The next morning at the Sleeping Flame Sect unfolded as usual: thinly veiled insults among disciples, sparring clashes in the training fields, and masters who spoke more with their staffs than with their mouths.
And while everyone sweated like beasts trapped in a pen, Li Wei walked calmly, as if he didn't belong to that world... and in part, it was true.
He wore the same assistant's medallion around his neck and carried a copy of the manual he had modified the night before under his arm. He wasn't stronger than yesterday, but now he felt different.
First breakthrough achieved. I'm already at Qi Foundation.
It's not a big deal in this place... but for a nobody like me, it's like becoming a dragon in a fishbowl.
I just need the fish to believe I'm a shark.
That's when he was intercepted.
"Li Wei, right?"
The voice came from a young man in an orange robe, hair tied in a thick braid, and eyebrows that seemed designed for judgment. His name was Chen Guo, one of the oldest outer disciples and, according to rumors, frustrated at not having been promoted in two years.
"Can I help you?" Li Wei asked, without breaking his stride.
Chen Guo stepped forward and blocked his path.
"I've heard things. Curious things. About you."
"Oh. What an honor. I hope they're not good things. I wouldn't know how to handle it."
Chen Guo didn't laugh.
"They say you leveled up overnight. Qi Foundation. No pills. No special training. Just by reading a third-level pavilion manual."
"Technically it wasn't 'overnight.' It was eight hours."
"And you expect us to believe that?"
"Of course not," Li Wei said with a feigned smile. "In fact, I'd be worried if you did. Imagine if everyone started checking old books and stopped breaking their bones to level up. It'd be the end of tradition."
Chen Guo frowned. He didn't like being mocked, especially in public. There were other disciples around, pretending to be busy with brooms, swords, and fallen leaves that didn't need sweeping. But everyone was listening.
"Whatever you're hiding, you'd better share it. If an internal supervisor believes you're concealing a stolen technique..."
"Stolen?" Li Wei interrupted, eyes wide. "Is that what you're saying? That I found a technique abandoned by the sect... within the sect's archives... and that's stealing?"
Chen Guo gritted his teeth.
"Don't play dumb. Just say what method you're using. A secret pill? A master in the shadows?"
Li Wei sighed, like someone dealing with a child who insists that coins disappear by magic and not by basic sleight of hand.
Typical failed alpha male. Tries to intimidate you, and when it doesn't work, moves on to moral threats.
If I respond with force, he'll report me.
But if I plant a seed of fear... then he'll clear a path for me himself.
"You know what, Chen Guo?" he said, stepping close enough for only him to hear. "There's something you don't know."
Chen Guo raised an eyebrow.
"What is it?"
"Didn't you ever wonder why I'm so calm? Why your words don't affect me?" Li Wei lowered his voice, almost to a whisper. "Because I'm not like you all. I came here... with a purpose."
"What purpose?"
"I can't say. But someone very powerful wants me here. Do you think I'm alone?" He chuckled softly. "Maybe you should think twice before pushing me."
Chen Guo's eyes narrowed.
"Are you saying you have backing?"
Li Wei put on a look of feigned horror.
"Oh, no! I didn't say that. I just hinted that perhaps someone from the Upper Peaks thinks I'm worth something."
And the best part is he has no way to prove if I'm lying...
...and he won't risk finding out the wrong way either.
Welcome to the game of insinuations, dear.
Chen Guo took half a step back. Not much, but enough for those watching from afar to assume something serious had been said.
"I'll be watching you," he snapped, turning abruptly.
"Please. It's always good to have admirers."
Chen Guo left, but the effect was already sown. The rumors would shift from "Li Wei found a secret technique" to "Li Wei has mysterious backing" or, even better, "Li Wei was sent by someone important to spy on the sect."
And like any good rumor... it would be distorted in his favor.
I don't need to have power to command respect. I just need the possibility that I have it... to be enough.
Now, the next thing will be to find a place to cultivate without being disturbed.
Perhaps... in the caves of the herbalist acolytes. Where no one goes because it smells bad.
Perfect.