The three moons hung in perfect alignment—a rare celestial configuration called the "Trinity Mirror" that occurred once every few months. Their combined light painted the Celestial Dawn Sect in shades of silver and blue, creating shadows deep enough to hide secrets.
Lin Feng moved through those shadows with practiced ease, his enhanced senses mapping the positions of every patrol, every elder on night watch, every formation that might detect unauthorized movement. Being a direct disciple of the Patriarch came with certain privileges—including less scrutiny of his nighttime activities.
Still, he was careful. Elder Shadow's warning about secrets and debts echoed in his mind.
The eastern gardens were deserted at this hour, most disciples either sleeping or cultivating in their quarters. The Lotus Pavilion sat at the lake's edge, its white pillars reflecting moonlight like captured starlight.
Yun Qingxue was already there, standing at the pavilion's edge, looking out over the water. She'd forgone her formal robes for simpler white garments that made her seem almost human rather than the untouchable Ice Goddess. Her hair fell loose around her shoulders, and for a moment, Lin Feng saw not the Sacred Disciple but simply a young woman burdened by responsibilities she'd never chosen.
She sensed his approach—probably through the Dao Thread—and turned to face him. Even in the moonlight, he could see the tension in her posture.
"You came."
"You made it sound urgent." Lin Feng entered the pavilion, automatically activating a privacy formation he'd learned from the Void Emperor's memories. The technique was subtle enough that casual observation wouldn't detect it. "What's wrong?"
"Everything." She gestured for him to sit, then settled across from him. Through the Dao Thread, her emotions were a storm—fear, anger, determination all swirling together. "Lin Feng, I need you to be completely honest with me. No more careful truths or strategic omissions. What are you really?"
The question hung between them like a blade.
Lin Feng studied her face, seeing genuine need beneath the demand. She wasn't asking to expose him or because she doubted him. She was asking because something had frightened her, and she needed to understand what they were really facing.
She's my fated companion. The Dao Thread connects our souls. If I can't trust her, who can I trust?
"Before I answer, tell me what happened. What did you discover?"
Yun Qingxue was quiet for a moment, organizing her thoughts. "After the ceremony, Li Tianlong requested a private meeting with my father and the Patriarch. I wasn't supposed to attend, but..." She touched her jade bracelet. "This artifact has many functions. One of them is a listening technique my grandmother taught me before she ascended. I used it to eavesdrop on their conversation."
"And?"
"Li Tianlong knows you're not what you appear to be. He doesn't know exactly what, but he's convinced you're either using forbidden techniques, possessed by an ancient spirit, or..." She paused. "Or you're the heir to some powerful legacy that you're deliberately concealing."
Lin Feng's blood ran cold. "How did he reach that conclusion?"
"Analysis of your combat performance. He had formation masters review every moment of your fight with Zhao Hai. They identified seventeen techniques that shouldn't be possible for someone at your cultivation level. Four of those techniques showed void manipulation so subtle that most cultivators wouldn't notice—but Li Tianlong has access to void specialists from the Demonic Continent."
Damn. I was careful, but not careful enough against that level of scrutiny.
"What did the Patriarch say?"
"He defended you. Said that perfect meridians combined with ancient techniques from the jade tablet you found could explain the discrepancies. But Li Tianlong wasn't satisfied. He..." Yun Qingxue's voice dropped to barely above a whisper. "He suggested that if you're truly hiding something dangerous, the Azure Sky Family would consider it their duty to 'investigate' you—with or without the sect's permission."
"That sounds like a threat."
"It was. A carefully phrased, politically acceptable threat." Her eyes met his. "Lin Feng, they're planning to abduct you. Li Tianlong wants to bring you to the Azure Sky Family's territory where they can examine you without the Patriarch's interference. And Li Xian..." Her voice hardened. "Li Xian volunteered to lead the operation personally."
Lin Feng absorbed this information, his mind already calculating responses. "When?"
"Soon. Within the next few days, before you become too integrated into the sect hierarchy. They'll make it look like an accident or an emergency—maybe stage a beast attack that requires you to leave sect grounds, then capture you in the wilderness."
"And my father agreed to this?"
Yun Qingxue's expression turned bitter. "My father is a politician first. He expressed concern but didn't explicitly refuse. The Patriarch was more direct—he said that as your mentor, he has authority over your movements and training. That bought us time, but it also put him in direct opposition to the Azure Sky Family."
The Patriarch is protecting me. But why? Does he know what I really am and considers me valuable? Or is he just refusing to let another sect dictate terms?
"There's more," Yun Qingxue continued. "After the meeting, I overheard Li Xian speaking with his attendants. He mentioned someone called 'the Broker'—a contact who specializes in investigating cultivators with unusual histories. Li Xian has hired this Broker to research the forbidden back mountains where you found the inheritance."
Lin Feng's stomach tightened. The Void Emperor's cave was well-hidden, but if someone with specialized knowledge went looking...
"Who is this Broker?"
"I don't know. But from how Li Xian spoke, they're expensive and effective. They operate across multiple continents, buying and selling information to the highest bidder." Yun Qingxue leaned forward. "Lin Feng, if this person discovers something about your true background and sells that information to the wrong people..."
"I'll have more enemies than just the Azure Sky Family."
"Exactly." She reached across the space between them, her hand stopping just short of touching his. "So I'm asking again. What are you really? Because I can't help protect you if I don't understand what we're protecting."
Lin Feng looked at her hand, hovering in the moonlight. Making this choice meant trusting someone with secrets that could get them both killed. But keeping those secrets might doom them both anyway.
The Dao Thread already connects us. She can sense my emotions, detect when I'm lying. And if our enemies discover the truth before she does, the betrayal will break whatever trust exists between us.
He reached out and took her hand. Through the Dao Thread, he felt her surprise at the gesture, then warmth.
"I'll tell you. But first, you need to understand—knowing this makes you a target. Not just for Li Xian or the Azure Sky Family, but for powers that could destroy entire sects without breaking stride."
"I'm already a target simply by being connected to you through the Dao Thread. At least let me know what I'm actually facing."
Fair point. Lin Feng took a breath, organizing centuries of inherited memories into something comprehensible.
"The jade tablet I found wasn't just ancient. It was over one hundred thousand years old. And the cultivator who left it wasn't some random Immortal Emperor who died and left an inheritance."
"Then who was it?"
"His name was Shen Yuan. History calls him the Void Emperor." Lin Feng watched her face carefully. "Have you heard of him?"
Yun Qingxue's eyes widened. "The Void Emperor? That's... that's mythology. Legend. The cultivator who supposedly mastered the void itself and reached the peak of Demi-God cultivation before being betrayed by his sworn brothers?"
"Not mythology. History." Lin Feng's voice was quiet but firm. "He was real. And he died one hundred thousand years ago, betrayed by three people he trusted absolutely. But before he died, he prepared an inheritance for someone like him—someone born with broken meridians, dismissed as worthless, who refused to accept that fate."
"Someone like you."
"Someone exactly like me." Lin Feng's hand tightened on hers. "The inheritance contained a Divine Rebirth Pill that reconstructed my body completely. Techniques that span all the way to Demi-God level. Combat experience from one hundred thousand years of battles. And..." He hesitated. "And a cultivation method called the Inverse Void Dao—a technique so powerful and so dangerous that the heavens themselves tried to prevent it from rising again."
Yun Qingxue was silent for a long moment, processing. Through the Dao Thread, Lin Feng felt her emotions—shock giving way to understanding, fear mixing with awe.
"Your true cultivation. You're not really Mortal Awakening Level 3, are you?"
"No. The Divine Rebirth Pill forced me through five ranks in seven days. I'm currently Divine Domain Level 1—the same level as Zhao Hai. That's why I could fight him. We were actually equals."
"Divine Domain." She laughed, a sound somewhere between disbelief and hysteria. "You've been Divine Domain this entire time. The examination, the trials, everything—you were holding back constantly."
"I had to. If anyone discovered what I really am, they'd either try to steal the inheritance or kill me to prevent the Void Emperor's legacy from resurrecting."
"And the three traitors who killed him. You said they're still alive?"
Lin Feng nodded grimly. "The Eternal Light Lord, the Blood Immortal Empress, and the Inverse Karma Sage. All three reached Demi-God level and have survived for one hundred thousand years. They murdered the Void Emperor to take his inheritance for themselves and succeeded partially—each stole a portion of his power. If they learn an heir exists..."
"They'll come to finish what they started." Yun Qingxue released his hand, standing to pace. "This is worse than I thought. You're not just hiding advanced cultivation—you're carrying a legacy that makes you a target for Demi-Gods."
"Which is why I've been so careful. Why I can't reveal my true power until I'm strong enough to protect myself against that level of threat."
"How long will that take?"
"Years. Decades, possibly. The Void Emperor took eight thousand years to reach Demi-God level, and he had advantages I don't." Lin Feng stood as well. "But the Inverse Void Dao is unique. It builds power through compression rather than accumulation. I might be able to advance faster than traditional cultivation if I'm careful."
Yun Qingxue stopped pacing, turning to face him. "The Patriarch. During the ceremony, when he touched you—he sensed something, didn't he?"
"He sensed the Heart of the Void. Not enough to understand what it is, but enough to know I'm hiding something significant." Lin Feng met her gaze. "I don't think he'll expose me, but I'm not sure why. Maybe he has his own reasons for protecting the Void Emperor's legacy. Or maybe he's just politically opposed to letting the Azure Sky Family dictate terms."
"Or maybe," Yun Qingxue said slowly, "he knows more about the Void Emperor than he's letting on. The sect is over two thousand years old, and the Patriarch has led it for most of that time. Who knows what ancient knowledge he's accumulated?"
That was an uncomfortable thought. If Patriarch Cloud understood exactly what Lin Feng was and had political motivations for either protecting or exploiting that knowledge...
"Either way, I'm under his direct supervision now. Every training session will be a test—seeing how much I can do, how much I'm hiding."
"Then you'll need to give him some truth," Yun Qingxue said. "Not everything, but enough to satisfy his curiosity. Show him you're Divine Domain Level 1. Claim the Divine Rebirth Pill forced a rapid breakthrough that you've been afraid to reveal because of how impossible it sounds."
"That's still incredibly suspicious."
"Less suspicious than constantly performing impossible feats while pretending to be Mortal Awakening." She moved closer. "Lin Feng, you can't maintain this level of deception forever. You need allies who know the truth, or at least part of it. The Patriarch is the most powerful person in the sect—if you can earn his genuine support rather than just political protection..."
She was right. Lin Feng had been thinking in terms of hiding from everyone, but that strategy had limits. Eventually, the deception would crack, and when it did, having no one who understood his true situation would leave him completely vulnerable.
"I'll reveal Divine Domain Level 1 to the Patriarch during tomorrow's training," Lin Feng decided. "Tell him about the Divine Rebirth Pill and the rapid breakthrough. Leave out the Void Emperor's identity and the Inverse Void Dao—those are too dangerous."
"Good. That should satisfy him somewhat." Yun Qingxue's expression remained troubled. "But what about Li Xian and the Azure Sky Family? They won't stop just because the Patriarch is protecting you."
"I know." Lin Feng's voice hardened. "Which is why I need to become strong enough that direct confrontation becomes too costly. If I can advance to Divine Domain Level 2 quickly—publicly—it changes the calculus. I'm no longer just an interesting mystery but a genuine asset worth more alive than dead."
"That's a dangerous game. Advancing too quickly will raise even more questions."
"I'll claim the inheritance contained advancement resources. Pills, spirit stones, techniques that accelerate cultivation. It's partially true and explains rapid growth without revealing the Inverse Void Dao." Lin Feng looked at her intently. "But I'll need help. Training areas where I can cultivate in private. Resources that don't come through official channels. And most importantly—"
"Information," Yun Qingxue finished. "You need to know what your enemies are planning before they act."
"Yes. Can you continue to monitor Li Xian and his father?"
"I can try. But I'm already under scrutiny for paying too much attention to you. If I'm caught spying on my own fiancé..." She shook her head. "The political consequences would be severe."
"Then don't risk it if—"
"I didn't say I wouldn't do it." Her ice-blue eyes held his. "I said the consequences would be severe. I'm willing to face them. What I'm not willing to do is sit by passively while they plot your death."
Through the Dao Thread, Lin Feng felt the full weight of her determination. Yun Qingxue wasn't just acknowledging their connection—she was actively choosing him over her family's political interests, over her arranged engagement, over everything she'd been taught to prioritize.
"Thank you," he said quietly. "That means more than you know."
"Thank me by not dying." She smiled slightly. "I've put considerable effort into this relationship. It would be wasteful to let you get killed now."
The words were light, but the emotions beneath them were anything but. Lin Feng felt her genuine affection through their bond—deeper than political alliance, more real than strategic partnership.
They stood in silence for a moment, the moonlight painting them both in silver. The Dao Thread pulsed between them, that golden connection that marked them as fated companions growing stronger with each shared secret, each moment of trust.
"I should go," Yun Qingxue finally said. "The Azure Sky delegation leaves tomorrow morning. I need to maintain appearances until then—the dutiful fiancée seeing off her beloved."
"How long before they actually make their move against me?"
"Days, maybe a week at most. They'll want to act before you settle into your new status." She moved toward the pavilion's edge, then paused. "Lin Feng, there's one more thing you should know."
"What?"
"Elder Shadow. During the meeting between the Patriarch and Li Tianlong, he was present. And when Li Tianlong mentioned investigating your background..." She turned to face him. "Elder Shadow suggested he knew of a historical figure whose techniques matched yours. Someone who practiced void cultivation and had similar 'irregularities' in their advancement."
Lin Feng's blood ran cold. "Did he mention a name?"
"No. The Patriarch shut down that line of discussion immediately. But Elder Shadow knows something—or suspects something—about the Void Emperor's legacy. And he's looking for proof."
"Then I need to be even more careful around him."
"More than careful." Yun Qingxue's voice was urgent. "Elder Shadow has been with the sect for over six hundred years, but no one knows his background before that. There are rumors that he practiced demonic cultivation before 'reforming' and joining the sect. Others say he was once part of a different sect that was destroyed. But all the records about his past are sealed by Patriarch-level authority."
"You're saying he might have connections to forces outside the sect."
"I'm saying he's more dangerous than he appears. And he's specifically interested in you for reasons that go beyond normal mentorship." She hesitated. "Be very careful what you reveal during your training with the Patriarch. Elder Shadow will find out eventually—he always does."
With that warning, she activated her own movement technique and vanished into the night, leaving Lin Feng alone in the pavilion.
He stood there for several minutes, processing everything he'd learned. The threats were multiplying: Li Xian's planned abduction, the Broker investigating his background, Elder Shadow's suspicions about the Void Emperor's legacy, and now questions about Elder Shadow's own mysterious past.
I wanted time to grow strong in secret. Instead, I'm at the center of political machinations that could expose me at any moment.
Through his enhanced senses, Lin Feng detected a presence approaching the gardens. Not hostile, but curious—someone investigating the spiritual energy fluctuations from his privacy formation.
He deactivated the technique and prepared to leave, but the presence was already close.
A figure emerged from the shadows—not an elder or Li Xian's spy, but someone Lin Feng recognized from sect records.
Fan Wu. The "Lucky Wanderer."
The man appeared to be in his late twenties, dressed in rumpled traveling robes that had seen better decades. His hair was tied in a messy topknot, and he carried a gourd that almost certainly contained alcohol. But his eyes—despite appearing slightly unfocused—held sharp intelligence.
"Ah! Young friend!" Fan Wu's voice was too loud for the hour, carrying the slurred tone of someone deep in their cups. "I was just wandering, as I do, and felt interesting spiritual fluctuations. Was wondering if someone was having a secret cultivation breakthrough. But no! Just a young man standing alone in the moonlight. How lonely! How sad!"
Lin Feng recognized the act. Fan Wu was known throughout the sect as a wandering cultivator of uncertain rank who'd been granted guest status years ago. Some thought him a fool. Others suspected he was far more than he appeared.
"Senior Fan. I was just enjoying the evening air before tomorrow's training."
"Training! Yes, yes! You're the Patriarch's new direct disciple. The servant who became legend in a day!" Fan Wu stumbled closer, apparently drunk but somehow never quite falling. "Tell me, young friend—how does it feel to have everyone watching you? Waiting for you to succeed or fail spectacularly?"
"Uncomfortable, Senior."
"Ha! Honest answer. I like that." Fan Wu took a drink from his gourd, then offered it to Lin Feng. "Want some? It's Spirit Plum Wine—three hundred years old, stolen from Elder Ming's private cellar. Well, not stolen. She gave it to me after I accidentally helped her solve a formation problem she'd been stuck on for a decade."
"Accidentally?"
"I'm very lucky that way. Accidentally useful, accidentally in the right place, accidentally stumbling upon solutions." Fan Wu's unfocused eyes suddenly sharpened for just a moment. "Just like you accidentally found an ancient inheritance in the forbidden back mountains. Funny how accidents work."
The change in his demeanor was so sudden that Lin Feng's hand instinctively moved toward his sword. But Fan Wu had already returned to his apparently drunken state.
"Relax, relax! I'm not here to investigate or threaten. I'm just a drunk wanderer who talks too much." He took another drink. "But I'll tell you something, young friend. In my wanderings, I've learned that the luckiest people aren't those who avoid danger—they're those who survive it through means no one expects. You seem very lucky in that way."
"I've had some fortune, yes."
"Fortune! Ha!" Fan Wu laughed. "Is that what we're calling it? Well, may your fortune continue. You'll need it. The Azure Sky Family is not known for accepting defeat gracefully. And there are other forces in play—older, more dangerous forces—that will soon take notice of you."
He spoke the warning so casually, as if commenting on the weather. But the words carried weight.
"What kind of forces, Senior Fan?"
"The kind that notice when certain ancient legacies resurface. The kind that have been waiting one hundred thousand years for an opportunity to finish old business." Fan Wu met Lin Feng's eyes directly, all pretense of drunkenness gone. "But you already know that, don't you? You know exactly what you're carrying and what will happen when the wrong people discover it."
Lin Feng stood very still. "Who are you really?"
"Just a wanderer with Heavenly Fortune Body constitution." The mask of foolishness returned. "I'm cursed to be lucky in ways I can't control—accidentally overhearing important conversations, accidentally being present for significant events, accidentally becoming involved in matters far above my station."
"That's not an answer."
"Isn't it?" Fan Wu drained his gourd and turned to leave. "Good luck tomorrow, young friend. The Patriarch is a wise teacher—he'll test you thoroughly. My advice? Show him enough truth to earn his trust, but not so much that he feels obligated to act on dangerous knowledge."
"Why are you helping me?"
Fan Wu paused. "Because my constitution told me to be here tonight. Because I accidentally overheard certain conversations I probably shouldn't have. And because..." He looked back, his expression briefly serious. "Because I was friends with someone very much like you, once. Someone who carried a burden too great, who hid their power until it was too late, who died thinking they were protecting everyone by keeping secrets."
"What happened to them?"
"They were betrayed by those they trusted most and killed by those they never saw coming." Fan Wu's voice held genuine sadness. "Don't make the same mistake. The isolation of secrets is its own kind of death."
He disappeared into the night, leaving Lin Feng with that warning echoing in his mind.
Everyone seems to know more than they're saying. The Patriarch senses something. Elder Shadow suspects something. Fan Wu knows something. How many people have pieced together fragments of the truth?
Lin Feng returned to his quarters in Azure Peak, his mind churning with strategy and counter-strategy. Too many people were paying attention now. Too many threads were being pulled that could unravel his carefully constructed cover.
But he also had allies now—Yun Qingxue who knew his secret, Elder Shen who supported him without knowing why, and possibly Fan Wu whose motives remained unclear but who seemed genuinely helpful.
Tomorrow I meet with the Patriarch. Time to reveal part of the truth and hope it satisfies his curiosity without exposing too much.
And then I need to advance quickly—fast enough to become too valuable to eliminate, but not so fast that it confirms everyone's worst suspicions.
A narrow path between too weak and too strong. Between too exposed and too hidden.
Lin Feng settled into meditation, drawing on the Inverse Void Dao to center himself. The void welcomed him as always, that infinite darkness where complications fell away and only fundamental truths remained.
In the void, there was no political intrigue, no deadly schemes, no questions of identity and revelation.
There was only power, potential, and the slow steady progress toward strength that would eventually let him stop hiding.
The Void Emperor reached Demi-God level and was betrayed. I'll reach that level and beyond. And when I do, no one will dare to threaten me or those I care about.
But first, survive tomorrow. Then next week. Then next month.
One step at a time, walking the narrow path between revelation and concealment.
One step at a time, toward the day when I can finally stand in full light without fear.
The night deepened. The three moons continued their celestial dance. And Lin Feng cultivated in the void, preparing for dawn and whatever trials it would bring.
END OF CHAPTER 11
TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 12: THE PATRIARCH'S TEST