The notice appeared at dawn.
A single sheet of pale paper, pinned to the outer disciple board, its characters written cleanly and without embellishment.
Outer Disciples: Mandatory Advancement Review in Seven Days.
Those who fail to show progress will be reassigned or removed.
The courtyard filled quickly.
Voices overlapped.
"Seven days?"
"That's barely enough time!"
"They're serious this time…"
Yan Xuan read the notice once and stepped back.
Zhou Kai found him a moment later, breath short. "You saw it."
"Yes."
"They're forcing breakthroughs," Zhou Kai said, voice tight. "People are already talking about pills. Borrowing stones. Anything."
Yan Xuan nodded. "They will."
Zhou Kai hesitated. "What about you?"
"I'll advance," Yan Xuan said.
Zhou Kai blinked. "You will? I thought you were—"
"Waiting," Yan Xuan finished. "Not refusing."
By midday, the outer training grounds had changed.
Qi flared openly now. Pills were swallowed without hesitation. Disciples sat in tight circles, forcing circulation against resistance that had not yet softened.
Cries of pain punctuated the air.
Instructor Han watched from the edge, expression unreadable.
When Yan Xuan approached him, Han spoke first. "You're going to move."
"Yes."
"How much?"
Yan Xuan considered. "Enough."
Han snorted. "That answer will get you killed one day."
"Not today," Yan Xuan replied.
Han studied him for a long moment, then nodded once. "Choose your place carefully."
Yan Xuan chose the ravine.
Not the one near Blackstone Village, but a narrow cut below the outer quarters where Qi pooled unevenly—unstable, but thin. It was a poor place for reckless breakthroughs.
It was a good place for precision.
He sat and did not circulate immediately.
First, he listened.
To breath.
To pulse.
To the way Qi pressed against skin and withdrew.
The system surfaced, faint and precise.
Advancement Window: Open
Recommended Progression: Partial
Deviation Risk (Controlled): Low
Deviation Risk (Forced): High
Yan Xuan ignored the recommendation and made his own decision.
He advanced—but only by a fraction.
Qi entered more deeply than before, threading through reinforced pathways, settling without turbulence. His Body Tempering tightened, density increasing subtly, joints and tendons accepting load with greater ease.
No pain.
No surge.
Just… consolidation.
When he opened his eyes, the world felt heavier by a measurable amount.
That was enough.
Two days later, the first failure happened.
A shout echoed across the outer grounds. A disciple collapsed mid-circulation, Qi rebounding violently. Attendants rushed in, faces grim.
Whispers spread like fire.
"He forced it."
"Too many pills."
"He won't recover."
That night, Zhou Kai sat heavily on his bed. "I almost did it," he admitted quietly. "I almost forced it."
Yan Xuan looked at him. "And?"
"And then I remembered what you said," Zhou Kai continued. "About debt."
Yan Xuan nodded. "Good."
Zhou Kai swallowed. "You moved, didn't you?"
"Yes."
"Did it hurt?"
"No."
Zhou Kai laughed weakly. "That figures."
On the seventh day, outer disciples were called one by one for review.
Yan Xuan stood calmly as an elder placed a hand near his shoulder, sensing Qi.
The elder paused.
"Your progress is… minimal," he said.
"Yes," Yan Xuan replied.
"But your stability has improved," the elder added, frowning slightly. "And your body density…"
He withdrew his hand.
"Acceptable," the elder said. "Remain."
Yan Xuan bowed and stepped away.
Behind him, others were not as fortunate.
Names were crossed out. Assignments changed. Some were told to leave.
Cloudfall Sect did not apologize.
That night, Yan Xuan stood alone again, looking up at the mountain.
He had advanced.
Barely.
But it had been enough to survive the filter.
The system surfaced once more.
Immediate Risk: Reduced
Long-Term Pressure: Increasing
Observation Level: Elevated
Yan Xuan dismissed it and exhaled slowly.
They would not force him again so easily.
But now the sect knew something important:
He could move when required.
And in Cloudfall Sect, that knowledge carried its own weight.
The handrail was gone.
From here on, every step would be watched.