Fifteen days passed quietly.
At least, they seemed quiet on the surface.
The Green Bamboo Sect had not fully calmed after the Outer Sect Competition. Even now, disciples still spoke about the final rankings whenever they gathered.
Jian Wuji remained Rank 1.
Su Wanqing remained Rank 2.
And Fang Lin, the newcomer who had shaken the entire outer sect, now stood at Rank 3.
That single name had changed many things.
The ordinary outer disciples spoke of him with admiration.
The faction disciples spoke of him with hatred.
The elders watched him with interest.
And the alliance side treated him as a rising star.
But Fang Lin himself rarely appeared.
After the competition ended, the sect delivered the official reward for third place.
Spirit stones.
Medicinal pills.
A recommendation token.
And the right to choose a higher-grade technique or mission opportunity later.
Combined with the private reward Feng Jiu'er had given him, Fang Lin now possessed more resources than he had ever held before.
Yet he did not celebrate.
He entered closed-door cultivation.
Inside Room 53579, Fang Lin spent the next fifteen days refining everything he had gained.
Spirit stones were absorbed one by one.
The grey stone refined their energy into cosmic energy.
The Nine Nether Phantom Body advanced rapidly.
His soul strength deepened.
His comprehension became sharper.
And the techniques he had learned began reaching terrifying levels of control.
Flowing Wind Steps became smoother.
No longer did it feel like a technique he activated.
It felt like part of his movement itself.
Wind Break Palm became more refined.
The compression grew faster, quieter, and far more dangerous.
Frost Trace Sword Art advanced at shocking speed.
The pale sword marks left behind by Frost Wind lasted longer now, forming faint trails of cold Qi in the air.
Even Phantom Transformation became easier to use.
His face, aura, body shape, and presence could now shift with far greater precision.
Fang Lin did not know whether he had reached the true peak of each technique.
But within his current realm—
His comprehension had reached a limit.
A quiet limit.
A terrifying limit.
On the fifteenth night, Fang Lin slowly opened his eyes.
The room was dark.
Moonlight slipped through the window and touched the floor.
Before him, Frost Wind rested quietly.
Beside it were several empty spirit stone fragments.
Inside his spiritual sea, the grey stone floated silently, wrapped in smoky mist that had thickened much more than before.
Fang Lin could feel it clearly.
He was stronger.
Much stronger than when the competition ended.
But staying in the sect would no longer be enough.
The outer sect had become too small.
Too many people were watching him.
Too many gazes.
Too many expectations.
Too many dangers that would not show themselves openly.
If he continued growing inside the sect, every step would be observed.
Every technique studied.
Every secret threatened.
Fang Lin slowly stood.
"It is time to see the outside world."
He had made the decision days ago.
He would leave quietly.
No announcement.
No farewell.
No permission that could become a chain.
He changed his clothes into ordinary grey robes.
Then he activated Phantom Transformation.
His face shifted.
His eyes became duller.
His jaw became wider.
His height lowered slightly.
His aura weakened until he seemed like an ordinary outer disciple at the early Qi Conjunction Realm.
Then even that aura faded further.
He looked forgettable.
Someone no one would remember.
Fang Lin picked up Frost Wind and stored it carefully. He did not wear it openly.
Then he placed a short note on the table.
Only a few words.
"I am going out to train. I will return."
He paused for a moment.
Then added one more line.
"Do not look for me."
After that, he quietly opened the window.
The night wind entered the room.
Fang Lin stepped out silently.
Flowing Wind Steps carried him through the shadows.
No one noticed.
Not the disciples guarding the pathways.
Not the servants moving between halls.
Not the outer disciples cultivating in nearby rooms.
Under the cover of night, Fang Lin left Room 53579.
Then the outer disciple residences.
Then the Green Bamboo Sect.
By the time the moon reached its highest point, Fang Lin had already disappeared into the mountains beyond the sect.
The next morning, Xuo Mu was the first to discover it.
He knocked on Fang Lin's door as usual.
"Fang Lin!"
No answer.
He knocked again.
"Fang Lin, are you still cultivating?"
Still no answer.
Xuo Mu frowned and pushed the door open.
The room was empty.
The bamboo bed was neat.
The sword was gone.
Fang Lin was gone.
Only the note remained on the table.
Xuo Mu picked it up.
His face changed.
A few moments later, Xue Ji arrived.
Then Li Shan.
Murong Yue.
Luo Chen.
Han Zhi.
Bai Qing.
Zhao Feng.
The room became crowded quickly.
Murong Yue snatched the note from Xuo Mu's hand.
Her expression changed as she read it.
"He left?"
Luo Chen frowned.
"Without telling anyone?"
Xuo Mu's eyes turned red.
"That idiot! Why would he leave alone?"
Xue Ji remained silent, but her fingers tightened slightly.
Li Shan took the note and read it carefully.
His expression became calm.
Too calm.
Han Zhi looked at him.
"You expected this?"
Li Shan shook his head.
"Not this soon."
Bai Qing sighed softly.
"He did not want to involve anyone."
Zhao Feng looked toward the window.
"There are no signs of forced entry."
Murong Yue clenched her fists.
"Of course there are no signs. He ran away himself."
Xuo Mu shouted, "We should look for him!"
Li Shan folded the note slowly.
"He told us not to."
"So we just sit here?" Xuo Mu asked angrily.
Li Shan looked at him.
"If Fang Lin wanted us to follow, he would have said where he was going."
Xuo Mu fell silent.
His eyes remained red.
Xue Ji finally spoke softly.
"He will come back."
No one answered immediately.
Because none of them knew if that was true.
News spread quickly.
By noon, the outer sect knew Fang Lin had left.
Some disciples were shocked.
Some were excited.
Some admired him even more.
"He left alone?"
"That is courage."
"He already reached Rank 3. Maybe he wants real experience."
"People like him cannot stay confined forever."
But not everyone reacted kindly.
On the faction side, Xu Ren laughed coldly when he heard the news.
"He left the sect?"
His eyes filled with malice.
"Good."
Chen Hao sat nearby, his injuries mostly healed but his expression still dark.
He said nothing.
Xu Ren continued, "Outside the sect, accidents happen."
Yue Fang glanced at him.
"Do not be stupid."
Xu Ren frowned.
"What?"
Yue Fang said calmly, "If he left quietly, he likely has confidence."
Shen Ku, seated in the corner, opened his eyes slightly.
"He hides well."
Chen Hao finally spoke.
"Watch the roads."
The room became silent.
Xu Ren's eyes brightened slightly.
Chen Hao's voice remained cold.
"Do not act unless you are certain."
No one dared reply carelessly.
Elsewhere, many ordinary disciples felt disappointed.
Fang Lin had become something like a banner for them.
A proof that someone without clan backing could climb.
His sudden disappearance left a strange emptiness behind.
Some worried.
Some hoped he would return stronger.
Some believed he had gone to chase greater opportunities.
And some secretly prayed he would die outside.
High above the outer sect, Elder Feng stood on a pavilion, holding the note in his hand.
His expression was thoughtful.
The Sect Master stood beside him.
"He left?"
Elder Feng nodded.
"Silently."
The Sect Master smiled faintly.
"Good."
Elder Feng glanced at him.
"You are not worried?"
"Of course I am."
"You do not look worried."
"That is because worrying will not bring him back."
Elder Feng looked toward the distant mountains.
"He is still young."
The Sect Master replied calmly, "And already too visible."
A brief silence passed.
Then he continued, "Leaving may be the safest choice."
Elder Feng's gaze deepened.
"Or the most dangerous."
The Sect Master smiled.
"Usually, both are the same."
On Rising Phoenix Mountain, Feng Jiu'er stood alone beneath a red-leaf tree.
The wind moved gently through her robes.
In her hand was a copy of Fang Lin's note.
I am going out to train.
I will return.
Do not look for me.
She stared at the words for a long time.
Her expression was calm.
Too calm.
But her fingers had tightened around the paper.
"That idiot…"
Her voice was soft.
Almost a whisper.
She had known he would not remain in the outer sect forever.
Someone like Fang Lin could not be kept in one place.
But she had not expected him to leave without saying anything.
No warning.
No farewell.
Nothing.
Only a note.
Elder Feng appeared behind her quietly.
"He chose his own path."
Feng Jiu'er did not turn.
"He could have told me."
Elder Feng smiled faintly.
"And what would you have done?"
Feng Jiu'er fell silent.
After a moment, she said coldly, "Nothing."
Elder Feng's smile deepened.
"Of course."
Feng Jiu'er's eyes narrowed.
"Grandpa."
"I said nothing."
She looked toward the distant mountains.
Her voice became quieter.
"Will he come back?"
Elder Feng did not answer immediately.
The wind passed through the red leaves.
Finally, he said, "If he survives."
Feng Jiu'er's fingers tightened again.
Far away from the Green Bamboo Sect, Fang Lin walked alone through the mountain forest.
His face was no longer his own.
His aura was ordinary.
His footsteps were silent.
Behind him, the sect slowly disappeared beyond layers of mist.
Ahead, the world stretched wide and unknown.
Cities.
Clans.
Sects.
Ruins.
Enemies.
Opportunities.
Danger.
Fang Lin stopped briefly at the top of a hill and looked back once.
The Green Bamboo Sect was distant now.
For a moment, faces appeared in his mind.
Xuo Mu.
Xue Ji.
Li Shan.
Murong Yue.
Bai Qing.
Han Zhi.
Zhao Feng.
Luo Chen.
Elder Feng.
Feng Jiu'er.
His gaze paused slightly at the last thought.
Then he turned away.
"I will return."
His voice was quiet.
Only the wind heard it.
Inside his spiritual sea, the grey stone pulsed softly.
The smoky mist stirred.
As if approving.
Fang Lin continued walking.
He did not know where this path would lead.
He did not know what waited beyond the mountains.
But he knew one thing clearly.
If he wanted answers—
If he wanted strength—
If he wanted to one day uncover the truth behind Uncle Wei, his parents, the grey stone, and the world itself—
Then he could not remain sheltered.
The first step into the outer world had begun.