The disturbance in the gorge could not be hidden. Disciples whispered in courtyards, rumors already sprouting like weeds.
"They say a Greater Shadowfang appeared.""Someone stood against it.""They say it was the cripple… Lin Xuan."
By dusk, even the Core Court had heard. The carved jade pavilions gleamed under torchlight, the laughter of elites tinged with unease.
Meng Zhao sat in his own pavilion, a circle of loyal Core disciples around him. Their robes were pristine, their smiles sharp.
"Lin Xuan humiliates Qiu Ran?" one sneered. "Impossible. A cripple cannot reverse a Core talisman."
Another frowned. "But the disturbance was real. Elder Ji himself acknowledged it. If Lin Xuan truly withstood such power…"
Meng Zhao's smile was thin, lips curling like a knife. "Then he has become useful."
The others blinked. "Useful?"
Meng Zhao poured wine, his tone calm. "What rises too quickly draws lightning. If Lin Xuan insists on shining, let him stand higher… so that the storm strikes him first. I need only push."
His followers exchanged glances, unease hidden beneath forced laughter.
In another pavilion, whispers carried differently. A slender youth with scholarly robes tapped his folding fan against his palm.
"Lin Xuan, was it? To turn back fire with a spear…" His eyes glinted with amusement. "Perhaps worth meeting."
Across from him, a girl in white robes, her sword resting across her lap, frowned. "Dangerous men do not always know they are dangerous. If he is so strange, best to test his blade sooner than later."
The youth chuckled. "Or make him an ally. Our sect has too few pieces on the board who can surprise."
On a higher balcony, Yue Shuang sat quietly, moonlight painting her features. Her long sleeves fluttered in the night wind, her gaze fixed on the horizon where the gorge lay hidden.
Lin Xuan… you are not ordinary. The question is whether you will break… or break the sect itself.
Her eyes held no fear, only a flicker of intrigue that she rarely allowed herself.
The Core disciples debated long into the night. Some scoffed, dismissing Lin Xuan as rumor and chance. Others leaned closer, whispering of opportunity or threat.
But one truth settled across the sect:Lin Xuan's name had risen.
Whether by admiration or fear, no one could ignore him now.
In the distance, faint thunder rumbled, though no storm touched the mountains.
And deep within the gorge, Lin Xuan's spear still dripped blood, unaware that his every step now echoed in halls he had yet to enter.