The moon hung low over Silent Edge. A phantom echo of a wooden rod cracking against stone seemed to linger in the night air. Everyone was asleep. Everyone but three.
Ilho sat in the center of the training grounds, eyes closed, his breathing slow and precise. A faint shimmer of warmth pulsed through his body with each inhale...Twilight Flow, drawn deep into his lungs and gathered patiently.
Across from him, Blue circled, eyeing Ilho's posture, bare feet brushing over stone and dirt. His steps deliberate, steady, balanced. He wasn't fast...but he didn't stumble "Posture," Blue said, tapping Ilho's shoulder with a stick. "You lose it when your mind drifts." Ilho opened one eye. "You're talking about my back again?" "And your neck. Your ankles. They're all confused."
Ilho sighed but didn't argue. Instead, inhaled deeper drawing qi into his core, resuming his meditation. This had become their rhythm, night after night. Since the second day of training, they returned here after the others had collapsed. Blue would guide Ilho in the breathing tempo of Twilight Flow...how to feel the qi not force it. In turn, Ilho helped blue with footwork...anchoring, flowing, adapting...lessons carved from surviving the streets and fighting for food.
"Again," Blue murmured without opening his eyes. Ilho rolled his shoulders. "Fine. But if you fall on your ass again, I'm telling Wu Jin." "Good, He'll beat you with his rod for interrupting his nap."
A twig snapped. Both paused. In the dark, a figure shifted...caught mid-step, eyes wide. "You. There. Come. Now. Blue's voice was sharp, mocking, and familiar. Ilho blinked. "That was eerily accurate." The shadow emerged. Do Jinhu, holding the remains of a half eaten dumpling. "You two are loud for sneaky people"
Blue tilted his head. "You breathe like a rhino." Ilho added, "And your footsteps sound like a goat being chased." Jinhu shrugged. "Couldn't sleep." Blue crossed his arms. "What gave you the idea to spy?" Jinhu grinned. "The part where you two started getting better than everyone else." Ilho clapped once. "Penalty"
Blue nodded. "Three fights." Ilho. "No breaks" Blue. "Win.." Jinhu. "...or starve."
The next morning the sun had barely crested the hills. The recruits assembled as they had done for weeks now. No sounds. Just breath, fog, and silence.
Then-
CRACK.
That cursed wooden rod struck stone again. A few recruits flinched on reflex.
"Ten laps!." Wu Jin barked. "Around the training grounds. Full sprint. If you fall behind the lead runner, double it. No one moved.
CRACK
"I said now!" The recruits bolted. Ilho lead the pack, Jinhu stayed close behind, while blue...grimacing from sore ribs pushed off into a steady stride. By the fifth lap, two had already fallen out. By the eighth another vomited at the side. Blue's vision blurred on the tenth, but he crossed the line, breath ragged. He caught a few glances as he staggered back into line...one recruit scowled, another whispered something behind a cupped hand. They were watching. The trio was being watched now.
Wu Jin was waiting. The wooden stick of doom, tapping stone again. "Wall drills." Groans filled the air. "Backs against the wall. No qi. No rest. When I say drop, you drop halfway down. When I say hold, you hold. When I say up, then you may go up." They scrambled into position. "DOWN…. seconds passed." "HOLD!" Then minutes. Muscles screamed. "UP." a few collapsed immediately. "DOWN….HOOOLD."
"Ilho!" Wu Jin Shouted. "You're shaking. Are you tired?" "No, Sir!" "Then hold for them too...the rest of you UP!"
No one dared to curse aloud, but even Blue muttered under his breath. Wu Jin stepped back eyeing every recruit.
CRACK
"This is what makes warriors. Not names. Not bloodlines. Just pain, repetition, and survival...Ilho...UP"
Wu Jin let the silence stretch. The sound of strained breathing, and shuffles of feet filled the air. Then Wu Jin pointed that damned wooden rod. "You'll fight in pairs. Three rounds. No breaks. No mercy. I'm not looking for pretty swordplay...I'm looking for survival."
He turned to the assistant. "Call the names." The instructor stepped forward, looked down at his scroll. "Ilho and Jinhu. In. Now!"
The two nodded and entered the ring. They bowed...barely...and clashed. Ilho moved like smoke, quick, efficient, and relentless. Jinhu met him with brute strength and raw aggression. They didn't hold back. Each exchange grew sharper, but no malice burned between them. Just a growing understanding.
"Enough." Wu Jin barked after three rounds. "Next!"
"Blue and Min Do." Blue stepped in, rolling his shoulders. His opponent was larger, slower, but well grounded. Their match was a test of instinct versus foundation. Blue slipped a few times, found rhythm late after catching eyes with Ilho, and held his own...narrowly.
Fight after fight passed. Wu Jin watched all with those ever calculating eyes. At the end, he didn't speak. He simply nodded once and turned away. "Training ends. Eat. Sleep. Or collapse. I care not which. Dawn again. The recruits dispersed.
Ilho caught Jinhu walking back to his room, "Stalking us again tonight?" Jinhu wiped his mouth. "Wouldn't miss it." Blue gave him a smirk. "Good. Try to keep up."
Alone—again, like every other night—the two, now turned three returned to the quiet courtyard beneath the flickering torchlight. Blue adjusted Jinhu's stance. Ilho breathed in rhythm, guiding him through Twilight Flow's pulse. Their shadows danced against the stone.
Unseen, atop the tiled edge of the training roof, three figures watched in silence. Wu Jin, arms folded, expression unreadable. Elder Wu Cheng, his cane planted gently beside him. Tang Yeol, silent, eyes narrowed not in scrutiny—but memory. None spoke. None moved. All watched with intent.
Later that night as the moon draped over Silent Edge. Blue sat alone, back straight, fingers pulsing. His breathing matched the rhythm of the world around him, measured, calm, but still far from perfect.
[Twilight Flow Synchronization: 75%]
"Progress is the child of persistence. Don't stop now"
Blue exhaled through his nose. Eyes narrowing. "One week left…"
Behind him the echoes of padded feet disappeared into the distance. Ilho had already finished his rounds. Jinhu, for once, had gone to bed early. Blue stayed longer, until the cold forced him to seek shelter in his warm room.
The next morning arrived without mercy, like Wu Jin's Rod.
CRACK
That sound again. Wu Jin stood in the center of the training field, rod in hand, jaw tight."I hope," He said slowly, eyes sweeping across the ragged lines of recruits, "you've been working when we weren't watching. We'll find out tomorrow...how many of you still stand."
He turned without a word. The recruits didn't cheer. They didn't groan. They simply moved. Another brutal day began...sprints, drills, spars, meditation, wall runs, wall sits. No breaks. No praise. Only that infernal stick echoing against stone again, and again like a war drum. And the occasional bag of rations.
The torch lit in Ilho's room flickered. The door was blocked shut. Inside the room three boys sat cross legged in a tight triangle.
Ilho exhaled first. Calm. Collected. The flow of qi around him had changed. It no longer danced wildly or pulsed erratically. It had settled in his dantian. Blue opened his eyes and observed. Ilho nodded once. "There it is. Mastery. You'll feel it when it clicks.
Blue shut his eyes, let his breath guide him. The Twilight Flow wasn't just a form...it was a rhythm, a whisper. The qi of Wudang moved like a mountain breeze. Quiet, unshakable, serene and strong. It didn't clash like the wild poison qi of the Tang clan. It didn't roar like the flames of martial fanatics. It flowed.
And then--
[Twilight Flow Synchronization: 100%]
"A job well done. Don't mistake stillness for stagnation. The river has just begun to flow."
Blue's eyes opened slowly. For a moment, the air around him shimmered, faintly. Ilho grinned. "Told you." They both turned toward Jinhu. The younger recruit was sweating, chest rising too fast. His breathing was off. His form was close, but not there yet. Ilho leaned in and adjusted his elbow. "Loosen it. Left it fall naturally."
Blue crouched near his dantian, placing two fingers along Jinhu's side. "You're forcing the qi. Breathe with it, not through it."
They rotated, correcting him. Encouraging, not scolding. Neither of them said, but both knew. They didn't want to see Jinhu wash out. Not Now. Not after how far they'd come. In that small room lit by dying torchlight, three nobodies who didn't belong anywhere found something they hadn't expected—each other.
Dawn broke over Silent Edge. No drills. No barking. Just tension thick in the air like storm clouds ready to break. The recruits stood in formation, hands tight at their sides, eyes flicking nervously to one another.
CRACK
The all too familiar sound of Wu Jin's rod snapped across the courtyard. "Lotus position." The recruits dropped instantly, legs folded, backs straight.
"Instructors," Wu Jin ordered, and a line of warriors moved like shadows, taking position behind each recruit.
CRACK
"Now." Wu Jin's voice rang out. "Show us what you've mastered."
Silence…
Then, soft breathes. One by one, they began the breathe. Some fell quickly into rhythm, circulating their qi. A few struggled barely able to move the qi in their bodies. But for most, it was uneven. Hollow. No rhythm, no pulse.
Tap. Tap. Tap
One by one, instructors tapped failed students on the shoulder and pointed them towards the wall. Shame heavy on their faces, they failed. They stood and walked...each taking their place against the wall, hands clasped behind their backs.
Tap. Tap. More followed. Until three remained.
Ilho.
Blue.
Jinhu.
CRACK
Wu Jin stepped down from the platform. "Stand."
All three opened their eyes and rose to their feet, eyes scanning to see who had made the cut and who failed.
CRACK
"Eyes front." Wu Jin barked, halting their gaze. He stopped before Ilho first. "Congratulations. I expect you to get 10 years worth of qi from this elixir. Two days." He handed him a bottle sealed with silver twine. He did the same thing for Blue and Jinhu. "Congratulations. 10 years. Two days."
The boys stood frozen, smiles on their faces and bottles in hand.
CRACK
Wu Jin walked past them, now facing the wall of failures. "I won't leave you to the wolves. You've come far...but not far enough. If you wish to leave do so now. If not. Tomorrow. Dawn."
That night, the trio sat in Blue's room, the bottles resting like forbidden treasures between them. Blue held his up, inspecting it. "Ten years. Two days." He muttered. Jinhu nodded solemnly. "Or starve." Ilho smirked. "That's not what he said." Blue turned to mock him with intensity. "It's what he meant!"
Jinhu leaned back, arms behind his head. "Man doesn't even blink when he threatens a kids stomach." Blue put on his best Wu Jin impersonation...chin high, eyes cold. "Lotus position. Breathe. Or wall!" Ilho added, "Crack!" and slapped the floor with an open palm, making the other two flinch. They all burst out laughing. "Pretty sure he heard that." Blue said, wiping his eyes. Ilho shot a glance at the door. "If he kicks it open and yells 'Wall,' I'm running."
Jinhu chuckled, lifting his bottle. "To surviving against that damned rod another day!"
Blue clinked his bottle against theirs. "To ten years!"
Ilho grinned. "To not starving."
After the laughter faded and the fire dimmed, the trio split off to their own rooms. Tomorrow, they would take the elixirs and begin the next climb.
But tonight…
Tonight, they could breathe.