Still, when prepared properly, the mixture helped. Subtle shifts in awareness, better Qi control, easier transition into bone cultivation. It was far from refined, but for now, it was good enough.
Li Wei sat with his legs folded, the Rust Grasp lying unused at his side, bone dust swirling faintly in the air as he drew in long, shallow breaths.
He channelled Qi along his skeletal structure, tuning his awareness to the minute vibrations that rippled through bone and stone. Footfalls, temperature shifts, even the hollow pressure of the cave's shape—he felt them all. But something was different. There was no struggle for clarity this time. The interference he'd always considered normal… had receded.
It was like a veil had lifted.
Have I always been this dull? The thought was unsettling. His mind moved faster, more fluidly. Sensory signals were processed cleanly, without the usual sluggish drag. He could isolate subtle patterns in Qi resonance—recognise stiffness in muscle or fluctuations in heartbeat from the faintest vibration.
The fourth Mind Rune snapped into place, not with a flash, but with a quiet, stabilising lock—as if it had been waiting for conditions to settle. There was no burst of pain, no wild flood of Qi. Just a shift. Subtle. Permanent.
Li Wei opened his eyes slowly. I was in a fog. That was the only way to describe it. Now, everything felt crisp.
As he tested the improved precision of his Bone Whisper Art, runes resurfaced in his thoughts—an the old optimisation for Bone Whisper Art.
He hadn't forgotten it. Now, with the fourth successfully stabilised during Bone Whisper training, the suggestion carried new weight.
The issue was knowledge. He still had no source on the runes themselves—no diagrams, no descriptions, not even vague references in any manuals. Liu, Jing, Yan, Xun, Rui… they might as well have been fiction.
Still, the fact that the system had named them meant they existed. And if they existed, they could be found. He would have to begin the search properly. The gains were too significant to ignore.
Li Wei turned his attention inward, shifting focus to the bone implants he had embedded within the outer disciples. He hadn't thought about them in days—not seriously. But now, with the Reaping fast approaching, he considered the possibility: could he harvest them early and use the Qi-infused growths to push himself further? A late-stage advancement might shift the balance in his favour.
He entered meditation, extending his perception through the Bone Imprint connection. Faint pulses responded—small signatures of Qi from around the sect. The bone shards were still in place, embedded in flesh, quietly maturing. He could sense their progress. Most had begun to take root, catalysed by the disciples' low-level cultivation. But the returns were poor. The Qi accumulated was thin, diluted—barely more than the original investment.
Ugh. Not worth it, he thought.
He sat still, cross-legged, fingers twitching slightly. The idea of harvesting them now—ripping them out for a negligible gain—was tempting in theory, but a waste in practice. The foundation was too weak. The effort wouldn't amount to more than a shallow boost, nowhere near enough to justify the disruption.
The Reaping was almost here, but premature action would solve nothing.
For now, he decided to leave the bone growths intact. With time, they would yield more. It wasn't ideal, but cultivation was as much about timing as it was about force. Patience would pay better dividends.
One day a visit came without warning.
Zhao Feng arrived first, descending into the narrow path toward Li Wei's cave. A few steps behind trailed Li Shan, face fixed in a friendly smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. The moment Li Wei opened the door, he caught the tension immediately—Zhao Feng's casual stride, Li Shan's mock-relaxed posture.
"I heard you went to see Lin Yu," Zhao Feng said without preamble.
Before Li Wei could respond, Li Shan stepped in, still smiling. "We were just wondering. No issue, of course… unless there's something we should know?" His tone was pleasant. Too pleasant.
Li Wei kept his voice measured. "I needed directions to your cave. She happened to be the cave next-door; I asked for directions." He raised his brow slightly. "Is she not with you?"
The jab was subtle, but effective. Zhao Feng glanced briefly at Li Shan, who only chuckled faintly and said nothing more.
Zhao Feng waved it off. "Doesn't matter. Honestly, forget all that faction talk. You've got the Reaping coming. Focus on that." He stepped forward, placing a bundle on the table—small cloth-wrapped parcels. Grade-1 pills. A lot of them.
Li Wei didn't touch them.
"Survive the Reaping," Zhao Feng continued, "and you'll be one of my generals. As my star rises, yours will too."
Li Wei caught it—a flicker of something sour in Li Shan's eyes. Quickly masked.
"I don't mind knowing, Senior. It won't distract me from the Reaping. Is Lin Yu… against you?" Li Wei asked mildly.
Zhao Feng gave a slight nod. "She's under Shi Hao. The second direct disciple under Elder Guo."
Li Wei paused, raising an eyebrow. "Second?"
"There are three of us," Zhao Feng said, tone even. "Me, Shi Hao, and Ji Rong. That's all you need to know right now. Don't concern yourself with internal matters."
His voice wasn't threatening, but there was a finality to it—measured, calculated. A warning to stay focused.
He stepped forward and placed a cloth bundle on the table. Grade-1 pills. The seal still fresh.
"Your focus should be the Reaping. Survive that, and you'll have your pick of where to stand. I need capable people." Zhao Feng looked him in the eye.
Li Wei caught the brief stiffness in Li Shan's posture—so quick it might've been missed. But it was there.
Zhao Feng didn't seem to notice. Or maybe he didn't care.
Li Wei picked up the bundle without a word.
He didn't think it was generosity. But that didn't matter.
He would take every advantage he could get.
Zhao Feng and Li Shan didn't linger. They left, robes rustling against stone as they descended the path from Li Wei's cave.
Li Wei remained still for a moment, then turned and stepped back inside.
His thoughts churned.
Zhao Feng had made a visible effort to pull him in. The gifts. The advice. The carefully controlled concern. It hadn't felt entirely manipulative—Zhao Feng needed strong pieces for his side—but Li Wei couldn't help but ask himself the obvious:
Why him?
He was new to Foundation Establishment. A relative unknown. Talent unproven. If Zhao Feng truly had the strongest position among Elder Guo's disciples, would he bother? Wouldn't he let strength draw people in naturally?
Unless…
Unless he's the weakest of the three, and needs the numbers more than the others.
Li Wei tapped a knuckle against his thigh absently. That would explain it. Shi Hao and Ji Rong hadn't reached out, apart from a passing comment from Lin Yu. They hadn't sent anyone. No subtle probes. No attempted influence. Either they didn't care—or they were confident enough in their position that new disciples were beneath their attention.
Zhao Feng, by contrast, was building a camp. Drawing lines early. That implied a struggle. Not dominance.
But that wasn't certain. Zhao Feng could simply be more politically savvy. Or playing a numbers game.
Still… in power structures, those who recruit early often do so from necessity.
Li Wei filed the thought away.
Too many variables. Too many unknowns.
Li Wei exhaled.
"Forget it. Not enough information. Waste of energy."
He shelved the speculation.
There would be time for annoying politics later—if he survived the Reaping.
In the days leading up to the Reaping, Li Wei ingested all of the Grade-1 pills Zhao Feng had given him. There was no reason to be cautious or polite—when survival was at stake, there was no room for restraint. The effects were immediate. His cultivation didn't rise to the fourth level, but his spiritual reserves deepened noticeably. Qi circulated through his meridians with less resistance. Every technique he tested felt tighter, more efficient.
Still, irritation lingered. There was no instruction, no guidance. Just silence. He didn't expect handholding, but some kind of reassurance, even basic structure, would have helped. How was he even supposed to know when it began? Would someone notify him? Was there a summoning signal?
He refused to go asking.
"If they want me, they can come and get me."
Time passed. He remained in his cave, focused, prepared, if not confident. Then, without warning, the moment arrived.
A pressure descended over the mountain. A ripple in the Qi around him, dense and refined—impossible to mistake.
Elder Guo had come.
Even though Elder Guo didn't look especially imposing—his robes were plain, his frame a bit old and frail, and his presence not as visually striking as some of the other elders Li Wei had glimpsed—it was still impossible to ignore what he represented.
A Golden Core cultivator.
Li Wei didn't care much for titles. "Elder," "Master"—none of that meant anything to him. But Golden Core? That was power.