The inner sect did not assign mentors immediately.
It assigned tasks.
A jade slip appeared on Yan Xuan's table at dawn.
Resource Assessment — Stonefall ChamberAll provisional disciples must attend.
Yan Xuan read it once and left without delay.
The Stonefall Chamber lay deeper within the mountain, carved into a vertical shaft where Qi descended in heavy streams from upper formations. A ring-shaped platform circled the shaft, disciples already gathered along its edge.
Lian Yu stood among them.
She glanced at Yan Xuan as he approached. "You're punctual."
"Yes."
"That's good," she said. "The chamber is less forgiving to late arrivals."
A bell rang.
An elder stepped forward, robes dark as wet stone.
"Inner disciples," he said, "you now stand where Qi falls freely. This chamber will test your capacity for condensation readiness."
Several disciples inhaled sharply.
Yan Xuan felt the shift instantly.
The Qi in the shaft was not ambient—it was compressed, vertical, relentless.
"This is not a breakthrough trial," the elder continued. "It is a measurement. Those who force condensation here will not be rescued."
Murmurs died immediately.
"Step forward in order."
The first disciple entered the ring and stood beneath the descending stream.
Qi pressed down like invisible rain.
Within moments, he began circulating, drawing it inward. The air thickened around him, aura stabilizing as condensation patterns formed faintly near his dantian.
After a minute, the elder nodded. "Adequate."
The disciple stepped out, pale but intact.
Several followed.
Some lasted seconds before retreating.Others forced longer, veins bulging, teeth clenched.
One nearly collapsed before attendants intervened.
Then—
"Yan Xuan."
He stepped forward.
Whispers followed him.
"That's the Body Tempering one.""He shouldn't even be here yet."
Yan Xuan entered the ring.
The Qi struck immediately.
Heavy. Cold. Dense.
His body responded instinctively, Heaven-Thread tempering distributing the downward force through reinforced pathways. His knees did not bend.
He did not circulate.
The pressure increased.
The system surfaced.
External Qi Density: Extreme
Condensation Threshold: Within Reach
Stability if Forced: 61%
Long-Term Structural Deviation Risk: Significant
Yan Xuan's breath remained steady.
He did not move.
Seconds stretched.
Then a minute.
Then two.
Murmurs grew louder.
"He's not circulating!""What is he doing?""He'll waste the opportunity!"
Lian Yu's gaze sharpened.
The elder narrowed his eyes.
"Why are you not condensing?" the elder asked sharply.
Yan Xuan answered calmly. "Because it is not time."
A ripple of disbelief spread through the chamber.
"You stand beneath prime Qi and refuse?" the elder pressed.
Yan Xuan met his gaze. "If I condense now, the structure will be imperfect."
The elder's aura flared faintly. "You presume much for someone who has never condensed."
Yan Xuan did not lower his eyes. "Presumption would be acting without certainty."
Silence fell.
The Qi stream intensified briefly, as if testing him.
Yan Xuan remained unmoved.
Then—
He stepped out of the ring.
"I am not ready," he said simply.
The chamber erupted into whispers.
"Coward.""Arrogant.""Or stupid."
Lian Yu walked closer, voice low. "You could have crossed the threshold."
"Yes."
"And you chose not to."
"Yes."
She studied him carefully. "Most people would have risked it."
Yan Xuan replied, "Most people accept flawed foundations."
The elder raised his hand.
"Enough," he said. "Yan Xuan remains in Body Tempering."
A faint pause.
"—But with abnormal resistance capacity."
That last phrase carried weight.
Outside the chamber, Zhou Kai—who had been reassigned to a mid-tier duty but snuck close enough to watch—caught up to him.
"You didn't do it," Zhou Kai said, incredulous.
"No."
"Everyone thought you would."
Yan Xuan walked calmly along the stone corridor. "Expectation is not obligation."
Zhou Kai lowered his voice. "They're going to watch you even harder now."
"Yes."
"Does that bother you?"
Yan Xuan considered the question.
"No."
The system flickered faintly as if in response.
Path Integrity: Maintained
Immediate Advancement: Deferred
Future Pressure: Increasing
Yan Xuan dismissed it.
The chamber had proven something important:
He could condense.
He chose not to.
And that difference—
That control—
Was far more dangerous than raw advancement.
Cloudfall Sect had offered him denser air.
Yan Xuan had chosen to breathe slowly.
Above, higher tiers waited.
And somewhere far beyond this mountain, the peak still existed.
He would reach it.
But not today.
Not imperfectly.