Qin Yuheng did not answer the Shattered Sun Remnant Zone invitation immediately.

That alone caused discussion.

Some candidates accepted quickly to show courage. Duan Xirong was one of them. His answer was direct: if there were enemies, he would fight. The Military Youth Division also leaned toward participation. For them, controlled danger under elder supervision was an opportunity to gather battlefield merit and prove discipline.

Others hesitated.

The Merchant Alliance candidates requested reward details first.

Central Academy requested archive access rules.

Ancient family candidates requested corruption classification.

Heavenly Gate Academy requested all three.

Qin Mo approved.

"Finally, official caution."

Yu Qingmei read the assessment terms in a sealed room with Qin Yuheng’s team.

[Special Cooperative Assessment: Shattered Sun Remnant Zone]

Participation:

Voluntary.

Team Structure:

Candidates may form temporary coalition groups of 3–5 candidate teams.

Objective:

Investigate remnant zone, identify corruption pattern, retrieve safe evidence, and evacuate.

Restrictions:

No private soul contracts.

No lethal conflict between candidates.

No unauthorized opening of sealed records.

No individual pursuit beyond marked boundary.

Known Dangers:

Solar corruption residue.

Archive illusions.

Remnant guardians.

Possible domination pressure.

Unknown ritual traces.

Qin Mo looked at the words "unknown ritual traces" and sighed.

"That phrase is doing a lot of work."

Qin Yuheng nodded.

The terms were safer than a trap but not safe enough to relax. Elder supervision existed, but the assessment zone was real enough to injure people. It was not a simple simulation like Fallen Sun Archive Ruin.

This was a controlled ruin fragment.

Controlled did not mean harmless.

Yu Qingmei looked at Qin Yuheng.

"If you participate, choose coalition members carefully."

Qin Yuheng had already begun.

He listed possible allies.

Jiang Yuexuan’s team: high compatibility, old knowledge, cautious, strong against river/star/possibly moon-related phenomena.

Wei Chen’s group: reliable defense, strong trust, low political risk.

Lu Sheng’s military squad: disciplined, useful under pressure, likely to obey clear tactical structure.

Bai Yunshen’s Central Academy group: intelligent, strong archive analysis, but possibly too curious.

Duan Xirong’s Black Martial team: strong combat, but aggressive, high conflict risk.

Merchant Alliance team: useful resources and appraisal, but unclear priorities.

Meng Ancient Flame Clan: strong flame combat, but solar-corruption environment might interact dangerously with flame talents.

Zhao Tianyu: personally improving, but too risky for Shattered Sun.

Qin Yuheng made the first decision quickly.

Zhao Tianyu would not enter.

That decision caused a private conflict.

Zhao Tianyu came to him directly, expression dark.

"You think I cannot handle it."

Qin Yuheng looked at him calmly.

"I think Shattered Sun corruption may target your recently damaged class path."

Zhao Tianyu’s jaw tightened.

"So yes."

"This is not about pride."

"For you, maybe."

Qin Yuheng did not soften his answer.

"If Blood Sun or similar corruption reacts to you inside, the coalition’s objective changes from investigation to containment. That harms everyone, including you."

Zhao Tianyu’s eyes flashed. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

For a moment, old rage stirred.

Then he looked away.

"Who decided?"

"I did. Yu Qingmei agrees."

His fists clenched.

"And Zhao Lan?"

"She will agree."

That hurt more than anger.

Zhao Tianyu turned to leave.

Qin Yuheng spoke again.

"Recover fully. Then choose your next battlefield. Do not let others choose it by provoking you."

Zhao Tianyu stopped but did not turn.

"Do not speak like my instructor."

"Then stop acting like a student who needs warning."

Silence.

Then Zhao Tianyu left.

Qin Mo, who had been pretending to study a wall scroll, whispered, "That was harsh."

"Yes."

"Necessary?"

"Yes."

Qin Mo nodded.

"Annoying when those match."

The coalition negotiations began that afternoon.

Wei Chen accepted immediately.

"My team will join if Heavenly Gate approves."

Qin Yuheng nodded.

"We need your defense."

Wei Chen’s answer was simple.

"Then I will stand where needed."

Lu Sheng required military approval. Han Zhaolie gave it after a brief discussion.

"Lu Sheng follows tactical command if coalition command is agreed beforehand," Han Zhaolie said. "He will not accept vague authority."

Qin Yuheng answered, "Good. I do not want vague authority."

Lu Sheng smiled slightly.

Jiang Yuexuan’s answer came last.

She requested a direct terms meeting.

Present were Qin Yuheng, Yu Qingmei, Jiang Yuexuan, and one Jiang elder observer named Jiang Moxiu. He was quiet, old, and carried the aura of a river under ice.

Jiang Yuexuan spoke plainly.

"My team can join. Conditions: no forced sharing of clan-specific perception methods, no opening moon or river-restricted records without mutual consent, and if Crimson Eclipse traces appear, we prioritize containment over ranking."

Qin Yuheng looked at her.

"Accepted."

Jiang Moxiu watched him.

"You accept quickly."

"The terms are reasonable."

"Reasonable terms can hide unreasonable consequences."

Qin Yuheng nodded.

"That is why they are spoken before entry."

Jiang Moxiu’s eyes showed a faint trace of approval.

Yu Qingmei added academy terms: evidence would be recorded jointly, no private removal of dangerous artifacts, and all corruption samples would be sealed under assembly supervision unless personal safety demanded immediate containment.

The coalition formed:

Qin Yuheng’s core team.

Wei Chen’s defensive unit.

Lu Sheng’s military squad.

Jiang Yuexuan’s ancient clan team.

Four teams.

Balanced.

Not too large.

Not too chaotic.

Qin Mo looked at the final roster and said, "This is almost reasonable."

Qin Yuchen asked, "Almost?"

"Reasonable things become unreasonable when ruins are involved."

Lin Xian’er, not entering but acting as external intelligence support, handed Qin Yuheng a slim folder.

"Known participants from other coalitions. Duan Xirong is joining an aggressive combat coalition. Bai Yunshen is joining Central Academy’s archive-focused group. Merchant Alliance formed a resource retrieval group. Meng Flame Clan joined a high-output combat group."

Qin Yuheng read the list.

"Blood Sun?"

"No confirmed names. But several minor observer groups have unclear sponsors."

"Mo Cangyan?"

Lin Xian’er’s expression became serious.

"No public trace. But black-gold mask sightings stopped after you mentioned him. That means he changed method."

Yu Qingmei agreed.

"Assume he is watching through others now."

The day before entry, Qin Yuheng reviewed the coalition command structure.

He would act as tactical coordinator only during field movement and combat emergencies.

Jiang Yuexuan would lead archive interpretation when old records appeared.

Wei Chen would command defensive formations if Qin Yuheng became occupied.

Lu Sheng would handle military discipline and evacuation order.

Qin Mo and Jiang team’s formation specialist would jointly handle sealing arrays.

Qin Lian would lead stealth path verification.

Qin Yuchen would serve as forward guard and emergency command relay.

No one objected.

That was important.

Trust before danger was limited.

But structure existed.

That night, Qin Yuheng received a short message from Qin Wanshan.

Coalition is acceptable.

Remember:

Do not chase answers.

Do not reject patterns.

Do not let others define urgency for you.

Qin Yuheng burned the message after memorizing it.

The next morning, the Shattered Sun Remnant Zone opened.

At the assembly’s eastern gate platform, Elder Su Tianheng stood before the participating coalitions.

"This assessment is supervised, but not staged," he said. "If danger exceeds threshold, elders will intervene. But intervention reduces evaluation and may not be instant. Treat this as real."

Qin Mo whispered, "I was already doing that."

Elder Su raised one hand.

The gate behind him opened, revealing red-gold darkness.

[Special Cooperative Assessment Gate Opened]

[Destination:

Shattered Sun Remnant Zone]

Qin Yuheng stepped forward with his coalition.

Jiang Yuexuan stood to his left.

Wei Chen to his right.

Lu Sheng behind, military squad in formation.

Qin Mo muttered one last time.

"I miss ordinary floors."

Then the gate swallowed them.