Yuming returned to his dwellings tired and injured, but secretly pleased.

  He lit three incense sticks and began applying a soothing paste Tianjue had given him. That was the benefit of being locked into the Zhan Branch—he could accept their gifts without scruples.

  He pulled out a wooden token from his robes and rubbed it with his fingers. It was the token from the Ancestral Tree ritual.

  Yuming understood that he had taken a risk when he acted before the sabotage, but he had hope that it would pay off.

  If his goal was only to make Qin Yueshan suspicious enough to keep him at the Wen compound, he may have acted differently. Qin Yueshan already watched him closely—just acting before the contamination struck might have been enough to alert her.

  But Yuming chose to match the qi pattern of the contamination. This was much harder to defend; it made him look involved.

  But his goal wasn’t about Qin Yueshan—it was about Tianjue.

  Yuming had already decided that his best course of action would be reaching Qi Condensation through the Ancestral Tree’s mold, and forging a new identity while doing so. But before he could even attempt Qi Condensation, he needed to reach Dantian Awakening.

  And for that, he needed ignition.

  Yuming had theorized that the Zhan Branch had created a mold around him. The higher his cultivation, the more tightly he would fit that mold.

  So, if Tianjue started to suspect that Yuming was compromised, that he knew about the Zhan Branch’s plans, then perhaps he would accelerate Yuming’s cultivation. He would push Yuming deeper into the mold.

  And help Yuming awaken his dantian.

  If Yuming miscalculated, Zhan might decide he was too compromised to use. But Yuming was betting on years of investment. The Zhan Branch wouldn't discard him over suspicion, they’d likely try to secure him first.

  A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts.

  Wen Yuanfeng stood in the doorway, his grandson Wen Changyi half-hidden behind his leg. The man’s face was lined with worry.

  “Young Master, I’ve come to see if you need anything.”

  Yuming smiled at the hiding Changyi. “This Junior is fine, Family Head Wen. Thankfully the medicine is working.”

  Yuanfeng nodded but didn’t leave. His eyes moved across Yuming’s face, searching for something.

  Changyi tugged on his grandfather’s robes, then finally developed the courage to look Yuming in his eyes.

  “Y-you saved that girl. You’re a hero!”

  Yuming cycled some qi through his meridians. He didn’t feel any new karmic thread from Liu Qingyu.

  Liu Mingchen probably was about to help her anyway.

  But why let the little boy down?

  Yuming grinned, a twinkle appearing in his eye. “One day, you’ll save someone too.”

  Wen Yuanfeng watched the exchange in silence. His expression was difficult to read.

  "Thank you for your kindness, Young Master," he said finally. "Rest well."

  He guided Changyi away. At the door, he took one final glance at Yuming.

  Then they were gone.

  The next morning, Yuming found a quiet corner of the compound and sat in meditation. Qin Yueshan came to observe him once, but beyond that things were quiet.

  He was recovering, cycling qi gently through his damaged meridians, letting the medicine do its work.

  He was also exploring the Wen Tree’s fragment that was lodged in his fault line.

  The presence was persistent. Every session, there was a thread of recognition that refused to fade. He prodded it carefully, testing its edges.

  I might not be able to attend another Tree session. Is this enough to condense around?

  No.

  It took years of dependency on the Zhan Branch for that mold to form completely. He’d only attended Ancestral Tree sessions for two months.

  But there was a crucial difference: he wanted to condense around the Ancestral Tree. Zhan had to slowly guide him; now, Yuming could operate on his own timeline.

  The fragment was, in essence, a thread of recognition from the Tree. That recognition was karmic weight, the kind of weight that determined what shape your identity took when you finally condensed at Qi Condensation.

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  The Zhan Branch had spent years building weight on their axis. Every gift, every debt, every witnessed interaction pulled his future self toward them. When he condensed, he would compress into the shape they'd designed for him.

  If I can build enough weight along the Tree axis before I condense, I won't compress entirely toward them. I'll have another direction to fall.

  Importantly, he’d be able to cultivate at his own pace, instead of when Zhan wanted him to.

  The problem was simple: without sessions, he couldn't deepen the connection. The tree wasn't actively reaching into him anymore.

  But he could still maintain the connection.

  He settled into meditation, running his orbit while holding awareness of the fragment. The Tree couldn't see him the way it did during sessions, yet the Tree still recognized him.

  Every moment he cultivated while connected to that recognition, the tree witnessed him. Each moment he added a fraction of weight to the axis that Zhan didn’t control.

  It wasn’t as fast as before, but it was enough.

  Deep in meditation, Yuming didn’t notice the footsteps approaching him.

  Yuming opened his eyes slowly, letting annoyance show on his face before smoothing it away. In front of him was the broad-shouldered Liu Zhong.

  Liu Zhong rarely approached Yuming; Yuming could tell that Liu Zhong held some resentment towards him.

  Liu Zhong spoke curtly. “Junior Brother, how are your injuries?”

  Junior Brother? What gives him the confidence?

  Liu Zhong was older than Yuming, but their cultivation was similar. Actually, Yuming’s was slightly ahead.

  Due to Yuming’s status, not even Liu Yufeng called him Junior Brother.

  Then Yuming recalled the gifts Tianjue had given Liu Zhong. Liu Zhong thought he was being cultivated now, so he naturally held his head high.

  Ah, that explains it.

  Yuming’s lips curved slightly as he clasped his hands. “Senior Brother, the medicine is working well. Thank you.”

  Liu Zhong nodded then fell silent, not quite meeting Yuming’s eyes. He lingered awkwardly, clearly wanting to say something.

  “The Wen Family is treating us well,” Liu Zhong observed. “Better food than what us juniors receive on Far Lantern Peak.”

  He paused.

  “At least, better than what I receive on Far Lantern Peak.”

  Yuming was growing slightly agitated. Did Liu Zhong interrupt his meditation just to call him Junior Brother and complain?

  Yuming raised an eyebrow. “Oh? I feel the food our Liu Family provides me is much better than what I’ve had here.”

  Liu Zhong clenched his fists slightly, inwardly cursing the injustice and inequity of the world.

  He exhaled slowly, forcing his hands to relax.

  "You were impressive yesterday," he said, the words clearly costing him. "Saving Qingyu. I didn't know you understood formations so well."

  "I just reacted."

  Liu Zhong shook his head. “No, you’re clearly well-trained.” He took a deeper gaze at Yuming. “I heard you spoke with Ancestor Xuehan. Did she help you?”

  The words “Ancestor Xuehan” sent alarms ringing in Yuming’s head. Why would Liu Zhong know about that?

  Unless…

  Does Tianjue think that Xuehan—or the Xu Branch—was behind my actions yesterday?

  Yuming knew that Tianjue had grown closer to Liu Zhong. He also knew that Liu Zhong wouldn’t usually approach him.

  So it was fair to assume Tianjue was using Liu Zhong as a mouthpiece.

  Unfortunately, Liu Zhong was somewhat clumsy with his execution.

  If Tianjue suspects Xu is instructing me, let’s confirm his suspicions.

  So, Yuming’s expression flickered. Tension briefly appeared in his eyes as he hurried to explain. “She’s a mentor to many! She speaks with many talented juniors.”

  Yuming’s final words, “talented juniors,” further provoked Liu Zhong. Needless to say, he hadn’t been visited by Xuehan.

  "I'm sure she does," Liu Zhong said coldly. "And what did she mentor you about, specifically?"

  Yuming hesitated, his eyes darted towards the floor.

  “Just my cultivation. I cultivated a very difficult technique.”

  “So I’ve heard,” Liu Zhong responded.

  Liu Zhong started to turn away, but Yuming added one more line. “Actually, I requested to see her. She didn’t seek me out.”

  Liu Zhong smiled thinly.

  "Rest well, Junior Brother. I hope your recovery continues smoothly."

  Meanwhile, Liu Tianjue stood, watching the conversation through a jade slip he had given Liu Zhong.

  Yuming is trying to downplay their connection. If he had nothing to hide, why clarify that he sought Xuehan out?

  His suspicions were turning into certainty. Xuehan had gotten to the boy, the Xu Branch was overstepping.

  Tianjue grabbed another recording device and hid it in Yuming’s dwellings before he returned.

  The movement alerted Qin Yueshan, who had of course also placed a number of recording instruments in Yuming’s dwelling.

  Why is Liu Tianjue coming here?

  She frowned, wondering what the jade slip he placed was for.

  Is it for communication?

  She was about to investigate at the scene when she noticed Yuming start making his way towards his room.

  She watched as Yuming sat down on his bed, and pulled out a token. It was the token from the ritual—the token he hadn’t returned!

  Qin Yueshan cycled qi through various jade slips, trying to observe the scene as accurately as possible.

  The scene was clearly wrong.

  Juniors didn’t use tokens unsupervised. Yet there was Liu Yuming, cycling qi into a token that should have already been returned and cleaned.

  The dormant formation lines embedded in the token flickered faintly as he fed them with qi. The resonance marks that should have been fading started strengthening ever so slightly.

  Occasionally, Yuming’s lips moved.

  Worst of all, the faint pulse of resonance rippled from time to time from the token towards the Ancestral Tree. Unauthorized, outside of any supervision.

  Qin Yueshan was incredulous.

  How blatant! The Liu Family plans to keep smuggling karma after they’ve already been caught!

  Qin Yueshan’s gaze turned cold.

  Perhaps they’re doing something far more serious than just smuggling some minor family’s karma. I just don’t know what it is yet.

  She thought of the jade slip that Tianjue had just placed in the room.

  Was he using it to feed Yuming information? To try to stop me from prying? Or both?

  Meanwhile, Liu Tianjue was watching the same thing through his newly placed jade slip. His reaction was different.

  This… he’s trying to preserve the token! Why?

  The answer was obvious.

  Xu is instructing him to maintain a separate channel—a channel outside of our control!

  The method had Liu Xuehan written all over it.

  But what should he do? Inform his elders that their asset was compromised?

  Let’s not rush.

  If Yuming truly was compromised, he would be held partly responsible.

  If he could instead stop the Xu Branch’s plan and reclaim the asset, he’d be in a much better position.

  Yuming didn’t know exactly what either was thinking, although he had some educated guesses.

  He fed more qi into the token and felt the partial Wen Tree mark respond. A faint resonance hummed between the token and the fragment in his fault line. It was two pieces of the same connection, separated by his fractured identity.

  Can I strengthen this without more sessions?

  He pushed gently. The Tree’s attention shifted towards him.

  Yes.