The morning sky began to brighten.
A light mist drifted across the back courtyard of Qinglong Academy.Dew still clung to the tips of leaves as Li Yuan walked slowly through the quiet.
There was no sound to his steps.No tremble in the earth.Not even the leaves stirred as he passed.
He was like a shadow—but one that left no trace.
The students training that morning began to notice something.A subtle feeling… as if something had just moved past them.
But when they turned—nothing was there.
"Did you feel someone just now?""I felt it too… but there was no one."
High atop the academy tower, Wen Zhi watched from afar.He said nothing—only closed his eyes.
He could feel it:the breath of the earth.The step that left no sound.The shadow that left no mark.
"His steps have erased his presence from the physical world…But because of that—he is more present than ever."
In a quiet place behind the courtyard, Li Yuan came to a stop.He stood on a flat stone, wet with dew.He drew a deep breath… and released it slowly.
His breath did not disturb the air—it merged with the silence.
"A step… is not merely movement," he thought."A step is understanding.When you truly understand, a footprint is no longer needed."
He remembered the words of his teacher from the village:
"If you walk across soft earth and leave no trace…then perhaps, you have become part of the path itself."
That day, the teachers recorded something quietly:
One student vanished from view—and yet, his presence rooted itself in the hearts of everyone at the academy.
He walked—and no one could follow.
Because the path he tread…was not the outer world—but the deep unfolding of inner understanding.