That morning was cold.
A thin mist draped the stone path stretching from the gates of Qinglong Academy.
My steps were slow, yet certain.
Behind me, a place that had become home for three years.Ahead of me, a world I had never fully seen—vast, unfamiliar, and unpredictable.
I carried little with me:only a small satchel with a journal, some dried food,and a wooden pendant from my father—Li Haoming.
I held it for a moment before slipping it into my robe.Each step pressed against the earth as if heavier than usual.Not from burden,but from farewell.
A man stood at the main gate—Instructor Yusang.
He said nothing at first.Only watched me with calm eyes.
"Li Yuan," he finally spoke,"are you sure of your choice?"
I nodded.
"I can't remain here…This world calls to me."
He gave a faint smile,then held out something—a small scroll, roughly drawn. A map.
"This isn't a gift.Just something to keep you from being truly lost.The world beyond isn't like the Academy.There are no rules. No protection."
I accepted it with both hands.
"Thank you—for everything."
Yusang patted my shoulder gently.
"Don't return until you've found your own answer."
I passed through the gate.
As I stepped outside,the wind felt different—freer.The sky, wider.The air, wilder.
My heart trembled.Not from fear,but because this was my first step as myself.
The first step into a world unknown.The first step to seek understanding.The first step to finding who I truly am.
Along the path that descended from the academy,I saw fields I had only glimpsed through windows.Now I could touch them.
Wild grass brushed against my robe.Tiny insects danced without fear.A lone bird flew across the sky.
It did not know where it was headed,yet it flew on.
"I'll be like that," I whispered to myself.
The sky above stretched open.Clouds moved slowly.Sunlight pierced through the gaps,painting the world like a living canvas.
I didn't know what tomorrow would bring,who I would meet,what I would learn.
But one thing was certain…
"I won't stop walking.Not until this world, and I, understand one another."
And so,my journey began.
The evening wind gently swept across the dirt road,which gradually turned into cobbled stone.
The sky began to turn yellow,and in the distance,the silhouette of a tall wall came into view along with red flags bearing the emblem of swirling clouds: Wuyin City.
"So this is... the first city I passed through three years ago," I murmured.
Back then, I was just a village boy walking with the envoys of the Academy.We only passed through the outskirts of the city.I didn't even know what it felt like inside,because I was too nervous thinking about the Qinglong Academy.
Ever since entering, I had never returned to this place.The training village where I stayed was far from the city center,isolated—like a small world hidden behind the shadow of the mountains.
Now, I've come back.
But I am different.
This time, I came as Li Yuan—not a confused new student,but someone who has chosen to walk his own path.
The gates of Wuyin City were crowded with merchants, residents,and guards monitoring the flow of people.
They wore layered uniforms with the Wen family emblem on their chests.
The Wen family…a noble clan that governs this cityand maintains close ties with the Qinglong Academy.
One of the guards eyed me with suspicion.
"Where are you coming from?" he asked.
I nodded respectfully.
"From Qinglong Academy.My name is Li Yuan, a student who has just completed three years of foundational training."
His expression softened slightly, and he gestured for me to pass.
"Be careful, young man. This city isn't like the walls of the Academy.The outside world... has its own ways."
I stepped inside.
Wuyin City was more alive than I had imagined.Its markets were bustling,its streets were clean and orderly.People of all kinds passed by—farmers, merchants, even a few martial artists.
My eyes caught sight of a small child reading in a corner alley.For a moment, I paused.
"If I had grown up in the city… would I have been like him?""Or would I have never learned to understand the world through silence?"
I continued walking,wandering the city without a clear destination.But with each step, I felt something new.
A sense that this world is vast.And I...am still small within it.
At an old inn named Twilight Sky, I rented a small room for the night.
The owner was an old woman, her eyes sharp but kind.
"Rare for Academy students to stay here," she said."Usually, they head straight for the luxurious places downtown."
I gave a faint smile.
"I'm not an ordinary student."
She looked at me for a moment, then chuckled.
"Then welcome, young man who is not ordinary."
That night, I sat on the floor of my room, eyes closed.
"Wuyin… you're not the destination.But you are the beginning of everything."
"The first stop… in the journey to understand the world."