Jin Nian had three rules when waking up:
1. Don't fall off the roof again.
2. Ignore anything glowing unless it says "System Approved."
3. Never investigate strange sounds before tea.
This morning broke all three.
He awoke to the sound of chanting, echoing from the base of the Memory-Sealing Peak. Not just one voice — dozens, all whispering the same foreign syllables in low, gravelly tones. For a moment, he thought he was dreaming again.
Until a ghost pigeon flew into his face.
"Aaagh!" He staggered, flailing as the translucent bird phased through his head, cooing with what he swore sounded like ancient sarcasm.
> System Notification:
[Spiritual Interference Detected: Memory-Sealing Peak Attempting Automatic Recall.]
[Link Threshold Exceeded – Internal Echo Forming.]
"What does that mean?" he shouted at the sky. "And why are pigeons involved?!"
---
By the time he reached the base of the peak, disciples were already circling the area, staring in awe.
A sphere of light had formed halfway up the mountain. Inside, a swirling image played in silence — a memory. But not his own.
It showed a battlefield of sky-fire and sand, men wearing crimson masks, and at the center, a cloaked figure standing atop a tower of bones.
Mo Jing was scribbling faster than lightning. Hong Yan clutched a rice bun like a weapon. Wu Ling had descended from the peak and stood motionless, gaze locked on the illusion.
"That man," she whispered, "he was chanting the same thing I heard in my dream."
Jin Nian's voice was flat. "That's because you're seeing an echo. The peak is replaying something… not from this life. Maybe not even the last one."
He looked around, lowering his voice.
"And someone is trying to watch with us."
---
That was when a spiritual tremor shook the outer boundary of the sect.
The system chimed again.
> Boundary Breach Detected: External Observer Probing from Shadow Plane.
> Warning: Power exceeds Sect Master's current range. Shielded only within territory.
> System Advice: Stall. Bluff. Or Run.
Jin Nian blinked. "Why is 'run' even an option?!"
Hong Yan raised her hand. "Permission to vote for 'stall but dramatically.'"
"Denied."
"Then I vote for 'panic.'"
"Approved."
---
He gathered his disciples in the center court.
"Alright," Jin Nian began, trying to look taller by standing on a rock. "Listen. Something is watching us. Not a man, not a beast. Something… older."
"Like… an uncle?" one of the kids asked.
"No. Older than that. Older than your grandfather's childhood dream. Something from when cultivators still believed stars were gods and demons taught swordplay."
Hong Yan gasped. "Are we being stalked by ancient sword demon star uncles?!"
Wu Ling smacked her.
Mo Jing just whispered, "It's trying to find the fragments before we do."
Jin Nian looked at her sharply. "How do you know?"
She shrugged. "Dream last night. It said: 'You locked me out once, little thief. You won't again.'"
Everyone went silent.
Jin Nian exhaled. "Okay. No one cultivates alone from now on. Use buddy formations. No night wandering. And absolutely no talking to mysterious pigeons."
One disciple raised a hand. "Too late."
"...Did you sign a contract?"
"Yes, but it was in feather script."
"Great. We'll need a lawyer."
---
That night, Jin Nian sat on the highest stone of the Memory-Sealing Peak, feet dangling into open sky. He opened his palm and summoned the spiritual thread he'd hidden — a thin, near-invisible strand of will tied to the first Memory Fragment he'd unlocked.
He focused.
And this time, instead of a vision, he heard a voice. His own voice. From a life long past.
> "This knowledge is not forbidden because it is evil. It is forbidden because it questions the very fabric of truth. If one cultivates the world itself… who decides where the world ends?"
Jin Nian stared into the stars.
"I'm starting to hate my old self," he muttered. "So poetic. So vague. So… not helpful."
The wind shifted. Cold.
Then a voice — real, present — echoed beside his ear:
> "You're only three fragments in, Jin Nian. What will you become when you reach ten? Or twenty? Will you still be you?"
He spun. No one was there.
> System Ping:
Mental Interference Blocked. Memory Lock Reinforced.
Do not trust all echoes. Some are bait.
---
Down at the training grounds, something stranger was happening.
Mo Jing sat by the pond, unmoving. In her lap, her notebook wrote itself. Lines of text appeared with smoky ink.
> "The Observer seeks the core. The core seeks the root. The root lies within the final disciple. She who remembers what even the master has forgotten."
Beside her, the pond reflected not her face — but Wu Ling's.
And Wu Ling's reflection was crying.
---
The next morning, Jin Nian announced a new order.
"No more cultivating on Memory-Sealing Peak without supervision," he said.
"But Master!" Hong Yan whined, "I was finally getting the hang of sword meditation! I sliced my own sneeze yesterday!"
"Exactly. We're not ready to awaken more fragments. Not yet."
Wu Ling didn't argue. She only stared at him with quiet intensity.
He looked back at her, mind racing. She'd been the first to link. She was seeing the clearest echoes. Was she…
> The final disciple?
> The root?
He didn't know. But the more fragments they unlocked, the closer they were getting — not just to power, but to danger.
Maybe he had locked his memories for a reason.
Maybe some truths were never meant to be remembered.
---
> System Message:
New Side Quest Unlocked: Root of the Final Disciple.
Objective: Discover why Wu Ling's memories go deeper than the Sect Master's.
Reward: Memory Fragment 4 (Hidden Path)
> Warning: Observer's trace growing stronger. Prepare to defend Peak One.
---
Reader Question:
Why do you think Wu Ling is able to see more than even Jin Nian? Is she linked to his past… or something far more ancient? Drop your theories below!
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