Twelve days sounded like enough until Lin Yuan began counting everything that had to happen before he could leave the mountain.
The first problem was deciding who would travel with him.
Han Yue volunteered before anyone asked.
—I am the younger-generation representative.
Jian Mu, seated across the table, looked up.
—Who decided that?
—I did.
—Then it does not count.
—We can settle it outside.
—That would not count either.
Bai Lian placed a bowl of medicine in front of Han Yue.
—Drink.
—What does that have to do with this?
—Nothing. But you have avoided the dose for two days.
Han Yue looked to Lin Yuan for support.
Lin Yuan pointed at the bowl.
—Drink it.
The discussion about the Assembly took place in a small room because the main hall was still occupied by repairs. Lin Yuan, Mu Qingxue, Gu Tian, Mo Qian, Bai Lian, Han Yue, Jian Mu, and Su Wan were present. Not all of them would travel, but all of them had reasons to care about the decision.
—The younger representative should not be chosen by raw strength —Mu Qingxue said—. We do not know what the Banner Trial includes.
Mo Qian spun a coin between his fingers.
—According to three separate versions, it can include combat, formation understanding, qi control, or a collective discipline test.
—Three versions? —Lin Yuan asked.
—Four, if we count the drunk who swore he once saw a disciple forced to cook for one hundred elders.
Gu Tian raised an eyebrow.
—Do not dismiss that one. Regional elders become creative when they are bored.
Su Wan spoke quietly from her corner.
—What if we do not send only one?
Everyone looked at her.
—The summons says "a representative," not "only one disciple present." We can bring several and decide there once we know what the test is.
Lin Yuan nodded.
—That is what we will do.
Han Yue tapped two fingers on the table.
—Then I am going.
—You, Jian Mu, and Bai Lian —Lin Yuan said.
Bai Lian blinked.
—Me?
—The Assembly will not be only about fighting. I want someone there who sees what everyone else ignores while they are counting swords.
She considered that, then nodded.
—Su Wan stays —Lin Yuan continued—. The mountain's new qi is still affecting her physique. Gu Tian stays as well.
The old man opened his mouth to protest.
—I need someone capable of cursing the formation if it decides to explode while I am gone.
Gu Tian thought about it.
—I accept for scientific reasons.
—Mo Qian comes with me.
—A wise decision —Mo Qian said.
—I am not finished. You are coming because you know merchants, roads, and liars. At an Assembly there will probably be plenty of all three.
—Still a compliment.
That left Mu Qingxue.
Lin Yuan did not want to assume she would come. Her relationship with the sect was still technically that of an outside ally, even though in practice she spent more time on the mountain than many formal members.
—I will go —she said before he could ask.
—You have no obligation.
—Exactly. A person without obligation can hear things people will not say to your subordinates.
Mo Qian smiled.
—I am beginning to understand why I like her.
Mu Qingxue did not even look at him.
The following days were spent preparing quietly. They did not want to arrive at the Assembly looking wealthy, because they were not. They also did not want to arrive looking like a band of survivors with no structure.
The first argument was over the banner.
The Primordial Firmament Sect had a name, a basic seal, and formation markings, but no formal standard worthy of a Spiritual force.
A resident seamstress known as Aunt Lan spread three fabrics across a table.
—I can sew something beautiful —she said—. But if you want it to survive qi, wind, and an arrogant cultivator trying to cut it, I need spiritual thread.
—Why would a cultivator try to cut the banner? —Bai Lian asked.
Mo Qian answered:
—Because it exists.
Aunt Lan nodded as if that were entirely reasonable.
Lin Yuan chose dark blue cloth reinforced with silver thread. The symbol would not be complicated: a mountain line beneath a circular arc, like a firmament rising from a broken foundation.
Mu Qingxue studied the sketch.
—It looks like a gate.
Lin Yuan looked again.
—That was not intentional.
—Intentions are sometimes late.
He chose not to think about the heavenly gate from the tribulation.
The second problem was information.
Mo Qian spent two nights gathering names of the forces expected to attend.
—The Assembly is not made up of seven sects —he explained—. That is the first lie in the name. The Seven Banners are seven regional voting seats. Some are held by sects, others by clans or pavilions. Beneath them are recognized lesser forces.
He spread out a map.
—Gray Cloud has one seat. Iron Bell Hall has another. Green Reed Valley controls medicinal routes. Jade Current Pavilion holds little territory but enormous influence through alchemy. Red Sand Gate controls two mines. The last two seats are divided between an old clan and an association of cultivating merchants.
Han Yue whistled.
—And where do we fit?
—Nowhere yet.
—That will change.
—Certainly. The question is whether it changes because they open a chair for us or because you break one.
Han Yue smiled.
—Both options have merit.
Lin Yuan pointed to the Gray Cloud mark.
—Will Zhao Ming be there?
Mo Qian nodded.
—And probably Luo Feichen. Gray Cloud needs to prove it has not lost authority after what happened with us.
Jian Mu spoke without emotion.
—Then they will provoke us.
—Yes.
—Do we answer?
Lin Yuan looked at him.
—We answer when answering benefits us. Not when the enemy chooses the moment.
Han Yue snorted.
—That sounds boring.
—Survival usually does until it stops being boring.
On the eve of the journey, Lin Yuan walked the mountain with Gu Tian. They checked the barrier, new patrol routes, and the buried heart.
—I do not like you leaving immediately after the ascension —Gu Tian said.
—Neither do I.
—Then stay.
Lin Yuan looked at him.
—You know I cannot.
—I wanted to see whether you still remembered how to complain.
They reached the central chamber. The heart was stable, but a new line of light ran across the floor toward the north.
Gu Tian crouched beside it.
—That appeared yesterday.
Lin Yuan felt the medallion cool slightly beneath his robe.
It was not a strong reaction. Only attention.
—Destination?
—I do not know yet. It may be part of the old network waking now that the sect has advanced.
—Do not follow it while I am gone.
Gu Tian looked offended.
—I am old enough to know when not to stick my head into a mysterious hole.
Lin Yuan held his gaze.
—Are you?
—No. But I can pretend for twelve days.
At dawn, the group departed.
Lin Yuan, Mu Qingxue, Mo Qian, Han Yue, Jian Mu, and Bai Lian descended the main path while several sect members watched them leave. There was no ceremony. Lin Yuan did not want to turn a political journey into a triumphal march.
Halfway down, Bai Lian looked back.
—It looks different from here.
The mountain was wrapped in a thin layer of mist. The new banner had not yet been raised; Aunt Lan had sent it folded inside a protective wooden case.
—Bigger? —Han Yue asked.
—More ours.
Jian Mu said nothing, but he watched the mountain for several steps before turning away.
The road to Qingshui City, where the Assembly would be held, required four days. Nothing remarkable happened on the first. That allowed Lin Yuan to discover how strange it felt to travel without expecting an ambush at every bend.
The calm lasted until the afternoon of the second day.
They found a wagon overturned beside a narrow bridge. Two horses trembled while still tied to the wreckage. An older man sat on the ground with a dislocated arm while a young woman tried and failed to move a wheel.
Han Yue looked toward the trees.
—Could be a trap.
—Could be a broken wagon —Bai Lian said.
—Traps usually look like normal things.
Mo Qian smiled.
—He is finally learning.
Lin Yuan did not order them forward or tell them to move on. He approached close enough to study tracks, breathing, the position of the animals, and the mud around the wheel.
There were no signs of hidden men.
—We help —he said.
Han Yue lifted the wagon while Jian Mu cut a branch to use as a lever. Bai Lian treated the man's arm. Mu Qingxue inspected the bridge and found a rotten board that had given way.
The young woman thanked them repeatedly.
—Are you from Gray Cloud?
Han Yue grimaced.
—No.
Lin Yuan answered:
—Primordial Firmament Sect.
The older man blinked.
—I do not know that name.
—It is new.
—Ah.
There was no bow, no fear. Only simple acceptance.
Strangely, Lin Yuan preferred that reaction.
They continued before nightfall.
Mu Qingxue walked beside him for a while.
—You could have left them to fix the wagon themselves.
—Yes.
—We lost almost an hour.
—Yes.
—I am not criticizing you.
Lin Yuan looked at her.
—I know.
She watched the road ahead.
—I only wanted to know whether you helped because you are a founder or because you are Lin Yuan.
The question caught him off guard.
—I do not know if I can still separate the two.
—You should try someday.
Qingshui City appeared at the end of the fourth day, spread across both sides of a broad river. Stone towers, covered bridges, green-tiled roofs, and the standards of multiple forces rose over walls larger than anything in Stone Dry Village.
At the eastern gate there was a separate line for delegations.
When Lin Yuan presented the summons tablet, the guard examined it twice.
—Primordial Firmament Sect —he read—. Newly risen Spiritual rank.
—Correct.
The man checked a list.
—Lodging in Courtyard Nineteen. Banner presentation tomorrow at noon. The Banner Trial will be announced afterward.
He returned the tablet, then added with a curious glance:
—Gray Cloud arrived this morning.
Han Yue smiled too quickly.
Lin Yuan kept walking.
—Do nothing.
—I have done nothing.
—You were thinking loudly enough.
Mo Qian laughed.
They passed through the gates.
From a balcony across the avenue, a young man in gray watched them.
Luo Feichen.
He had changed. His aura was steadier, his robe finer, his arrogance less childish. He no longer looked like the boy who needed to humiliate an orphan in a market.
That did not mean he had forgotten.
His eyes met Lin Yuan's.
He did not smile.
Lin Yuan did not either.
Between them now stood a city, two sects, and far too many consequences to settle with a single punch.
The true invitation with an edge had just begun.