A day after the lesson without techniques, peace returned to Dawnmist Peak—but it wasn't a comfortable peace. It was the stillness of a storm eye, the eerie pause before a sky splits open.
Luo Feng felt it in his bones.
And when the spiritual alarm flared near the lower path—a gentle bell chime designed to warn of visitors rather than intruders—he already knew who it would be.
Ding! Incoming spiritual signature: Elder-Class, registered under Celestial Dawn Sect. Suppressed hostility. False humility aura detected.Name: Elder Jinhai (Inner Council – Sect Mediation Division).Known for: Diplomatic maneuvers, punishment mitigation, quiet threats disguised as kindness.
"Of course," Luo Feng muttered.
Elder Jinhai arrived in full ceremonial robes—white and gold, embroidered with the Celestial Dawn phoenix sigil across the chest. His long black beard was neatly combed, his hair tied into a scholarly knot. He walked with the air of a man doing a favor he wasn't required to offer.
But Luo Feng saw through the performance.
He greeted Jinhai at the edge of the training courtyard, hands behind his back, expression calm.
"Elder."
Jinhai bowed lightly. "Mentor Luo."
"Still calling me that?"
"For now," Jinhai said smoothly. "Depending on how this conversation ends."
Behind Luo Feng, Bai Xueyin, Tianya, and A-Yan watched from a distance. Kaelen remained near the hut, silently guarding the cursed blade's seal.
Jinhai glanced around. "Quite the little court you've built."
"They aren't courtiers," Luo Feng said. "They're people. That's the difference between me and the people you serve."
Jinhai chuckled. "Still sharp. Good. That means you'll understand what I'm about to offer."
He pulled a scroll from his sleeve—thinner than the one Elder Ji had brought weeks ago, but wrapped in black ribbon instead of red.
Luo Feng's eyes narrowed.
"This isn't a Hall recognition scroll."
"No," Jinhai said. "It's something older. Something the Sect hasn't offered in over two centuries."
He held it up with both hands.
"An Oathbound Restoration Seal."
Ding! Item identified: [Oathbound Restoration Seal – Grade: Celestial Silver]Effect: If accepted, Luo Feng will be formally re-entered into the Inner Elder Registry of Celestial Dawn Sect.Perks: Protection under Sect law, cultivation resource rights, disciples legally recognized.Condition: Host must swear loyalty to the Sect's current governing doctrines.Hidden Clause Detected: Permission for disciplinary override in cases of "ideological deviation."
Luo Feng didn't reach for it.
He didn't even blink.
"You're offering me my position back?"
"I'm offering you power, Luo Feng. Not just personal. Institutional. You'd be restored. Re-armed. Your teachings endorsed."
"And in return?"
Jinhai smiled faintly. "A simple thing. A vow. One line."
"What line?"
"You agree to place all disciples under Sect observation until they reach the Heaven-Step realm. And you refrain from developing legacy-class systems without council oversight."
Luo Feng looked at him.
"You want leash rights."
"I want you to stop scaring people," Jinhai said, voice quiet but steel-edged. "You've trained orphans into warriors. Cursed bloodlines into cultivators. Iceborne exiles into scions of forgotten kingdoms. What happens when the world looks at your peak and sees not a haven—but a weapon?"
"Then maybe the world should stop swinging first."
Jinhai's smile disappeared.
"You will be challenged," he said softly. "Not by shadows, but by the law. You've made enemies, Luo Feng. You're still alive because you're just ambiguous enough not to unite them."
"And this would silence them."
"Exactly."
A-Yan looked at Tianya. "Is this… normal politics?"
"No," Tianya whispered. "This is the kind of offer that ends with someone getting buried."
Luo Feng took the scroll.
Opened it.
Read it carefully.
And then, to everyone's surprise—
he laughed.
Not a cruel laugh.
Not even a bitter one.
Just… tired.
"You think I'd sign away their freedom because you wrapped it in silk?"
Jinhai's expression tightened. "Luo Feng—"
"You think I'd give up the one thing I earned back—their trust—just to stand in a hall that turned its back on me?"
He tossed the scroll back.
Jinhai caught it.
"It was a courtesy," Jinhai said.
"It was a test," Luo Feng replied. "And I passed. Because I remembered who I am."
Ding! Host has rejected "Oathbound Restoration Seal."Effect: Loyalty of all disciples increased. Political tension with Inner Council escalated.Title Gained: "Unchained Mentor" – Host cannot be forcibly conscripted into a registered Sect without system penalty clauses.Warning: Political Hostilities +12. Legal challenges imminent.
Jinhai rolled up the scroll, jaw set.
"You were once a man of reason."
"I still am," Luo Feng said. "I've just changed what I consider reasonable."
Jinhai turned to go, but paused.
"This is the last offer," he said. "Next time, it will be doctrine."
Luo Feng nodded. "Then I'll teach doctrine how to bleed."
After Jinhai left, Bai approached him quietly.
"You sure about that?"
"I've never been more sure."
Tianya kicked a rock nearby. "You could've had protection. Status."
"I don't need the Sect to tell me I matter," Luo Feng said. "And neither do any of you."
A-Yan smiled. "Does that mean we get the afternoon off?"
"No," he said. "It means your training intensifies."
They groaned.
But none of them complained.
That evening, as the sun dipped low, Luo Feng stood alone at the edge of the peak.
His system pulsed gently.
System Notice: Your path diverges from recorded precedent.Legacy Path Evolution: Mentor-Class (Independent Flame) – 31% unlocked.Next milestone: Disciples achieve Heaven-Step simultaneously.
System Message: You are now officially considered a sovereign threat.
Luo Feng closed his eyes.
Let the wind pass through him.
And whispered:
"Good."