The first conversation happened before sunrise.
Yan Xuan was finishing his morning duties when Instructor Han fell into step beside him, matching his pace without looking over.
"You advanced," Han said.
"Yes."
"Barely."
"Yes."
Han huffed. "You do realize elders hate that kind of answer?"
Yan Xuan kept walking. "They asked for progress. I gave them progress."
"They asked for commitment," Han corrected. "You gave them restraint."
Han finally turned his head. "That makes them nervous."
Yan Xuan replied evenly, "Then they should stop forcing people to break."
Han laughed once, sharp. "Careful. That's how you get noticed by the wrong ears."
"Noted," Yan Xuan said.
Han stopped walking. "You're still alive. That means you chose correctly—this time."
The second conversation happened at breakfast.
Zhou Kai dropped onto the bench across from him, eyes darting around before he leaned closer.
"They crossed out five names," Zhou Kai whispered. "Five."
"Yes."
"One of them was already mid-stage Body Tempering," Zhou Kai said. "He forced it anyway."
Yan Xuan stirred his porridge slowly. "Fear accelerates mistakes."
Zhou Kai swallowed. "You really think like that all the time?"
"Yes."
Zhou Kai exhaled. "Then tell me something."
"What?"
"When they do this again… what do I do?"
Yan Xuan looked at him. "You stabilize. You survive. You don't chase anyone."
Zhou Kai nodded slowly. "Alright."
After a pause, he added quietly, "I'm glad you're here."
Yan Xuan said nothing—but he did not dismiss the system when it flickered.
Causal Link: Strengthening
Emotional Variable: Minor
He frowned faintly.
The third conversation happened in the training grounds.
An outer disciple Yan Xuan had never spoken to before stepped into his path. Thin, sharp-eyed, already late Body Tempering.
"I watched your review," the man said.
Yan Xuan waited.
"You're hiding," the disciple continued. "Why?"
Yan Xuan answered honestly. "Because it's efficient."
The man scoffed. "Efficient for what? Staying an outer disciple forever?"
Yan Xuan met his gaze. "For staying alive."
Silence stretched.
The man snorted. "Coward's logic."
Yan Xuan tilted his head slightly. "Then prove me wrong."
The man hesitated.
Then stepped aside.
Yan Xuan walked past him without another word.
Behind him, whispers followed.
The fourth conversation happened at night.
Yan Xuan stood alone near the ravine, moonlight cutting the stone into sharp contrasts. He focused inward.
The system surfaced, clearer than before.
Realm: Body Tempering (Early, Refined)
Structural Density: Significantly Above Average
Exposure Trend: Rising
Next Forced Pressure Event: Likely
Yan Xuan stared at the final line.
"So you predict now," he murmured.
The system did not answer.
It never did.
Yan Xuan dismissed it and looked up at the mountain.
Four conversations.Four directions of pressure.
From instructors.From peers.From rivals.From inevitability.
Cloudfall Sect was tightening its grip—not on him specifically, but on everyone.
And pressure, Yan Xuan knew better than anyone, always revealed structure.
Some broke.
Some bent.
And some—
Some became sharper.
Yan Xuan turned back toward the dormitories, footsteps silent.
He was still in the Body Tempering Realm.
Still underestimated.
Still exactly where he needed to be.
But soon, restraint would no longer be enough.
And when that moment came, Cloudfall Sect would learn something it had forgotten:
Not all quiet cultivators were slow.
Some were simply waiting for the correct moment to stop pretending.