The crowd in the arena slowly faded, their cheers dissolving into echoes against stone and steel. Zhang Xin walked with the others, the sun casting long shadows behind him as they exited toward their quarters. His jaw was still tight from the fight, not from pain, but from the unease growing in his chest.
Someone was watching him.
Not from the stands. Not with excitement. But with precision. With purpose.
He felt it earlier when his blade connected with his opponent's shoulder — a presence. Not hostile, not mocking. Just... focused. The kind of gaze that stripped you bare, read the language of your movements, and analyzed the breath between each strike.
As the group turned toward their individual paths, Zhang Xin paused and glanced over his shoulder. Nothing. But his instincts screamed otherwise. He could feel the weight of someone's eyes pressing on his spine.
---
The Silent Encounter
Later that night, under the half-moon's glow, he slipped quietly from his quarters. The stone pathways leading to the arena were empty, save for the rustling of old banners hanging from the wooden beams. The shadows stretched long. Too long.
He moved silently through the corridor beside the arena wall, then froze.
A breath. Behind him.
He turned, and a cloaked figure stood in the center of the pathway.
"Who are you?" Zhang Xin's voice was low, firm.
The man didn't reply immediately. His face remained hidden in shadow.
"I watched you today," the figure said. His voice was like gravel mixed with rain — rough but sorrowful, as if carrying a thousand untold regrets.
"You're not a rival," Zhang Xin said slowly, sensing no killing intent. "Then why?"
The man tilted his head. "To test your foundation. To remind you that power without clarity is collapse in waiting."
Zhang Xin's fists clenched. "Enough riddles."
In a flash, the man was in front of him. A single strike — not fast, not brutal, but precise — pushed Zhang Xin back. He responded with his own technique, releasing energy from his core. But every time he struck, the man vanished and reappeared, as if stepping through folds of air.
They danced like echoes — neither truly clashing nor escaping.
And then — the man vanished. Just like that. No trace, no scent, no lingering energy.
Only a whisper remained, carried on the wind:
> "You still carry his blood. Don't forget that, Zhang Xin."
His chest tightened. That voice... That tone...
Uncle Li?
He stood still, heart racing, not from fear but from the strange familiarity. Was it possible?
---
Back at the Quarters
When Zhang Xin returned to his room, the others were already fast asleep. The moonlight spilled in through the paper windows, and silence draped the space like a blanket. He sat on the edge of his bed, the whisper echoing in his mind.
Could it really be him?
The man who disappeared saying for month but for years.
His uncle… once a protector of the Ancient Path Sect?
---
Training Under Master Ruo Lin
The next morning, Master Ruo Lin called them all into the East Courtyard.
Hid eyes, as always, held stormclouds — sharp and endlessly deep.
"You all fought like children," he said, tone hard. "You showed potential, yes. But also arrogance. Weakness. Lack of coordination."
They stood in silence.
"You lack synchronization. Your energies clash rather than support. Until you learn to move as one, you will fall as many."
He circled them slowly.
"One month from today, the Sacred Hall will host the Crimson Ascendance Trial. The best cultivators will battle for recognition, power, and fate-bound missions. Only Level 7 and above may enter."
A chill moved through the group.
"You are at Level 5, some barely touching Level 6. You must break through. No excuses."
The courtyard shook as he raised his hand. A barrier of wind encased them. "From now on, your training will be relentless. You will learn your weaknesses. You will taste your limits. And you will break them."
He paired them off, forcing them to spar in silence. He corrected every stance, disrupted their energy flow, and tore apart their forms.
"You fight like strangers," he barked at Zhang Xin and his teammates. "You don't even breathe in rhythm."
But slowly... something began to change. The group started syncing, adjusting their power levels, compensating for one another's energy surges.
By the end of the day, each of them lay exhausted on the courtyard floor, their bodies aching, but their spirits — forged slightly stronger.
As the night fell again, Zhang Xin sat under the old plum tree outside the quarters. The stars overhead shimmered like ancient runes.
"You still carry his blood..."
He closed his eyes.
If the man was Uncle Li…
Why now?
And why test him?
The wind stirred the branches, and Zhang Xin whispered to the night,
> "I'm ready… come back and teach me again, Uncle… if you're still out there."
The leaves rustled gently, like an answer just out of reach.
Morning sunlight filtered through the translucent windows of the East Courtyard, casting golden hues on the seven figures standing in formation. Master Ruo Lin's cloak fluttered slightly in the breeze as hid eyes swept over them with unwavering precision.
"Seven elements. Seven flaws. Seven possibilities," he said sharply. "To face the Crimson Ascendance Trial, you must not only master your own powers, but learn to breathe, think, and move as one. Begin."
The team broke formation and moved into the open training grounds, weapons drawn, energy swirling like clouds caught in a storm. It was time to transcend the line between individual brilliance and collective strength.
---
Zhang Xin: Light Born Warrior
Zhang Xin stood at the center, palm raised. From his skin radiated a glow—not fire, not magic, but **pure light**. It danced around his fingers, fluid and fast, illuminating the dust around his feet. He was the torchbearer of their group, the first into battle and the one who often stood between them and the abyss.
His technique: **"Radiant Crescent Blade"**—a blinding arc of curved light that sliced through illusions and darkness alike.
He trained tirelessly to refine his defensive skill **"Solar Aegis"**, a shimmering shield that formed a dome of warm, pulsating brilliance, capable of absorbing energy-based attacks and redirecting them.
But alone, light casts only shadows. So Zhang Xin turned to the others.
---
Lian Hua: The Blade of Blossoms
Lian Hua danced.
That was the only way to describe it. Her **Petal Sword** shimmered with delicate pink light as she moved through her technique: **"Blossom Rainfall"**, a flurry of sword petals that cut not only flesh but the threads of incoming energy.
Her petals responded best to the sun's light, which meant when Zhang Xin powered up, her attacks became more refined, more deadly.
"Don't just fight near me," Zhang Xin said as they trained side by side. "Let my light feed your petals. We'll blind them before they even lift a sword."
She nodded. "Then let's make our enemies bleed from a thousand roses."
Together, they choreographed a combined technique: **"Radiant Bloom"** — Zhang Xin's flash blinding the opponent, and in the same moment, Lian Hua's petals striking in a spiraling motion like a whirlpool of glass.
---
Xiaobo: Flame of Reckoning
Xiaobo trained like a tempest. His fists ignited with orange flames as he punched through boulders stacked by Master Ruo Lin.
His signature move: **"Crimson Tiger Fist"**, a flame-imbued martial art that created roaring shockwaves.
"Your fire is wild," Master Ruo Lin told him. "Control it, or it will consume more than your foes."
Xiaobo grinned, sweat steaming off his skin. "That's why I train near Yuxin. Her ice keeps me in check."
---
Yuxin: Frost Whisperer
Yuxin stood opposite Xiaobo, her hands moving in gentle, circular motions. Her technique: **"Glacial Embrace"**, allowed her to freeze moisture in the air and form weapons, shields, and even mirrors.
Her most powerful move: **"Fractured Reflection"**, created three moving illusions of herself that attacked from multiple angles with spear-shaped icicles.
Though she and Xiaobo often clashed in personality, their elements balanced each other.
Their combined technique: **"Eclipse Flame Lotus"** — Yuxin's frozen petals forming a boundary ring, while Xiaobo's fire bursts from within, creating explosive shockwaves contained within icy orbs until impact.
"Beautiful and brutal," Yuxin murmured, watching the frozen shards melt into steam. "Just like war."
---
Mei Lan: Ocean's Healer
While the others trained for war, Mei Lan trained to **end it**.
Her **Water Healing Techniques** were subtle, flowing through wounded flesh like cool streams through dry rock.
Her main ability: **"Moonlit Wave"** — a wide-spread healing aura that soothed pain and accelerated cell regeneration.
But Master Ruo Lin didn't allow her to stay passive.
"You must fight, even if it's to protect," she ordered.
So Mei Lan developed **"Tidal Grasp"** — tendrils of healing water that could bind enemies, stun them, or even pull allies from danger.
She trained closely with Chen Bo, wrapping his lightning strikes with streams of water to channel them more accurately. Their technique: **"Thunder Current"** — Mei Lan's wave riding Chen Bo's charged blade like a silver dragon.
---
Chen Bo: Storm-Struck Swordsman
Chen Bo's blade crackled with electricity, his every movement fast, unpredictable, and almost violent in its precision. His technique: **"Sky Piercer"**, a vertical slash that drew down lightning from above and split it along his blade.
He was the sharp edge of the group, always striking the first fatal blow.
But his lightning needed grounding, and that's where Wei Luo came in.
---
Wei Luo: Earthbound Sentinel
Wei Luo was a boulder in human form. Calm, solid, immovable. His **"Stone Guard Technique"** formed a skin of hardened earth over his arms and legs, giving him monstrous strength and defense.
His technique: **"Mountain Breaker Palm"** — a seismic strike that caused the ground to fracture and rise.
Together, he and Chen Bo forged **"Thunder Surge"** — Wei Luo sending a tremor through the battlefield as Chen Bo's lightning danced along the ruptured cracks, electrocuting enemies from below.
Wei Luo's quiet voice spoke rarely, but one night, as they rested under a tree, he said:
"Stone remembers every footprint. I will remember each of you. If one of us falls, it will be after I fall first."
---
United by Flame, Bound by Fate
Master Ruo Lin watched their training in silence for three days. On the fourth day, he summoned them to the sacred hilltop just beyond the cliffs.
"You are no longer seven students. You are a unit. A convergence of heaven's will," he said.
She dropped a scroll in the center of the circle.
"This is your team name. Chosen by the elders."
They opened it.
> **"Dawn's Wrath."**
A quiet hum passed between them.
"Dawn brings light," Zhang Xin murmured.
"But wrath means it does not come peacefully," Yuxin added.
"You will enter the **Crimson Ascendance Trial** as Dawn's Wrath. Seven days before the battle, you will go to the **Obsidian Hollow** to gather Soul Ash Stones—only those who return will be eligible."
Lian Hua looked up. "So the trial begins before the trial?"
Master Ruo Lin nodded. "Everything worth gaining demands loss. Expect to bleed."
---
That night, the group sat around a small fire in their shared courtyard. No words were needed. The bond had been sealed—not by a shared goal, but by shared effort. Swords clashing together, healing hands pulled through bruises, fire tempered by frost, lightning grounded by stone, petals guided by light.
They were seven.
But they moved like one.