1. *Li Wei* (guy): Mind reader from a big city, secretly fears his own power.
2. *Jin Ming* (guy): Masters fire, son of a famous martial artist, but feels like an outsider.
3. *Chen Xiulan* (lady): Elemental power over water, raised by myth hunters, kind but mysterious.
4. *Bao Yu* (guy): Gifted in earth magic, from a rural village, shy but strong-willed.
5. *Mei Fen* (lady): Practices magic and illusions, orphan with a hidden connection to dragons.
Chapter one: The First Shift
Li Wei's footsteps echoed through the ancient stone halls of Jade Spirit Academy, tucked deep in rural China. The air was heavy with the scent of old paper and candle wax, and every step sent the echoes bouncing off carved dragons and faded tapestries high above. He shivered—not from cold, but from the wave of thoughts pressing in all around him: the secrets that pulsed in these walls, the excitement fluttering in his chest, and a single, icy whisper winding itself around his mind—*"He must not find the dragon key."* That voice—was it his own fear, or something ancient, waiting in the shadows?
As Li Wei moved past shadowy classrooms, it seemed as if the building itself was sighing and watching. Heavy doors groaned on their hinges, and the floor beneath him vibrated faintly, as though the earth itself remembered countless generations of students before him. Ahead, the grand wooden gates creaked open, just as other teens began to arrive—each stranger, each carrying their own mysteries.
Jin Ming stomped in, jaw set, his old suitcase still smoldering faintly at the corners. He looked as if he'd stared down a fire and won—or maybe not. Mei Fen slipped along behind, silent and careful, her shadow flickering oddly on the wall beside her, splitting and joining as if it couldn't decide who it belonged to. Bao Yu's steps were unhurried, dirt trailing onto the academy's spotless marble floors, leaving a path as if daring anyone to scold him. Chen Xiulan twirled in under her umbrella, which dripped cold water even though the sky above was perfectly clear.
At the gate, the headmistress was waiting. Her smile was as thin as a razor's edge, not quite touching her eyes, which glinted with a knowing—and possibly dangerous—warning. Her robes fluttered, brushing the stone as she stepped forward to study each of them in turn.
> "Welcome, chosen ones," she said quietly, her voice weaving between kindness and threat. "But remember, at Jade Spirit Academy, nothing is as it seems… and not everyone wants you to survive."
The air grew heavier. Books in Li Wei's bag seemed to buzz as if the spells inside were eager to escape. He glanced at the other students, uncertain if any of them truly felt ready for this strange new world.
As night fell, the new arrivals were guided down twisting corridors to their dormitory—a grand, echoing chamber filled with the hush of nervous breaths and scuffling feet. They stood in a semicircle, each eyeing their mysterious new housemates. Suddenly, behind them, a hidden door creaked open, its hinges squealing through the silence. A cold wind swept in from the blackness behind it, swirling papers off the table and sending chills across their skin. That wind wasn't normal; it felt like a warning, like magic itself had come to check their courage.
The wind whispered Li Wei's name—soft, unmistakable, and full of ancient secrets just waiting to be found. For a heartbeat, everything stopped. Then the students realized, in that haunting moment, that the real test had already begun.