The Discipline Hall smelled like fear and incense.

  Jiang Chen stood in the center of a circular room, bare stone walls inscribed with suppression arrays that hummed with low-frequency qi. The floor was polished black marble etched with detection formations. Every surface designed to reveal truth.

  Elder Mo sat on a raised platform ahead, flanked by two other elders Jiang Chen didn't recognize. One was a thin woman with silver hair and jade spectacles. The other was a barrel-chested man with burn scars running up his neck.

  Lu Pao had been left outside. Jiang Chen was alone.

  "Step forward," Elder Mo commanded.

  Jiang Chen walked to the center of the room. A circle of silver light flared to life beneath his feet, forming a containment barrier.

  *They're taking you seriously,* Apeiron observed. *This is not routine. This is a full inquisition.*

  The silver-haired woman spoke first. "I am Elder Qiu of the Scholar Hall. I will be conducting the spiritual resonance analysis." She held up a crystal prism. "Hold still."

  She pointed the prism at Jiang Chen's chest. A beam of refracted light passed through him like an X-ray.

  Jiang Chen felt the probe enter his body. It was different from Elder Mo's earlier scan—more precise, more invasive. It mapped his meridians, traced his qi pathways, counted the revolutions of his dantian.

  The prism hummed, then chimed.

  Elder Qiu frowned at the readout. "Foundation Establishment. Middle stage." She looked at Elder Mo. "The tournament report claimed he broke through during the finals. The timeline is... extraordinarily rapid. Three days from Early to Middle stage."

  "The Spirit Spring grants enlightenment," Jiang Chen said evenly. "I stabilized a breakthrough that was already in progress."

  "Perhaps," Elder Qiu said, not sounding convinced. She adjusted the prism. "But your foundation is unusual. It has dual-nature characteristics. Yin and Yang in perfect equilibrium. I've only seen this in cultivators who practice complementary partner cultivation or consume opposing attribute cores."

  *Careful,* Apeiron warned. *She's fishing.*

  "I consumed Liu Feng's Yang essence during our fight," Jiang Chen said. It was close enough to the truth. "I used the Spirit Spring's baptism to integrate it with my own foundation."

  The scarred elder—the one with burns—leaned forward. "Consume? You mean absorb?"

  "I mean consume." Jiang Chen met his eyes. "I have a unique physique. When I defeat opponents in close combat, I can absorb trace amounts of their qi through physical contact. It's an innate ability."

  *Bold,* Apeiron said. *You're giving them a partial truth. Risky.*

  "Show me," the scarred elder demanded.

  "Elder Yan," Elder Mo interjected, "we're here to evaluate, not experiment."

  "I am evaluating," Elder Yan growled. He stood, descending from the platform. "If the boy claims he can absorb qi through combat, I want to see it. Let me test him."

  Elder Mo hesitated, then nodded. "One strike. No lethal techniques."

  Elder Yan grinned. He stepped into the circle, cracking his knuckles. His cultivation aura flared—Golden Core Realm, Early stage.

  "Hit me," Elder Yan said, spreading his arms. "Let's see if you can take anything from a real cultivator."

  Jiang Chen didn't move. "I need to strike you?"

  "That's the point of a test, boy."

  *This is a trap,* Apeiron said. *If you use too much power, they'll realize how strong you really are. If you use too little, they'll think you're lying.*

  Jiang Chen stepped forward. He didn't activate any techniques. He just clenched his fist and punched Elder Yan in the solar plexus.

  The impact was solid. Elder Yan grunted but didn't budge.

  But Jiang Chen felt it—the moment of contact. The elder's qi was hot, aggressive, fire-attributed. And in that instant, the Void Foundation pulled.

  Not much. Just a thread. A taste.

  **[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]**

  > Minor absorption successful

  > +2 EV

  > Fire Qi sample acquired

  Jiang Chen stepped back.

  Elder Yan's eyes widened. "I felt that. He actually drained something. Not much—barely a wisp—but it happened."

  "Fascinating," Elder Qiu murmured, scribbling notes. "A parasitic physique. Similar to certain demonic beast bloodlines."

  "I'm not a demon," Jiang Chen said flatly.

  "No one said you were." Elder Mo descended from the platform as well, circling Jiang Chen slowly. "But you understand our concern. Unusual abilities. Rapid progression. Physical transformation. And a remarkable tendency to be present when elders die."

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  There it was. The accusation, finally spoken aloud.

  "I was nowhere near Elder Han when he died," Jiang Chen said. "I was in the servant quarters, logged in the attendance records."

  "The records can be falsified."

  "Then prove I falsified them."

  Elder Mo stopped in front of him. "I don't need to prove anything. I just need reasonable suspicion to request a soul search."

  *There it is,* Apeiron said. *The real threat.*

  A soul search would expose everything. Apeiron. The Void Foundation. The kill list. Every consumed victim.

  Jiang Chen's heart rate spiked.

  But he kept his face neutral. "A soul search requires authorization from the Sect Master. Do you have it?"

  "Not yet." Elder Mo smiled thinly. "But I will. Unless you can provide a satisfactory explanation for your transformation. Start with the hair."

  Jiang Chen had prepared for this. "Yin-Yang imbalance. When I consumed Liu Feng's solar core, the Yang essence was too strong. It bleached half my hair. The Spirit Spring's Yin baptism stabilized the imbalance, but the damage was already done."

  "And the eyes?"

  "Mutation from the dual-nature foundation. The left eye absorbed Yang properties, the right absorbed Yin."

  "Convenient," Elder Yan muttered.

  "Convenient or not, it's the truth." Jiang Chen gestured at the detection arrays. "Your formations are scanning me right now. Do they detect any demonic contamination? Any possession signature? Any foreign soul?"

  Elder Qiu checked her instruments. "No. His soul is... singular. No parasitic entities. No possession markers."

  *Because I am not possessing you,* Apeiron said smugly. *I am integrated into your soul. We are one organism now. The Covenant made sure of that.*

  "His meridians show signs of severe trauma followed by perfect reconstruction," Elder Qiu continued. "Whatever happened to him, it wasn't gradual cultivation. It was catastrophic damage followed by adaptive healing."

  "The Corpse Pit," Jiang Chen said simply. "I fell. My meridians were shattered. I survived by accident and reconstructed my foundation from scratch. It's in the medical reports."

  "We read the reports." Elder Mo's eyes narrowed. "You were declared dead. Then you walked out six weeks later, fully healed. No one survives the Pit."

  "I did."

  "How?"

  *Here we go,* Apeiron whispered. *The moment of truth.*

  Jiang Chen took a breath. This was the lie that had to stick.

  "There was something down there. An old formation, buried under the corpses. I don't know what it was—maybe a healing array from the sect's founding era. When I fell, I landed on it. It activated and reconstructed my body using ambient death qi."

  The three elders exchanged glances.

  "Death qi reconstruction," Elder Qiu said slowly. "That would explain the unusual foundation characteristics. Death qi is neither Yin nor Yang—it's both. A body reconstructed from it would naturally develop dual-nature affinities."

  "It's plausible," Elder Yan admitted. "The Pit is built on old ruins. If there was a formation..."

  "We can investigate," Elder Mo said. "Send a team into the Pit to verify."

  "Good luck," Jiang Chen said. "I barely survived the fall. And the formation collapsed after I left. If there's anything left, it's buried under ten thousand corpses."

  It was a perfect lie. Unfalsifiable. Plausible. And just believable enough.

  Elder Mo studied him for a long moment.

  Then he turned to Elder Qiu. "Blood test. Full spectrum analysis."

  Elder Qiu approached with a jade needle. Jiang Chen held out his arm.

  The needle pierced his skin. His blood—black with red swirls—dripped onto a white ceramic plate.

  Elder Qiu added reagents. The blood hissed, bubbled, and separated into layers.

  "Abnormal," she announced. "High concentration of void-attribute essence. Trace amounts of multiple other attributes—fire, poison, lightning, solar. It's like his blood is a collection of absorbed energies."

  "Proof of the absorption ability," Jiang Chen said.

  "Or proof of consuming forbidden pills," Elder Yan countered.

  Elder Qiu shook her head. "Pills leave residue signatures. This blood is clean. Whatever he's doing, it's natural to his physique."

  She set down her instruments. "Elder Mo, I see no evidence of demonic cultivation, possession, or forbidden techniques. His methods are unusual, but not heretical."

  Elder Yan grunted. "I agree. The boy's a freak of nature, but not a demon."

  Elder Mo didn't look satisfied. But he was outvoted.

  "Very well." He stepped back. "Jiang Chen, you are cleared of suspicion... for now. But understand this: you are being watched. Any deviation, any unexplained incident, any whisper of corruption, and I will petition the Sect Master personally for a soul search. Am I clear?"

  "Crystal clear, Elder."

  "Good." Elder Mo gestured at the barrier. It dissolved. "You're dismissed. Report to Scholar Hall tomorrow to formalize your affiliation. And collect your tournament winnings from the treasury before sunset—if you survive that long."

  The last part was said with dark amusement.

  Jiang Chen bowed. "Thank you, Elders."

  He turned and walked out, forcing himself to move at a normal pace. Not rushing. Not fleeing. Just walking.

  The door closed behind him.

  Only then did he let himself breathe.

  ---

  Lu Pao was waiting in the courtyard, pacing like a caged animal.

  "Boss! How did it—" He stopped. "You're alive. You're walking. They didn't... ?"

  "I passed." Jiang Chen kept walking. "No demonic cultivation. No possession. Just a freak physique."

  "What did they find?"

  "Exactly what I wanted them to find." Jiang Chen glanced back at the Discipline Hall. "Now let's collect that money before someone decides I shouldn't have it."

  "The treasury closes at sunset. We've got an hour."

  They walked through the sect grounds. Disciples stared. Some pointed. A few whispered. News of his transformation had spread fast.

  *You're famous now,* Apeiron observed. *The monster who beat the Little Sun.*

  "Fame is dangerous."

  *So is poverty. Take the money. You've earned it.*

  The treasury was a fortified pagoda at the sect's center, guarded by two Golden Core enforcers. Jiang Chen presented his tournament token and his identity badge.

  The clerk—a nervous outer disciple—checked the records three times before processing the withdrawal.

  "Forty-three thousand Spirit Stones," the clerk said, voice trembling. "I'll... I'll need to arrange transport. That much weight—"

  "Spatial ring," Jiang Chen interrupted. "Can you load it into a storage device?"

  The clerk blinked. "You have a spatial ring?"

  Jiang Chen held up his hand—the tarnished silver ring he'd taken from the dead enforcer months ago. He'd been careful to never wear it openly, but now he needed it.

  "It's damaged. Only twelve percent integrity. But it'll hold the stones."

  The clerk nodded quickly and began transferring the payment. It took twenty minutes.

  When it was done, Jiang Chen's ring felt heavier—not with physical weight, but with potential.

  Forty-three thousand Spirit Stones. Enough to buy rare techniques, high-grade pills, or even information on the Void.

  "Boss," Lu Pao said quietly as they left the treasury. "We're being followed."

  Jiang Chen didn't turn around. "How many?"

  "Three. Concealment techniques, but I can smell the killing intent. Assassins."

  "From the gambling houses?"

  "Probably."

  *Finally,* Apeiron said, almost pleased. *A real hunt.*

  "Lead them to the outer forest," Jiang Chen said. "Past the patrol zones. I'll deal with them there."

  "Deal with them? Boss, there's three of them—"

  "And I'm hungry."

  Lu Pao went pale. "You're going to... ?"

  "You said they're assassins. No one will miss them." Jiang Chen smiled, and it wasn't entirely human. "Besides, I need to test whether Elder Yan was right about my absorption ability."

  They walked toward the forest as the sun dipped below the mountains.

  Behind them, three shadows followed.