That morning, training had just begun.Mist still cloaked the village.The dew had not yet fully slipped from the tips of the leaves.
One student—a thin boy with sharp eyes—raised his hand.
"Master," he asked hesitantly,"Are you… a peak martial artist?"
The atmosphere instantly stilled.
Li Yuan turned slowly.He didn't answer at once.His eyes looked into the distance, as if searching for an answer hidden behind the mist.
"I've never tested it," he said calmly.
The boy lowered his gaze, then dared to speak again."Could you… show us? Just a little?"
Li Yuan remained silent for a moment.A soft breeze passed.Leaves stirred, as though they too were waiting for a reply.
"…Very well," he finally said.
He stepped forward.Before him stood a large tree.Not ancient, but solidIts roots sank deep, its trunk thick as an adult's body.
Li Yuan stood normally.His breath was calm.His eyes half closed.
Then he raised his handAnd punched.So gently.As though merely touching.As though touching a child he cared for.As though… it was never meant to be an attack.
But the moment his fist brushed the tree's bark—A crack rang out.
The trunk split.The tree collapsed.Then—It exploded in silence.
Wood splinters scattered.Then disintegrated.Nothing remained but dust.
Everyone stood frozen.
Even Li Yuan did not move.His eyes widened.His body stiffened.Inside his mind—confusion surged.
What just happened?I… only touched it.Is this… Daojing?But I wasn't meditating. I was just breathing… and moving.I've never tested it. Never truly used it.How could this…?
He heard the sound of the students breathing.All eyes were fixed on himWide open.Trembling.
One whispered,"Master… you really are a peak martial artist…"
Mu Yi walked forward quietly from behind.Fan Tu followed.Both stared at the remains of the tree, vanished without a sound.
Mu Yi stepped closer. His face tense."Yuan… you…"
Fan Tu added softly,"Like… the Head of Qinglong Academy."
Li Yuan didn't respond.
He looked at his hand.Not with pride.But with deep silence.With confusion.With awe.
Not awe at the power—But awe at the path he had walked…And the one he hadn't realized he was already walking.
Silence.
The tree was gone.Only dust floated gently to the ground.No sound but the students' shallow breath.They stared, too afraid to speak.
Mu Yi stepped slowly, eyes fixed on where the tree had once stood."Yuan…"
Li Yuan remained frozen, hand slightly clenched.He watched the dust drift through the air.Only a few seconds passedBut the world seemed to stop.
"Master…"One child finally broke the silence."Are you… a peak martial artist?"
Li Yuan didn't answer right away.
He exhaled softly."I don't know."
Another student—a round-eyed boy—muttered,"But… the tree…"
Fan Tu shook his head, unreadable."That… wasn't an ordinary technique."
All eyes turned again to Li Yuan.
But he simply looked down.
"I… only meant to punch lightly.Maybe… the tree was already brittle," he said quietly.No pride in his voice.No further explanation.
Mu Yi frowned."Brittle? That tree was still green."
Li Yuan gave no response.He turned and walked back toward the library.
The students remained still.The wind swept across the courtyard.Even the birds were silentAs if the world itself were trying to understand what had just happened.
One child whispered,"He didn't even look like he meant to break it."
Another added,"It looked like he just… touched it."
Fan Tu glanced toward the now-closed library door."He's hiding something."
Mu Yi nodded slowly, but said nothing.
The students eventually dispersedEach carrying unanswered questions.About power.About their teacher.About what they had just witnessed.
Inside the library, Li Yuan sat alone.
Daojing stirred quietly within his chestBut his face remained calm.
He whispered,"I won't repeat that. Not yet."
He closed his eyes.
And once more, silence embraced the village.
Li Yuan walked slowly, leaving behind a courtyard still echoing with wonder and confusion.
He said nothing.
He moved past the quiet wooden shelves.The scent of paper, dust, and time filled the space like a long, steady breath.He reached the far corner of the libraryWhere sunlight barely reached.Where silence lingered the longest.
There, he sat down.
For the first time since returning to Ziran Village…He meditated.
His back straight.His eyes closed.But his mindWas not empty.
And that was when the gentle waves began to rise from within.
Daojing is a path, he thought.A path of understanding.
Li Yuan remembered.
The understanding of waterOf flowing, accepting, adapting without losing one's true shape.
It was that understanding that led him to GanjingThe first realm he discovered within stillness.
The Realm of Feeling.
Within, he no longer felt his body.Only currents remainedGentle, slow, real vibrations.
Does every insight shape this path?I've touched the sky before.I've seen absence.I've heard serenity… within silence.
Then he fell deeper.
Time crept slowly in the world outside.
But within him, time drippedLike dew hanging on a leaf's tip.
Once, I sat inside myself for fifty years.Outside, only five days passed.Now… will it be different?
He didn't know.
But one thing was certain:
This was not about power.
He did not sit to grow strong.He satTo remember.
Why he walked this path.Why he chose this way.Why he left the academy.Why he did not chase strength.
He sought understanding.
Not masteryBut insight.
Gently.
He didn't want to forget his purpose.He would not allow an accidental display of powerto blur his steps.
Li Yuan drew a long breath.
Outside, the sun shifted across the sky.
Within, a faint light pierced the inner horizon.Not a blinding blazeBut a soft glow,Like a quiet smile on the morning's face.
And he just sat.In silence.On the path he had chosen for himself.