The wind swept across the open courtyard, carrying the faint scent of rain and the sound of steel clashing in rhythm.
Jian Wu stood at the edge of the Azure Tower's training ground, his hands clenched tightly, eyes tracing the movements of disciples around him. Blue robes flashed through the air like waves in a storm, each strike followed by a burst of spiritual light.
He felt out of place, a shadow standing among stars.
"Stop watching," Yue Shan's cold voice echoed behind him. "Move."
Jian Wu turned. She stood with her arms crossed, expression unreadable, her long silver hair catching the morning light.
"I told you," she said, "the only way to understand power is to feel it. Watching won't teach you anything."
"I've never trained like them," Jian Wu replied quietly.
"That's obvious." Yue Shan tossed him a wooden sword. "Then start learning. The Azure Sect doesn't breed weaklings, not even cursed ones."
The word cursed hit him like a blade, but he caught the sword anyway.
He took a stance, awkward and unsteady. Yue Shan sighed. "You're holding it like a farmer about to cut wheat."
"I grew up cutting wheat."
For the first time, her lips twitched, not quite a smile, but close. "Then maybe there's hope after all."
The Weight of the Sword
Hours passed. Jian Wu's arms trembled as he repeated the same movements again and again under Yue Shan's silent supervision. Each swing grew slower, each breath heavier.
When the wooden sword finally slipped from his grip, he fell to one knee, panting.
"Enough," Yue Shan said. "You've reached your limit."
He looked up at her, sweat dripping from his chin. "Then I'll go beyond it."
"Stubborn," she muttered. "You're not in the forest anymore. This isn't survival, this is control. You'll die faster if you can't tell the difference."
Jian Wu pushed himself up, jaw tight. "Then teach me how to control it."
For a moment, Yue Shan said nothing. The defiance in his eyes reminded her of something she couldn't quite name, a reflection of her younger self, maybe.
"Fine," she said finally. "You want control? Let's see if you can stand without losing your mind."
The Inner Seal
She led him to a secluded chamber behind the courtyard. The air inside was thick with spiritual energy, glowing faintly blue. At the center stood a stone circle etched with countless runes, a spiritual seal.
"Sit," she commanded.
Jian Wu obeyed.
"The mark on your chest," she said, circling around him, "isn't just decoration. It's a lock. The Obsidian Heart inside you is trying to open it. If it succeeds before you're ready, your soul will collapse."
"Collapse?"
"Think of it as drowning in power."
Yue Shan knelt and pressed her palm against the seal. "I'll connect the tower's formation to your mark. It will stabilize the flow, but it will hurt."
He let out a small breath. "Pain's familiar enough."
A faint smirk appeared on her lips. "Then don't scream."
Light burst from her hand, flooding the room with azure brilliance. Jian Wu's body jerked as energy rushed through him like lightning. His chest burned, veins glowing blue beneath his skin.
He clenched his teeth, but the pain wasn't just physical, it was memory.
Flashes of the forest. The night he fell. The moment the Obsidian Heart touched his soul.
And that voice again, cold, endless.
You are the vessel. You will not break.
When the light faded, Jian Wu collapsed forward, gasping for air. His chest still glowed faintly, but the wild pulse had steadied.
Yue Shan stood and looked down at him. "You're still alive. Good. That means the tower accepted you."
"The tower… accepted me?"
"Everything within these walls is alive, Jian Wu," she said, tone softening slightly. "The Azure Tower was built with fragments of a fallen star. It recognizes intent, and rejects fear."
He met her gaze. "Then it must hate me."
She shook her head. "No. It fears what's inside you."
The Whisper of Power
That night, Jian Wu sat alone on the balcony overlooking the city. The moon hung low, casting pale light across the blue tiles.
Every breath he took came with the faint hum of energy, the mark on his chest no longer a curse, but a rhythm.
He lifted his hand, and for a moment, a wisp of light formed between his fingers. It flickered like a living flame before fading away.
"So this is what control feels like," he murmured.
From behind, Yue Shan's voice answered, softer than usual. "Control is just the illusion between peace and destruction."
He turned. She stood at the doorway, arms folded, watching him.
"You handled the seal better than I expected," she said. "But don't get comfortable. The Grand Elder wants to see your limits."
"My limits?"
She nodded. "Tomorrow, you'll face the Trial of the Tower. If you fail, the tower will erase your spiritual imprint. If you survive…" She paused, eyes narrowing. "Then maybe you really are what the heavens fear."
"Sounds simple enough."
Her brow furrowed. "It's not."
Jian Wu smiled faintly. "Then I'll make it simple."
Yue Shan looked at him for a long time. There was something maddening about his calm, reckless, yet sincere.
When she turned to leave, she said quietly, "Don't die, Jian Wu. I'm not fond of cleaning corpses."
He chuckled. "I'll try to disappoint you."
The Tower's Dream
That night, Jian Wu dreamt.
He stood in an endless sky of broken glass, each shard reflecting a different memory, his childhood, his pain, the blood he'd spilled to stay alive.
Then came the voice. The same one from the Obsidian Heart, deeper this time, echoing through eternity.
You cannot defy Heaven forever.
He clenched his fists. "Then I'll stop trying to defy it…"
Oh?
"…and start rewriting it."
The shards around him shattered. A wave of light surged from his mark, washing the void in blue fire.
Dawn
When he woke, the first rays of dawn poured through the balcony. His body ached, but the pain was clear, controlled.
Yue Shan was already there, standing near the railing, watching the horizon.
"You're awake," she said without turning.
"Barely."
"The Trial starts in an hour."
He stretched his arms and stood. "Then let's not keep the heavens waiting."
Yue Shan turned to face him. For the first time since they met, her gaze softened, not pity, not mockery, but a quiet acknowledgment.
"You remind me of someone," she said.
"Who?"
"A fool who once thought he could change the world."
Jian Wu smiled faintly. "Maybe fools are the only ones who ever do."
For a moment, silence filled the space between them. The wind carried the scent of rain again, as if the heavens were listening.
Then Yue Shan drew her blade. "Follow me. If you want to live, remember one thing, the tower doesn't test your strength."
"What does it test?"
"Your reason to fight."
Jian Wu stepped forward, the morning light spilling over his shoulders. "Then that's easy."
He looked up at the distant sky.
"Because I refuse to live
on my knees."
And as they walked toward the heart of the Azure Tower, thunder echoed faintly beyond the horizon, as if Heaven itself was listening to the boy who dared to challenge its silence.