Li Yun returned to the Northern Watchtower before dawn.
Mist clung to the mountainside, drifting slowly through the ancient stones as if reluctant to leave. He sat at the edge, legs crossed, palms resting lightly on his knees, and let his breathing settle into a steady rhythm.
The mountain answered.
Not with tremors this time—but with pressure.
It was faint, distant, like a hand testing the surface of water.
Li Yun opened his eyes.
"So," he murmured, "you noticed too."
Pressure Without a Face
Detached status had consequences he hadn't fully measured.
The Black Crane Sect no longer interfered directly, but the world beyond it did not care about sect designations. Word spread quickly—about a cultivator who moved alone, who killed a near–Foundation Establishment beast without witnesses, who carried a foundation that felt… wrong.
Independent.
By noon, Li Yun felt the first probe.
A ripple in the Qi far beyond the watchtower. Clean. Disciplined. Human.
Scouts, he realized.
Not from the Black Crane Sect.
From elsewhere.
Visitors Without Invitation
They arrived at dusk.
Three cultivators approached openly along the mountain path, robes marked with a sigil Li Yun didn't recognize—a black ring split by a silver line.
Their auras were restrained, but not weak.
Two at Qi Condensation Late Stage.
One… higher.
Li Yun stood as they stopped several paces away.
The leader inclined his head politely.
"Li Yun," the man said. "Detached Inner Disciple of the Black Crane Sect."
Li Yun didn't correct him.
"Yes."
The man smiled faintly.
"I am Qin Shuo, of the Broken Ring Alliance," he said. "We monitor… irregularities."
Li Yun's eyes sharpened.
"And I'm one."
Qin Shuo nodded calmly.
"You forced a pseudo realm. Stabilized it without sect resources. Then stepped into independence."
He paused.
"That attracts attention."
An Offer Made Too Early
"We represent cultivators who do not belong to great sects," Qin Shuo continued. "People who survive between territories."
Li Yun listened.
"We'd like to talk," Qin Shuo said. "About cooperation."
The word hung in the air.
Li Yun felt it immediately.
This wasn't recruitment.
It was assessment.
"What kind?" Li Yun asked.
Qin Shuo gestured to the land beyond the mountains.
"Information. Shelter. Mutual defense," he said. "And when necessary—pressure."
Li Yun considered.
"And the cost?"
Qin Shuo smiled.
"Autonomy," he said honestly. "Eventually."
Li Yun laughed softly.
"That's expensive."
The Test Hidden in Politeness
The third cultivator stepped forward suddenly, Qi flaring sharply.
"Let's not waste time," he said coldly. "If he can't withstand us, he's not worth the trouble."
The air tightened.
Li Yun didn't move.
"Stand down," Qin Shuo said quietly.
But the cultivator didn't listen.
Pressure surged outward—a probing strike aimed not to kill, but to force response.
Li Yun exhaled slowly.
His Qi expanded.
Not explosively.
Firmly.
The pressure met resistance—and stopped.
Stone beneath Li Yun's feet cracked in a perfect circle.
The cultivator froze.
His Qi… slid away.
Li Yun met his gaze.
"You don't test stone by poking it," he said calmly. "You break your fingers."
Silence followed.
Qin Shuo raised a hand.
"That's enough."
Lines Drawn Without Blood
Qin Shuo studied Li Yun anew.
"Half-step," he said quietly. "But your weight exceeds it."
Li Yun didn't deny it.
"You're early," Li Yun said. "Too early."
Qin Shuo nodded slowly.
"Then we'll wait."
He turned to leave, then paused.
"Others won't," he added. "Sects. Alliances. Wanderers."
Li Yun watched them depart.
"I know," he said.
The World Does Not Pause
That night, Li Yun cultivated lightly.
Not to advance.
To listen.
Qi rippled across the land like distant thunder. Beyond the mountains, forces shifted—old grudges resurfacing, new interests awakening.
Detached meant no protection.
It also meant no buffer.
The world would press directly now.
Li Yun opened his eyes.
Good, he thought.
I didn't step out to be quiet.
The Sect's Silent Response
Within the Black Crane Sect, Elder Fang received word of the visitors.
He said nothing for a long time.
"External forces move quickly," the attendant said cautiously.
Elder Fang nodded.
"Yes," he replied. "And Li Yun didn't reject them outright."
The attendant hesitated.
"Is that a problem?"
Elder Fang smiled faintly.
"No," he said. "It means he's learning timing."
Elsewhere, Elder Wei crushed a jade cup slowly in his hand.
"So," he murmured, "the world wants him too."
A Choice Without Deadline
At dawn, Li Yun descended from the watchtower and walked the mountain paths alone.
He didn't know which pressure would arrive first.
A sect.
An alliance.
A solitary cultivator seeking to test themselves.
It didn't matter.
His Qi moved smoothly, heavily, responding instantly to thought.
Half-step or not—
He was no longer fragile.
He reached a ridge overlooking open land and stopped.
The wind tugged at his robes.
The world pushes back, he thought calmly.
He stepped forward.