The evening wind gently swept across the dirt road,which gradually turned into cobbled stone.
The sky began to turn yellow,and in the distance,the silhouette of a tall wall came into view along with red flags bearing the emblem of swirling clouds: Wuyin City.
"So this is... the first city I passed through three years ago," I murmured.
Back then, I was just a village boy walking with the envoys of the Academy.We only passed through the outskirts of the city.I didn't even know what it felt like inside,because I was too nervous thinking about the Qinglong Academy.
Ever since entering, I had never returned to this place.The training village where I stayed was far from the city center,isolated—like a small world hidden behind the shadow of the mountains.
Now, I've come back.
But I am different.
This time, I came as Li Yuan—not a confused new student,but someone who has chosen to walk his own path.
The gates of Wuyin City were crowded with merchants, residents,and guards monitoring the flow of people.
They wore layered uniforms with the Wen family emblem on their chests.
The Wen family…a noble clan that governs this cityand maintains close ties with the Qinglong Academy.
One of the guards eyed me with suspicion.
"Where are you coming from?" he asked.
I nodded respectfully.
"From Qinglong Academy.My name is Li Yuan, a student who has just completed three years of foundational training."
His expression softened slightly, and he gestured for me to pass.
"Be careful, young man. This city isn't like the walls of the Academy.The outside world... has its own ways."
I stepped inside.
Wuyin City was more alive than I had imagined.Its markets were bustling,its streets were clean and orderly.People of all kinds passed by—farmers, merchants, even a few martial artists.
My eyes caught sight of a small child reading in a corner alley.For a moment, I paused.
"If I had grown up in the city… would I have been like him?""Or would I have never learned to understand the world through silence?"
I continued walking,wandering the city without a clear destination.But with each step, I felt something new.
A sense that this world is vast.And I...am still small within it.
At an old inn named Twilight Sky, I rented a small room for the night.
The owner was an old woman, her eyes sharp but kind.
"Rare for Academy students to stay here," she said."Usually, they head straight for the luxurious places downtown."
I gave a faint smile.
"I'm not an ordinary student."
She looked at me for a moment, then chuckled.
"Then welcome, young man who is not ordinary."
That night, I sat on the floor of my room, eyes closed.
"Wuyin… you're not the destination.But you are the beginning of everything."
"The first stop… in the journey to understand the world."