After the elders left the field, training resumed — but nothing felt normal anymore.
Disciples whispered nervously.
"Why did Elder Fang Zhi look at Li Xuan?""No way he sensed anything from him.""Maybe the elder is blind."
Zhao Ren kept glancing at Li Xuan with a stiff, confused expression.To him, the idea of Li Xuan being noticed by anyone important was impossible.
Chen Mu whispered something in Zhao Ren's ear, and both of them glanced toward Elder Qiu.
Elder Qiu didn't show anything on his face.But his eyes…
His eyes kept drifting toward Li Xuan.
Cold.Calculating.Suspicious.
Li Xuan forced himself to appear tired and unfocused.
He practiced sloppy movements.He breathed irregularly on purpose.He hunched his back slightly.
He acted like the old Li Xuan.
The one they all believed was useless.
But inside, his Qi flowed gently through his dantian like a small, warm river.
He felt alive.
When lunchtime came, the disciples headed toward the dining hall — a long stone building with wooden tables and old lanterns hanging above.
Li Xuan walked slowly behind the group, keeping distance.
He didn't trust today.Not after what Yan Ling said.
Inside the hall, the smell of warm rice and soup filled the air.
Disciples sat in groups, laughing, bragging, mocking.The usual noise.
Li Xuan took a bowl of simple porridge and moved to the very last table — the one no one ever used.
He sat down alone.
The porridge was thin, almost watery, but he didn't complain. He ate slowly, keeping his senses open.
Then—
Someone sat across from him.
Li Xuan looked up.
Yan Ling.
She wasn't holding food. She simply sat down silently and leaned forward.
"You made him think you're still weak," she said quietly. "Good."
Li Xuan swallowed a spoonful of porridge. "But he sensed something."
"Only a trace," she replied. "You hid the rest well."
Li Xuan didn't ask how she knew.
She just knew things.
Yan Ling lowered her voice even more.
"There's another problem."
Li Xuan tensed. "What is it?"
Yan Ling's eyes scanned the room. "Someone reported you directly to Elder Fang Zhi."
Li Xuan froze.
"…Who?"
Yan Ling didn't blink. "Zhao Ren."
Li Xuan clenched his spoon.
"He thinks you used tricks in your fight behind the east hall," Yan Ling whispered. "He believes Elder Fang Zhi can expose you."
Li Xuan took a slow breath.No anger.Just cold understanding.
"So Zhao Ren wants me gone that badly."
Yan Ling nodded. "He's afraid."
Li Xuan blinked. "…Afraid?"
Yan Ling leaned closer.
"A bully is brave only when his victim is powerless. The moment you fought back… Zhao Ren realized you're not the same anymore."
Li Xuan didn't speak.
Yan Ling's voice softened.
"Bullies don't attack because they're strong. They attack because they fear losing control."
Li Xuan looked down at his porridge.
"…I see."
But the dangerous part wasn't Zhao Ren.
It was Elder Qiu.
And now Elder Fang Zhi.
Yan Ling straightened her posture. "Listen carefully. Elder Fang Zhi is not here by chance. He was already near our region. He came because he wants something."
Li Xuan frowned. "Something?"
Yan Ling nodded.
"A powerful Qi signature. Something awakened recently. Something unnatural."
Li Xuan's heartbeat quickened.
The Immortal.
—She knows too much, the Immortal whispered. Be careful around her.
Li Xuan kept his expression calm.
Yan Ling lowered her voice even more.
"And today… at least three disciples are watching you for Elder Qiu."
Li Xuan's body stiffened slightly.
She nodded toward the far corner.
Chen Mu.Hou Shan.Another disciple named Feng Yu — a quiet one who rarely spoke.
All three glanced at Li Xuan between bites of food.
Yan Ling whispered:
"They will follow you after lunch. Be unpredictable. Don't go straight to your room."
Li Xuan nodded slightly.
"Where should I go?"
Yan Ling looked at him with a strange mix of seriousness and something else.
"Train in the pine grove again. Quietly. Slowly. But don't break through more today. Elder Fang will sense it."
Li Xuan exhaled. "Understood."
Yan Ling stood up quietly. "Good. I'll create a distraction so they don't follow you too quickly."
Li Xuan blinked. "Why help me this much?"
Yan Ling paused for a long moment.
Then she said something he didn't expect.
"Because someone like you… deserves a chance."
She turned to leave.
But before she walked away completely, she murmured:
"And because if you survive… you'll change everything."
Li Xuan watched her walk out of the dining hall, her black ponytail swaying behind her.
He finished the last spoon of porridge slowly.
He looked toward Chen Mu and the others.
They were watching him carefully.
Li Xuan stood up.
Straightened his back.
And walked out of the hall, leading them into whatever came next.
The game had begun.
But now…
Li Xuan wasn't the same piece on the board.