Jin had spent an entire month in enforced stillness, surrounded by the persistent scent of medicinal herbs and the constant hum of healing arrays working day and night. A month in which infernal pain had first turned into numbness, then into a deep ache… and finally into something that no longer dominated his mind.
"Alright… you can move now," a gentle voice said.
The assistant disciple carefully removed the last acupuncture needle from Jin's arm. Her movements were expert and precise, yet her eyes kept drifting—again and again—toward him.
Jin slowly let out a breath and, for the first time in weeks, stretched.
The muscles in his back and shoulders tightened and relaxed with a faint crack, as if his body were fully awakening at last. He raised both arms above his head, rolled his neck, and released a long, deep sigh.
"Ahhh…" he murmured. "That really was necessary."
The disciple froze completely.
Her cheeks immediately flared red, a visible blush climbing all the way to her ears. She tried to look away… failed. Lowered her gaze again… and failed once more.
Jin's torso was bare.
Despite being only fourteen years old, he was tall for his age, and his body clearly bore the marks of prior physical cultivation: defined muscles without exaggeration, a firm and balanced build, nothing coarse. What drew the eye wasn't brute strength, but harmony.
But the hardest thing to ignore…
Was his hair.
Long, flowing freely down his back, strands of gold woven through deep black, as if sunlight had been caught in the night itself. And when Jin opened his eyes after stretching—
Golden.
Clear, deep, tranquil.
The disciple swallowed.
"Y-You… you're completely recovered now," she said quickly, nearly tripping over her own words. "T-The arm… shows no residual damage. The meridians are stable."
Jin rotated his right shoulder, clenched his fist, then opened it. There was no pain. No numbness. Nothing.
Perfect.
"Thank you," he replied with a sincere smile.
That made it worse.
The disciple practically jumped backward, nodding far too energetically.
"N-No problem! I-It's my job!" she exclaimed. "I… I'll take my leave."
She turned around in a hurry and nearly ran out of the medical hall, leaving behind a faint tremble in the curtains.
Jin blinked once.
…Did I do something weird?
He glanced at his own body, arms still raised, then slowly lowered them.
"Hm."
Scratching his cheek thoughtfully, he muttered, "I guess… a whole month really did pass."
Jin was still finishing his inspection of his arm when a different presence brushed against his perception.
"So you're finally done healing."
The voice made him turn his head.
Yan Mei had just entered the medical hall, pulling the curtain aside with a sharp motion… and then she stopped.
Just for an instant.
It was brief, almost imperceptible—but real.
Until now, the few times she had seen Jin had been circumstantial: during the examination, when her attention was on measuring talent; and later, on the platform, when he had been covered in dust, blood, and wounds—closer to a problem than a person.
Now it was different.
Clean. Standing. With stable Qi and a recovered body.
The soft light of the hall highlighted his fair skin, the strange contrast of gold-and-black hair falling freely down his back, and those golden eyes that didn't seem ordinary at all.
Yan Mei frowned slightly.
She couldn't quite describe it, but there was something… off.
She clicked her tongue inwardly.
What am I doing?
Forcing herself out of that brief trance, she stepped forward a couple of paces and crossed her arms, adopting her usual posture.
"Hmph," she said in an unmistakably annoyed tone. "An entire month occupying the medical hall's resources. It was about time you got back on your feet."
Jin blinked, surprised by the abrupt shift.
"Well… good morning to you too," he replied calmly, lowering the arm he had been flexing.
Yan Mei looked him up and down once more, this time with narrowed eyes, evaluating him like a freshly resolved problem… or one about to begin.
"Don't get excited," she added. "Just because you're healed doesn't mean you've stopped being troublesome."
She paused briefly, then averted her gaze just a little, as if unwilling to admit what came next.
"But… at least you're not falling apart anymore."
Jin smiled, tilting his head slightly.
"What a relief. I was worried I might disappoint you."
Yan Mei shot him a sharp glare.
"Don't even dream it."
But for some reason, her frown no longer looked all that convincing.
Jin stretched his shoulders one last time and, as if something suddenly occurred to him, glanced around the medical hall.
"Hey…" he said casually. "What about Elder Han Yiling? I haven't seen her at all this past month."
Yan Mei immediately raised an eyebrow.
"Huh?" she repeated, giving him a sideways look.
Then she let out a short, clearly mocking laugh.
"You really thought Senior Sister Han Yiling would spend the entire month coming to see you?" She shook her head. "Someone of her level has far more important things to do than checking whether an outer disciple can move his arm."
She paused briefly, a crooked smile that wasn't entirely kind appearing on her lips.
"You should consider yourself lucky she personally treated you in the first place."
Jin coughed lightly.
"I was just asking…"
Yan Mei watched him for a few more seconds, as if she were about to add something else, but in the end she clicked her tongue and turned around.
"Anyway," she said, walking toward the exit and pulling aside the curtain. "Now that you're healed and can move on your own…"
She stopped for a moment and slightly turned her head.
"Follow me."
Without any further explanation, she left the medical hall, leaving Jin staring at her back for a second before sighing and moving to follow.
Jin followed Yan Mei without asking questions.
As he crossed the threshold of the medical hall, he couldn't help but slow his pace slightly. For an entire month, his world had been reduced to curtains, the smell of herbs, and the silent ceiling of the room; now, for the first time, he could truly see where he had been.
Han Yiling's personal medical hall was larger than he had imagined. Pale jade pillars supported the ceiling, medical inscriptions ran along the walls like veins carved into stone, and several discreet arrays glowed softly on the floor, exhaling warm, stable Qi. Assistant disciples moved about with quick, silent steps, carrying trays of pills or crystal bottles. Seeing Jin walking on his own, several looked at him in surprise… and a few with curiosity they struggled to hide.
Jin kept his expression calm, but internally he was taking everything in.
Yan Mei never slowed her pace. They passed through a couple of side halls, corridors of polished stone, and an archway covered in restriction symbols before finally stepping outside.
The air changed instantly.
A path opened before them, winding into a dense forest on Jade Peak. Sunlight filtered through the tall leaves, breaking into shifting green shadows that slid across the ground. The Qi here was purer, calmer, as if the forest itself were breathing slowly.
Yan Mei took the path without hesitation, and Jin followed.
They climbed an uneven stone trail that snaked uphill. With each step, Jin felt the surroundings becoming… familiar. Too familiar.
The angle of the terrain.
The shape of the rocks.
His steps halted for just a second.
At the end of the path, nestled between ancient roots and a rock wall, appeared the entrance to a cave.
The same cave.
Jin recognized it immediately.
This was where the outer elder had flown him.
Where he had collapsed without understanding anything.
Yan Mei stopped in front of the entrance and spoke without looking at him.
"We're here."
Jin stared at the cave in silence, an odd sensation crawling up his spine.
Wow…
So we're back at the beginning.
Yan Mei didn't bother explaining anything.
She approached the cave entrance and, with a natural motion, drew a talisman from her sleeve, about the length of two fingers. The paper was a dull yellow, with fine inscriptions traced in crimson ink. Holding it between two fingers, she gently pressed it against the rock wall beside the entrance.
The air vibrated.
A low hum ran through the cave, almost imperceptible, and for an instant Jin felt as if something invisible folded in on itself. The barrier covering the entrance dissipated without a sound, like a curtain being carefully drawn aside.
Yan Mei stepped inside.
Only then did she turn to Jin.
She didn't say a word, but her gaze was clear: enter.
Jin sighed softly.
"Of course…" he murmured. "What could possibly go wrong?"
And he stepped in.
This time, unlike before, he had time to observe the place.
His eyes swept across the interior… and then stopped, confused.
He had expected something different.
Perhaps a refined cave, with jade furniture, silk cushions, incense burners, and a delicate atmosphere befitting someone important on Jade Peak.
But no.
The interior was… raw.
The cave was spacious, with a high ceiling and bare gray stone walls. There were no unnecessary decorations or ornamental symbols. Just the essentials: a smooth stone platform at the center for meditation, a simple table set against one side, and a pair of spirit crystal lamps embedded in the wall.
What truly caught his attention were the walls.
Large cracks ran through the rock at various angles.
They weren't natural fractures.
They were cuts.
Deep, long cuts—some so clean they looked as if drawn with a perfect line, others more irregular, as though something had torn through the stone with restrained violence. Several of those marks overlapped, as if made at different times, with different intentions.
Jin swallowed.
His gaze then shifted to one side of the cave.
There was a shelf there.
Nothing elegant. Nothing mystical.
Just a simple wooden rack reinforced with common metal.
Resting on it were several weapons.
Swords, sabers, short spears… all made of ordinary materials, without exaggerated spiritual glow or flashy inscriptions. Simple weapons, worn from use. Some bore chips, others impact marks, as if they had been used over and over without rest.
Jin stared at them in silence.
Yan Mei closed the barrier behind him with another quick gesture and took a few steps into the cave.
"What do you think?" she asked in a neutral tone.
Jin took a moment before answering.
"…Honest," he said at last.
Yan Mei glanced at him from the corner of her eye.
For the first time since they had entered, a faint curve appeared at the corner of her lips.
She walked over to the weapon rack and lightly tapped the wood with her knuckles.
"Choose one," she said without looking at him. "Whichever you like. But make it wood."
Jin blinked.
There were swords of different sizes, simple spears, even what looked like a slightly crooked long staff. All ordinary. Far too ordinary for a place like this.
"...What for?" he asked, still not moving.
Yan Mei turned her head just enough to give him a sideways glance, as if the question were unnecessary.
"For what else?" she replied. "Training."
She picked up a wooden sword and held it naturally, as if it were an extension of her arm.
"You've already lost an entire month of cultivation," she continued. "From now on, I'll guide you a bit… at my master's request."
Jin's eyes widened slightly.
Before he could say anything, she continued, her tone firm, leaving no room for objection.
"And I'll also teach you how to fight," she added. "So you don't wreck your body so recklessly again."
The words hit harder than he expected.
Guide me…?
Train me personally…?
A suspicion began to take shape in his mind—unfinished, but unsettling. Something related to the tournament…
"Then that means I—" he started.
"Move," Yan Mei cut him off immediately.
The air seemed to tighten.
She looked straight at him now, her eyes shining with a mix of severity and something else… expectation.
"Choose a weapon," she repeated. "Explanations can wait. Time cannot."
Jin stood in front of the rack of wooden weapons, observing them in silence.
He was still somewhat confused by everything that had happened—the outer elder, the month in the medical hall, Yan Mei guiding him "at her master's request," this sudden training. But strangely enough, it didn't weigh on him as much anymore.
Thinking too much is pointless, he concluded.
His eyes passed over the weapons one by one. Straight swords, wooden sabers, simple staffs… all suitable, all functional. And then, almost without realizing it, a faint smile appeared on his face.
He extended his arm.
His fingers closed around the shaft of a spear.
"The spear…" he murmured to himself.
Although in this world he was barely at the first level of Qi Condensation, in his previous life he had been a great martial arts enthusiast. He had tried many cold weapons, but always returned to the same one.
The king of all weapons, he thought with a hint of inner pride.
As he took it, he felt its balance flow through his body. It wasn't heavy. Jin lightly rotated his wrist, and the spear traced a clean arc through the air—natural, fluid, as if the movement had been waiting for him.
Then he turned toward Yan Mei.
With unexpected calm, he held the spear in one hand, letting it rest against the ground, then spun it once more with a simple yet confident motion.
"This one's fine," he said.
There was no arrogance in his voice. Only natural ease.
Yan Mei watched him in silence.
Her eyes narrowed just a fraction.
That way of moving… that instinctive gesture… it wasn't someone picking up a weapon for the first time.
Yan Mei raised an eyebrow slightly.
It was a minimal gesture, almost imperceptible, but enough to reveal that Jin's calm and the way he held the spear had caught her attention. It wasn't the clumsy stance of a novice, nor the stiffness of someone copying memorized movements. There was stability, intent… and a strange naturalness.
A mocking smile curved her lips.
"Come on," she said lightly, almost provocatively. "Attack however you want."
Jin frowned faintly.
Is she really taking me that lightly?
The feeling of being underestimated spread through his chest, but it didn't turn into anger. Instead, a colder thought immediately took hold.
I don't know what level this senior sister is at… better not anger her.
He exhaled slowly.
The next instant, Jin lunged forward.
His feet struck the ground with explosive force, driven solely by the strength of his leg muscles. The ground lightly cracked under the sudden burst, and his figure became a direct, decisive streak.
The spear aligned with his body, the tip advancing like a straight fang, without unnecessary flourish.
A simple attack.
But fierce.
Jin advanced without hesitation.
The spear danced in his hands with surprising fluidity, chaining together the basic techniques he knew—straight thrusts, low sweeps, short spins to change angles—each movement executed with elegance and, at the same time, explosive power born from precise bodily control.
In his mind, everything was balance.
The weight of the spear, the position of his feet, the steady rhythm of his breathing… every detail fit together with almost perfect clarity—or so Jin thought.
Then—
Tap.
A sharp knock landed squarely on his forehead.
The world tilted abruptly.
His momentum collapsed like sand, and Jin lost his balance, falling backward until he landed sitting on his backside. A sharp pain shot through his forehead, and he couldn't help letting out a small grunt as he brought a hand to the spot.
Confused, he looked up.
Yan Mei stood before him, holding a wooden sword. Her posture was relaxed, almost lazy, as if she hadn't moved at all. An amused—almost cruel—smile adorned her face.
"Get up," she said lightly. "That was just the warm-up."
Jin blinked, still trying to process what had happened.
Yan Mei tilted her head slightly, her eyes gleaming with dangerous intensity.
"Prepare yourself properly," she added. "Because next time… I won't hold back."