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Chapter 5: The Calm Before the Break
In the morning mists of Cloudveil Sect, silence was a sacred thing.
Luo Qingshen moved through the bamboo groves with a wooden bucket in hand, heading toward the spring. Birds did not flee from him. The wind did not disturb his robes. And the bamboo leaves that once rustled gently... now stood eerily still when he passed.
At first, no one noticed.
But then the whispers began.
"He walked past the Spirit Nourishing Tree, and it blossomed twice as bright."
"I saw Senior Luo lift an entire cart with one hand—and he said it was a trick of balance."
"The Sect's guardian beast laid at his feet like a tame puppy."
Luo ignored them all. His face remained placid, his aura locked in a mortal's shell. But the mountain knew.
The Spirit Veins beneath the sect trembled subtly in his presence.
And far above, in the inner sect pavilion, Elder Mingyan opened one eye from meditation.
"…A ripple."
He rose. With one wave of his sleeve, a transmission jade glowed.
"Test him. Quietly."
That same afternoon, a challenge was posted on the public stone.
Name: Luo QingshenChallenger: Disciple Bai TianRank: Foundation Establishment, 4th StageMatch Time: Sundown, Training Ring Three
Luo read it once and said nothing.
But deep in the shadows beyond the sect walls, a figure cloaked in black watched from beneath a tree. A raven perched on his shoulder let out a soft caw.
"Interesting," the stranger murmured. "So he really is here…"
Meanwhile, by the water gardens, the silver-haired girl from the storm watched him from behind a screen of willows, her expression unreadable. Her spiritual sense had brushed against something vast when they met.
A sea of stars, bound in silence.
"Who… are you really?" she whispered.