Two years had passed since Li Yuan first set foot on the path of martial arts. The days weren't always easy, but time and perseverance had shaped both his body and his spirit.
Now, at the age of fourteen, Li Yuan's body was beginning to outgrow childhood. His shoulders had broadened, his frame had hardened, and his eyes had grown sharper—not just in sight, but in understanding.
In the courtyard of his modest home, under the clear morning sky, Li Yuan stood tall. Sweat still dripped from his brow, but his body did not tremble. He had just completed a full set of foundational forms once taught to him by his father.
A fist that once hesitated now struck the air with certainty.
Feet that once wavered now met the ground with steady purpose.
Li Haoming, his father, watched from an old wooden bench in the corner of the courtyard. The middle-aged man gave a slow nod.
"Your movements have come alive, Yuan," he said, stroking his thin beard.
Li Yuan only smiled. He was not one for many words—unlike the cheerful Mu Yi or the easily excited Fan Tu. He kept most thoughts to himself, letting his body speak through movement.
But one thing was clear—his movements now held meaning.
Every swing of his hand carried breath in rhythm. Every step grounded him to the earth, as if he wasn't just moving across its surface, but merging with it.
"Two years ago, I couldn't take a single blow from Father..."
"Now... even if I can't win yet, I can stand much longer."
Li Yuan knew he wasn't great. Not yet. Not strong. The world was still vast, and he was but a single small dot within it. But he also knew one thing: he moved forward every day. And with every step, he became sharper, stronger, and deeper in understanding.
By late afternoon, he walked to the river as usual with Mu Yi and Fan Tu. Laughing and playing, they didn't realize that beneath the joy, each of them had changed.
They were no longer just children fooling around—
They were young men, beginning to walk their own paths.
And at the end of those paths, the vast world still waited—ready to be explored.