The morning sun filtered through the academy's towers, gilding the training grounds in pale gold. Students divided into groups across the courtyard, practicing qi circulation and elemental shaping under the watchful eyes of their instructors. The air itself seemed alive — humming with energy, vibrating with ambition.
Akihiro stood a few paces apart. His aura flickered faintly violet, a subtle pulse of chaos beneath an otherwise calm surface.
Elder Yueqin's eyes found him. "Akihiro," she said softly, "you will undergo a private assessment today. Your aura remains unstable."
He nodded once, calm yet uncertain. Beneath his feet, the earth hummed as he began circulating his qi — slow, deliberate, measured.
Violet veins shimmered beneath his skin. The stone cracked faintly, spidering in fractal patterns of light. His breathing grew sharp as instability surged through his chest.
"The flame of chaos burns quickest in those who refuse to listen," Yueqin said, her tone cutting through the tension.
He clenched his fists. Don't fight it… flow with it.
With a steady exhale, he surrendered to the current — letting his qi move freely rather than forcing it into form.
The trembling ground quieted. The fractures sealed. A calm pulse of violet energy radiated outward from his fingertips. For the first time, his energy obeyed him. A small smile touched his lips.
By evening, Yueqin sent him to the academy's sacred waterfall — a quiet place meant for reflection. The roar of falling water filled the canyon, mist curling like ribbons of glass.
He sat on a flat stone near the pool's edge, closing his eyes. His breath followed the rhythm of the cascade — steady, infinite. Memories surfaced: his mother's laughter, Yueqin's sharp voice, his own failures. Each breath drew him closer to stillness.
The air shimmered. Ripples formed across the water's surface — and then a silhouette appeared.
A woman stepped through the mist, tall and radiant. Lotus petals glowed beneath her feet. She carried no presence of hostility, yet her aura felt vast — ancient, serene, unyielding.
She raised a slender blade of lotus light, its reflection scattering across the rippling water. "Show me your flow," she said, her voice soft yet resonant.
Their duel began.
The first clash was sharp, ringing like a bell. Sparks of violet and gold streaked through the mist. Her strikes flowed like water, deflecting his every move with effortless grace. Akihiro fought back with power — too much, too raw. The waterfall trembled with each swing.
It's not about strength, he realized. It's about rhythm.
He began to match her pace, his movements softening, blending with hers. Each breath aligned with the falling water. His violet qi turned smooth and fluid, swirling around his hands like living mist. The duel became a dance — a dialogue without words.
When their blades locked in the final moment, energy hummed between them — gold and violet intertwined. The woman smiled faintly.
"Good," she murmured. "You do not fight to destroy. You fight to remember."
Then she vanished into mist. The last drifting petal landed softly in Akihiro's palm, warm with faint celestial fire.
A pulse flared along his ribs — a surge of calm, refined energy.
He had broken through to Energy Building – Stage 3, bordering on the fourth.
Far away, Yueqin paused her meditation and smiled knowingly.
"He's learning… not to fight the current, but to flow with it."
Beneath the waterfall, Akihiro's reflection blinked a moment too late.
And somewhere beyond that reflection — something watched back