["They call me unqualified. I call that an invitation to get creative." – Wu Feng]
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The Broken Root Sect's annual Inner Trial was approaching.
It was the only event where outer sect disciples could enter the Inner Repository, a vault of actual cultivation value: jade techniques, ancient manuals, spirit talismans—real weapons, not just sticks for posture practice.
The catch?
Only disciples above Outer Rank 50 were eligible.
Wu Feng's name wasn't even on the list.
He was, officially, Ranked Dead Last.
The trial courtyard buzzed with activity. Notices were posted. Invitations were handed to ranked disciples by stewards in red robes.
One such steward passed Wu Feng in the outer corridor and didn't even look at him.
Wu turned his head, expression calm.
"I could kill you and forge that invitation before you hit the ground," he muttered.
[+5 PP – Internal Threat Not Acted On]
He didn't need to kill the steward. Not yet.
He needed a different approach.
He needed a scheme.
Back in His Room
Wu Feng sat cross-legged on a floor mat that hadn't been replaced since the sect's founding.
His quarters were small, damp, and forgettable—perfect for someone like him.
The System pinged quietly.
[Optional Quest: Break into the Inner Trial]Objective: Gain access, sabotage a ranked disciple, and retrieve an Inner Repository item.Reward: +50 PP, Technique Choice Unlocked
"No big dramatic announcement?" Wu asked.
[System: You're in a real sect. Try not to ruin it too fast.]
He smirked.
"Fine. Time to ruin it slowly."
Target Selection
He needed:
An invitation scroll
A ranked disciple with a weak link
An excuse to walk through the trial gates without a blade through his chest
Wu Feng's eyes narrowed at the posted rankings.
#49 – Lin Chen. Mid Foundation. Alchemy major. Little to no real combat experience.
Soft target.
The Setup
Two days before the trial.
Lin Chen was in the alchemy field, lecturing junior disciples on pill compression techniques. His voice was nasal, his posture unsure.
Wu Feng, disguised in a simple face-dimming talisman, waited nearby.
He didn't need to kill him.
Just ruin him.
At midnight, Wu snuck into Lin Chen's quarters. No guards. Just a simple warding formation.
Wu used an illusion ink scroll—bought cheaply from the Petty Shop—to forge a handwritten confession.
"I, Lin Chen, received aid from an outside force to improve my rank. The inner trial is my reward for serving them.May Heaven forgive me.– Lin Chen."
Then he planted a single jade talisman beside it. The mark: a faded ☯.
[+10 PP – Forgery Planted (Ranked Disciple)][+15 PP – Use of Meme Cult Signature]A convenient scapegoat. Nothing more.
The Aftermath
By morning, rumors spread like wildfire.
"Lin Chen…? Colluding with a rogue sect?""A confession was found in his own handwriting!""They say he's tied to the Meme Cult!"
Lin Chen denied everything. He screamed, pleaded, offered to take truth pills.
No one believed him.
The trial committee didn't want controversy.
They disqualified him quietly.
His invitation was revoked.
The Substitution
That evening, Wu Feng approached the steward in charge of re-assigning trial slots.
He wore an outer sect uniform, perfectly pressed, clean for once. His hair was tied like a ranked disciple.
He handed the man a scroll.
"Replacement for Slot #49," he said. "Elder Han's instruction."
The steward glanced at the scroll.
The seal shimmered. A copied jade emblem, recreated from observation and a forgery manual.
"Fine," the steward muttered. "Name?"
"Wu Feng."
The steward flinched.
"…That Wu Feng?"
Wu smiled politely.
"The very one."
[+25 PP – Authority Bluff (Forged Document)][+10 PP – Risk Tolerance Bonus][Access Gained: Inner Trial Participant Slot Acquired]
Trial Courtyard – Day of the Event
Seventy-five disciples stood ready in rows.
Most were at peak Qi Gathering or Foundation Establishment. Well-robed. Well-fed. Well-pampered.
Wu Feng stood in the last row.
No aura. No backer. No expression.
Just calm eyes and a plan.
The objective was clear: enter the stone valley, pass the spiritual tests, and retrieve one item from the Inner Repository vault at the center.
The others would fight over the best scrolls.
Wu Feng didn't need the best.
He needed something unattended—so he could take it without being noticed.
He already had an item in mind.
The Target
The Silent Wind Movement Scroll.
Ranked below the "useful" techniques. Overlooked by flashier options. But rare.
Why?
It didn't boost combat power. It enhanced stealth, escape, and presence suppression.
It was the perfect scroll for someone who intended to keep walking into places he didn't belong.
System Update
Petty Points: 275New Passive Unlock: Trail of ConfusionYou gain 10% more PP for schemes that result in someone else being blamed.
That Night
The valley was still.
Wu Feng moved like a ghost through the stone forest of the trial zone.
Behind him, three disciples were already fighting over a mid-grade fire talisman.
Ahead, the vault doors loomed.
Inside was his prize.
He walked calmly, as if invited, as if welcomed, as if the world itself had been forged to let him in.
"Funny thing," he whispered to himself."The sect thinks I'm here by mistake.Lin Chen thinks I ruined him.The Meme Cult takes the blame.And I get stronger in silence."
He stepped through the threshold, hand extended.