The world was too loud.
Birds chirped. Wind rustled. Disciples gossiped like brothel maids at a discount wine house.
Yunfan sat cross-legged at the base of a training platform, munching on a roasted spirit peach and pretending not to hear any of it.
The Heaven-Splitting Thunder Sect had welcomed the ruin survivors home with all the grace of a spirit chicken laying a thunder-egg mid-fight.
There were no cheers.
No fanfare.
Just stares.
Whispers.
And pressure.
"That's him, right? The one who came out of the Silent Steel Pillar."
"I heard he killed a Core Formation cultivator bare-handed."
"No, he made him eat lightning until his soul short-circuited."
"He's just lucky. No real foundation. A joke."
Yunfan licked juice from his thumb and tossed the core into a spirit beast cage behind him.
It hit a rabbit. The rabbit exploded.
He didn't blink.
But the eyes on him didn't stop.
Neither did the envy.
Crimson Night Sect had already sent word:
"You killed one of our demon vessels. Expect return gifts."
The Corrupt Path's Fourth Branch placed his name on a blood list.
"He who strikes down one of ours... will be eaten from the inside out."
Within his own sect, several inner disciples elders' favorites began holding private duels, making shows of power, pressing their spiritual auras harder each time Yunfan walked by.
And the worst part?
Some elders let it happen.
Yunfan stretched.
"Feels like the air got thicker," he muttered.
"That's called 'a hundred people praying you die,'" said a voice behind him.
It was Yao Ling'er, now wearing black-green robes embroidered with subtle fang patterns. Her presence dripped elegance and venom.
She sat beside him without asking.
"Inner Disciple Assessment's been moved up. Two weeks."
"Oh?" Yunfan said, tilting his head. "They couldn't wait to lose?"
"They think you're unworthy."
"They're right," he said, smiling lazily. "I'm worse than they think."
Nearby, Mu Qingxue stood at a high platform, watching her sword slice falling petals midair with surgical precision.
Her name was already whispered among the top ten inner disciples.
She didn't look at Yunfan.
But she heard him.
And her fingers tightened slightly on her blade.
Later that night, in the elder halls...
"That boy is dangerous."
"He disrespected structure."
"We don't know what legacy he carries. What if it's cursed?"
"We let him enter the assessment, but he will not pass. Agreed?"
Silence.
Then nods.
In hidden corners of the sect, talismans were etched.Spiritual contracts prepared.Spies activated.
Back at his quarters, Yunfan was pouring Thunderwine into a cracked bowl when he felt it.
A gaze.
A hatred.
A plan.
"So they want to test me," he muttered, smiling as his blade hummed behind him.
He picked up his zither, strummed one note.
The entire room shook just slightly.
"Let's give them a show."