Li Wei carried two buckets of water up the long path to the kitchens, his steps steady but unhurried. Sweat darkened his simple robe, though most of it came from the lingering pain in his ribs rather than the climb. His injuries from Zhao Feng’s ambush were healing, but not swiftly. Each night, he had to sit cross-legged inside his servant quarters, mending his battered body with the lotus’s refined qi.

  His sluggish gait during the day did not arouse suspicion; the other servant-disciples merely rolled their eyes at his 'laziness'. Around him, disciples gathered in groups for their morning drills, shouts echoing off stone walls, the clang of wooden training swords ringing through the crisp air.

  The Inner Sect Trials were four days away. With his cultivation already stabilized at the third stage of Flesh Tempering, Li Wei knew he was eligible. Part of him itched to enter, to stand once again where he once belonged, to shatter the contemptuous gazes of his peers. But another part—the colder, more cautious part—recognized the danger.

  Entering the trials meant displaying his strength.

  Displaying his strength meant telling the world he had returned to cultivation.

  Once this was revealed, some people might begin to connect dots they hadn't connected previously. Zhao Feng already held some suspicion toward him. Even Elder Shen of the Investigation Hall seemed to be suspicious of him. Once they had even the faintest thread to pull, his entire disguise would unravel.

  For now, he could not risk it.

  Better to let ambition simmer in silence than bring a storm crashing down upon himself.

  By the time he returned from the kitchens, whispers filled the sect like buzzing insects.

  “Did you hear?” one disciple murmured near the training fields. “A great figure is coming to our sect.”

  “A talented disciple?” his companion guessed.

  “Greater!”

  “Another elder?”

  “Greater still!"

  "Well, out with it! Don't have me guessing all day!"

  The first voice dropped into reverence as though naming a deity; "Patriarch Shigo Tianyu of the Heavenly Sword Pavilion is coming to our Azure Cloud Sect! He will attend our Inner Sect Trials in person!”

  The other youth nearly dropped his wooden sword. “Why would someone of his level care for our trials?”

  “Because,” the first disciple whispered, leaning close, “he is bringing two of his personal disciples. Guo Liang and… Su Qingyue.”

  The name hung in the air like a charm, drawing even those nearby to glance over.

  “Su Qingyue? The Su Qingyue?”

  “One of the Three Legendary Beauties of the Eastern Province,” another disciple said breathlessly, unable to keep from intruding on the conversation. “Famed for her grace and talent, they say even snow blossoms seem clumsy beside her steps.”

  “And her sword,” a third added, eyes wide. “I heard she once cleaved a river in two with a single strike.”

  “Bah, tavern gossip,” scoffed one. “But still. If she’s truly coming, then our trials may never be the same.”

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  The group dissolved into a chorus of speculation, laughter, and nervous boasts.

  By afternoon, the entire sect was ablaze with rumor.

  Everywhere Li Wei went, Su Qingyue’s name was on disciples’ lips. Some outer sect disciples rushed to prepare their robes for the day or practice sword forms in the courtyards, declaring loudly how they would impress her. Others schemed quietly, speaking of gifts or poetic verses they might offer. Even the inner sect disciples, normally aloof, showed hints of interest.

  Zhao Feng, of course, was the most arrogant in the outer sect. In the training yard, he stood with his lackeys gathered close, a confident sneer playing at his lips. “Hmph. Guo Liang may have a reputation,” Zhao Feng declared, arms crossed, “but he is only a frog in a well. Let him witness the strength of Azure Cloud’s number one outer sect genius. When Su Qingyue lays eyes upon me, she will know where true talent lies.”

  His lackeys burst into eager laughter, clapping and praising his words. One chimed in, “With Brother Zhao’s strength, you’ll surely outshine all others. Even Patriarch Shigo will have no choice but to acknowledge you.”

  Zhao Feng’s smile deepened. “Naturally.” But in his eyes, sharp glints of calculation flickered. Showing off to Su Qingyue was one thing, but something else took priority: the Buddha-Mask Disciple. If that masked fool dared to appear during the trials, Zhao Feng would seize the chance to expose him. To humiliate the vigilante before such esteemed persons like Patriarch Shigo and Su Qingyue would be the greatest triumph of all, even if it meant airing their sect's dirty laundry before guests.

  Meanwhile, Li Wei was sweeping fallen leaves in the servant courtyard. Disciples passed by him in groups, chattering endlessly. He kept his head bowed, expression dull. Yet inwardly, unease coiled.

  "Heavenly Sword Pavilion," he muttered softly.

  The Heavenly Sword Pavilion’s Patriarch was no ordinary guest.

  Patriarch Shigo Tianyu's renown was recent, yet legendary. He exploded in fame ten years ago as a wandering cultivator of the righteous path. He had gone around the Eastern Province challenging experts and defeating countless legendary figures. One day, when he went to the Heavenly Sword Pavilion to challenge its sect master, Shigo Tianyu suffered his first defeat. Afterwards, he decided to submit to Heavenly Sword Pavilion and become one of its supreme elders. Although Shigo Tianyu was a supreme elder, his power vastly outmatched the other supreme elders, and he was often spoken in the same breath as the vice sect master of the Pavilion.

  At any rate, Patriarch Shigo Tianyu's presence was not a good thing for Li Wei. The patriarch's presence meant scrutiny, not only from the Azure Cloud Sect elders toward the patriarch, but also from the patriarch toward the Azure Cloud Sect. And should the patriarch's gaze happen to land on Li Wei, it might pierce through disguises that had fooled Zhao Feng and Elder Shen.

  So even though Li Wei wasn’t entering the trials, the patriarch’s presence was not good news.

  Would he be able to remain hidden before such an expert—a man who had walked further on the path of cultivation than he could even imagine? More so, over the past few days, of ten of the twelve lotus petals were glowing, making him feel like it was counting down to something. He was both curious and afraid of what would happen when all twelve petals began to glow. He prayed from the bottom of his heart that it was merely a superficial effect, something intended to look pretty, but really meant nothing. Should an expert like the patriarch discover he had something like the lotus in his body, it could spell trouble.

  He set the broom aside and sank onto the stone steps of the courtyard, staring into the distance. The mountains loomed, bathed in evening glow, as though mocking his hesitation.

  “Coward,” he whispered under his breath. Yet he knew the truth—cowardice was survival.

  That night, the sect was restless. The dining halls buzzed with gossip, every table overflowing with wild tales of Su Qingyue’s beauty and Guo Liang’s arrogance.

  “They say Guo Liang is at the first stage of Bone-Tempering, and once fought twenty experts alone without taking a wound!”

  “Su Qingyue is slightly weaker, at the sixth stage of Blood-Tempering. But she's so graceful that even flowers lean toward her as she passes.”

  “Do you think Senior Sister Qingyue would notice me if I—”

  Laughter cut the last speaker off before he could finish.

  Li Wei sat at the far end of the hall with the other servant-disciples, eating his thin porridge quietly. Even here, the same rumors filled the air. His companions chattered about how even a single glimpse of Su Qingyue would be a story to tell grandchildren.

  Xian Lan dropped his bowl onto the table beside him, slumping with a sigh. “Have you ever seen such fools?” he muttered. “Half the sect can’t string two words together when a senior sister speaks to them, but now they dream of wooing a legendary beauty.”

  Li Wei allowed himself a faint smile. “Dreams cost nothing.”

  “Yes, but sometimes they cost sense,” Xian Lan shot back, chuckling. He leaned closer, lowering his voice. “It’s such a shame you can’t enter the trials…”