The explosion came just before noon.
A thunderclap echoed across the mountain range, followed by a bloom of crimson smoke rising from the Outer Sect's Alchemy Pavilion. Flames licked the sky, and disciples screamed as shards of glowing debris scattered like dying meteors.
Shen Li had been waiting.
Not near the blast, of course. That would've been reckless. No, he stood among the spectators, calm, concerned, perfectly positioned.
Just as planned.
Earlier that morning, he had whispered to a junior alchemist, gently planting a doubt:
"Is it safe to mix those two powders under a sunfire cauldron? I heard the last person who tried ended up with no eyebrows."
He didn't tell them to do it. He never had to.
Now chaos ruled the Pavilion courtyard.
Elder Wu barked orders, sending disciples to contain the fire. Inner Sect patrols rushed in to secure the area. And at the heart of the courtyard lay a broken form—Li Ren, a seventeen-year-old outer disciple, pinned under collapsed timber and badly burned.
His spiritual veins were fractured. If left untreated, he would die within minutes.
"We need direct Qi infusion!" Elder Wu shouted. "A Foundation Establishment cultivator must stabilize him!"
Murmurs rippled.
Only two cultivators nearby had the power to do it. One of them was Lin Feng.
All eyes turned to him.
Lin Feng stepped forward, jaw clenched. He looked at the boy's condition—dire. Flesh scorched, breath ragged. Without help, the disciple wouldn't survive.
He extended his hand— —and then froze.
If he infused his Qi fully, his internal foundation would be visible. His bloodline—something he had spent years hiding—would be exposed.
Not just his strength. His origin.
His secret.
A secret he wasn't ready to give up.
From the crowd, a soft voice called out.
"I can try," Shen Li said, stepping forward.
Everyone turned.
He looked as unassuming as ever—dirty robes, bamboo walking stick. His cultivation was barely at the first stage of Body Tempering. But his face was serious.
"I studied some healing formations," he said. "I… I might stabilize him long enough."
Elder Wu hesitated. "You? You're—"
"Better than doing nothing," Shen Li interrupted.
He knelt beside Li Ren, hands trembling slightly as he traced a glowing sigil over the boy's chest. Energy pulsed, faint and unsteady—but it was something.
The fire dimmed. The screaming quieted.
But the boy's breathing did not steady.
"It's not enough!" one disciple cried.
Shen Li looked up, sweat dripping down his brow. "I—I can't hold it. He needs a real cultivator. Now!"
All eyes turned again.
To Lin Feng.
His hands shook.
He could feel them watching.
Waiting.
If he walked away, he would lose everything he'd built.
If he acted, he would lose everything he'd hidden.
Truth or image. There was no third path.
He stepped forward. Kneeling beside the boy, Lin Feng pressed his palm over Shen Li's array—and pushed.
A wave of golden Qi burst outward, spiraling into the boy's chest. The ground cracked from the force. Light erupted from Lin Feng's hands.
And with it—
A mark.
A shimmering sigil of dark purple flickered over his wrist. Then another. Ancient, jagged characters that pulsed with an aura not of this realm.
Someone gasped.
"Demonic lineage?"
"No… that's a forbidden hybrid mark!"
"He—he's been hiding his bloodline! For how long?!"
Whispers turned to accusations. Shock turned to fear.
Lin Feng didn't respond. His eyes were shut, face strained with effort. The boy beneath him stirred, groaning weakly. Life returned.
But something else broke.
Later, as the crowd dispersed, Su Qingxue remained behind.
She stared at Lin Feng's hands. The sigils had faded, but not from her memory.
"You saved him," she said.
He opened his mouth. Closed it.
"I had to," he said at last.
"But you didn't want to."
He looked away.
Shen Li watched from the far edge of the courtyard, sitting quietly on a broken pillar, eyes thoughtful.
The hero had chosen. And the world had seen what he was willing to trade to keep their love.
System Update: Lin Feng – Public Trust: 42.7% ↓ Internal Stability: 28.1% ↓ Su Qingxue – Influence: 38.6% New Trait Unlocked: "Moral Fatigue" – Target begins to question worth of 'being good'
New Quest Available: "Collapse of the Idol" Objective: Trigger open division in the sect over Lin Feng's right to lead. Let doubt become rebellion.
Shen Li smiled faintly.
Truth didn't matter.
Only what they chose to believe.