[The Next Morning - Chen Family Home]
Kai woke up to sunlight streaming through his window and his mother's voice calling from downstairs.
"Kai! Breakfast is ready! Your father wants to start training early!"
He groaned and rolled out of bed. Right. Training. The thing he'd agreed to do because his dad looked worried.
"Coming!" he yelled back, pulling on clothes and stumbling downstairs.
Breakfast was simple but good—rice porridge with vegetables and a bit of salted fish. His sister Yue was already eating, swinging her legs under the table.
"You're starting cultivation training today!" she said excitedly. "That's so cool! I don't get tested for another two years."
"It's just exercise," Kai said, shoving porridge into his mouth.
"It's cultivation exercise," Yue corrected. "That's way better than normal exercise."
Kai wasn't sure he agreed, but he nodded anyway.
