The courtyard was alive with breath clouds and muttered curses.
Frost clung to the dirt, turning it to glassy mud.
Disciples stood in shivering lines, clutching bruised arms, eyes darting at Elder Mu like cornered animals.
Wei Lian stood at the edge.
He wiped dried blood from his knuckles on his robe.
The crack in his dantian pulsed quietly.
He felt the ember burn at 2nd layer, solid.
Elder Mu stood at the head of the courtyard, hands clasped behind his back, eyes flat as stone.
"You've wasted days playing with your scrolls."
His voice cracked like old wood.
"Today you prove you learned something. Or you prove you're food for the dogs."
He swept the courtyard with that dead stare.
"Pair up. Now."
Murmurs rippled instantly.
"He's serious?"
"I'm not ready."
"This is insane."
Jin Xiu shoved another boy aside, picking his spot near the front.
"Come on. Don't slow me down."
Wei Lian didn't move.
He waited.
Silent.
Unblinking.
Elder Mu's eyes fell on him.
"You. Wei Lian. Step forward."
He obeyed without a word.
Mu's gaze swept the crowd.
"You."
A boy named Han Zi stepped forward.
Tall, wide-shouldered.
Human Root but proud of being the son of a blacksmith.
He cracked his knuckles.
Eyes cold.
"You're mine, pissrat," Han Zi spat.
Wei Lian said nothing.
He just took his stance.
Mu's voice rang out:
"Rules. You will use Bone-Breaking Fist only. No other forms. No weapons. No Qi surges beyond what you can channel through the strike."
He waited, let it sink in.
"You will keep striking until one cannot stand."
Silence fell.
Fog rolled over the frozen ground.
Mu's voice dropped.
"Begin."
Han Zi roared and lunged immediately.
His feet slid on frost, sloppy but strong.
He threw the punch wide and wild, Qi sputtering in streaks of blue.
Wei Lian watched.
Saw the wasted motion.
The leaking energy.
He twisted his body just enough.
Han Zi's fist slammed past his ear.
Wei Lian's own arm coiled.
Qi sank.
He felt it burn through his veins.
He punched.
Impact cracked like a snapped branch.
His fist landed under Han Zi's ribs.
Qi discharged in a tight, brutal wave.
Han Zi howled.
Spit flew from his mouth.
He stumbled back, clutching his side.
Blood flecked Wei Lian's knuckles, already split open.
His breath fogged hard.
He didn't speak.
He didn't gloat.
Han Zi roared again, furious.
He charged in.
Slipped in mud.
He tried to adjust his stance, too slow.
Wei Lian sidestepped just enough.
Breath in.
Qi in.
He punched.
The crack of contact was wet and ugly.
Han Zi's nose exploded in blood.
He dropped to one knee, coughing red onto the frost.
Wei Lian lowered his fist.
He could barely feel his fingers.
The Qi had burned pathways in his arm that trembled now.
Han Zi tried to rise.
Slipped.
Collapsed.
Groaned.
Didn't move again.
Silence fell over the courtyard.
Disciples who had been mocking earlier were dead quiet.
Jin Xiu scowled.
Elder Mu walked forward slowly.
His shadow fell over Han Zi's broken form.
He looked at Wei Lian.
Eyes narrow.
"Your stance is ugly."
Wei Lian didn't respond.
"Your Qi control is worse."
Wei Lian blinked once.
Mu's mouth twisted.
"But it worked."
He turned to the rest.
Voice rising.
"Did you see that?"
"That is Beginner level. Barely. But enough. He forced his Qi to break bone."
He looked at Han Zi, wheezing blood onto his robe.
"That's what you're supposed to do."
He turned back to Wei Lian.
"Again tomorrow. Against someone else."
Wei Lian nodded once.
No thanks.
No bow.
Just acceptance.
Mu's gaze raked the others.
"Pair up. Start. Or leave my sect."
Cries.
Groans.
The courtyard filled with the wet sounds of fists striking ribs, faces, arms.
Blood on frost.
Wei Lian stepped back to the edge.
Watched for a moment.
Eyes cold.
He pressed a shaking hand to his ribs.
Felt the ember in his dantian pulse hot.
The crack inside pulsed back.
Hungry.
He didn't smile.
Didn't wince.
He turned.
Picked up his battered scroll from the dirt.
He walked to the creek to wash the blood away.
Because tomorrow wasn't for victory.
It was for survival.