Path of the Forgotten.

The summons came at dawn. A white-robed messenger stood silently outside Lin Feng's quarters, holding a jade slip with a silver wax seal. No explanation. No expression. Only one sentence:

> "The Elders await your presence. Come unarmed."

Lin Feng didn't argue. He didn't need to. Whatever this was… had been waiting for him longer than he had been waiting for it.

---

Within the Sect's Inner Court – Elder Pavilion

The chamber was carved into the mountain's heart, silent and vast. Eight seats formed a circle, each occupied by a senior figure whose eyes weighed not just cultivation… but intention.

Lin Feng stood at the center....Silent.

> "Disciple Lin Feng," came the voice of the Second Elder. "You crippled Wei Zicheng. His foundation is ruined."

> "He attacked first," Lin Feng replied, voice steady.

> "And yet… your body unleashed power beyond your realm. That is not ordinary talent."

Another elder spoke, sharper. "Where did you learn such a technique? What cultivation method do you practice?"

The Seventh Elder — the one who had defended him in the prior meeting — finally spoke.

> "Enough. Let the boy breathe. There are other ways to see truth."

He raised a sleeve, and a formation lit beneath Lin Feng's feet. It didn't burn. It didn't hum. It simply… reflected.

> "This is the Mirror of Roots. If you've walked any path the Dao recognizes, it will appear."

The light wrapped around Lin Feng like mist. And then—Nothing.

No glow. No elemental hue. No foundational mark. Only a stillness that was wrong. The mist didn't vanish. It recoiled.

> "Impossible…" one elder murmured. "Even rogue cultivators have traces. Even demonic paths leave marks…"

The Seventh Elder narrowed his eyes.

> "Or perhaps," he said slowly, "he walks a path older than memory." The room fell quiet.

Then—A new voice echoed from beyond the chamber. Cool. Feminine. Calm.

> "If the elders are finished measuring shadows, I request the disciple."

Lan Xueyin stepped into the hall. She wore no veil. No expression. Just a command written into the way she walked.

> "What business does a disciple of the Hidden Moon Pavilion have here?" asked one elder.

She held up a second jade slip — sealed with a crest none of them dared question.

> "By command of the Pavilion Master, Lin Feng is to accompany me. He will partake in a dual cultivation trial under moonlight refinement. You may observe if you wish."

The elders exchanged glances. No one moved to stop her. And so, without waiting for agreement, she turned — expecting him to follow. Lin Feng did.

Because something in her voice wasn't just authority. It was challenge.

---

Hours Later – At the Moon Reflection Basin

The Moon Reflection Basin was hidden deep in a valley where sunlight never fully reached. Lanterns carved from moonstone floated gently above a still silver lake. The water was known for revealing. It stripped away lies. Not of words — of self.

Lan Xueyin stood barefoot at the edge, her robes subtly glowing with spiritual script.

> "This trial isn't to harm you," she said, still not looking at him. "But it will show me something you cannot hide."

> "And if I don't enter?"

>"Then you fear yourself more than I do."...She stepped forward into the lake. It didn't ripple and she turned back to him.

> "Come, Lin Feng. Let's see what kind of truth lives in your marrow."

Lin Feng stepped forward and the moment his feet touched the water—The lake turned black. The lanterns dimmed. A tremor passed beneath the valley as if some memory, long buried, had been disturbed.

Lan Xueyin's breath caught. She looked at Lin Feng — and for the first time, saw nothing. No aura. No qi. Not even blood.

Only silence.

The water around him didn't reflect the moonlight. It swallowed it.

---

Elsewhere – Han Yu's Hidden Study

Old records lay scattered. Han Yu's finger traced the burn mark across an ancient scroll, half-destroyed by time and intent. There had been a page here. He found only the edge — and one preserved character:

"Nihil…" His eyes narrowed.

> "Someone erased this long ago."

> "Not because it was a myth."

> "But because it was real."

---