Elder Sterling held his breath so hard that his ribs began to ache.
The entire amphitheater remained frozen in silence. Two thousand disciples watched from the tiered stone bleachers, their eyes darting between the smoking ruins of Vice-Dean Karst’s inspection mirror and the young man in the faded bathrobe standing before the monument.
Kaelen did not rush. He kept both hands resting loosely in the pockets of his robe, his dark eyes fixed on the towering glacial slab.
Inside his sea of consciousness, the Fallow Slate hummed with quiet, steady precision.
[STAGE 3 TRACK 3 BURST WINDOW: 241x COMPREHENSION ONLINE] [ELAPSED OBSERVATION TIME: 4 MINUTES 00 SECONDS] [ACCUMULATED COMPREHENSION GAIN: 964 BASELINE HOURS (8,676 EFFECTIVE HOURS WITH NINE-RINGED CORE RESONANCE)] [TOTAL SWORD COMPREHENSION: 8,676 BASELINE HOURS (EXCEEDS 8,000h THRESHOLD)] [TIER 4 WHITE-LOTUS SWORD INTENT THRESHOLD REACHED: Transcendent Dao Intent (400%)]
Four minutes, Kaelen thought, feeling the immense sea of sword principles settle into his mind like clear water filling a well. Four minutes of standing on cold stone just to understand one old man’s messy handwriting.
He glanced toward the eastern balustrade. The clay teacup still sat on the polished rail, its thin spiral of steam beginning to taper off under the midday breeze.
