The Li Clan compound had grown livelier than ever before. Messengers arrived daily with invitations, congratulations, and bribes wrapped in golden seals. Smaller clans sent envoys bearing gifts—spirit fruits, manuals, even low-grade treasures—each hoping for a chance to curry favor with the rising star.
Li Fan remained distant from it all.
His mind wasn't on titles or power. It was on the voice that had whispered to him during the tribulation, the sense of something ancient moving within the Fifth Cauldron—something not entirely his.
But there was no time for reflection.
A new summons arrived.
---
In the Southern Whitewood Sect, deep within a mist-wreathed valley, Grandmistress Ling Yue narrowed her eyes at the jade slip floating before her.
"Li Fan," she murmured.
The slip glowed faintly, listing his cultivation, combat feats, and most importantly—his tribulation record.
"He breaks the pace," muttered Elder Ji beside her. "The fifth cauldron before twenty? He may threaten the balance."
Ling Yue did not respond.
Instead, she waved her hand, and the slip dissolved into motes of light.
"We will observe," she said softly. "For now."
---
Back in Crimson River, Li Fan visited the healing ward again—not for wounds, but for an old promise.
He found Su Lin, the young healer girl he'd rescued once, tending to injured clan disciples. Her robes were stained with salves and spirit water.
"Still fixing broken things," he said.
Su Lin turned, eyes brightening. "Still breaking them, I see."
They shared a smile.
He handed her a small vial. "Blood essence. From the tribulation."
She blinked. "You… this could boost your own healing—"
"I have more," he lied.
Su Lin stared at the glowing crimson liquid, then nodded.
"Thank you."
---
That night, as he meditated, Li Fan's senses stretched outward.
He felt it.
Eyes watching.
Whispers forming.
His name spoken too often in too many places.
---
In a chamber beneath the Central Authority Pavilion, an old man stood before a bronze mirror.
"Seven steps remain," he muttered. "If he reaches the seventh cauldron…"
He crushed the scroll he held.
"Then the world must decide—do we crown him… or kill him?"
---