It was six in the morning.
The sun hadn't even risen fully yet; the air was cool, calm, and peaceful. Birds chirped faintly in the distance, and the soft breeze carried the scent of dew.
Inside the house, however—peace was about to end.
"Wake up, you two! Hurry up and get your asses down here!"
Haoran's thunderous voice boomed through the hall like a war drum.
Chi groaned, half-buried under his blanket, his hair sticking out in all directions.
"I swear…" he muttered, voice raspy, "…immortality better be worth this."
Beside him, Yu rolled deeper into his bed sheets, eyes barely open.
"Why does training start before the sun even comes up…" he mumbled weakly.
"Now!" Haoran's voice echoed again, shaking the house.
Both boys jumped to their feet—more out of fear than discipline—and stumbled toward the backyard, still half-asleep and yawning like zombies.
Yuanhai stood in the middle of the training ground, arms crossed, his sharp gaze cutting through the morning haze.
"Good morning, kids," he said calmly, though his voice carried enough weight to wake the dead. "I'll be in charge of your cultivation training for the next fifteen days."
Both Chi and Yu groaned in unison, barely able to keep their eyes open.
Yu rubbed his face with both hands. "Morning? It's still dark…"
Chi muttered under his breath, "This feels more like punishment than training…"
Yuanhai's eyebrow twitched. "C'mon, kids. Hurry up."
Then, with a hint of irritation, he added, "Do you two even know how much trouble I went through to create these cultivation techniques on such short notice?"
That got their attention.
Both boys snapped upright instantly, eyes wide.
"What?! You made them yourself?" Chi blurted out.
Yuanhai smirked faintly, enjoying the shift in their expressions. "Of course. These aren't some average techniques you'll find in the academy library. I crafted them myself—tailored to your talent and spiritual nature. If you master these, you'll advance faster than anyone your age."
Chi's sleepiness vanished in an instant, replaced by excitement.
Yu's fatigue turned into determination, his golden aura flickering faintly at the thought.
Haoran stood nearby, arms behind his back, watching with an amused grin. "See? Told you they'd wake up once they heard the word special."
Yuanhai sighed. "Brats. You'd sleep through an earthquake but not through the promise of power."
Chi grinned. "Can you blame us?"
Yuanhai shook his head with a small smile. "Alright, enough talk. Time to see if you can handle what you asked for."
Yuanhai knelt down, his fingers moving across the soil in sharp, precise motions. Glowing lines of light followed wherever he touched, weaving into complex symbols that pulsed faintly with energy. Within seconds, a formation circle took shape — elegant, intricate, and radiating quiet power.
Chi tilted his head, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "What's that supposed to be?"
"This," Yuanhai said, brushing off his hands, "is an array. It'll help you during cultivation — to stabilize your Qi and push your limits."
Yu blinked. "Help us? That sounds… nice?"
Yuanhai's lips curled into a grin that did not match the reassuring tone of his words.
"Oh, it helps, alright. But if you lose focus while cultivating, this array will make sure you remember the pain of failure. Think of it as… motivation."
Chi stared at him, horrified. "Wait—pain? What kind of pain?"
"Worse than any other," Yuanhai said cheerfully, his grin widening. "It will feel like your body's on fire and freezing at the same time. Builds character."
Yu's jaw dropped. "That's not motivation, that's torture!"
Yuanhai only chuckled, standing tall as the array's glow intensified. "You'll thank me later. Now sit inside — cross-legged. And remember, boys…"
His eyes gleamed with mischief and authority.
"Don't. Lose. Focus."
"Okay, then. Let's begin," Yuanhai said, folding his hands behind his back. He glanced at the two boys. "Have you read the manual?"
"Nope," both answered in perfect, guilty unison.
Yuanhai's lips twitched into a grin that didn't reach his eyes. "Doesn't matter. You'll learn it the hard way." Pride — and a very mild hint of sadistic pleasure — gleamed in his gaze.
He tapped the formation once. The array's light brightened, humming like a caged spirit. "Today you'll learn the Flow of Eternal Breath. It's simple in concept: draw Qi from the world, gather it in your dantian, then circulate it through the twelve meridians in the pattern I've drawn." He pointed to the glowing lines etched into the dirt. "Follow the flow exactly. Mind controls the current."
Chi and Yu exchanged a nervous look, swallowed, and sat inside the circle as instructed. Yuanhai crouched before them, voice low and steady. "Close your eyes. Breathe slow. Don't chase the Qi — let it come to you. If you lose focus, the array will give you a reminder." He let the last word hang in the air, indulgent.
The boys inhaled, the morning air cold in their lungs. At first nothing happened — only their own heartbeats. Then the array released a soft pulse. Qi, faint and cool, brushed like water along their skin. It flowed into them, hesitant at first, then stronger as their minds obeyed the rhythm Yuanhai had set.
Yu's breath hitched; Chi's hands trembled around his knees. The energy climbed like a tide through their limbs, meeting resistance at the meridians, then slipping through when they relaxed. For a few glorious seconds, the world narrowed to a single, perfect line of sensation: Qi in, Qi circulate, Qi settle.
Then—when Yu's thoughts wandered to last night's snack, when Chi's mind slipped to Liora's chirp—the array's warning came. A sharp, biting pressure flared along their spines, hot and cold at once, and both boys cried out, flinging their hands to their faces.
"Focus!" Yuanhai barked, though there was no malice in it now — only firm command. "Control the pain with the breath. Channel it through the pattern. Don't let it take over."
They gritted their teeth, forcing breath to steady. The pressure eased as they pushed the Qi along the correct path. Pain braided into sensation, then into understanding. Minutes stretched; sweat formed on brows; the hum of the array grew softer as their circulation synchronized.
When the light finally dimmed, both boys sagged back, panting, faces flushed. Yu let out a shaky laugh. "That was—terrifying."
Chi wiped sweat from his brow and gave a shaky thumbs-up. "But I felt it… I actually controlled it."
The cycle continued and day passed.
Yuanhai's stern expression softened just a fraction. "Good. Today you learned two things: how to guide Qi properly— and why discipline matters. Rest now. Tomorrow we push longer and learn the cultivation manual"
Chi and Yu glanced at each other, exhausted and oddly elated. Pain had been a teacher; the lesson had stuck. Outside, Liora chirped impatiently, Buddy trilled, and the long, hard summer had truly begun.