Han Yu rose at once, his instincts on edge.

The tent was empty, his companions gone. Fatty Kui's snores were absent, and Wu Shuan's quiet presence was nowhere to be found. Pulling on his robe, Han Yu stepped outside. The sight that greeted him was a sea of disciples rushing in every direction, many of them carrying weapons, packs, or scrolls of orders.

He grabbed the arm of a passing disciple, one who looked as though he were about to run himself into the ground.

"What is happening?" Han Yu asked.

The disciple looked startled, but when he recognized who was speaking, he quickly bowed his head. "Senior Brother Han Yu, the elders are mobilizing everyone. The main tomb has opened!"

Han Yu froze, his mind blank for a heartbeat. "What?"

"The main tomb!" the disciple repeated, his voice breathless. "It has opened early this morning! The elders are calling everyone together to be assigned!"

Han Yu's heart thumped heavily in his chest. 'The main tomb had opened?'

That was supposed to happen days, perhaps even weeks from now. The formations that had locked it away were ancient and complex, far beyond simple estimates.

"How?" he asked sharply. "What triggered it? It was not time yet."

The disciple shook his head quickly, already inching away as though afraid to be delayed. "I do not know, Senior Brother. None of us do. But not just the tomb—the complexes too! All of them opened at once. I must go; the elders will punish me if I am late."

He hurried off before Han Yu could question further, leaving him standing alone amidst the turmoil. Han Yu's brows furrowed as he considered what he had just heard. Something was wrong.

Tombs like these did not simply decide to open early. The formation seals were precise. Either some external force had interfered, or the tomb itself had chosen to respond to something.

"This is strange..." He shook his head.

There was no time to unravel the mystery now. He had to find his companions.

Scanning the crowd, Han Yu quickly spotted the familiar bulky frame of Fatty Kui, whose presence was hard to miss. The big man was carrying an enormous sack slung over his back, his round face red with effort but his grin undiminished. He waved at Han Yu the moment he noticed him.

"Brother Han Yu!" Fatty Kui called, almost toppling a pair of junior disciples as he turned around. "Good thing you are awake. Wu Shuan was just about to drag you out of bed."

Han Yu walked over quickly, eyeing the bulging sack. "What are you carrying?"

"Supplies," Fatty Kui replied, patting the bag as if it were a prized treasure. "The elders are reorganizing everything. They changed the rules entirely. No more free exploration of the complexes. Instead, they are distributing disciples to each area according to a roster."

Han Yu's eyes narrowed slightly. "Why the change?"

"Because everything opened at once," Fatty Kui explained with a shrug, his tone both annoyed and impressed. "Every last one of those complexes, even the ones sealed the tightest, are now accessible. The elders cannot risk letting people wander freely when there are so many paths open. They need to control the flow and gather information properly."

Han Yu absorbed the explanation, his frown deepening.

The reasoning made sense, yet he could not shake off the unease creeping into his thoughts. He had walked through several complexes already and knew that each held dangers and rewards in equal measure.

For all of them to open together… it smelled of something orchestrated rather than coincidence.

"And where do we fall in this roster?" Han Yu asked.

Fatty Kui chuckled, though there was a trace of disappointment in his eyes. "That is the thing. The elders are sending almost all disciples at the Qi Refining and some lower Core Condensation realm stages to act as leaders to the complexes.

They want the higher-level disciples, especially the peak Core Condensation cultivators, focused on the main tomb itself. That means us juniors are stuck filling in the gaps."

Han Yu nodded slowly. "That is expected. If the tomb holds the true treasures, the elders will not entrust it to the younger ones. Still, if the complexes are open, it means opportunities remain there as well."

Fatty Kui grinned, his mood instantly lighter. "Exactly! Who knows what we might find. Maybe I will stumble into a chamber filled with immortal wine, and you will find some godly weapon that shoots fire."

Han Yu gave him a flat look. "If you find immortal wine, you will drink yourself unconscious before even telling me."

Fatty Kui laughed, slapping the sack on his back, which made a muffled clang as if weapons or tools were hidden within. "Do not underestimate me, Brother Han Yu. I can handle at least two jars before I fall."

Despite himself, Han Yu chuckled.

The levity was welcome, even if fleeting. He looked around once more, spotting Wu Shuan approaching with a set of scrolls in his hands. The serious young man's expression was grim, though steady as always.

"Han Yu, you are awake," Wu Shuan said, handing over one of the scrolls. "Here. This is our assignment. We are to report to the seventh complex on the eastern side. The elders believe it may contain another alchemical vault, but they are uncertain. Our group is to confirm it due to our experience."

Han Yu took the scroll and glanced over the markings. The seventh eastern complex. He had heard whispers of it before, though little was known. "An alchemical vault…" he murmured. "That could be dangerous if we consider what the repository."

"Which is why they are sending groups us there," Wu Shuan replied. "No one is to enter a complex like that without experience. The elders have given strict orders."

Han Yu nodded. He could feel the weight of the situation pressing down on all of them. Whatever had triggered the sudden opening of every passage, it was not something trivial. If the elders were this cautious, it meant they too felt the strangeness of it.