The hut was quiet. Too quiet.
No wind rattled the thatch roof. No footsteps passed outside. Even the distant clang of sect bells was muffled this morning, as if the entire outer division was holding its breath.
Inside, Lin Tian slept sitting up, knees crossed, hands resting lightly over his dantian. A slow, steady glow pulsed from his core — the kind of rhythm that only came from familiarity, from training, from muscle and soul working in tandem.
Chen Mu hovered silently in the ring, watching.
The boy was close. A few more days, maybe less, and he'd breach Mid-stage.
That wasn't what worried him.
It was the silence.
The kind of silence that came before decisions.
The kind that came before a change.
Chen Mu opened his system panel for the first time in hours.
[System Status Panel – Chen Mu (Ring State)]
Bluff Points: 129Soul Strength: 8Current Vessel: Jade Ring (Damaged, Dusty, Slightly Sticky)Abilities: Voice of Authority Lv.1, Soul Tap (1/day)Manual Access: Beginner Cultivation Manual (Simulated)Current Objective: Guide disciple through Qi Initiation RealmDisciple Status: Qi Initiation – Early Stage (Nearing Mid)Legacy Flag: Dormant – Hidden Flame Echo (Unconfirmed)Known Array: Spiral Fire Refinement (Unstable, Fragmented)
He stared at the words "Damaged, Dusty, Slightly Sticky" for a long moment.
"This is ridiculous," he muttered. "I've bluffed my way through half a sect, yelled at elders, and I'm still wearing a spiritual thrift store special."
The system pulsed in response.
[Upgrade Option Available: Vessel Enhancement – Tier I][Cost: 100 Bluff Points][Details: Reinforce spiritual vessel structure. Cleanse impurities. Enhance resonance field. Unlock 1 new passive.][Warning: Upgrade will briefly destabilize ring visibility. Ensure safety of host.]
Chen Mu didn't hesitate.
"Do it."
[Purchase Confirmed.][Bluff Points Remaining: 29]
The world inside the ring trembled.
Lin Tian stirred, eyebrows furrowing. He didn't wake — not yet — but his aura flexed briefly, reacting to the sudden pressure.
Inside, Chen Mu's space was collapsing. Not violently. But completely.
The cracked jade was gone.
In its place, light poured through — pale gold and ember red, washing across the interior like molten glass recasting its own shape.
The cracks sealed. The grime burned away. The sticky... whatever-that-was evaporated in a hiss of spiritual fire.
The space reformed.
Clean.
Whole.
Waiting.
[Upgrade Complete.][New Vessel: Refined Jade Core Ring (Stabilized)][Passive Unlocked: Resonant Presence – Host may sense the ring's spiritual pulse in moments of danger, granting +minor cultivation focus or alertness.]
Chen Mu looked around.
"It's... beautiful."
[+3 BP for self-congratulatory awe.]
Lin Tian's eyes opened.
He blinked. Looked at the ring.
"...Master?"
Chen Mu let his new resonance flare for a brief moment — not too much, just a ripple.
Lin Tian gasped. "You changed."
"A necessary refinement," Chen Mu intoned, letting his voice carry just a hint of echo. "The trials ahead require strength. Even in form."
"You feel... stronger."
"I am."
[+4 BP for well-timed mystic rebranding.]
Lin Tian nodded, eyes wide.
Chen Mu hovered quietly in the polished new space of his mind, absorbing the silence.
For the first time since waking in this world, he didn't feel like a ghost in a junk drawer.
He felt like a relic.
A real one.
Later that morning, Lin Tian reported for his next assigned task: escort duty. Not glamorous, but not entirely humiliating. He was to assist with supply transfer from the outer division to the pill pavilion — mostly transporting sealed crates of beast bone powder, spirit-dried herbs, and occasional ore fragments for low-grade pills.
Chen Mu wasn't paying attention to the cargo. He was watching the people.
Too many glances.
Too many mutters.
They'd heard.
About the tribunal.
About the ring.
About the voice.
And now the aura.
"It's starting," Chen Mu murmured. "They're rewriting you in their heads."
"How?"
"Some think you're possessed. Others think you're a vessel for a great cultivator. A few think you're bluffing — but they're the most dangerous, because they'll be the ones who try to prove it."
Lin Tian carried a heavy crate without comment.
"It doesn't matter what they think," he said eventually. "I just need to reach Mid-stage. That's what matters."
Chen Mu hummed. "It's a good goal. And once you get there, you'll need another."
At the pill pavilion, Lin Tian was met by none other than Guo. Again.
He stood beside the receiving post, robes pristine, smile thinner than usual.
"Outer Disciple Lin Tian," he said smoothly. "Still alive. Impressive."
"Senior Brother Guo," Lin Tian replied. "Still waiting for someone else to do your work. Predictable."
Chen Mu practically clapped.
[+2 BP for elegant sass delivery.]
Guo's eye twitched.
"I heard about the... upgrade," he said. "Your ring. It's cleaner now. Stronger. But you do realize polishing a trash relic doesn't make it gold."
"I suppose it depends on what's buried under the dirt," Lin Tian said.
Guo's lips curled. "We'll see. The sect has long memories, Lin Tian. So do I."
Then he turned and walked off without waiting for a reply.
Chen Mu spoke only once they were alone again.
"He's cracking."
"I know."
"He's going to try something stupid."
"I'm counting on it."
[+3 BP for disciple preparing to weaponize enemy stupidity.]
That night, Lin Tian didn't meditate.
He worked.
The Spiral Fire Refinement array had been redrawn, copied from the scroll onto clean parchment. Chen Mu hovered nearby, analyzing every curve, every node, every anomaly.
"It's incomplete," he muttered. "But it matches the structure of early sect-era fire convergence diagrams."
"Can we use it?"
"Eventually. Not yet. If you try it now, your organs might turn into soup."
"I'll wait."
[+1 BP for patient fire sorcery denial.]
The glow from the ring pulsed again, softer this time. Warm. Familiar.
Lin Tian stared at it in the dark.
"You really are changing."
"So are you."
They didn't speak again until morning.
[System Status Panel – Chen Mu (Ring State)]
Bluff Points: 42
Soul Strength: 8
Current Vessel: Refined Jade Core Ring (Stabilized)
Abilities: Voice of Authority Lv.1, Soul Tap (1/day), Resonant Presence (Passive)
Manual Access: Beginner Cultivation Manual (Simulated)
Current Objective: Guide disciple through Qi Initiation Realm
Disciple Status: Qi Initiation – Early Stage (Nearing Mid)
Legacy Flag: Dormant – Hidden Flame Echo (Unconfirmed)
Known Array: Spiral Fire Refinement (Unstable, Fragmented)