Dawn broke over the Slumbering Flame Sect, shrouded in spiritual mist and the smell of meager breakfast. Bells chimed as if elders were striking them reluctantly, and the outer disciples began their daily routine of forced meditation, punishments, cleaning chores, and avoiding getting kicked for looking at someone with a surname.
But among them all, one moved with an unsettling calm.
Li Wei.
With a relaxed face, closed eyes, and an impeccable lotus posture, he sat in the common courtyard, right where everyone could see him, with a worn papyrus beside him and a small flask of shimmering liquid in front of him.
Step one: choose the most trafficked spot. Step two: set up an ambiguous scene. Step three: let the idiots do the rest.
Not even ten breaths passed before the first curious onlookers approached like flies to honey.
"What's he doing?"
"Isn't that the new guy? The one who almost got flattened yesterday."
"What's he drinking? A liquid pill?"
Li Wei did not respond. He breathed deeply, as if achieving enlightenment. In reality, he was mentally counting the exact pauses to make his breathing seem profound... and fake.
"His Qi... it feels strange."
"Yeah... like... it fluctuates differently."
Of course. Because Li Wei had poured three drops of distilled spiritual water with silver root salt, a substance that didn't strengthen cultivation, but altered aura perception for an entire hour.Technically, it was a trick. Practically, it was imperial theater-level martial art.
As the disciples whispered and observed, Li Wei opened the old papyrus beside him. It was a forgotten Qi circulation technique, called the "Inner Snail Path," which no one used because it was slow, inefficient, and caused gas.
But Li Wei had modified part of its flow with what he remembered from modern Chinese medicine and some acupressure diagrams he visually stole from a healing manual in the storage. The result: a subtle but stable micro-circulation technique, not explosive, but allowing continuous cultivation without exhausting the body. Perfect for someone without resources... like him.
"Is that papyrus... a secret technique?"
"I don't recognize it. Is it from another lineage?"
"Perhaps... from another sect..."
There it is! The doubt. The spark.They don't need proof. Just suspicion.Because in this world of cultivators, the most feared thing isn't strength......it's the unknown.
"I saw that guy talking to yesterday's rebel... Sun Jie."
"What if they're up to something?"
"Maybe they found a secret cave. Or a hidden master..."
Li Wei slowly stood up, carefully closing the papyrus as if it were a legendary artifact, and walked towards the well to refresh himself. As he passed among the disciples, he smiled, but said nothing.
And that was worse.
Because when someone mysterious doesn't defend themselves, doesn't explain, and doesn't apologize, others do what they do best: They invent the story themselves.
A few hours later…
"I swear I saw it! His Qi rotated inversely to the normal flow. Like the Perfect Core techniques."
"Really? Couldn't it be an ancient lineage?"
"They say Sun Jie is following him. As if protecting him."
"And that he healed a bone injury himself with that technique."
Li Wei was in the common kitchen, peeling roots with an expression of boredom. He listened without listening. But every word widened his inner smile.
The rumor has already ignited.Now I just need someone bigger to hear it.Hopefully... one of the inner disciples, or better yet......a curious elder.
It was then that it happened.
A disciple in a purple robe with a gold trim approached. He had the typical "I'm more important than you and I know it" expression, and carried a sword with fire engravings on its hilt. An inner disciple.
"Are you Li Wei?"
"Depends. Who's asking?"
The young man frowned.
"I am Mu Xun, main disciple of the Second Peak. I heard you're cultivating... an unusual technique."
Li Wei looked at him with an expression of artificial calm.
"And is that a problem?"
Mu Xun smiled.
"No... on the contrary. The elders are always looking for new talents. And if you truly managed to alter your Qi flow without breaking your meridians... perhaps it's worth giving you a chance."
"A chance?"
"There's an open call to assist as a helper in the Records Pavilion. If you apply and manage to get in... you'll have access to older manuscripts. Manuals that even I haven't read yet."
Li Wei looked at him with a mixture of feigned surprise and contemplation.
Interesting. This could be pure gold.Not just access to real knowledge…But the opportunity to "discover" more things that others don't understand.Perfect.
"I'll consider it," he finally said.
"Don't delay. There are only three spots. And rumors... cool down fast."
Mu Xun walked away. Li Wei remained still, looking at his reflection in the water bowl.
In less than a day, he had gone from being a nobody with a beating under his belt... to a subject shrouded in mystery, desire, and suspicion. All without throwing a single punch.
And that... was just the beginning.
Good. They have doubts now. They're watching me now.Now I need a real victory.Small. Precise.But visible.An authentic cultivation breakthrough......so that the rumors turn into reality.And when that happens...the fox will emerge from its den.