Chapter 4: Elder's Suspicion
~2.2k words · 2026-06-21
News traveled fast in the Seven Stars Sect. By noon, every disciple in the outer court had heard about Lin Feng's impossible feat with the training sword. By evening, the rumors had reached the inner court. By the following morning, Elder Xu himself had summoned Lin Feng to the Disciplinary Hall.
Elder Xu sat at the head of the hall like a vulture on a corpse, his thin frame wrapped in robes of midnight silk. His eyes — pale gray, almost colorless — studied Lin Feng with the detached curiosity of a scholar examining a particularly interesting insect.
"I have read your file," Elder Xu said, his voice soft and terrifying. "Mortal-grade roots. Zero cultivation progress in two years. Latrine duty for insubordination. And yesterday, you threw a training sword through a stone wall."
Lin Feng said nothing. The Sword God's advice had been specific: "Say as little as possible. Elder Xu is a Nascent Soul cultivator — he cannot sense my presence, but he can sense that something is wrong."
"Nothing to say?" Elder Xu leaned forward. "In my two hundred years of life, I have seen many strange things. Demonic possessions. Forbidden techniques. Artifacts left over from the Godfall Era." His eyes narrowed. "Which one are you?"
"None of them, Elder Xu." Lin Feng kept his head bowed. "I don't know what happened. I was training. The sword broke."
"The sword broke." Elder Xu gestured, and an attendant brought forward the shattered remains. The wooden blade had splintered into a dozen pieces, each one still glowing with faint silver residue. The spirit iron wrapping had bent outward, like the petals of a metal flower that had bloomed from within.
"This is not qi," Elder Xu said quietly. "This is something else entirely. Something I do not recognize. And that, boy, is what frightens me."
"Give him a partial truth," the Sword God whispered. "Tell him you found a cultivation manual in the abandoned pavilion on the eastern peak."
"Elder Xu," Lin Feng said, "may I speak honestly?"
"Please do."
"I found something. Three months ago, when I was assigned to sweep the abandoned pavilion on the eastern peak, I found an old cultivation manual hidden under a loose floorboard. It described a different way of cultivating. A way that doesn't use qi. I was desperate. So I tried it."
"And where is this manual now?"
"I burned it. After yesterday, I was afraid. I thought I might have done something wrong."
Elder Xu was silent for a long moment. Then he laughed — a dry, rattling sound. "You burned it. Of course you did." He stood. "Very well, boy. You are free to go. But know this: I will be watching you. If you show any further signs of unusual development, we will have another conversation. And it will not end so pleasantly."
Lin Feng bowed and retreated from the hall. His heart was pounding so hard he could feel it in his temples.
"That was close," the Sword God said. "He doesn't believe you. But for now, he has no proof. We have bought ourselves time. Use it well."
"How much time?"
"A few months, perhaps. Long enough for you to reach Foundation Establishment. After that, no one in this sect will be able to threaten us. Not even Elder Xu."
Lin Feng walked back to the outer disciple dormitory as the sun set behind Seven Stars Mountain. He had told a lie that might cost him his life. He had defied a Nascent Soul elder. And somewhere inside him, a dead god was laughing.
Elder Xu sat at the head of the hall like a vulture on a corpse, his thin frame wrapped in robes of midnight silk. His eyes — pale gray, almost colorless — studied Lin Feng with the detached curiosity of a scholar examining a particularly interesting insect.
"I have read your file," Elder Xu said, his voice soft and terrifying. "Mortal-grade roots. Zero cultivation progress in two years. Latrine duty for insubordination. And yesterday, you threw a training sword through a stone wall."
Lin Feng said nothing. The Sword God's advice had been specific: "Say as little as possible. Elder Xu is a Nascent Soul cultivator — he cannot sense my presence, but he can sense that something is wrong."
"Nothing to say?" Elder Xu leaned forward. "In my two hundred years of life, I have seen many strange things. Demonic possessions. Forbidden techniques. Artifacts left over from the Godfall Era." His eyes narrowed. "Which one are you?"
"None of them, Elder Xu." Lin Feng kept his head bowed. "I don't know what happened. I was training. The sword broke."
"The sword broke." Elder Xu gestured, and an attendant brought forward the shattered remains. The wooden blade had splintered into a dozen pieces, each one still glowing with faint silver residue. The spirit iron wrapping had bent outward, like the petals of a metal flower that had bloomed from within.
"This is not qi," Elder Xu said quietly. "This is something else entirely. Something I do not recognize. And that, boy, is what frightens me."
"Give him a partial truth," the Sword God whispered. "Tell him you found a cultivation manual in the abandoned pavilion on the eastern peak."
"Elder Xu," Lin Feng said, "may I speak honestly?"
"Please do."
"I found something. Three months ago, when I was assigned to sweep the abandoned pavilion on the eastern peak, I found an old cultivation manual hidden under a loose floorboard. It described a different way of cultivating. A way that doesn't use qi. I was desperate. So I tried it."
"And where is this manual now?"
"I burned it. After yesterday, I was afraid. I thought I might have done something wrong."
Elder Xu was silent for a long moment. Then he laughed — a dry, rattling sound. "You burned it. Of course you did." He stood. "Very well, boy. You are free to go. But know this: I will be watching you. If you show any further signs of unusual development, we will have another conversation. And it will not end so pleasantly."
Lin Feng bowed and retreated from the hall. His heart was pounding so hard he could feel it in his temples.
"That was close," the Sword God said. "He doesn't believe you. But for now, he has no proof. We have bought ourselves time. Use it well."
"How much time?"
"A few months, perhaps. Long enough for you to reach Foundation Establishment. After that, no one in this sect will be able to threaten us. Not even Elder Xu."
Lin Feng walked back to the outer disciple dormitory as the sun set behind Seven Stars Mountain. He had told a lie that might cost him his life. He had defied a Nascent Soul elder. And somewhere inside him, a dead god was laughing.