The morning after the meeting, Wang Ben woke before dawn.
He lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling, feeling the weight of what he'd agreed to settle into his bones. Three months to design a formation array that would protect a mortal shedding cultivator from predators that existed outside reality itself. Three months to apply knowledge that no sixteen-year-old should possess, in ways that wouldn't reveal its impossible source.
The System's cold text scrolled through his awareness without prompting.
[QUERY RESPONSE: Youming Entity Classification System]
[The Chen Database contains comprehensive documentation on Youming predation patterns and countermeasures.]
[Eight primary entity types confirmed. Four Perils: aggressive predators employing direct assault methods. Four Terrors: subtle hunters utilizing psychological infiltration.]
[Initiating detailed briefing on three most relevant classifications...]
Wang Ben sat up, running a hand through his hair. The ancient intelligence that lived in his soul was being helpful, in its cold and mechanical way. But helpfulness wasn't the problem.
The problem was knowing things he couldn't explain.
[TYPE ONE: Hundun - Chaos Embodiments]
[Classification: Most dangerous of the Four Perils]
[Attack Pattern: Reality distortion during soul projection. Victims experience fundamental disorientation as Hundun entities warp the space between consciousness and void.]
[Survival Rate: Zero percent for unprepared cultivators. "Unprepared" defined as lacking awareness of Youming truth, not traditional inner demon training.]
[Countermeasure Requirements: External reality anchor. Standard psychological wards ineffective.]
Wang Ben absorbed the information, letting it settle into the framework he was building. Hundun. The chaos entities that Wuyan had unknowingly described when he spoke of souls that simply vanished during projection.
[TYPE TWO: Taotie - Consumption Entities]
[Classification: Devourers of the Four Perils]
[Attack Pattern: Direct soul consumption during projection vulnerability. Victims experience their consciousness being physically devoured.]
[Connection to Traditional Observations: When breakthrough victims "scream as if something is consuming them," this is literal, not metaphorical.]
[Countermeasure Requirements: Soul integrity reinforcement. Boundary definition between self and void.]
[TYPE THREE: Wangliang - Shadow Stalkers]
[Classification: Patient hunters of the Four Terrors]
[Attack Pattern: Extended observation before strike. Unlike Perils, Terrors wait for optimal vulnerability windows. Wangliang entities observe projecting souls throughout the breakthrough attempt, striking only when defenses waver.]
[Note: This classification explains why some cultivators survive the initial projection phase but fail during later stages of the same breakthrough. The Wangliang waited until the soul was fully extended and vulnerable.]
[Countermeasure Requirements: Detection and concealment arrays. Prevention of spiritual signature exposure during projection.]
Wang Ben rose from his bed and moved to the small desk where he kept his notes. Three entity types. Three different attack patterns. Three different countermeasures required. And somehow, he had to design a formation that addressed all of them while pretending he was working from pure intuition.
The remaining five types existed too, according to the System. Taowu the brute force attackers. Qiongqi the deception hunters. Yinhun the soul corruptors. Chimei the illusion weavers. Tianma the mind invaders. But three was enough to start. Three was enough to understand the scope of what he faced.
[ASSESSMENT: Host faces significant information control challenge]
[Recommendation: Establish plausible research methodology before proceeding]
I know, Wang Ben thought. That's exactly the problem.
Breakfast was a quiet affair.
Li Mei had prepared rice porridge with pickled vegetables, the kind of simple meal that required no ceremony. Wang Chen burbled happily in his basket, reaching for everything within range. Wang Tian sat at the head of the small table, his presence filling the room in ways that had nothing to do with cultivation pressure.
"You came home late yesterday." His father's voice was casual, but his eyes held questions.
"The merchant district." Wang Ben accepted the bowl his mother offered. "Observing the market patterns. The refugee influx is changing pricing on basic materials."
A half-truth. He had walked through the merchant district on his way home from The Quiet Cup, noting the chaos that the population surge had created. But observation hadn't been his purpose.
"Practical thinking." Wang Tian nodded approvingly. "Understanding economic flows is as important as understanding qi flows. The clan that controls resources controls its own fate."
Li Mei set her own bowl down, her movements precise. "Your father has been spending more time in the workshop lately. I think he's preparing for something."
The words hung in the air, loaded with meaning that Wang Ben's parents shared but didn't speak aloud. Wang Tian's foundation establishment breakthrough. The advancement that would transform him from a talented qi condensation cultivator into something fundamentally different.
"The breakthrough is close," Wang Tian admitted. "Perhaps a month. Perhaps less. The pathways are nearly ready."
Wang Ben felt something twist in his chest. Foundation establishment. The realm that represented the true beginning of the cultivation path, where a cultivator's internal world began to solidify into something permanent. His father had been working toward this moment for years, his progress delayed by the sabotage of the snake venom that Wang Ben had helped cure.
[CONFIRMATION: Foundation Establishment breakthrough does not require soul projection]
[Youming predation risk: Negligible at this realm threshold]
[First mandatory soul projection occurs at Mortal Shedding to Nascent Soul transition]
Relief flooded through him, sharp and sudden. Whatever dangers his father faced in the coming breakthrough, Youming entities weren't among them.
But the relief was followed immediately by a different thought. His father's breakthrough would involve confronting his heart demons. The psychological manifestations of his deepest fears, his greatest regrets, his most profound doubts. And while those weren't the external predators that the System had revealed, they were still real enough to kill.
"Father," Wang Ben said carefully, "may I ask you something about formation arts?"
Wang Tian looked up from his porridge, eyebrows rising slightly. "Formation arts? That's not usually your focus."
"I've been thinking about protection arrays. The kind that defend against spiritual interference during... vulnerable moments." Wang Ben chose his words with precision. "I know the basic principles from my studies, but I thought you might have insights from your own experience."
His father's expression shifted. Something knowing entered his eyes, and Wang Ben realized with a start that Wang Tian was reading his question as concern for the upcoming breakthrough.
"You're worried about my advancement," Wang Tian said. It wasn't a question.
"I want to understand how it works. How cultivators protect themselves during transitions."
Li Mei's hands had stopped moving. She was watching them both now, her own worry barely concealed beneath her careful composure.
"After breakfast," Wang Tian said finally. "We can discuss it in the workshop. There are some texts I've been reviewing that might help answer your questions."
Wang Tian's workshop smelled of herbs and quiet power.
Wang Ben had been here hundreds of times, watching his father work, learning the basics of alchemy that every cultivator child absorbed through proximity. But today, the familiar space felt different. Charged with a significance that had nothing to do with the pills being refined in the corner cauldron.
"Formation arrays for breakthrough protection." Wang Tian moved to a shelf lined with scrolls and bound texts, his fingers finding a specific volume without hesitation. "It's a complex field. Most cultivators rely on traditional methods passed down through their sects or clans."
"And you? What methods are you using?"
"The Wang Clan has maintained a breakthrough formation in the ancestral hall for generations." Wang Tian set the text on a workbench, opening it to reveal diagrams and annotations. "It's designed to stabilize qi flow during the critical transition period. Prevent external interference from disrupting the process."
Wang Ben studied the diagrams. The formation was elegant in its way, with interlocking circles and carefully positioned nodes that would channel energy in specific patterns. But even with his limited understanding, he could see what it was designed to do.
Stabilize qi flow. Prevent external interference.
Not address what came from within.
"What about the heart demons?" Wang Ben asked. "The traditional understanding is that foundation establishment requires confronting your deepest fears. How does a formation help with that?"
Wang Tian was quiet for a moment. When he spoke, his voice was thoughtful.
"It doesn't. Not directly." He traced one of the formation's circles with a finger. "The formation creates a safe environment for the confrontation to occur. It ensures that whatever happens inside your mind, your body remains stable. Your cultivation doesn't collapse from the stress."
"But the actual confrontation..."
"Must be faced alone." Wang Tian's eyes met his son's. "That's the nature of advancement, Ben'er. At every significant threshold, there comes a moment when no external protection can save you. You must face yourself and either prevail or fall."
The words carried weight that extended beyond the immediate conversation. Wang Ben thought about Shen Ruoxi, preparing to face her own breakthrough in three months. Thought about the Youming entities that waited in the space between reality and void, hungry for souls that ventured too close.
"Do you believe in inner demons?" Wang Ben asked. "As actual entities, I mean. Not just psychological manifestations."
Wang Tian's expression flickered with surprise. "That's an unusual question."
"I've been reading some older texts. They describe breakthrough dangers in... different terms than the standard cultivation manuals."
"The older texts often do." Wang Tian closed the formation manual, his hand resting on its cover. "There are schools of thought that believe the heart demon confrontation involves more than just the cultivator's own mind. That something external takes advantage of the vulnerable state to attack."
Wang Ben felt his pulse quicken. "What do you think?"
"I think..." Wang Tian paused, choosing his words carefully. "I think that the distinction between internal and external becomes less meaningful at certain levels of advancement. When a cultivator projects their consciousness beyond their physical form, the boundaries blur. What seems internal might have external influence. What seems external might be a reflection of the self."
It wasn't confirmation of the Youming truth, but it was closer than Wang Ben had expected. His father had touched the edge of something real without quite grasping its full shape.
"When you face your breakthrough," Wang Ben said, "what will you be confronting?"
Wang Tian's smile was sad and knowing. "Nine years of believing I was a failure. Of watching my cultivation stagnate while others advanced. Of wondering if I'd ever reclaim what was taken from me." He put a hand on Wang Ben's shoulder. "And wondering if I did enough to protect my family from the consequences of my weakness."
"You did. You are."
"We'll see." Wang Tian squeezed his shoulder once, then released him. "But I appreciate your concern, Ben'er. And your interest in formation arts. It's good to think about protection, even when facing challenges that must ultimately be met alone."
Alone in his quarters that afternoon, Wang Ben began the real work.
The System's cold text filled his awareness as he reviewed everything he'd learned, everything he couldn't explain, everything he somehow had to present as fresh insight.
[SYNTHESIS: Youming Sanctuary Array Core Requirements]
[Requirement One: Reality Anchor - Countermeasure for Hundun chaos distortion]
[Mechanism: Establish fixed reference points in the Youming-adjacent space during soul projection. Prevent disorientation through spatial stabilization.]
[Requirement Two: Soul Boundary Definition - Countermeasure for Taotie consumption]
[Mechanism: Reinforce the conceptual barrier between projecting soul and void. Define clear "edge" that consumption entities cannot cross.]
[Requirement Three: Signature Concealment - Countermeasure for Wangliang shadow stalking]
[Mechanism: Obscure spiritual presence during projection. Prevent tracking and observation by patient predator entities.]
[Note: Traditional "inner demon" wards achieve partial effectiveness by strengthening soul coherence. This accidentally addresses some Youming predation by making targets more difficult to attack. However, effectiveness is inconsistent because traditional wards are designed for wrong threat model.]
Wang Ben reviewed the analysis, feeling the challenge crystallize into something concrete. He needed to design a formation that incorporated all three countermeasures while presenting them as innovative approaches to inner demon protection.
The cover story wrote itself. Shen Wuyan had observed that breakthrough failures followed a pattern, occurring at specific moments rather than random points in the projection sequence. Wang Ben's "insight" would be to propose that this pattern suggested an external factor, something that attacked from outside rather than manifesting from within.
It wasn't entirely a lie. It was exactly what Wuyan had observed. Wang Ben was simply connecting the dots in ways that the ancient cultivator couldn't.
[QUERY: Does Host possess practical knowledge of formation arts?]
[ASSESSMENT: Host has theoretical understanding only. No practical implementation experience.]
I know, Wang Ben thought. That's another problem.
He could design the concept. The System had provided enough information about Youming countermeasures that he could outline what the array needed to accomplish. But actually constructing a formation capable of protecting a mortal shedding cultivator during breakthrough required expertise far beyond anything he possessed.
Wuyan had mentioned specialists who would handle the actual construction. Wang Ben's task was the design, the concept, the insight that would inform the implementation.
But even that required resources he didn't have. He needed to research breakthrough formations, traditional and experimental. He needed to understand the specific mechanics of soul projection at the mortal shedding level. He needed access to texts and expertise that a sixteen-year-old qi condensation cultivator couldn't plausibly possess.
Unless someone helped him acquire them.
His father knew formation arts. The conversation in the workshop had proven that. And Wang Tian would be preparing his own breakthrough formations in the coming weeks, gathering resources and consulting references that Wang Ben could access as a concerned son studying protection methods for his family.
It was manipulation. Using his father's upcoming breakthrough as cover for research that served a different purpose entirely.
But it was also survival. His and Ruoxi's and ultimately everyone he cared about who might someday reach those dangerous heights.
[OBSERVATION: Host displays elevated stress indicators]
[Recommendation: Compartmentalize ethical concerns. Focus on task completion.]
Wang Ben laughed, the sound hollow in his empty quarters. Compartmentalize ethical concerns. The System's advice was brutally practical and utterly unhelpful.
But it was also right. He couldn't afford to dwell on the means when the ends were this critical. Three months. One chance. Either he designed something that worked, or Shen Ruoxi died the way three others had before her.
And if she died, Shen Wuyan would be disappointed.
That word still hung in Wang Ben's memory, loaded with implications that made his stomach clench. A nascent soul cultivator's disappointment wasn't something anyone survived.
Evening found Wang Ben on the roof of the family home, watching the stars emerge from the darkening sky.
This had become his place for thinking. The compound spread below him in familiar patterns, the city beyond glowing with lantern light, the greater world stretching toward horizons he couldn't yet perceive. Up here, with the wind cold against his face and the weight of the day settling into his bones, he could almost believe that the impossible challenges ahead were merely difficult.
Almost.
Three months. Eight entity types, though he was focusing on three for now. One formation array that had to accomplish what no traditional breakthrough protection had ever achieved.
And somehow, he had to deliver all of this while pretending to be exactly what he appeared: a sixteen-year-old prodigy who noticed things others missed, but whose knowledge came from observation and intuition rather than ancient archives that no living soul should possess.
The System hummed quietly in the back of his awareness.
[FINAL ASSESSMENT: Task parameters established]
[Timeline: 90 days until Shen Ruoxi breakthrough attempt]
[Primary deliverable: Youming Sanctuary Array design with implementation specifications]
[Secondary objective: Maintain information control regarding knowledge source]
[Success probability: Unknown. Insufficient data on Youming countermeasure effectiveness in practice.]
Insufficient data. The System's way of admitting that even its vast knowledge had limits. The Chen Database contained theory, analysis, classification systems, and countermeasure frameworks. What it didn't contain was proof that any of this actually worked.
Wang Ben might be designing something perfect on paper that failed catastrophically in practice.
He thought about his father's words from the workshop. At every significant threshold, there comes a moment when no external protection can save you. You must face yourself and either prevail or fall.
Ruoxi would face that moment in three months. The breakthrough itself, the confrontation with whatever waited in the Youming, would ultimately be hers alone. All Wang Ben could do was build the best shelter possible and hope it was enough.
His own father would face a similar moment much sooner. Foundation establishment. The heart demon tribulation that would force Wang Tian to confront nine years of doubt and failure.
Wang Ben couldn't protect him from that. Just as he couldn't protect himself from the debts he'd incurred to keep his family alive.
Three favors. The first now called.
Two remaining, their shapes unknown, waiting in the future like shadows in a dark room.
Tomorrow, he thought. Tomorrow the real work begins.
He sat on the roof until the stars wheeled overhead and the compound fell quiet below. Then he climbed back through his window and prepared for sleep.
Dreams waited, as they always did. But tonight, he was too tired for them to find him.
END OF CHAPTER 59