The pressure from Elder Vane’s hand was suffocating. It was a cold, invasive flood of Qi, systematically scouring Kai’s ridians as if searching for a hidden tumor. It bypassed his superficial defenses, digging deep toward his dantian.
If Vane reached the core, the anomaly of his dual-system soul would be laid bare.
Kai didn't panic. Instead, he forced the Void-Pulsing Sutra to act as a mirror. As Vane’s energy probed his ridians, Kai didn't block it; he reflected it, coating the intruder's own energy with the signature of the "Obsidian Plateau" he had fabricated. He fed the Elder exactly what the man expected to find: a series of rugged, unpolished, but surprisingly resilient pathways that mirrored the harsh landscape of his fictional origin.
He channeled his Qi to emulate a "crude" resonance—the hallmark of an unrefined, backwater cultivator who had compensated for a lack of formal training with raw, stubborn endurance.
Elder Vane frowned, his eyebrows knitting together. He pulled his hand back, shaking it slightly as if burned by the sheer "coarseness" of Kai’s energy.
"Crude," Vane muttered, disgust flickering in his gaze. "Your ridians are a disaster of inefficiency. You have no formal foundation, just a frantic, animalistic ability to absorb shock. It’s a miracle you haven't crippled yourself yet."
The Elder walked away, clearly disappointed. He had been looking for a master of techniques; he found only a survivor of the wastes.
"Keep your head down, 'Obsidian-Breather'," Vane said, turning his back to examine his instrunts. "You have no place in the higher research of the Seventh Peak. If I catch you near the Spire again, I will have your cultivation base crippled for the cri of wasting my ti."
Kai bowed, keeping his eyes lowered to hide the cold, calculating intelligence burning within them. "As you command, Elder."
He left the hall, his heart rate steady. He had played the fool, and it had worked. But as he descended the stairs, his [Infinite Convergence Core] flickered with a new, urgent notification.
[Infinite Convergence Core]
Status: Warning.
Observation: Elder Vane’s probe left a dormant tracking-marker within your primary ridian loop.
Action: Marker is currently harvesting data on your cultivation pulse.
Kai stopped in the middle of a steep stone staircase. He hadn't just escaped Vane; he had been tagged. The Elder didn't believe the facade as completely as he let on.
He stood on the ledge, looking out over the sprawling sect. He had successfully hidden his secret, but the sect was now actively watching his growth. If he continued to progress using his own thods, the marker would eventually expose him.
He had to get rid of the tag without triggering a localized disturbance that Vane could feel. He looked at the base of the Cloud-Piercing Spire, visible in the distance. There was one place in the sect where the background resonance was so violent and chaotic that it would act like a shredder for any delicate tracking-marker.
The Shattered Forge.
It was the sector where the sect’s weapons were forged using volcanic vents and unstable lightning-Qi. It was the most dangerous place for an outer disciple, but it was exactly the kind of environntal interference he needed to scrub his ridians clean.
He set his path toward the fire-drenched lower levels of the mountain. He would deal with the Elder's spy—one way or another.
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