Heaven did not answer immediately.
Silence pressed in from all directions—dense, layered, and heavy with intent. This was not the silence of uncertainty, but of evaluation.
Lin Chen stood straight.
Not defiant.
Not submissive.
Present.
---
A new voice spoke, deeper than the rest.
"Endurance without pressure breeds complacency."
Lin Chen nodded. "True."
Several veiled figures stirred.
He continued calmly.
"Pressure without rest breeds collapse. You've already seen that."
The light shifted.
Data—not words—flowed through the conclave. Failures. Deviations. Broken paths. Entire regions weakened by forced acceleration.
Facts.
Heaven disliked facts when they contradicted tradition.
---
"You propose balance," another voice said.
"A moderated path."
Lin Chen corrected gently.
"No. I propose choice."
The pressure spiked.
---
> System Warning:
Heavenly Law Compression: Rising
User Status: Stable
Lin Chen exhaled slowly.
"If a path cannot survive alternatives," he said, "then it is not law. It is habit."
The light rippled—sharp, almost offended.
---
"Then pay the price," the deep voice declared.
The space contracted.
A single line of law descended before Lin Chen.
---
> Heavenly Condition Issued:
Trial of Endurance
Clause: Azure Cloud Sect shall receive no Heavenly Intervention for ten years.
No Tribulations. No Boons. No Corrections.
Survival will be… self-determined.
Lin Chen blinked.
"…That's it?"
The voices stiffened.
"You expected worse?"
Lin Chen considered.
Then smiled faintly.
"This is how we've been living."
---
The mountain's presence—distant but unbroken—answered him.
---
"You accept?" the voices demanded.
Lin Chen bowed once.
"Gladly."
The light surged.
---
> System Event:
Heavenly Contract Bound
Status: Autonomous Path
Hidden Effect: Undefined Growth Potential
---
The conclave dissolved.
The sky folded.
And Lin Chen was falling—
---
He landed gently back on the mountain.
Disciples rushed forward.
Zhao Feng's eyes searched him. "Master?"
Lin Chen stood up, brushed off his robes.
"We're on our own," he said lightly.
Xu Yan tilted his head. "…Weren't we already?"
Lin Chen laughed.
"Yes."
---
That night, the stars above Azure Cloud Sect looked… normal.
No omens.
No pressure.
No judgment.
Just sky.
---
The system chimed softly.
> New Era Initialized:
Designation: Sect Without Heaven
Difficulty: Unknown
Reward: Survival
Lin Chen lay back on the grass.
"…This might be the most dangerous phase yet."
Little Green appeared beside him, holding a sign:
GOOD. BORING WAS GETTING SUSPICIOUS.
Lin Chen laughed into the night.
Because Heaven had stepped back.
And now—
For the first time—
The future would be decided
not by punishment or reward…
But by whether a better way
could stand
without anyone forcing it to.