Blackwater County did not sleep that night.
Lanterns burned through the dark streets, sect banners fluttered where none had stood before, and courtyards once ignored were suddenly "valuable locations." By morning, the mountain had turned poverty into opportunity—and opportunity into bait.
Shen Yuan stepped outside at dawn.
He immediately felt it.
Eyes.
Not hostile.
Not curious.
Evaluating.
He kept his breathing even and headed toward the public well, bucket in hand like any other struggling cultivator. Around him, recruiters moved openly now, no longer pretending subtlety.
"Iron Current Sect accepts outer disciples—resources guaranteed."
"Azure Spine Hall seeks young talent—background irrelevant."
"Private mentor seeking obedient students—rapid advancement possible."
Promises piled atop promises.
Shen Yuan lowered his gaze and walked past.
Rapid advancement was a polite way of saying expendable.
At the well, he sensed someone step too close.
"Junior Brother."
The voice was warm, practiced.
Shen Yuan turned.
A young woman stood there, robes pale blue, hair bound with a simple jade clasp. Her cultivation was concealed—but not poorly. Whoever she was, she had learned restraint early.
"I'm not your junior," Shen Yuan said quietly.
She smiled. "Not yet."
She gestured toward the mountain, distant but unavoidable. "Survivors are rare. Survivors without visible inheritance are rarer."
Shen Yuan stiffened inwardly.
"So you watched," he said.
"Everyone did," she replied calmly. "Some more carefully than others."
She introduced herself as Lin Shuqing, an outer envoy of the Azure Spine Hall, a mid-tier organization unaffiliated with the Iron Current Sect. Neutral. Flexible. Dangerous.
"We offer protection," she said. "Shelter. Guidance. A place to belong."
Belonging was the sharpest hook.
"And the price?" Shen Yuan asked.
Her smile did not fade. "Observation."
She leaned closer, lowering her voice. "You will be tested. Evaluated. Placed where your usefulness is highest."
Shen Yuan filled his bucket and straightened. "I'm weak."
"Yes," Lin Shuqing agreed easily. "That's why you're interesting."
Silence stretched between them.
Then Shen Yuan said, "If I refuse?"
Her eyes flicked briefly toward a nearby alley, where two men pretended not to listen.
"You will still be observed," she said gently. "Just without protection."
There it was.
The truth beneath the silk.
Shen Yuan bowed. "I need time to consider."
Lin Shuqing nodded. "Of course. Azure Spine Hall is patient."
She handed him a small wooden token—unmarked, unenchanted.
"Break it if you decide," she said. "We'll know."
After she left, Shen Yuan stood still for a long time.
Around him, others were less cautious.
A young cultivator accepted an Iron Current badge and was dragged away immediately, face pale with regret. Another shouted in triumph as a recruiter promised him secret techniques.
By noon, blood stained the stones near the eastern gate.
Someone had tried to refuse too loudly.
Shen Yuan returned home and barred the door.
He sat, cross-legged, and took out the shard.
This time, it did not burn.
It unfolded.
A single image surfaced:
A vast academy complex layered atop ancient ruins.
Students training above bones they would never see.
And beneath it all—
a sealed mural, cracked and leaking something wrong.
Azure Spine Hall.
Shen Yuan exhaled slowly.
Joining was dangerous.
Not joining was worse.
He understood now.
The mountain had not ended the test.
It had exported it.
Outside, sect banners snapped in the wind like warning flags.
And somewhere far above, unseen by mortals, a presence observed recruitment lists the way generals studied battlefields—
Already marking who would be spent first.