The problem with doing well on your first mission was that **people started paying attention**.
And attention, Shen Yu had learned, was rarely friendly.
Back at the Azure Mist Sect, Group Seven stood in front of Instructor Bao once again.
Bao stared at the report scroll.
Then stared at them.
Then stared at the scroll again.
"You encountered a Stonehide Spirit Boar," he said slowly.
"Yes," Lu Xinyi replied.
"And an injured Silverback Spirit Wolf."
Han Rui nodded nervously.
"And resolved both situations," Bao continued, eyes narrowing, "without fatalities."
Qiao Feng beamed.
"Efficiency."
Bao pinched the bridge of his nose.
"This was an *observation mission*."
Shen Yu raised a hand.
"We observed very closely."
Bao looked tired.
"Leave," he said. "All of you."
They left quickly.
---
### **Reputation Is a Strange Thing**
By evening, rumors had spread.
"They scared off a spirit wolf."
"No, they healed it."
"That loud one got thrown into a tree."
"I heard the ordinary guy did something weird."
Qiao Feng puffed his chest.
"Fame suits me."
Lu Xinyi rolled her eyes.
"You tripped into relevance."
Han Rui walked faster, clearly uncomfortable.
"I don't like this," he murmured. "People are staring."
"They stare at strong people," Lu Xinyi said. "Get used to it."
Han Rui looked down.
"…I don't want to be strong like that."
Lu Xinyi paused.
Then nodded once.
"That's fair."
---
### **Individual Training Assignments**
That night, sect notices appeared.
Each of them received a **separate summons**.
Qiao Feng squinted at his.
"Combat trial?"
Lu Xinyi read hers calmly.
"Advanced movement assessment."
Han Rui's hands shook slightly.
"Medical hall evaluation…"
Shen Yu's slip of paper was blank.
Literally.
"…Is this a mistake?" Qiao Feng asked.
Shen Yu shrugged.
"Story of my life."
Lu Xinyi frowned.
"That's not normal."
"Neither am I," Shen Yu replied cheerfully.
---
### **Lu Xinyi's Trial**
The movement hall was silent.
Bladed platforms rotated midair.
Lu Xinyi stepped forward, focused.
She moved like flowing water — precise, sharp, unhesitating.
But halfway through, the platforms shifted *unexpectedly*.
Her footing slipped.
For the first time in years — fear flickered.
She adjusted instantly, landing safely.
Above, a hidden examiner scribbled notes.
> *Exceptional adaptability. But relies on control.*
Lu Xinyi clenched her jaw.
She hated that they were right.
---
### **Qiao Feng's Trial**
The combat arena roared.
Opponent after opponent fell.
Qiao Feng laughed, bruised, bleeding, alive.
Then they sent in someone heavier. Stronger.
Qiao Feng charged — and was slammed into the ground.
Hard.
For a moment, he didn't laugh.
He stood slowly, wiping blood from his mouth.
"…Okay," he muttered. "That hurt."
He stood again.
Not because he was winning.
But because he refused to stay down.
The examiner wrote:
> *Excessive resilience. Reckless. Genuine.*
---
### **Han Rui's Evaluation**
The medical hall was quiet.
An elder watched as Han Rui treated simulated injuries.
His hands shook.
Then steadied.
He listened — not just to wounds, but to breathing, to pain.
"Why didn't you use forceful healing?" the elder asked.
Han Rui hesitated.
"It hurts less this way."
The elder paused.
Then nodded.
> *Rare temperament.*
---
### **Shen Yu's Non-Trial**
Shen Yu waited.
And waited.
Eventually, Old Mo appeared beside him, sipping wine.
"No one called you," Old Mo said.
"Story checks out," Shen Yu replied.
Old Mo tapped the air lightly.
It rippled.
"They don't know how," Old Mo added.
Shen Yu smiled.
"That's comforting."
---
### **That Night**
The group reunited under the same tree as before.
Different bruises.
Different thoughts.
Same people.
Qiao Feng flopped down.
"I lost. Gloriously."
Lu Xinyi sat beside Shen Yu, closer than before.
"They're testing us," she said quietly.
"Good," Shen Yu replied. "We're learning."
She glanced at him.
"…You're not scared?"
He looked at the sky.
"I am. I just don't let it decide for me."
For a moment, no one spoke.
Far above, in the Sky Archive, a new classification appeared:
> **"Group Variable — Unstable."**
A voice whispered from the shadows:
> "Separate them."