The wind in the training woods had teeth.
It bit through cloth and skin, carrying the scent of wet stone, pine, and something faintly metallic. Rat followed the line of outer sect initiates along a narrow mountain path, the kind that looked carved by someone who didn't like visitors.
Instructor Zhen walked ahead, her staff clicking rhythmically against the ground. "You will learn the Sky Meridian form in motion today. A cultivator's breath must not only fill his lungs but move with his steps. If your Qi stumbles, so will your life."
Wei Yun whispered beside Rat, "If I trip, can I sue the mountain?"
Rat smirked. "You can try. I hear the mountain pays in corpses."
A few recruits behind them chuckled, then quieted when Zhen glanced back. The air felt thinner here, drawn out of their lungs by the height. Each inhale burned just enough to remind them that breathing was a skill, not a right.
The trail opened into a clearing. It was larger than the temple court, ringed by towering wind-twisted pines. Old carvings covered the rocks, faded spirals and claw marks that didn't look entirely human. The air shimmered faintly, alive with Qi currents that rippled through the grass like invisible waves.
"This is where the outer sect begins to earn its meals," Zhen said. "These winds carry more Qi than air. If you can control your breathing, you will absorb it. If you cannot, the mountain will drain you instead."
She gestured to the glowing runes along the perimeter. "The wards here are weak. The beasts below sense the energy. That is why we train in groups. Learn to watch your surroundings. The wilds do not respect meditation."
That, Rat thought, sounded a lot like the Basin.
Zhen raised her staff, and her Qi spread outward like ripples on water. "Form the breathing sequence. Anchor your breath with your steps. Begin."
They spread out. The courtyard's silence filled with the sound of inhaling, exhaling, and struggling. Rat settled into his rhythm, Horizon in, pour, rest. Horizon out, return, settle. He imagined the air tracing the same path as the Codex's threads within him, moving like quiet lightning down his spine.
He felt the mountain's energy pressing close, thick as humidity. It wasn't gentle. It was hungry.
The Codex shimmered faintly behind his eyes.
[Environmental Qi density: elevated.]
[Recommendation: Controlled flow. Maintain stability.]
Rat grinned. "You're learning manners."
Zhen's voice carried across the field. "Remember, Qi follows intent. If your mind wavers, the current will turn against you."
Rat almost laughed. The Codex whispered to him like a second pulse, but his intent had never been noble. His goal was simple: breathe, live, outlast.
He drew in another breath, and something cold coiled under it.
The wind shifted.
A shadow rippled through the pines, low and fast. The grass flattened in a wide circle as something massive slid through it.
The disciples froze.
Wei Yun's eyes went wide. "Instructor?"
Zhen's head turned, slow and deliberate. "Do not break your stance. It feeds on fear."
A hiss cut through the clearing, sharp enough to split thought. The ground trembled as a long shape slithered into view, a serpent thick as a tree trunk, scales reflecting blue and green light like shards of shattered glass. Its head rose higher than a man, eyes glowing faintly like polished jade.
"Azure Fang Serpent," Zhen said calmly. "Low-level Lord Beast. It must have followed the Qi leak from below."
The serpent's jaw unhinged slightly, revealing curved fangs that dripped a thin mist into the air. The mist hissed when it touched the ground, burning holes into the grass.
Rat's skin prickled. "That's low-level?"
"It is today," Zhen replied, already raising her staff. "Form defensive rings. Do not scatter."
The serpent lunged.
Wind and venom collided with the circle of disciples. The first boy it struck screamed as his arm turned black to the elbow. Zhen's staff struck the ground, and a wall of wind rose, deflecting most of the spray.
"Maintain focus!" she barked. "Use Sky Meridian breathing to shield the body. Let Qi flow with your blood. Move!"
Rat didn't need telling twice. His instincts took over. He sidestepped, dragging Wei Yun with him as the serpent's tail smashed into the earth where they'd been. The impact sent dirt flying like shrapnel.
The Codex flared in his vision.
[Threat Assessment: Azure Fang Serpent – Lord-class.]
[Qi signature volatile. Venom: corrosive spiritual toxin.]
[Advised response: Do not die.]
Rat spat blood from a cut lip. "Helpful as always."
Zhen moved with controlled precision, staff glowing as she traced sigils into the air. Wind blades formed from her strikes, carving shallow grooves along the serpent's flank. It howled, coiling tighter.
Rat saw the opening before she called it. The serpent's belly scales were lighter, softer, the kind of detail someone used to running from predators might notice.
"Eyes up!" Rat shouted. "The next strike, under the belly!"
Zhen glanced at him, then at the serpent's movement. Her eyes flickered once in acknowledgment. "You have good instincts, Rat. Use them."
"Working on it," he muttered.
The serpent whipped around again. Its tail caught a disciple's leg, sending him sprawling into the dirt. Rat lunged forward, grabbing the kid's wrist and dragging him out of range just before venom splattered where his head had been.
Wei Yun shouted, "It's turning again!"
The serpent coiled to strike. Zhen gathered Qi at her staff's tip, but the beast was faster. Rat's body moved before thought. He planted his feet, inhaled deep, and felt the Codex's hum synchronize with his pulse.
[Horizon Flow circulating.]
[Qi compression detected.]
[Skill Imprint available.]
Energy rose through his arms, not clean or elegant but raw. It felt like the Basin, ugly, improvised, real. He slammed his palms forward, exhaling as the stored Qi burst outward in a shockwave of pale light.
The air itself cracked. The blast struck the serpent across the face, forcing its head sideways into the dirt.
Wei Yun stared. "What was that?"
Rat panted. "Bad idea that worked."
The serpent screamed, shaking loose chunks of earth. Its fangs flashed again, but Zhen was already there, her staff a blur. A gust like a collapsing storm smashed into its chest, and with Rat's strike still disorienting it, the beast toppled.
When it hit the ground, the shock traveled through Rat's bones.
Dust hung in the air. The serpent's eyes flickered once, then dimmed. Its body twitched once more before going still.
Silence followed, broken only by ragged breathing.
Zhen lowered her staff. "Contain its Qi. No one touch the blood."
The disciples sagged, too shocked to cheer. Rat leaned against a boulder, chest heaving. The Codex's pages shimmered across his vision again.
[Codex of Strands of Fate - Status Update]
Vitality: 5
Qi Sense: 4
Comprehension: 3
Fate Entanglement: 13
Realm: Foundation Establishment
New Skill: Horizon Flow Strike (Incomplete)
Effect: Compresses internal Qi into an explosive wave directed through the palms or weapon. Unstable but scalable. Efficiency improves with rhythm and intent.
Rat groaned. "Incomplete. Figures."
Wei Yun limped up beside him, clutching a scraped arm. "If that's incomplete, remind me not to see the finished version."
Zhen's gaze fell on Rat again. "You used a technique you were never taught."
He wiped sweat from his brow. "Didn't realize breathing wrong was a crime."
Her eyes narrowed. "Wrong or not, it worked. Remember this, Rat, the mountain's tests reward instinct as much as talent. But every strength you reveal too early becomes a debt."
Rat snorted. "So another tax."
A faint smile ghosted across her lips before she turned to the rest. "Retrieve the fangs. They will serve as proof of merit. Then return to camp."
As the others dispersed, Rat crouched beside the serpent's corpse. Its scales shimmered faintly, Qi leaking like mist from between them. He could feel the hum in the air, the same pulse that ran under his skin when he used Horizon Flow.
The Codex whispered, faint as breath.
[Observation: Resonant energy signature detected.]
[Note: Beasts may share affinities with cultivators. Caution advised.]
Rat studied the creature's cracked jaw. "So we breathe the same poison, huh?"
He stood and looked toward the mountain peaks. The clouds there were darker now, swirling like something was stirring inside them.
Wei Yun followed his gaze. "Think it's over?"
Rat smirked. "Not even close. The mountain doesn't do mercy. Only interest."
The wind shifted again, colder this time. Somewhere deeper in the woods, another roar echoed faintly, lower, heavier.
Zhen turned her head slightly, eyes narrowing at the sound. "Everyone back to camp. Now."
She quickly hurried the majority of the class back with only Rat, Wei Yun, and Jin Jin Tao left.
Rat glanced once more at the serpent's body and then at the dark line of the trees. His gut twisted with something that wasn't quite fear.
He grinned anyway. "Guess class isn't over."
The wind rose, carrying the faint, electric taste of coming trouble.
[Codex of Strands of Fate - Update]
Fate Entanglement: +1
New Skill: Horizon Flow Strike (Incomplete)
Effect: Channels compressed Qi through the palms or weapon. Amplified by instinctive rhythm.
System Note: Resonance detected. External phenomena may respond.
The last wind gust rattled the pine leaves like applause. Rat spat blood into the dirt and muttered, "If the mountain wants another fight, it can stand in line."
He didn't notice the serpent's blood soaking into the earth, nor the faint, rhythmic pulse that began to echo from below.