Forging, Alchemy. And now, every Hall is eyeing you like a prized spirit stone."
Haotian tilted his head slightly. "It wasn't intentional. They came to me with work they couldn't finish."
"That's exactly what worries me," she said, her tone quiet but firm. "If you let them pull you in all directions, when will you have time for our training? For Yueying, Xiaoque, and the others?"
They reached a small stone bridge over a koi pond, the water catching slivers of moonlight. Haotian leaned on the railing, eyes thoughtful. "I've already told the sect master — Martial Hall is my focus. The rest… I'll handle only when it benefits us. Elder Yao still has my agreement, and the Forging Hall will get my help when it matters. But everything else—" he tapped the bridge rail once "—comes second to our growth."
Lianhua studied him for a moment, then gave a small nod. "Good. I don't care how many titles they throw at you, Haotian — if it takes away from the team, I'll drag you back myself."
He gave the faintest of smiles. "Noted."
They started walking again, the moon climbing higher above the sect roofs. The quiet returned, but this time it felt steadier, anchored by an unspoken agreement.