Calm returned to the sect.
That, more than any alarm bell or decree, made everyone uneasy.
For three full days after the Upper Realm's gaze lingered and withdrew, nothing happened. No new notices. No revised evaluations. No summoned elders. Even the observer—still present—spent most of his time wandering aimlessly, as though the matter had already concluded.
Mo Yun did not believe it for a second.
"Pressure like that doesn't vanish," he muttered while reviewing patrol reports. "It either condenses… or explodes."
Shen Yue nodded, setting down her jade slip. "Or it waits for us to relax."
Across the room, Li Chen was carefully adjusting a minor defensive formation around the courtyard—one so small and unobtrusive that most disciples didn't even notice it had been altered.
Xu Ming noticed immediately.
"Senior Brother," he whispered urgently, "is something wrong? You reinforced the east corner twice."
Li Chen didn't look up. "The wind direction changed."
Xu Ming froze. Then, solemnly, he adjusted his stance and began scanning the sky with renewed seriousness.
Mo Yun watched the exchange and rubbed his temples.
This is what passes for normal now, he thought.
The calm manifested in strange ways.
Training sessions ran smoothly. Too smoothly. Disciples followed instructions precisely, avoided unnecessary risks, and refrained from showing off. Even Shen Wei—normally sharp-edged and impatient—kept his opinions measured and his movements restrained.
It was discipline.
But it wasn't natural.
"Everyone's trying to look… acceptable," Shen Yue observed quietly. "Not excellent. Not ambitious. Just safe."
Li Chen nodded. "When judgment becomes permanent, people stop growing outward."
"And start folding inward," Mo Yun finished.
That was when the first truly unsettling thing occurred.
The observer stopped watching.
Not literally—he was still present—but his attention drifted. His gaze no longer tracked patrol formations or training bouts. He no longer lingered near discussions or reports.
It was as if the Lower Realm had been temporarily… filed away.
That scared Li Chen more than scrutiny ever could.
The comedy arrived quietly, the way it always did.
An elder convened an emergency meeting.
Everyone arrived tense, prepared for bad news.
The elder cleared his throat.
"After careful deliberation," he announced, "we have decided to postpone further joint missions."
Silence.
"…That's it?" Shen Wei asked carefully.
The elder frowned. "This is a significant administrative decision."
Mo Yun blinked. "Senior… this meeting could have been a notice."
The elder hesitated. "It required seven signatures."
Li Chen, completely serious, nodded. "That many signatures increases survivability."
The elder looked relieved. Shen Wei looked confused. Xu Ming immediately began taking notes.
Later that day, Li Chen was summoned privately.
Not by the observer.
By the sect master.
The room was quiet, incense burning low. The sect master studied Li Chen for a long time before speaking.
"You were noticed," he said plainly.
Li Chen inclined his head. "That was unavoidable."
"You did nothing," the sect master continued.
Li Chen paused. "I avoided doing the wrong thing."
The sect master laughed softly—once. "That answer alone would have attracted attention."
Then his expression grew serious.
"The Upper Realm is losing interest in the sect," he said. "But not in individuals."
Li Chen understood immediately.
That was worse.
Outside, Xu Ming paced nervously.
Mo Yun leaned against a pillar, arms crossed. "Relax. If Li Chen were in danger, we'd already feel it."
Xu Ming nodded… then immediately set up a small warning talisman anyway.
Shen Yue watched him. "You trust him a great deal."
Xu Ming's answer was immediate. "Senior Brother Li knows how to survive."
That was not praise.
That was faith.
When Li Chen emerged, nothing about his expression had changed.
"Any trouble?" Mo Yun asked.
"No," Li Chen replied. "Just confirmation."
"Of what?"
"That we are no longer being tested as a group."
The three of them fell silent.
"And now?" Shen Yue asked.
Li Chen glanced toward the distant mountains, where the borders lay quiet.
"Now," he said calmly, "the pressure will shift away from us."
Xu Ming's shoulders relaxed.
"…To where?" Mo Yun asked.
Li Chen answered without hesitation.
"Elsewhere."
That night, the sect slept more easily than it should have.
Somewhere beyond the clouds, attention drifted.
Files were closed.
Evaluations marked inconclusive.
And a single note was added at the end of one record:
Subject displays abnormal survival-oriented cognition.
Not hostile. Not compliant.
Recommend: defer engagement.
Li Chen did not know those exact words.
But as he reinforced one last formation before resting, he murmured to himself:
"…Good. Being uninteresting is safest."
Xu Ming, standing guard nearby, nodded firmly.
"Yes, Senior Brother. Very uninteresting."
From afar, Mo Yun watched them and thought:
If this is what "uninteresting" looks like… the future is going to be troublesome.