Chapter 19 · The Gatekeeper's Gambit - Chapter 19: The Contract Bites Back

Su Jin caught him three steps outside the trial grounds.

She didn't say anything at first. Just stood there blocking the narrow service corridor that led back to the Keeper quarters, arms crossed, that perfect cultivator posture that made her look like she owned the entire Spire. Her face was still pale from the trial, dust on her crimson robes, but her eyes were sharp. Angry sharp.

Mo Han kept walking. Tried to, anyway.

"Qualification revoked," she said. Her voice echoed off the stone walls. "Bottom of the real roster. That was you."

Not a question. He stopped.

"Yeah," he said. "That was me."

He'd known this conversation was coming the second that iron beast put its fist through the ranking wall. The moment the second roster appeared with his name at the very bottom, marked in red ink like a warning label. Former Trial Keeper. Stripped of authority. Pending disciplinary review.

Su Jin took a step forward. The temperature in the corridor climbed about ten degrees. Little wisps of heat shimmer rose off her shoulders.