The Shattered Array
The Inner Sect's Great Assessment Hall was a cavernous dome of polished stone, reserved for the most critical disciple evaluations. Today, the focus was the Ascension Assessment, the trial separating long-time Inner Disciples from true Core candidates.
Elder Ming, a severe-looking cultivator from the Foundation Establishment Realm, watched from the dais. Below him, Luo Xing, dressed in a new, immaculate golden robe, stood before the test structure: a wide, complex runic matrix known as the Nine Stars Flowing River Array.
Luo Xing was sweating, but not from exertion. His eyes kept darting toward the fragment of parchment Wú Jié had given him, now tucked deep in his sleeve. The complete block of Heart-Cleansing Jade Essence was safely tucked away in his spatial ring, unused, his fear of meridian damage outweighing his need for success. He was certain the 'discarded' fragment contained the genuine key.
Wú Jié is a fool. He traded the core information for a piece of jade he wouldn't even use. Now I have the true fix, Luo Xing thought, trying to quell the rising panic.
"Begin!" Elder Ming's voice boomed.
Luo Xing quickly poured his Qi into the array, his movements swift and practiced. He easily navigated the first two nodes. The crowd murmured in approval. But as he reached the third node, the critical juncture involving the Yin-Yang Polarity Anchor, he hesitated. This was where he had failed twice before.
He focused entirely on the substitute method detailed in the fragment, carefully bypassing the established calculation and activating the Anchor using the 'Lian Clan' method.
For a heartbeat, the array glowed with dazzling, emerald light. Luo Xing smiled, a triumphant, hateful sneer aimed at the judges. He had done it.
Then, everything went silent.
The emerald light turned a sickly, violent crimson. Instead of flowing, the Nine Stars Array began to consume itself. The massive runic lines cracked like dried mud, and the spiritual energy that should have flowed through the circuit slammed backward into the third node with the force of a collapsing dam.
Boom!
The Polarity Anchor, the very point Luo Xing had tried to control, detonated in a fountain of sparks and shrapnel. Luo Xing screamed—not in pain, but in horror—as the backlash of raw, unstable Qi slammed into his Dantian. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed, a defeated, unconscious heap among the ruined array stones.
The hall erupted in chaos. Elder Ming rushed down, his face pale with fury. Not only had Luo Xing failed, but he had actively destroyed the assessment apparatus, a feat that suggested either sabotage or catastrophic arrogance.
The Quiet Genius
Wú Jié, who had secured a position in the back of the hall under the pretense of "Outer Sect cleanup duty," waited for the precise moment of maximum emotional noise.
Elder Ming was now furiously examining the remnants of the array, while other Inner Disciples gawked at the unconscious Luo Xing. The failure was a public disgrace, but Wú Jié saw only an opportunity.
He calmly stepped past the ropes and approached Elder Ming, carrying a small, innocuous broom.
"Disciple Wú Jié of the Outer Sect greets Elder Ming," he said, his voice quiet, clear, and perfectly timed to cut through the noise.
Elder Ming, preoccupied with the array's damage, snapped, "Outer Disciple? Get back! This is an inner trial failure. Get out before you are penalized."
"The failure was not entirely Brother Luo's fault," Wú Jié stated simply, gesturing with his broom.
This caught the Elder's attention. "What nonsense are you spouting?"
Wú Jié pointed to a sliver of shattered jade embedded in the ruins of the Anchor. "The current iteration of the Nine Stars Flowing River Array has a fatal, accumulating flaw. For years, the anchor's formation has been absorbing trace amounts of Earth-Spirit Taint from the foundation bedrock. The Array is not running on clean Qi; it is running on a slow poison."
He spoke with the authority of someone reading a technical blueprint, not a junior disciple. The Inner Disciples gathered closer, suddenly silent.
"Brother Luo Xing tried to force the Array to function at its peak, and the Earth-Spirit Taint reacted violently to the sudden surge, causing the fatal recoil. He did not fail the test; the test failed him due to structural decay."
Elder Ming, an expert in formations, stared at Wú Jié, then at the shattered jade. He ran his spiritual sense over the ruins. His eyes widened. It was a terrifying, deeply hidden flaw that could have led to a disastrous collapse of the entire hall. The Earth-Spirit Taint was indeed present, subtle, yet powerful enough to destabilize a high-level array.
"How... how could an Outer Disciple, who hasn't even mastered the Fourth Layer, possess such knowledge?" Elder Ming demanded, suspicion warring with awe.
Wú Jié bowed deeply, manufacturing a look of pious humility. "Elder, I am but a disgraced disciple condemned to the archives. I spend my days copying ancient, forgotten texts. Over the years, I merely pieced together enough structural theory to identify the decay. It is the wisdom of the ancestors, not my own talent."
This explanation was brilliant: it attributed his knowledge to hard work and access to 'forgotten texts,' a hallmark of a hidden protagonist, while concealing his rebirth. It also made his Mortal Realm: Third Layer cultivation seem reasonable for someone who spent all his time studying instead of cultivating.
Elder Ming studied the young man's calm, humble face, his cold demeanor, and the indisputable evidence of the array's flaw. This was not a liar; this was a hidden genius. A potential star lost to menial labor.
"You have saved this hall, Disciple Wú Jié," Elder Ming declared, his voice ringing with newfound respect. "Your identification of the Earth-Spirit Taint, a flaw that eluded every Inner Sect formation expert, is a profound merit. Luo Xing's failure is his own for tampering with the array, but your discovery is worthy of reward."
The Offer of the Core
The very next day, Wú Jié was summoned to the Pavilion of the Grand Masters.
He stood respectfully before the Sect Leader's proxy, Elder Zhou a towering man known for his harsh pragmatism. Luo Xing, meanwhile, had been stripped of his Inner Sect robes and shipped off to a heavily policed ore mine, his family connections unable to counter the evidence of "reckless destruction of sect property." The loose thread was severed.
"Wú Jié," Elder Zhou began, his tone heavy with judgment and assessment. "You showed remarkable insight. Your reward is two-fold. First, you are immediately reinstated as a full Inner Disciple effective immediately. Your robes will be provided."
Wú Jié inclined his head, showing appropriate gratitude. This was expected.
"Second," Elder Zhou continued, leaning forward. "Elder Ming insists that you have an innate talent for Array Formations and an unusual affinity for spiritual decay. Therefore, you are to be assigned as his personal apprentice, reporting directly to him. He believes you can help catalogue and purge the spiritual flaws accumulating in the older sect structures."
This was better than Wú Jié had hoped. Elder Ming was a key guardian of the sect's spiritual core. Proximity to him meant access to secret schematics, detailed maps of spiritual energy flows, and, most importantly, exposure to the sect's most vital resource caches.
"Disciple Wú Jié is eternally grateful for the Sect's generosity," he replied.
"Do not mistake this for sentiment," Elder Zhou warned, his gaze sharp. "We reward usefulness. We hear whispers that your previous disposition was 'too kind' or 'too selfless.' That weakness is unacceptable in the Inner Sect."
Wú Jié looked up, his obsidian eyes locking with the Elder's. He didn't blink.
"Elder, my former life of selflessness led to disgrace and misery," Wú Jié said, his voice flat, conveying a deep, cold trauma. "I have learned that the highest duty is to the Dao of Strength. I will not be weak again."
Elder Zhou studied the chilling determination in the young man's gaze and nodded slowly, a faint look of approval in his eyes. He had found a ruthless tool.
"Go then, Inner Disciple Wú Jié. Your path to the Core is open. Do not waste the opportunity."
Wú Jié exited the pavilion, his spirit soaring. He clutched his new Inner Disciple token. Luo Xing's ruin was complete, the Heart-Cleansing Jade Essence was purifying his foundation, and now he had secured a position that gave him access to the sect's most sensitive data.
His next target was already clear: the sect's most guarded Grand Spirit Lake, which housed the essence he needed to break through the next four layers of the Mortal Realm. And Elder Ming's schematics would show him exactly how to bypass the protective arrays.
The Boundless Calamity had officially arrived