The first rays of the sun pierced through the jagged rooftops of Yun Village, painting long streaks of gold across the crooked streets. Lin Feng sat perched on the edge of a crumbling wall, the worn leather of his sword strap cutting into his shoulder. Below, the courtyard buzzed with energy. Young cultivators stretched, practiced, and sparred, their auras rippling like rivers of molten light. Lin Feng's chest tightened as he watched. His chaotic qi twisted erratically within him, flames of silver and violet tangling and colliding without any order.
"Look at him." The words sliced through the morning air. Lin Feng turned his head slightly. Jian Feng, the strongest of the youth, leaned against a broken pillar, smirking. "The little ember thinks he can even touch a sword without falling on his face."
A ripple of laughter followed, echoing across the courtyard. Lin Feng clenched his fists, nails biting into his palms. He opened his mouth to respond, but no words came. His voice faltered. Patience, he reminded himself. Observe, endure… one spark at a time.
The memory of his mother's voice whispered in his mind. "Even the smallest ember can start a fire if it survives, Feng. Protect it. Nurture it. One day, it will burn brighter than you can imagine."
The young cultivators laughed again, circling him like wolves testing a trembling prey. The harshness of the world had never been so clear. Today was the first day of his trial. The elders had announced it just the night before: a small, controlled challenge for young cultivators to test their control over qi, aura, and martial techniques. For Lin Feng, weak and with broken roots, it was less a trial and more an open display of potential failure.
He flexed his fingers and traced the hilt of his sword, feeling the slight weight and the faint pulse of unstable energy that ran through it. The chaotic qi inside him surged and recoiled like a caged storm. He had practiced in secret for months, yet every motion reminded him how little he truly understood his own power.
A sudden sound drew his attention. A small beast had been summoned into the courtyard, eyes gleaming with intelligence. Its scales shimmered faintly, catching the morning light in jagged patterns. Lin Feng's chaotic qi flared violently, thrashing against the confines of his body. His limbs trembled as he attempted to steady himself.
"Focus, Feng," he muttered under his breath. "Feel it… don't fight it. Move with it."
He took a deep breath, letting the chaotic qi flow along his arms, into his hands, and finally into the sword. Sparks danced across the steel, unstable and erratic, like fire caught in a windstorm. The beast lunged, claws extended, teeth bared. Lin Feng raised his weapon in a trembling arc. The aura, thin and flickering, coalesced into a trembling shield, deflecting the attack by inches. The creature hissed, circling, confused by the unexpected resistance.
Jian Feng snorted, his confidence wavering slightly. "Hmph… lucky."
Lin Feng's eyes widened. It worked… His chest heaved, adrenaline mingling with fear and exhilaration. This was only the first step, but it was proof that he could control the chaos inside him, even if only partially.
Hours passed like a slow storm. The trial continued with increasingly complex obstacles: miniature elemental barriers, unstable qi currents, and rival cultivators testing each other. Every movement of Lin Feng's sword, every twitch of his aura, was met with resistance or failure at first. Sparks of chaotic qi exploded outward, some dissipating harmlessly, others grazing his opponents in flashes of blinding light. Sweat poured down his face, soaking the dust of the courtyard into streaks across his cheeks.
Yet with each attempt, Lin Feng felt the ember inside him burn a little steadier. The chaotic threads, once wild and unmanageable, began to respond, however faintly, to his will. He imagined his aura as water caught in a storm, learning to flow around obstacles rather than against them. Slowly, he learned to guide it, letting his instincts and intuition shape the energy rather than brute force.
During a brief pause, he sank to his knees, head bowed. The whispers of the elders, the jeers of his peers, and the echo of his mother's words merged into a single thought: One spark… one step… endure. His sword rested against the stone beneath him, a faint hum of unstable energy vibrating along its edge. Even in failure, he saw progress.
By late afternoon, fatigue weighed heavily on his limbs, yet determination kept him upright. Lin Feng's aura no longer flickered wildly; it pulsed rhythmically, a small but visible glow surrounding him. The small beast from the morning circled him once more, and Lin Feng instinctively lifted his sword. Sparks leapt from the blade, weaving into a thin, bright sheath of light. The beast froze, uncertainty in its intelligent eyes. For the first time, Lin Feng felt the beginnings of mastery.
Mo Ran, his stoic mentor, had been observing silently from the shadows. His eyes, dark and unreadable, flicked between Lin Feng and the chaotic aura. Finally, he stepped forward, voice calm but firm. "You have potential. Chaotic qi is dangerous, unpredictable, and few can control it. Yet you have endured, adapted… and taken the first step toward mastery. Never forget, Lin Feng: One spark, one step. Guard it. Nurture it. Let it grow."
Lin Feng nodded, chest heaving, eyes bright. The ember in his heart, once tiny and fragile, now burned stubbornly. His first trial had ended, but the journey had only begun. From this day forward, every spark, every movement, every ounce of effort would shape him. His chaotic qi, once a curse, was slowly becoming his strength.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, shadows stretched across the courtyard, elongating like silent watchers. Lin Feng rose, sword in hand, aura flickering faintly but steadily. I will rise. One spark at a time. The words whispered across the wind, carrying the promise of the journey ahead. Somewhere deep in the chaos of his broken roots, a fire roared faintly—growing, waiting, ready to forge the boy into something extraordinary.