The field was quiet now.
Bi Jun stood alone in the center of the valley where thousands had once screamed under sacred pressure. Her robes were torn. Her body trembled. But her eyes—her eyes burned with something stronger than pain.
Power.
She wasn't even breathing heavily.
The Grand Elder of the Outer Sect, face dark and unreadable, stepped forward from the edge of the valley. The ancient silence was only broken by the soft crunch of his boots on broken stone.
He looked at her. A fifteen-year-old girl. Mid-stage Golden Core… and already a monster.
> "We've found another one," he muttered.
But then, he frowned. Not with joy. With disappointment.
> "Why can't we ever get a disciple… worthy of the Sect Leader's inheritance?"
He stared at her — glowing, unstoppable, terrifying — and still shook his head slightly, like something about her wasn't quite right.
> "She's not enough?"
"Then what does this sect even want?"
Bi Jun didn't move. She just looked back at him, like she already knew the choice he was about to offer.
> "You've earned something," he said.
"You can go to the Inner Sect. Serve as an assistant to a Nascent Soul Elder. Work hard, prove yourself. Maybe earn your way to a real title… someday."
> He paused.
> "Or… you can take my place. Grand Elder of the Outer Sect."
> "You'll have more pay. Fewer responsibilities. Just cultivate. Appear only on important days. You won't need to answer to anyone."
"But if this sect gets attacked… the Outer Sect will fall first."
"Think carefully."
She didn't respond.
The valley fell silent again.
---
Somewhere else, two days later…
Yun Wao's dream was too peaceful.
The sun was soft. He was a child, laughing in the courtyards of Cirdon. His mother clapped for him as he chased a red ball down marble steps.
> "Careful, Wao," she called out. "If you fall, I'll catch you."
But this time, she didn't.
He turned back, and she was lying on the ground. Her eyes wide open. Not moving. The wind swallowed his screams.
---
🛏️ He woke up on a broken bed, gasping.
The sun was now harsh through the dusty old window.
Everything hurt. But… he was alive.
"Finally," a voice said.
Yun Wao turned his head.
Sitting casually in a chair, sipping from a plain cup of tea like none of this was insane…
> Han Yu.
> "You've been out for two days," Han Yu said calmly. "We thought you died."
> "...Two days?" Yun Wao croaked.
> "Yeah. A lot happened."
Han Yu leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
> "Three hours after the trial ended, people started waking up. It was like… we all leveled up at once. I'm already at Qi Refining Stage 5. I feel like I could take on a Foundation Establishment disciple."
> "You're not the only one who slept through the fun, though. Everyone was basically frozen for hours. Like sleep paralysis. Couldn't move. Couldn't think. Just… trapped."
> "But then Bi Jun lit up like a star and boom—some of us jolted awake. The healers say it was her aura. It kickstarted our recovery."
> He took another sip. Still calm. Still unreadable.
> "Oh—and the Grand Elder? He broke through to Nascent Soul during the trial. But he has to leave now. Can't stay in the Outer Sect anymore."
Yun Wao blinked. His head spun.
> "Wait. Who's going to replace him?"
Han Yu raised an eyebrow.
Yan wao
> "You serious?"
> "A fifteen-year-old girl."
"Bi Jun."
"She survived for 23 seconds under that pressure. That's longer than anyone."
Han yu
> "She was offered a job as an assistant of some elder in the Inner Sect, or the position of Grand Elder here in the Outer Sect."
What did she say?
Han Yu stood up, stretching.
> "Anyway… just rest. You're gonna need it."
He walked toward the door, then paused.
> "Oh. In case you were wondering…
She said yes."
> "Bi Jun is the new Grand Elder."
With that, he left.
---
Yun Wao didn't respond right away.
He just stared at the ceiling.
His chest rose and fell slowly, the air thick like fog.
His thoughts drifted—not to her.
Not to the pressure.
But to ashes.
To his mother's voice.
> "Two days gone…"
"And I still couldn't wake up in time."
---
[TO BE CONTINUED...]
> Next chapter drops soon. Stay alive, and stay suspicious.
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