The Eye of the Storm Approaches

Shen Moxin took off her glasses and slowly wiped the lenses with her sleeve. "The people from the Listening Wind Pavilion have arrived." She lowered her voice, "A new face came to the herbal medicine shop, and their way of asking questions was quite peculiar."

Lu Yuan raised his head.

"He doesn't question suspicious people, nor does he ask about medicine for injuries." Shen Moxin put his glasses back on. "He asked, 'In the past two years, has anyone in town suddenly become particularly interested in Soul Power theory? Especially the basic model and the analysis of Martial Soul structure?'"

Mo Chen stopped carving with his knife.

"He also reviewed the records of medicinal herb purchases and sales," Shen Moxin continued, "And pinpointed precisely the batch of phosphorus powder that Mo Chen bought three months ago—it was recorded as 'insecticide' at the time."

Lin Xiao leaned against the stone wall, his tongue licking his canine teeth. "What a keen nose."

"Not only that." Shen Moxin shook her head. "I went to check Bai Zhi's contact point. The bricks and stones had been moved, and there were fresh shoe prints at the base of the wall, made of red clay from Old Crow Ridge to the north."

There was a moment of silence in the mine tunnel.

Lu Yuan tapped his index finger on the stone table. "They're probing the outer perimeter."

"What about the rumors?" he asked.

Shen Moxin's expression was complicated. "Two versions. The official version claims it's an 'underground cult,' a 'heretical doctrine,' and 'resource plundering,' and they've even fabricated the 'human sacrifice' claim."

Lin Xiao scoffed.

"But privately," Shen Moxin pushed up her glasses, "in places where lower-level Soul Master congregate, and in the small circles of the Imperial pilot class students, another voice has begun to emerge. They say there's a group of people in Old Crow Ridge who don't care about the grade of their Martial Soul or their background, but rather emphasize 'foundation' and 'control.' They say that robbing the Cloud Mist Sect's mine carts is to use Soul Crystals to 'build a place where ordinary Soul Master also have a chance.'"

Mo Chen was stunned. "Who spread the message?"

"I don't know. The rumors are very subtle." Shen Moxin looked at Lu Yuan. "The direction is clear: they're trying to steer the looting towards 'resisting monopolies'."

Lu Yuan listened in silence.

Two sounds, one positive and one negative.

"Someone is helping us," Lin Xiao said. "It's not Bai Zhi. She wouldn't use such an inflammatory method."

Lu Yuan nodded. The number of people who knew the details of the pilot program was very small.

Su Yan came in from outside and put down the tray. "Sir, Li Wangye came back from the guard post and said he felt someone was watching him."

"Specific."

"He couldn't explain it. He just felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end a few times, but when he looked back, there was nothing there."

Lin Xiao's figure flashed to the entrance of the mine tunnel.

"Don't go," Lu Yuan stopped him. "If it's the Listening Wind Pavilion, your presence will only expose your location. If it's the Shadow Guards..."

He didn't finish speaking.

The mine tunnels fell silent.

The pressure mounted over the next two days.

The three Soul Power sensing nodes that Mo Chen had set up on the periphery were triggered twice. Once at dawn and once at noon. The triggering time was extremely short, and the fluctuations were so weak that they were almost imperceptible.

There was no intrusion, no destruction.

Just touching.

Shen Moxin tried to send a message through the backup contact point, but that point had not been taken. She dared not try again.

Rumors in the town intensified. Negative versions began to make more specific accusations—"skilled at manipulating lightning and fire, using sinister methods." Positive versions also spread among the lower-level Soul Master and reached neighboring towns.

On the evening of the third day, Lu Yuan stood under the ventilation shaft deep in the mine tunnel.

The wind seeped through the cracks in the rocks, carrying the chill of late autumn. He looked up at the narrow slit of light; the sky outside was a dark blue.

Footsteps approached.

Everyone had arrived. Several more oil lamps were lit, making the shadows on the rock face even deeper.

Lu Yuan turned around.

"The involvement of the Listening Wind Pavilion means that conventional covert methods are much less effective," he said. "They can trace back three months from the fire phosphorus powder and find us through other clues. Passive hiding is no longer very useful."

Shen Moxin gripped her sleeve. "What should we do then?"

"Three things." Lu Yuan held up three fingers. "First, internal cleanup. Dispose of all old items that might leave traces—purchase orders, experimental waste, scratch paper—all of them. Mo Chen, starting tomorrow, stricter material control will be implemented in the workshop area; records will not be kept overnight."

Mo Chen nodded.

"Secondly, public opinion." Lu Yuan looked at Shen Moxin. "Rumors are a double-edged sword. Since some people are helping us spread positive messages, let's give them a push. Through credible channels—the pilot class students, Bai Zhi's intelligence network—release the positive and pragmatic aspects of the ' Spark ' concept to a limited extent. Don't mention subversion, just emphasize 'the importance of the foundation' and 'an alternative approach to Soul Power control.' Win the sympathy of lower-level Soul Master, or at least... pique their curiosity."

Shen Moxin pondered. "I'll prepare the content. But how do we deliver it? The pilot class students won't be back for another five days, that's too long."

"Li Wangye," Lu Yuan turned to the boy, "You go down the mountain first thing tomorrow morning and find Shi Xiaochuan —the boy who observed the operation. Tell him: 'The master asked me to ask you, what did you understand was the most crucial element in the battle at the Yakou Valley Passage last time?' If he answers 'coordination and control,' you nod and say, 'The master said that without a solid foundation, even the best coordination is just a castle in the air.' Then leave immediately."

Li Wangye solemnly agreed.

"Third," Lu Yuan's gaze swept over everyone, "And most importantly, we need a bigger 'showcase'."

Mo Chen nearly dropped the carving knife. "Again? You already stirred up a hornet's nest last time!"

"Precisely because we've stirred up a hornet's nest, we can't back down," Lu Yuan said. "If we shrink back now, everything we've done before will be in vain, and it will only solidify our stigma. We must use an undeniable 'evidence' to solidify our ideology, deter our enemies, and attract true followers."

Shen Moxin worried. "A bigger appearance? That means greater risks!"

"Therefore, the target must be carefully chosen, and the timing must be just right." Lu Yuan walked to the stone table. "The Cloud Mist Sect has three Soul Beast breeding farms in the Black Stone Mountain Range. One of them, ' Gray Rock Valley,' is forty miles northwest of the Yakou Valley Passage. The Soul Beast there are transported there every three months, and the next one will be in seven days."

Lin Xiao's eyes lit up.

"The transport team will pass through ' A Thread of Sky,' where the narrowest point is less than three zhang (approximately 10 meters) wide." Lu Yuan paused. "If we set up a trap on the cliff top beforehand, we don't even need to lift a finger; we just need to... paralyze their team there in full view of everyone. Then, leave the same markings."

Mo Chen gasped. "How could it be paralyzed? That team had at least two Soul Ancestor escorting them!"

"Use the structure. The cliff face of the A Thread of Sky passage is made of brittle limestone, which is unstable due to constant weathering. Use a small amount of Soul Power to precisely detonate the key support points, causing a small-scale collapse to block the passage. No need to kill, just create an 'accident'." Lu Yuan looked at Mo Chen, "Could the ' Delayed Resonance Shockwave Rune ' you researched be miniaturized? Buried in the rock crevices for remote triggering?"

Mo Chen scratched his messy hair. "The theory is sound... but we need to conduct on-site surveys of the rock strata and calculate the resonance point. It will take at least two days to prepare the materials."

"There's enough time," Lu Yuan said. "Lin Xiao, tomorrow you and Mo Chen will go to the outskirts of Gray Rock Valley to survey the terrain. Don't get too close, observe with binoculars. Su Yan, prepare a materials list, allocate from inventory, and write down anything that's insufficient."

Orders were issued one after another, creating a tense atmosphere.

Just then, a very faint sound of wind breaking came from outside the mine tunnel.

Lin Xiao's figure vanished suddenly. He returned a few moments later, his face grim, clutching a dark gray letter in his hand.

The letter was unsigned, its surface covered by a faint Soul Power seal. The patterns were stark and possessed an inhuman precision.

"It was taken from the old locust tree at the outermost guard post," Lin Xiao said, his voice tense. "It was nailed to the trunk with an ice pick. The ice pick hadn't completely melted yet."

Lu Yuan took the letter, and with a slight release of his Soul Power from his fingertips, the seal shattered.

There was only one note inside.

The handwriting is thin, hard, and austere, as if carved with a knife:

"Too many ' Key ' have been revealed. The 'lock' has been alerted. Within three days, the ' Scavengers ' will arrive. You'd better watch out."

There was no name at the end.

There is only a simple sketch of an eye.

The lines are simple, yet they convey a cold, penetrating gaze.

The light from the oil lamp flickered suddenly.

Mo Chen's throat moved. Shen Moxin's fingers clenched her sleeves so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Su Yan and Li Wangye held their breath.

Lin Xiao's pupils contracted slightly, vaguely appearing as vertical pupils in the dim light.

Lu Yuan stared at the eye pattern for a long time.

Then he slowly folded the note and put it in his pocket.

"A warning from the Shadow Guards," he said calmly, "The first time it's been so direct."

Shen Moxin's voice trembled. "' Scavengers '... what does that mean?"

"It means that someone specifically in charge of 'cleaning up' is coming." Lu Yuan looked up. "' Key ' refers to our theory, this method for breaking Shackles. 'Locks'... are probably those who don't want those Shackles to be broken."

He paused.

Three days.

Outside the mine tunnel, the wind seeping in from the ventilation shaft suddenly picked up, carrying the chill of a late autumn night, howling as it rushed in.

The light from the oil lamp swayed violently in the wind, stretching and distorting the shadows on the rock face.

The true eye of the storm is fast approaching.