A single, insistent ray of morning sun sliced through a gap in the hut's simple curtains, striking Bi Kan squarely in the face.

  His eyelids fluttered, then slowly opened. For a blissful, fleeting moment, a triumphant smile bloomed on his lips.

  His spirit felt calmer, the flow of Qi within him smoother, more refined. "I've done it," he whispered to the quiet room.

  The smile evaporated as full consciousness returned, and the harsh, complex reality of his alchemical studies crashed back down on him. "I haven't made any progress at all!"

  The declaration was a low, frustrated growl. He clawed at his own scalp, his fingers digging in as if he could physically scrape the frustration from his brain.

  How could he control the volatile Fire of an Amaryllis without extinguishing the Watery essence of a Dewleaf? The concepts, so clear in theory, were an impossible, chaotic storm in practice.

  "Ngahh!"

  With a roar of pure exasperation, he smashed his fist against the rough-hewn wooden wall, the impact a dull, splintering thud that sent a puff of dust into the sunbeam. He began to roll around on the floor, a whirlwind of flailing limbs and guttural groans.

  The commotion was not lost on the waking village. A passing man grunted, shaking his head as he heard the strange thumps and muffled shouts.

  "What in the heavens is going on in that hut..?"

  A group of children, drawn by the noise, huddled near the doorway, their faces a mixture of fear and fascination.

  "Maybe he's gone insane!" a boy snickered. "We might see a ghoul!"

  A small girl with a determined look on her face promptly drop-kicked him in the side. "Dummy! Ghouls aren't insane!"

  The boy scrambled up, rubbing his bruised cheek. "H-How would you know that?!"

  The girl smirked, pointing a thumb towards a pale, quiet boy who was always lingering at the edge of their games.

  "Because look at him! He doesn’t seem insane, just creepy!" A wave of hearty, cruel laughter erupted from the small group.

  "Hey, hey… don't be so mean…"

  The children’s laughter finally pierced through Bi Kan's frustration. He stopped rolling, his body going still on the floor. He took a deep, shuddering breath, then another. "It's okay, it's okay," he whispered, pushing himself into a sitting position. He looked down at his own hands, slowly balling them into fists.

  "Even if I haven't grasped it completely, being able to slightly understand is still a big improvement."

  A new thought, a different kind of success, cut through the gloom. He wasn't wrong. He was on the very precipice, the shimmering veil between Stage 5 and Stage 6. The breakthrough was so close he could almost taste it. A grin, genuine and resilient, finally broke through his frustration.

  "I'm at the peak of Stage 5!" He pushed himself to his feet, throwing his arms open wide. "Time to get ready for the day."

  Bi Kan cracked his neck, stretching his arms out while yawning away the last of his exhaustion, his usual routine.

  Crack!

  His feet stretched out before landing firmly on the ground. He emerged from the hut, the door swinging wide open. "What a beautiful morning…" he declared, his face tilted towards the sun, a brilliant smile plastered upon his lips.

  "That guy… is he an idiot?" a passing villager muttered to his friend.

  Bi Kan’s teeth ground together. "Hmph, I'm just simply enjoying the sun…"

  His eyes widened in a flash of horrified self-awareness. Gods, I’m starting to sound like Xia. He gazed towards Xia Jinyan's hut, the scent of refining herbs already a faint, intimidating promise on the morning air. He closed his eyes, his resolve wavering. He decided to delay the inevitable.

  Jinyan would still be there, and so would her sharp tongue. For now, he needed a different kind of training, a different kind of focus.

  He turned and made his way towards the village training grounds to watch the guards practice. "I'll deal with lessons later," he murmured to himself. "I'm sure she's still forging pills…"

  "HNGH!"

  "HIYAH!"

  "TAKE THAT!"

  The shouts were a familiar, rhythmic punctuation to the dry, dusty air of the village training grounds. From his hut, Bi Kan had heard the sounds of sparring, and now he watched, leaning against a sturdy wooden post, his arms crossed.

  The village guards were a whirlwind of earnest, if clumsy, effort. One man ducked under a wild swing and drove a powerful uppercut into his opponent's chin.

  "HELL YEAH!"

  Another, more cunning fighter, scooped up a handful of sand, flinging it into his rival's face before tackling him to the ground in a cloud of dust.

  "W-wha-! You bastard—" SPHUK! "GOT YOU!"

  Their movements were sluggish compared to sect disciples, their techniques unrefined, but there was a fierce, practical edge to their fighting that most backwater villages lacked. Not only that, a few of them pulsed with the faint, nascent aura of the Qi Sensing Realm.

  A unique village, Bi Kan thought, a flicker of genuine respect in his eyes.

  They have a foundation. With the right guidance, who’s to say they won't rise to become an esteemed family one day?

  He had been observing for some time when Ying Xia finally emerged from her own hut, the sun a brilliant spark at its highest point in the sky.

  She stretched, a long, luxurious motion that ended in a jaw-cracking yawn. "Hah… I'm beat…"

  On the training ground, Wen Renge’s head snapped towards her as if pulled by a string. "O-Oh! Sister Xia!" In a sudden, brutal display of focus, he abandoned his defensive posture, took a heavy blow to the shoulder, and used the opening to drive his own fist into his opponent’s spine.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  SHWBOOM!

  The sound of crackling bone was sharp and sickening. "A-ACK! Damn you, Renge!" his sparring partner yelped, collapsing in a heap.

  Renge paid him no mind, his feet already plastering themselves against the ground in a hurried dash towards Ying Xia. "Are you here to prepare for your spear training?!" he asked, his voice a breathless, eager rush. "I'll give you tips! You see, I know someone who…"

  Seriously, this guy is completely infatuated, Bi Kan mused, a cold shiver tracing its way down his spine as a phantom memory of Xia Jinyan's unforgiving lessons surfaced. Watching Xia practice is definitely better than being harassed in that damned alchemist hut. He settled in, his gaze turning distant for a moment.

  "Xia, don't push yourself," he called out, his voice carrying a note of genuine concern. "I saw you training late into the night."

  She grinned, pumping her chest out with a surge of pride. "Don't you worry! I know my limits, Bi Kan!" Hehe, are you that concerned for me? she thought, a triumphant glint in her eyes. Or are you just afraid I'll surpass you in combat skills soon? Muhahaha!

  "Why does my eye twitch whenever I see her dumb face…?" Bi Kan muttered to himself, crossing his arms.

  Just as Renge was about to launch into another long-winded explanation of spear theory, a new presence made itself known. An old man, his back slightly stooped with age but his steps firm and steady, approached the training grounds. Bi Kan’s eyes snapped towards him, his own Qi sense flaring.

  The man’s aura was a deep, still lake compared to the splashing puddles of the guards. He was a Body Tempering Realm expert.

  Renge, seeing his chance, waved his hands frantically, approaching the man asking him to help Xia out. "I'm not really that good at using a spear…" he admitted, his earlier confidence evaporating. "Even so! You must teach Sister Xia! She's a natural!"

  The old man, Xiong Zhan, shook his head, a long, exasperated sigh escaping his lips. "I can't help but think you have ulterior motives for this, Renge…"

  "Oh, come on, Xiong Zhan! Just do this one small favor for me!"

  Xiong Zhan let out another sigh, but his gaze drifted past the two of them. It swept over the sparring guards, a brief, dismissive flicker, before landing, with a surprising and unnerving intensity, squarely on Bi Kan. The old man’s eyes narrowed, a flicker of profound curiosity in their depths.

  Hmm..? This guy…

  As Xiong Zhan’s heavy, assessing gaze fell upon him, Bi Kan straightened from his casual lean against the post.

  An invisible pressure, dense and heavy as mountain stone, settled over the training ground. It was the passive, crushing aura of a Body Tempering expert, a silent challenge that made Bi Kan’s own sharp, predatory Qi rise to meet it.

  For a tense moment, they were two stubborn bastards sizing each other up, the air crackling between them.

  They almost took a step towards each other, a silent agreement to test their mettle, but an anxious blur of motion shot between them.

  "There she is, brother! Look!" Wen Renge interjected, his voice strained as he desperately tried to diffuse the situation, his hand pointing frantically. "Look at how good she is with the spear!"

  Ying Xia was a whirlwind of focused energy, the long spear a silver extension of her will. She thrust and lunged across the open field, her movements filled with a raw, unrefined power.

  I wonder if she'll be able to cleave her way through crimson-thorn boars with that kind of ferocity, Bi Kan mused, the tension in his shoulders slowly uncoiling.

  Xiong Zhan grunted, the sound a mixture of grudging respect and professional critique. He coughed into his fist. "Not bad, not bad at all," he declared, his voice carrying easily across the grounds. "But you're still lacking the fundamentals!"

  In a motion so swift it was almost invisible, he spun his own practice spear. He was a blur, a specter of motion that ended with the glint of steel just a hair's breadth from Ying Xia's neck. The air itself seemed to go still. A single bead of sweat traced a path down her chin, her wide, startled eyes and gritted teeth reflected in the polished metal.

  "I'll transform you into a true spear wielder," he stated, his tone leaving no room for argument.

  "I'll be counting on you then!" she managed to say, her own voice a mixture of shock and a new, fierce excitement.

  Xiong Zhan withdrew the spear and positioned himself before her. "Watch how I grip the spear," he commanded. "First, you must place your dominant hand on the rear." He slid his weathered hand all the way to the butt of the handle. "Next, your other hand is to guide it, a way to direct your attacks perfectly." His left hand settled near the spearhead. Ying Xia followed his movements closely, her own hands finding their places. "Hnh…"

  The old man nodded. "Good. But don't grip it so tightly. Remember, it's to direct your movements. If you restrict it, the spear won't flow the way you want it to. Next, is the stances…"

  Though Ying Xia had seemed so confident with the weapon just moments before, learning the true fundamentals proved to be a grueling challenge. Every instinct she possessed, every raw motion she had relied on, was now being deconstructed and rebuilt from the ground up.

  "And yet…" Bi Kan leaned back against the wall, a small, genuine smile on his face. "She's not stuck at all…"

  He watched as her initial, clumsy attempts to follow Xiong Zhan’s instructions slowly, painstakingly, transformed. Her movements, once all raw power, began to gain a new fluidity, a grace she hadn't possessed before.

  She was a natural, her body absorbing the lessons like dry earth drinking rain.

  The spear began to move not just with her, but as a part of her, and Bi Kan could almost feel the sharp, percussive impact of her improved thrusts in his own bones.

  "She's a prodigy," he murmured, his hand coming up to stroke his chin. "Is she good with any weapon..?"

  His gaze turned, looking back towards the village proper. The setting sun cast a long, sharp shadow from Xia Jinyan’s hut, a dark finger pointing directly at him.

  "Hahh… that's enough spectating for one day," he sighed. "It's time to finish up my lesson with Senior Sister."

  He took his leave of the training grounds, heading towards the looming crucible he dreaded most of all: learning alchemy.

  SHWACK!

  The door swung open with a force that made the herbs on the nearby table tremble. Bi Kan’s shadow fell across the room, a tall, imposing silhouette that towered over the girl sitting cross-legged on the floor.

  "You've come." Xia Jinyan let out a long, slow sigh, rubbing the bridge of her nose. She opened her eyes, and he could see the deep, bone-deep weariness within them. Her usual fiery orange gaze was dimmed, like the embers of a fire that had been burning all night. Bi Kan’s own gaze traced the length of the workbench. It was littered with pills of all kinds: pale green Qi-Recovery Pills, shimmering white Qi Sensing Pills, and deep crimson Healing Pills, each one a testament to her tireless efforts.

  "Are you even up for teaching?" he asked, his voice softer than he intended as he turned to face her.

  "Of course I am," she said, though her voice lacked its usual sharp edge. "I'm not that tired." To prove her point, she picked up a mid-tier recovery pill and examined it.

  "Heh, not bad," Bi Kan observed, his alchemist’s eye noting its quality. "But consuming too much might backfire, your Qi might go berserk."

  She narrowed her gaze at him, a flicker of her usual fire returning, before consuming the pill. "I can control it," she stated, her voice sharp and final. "I'm not a Qi-Sensing Realm brat like you."

  Bi Kan’s eye twitched.

  A week passed in a relentless, frustrating cycle of failure.

  The elegant dance of elements that had seemed so clear in theory was a chaotic, impossible storm in his hands. He would try to harmonize Fire and Water, only to be met with a puff of acrid smoke. He would attempt to fuse Earth and Wood, and the resulting concoction would crumble into useless, gritty dust.

  "Damn it," he seethed, staring at the single, misshapen pill that was the sole fruit of dozens of attempts.

  "It's like I've gotten worse!" His success rate had plummeted to a pathetic ten percent.

  Ying Xia, on the other hand, was a different story entirely. Under Xiong Zhan's tutelage, she had become one with the spear. Each day, her movements grew more fluid, her thrusts more precise, her power more controlled. The old man clapped his weathered hands together, a broad, proud grin on his face.

  "She's a good learner!" he boomed, his voice echoing across the training grounds. "She might become one of the dragon spears one day!"

  A hearty, unrestrained laugh erupted from him.

  Damn it, I need to escape, Bi Kan thought, the walls of the small hut feeling like a prison. He crawled towards the door, his mind a maelstrom of frustration.

  I need to break through to the 6th stage… I'm so close…

  CRACK!

  The sharp, sudden impact of wood against his forehead sent a starburst of pain through his skull. "ACK!"

  He looked up, dazed, to see a villager standing in the open doorway, his face pale with a breathless excitement.

  "Y-Young Master Jinyan! They've returned from seclusion! The success rate is much better than before!"

  Jinyan’s weary posture straightened, the exhaustion in her eyes instantly incinerated by a sharp, analytical glint. "Oh? How many of them succeeded this time?"

  The villager took a deep, shuddering gulp, his eyes wide with a mixture of terror and awe.

  "Out of ten of them," he stammered, his voice a disbelieving whisper, "they… all succeeded…!"