Li Wang stared at the sealed missive in his hand, the wax seal gleaming faintly under the dim lantern light of the outer disciple dorms. The messenger had vanished as quickly as he'd appeared, leaving only the echo of his footsteps in the corridor. Around him, the snores of his new bunkmates droned on, oblivious to the knot tightening in his gut. Elder Mei Ling. The name tugged at something in his memory—maybe a snippet from the sect's orientation scroll he'd skimmed earlier that day—but it didn't explain why a high-ranking elder would single out a fresh-faced nobody like him.
He broke the seal with a thumbnail, unfolding the parchment. The script was elegant, flowing like smoke: "Disciple Li Wang, your potential has not escaped notice. Present yourself at the Jade Mist Pavilion at first light. Come alone. – Elder Mei Ling."
Potential? He snorted softly. If she only knew. His "potential" was a glitchy cheat code slapped onto a world that ran on rules he was still reverse-engineering. The suite in his mind flickered to life unbidden, a translucent overlay only he could see: [Query: Elder Mei Ling – Affiliation: Jade Mist Sect Alchemist. Power Level: Foundation Establishment Early Stage. Known For: Elixir Refinement, Disciple Scouting.]
Helpful, but not enlightening. He scanned the room for any sign of eavesdroppers, then whispered to the suite, "Search for surveillance on this dorm." Lines of ethereal code scrolled past his vision, probing the air like invisible fingers. Nothing immediate popped up—no hidden talismans or spying formations that he could detect. Still, the cloaked watcher from the trials lingered in his thoughts, a shadow he couldn't quite pin down.
Sleep was a lost cause after that. Li Wang lay back on his thin mat, the straw mattress poking through like a bad debug error. His mind raced through the day's events: the Stone Pillar climb where he'd nudged his endurance value just enough to outpace the others, the herb identification where he'd frozen a rival's confusion stat mid-test, and the spar with Kang Wei, that smug bastard who'd nearly cracked his ribs before Li Wang edited a sliver of the guy's balance away. It had felt too easy, too clean. And now this backlash alert, evolving like a virus he couldn't quarantine.
[Anomaly Pursuit: Query Intensifying. Estimated Time to Manifest: 12 Hours.]
Great. Dawn was only a few hours off. He closed his eyes, forcing shallow breaths to mimic meditation. In the quiet, he felt the faint stir of Qi in his dantian, a warm trickle from the spirit rabbit he'd devoured back in the forest. Qi Gathering Stage 1—barely a spark, but it was his. Tomorrow, he'd need every trick in the suite to navigate whatever this elder wanted.
The first rays of sun pierced the dorm's slatted windows like accusatory fingers. Li Wang was already up, splashing cold water on his face from a communal basin. The other outer disciples stirred groggily, rubbing sleep from their eyes as they donned the sect's plain blue robes. Whispers rippled through the room about the morning drills, but Li Wang kept his head down, slipping out before the chatter could snag him.
The path to the Jade Mist Pavilion wound up the sect's terraced hills, past training fields where disciples swung wooden swords in unison. Azure Cloud Sect sprawled like a fortified village, its pagodas and halls nestled against mist-shrouded peaks. Li Wang's boots crunched on gravel as he climbed, the air growing thicker with herbal scents—aloefern and spiritbloom, he guessed from the suite's auto-identification. No one questioned him; outer disciples had free roam during off-hours, though wandering too far invited trouble from patrols.
He crested a ridge and spotted the pavilion: a secluded structure of white jade and woven vines, perched on a ledge overlooking a steaming hot spring. Steam curled lazily from the waters, carrying notes of medicinal herbs. A woman in flowing green robes stood at the entrance, her silver-streaked hair pinned with a jade comb. She turned as he approached, her eyes sharp as polished obsidian.
"Disciple Li Wang," she said, her voice calm but carrying the weight of authority. "You are punctual. Good."
He bowed awkwardly, the motion feeling foreign to his Earth-born limbs. "Elder Mei Ling. I... appreciate the summons. May I ask why?"
She gestured him inside, the doors sliding open on silent hinges. The interior was a alchemist's dream: shelves lined with jade bottles, braziers simmering with colored flames, and a central workbench cluttered with mortars and glowing crystals. The air hummed with refined Qi, making his skin tingle.
"Sit," she instructed, pointing to a cushioned stool. As he obeyed, she poured steaming tea from a porcelain pot, the liquid shimmering with embedded spirit energy. "You performed admirably in yesterday's trials. Elder Huo Feng spoke of your... unorthodox methods."
Li Wang's pulse quickened. Huo Feng? The stern overseer had barely grunted during the acceptance ceremony. "I did my best, Elder. Just lucky, I suppose."
She sipped her tea, watching him over the rim. "Luck is a fleeting ally in cultivation. What I sensed was something more. A ripple in the Qi flow around you—subtle, but unmistakable. Like editing a formation mid-weave."
His mouth went dry. She couldn't know. No one could. But her words hit too close; the suite had left traces, faint distortions in the world's "code" that even he struggled to smooth over. "I'm not sure what you mean," he said carefully. "I'm new to all this. Qi Gathering, barely started."
Mei Ling set her cup down, leaning forward. Her face, lined with the subtle scars of old burns—alchemical accidents, perhaps—held no malice, only curiosity. "Do not play the fool, child. I have refined elixirs for decades, attuned to the subtlest shifts in essence. During your spar with Kang Wei, the air warped. His strike should have landed true, yet it veered. And the herbs in the trial—your identification was flawless, as if you'd consulted the archives in your mind."
Li Wang forced a chuckle, channeling his old hacker bravado. "Flawless? I fumbled half of them. Must've been the adrenaline."
Her gaze didn't waver. "Adrenaline does not bend reality. Tell me, where did you learn such arts? No outer disciple grasps meridians that quickly."
He hesitated, weighing his options. Deny it, and she might dig deeper, alerting the sect elders. Confide partially, and maybe gain an ally. The suite whispered possibilities: [Edit Value: Trust Level – Target: Mei Ling. Risk: Backlash Amplification.]
No. Too risky this early. "It's... a family secret," he lied smoothly. "My clan had some old manuals. Nothing special."
She studied him a moment longer, then nodded, as if accepting the half-truth for now. "Very well. Secrets have their place. But know this: the Dao watches all anomalies. If you seek guidance, I can offer it. The Jade Mist Sect values talent, not origins."
Relief washed over him, mingled with suspicion. Why him? Why now? Before he could probe further, a distant bell tolled, signaling the morning assembly. Mei Ling rose. "Return to your duties. But visit again when the moon is high. We have much to discuss—elixirs to stabilize your foundation, perhaps."
He bowed again, backing out. "Thank you, Elder. I will."
The descent to the training grounds was steeper in his mind than his steps. Mei Ling knew something, or suspected it. That ripple she mentioned—had to be the suite's footprint. He'd need to mask his edits better, maybe freeze the anomaly trail altogether.
By the time he reached the outer disciple square, the assembly was in full swing. Elder Huo Feng stood on a raised dais, his crimson robes billowing in the breeze, barking orders at the hundred or so recruits. His face was all hard lines and a perpetual scowl, power radiating from his Core Formation Stage 3 cultivation like heat from a forge.
"Line up!" Huo Feng bellowed. "Today's drill: Qi circulation under pressure. Fail, and you'll scrub latrines for a week!"
Li Wang slipped into the ranks, earning a few sidelong glances. Most disciples were Qi Condensation or early Foundation, their robes marked with varying sashes of progress. He spotted Zhao Feng in the mid-tier group, flashing a thumbs-up. But before he could return it, a shoulder slammed into his side.
"Watch it, newbie," snarled Kang Wei, the rival from yesterday's spar. Taller than Li Wang by a head, with a sneer that screamed entitled brat, Kang Wei adjusted his mid-tier sash—Qi Condensation Late Stage, the suite confirmed. Bruises from their bout still darkened his jaw. "Heard you got lucky yesterday. Don't think it'll happen twice."
Li Wang straightened, keeping his tone light. "Luck's got nothing to do with it, Wei. Just skill."
Kang Wei's eyes narrowed, friends chuckling behind him. "Skill? From a gutter rat who joined yesterday? Elder Huo will sort you out."
As if on cue, Huo Feng's gaze swept the lines, landing on Li Wang. "You! The new one—Li Wang. Front and center."
Murmurs rippled through the crowd. Li Wang stepped forward, heart pounding but face neutral. Huo Feng sized him up like a faulty sword. "Impressive showing in the trials. But impressions fade. Demonstrate your Qi flow. Circulate it through your meridians—full cycle, now."
The elder's test was no joke. For a Qi Gathering Stage 1 like him, forcing a full cycle could strain his channels to breaking. Disciples watched eagerly, Kang Wei smirking. Li Wang closed his eyes, drawing in the morning Qi. It was sluggish, uncooperative. Without the suite, he'd fizzle out.
But he had it. [Search Values: Personal Qi Circulation Efficiency.] The suite latched on, displaying a dismal 12%. [Edit Value: +20%. Apply?]
He mentally clicked yes, feeling the surge as the numbers ticked up. Qi flowed smoother, looping from dantian to limbs and back. Sweat beaded his brow, but he held it, pushing for the full revolution.
Huo Feng grunted approval as the cycle completed, a faint glow shimmering around Li Wang's form. "Adequate. But raw. Report to the herb fields after drills. Assist in gathering spirit roots—build your foundation through labor."
Dismissed, Li Wang rejoined the line, ignoring Kang Wei's glare. The rest of the morning blurred into rote exercises: stance training, basic punches infused with Qi bursts. His body ached, the edits helping but not erasing the toll. Zhao Feng sidled up during a break, wiping sweat from his brow.
"You're making waves already," the rogue cultivator said with a grin. "Kang Wei's clan has pull here. Watch your back."
"Noted," Li Wang replied, scanning for threats. "Heard anything about Elder Mei Ling?"
Zhao Feng shrugged. "Reclusive type. Alchemist extraordinaire, but picky about apprentices. Why?"
"Just curious." Li Wang didn't elaborate. The noon bell rang, sending them to the fields.
The herb fields stretched across a sun-baked valley, rows of glowing plants tended by outer disciples under overseers' watchful eyes. Li Wang's assignment was the lower end: digging for buried spirit ginseng, whose roots absorbed earth Qi and could fetch spirit stones on the market. The work was backbreaking, dirt caking his hands as he probed with a small shovel.
Hours in, Kang Wei appeared with a pair of cronies, ostensibly on rotation but clearly spoiling for trouble. "Hey, Li," he called, tossing a weed into the row. "Missed a spot. Elder won't like that."
Li Wang bit back a retort, yanking out the weed. "Appreciate the help."
Kang Wei laughed, stepping closer. "Think you're special? Befriending Zhao Feng, catching elders' eyes? This sect eats weaklings like you."
One crony nudged Li Wang's shovel, sending it skittering. "Oops."
Enough. Li Wang stood, dusting his robes. "Back off, Kang. Not worth the demerits."
But Kang Wei lunged, fist crackling with Qi—a cheap shot to assert dominance. Time slowed in Li Wang's perception as the suite activated instinctively. [Freeze Value: Incoming Momentum – Target: Kang Wei's Strike.]
The punch halted inches from his face, Kang Wei's arm locked as if seized by invisible chains. Confusion flashed in the bully's eyes. "What the—?"
Li Wang sidestepped, whispering, "Bad code, buddy." He didn't strike back—just let the freeze lapse. Kang Wei stumbled forward, faceplanting into the dirt. His cronies gaped.
"You... you'll pay for that!" Kang Wei sputtered, scrambling up, but a overseer's shout cut him off. "Break it up! Back to work!"
As Kang Wei slunk away, muttering threats, Li Wang knelt again, heart racing. The freeze had been quick, low-impact, but the anomaly alert ticked up: [Anomaly Pursuit: Query Proximity – 4 Hours.]
Damn. Every edit narrowed the noose.
The day dragged on, ending with a meager dinner of rice and spirit-infused broth in the communal hall. Zhao Feng joined him at a corner table, regaling tales of his street days in Azure City. "You handled Kang well. But he's got Elder Huo's ear—family ties."
Li Wang nodded, appetite waning. "Noted. Hey, you know any quiet spots for meditation? Need to... clear my head."
Zhao Feng pointed with his chopsticks. "The eastern grove, past the fields. Peaceful, but watch for spirit beasts at dusk."
Grateful, Li Wang finished and slipped out as twilight fell. The grove was a tangle of ancient willows, their branches drooping like veils over a hidden pond. He found a flat rock by the water, settling into a cross-legged pose. The suite hummed, ready for deeper work.
[Search Functions: Anomaly Pursuit Mechanism.] Code unspooled before him, complex weaves of heavenly laws he barely understood. It was like hacking a kernel—beautiful, terrifying. He probed gently, seeking a way to reroute the query.
But as he delved, a rustle broke the calm. Not wind. Footsteps.
He froze—ironically—eyes snapping open. From the shadows emerged a figure in a hooded cloak, the same one from the trials? No, this was different: slimmer, with a feminine grace. Sung Ji-Yeon, the suite identified. Fallen noble, Qi Condensation Late Stage. What was she doing here?
She stepped into the moonlight, her dark hair cascading like ink, eyes wary but intense. "Li Wang. We need to talk. That power you wield—it's not of this realm. And it's drawing things you can't imagine."
Before he could respond, the suite blared: [Anomaly Manifest: Hostile Entity Detected. Incoming.]
The air thickened, a rift tearing open in the grove's center. Something ancient and wrathful stirred within.