Free Web NovelChapter 71: Chapter 71: Ten Days Without Climbing
For the first time since entering the Tower, Qin Yuheng was ordered not to climb.
Ten days.
To most new students, ten days was nothing. Many teams took longer than that between floors, especially after suffering injuries, mental pressure, or resource exhaustion. Some students cleared Floor 1 and waited an entire month before daring to enter Floor 2.
But for Qin Yuheng’s team, ten days felt strange.
They had grown used to the rhythm of danger and reward.
Enter a floor.
Fight.
Discover hidden mechanisms.
Survive.
Return.
Digest gains.
Prepare again.
That rhythm had become so natural that stopping felt almost heavier than moving forward.
Yet Qin Yuheng understood Yu Qingmei’s intention.
Momentum was dangerous.
Their recent record had become too bright: Floor 1 SSS, Floor 2 SS, Floor 3 SS, Floor 4 SSS, Floor 5 SSS, Floor 6 SSS, first place in the resource contest, and involvement in the Broken Seal Ruin incident. No matter how carefully he explained his results through preparation, team coordination, and a strong thunder-body talent, the pattern had begun to exceed normal genius.
Continuing immediately to Floor 7 would invite too many eyes.
So Qin Yuheng stopped.
But stopping did not mean resting.
The first day was spent reviewing every floor they had cleared. Qin Yuheng gathered Qin Yuchen, Qin Lian, and Qin Mo in a private training room at the Qin Estate. On the table were hand-drawn maps, monster notes, resource lists, injury records, and tactical mistakes.
Qin Mo stared at the thick stack of papers.
"I thought rest meant sleeping."
Qin Yuheng placed another note sheet on the table.
"Rest means recovering from the wrong kind of pressure while improving under the right kind."
"That sounds like something instructors say before making students suffer."
Qin Yuchen picked up the Floor 5 notes. "We were too close to thirty percent Blood Moon Corruption."
"Yes," Qin Yuheng said. "That was my mistake. I judged the Alpha fight possible, but I underestimated how quickly corruption would rise during the boss howl."
Qin Lian said quietly, "We also lacked wide-area suppression. If Qin Mo’s reversed Blood Moon Core formation failed, the Alpha would have regained strength."
Qin Mo raised a hand.
"I would like everyone to remember that it did not fail."
Qin Yuheng nodded. "Which is why you need to develop that method properly."
Qin Mo froze.
"I said remember, not assign homework."
Qin Yuheng slid a page toward him.
"Anti-corruption field prototype. Based on Blood Moon Core inversion, Clear Blood Stabilizing Pill powder, and sound-dampening resonance."
Qin Mo looked at the page.
His eyes moved.
Then he frowned because he was interested.
"This is annoying."
"Why?"
"Because it might work."
Qin Yuheng smiled faintly.
The second day focused on equipment.
Tie Zhenshan inspected every weapon and armor piece used from Floors 1 to 6. He scolded Qin Yuchen for allowing his sword edge to absorb too much Blood Moon residue, Qin Lian for not cleaning lake-corrosion traces from her dagger grooves properly, and Qin Yuheng for using his Black Thunder Pattern Sword as if it were "an indestructible stick with a sharp side."
Qin Yuheng accepted the criticism.
Tie Zhenshan was crude, but every word had value.
"A weapon is not just power," the old blacksmith said while applying stabilizing paste to Qin Yuheng’s blade. "It is memory. Every clash leaves something behind. Blood, fire, fog, seal pressure, beast aura. If you let too many foreign traces gather, one day your sword will answer a force you did not call." frёewebnoѵēl.com
Qin Yuheng’s eyes sharpened slightly.
"Can that happen with high-grade weapons?"
"Especially with high-grade weapons," Tie Zhenshan said. "Low-grade trash breaks before it remembers too much."
Qin Mo muttered from the side, "That is poetic and insulting."
Tie Zhenshan ignored him.
The third day focused on body recovery.
Qin Zhengyuan personally watched Qin Yuheng practice the first layer of the Origin Thunder Emperor Body Scripture. He did not know the full origin of the method, but Qin Yuheng had explained that he gained a high-grade thunder-body scripture from Tower rewards.
Qin Zhengyuan only needed to observe one circulation cycle to understand its value.
"This method is too high for your level," he said.
Qin Yuheng opened his eyes.
"I can only practice the first layer."
"Even the first layer is heavy. Do not force marrow tempering daily. Three times every seven days is enough for now. On other days, practice circulation control without pressure."
Qin Yuheng nodded.
Qin Zhengyuan picked up a wooden spear and drew a simple circle on the ground.
"Your thunder is strong, but sometimes it moves like a sword trying to become lightning. That is fast, but unstable. Power should not only burst. It should return."
He tapped the circle.
"Strike, withdraw, circulate, settle. If you only know how to release, you will become empty after every battle."
Qin Yuheng listened carefully.
His father’s strength had recovered only a little, but his understanding of combat was far beyond what Qin Yuheng could currently reach. Even a few sentences could correct hidden flaws.
The fourth day focused on team coordination without Qin Yuheng taking command.
This was Qin Zhengyuan’s suggestion.
"If every decision comes from you, your team becomes strong only while you are standing," his father said. "A true team survives even when the leader is delayed, injured, or absent."
So Qin Yuchen commanded one simulation.
Qin Lian commanded another.
Even Qin Mo was forced to command a defensive scenario, which he called "a cruel misuse of a peaceful person."
The results were revealing.
Qin Yuchen’s command style was stable, precise, and low-risk. He avoided traps well but sometimes lost opportunities because he waited for certainty.
Qin Lian’s command style was quiet and efficient. She used information well, but her low speech made it harder for others to follow quickly in chaotic moments.
Qin Mo’s command style was surprisingly good in defensive situations. He complained constantly, but he understood terrain, resource conservation, and enemy movement better than expected.
Qin Yuheng watched all three and realized his father was right.
He had been carrying too much.
Not because the others were weak.
Because he had grown used to deciding first.
That needed to change.
On the fifth day, Heavenly Gate Academy began to feel different.
Rumors spread through the student body about a wandering challenger coming to the city. At first, Qin Yuheng ignored them. Wandering challengers were common. Many young climbers traveled between academies and cities to fight rising talents, earn reputation, or secure family sponsorship.
But this rumor spread too quickly.
By afternoon, Lin Xian’er found Qin Yuheng in the library.
"I assume you have heard of Shen Wuji."
Qin Yuheng closed the book he was reading.
"Wandering challenger?"
"More than that." She sat across from him and placed a thin information slip on the table. "Twenty years old. Publicly unaffiliated. Cleared at least Floor 15. Known for challenging young climbers with unusual talents."
Qin Yuheng read the slip.
Name: Shen Wuji
Age: 20
Known combat style:
Blood-shadow palm techniques.
Short blade.
Suppression talismans.
High resistance to mental pressure.
Public record:
Defeated several academy-ranked students in nearby cities.
Rumor:
Can sense whether an opponent’s talent is unstable, artificial, or recently awakened.
Qin Yuheng’s expression did not change.
Lin Xian’er watched him carefully.
"That last rumor is why I came."
Qin Yuheng looked up.
"Who spread it?"
"Merchant channels first. Then student circles. Now Zhao Tianyu’s group is discussing whether he will challenge you."
"Too convenient."
"Yes."
"Blood Sun?"
Lin Xian’er’s smile faded slightly.
"I cannot prove it. But the route resembles the Broken Seal Ruin rumor."
Qin Yuheng folded the slip.
"Price?"
"For this information?"
"Yes."
Lin Xian’er leaned back.
"Tell me one thing. Not a secret. A judgment."
"What?"
"If Shen Wuji challenges you, will you accept?"
Qin Yuheng looked toward the distant training grounds through the library window.
"No."
Lin Xian’er blinked.
That answer had surprised her.
"No?"
"Not immediately."
"Because he is bait?"
"Because bait loses value when it is forced to wait."
Lin Xian’er smiled slowly.
"That is a better answer than yes."
Qin Yuheng stood. freeweɓnøvel.com
"Thank you for the information."
As he left the library, his expression remained calm.
But inwardly, he understood.
Blood Sun Hall had changed tactics again.
Zhao Tianyu tested pride.
The Broken Seal Ruin tested blood.
Now Shen Wuji would test talent.
A man rumored to sense unstable, artificial, or recently awakened talents.
To the world, Qin Yuheng had awakened through a Talent Fruit after failing the ceremony.
That made him a perfect target.
But they did not know one thing.
His public talent was not his core.
And his core was not something Shen Wuji could easily touch.
