Dawn's chill bit into the terraces, turning breath to faint fog. The line of outer disciples snaked up the steps to the Records Hall, a slow-moving river of gray robes. The air smelled of chalk, drying ink, and hot wax for seals. A clerk sat behind a table, stamping slips with a heavy brass seal. Thump. Clack. A small gong tapped, signaling the next number.
Qin Ye stood in line, patient. The System interface glowed faintly in his vision.
[Main Quest: Outer Sect Ranking Trial — 5 days, 23 hours remaining.]
When his turn came, the clerk didn't look up. "Registration fee. Three spirit stones."
Qin Ye placed three stones on the table, the exact amount recalled by Price Memory. The clerk stamped a token, dribbled red wax on it, and pressed the seal. He sprinkled sand to dry the wax and shoved the token across. It was warm—heavy with bureaucracy.
As Qin Ye stepped aside, his eyes fell on an ancient Seal Desk nearby, its brass plates worn smooth by time. A prompt appeared.
[Daily Sign-In available.]
[Location: Records Hall Seal Desk.]
[Sign-In? Yes / No]
He focused. Yes.
[Ding! Sign-In successful!]
[Reward: Queue-Passing Token ×1; Copy Permit (Lv.1).]
A brass chit and a thin, official-looking slip slid into storage. The token's purpose was clear: one legal line advancement. The permit would duplicate a single page of public knowledge. He stowed both, expression unchanged.
The line shifted. A subtle weight brushed his satchel. Micro-Perception caught it all: the faint tick of a ceramic pellet, the rustle of a sleeve, the quickened breath behind him. Zhao Kun stood nearby, trying too hard to look casual. A Patrol Hall lackey melted into the crowd.
Qin Ye didn't turn. He saw Captain Chen loitering by the entrance, observing.
Instead of confronting the plant, Qin Ye raised his voice, calm and clear. "Captain Chen. A request."
The captain frowned, stepping forward. "What is it?"
"I believe a false rumor is being started," Qin Ye said, letting the onlookers hear. "I request a public bag inspection. To clear the matter."
Chen's eyes narrowed. This was not the reaction he expected.
"Section Seven, Clause Three," Qin Ye continued, the line surfacing via Price Memory. "All inspections concerning contraband must be conducted in public, with two witnesses."
Trapped by procedure, Chen gestured. "Empty your satchel. Now."
Qin Ye turned it inside out. A few personal items clattered onto the inspection table. Nothing else.
"Satisfied?" Chen snapped.
"The integrity of the inspection requires all parties present to be checked," Qin Ye said, eyes settling on Zhao Kun and the retreating lackey. "To ensure the item wasn't… misplaced."
The crowd murmured. Under public gaze, Chen had no choice. He ordered the lackey to empty his pockets. A small, dark-red ceramic pellet rolled onto the table. A Blood-Edge Pellet—forbidden.
The lackey paled, pointing at Zhao Kun. "He gave it to me! Said to plant it!"
Zhao Kun's face went from smug to ashen. The murmur turned into a wave.
[Ding! Social Check passed — Procedural Reversal.]
[Reward: +1% Resist: Intimidation (total +3%); +250,000 Spirit Stones.]
[Micro-Goal: "Win Without Touching" — Wind-Trace Familiarity +5%.]
Forced to act, Captain Chen docked both Zhao Kun and the lackey a week of contribution points. He shot Qin Ye a look like a blade's edge and stalked off. Qin Ye had won without throwing a punch.
The clerk returned Qin Ye's stamped Registration Token, voice slightly respectful. "Preliminary heats are posted on the side board. Lanes assigned by token number. The practice rings near the east cliff are often empty after the fourth bell." A small, legal suggestion—Reputation at work.
Qin Ye nodded and scanned the side board. He Rulong. Fang Min. The seeded names were there.
As he descended the crowded steps, a surge of disciples pressed through. Qin Ye didn't fight the current. A shift of toes. A slight turn of the shoulder. He flowed through the bodies like water through stones—untouched and unjostled.
[Ding! Micro-Goal: "Maintain Flow in Chaos." Reward: Balance +3% (situational).]
⸻
From a high corridor, Inner-Sect Attendant Liu Shan watched the scene below. A Records scribe stood beside him.
"Qin Ye. Dorm 13," Liu Shan said, making a chalk mark on his slate. "Placement clean. Monitor heats."
The scribe nodded and hurried off with a wax-sealed note. Observation escalated.
⸻
Night settled over Dormitory 13. The Spirit-Gathering Talisman hummed louder, filling the room with a blizzard of silver qi. Qin Ye examined the Copy Permit. It glowed with a soft, bureaucratic light, ready to duplicate a basic page of knowledge. He would choose later.
The Main Quest updated.
[Main Quest updated — Countdown: 5 days.]
A simpler quest appeared.
[Side Quest: "Test the Wind-Trace" — Complete three laps around the training yard in under 100 breaths without collision.]
[Reward: Swift-Step Talismans +2; Footwork Calibration +5%.]
Qin Ye looked at the moonlit yard through the window. He didn't need more space. He needed the clearest lines.
Five days.