One month after the Withering Valley victory, Liu Yun stood in the newly constructed Joint Council chamber. The building sat exactly halfway between the Celestial Academy and Mount Zhengyi, symbolizing the partnership between the Qilin Hui and Righteous Alliance.
But the reports spread across the crystal table before him painted a troubling picture. Their success had drawn attention from forces they hadn't expected.
"Seventeen major sects have requested formal alliance with our coalition," Grand Master Wei reported as he entered the chamber. His white robes now bore small touches of color – a sign of how the partnership had changed him. "But three times that number have declared us a threat to traditional cultivation."
Lin Fei materialized through her water travel technique, her expression grim. "The Shadow Moon Sect attacked our supply convoy yesterday. They claim we're destroying the natural order by mixing different cultivation philosophies."
The attacks had been increasing for weeks. Conservative sects saw the successful cooperation between harmony and order as dangerous precedent. If cultivators could work together despite fundamental differences, what did that mean for the rigid hierarchies that had ruled for centuries?
"How many casualties?" Liu Yun asked.
"None, thankfully," Lin Fei replied. "But they weren't trying to kill. They were testing our response methods. They're learning how we fight when we work together."
Jiang Tao appeared through a temporal rift, his instruments already active and scanning probability flows. "The attacks are coordinated," he reported. "Someone is organizing the opposition. They're not random acts of resistance."
Elder Xu entered from the Alliance wing of the building. Her formal demeanor had softened slightly during their partnership, but she remained alert to potential threats. "Our intelligence networks confirm organized opposition. They call themselves the Orthodox Preservation Society."
"Creative name," Echo Prime Zhu commented as he materialized from shadow. "But their methods are far from creative. Traditional suppression techniques. Intimidation. Economic pressure on neutral sects."
Liu Yun studied the tactical reports while the Earth Shattering Sword hummed with unease at his side. The blade's seven-fold harmony could sense the growing discord across the cultivation world. Their success was creating division instead of unity.
"They fear change," Mei Shengcao observed as she entered through the building's living walls. Plants throughout the structure carried information between different chambers. "The old masters who built their power on unchanging tradition see us as existential threats."
Grand Master Wei nodded grimly. "Several Alliance member sects are wavering. They joined us for practical benefits, but they're uncomfortable with how much we've adapted our methods."
That was the central problem, Liu Yun realized. The partnership had changed both organizations. The Qilin Hui had gained structure and stability. The Righteous Alliance had gained flexibility and innovation. But change always created resistance from those who preferred familiar patterns.
A communication crystal flared to life on the table. The image of Chen Wuji, the Void Master, appeared in the swirling energies. His ageless face showed concern.
"The cosmic balance continues to shift," he reported without preamble. "Your success in the Withering Valley has inspired similar cooperation efforts across the continent. But it has also triggered stronger opposition forces."
"Opposition to cooperation?" Elder Xu asked. "That seems counterproductive."
"Opposition to change," Chen Wuji corrected. "The cultivation world has operated on the same principles for over a millennium. Sudden transformation threatens vested interests and established power structures."
The Void Master gestured, and new images appeared in the crystal. They showed gatherings of traditional sect leaders in secret locations. Ancient masters emerging from centuries of seclusion. Artifacts of tremendous power being moved between hidden vaults.
"The Orthodox Preservation Society is merely the visible face," he continued. "Behind them stand the Eternal Pillar Sect, masters who achieved immortality through rigid adherence to unchanging law. They view your partnership as heretical deviation from proper cultivation."
Liu Yun felt a chill that had nothing to do with the chamber's temperature. The Eternal Pillar Sect was legend among cultivators. They had supposedly transcended mortality by becoming living embodiments of cosmic law itself. If they opposed the alliance, the conflict would be far beyond anything they had faced before.
"What do they want?" Grand Master Wei asked.
"Return to traditional separation," Chen Wuji replied. "Dissolution of your partnership. Punishment for those who promoted cooperation between different cultivation paths. Restoration of the old hierarchies that kept each philosophy isolated from the others."
"And if we refuse?" Lin Fei asked, though her tone suggested she already knew the answer.
"War," the Void Master said simply. "Not the petty conflicts between individual sects, but fundamental struggle over the future direction of cultivation itself. They have the power to enforce their will if they choose to act directly."
The communication crystal dimmed as Chen Wuji's image faded. The Joint Council sat in heavy silence as they absorbed the implications. Their success had made them targets of forces that could potentially destroy everything they had built.
"Recommendations?" Liu Yun asked his companions.
"Fight," Echo Prime Zhu said immediately. "We've proven that cooperation works. We don't abandon truth because others fear it."
"Negotiate," Elder Xu suggested. "Find middle ground that preserves our partnership while addressing their concerns about disruption."
"Expand," Mei Shengcao offered. "Recruit more allies before they can organize effective opposition. Show the benefits of cooperation to enough sects that suppression becomes impossible."
Jiang Tao consulted his temporal instruments before speaking. "All approaches have merit, but timing is critical. The probability streams show a decision point approaching within days. After that, our options become severely limited."
Grand Master Wei stood and walked to the chamber's great window. Beyond the crystal glass, he could see cultivators from both organizations training together in the courtyard. Alliance disciples learning harmony techniques. Qilin Hui members practicing formation discipline. A month ago, such cooperation would have been unthinkable.
"I've spent fifty years believing that order required separation," he said quietly. "That different cultivation philosophies were incompatible by nature. Working with you has shown me how wrong I was."
He turned back to face the council. "But now I understand why the old masters fear us so much. We're not just proving that cooperation is possible. We're proving that separation was never necessary. That means centuries of conflict and competition were wastes of human potential."
Liu Yun nodded. The implications went beyond cultivation techniques or sect politics. If different philosophical approaches could work together successfully, it challenged the fundamental assumptions that had shaped their civilization.
"They'll fight to preserve a system that validates their life choices," he realized. "Admitting we're right means admitting they were wrong about everything."
A new presence announced itself as the chamber's doors opened without anyone touching them. A figure in robes of pure white entered – not the practical white of Alliance uniforms, but the absolute white of freshly fallen snow that hurt to look at directly.
"Eternal Pillar Sect Envoy," the figure announced in a voice like distant thunder. "I bring terms for the dissolution of this abomination you call cooperation."
The envoy's presence filled the chamber with crushing weight. This was power beyond mortal cultivation, achieved through millennia of perfect adherence to unchanging law. Their very existence radiated the absolute certainty of cosmic order.
"Speak your terms," Grand Master Wei said formally.
"Immediate dissolution of the Joint Council. Return to traditional sect boundaries. Punishment of key cooperation advocates through qi stripping and exile. Public acknowledgment that mixing cultivation philosophies violates heavenly law."
"And if we refuse?" Liu Yun asked.
The envoy's hood turned toward him, though no face was visible within its depths. "Then you will learn why the old ways have endured for thousands of years. Some changes are not permitted by the cosmos itself."
Thunder rumbled overhead despite the clear sky. The building's living walls began to wither as absolute law pressed against harmonious growth. The crystal table cracked under the weight of unchanging certainty.
"You have three days to comply," the envoy declared before vanishing like morning mist.
The Joint Council sat in stunned silence. Their greatest challenge was no longer some external threat they could fight together. It was the fundamental question of whether cooperation itself was possible in a world built on separation.
Liu Yun gripped the Earth Shattering Sword's handle. The blade's harmony felt fragile against the weight of cosmic law. But it still sang with seven-fold resonance, reminding him why they had begun this alliance in the first place.
"Three days," he said quietly. "Time enough to decide whether we stand together or fall apart."
The storm that would determine the future of cultivation was about to break.