The first year passed quietly.
Too quietly.
No tribulations.
No sudden insights.
No inexplicable luck.
Disciples noticed.
"…Did Heaven forget us?" one whispered.
Lin Chen overheard and replied calmly, "No. Heaven finally left us alone."
The mountain approved.
---
By the third year, consequences appeared.
A nearby sect's breakthrough caused a spirit vein backlash—normally corrected by Heavenly balancing.
This time?
It ruptured.
Refugees arrived.
Again.
---
> System Update:
External Instability Increasing
Azure Cloud Role: Stabilization Anchor
Lin Chen frowned.
"So even when Heaven withdraws from us… it doesn't withdraw from the world."
The mountain thrummed.
---
Azure Cloud Sect adapted.
They expanded soil-rest cycles.
Rotated cultivation schedules.
Shared resources openly.
Efficiency dropped.
Stability soared.
Humor survived.
---
"Master," Zhao Feng reported, "the spirit chicken has achieved minor enlightenment."
Lin Chen stared. "…Does it still lay eggs?"
"Yes."
"…Then we promote it to Elder."
The chicken preened.
---
By year five, other sects began copying Azure Cloud methods.
Poorly.
Some slowed cultivation but kept exploitation.
They collapsed faster.
Lin Chen did not comment.
The land remembered.
---
> System Milestone:
Years Survived Without Heaven: 5
Hidden Buff Unlocked:
Self-Correcting Doctrine
Lin Chen raised an eyebrow.
"That sounds dangerous."
> System Response:
Clarification: All growth is.
---
Year seven.
A drought struck the region.
No Heavenly rain.
No correction.
Azure Cloud rationed calmly.
Shared water.
Sang while hauling buckets.
Other sects fought.
---
Year nine.
Heaven watched.
Quietly.
From a distance it pretended not to admit.
---
On the final night of the tenth year, the sky darkened.
Not threatening.
Expectant.
The system chimed.
> Heavenly Contract Expiration Imminent
Lin Chen stood beneath the stars.
"Whatever happens," he said softly, "we don't change."
The mountain answered with a deep, steady pulse.
---
The sky brightened.
A single message descended—not law, not command.
Observation.
---
> Heavenly Record Updated:
Conclusion:
Endurance without coercion is… viable.
Lin Chen smiled.
"That's all I wanted you to see."
The wind passed gently over the sect.
Heaven did not return as master.
It returned as witness.
And somewhere in the vast, ancient mechanisms of the cosmos…
A rule quietly rewrote itself.