Instructor Han did not take Yan Xuan to an office.
He led him past the outer training grounds, beyond the storage sheds, to a narrow stone platform overlooking a steep drop. Wind rose from below, cool and steady, carrying the scent of pine and rock.
"Stand there," Han said, stopping near the edge.
Yan Xuan complied.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Han rested his hands on the stone railing. "Do you know why I didn't bring you somewhere private?"
Yan Xuan considered. "So there would be no walls to listen."
Han chuckled. "And because liars feel smaller when there's nowhere to hide."
He turned. "Now tell me—how did you do it?"
Yan Xuan met his gaze. "Which part?"
"The part where you see things before they happen," Han said. "Don't insult me by pretending it was luck."
Yan Xuan chose his words carefully. "I observe patterns."
Han shook his head. "Everyone observes. You calculate."
Silence stretched again. The wind filled it easily.
"I don't teach techniques to outer disciples," Han continued. "I correct mistakes. You don't make the usual ones. That makes you a problem."
"A problem?" Yan Xuan asked.
"For me," Han said bluntly. "Because if you were an inner disciple, I'd understand. If you were arrogant, I'd understand. But you're neither."
He stepped closer. "So tell me—are you hiding a manual?"
"No."
"A bloodline?"
"No."
"An elder's backing?"
"No."
Han studied his face, searching for cracks.
"You're telling the truth," Han said at last. "That's worse."
Yan Xuan said nothing.
Han exhaled. "Listen carefully. Cloudfall Sect rewards results, not reasons. If you keep winning quietly, people will resent you. If you win loudly, they'll fear you."
"What do you recommend?" Yan Xuan asked.
Han smiled thinly. "Lose."
Yan Xuan looked at him. "Intentionally?"
"Strategically," Han corrected. "Enough to look human."
Yan Xuan processed that. "That would be dishonest."
Han laughed once. "So is pretending everyone competes on equal footing."
Yan Xuan did not argue.
"Here's the truth," Han said, voice lower now. "You don't belong at the bottom. But moving up too fast will get you crushed. By rules. By people. By expectations."
He turned back toward the drop. "Cloudfall doesn't like anomalies."
Yan Xuan spoke quietly. "Then why keep me?"
Han glanced over his shoulder. "Because anomalies reveal where structures are weak."
Yan Xuan inclined his head. "I understand."
"Good," Han said. "Then understand this too."
He met Yan Xuan's eyes squarely.
"I won't protect you."
Yan Xuan replied evenly, "I didn't ask you to."
Han nodded, satisfied. "Go. And be careful who you embarrass."
On the walk back, Yan Xuan replayed the conversation.
Not the warnings.
The implications.
If the sect measured value by conformity, then true strength would always appear threatening. The system—silent and exact—surfaced again at the edge of his awareness.
External Attention: Moderate
Risk Vector: Social
Mitigation: Output Suppression Recommended
Yan Xuan dismissed it.
He would not rely on recommendations.
Back at the dormitory, Zhou Kai looked up as Yan Xuan entered. "Instructor Han called you out alone?"
"Yes."
Zhou Kai hesitated. "Am I… in trouble? From that spar?"
"No," Yan Xuan said. "You're improving."
Zhou Kai blinked. "That's it?"
"That's it."
Zhou Kai laughed, relieved. "You're impossible to read."
Yan Xuan sat and began preparing for cultivation.
As Qi settled and the night deepened, a single conclusion crystallized:
Power invited attention.Attention demanded compromise.
Yan Xuan would give none.
If Cloudfall Sect required him to look ordinary—
He would do so.
But only on the surface.
Because beneath restraint, beneath silence, beneath careful losses—
Something precise was still counting.
And the system, patient and indifferent, kept recording outcomes that no instructor could see.