Atop Dawnmist Peak, the wind broke rhythm.
It wasn't the speed. It wasn't the direction.
It was the beat.
Luo Feng opened his eyes from meditation the moment the shift occurred. The qi in the air had begun pulsing—not naturally, but in sync with something distant. Something deliberate.
He stood slowly, his robes stirring even though there was no breeze. Kaelen, who had been silently patrolling the outer courtyard, approached with a rare crease in her brow.
"You felt it too?"
"Wushen just played something the world tried to forget."
Kaelen drew her saber without needing to ask further. "Can the Sect sense it?"
Luo Feng didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
Because at that exact moment, the sky above Celestial Dawn Sect darkened—not from clouds, but from the echo.
A low vibration rolled across the air, unsettling birds mid-flight, rattling the talismans hanging outside cultivation halls.
Inside the Inner Council's chamber, a bronze bell rang on its own.
In the heart of the Sect's archive vault, deep beneath the central peak, a stone tablet cracked.
Elder Zhou stood with two others beside a sealed array ringed with blood-drawn sigils. His expression twisted with both recognition and disbelief.
"That chord hasn't been played in three centuries," he muttered.
Elder Ji, robes stained with ink from fresh scrollwork, narrowed his eyes. "And only one family knew the entire progression."
"Lin Xuan," the third elder whispered. "But he was declared lost. No remains."
Zhou's expression darkened. "No remains means no proof."
He turned to a scribe waiting nearby.
"Activate Division Nine. I want full surveillance on Luo Feng's disciples. Especially the boy."
"And if they resist?" the scribe asked.
Zhou's smile was colder than ice.
"They'll break like string under tension."
Back at Dawnmist Peak, Luo Feng stood on the ridge, arms behind his back.
The system chimed softly in his mind.
Ding! Legacy Alert – Forbidden Resonance ActivatedWushen has unlocked Verse I of the Forbidden Chord.Ripple effect: All ancient sound-based formations within 500 miles awakened.Spiritual Alert: Celestial Dawn's archives have engaged counter-protocols.
New Title Gained: "Mentor of the Unwritten Score"Effect: Host can shield disciples from resonance-based suppression once per day.Caution: You are now marked by the Listening Court.
Luo Feng exhaled slowly.
"A title that sounds poetic is usually a death sentence."
Kaelen snorted. "Only if you play by their rules."
"Which I don't."
"Exactly."
He turned to her.
"Gather the others. We start formation drills now. If the Sect's planning a quiet removal, I want my disciples ready to shout."
Kaelen nodded and vanished like a blade into the wind.
Far to the south, within the half-ruined depths of Echospire, Wushen stirred awake to the sound of his own heartbeat.
But it wasn't his alone.
Yiran's hand was pressed to his chest, her qi stabilizing his own.
Beside her, Bai sat with eyes half-shut, monitoring the lingering resonance in the chamber. The music box had dimmed, its first verse spent—but it now bore a new symbol, engraved in silver:
Verse I: The Mourning Heart.
"You survived," Yiran said.
"Barely," Wushen rasped. "How long was I out?"
"Only an hour," Bai answered. "The spire protected you after the guardians fell."
Wushen sat up, wincing.
"I saw more while I was unconscious. Glimpses of the next verse. Not where it is—but who had it last."
Bai arched an eyebrow. "Who?"
"…An archivist. Sect-bound. Someone from the Listening Court."
Yiran's expression hardened. "Then the next piece is buried inside Celestial Dawn."
Back at the peak, Tianya, A-Yan, and Kaelen joined Luo Feng at the training ring.
He nodded once.
"Formation Drill—Variant Two."
Without words, they moved.
Kaelen took the vanguard, blade flickering like lightning. Tianya shadowed her on the left, feinting and defending. A-Yan became the unseen spear, blinking in and out of visibility behind them, targeting the weak points created by the others.
Luo Feng watched carefully.
They had grown.
But now, they needed to grow faster.
The Sect had taken interest. The masks had started to crack. And the disciples? They weren't hidden anymore.
They were targets.
Ding! Alert: Observation array detected at 3,000 meters.Source: Sect Scribe Division Nine.Intent: Surveillance, Not Hostile (Yet)Action: Interfere? Y/N
Luo Feng whispered, "Y."
Far above the peak, a floating crystal embedded in a spiritual kite suddenly short-circuited and exploded with a small pop.
A startled scribe monitoring from a neighboring peak dropped his brush.
"What happened?!"
The senior operative frowned. "Their formation ward just responded."
"But it was a passive probe!"
"Then maybe you should learn that some peaks fight back."
Back in the ruined spire, Yiran looked at Wushen.
"If the Listening Court has the second verse… we'll need to go where Sect law is strongest."
Wushen's hands tightened around his flute.
"Then we walk into the lion's den. Through the front door."
Bai looked unimpressed. "We're going to need one hell of an excuse."
Yiran smiled faintly. "Or one compelling performance."
Ding! Side Quest Updated: "The First Mourning" – Phase TwoNew Objective: Recover Verse II from the Listening Court Archive.Optional: Do not alert internal sect authorities to your true intent.Reward: Unlock "Echo Weave" Defensive Skill (Group)
Luo Feng stood beneath the hawthorn tree as the last of the morning drills ended.
He could feel the storm coming.
Not in clouds.
In intent.
His system pulsed.
System Message: World awareness of Host has reached Tier 2.Influence expanding.Opposition preparing.Prepare for political strike.
He didn't flinch.
Because one truth remained:
He wasn't raising heroes.
He wasn't raising soldiers.
He was raising monsters with heart—and the world was about to find out what it meant when the teacher stopped holding back.