The notice went up at dawn.
Not on the ranking slab this time.
On every slab.
Outer quarters. Training terraces. The corridor outside the ration hall. Even the wall beside the outer library had a new froststone panel etched with fresh lines of blue light, still humming as if the formation ink hadn't finished settling.
Lin Tian saw it when he stepped out to collect his morning ration.
A ring of disciples stood around the slab, faces angled upward, mouths quiet but eyes sharp. The air around them felt different from the usual ranking-day tension.
Someone whistled softly under their breath.
"Contribution trial."
"So soon?"
"They really want to see him bleed."
Lin Tian didn't react outwardly. He moved through the cluster with the same measured pace he'd learned to wear like armor. He stopped close enough to read without needing to lean in.
The title sat at the top in crisp characters:
OUTER CONTRIBUTION TRIAL — SNOWFIELD HUNT
