The town of Tianshui lay nestled between emerald fields and the towering Whispering Fang Mountains, where the clouds drifted low and thick like fogged breath from a sleeping dragon. Farmers here woke with the sun, blacksmiths with the sound of hammer on steel, and teachers with the rustle of parchment.
But one boy always woke before them all.
Kael Xuren stood barefoot in a stream at the town's edge, sweat glistening on his brow, arms covered in grime. Around him lay a chaotic construction of stones, wooden channels, and carved wheels. What should have looked like a pile of junk… actually worked.
The water flowed down a slope of stacked stone, hit a carved notch, spun a bamboo wheel, and gently arced into a pool lined with polished river rock. A waterfall — or rather, his attempt at one.
"Kael," groaned a deep voice from the grass, "I swear if you make us lift one more rock, I'm throwing you into your masterpiece."
Samuel Wu, tall and built like a mountain ox, flopped onto the grass, shirt drenched in sweat.
"He's not listening," said Mike Ren, short and serious, stretching his sore arms. "Too busy perfecting the water arc angle, or whatever madness he dreamed last night."
Kael grinned without looking. "It's not madness. It's a gift. Tomorrow's our Awakening Ceremony. I want this ready for Mother and Liora."
A dry laugh echoed behind them. Jay Jay, lean and wiry, flipped a coin lazily into the air. "Our town's favorite lunatic. I can't wait to see what kind of spirit root someone like you awakens. Probably a wind-fart root."
Kael laughed. "As long as it blows you away."
They kept working — bickering, sweating, laughing — until footsteps interrupted.
A group of boys, five in all, approached with smug grins. At the center stood Raen, son of a sect elder and the town's golden boy. Blonde, clean, arrogant.
"Still playing with rocks, peasants?" Raen sneered. "Hoping your mud bath gives you talent?"
The air shifted. Jay Jay stood first, but Samuel stepped forward, massive arms crossed.
"We're busy. Leave, Raen."
Raen smirked. "You think outer sect trash like you matter? Tomorrow, when your soul sea barely flickers, I'll be there — watching. Laughing."
He stepped forward and pushed Kael hard. Kael stumbled but didn't fall. Instead, he wiped his hands on his shirt and gave a small smile.
"You always talk too much, Raen."
Raen's eyes narrowed. "You'll regret that."
The scuffle began — fists flying, dirt kicked, pain shared. Kael and Samuel held their own, but they were outnumbered. Raen's final blow sent Kael to his knees, blood trickling from his lip.
"You're nothing," Raen spat. "Not even your precious mother will save you tomorrow."
They left, laughing.
---
That evening, Kael limped home, helping Samuel along the way. When they reached the gate, Liora Xuren stood waiting. Kael's younger sister, though often mistaken for older due to her poise, intelligence, and strangely cold charm.
She took one look at them and sighed. "My handsome brother again. You must destroy everything you touch."
Kael chuckled weakly. "A gift, remember?"
Liora's cold smirk faded as she stepped forward, gently wiping the blood from his cheek. "I'll kill the one who did this."
Inside, Meilin Arasha, their mother, sat reading an old scroll. She looked up, calm as still water. With a flick of her wrist, a soft tattoo shimmered along her forearm — a ring of gentle silver script. She placed her hand over Kael's wound.
Light pulsed. Pain faded.
"I told you to stop starting fights," she said, smiling softly.
"He didn't start it," Liora said. "Raen did."
"Of course he did," Meilin replied. "Boys with weak hearts and strong fathers always swing harder."
---
That night, Kael sat under the waterfall he built, listening to its gentle rhythm.
Meilin joined him quietly, her robe trailing behind like moonlight.
"Mother," Kael asked, "what's cultivation really like?"
She sat beside him and smiled. "You want the truth?"
"I don't want stories. I want… understanding."
Meilin looked to the stars.
"The first stage is Body Refinement. It has nine levels. You train your muscles, bones, and blood to hold mana without breaking. Many never pass the third level. You will."
Kael blinked. "How do you know?"
"I've seen your eyes," she said. "They look at the world as if you've already seen more than it offers."
"The second?"
"Channel Opening Realm. You must open the Soul Sea — the space inside you where all cultivation flows. Most struggle. You must learn to listen to your body's current."
"The third?"
"Spirit Root Awakening. That's where your meridians open and the world speaks back. You'll hear elements. Feel them. Some awaken fire. Others wind, ice, or even void."
"And the fourth?"
Meilin hesitated. "That's the Core Formation Realm. There… you begin forming your Cultivation Core. From 0% to 100%. It's the beginning of true power — but also danger."
She looked away. "Many go mad trying to push too far. Especially those with talent."
Kael was quiet a moment. "Will I go mad?"
"No," she whispered. "You'll terrify them."
---
The next day, while shopping for spirit cloth and mana-threaded boots for the ceremony, Kael walked with Jay Jay and Mike through the town market.
"Look at these prices," Jay Jay muttered. "You'd think we were shopping in the Celestial Capital."
A vendor scowled. "One spirit coin per meter is generous, brat."
Kael raised an eyebrow. "Spirit coin?"
Mike explained, "Currency here's simple: copper coins for peasants, silver for traders, gold for nobles. But cultivators use spirit coins — imbued with low-grade essence. One spirit coin equals about ten gold coins."
Jay Jay smirked. "And one essence stone equals ten spirit coins. That's sect money."
"Which we won't see anytime soon," Mike muttered. "We're going to the outer sect, not the inner halls. They'll feed us pills, train us hard, and hope we don't die."
Kael grinned. "Sounds fun."
---
That night, Kael lay in bed staring at the ceiling. Liora was already asleep beside the wall, curled under a pale blue blanket.
He closed his eyes.
In the dark… something stirred.
Fire. Stars. Screams. A cracked sky.
A voice echoed from nowhere:
"Anchor the core… Flow through the bones… Remember me…"
Kael sat up, gasping. His chest pulsed. A faint spiral of light spun over his skin — gone before he could blink.
He breathed slowly.
Tomorrow was the beginning.
And something inside him had already begun.
---