Morning in Azure Spine Hall arrived without sunlight.
A bell rang—low, heavy, vibrating through bone rather than air. Shen Yuan opened his eyes before it finished its second toll. Around him, bodies stirred in the outer dormitory: provisional entrants, sleepers who had not yet learned how light a mistake could be.
No one spoke.
They filed out in ordered silence.
The Lower Courtyard was already alive. Stone paths crisscrossed terraces like veins, carrying streams of disciples toward different halls. Robes divided them clearly—deep azure for inner disciples, faded blue for outer, grey for provisionals.
Hierarchy, stitched into cloth.
A thin youth walked beside Shen Yuan for several steps, then slowed deliberately.
"You're the one from last night," he said softly.
Shen Yuan did not look at him.
"That cell," the youth continued, smiling faintly, "you came out walking.uo Zhen, late Meridian Forging."
Still silence.
Luo Zhen chuckled. "You don't need to be wary. I'm not offended. In fact, I admire it."
He leaned closer. "Using the array instead of fighting your partner. Very… economical."
Shen Yuan finally met his gaze. "What do you want?"
"To know," Luo Zhen replied, "whether you're clever enough to be useful—or stupid enough to die early."
They reached a wide plaza. Stone platforms rose in tiers. Elders stood above, unmoving, while disciples gathered below like ripples around rocks.
Luo Zhen stopped.
"This is where alliances begin," he said. "And end."
Before Shen Yuan could respond, a voice rang out.
"All provisional entrants—step forward!"
An elder descended. Not the smiling one from last night. This one had eyes like cold iron and a scar running from brow to jaw.
"I am Elder Han," he said. "I oversee Outer Discipline."
He raised his hand.
Names appeared in the air, burning with pale light.
"Azure Spine Hall does not protect weakness," Elder Han said. "But neither does it reward recklessness."
The first name flared red.
A youth screamed as invisible force crushed him to his knees.
"Violation," Elder Han said calmly. "Unauthorized conflict. Cultivation crippled. Reassigned to labor sector."
The name cracked.
Gone.
A shiver ran through the crowd.
"This," Elder Han continued, "is your warning."
His gaze swept the provisional ranks—and paused, just briefly, on Shen Yuan.
"You will now be assigned mentors, resources, and tasks," the elder said. "Based on last night's performance."
Symbols rearranged.
Some names glowed brighter.
Others dimmed.
Shen Yuan felt it—the moment the academy noticed him.
Not favor.
Interest.
"Shen Yuan," Elder Han said.
A faint murmur rippled.
"Outer Dormitory, Tier Three. No mentor."
A pause.
Then: "Observation status."
Luo Zhen's smile vanished.
No mentor meant no backing.
Observation meant scrutiny.
Both were dangerous.
After dismissal, Luo Zhen caught up with him again, this time without pretense.
"You've been marked," he said quietly. "Do you know what that means?"
Shen Yuan shook his head.
"It means you're not prey," Luo Zhen said. "But you're not protected either."
He leaned in. "People like me will test you. People above me will watch. People below you will hate you."
"And you?" Shen Yuan asked.
Luo Zhen straightened. "I want to know if you're worth betting on."
He turned to leave, then paused.
"By the way," he added casually, "your former cell partner woke up screaming this morning. His cultivation foundation cracked."
Shen Yuan's expression did not change.
"Be careful," Luo Zhen said. "Azure Spine Hall doesn't kill talent."
He smiled again.
"It lets talent kill itself."
That night, Shen Yuan sat alone in the Tier Three dormitory.
The shard pulsed faintly.
Not warning.
Not guidance.
A reminder.
You have entered the mountain.
The first step is not climbing.
It is learning where avalanches fall.
Far above, in a sealed hall untouched for centuries, an old man in seclusion opened his eyes.
"Interesting," he murmured.
And wrote Shen Yuan's name into a ledger that did not belong to this world.