News of Li Xiyan's ascent up the Jade Steps spread faster than wildfire in spring winds.
Within a day, the entire inner sect was buzzing.
"Did you hear? She withstood all seventy-seven stairs without collapsing. Even Senior Brother Zhao collapsed at the sixty-third!"
"They say her spiritual sea is serene. Like a lake untouched by wind."
"Mu Chen has spoken to her three times this week. Three!"
It was the kind of attention Xiyan had never wanted, but could no longer avoid.
And with attention came challenges.
It began with a formal invitation from the Violet Blossom Hall, the residence of high-ranking female disciples known for their refinement—and their veiled cruelty.
Xiyan read the invitation without flinching.
Xiǎn Bāi growled softly as she set it aside.
"You're not going, are you?" he said.
"I have to. Refusing would only make them more hostile. Better to meet them in their garden than on a battlefield."
Violet Blossom Hall was fragrant with plum wine and poisoned words.
Xiyan walked in dressed in her simplest robes, hair pinned with the jade Elder Hao had gifted. She bowed politely to the gathered disciples.
Lady Qian Ru, the hall's de facto leader, smiled like a viper draped in silk.
"So this is the healer who won Mu Chen's attention. Welcome, Sister Xiyan."
Her voice was sweet. Her eyes were not.
"Thank you for your kindness, Senior Sister," Xiyan said calmly.
The conversation was polite at first. Tea was poured. Small talk fluttered like butterflies.
Then Qian Ru leaned in.
"Do you know why we invited you, Sister Xiyan?"
Xiyan's smile didn't waver. "To welcome me to the inner sect."
Laughter rippled around the room.
"You may be clever with herbs and hearts, but this is the realm of sword and spirit," Qian Ru said coolly. "We merely wish to understand how someone so... unremarkable has climbed so high."
Xiyan set her teacup down gently. "Is it not the way of cultivation to rise?"
"Perhaps. But your rise is too fast. Too curious."
There it was. The real reason. Jealousy wrapped in civility.
"Are you accusing me of deceit, Senior Sister?"
The room fell still.
Qian Ru's smile tightened. "Only suggesting that sudden fame often precedes a sudden fall."
Before Xiyan could respond, a new voice cut through the garden air.
"Then perhaps you should be careful not to push someone over the edge, Senior Sister Qian."
Mu Chen.
Standing just outside the pavilion, arms crossed, eyes glinting.
Gasps spread through the gathering.
"Senior Brother Mu! We didn't realize you were visiting."
He ignored them. Walked straight to Xiyan.
"You're done here."
He didn't ask. He ordered.
Xiyan stood, bowing politely to Qian Ru. "Thank you for the tea."
Then she followed Mu Chen out.
Back at her courtyard, Xiyan sighed.
"You shouldn't have interfered," she said. "That will only make them hate me more."
"They already hate you," Mu Chen said simply. "I just reminded them who protects you."
She turned to him, eyes sharp. "I don't want protection that makes me weak."
"Then prove them wrong. At the Blossom Duel."
She blinked. "What?"
"Every season, the inner sect holds a friendly competition. Duels of cultivation, medicine, spellcraft. Qian Ru is favored to win this year. Unless..."
"Unless I enter."
He nodded.
She hesitated. "I'm not a fighter."
"No," he said, "but you make others fight for you. Inspire loyalty. Shift hearts. That is a greater power than they understand. Show them."
Xiyan looked at the moon above.
Peaceful. Distant. Glowing.
"Then I will. But on my terms."
In the days that followed, her courtyard became alive with activity.
Disciples came quietly at first—those she'd healed, helped, or simply spoken kindly to.
Mei Yu brought elixirs.
A boy from the scroll archive offered scrolls on strategic spellwork.
Even Lin Hai, the mute beast-tamer, sent her a spiritual hawk feather said to deflect illusions.
They came because she had once made them feel seen.
Now, they came to see her rise.
She wasn't just cultivating qi.
She was cultivating faith.
And in the heart of the storm forming around her, something began to blossom.
Not power.
But presence.
Not dominance.
But devotion.
The Blossom Duel was still ten days away.
But already, the sect buzzed.
And in the shadows of Violet Blossom Hall, Qian Ru clenched a jade hairpin so tightly it cracked in her hand.