The fourth channel started on the eighty day.
Ren had done the stabilization sequence the night before it took three hours.
Wei Shan had told him this was a step Ren did not want to call it a ritual because rituals seemed like something you could choose to do or not but the stabilization sequence was not optional it was something that had to be done.
It helped to get the third channel and the space for the channel ready so the fourth channel did not have to push through the leftover pressure from the third channel.
Wei Shan had said do not skip this step just because the third channel felt okay.
Ren did the stabilization sequence anyway.
The fourth channel started cleanly.
He wrote down the time and how it felt inside and compared it to the third channel on its first day.
The fourth channel had resistance and pressure which was what he expected.
He saved this information. Kept going.
He had two channels left to build.
After the channel he changed his plan because it took more time than he thought it would.
He added thirty days to his plan but now he was not sure if that was enough time.
He decided to wait until the fourth channel was done before changing his plan
He wanted to have information before making any changes.
If he changed his plan many times without knowing what he was doing it would not be a plan it would just be changing things without a reason.
— ◆ —
On the ninety first day Kairo made his second move.
Ren found out about it from Darius, who always seemed to know what was happening in the compound.
Darius could get information from anywhere like water getting through rocks.
"He went to see Elder Sou " Darius said, he was standing in the doorway of the hall and he looked relieved to be sharing this information.
Ren was rolling up his mat and he did not stop, "it was about the gap in my records " he said.
Darius confirmed, "yes it was about the gap in your records."
Kairo had said it was a concern that someones records showed no activity for seven weeks and that could mean someone was not doing their job or it could mean something else was going on.
Ren set his rolled mat against the wall Kairo had come to the resource hall on his week just to show his presence but this was different this was about getting Elder Sou involved.
Elder Sou was in charge of checking the sects records and giving out resources if someone was not logging their activity they might not get the resources they needed.
Ren asked Darius what Elder Sou had said. Darius told him that Elder Sou would look at the records and do something if it was a problem with the records or if someone was not doing their job.
Ren thought about what he was given, the minimum, the package for someone in the outer sect he had never asked for more because that would mean logging his activity and his logged activity showed seven weeks of nothing.
He had thought that was okay that it was better to have a gap than to make something up. Now Kairo was involved and Kairo had enough power to start a formal review.
"Timeline," Ren said, "how long do I have?"
Darius said, "Elder Sou looks at the records on the first of each month you have twelve days."
Ren had twelve days to fix the gap in his records. It was not enough time to make it look like he had been doing something the whole time.
"I need to talk to Wei Shan " Ren said.
Darius told him that Wei Shan was in the courtyard and that he had been expecting this conversation since the eighty first day.
Ren looked at Darius and Darius seemed to find it weird too that Wei Shan had known this was coming.
— ◆ —
Ren found Wei Shan on a stone bench in the courtyard he was drinking tea.
Ren sat down across from him "Kairo went to see Elder Sou " he said.
Wei Shan said, "yes " like he already knew.
Ren said, "you knew he would " and Wei Shan said, "I knew he would when he did not find anything the time Kairo does not stop after one try."
Wei Shan drank his tea "he is trying to get you to react to make you visible because long as you are not visible he cannot assess you and that bothers him."
Ren said, "he is trying to get me to show myself " and Wei Shan said, "he is forcing you to be visible because he cannot evaluate you if you are not."
Ren thought about filing a log something that showed he was at the right level but Wei Shan said that would not work, because the date of the filing would show that he did it right before the review and that would look like he was reacting to the pressure.
Wei Shan said it was better to file something that was technically correct even if it looked like he was responding to the pressure because that was not a violation and Elder Sou just wanted the records to be complete.
Ren asked what he should log. Wei Shan said, "just show that you are a disciple who has been training at a normal pace and has been lazy about keeping records make it boring."
Ren said, "be boring ". Wei Shan said, "yes be boring Kairo is looking for something interesting give him something boring."
Wei Shan picked up his tea. The conversation was over.
Ren stood up then stopped, "you said you were expecting this conversation since the eighty day that was when Darius told me Kairo was asking about my records you knew before I did."
Wei Shan said, "I have been here for six years I know how Kairo works I have seen him do this to three disciples two of them are not here anymore the third one learned to be boring and she is still here."
Ren asked what happened to them. Wei Shan said, "two of them are not in the outer sect the third one is still here she is close to a breakthrough and she will be past Kairos interest soon."
Ren said, "you waited to tell me this until it was necessary " and Wei Shan said, "you did not need to know information that comes too early can create fear or it can be forgotten you had work to do and you were doing it Kairo was not a problem yet."
Ren walked back to the hall thinking about how the compound worked there was the official way and then there was the way things really worked and he was still learning about it.
— ◆ —
That evening Ren filed his log, seven weeks of records all at the same level, nothing special just a disciple who had been lazy about keeping records.
He submitted it through the channel and noted the time eleven days, before the review it was close enough to show that he was responding, but not so close that it looked like he was panicking.
He had thought about filing it away but that would have looked like he was reacting too quickly so he waited until the next evening it looked more like he was just catching up.
The difference was eleven hours and he thought about what kind of attention that required whether it was healthy or not. He did not have an answer so he just noted the question and moved on.
He had channels to build. That was what mattered.
— ◆ —
On the ninety fourth day Shen Yue found him.
She was standing at the north entrance of the hall when he arrived for his morning training. She stood still which meant she had something to say and had decided to say it before she figured out exactly how to say it.
He. Waited for her to speak.
"Elder Sou looked at your record " she said. "This happened yesterday afternoon. Kairo was there when Elder Sou reviewed it."
"The official review is in eight days " Ren said.
"Elder Sou did it early " she replied.
Ren did not move. It was unusual for a formal review to happen with the person who raised the concern present. This meant that Elder Sou thought it was important enough to look at before the review.. Maybe Kairo had found a reason to be there that Elder Sou did not mind.
"What was the result?" he asked.
She told him "It was noted in the records that there was a gap but it was accepted and no action is needed. Elder Sou said that you had updated your record before the review date."
Then she said, "Kairo asked some questions."
She was quiet for a moment. "Kairo asked Elder Sou if what you wrote in your log was consistent with your level. Elder Sou said it was. Then Kairo asked if the gap in your record was consistent with someone at your level. Elder Sou said that mistakes in the records do not necessarily mean you are not cultivating properly."
Kairo was not just asking about the records. He was asking if the records matched the person.
"Elder Sou closed the inquiry " Shen Yue said. "He will not look at it again. No more reviews are scheduled."
"But Kairo is not satisfied " Ren said.
Shen Yue looked at him. "You already knew that. He will try something but not through the administration. Elder Sou does not like to revisit things that're already closed. Kairo knows this."
"He will look for another way " Ren said.
Shen Yue said, "What way he chooses depends on what he thinks he is looking for."
She paused. "What does he think he is looking for?"
Ren thought about this. Shen Yue did not ask questions unless she already had some idea of the answer.
"He thinks I am more than I seem " Ren said. ". He does not know what that means. He knows my record does not match who I am. He cannot figure out why. So he is looking for any clue that will tell him what it is."
Shen Yue nodded. "He talked to two people from your dorm week. It seemed like a conversation but it was not. They told him that you train early and late and do not make noise. This is something that many disciples do so it does not help him."
She looked at the entrance of the hall. "Your dorm is not a problem yet. What you do in this hall is. The northeast corner if someone has the perception and is looking for the right thing that could be a problem. Not your records."
He had changed the formation stones after her warning.. The fourth channel was still hard to control. When he trained his Qi signature was bigger. He had not checked if the new arrangement would hide the channel from someone outside.
He made a note to check this.
"Thank you " he said.
Shen Yue turned to leave then stopped without looking
"Kairo is patient. He will stop when he finds something that's not worth pursuing. This will happen when you advance to a level where his attention does not matter. When the difference between your record and who you are becomes too big Kairo will have to acknowledge something he does not want to."
She walked away her footsteps light and calm.
Ren stood at the entrance. Thought about what she said.
When the difference becomes too big.
He had two channels to open. Then he would have a Qi Sense breakthrough that would be unlike anything in the manuals. Five streams at the time. A cultivation structure that no one had seen before.
The difference, between his record and his actual state would become very big.
He was not worried.
This was the plan. It was always the plan. It was just happening as it should.
He went inside unrolled his mat and placed his hands on his knees.
The fourth channel was waiting.
He started training.