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Chapter 28 — The Threads Begin to Move
Floating Cloud City had never been so alive.
Banners fluttered in the breeze, merchants shouted over one another to attract guests, and even the normally subdued Yun Clan had opened its gates for the day.
The engagement between Xiao Che and Xia Qingyue was the talk of the city.
For the common folk, it was gossip and spectacle.
For the clans, it was strategy and opportunity.
And for me?
It was the first domino.
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Keeping a Low Profile
I kept my hood up as I walked into the courtyard, blending into the small crowd of onlookers.
The trick was simple: stay quiet, stay in the edges, and let everyone else crave the spotlight.
> [Bloodline Synchronization: 16%] — Passive sensory enhancement active.]
The enhancement was subtle but sharp.
I could hear more, see more — the subtle shift of muscle in a guard's jaw, the faint tension in a merchant's shoulders, the quiet venom in whispered conversations.
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The Key Players
Xiao Che stood near the platform, smiling faintly, his posture loose, almost careless.
Anyone else might've mistaken it for laziness.
I knew better.
Behind that facade was a boy clinging to a quiet strength, unaware of the storm waiting to engulf him.
Then there was Xia Qingyue — serene, cold, untouchable.
Her beauty was almost otherworldly, but her eyes… her eyes were a fortress.
Sharp. Wary.
A girl who had learned long ago that warmth was a liability.
And in the crowd, scattered like seeds in a field, were others:
Xiao Yunhai, smirking like a wolf fattening itself before the slaughter.
Clan elders, their voices dripping with false politeness.
Outsiders with sharp gazes, measuring, calculating.
Every piece of the story was here, moving into place.
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The Uneasy Feeling
Then I felt it — a prickle at the back of my neck, a sense of being watched.
Not by anyone mundane.
This was different.
Sharper.
I didn't turn my head.
Didn't let my breathing change.
> [System Alert: Unknown Energy Signature Detected — Level: Low, Source: Concealed.]
A scout, maybe.
Someone probing.
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The Spark
The ceremony went smoothly enough — polite words, shallow smiles, empty promises.
But under it all, the tension was a coiled spring.
I could see the cracks forming, the first threads of chaos beginning to weave their way through the city.
Threads that would soon pull everything apart.
And I?
I would be ready.
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System Prompt
That night, as I sat in quiet meditation, the System chimed softly.
> [Scenario Branch Detected: Yun Che's Fate Approaching Critical Divergence Point.]
[Recommendation: Prepare for External Intervention.]
I opened my eyes, staring into the darkness of my room.
The plot was moving forward.
And soon, I'd have to decide just how much I was willing to change.
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