Langtian, a harsh morning. The streets teemed with merchants shouting to sell their goods spices, salted fish, warm pastries. The mixed scents formed a choking haze, while street children ran about, scavenging crumbs or fallen fruit.
In a corner of the market, a boy sat hunched. His clothes were tattered, face smudged with dirt, body frail. Yet his eyes sharp, calm, and full of vigilance pierced through the bustling chaos.
Tian Yu, fifteen years old, appeared fragile to most. But every movement he made was calculated. He lived alone, without a master, without a sect. The world rejected him, but he looked back with cold precision.
As he picked up a stale piece of bread, a larger street child leaped from the side and kicked him to the ground.
"Hey! Street trash! You think you can survive here?" the boy jeered loudly.
Tian Yu smiled faintly not from pleasure, but because his mind processed every movement of his opponent. He met the boy's gaze with icy calm, and for a brief moment, the air seemed to stiffen. With a subtle motion, the boy stumbled on his own, silently, as if guided by invisible hands an effect of the sealed power within Tian Yu, not yet fully realized.
> "They laugh at me… they have no idea what is sealed within me," Tian Yu thought.
People around were stunned; some stared, others frowned. Tian Yu bent down, retrieved his crumb, and ate it calmly. He read every motion, every subtle sign in his surroundings patterns, gaps, weaknesses not as "data," but as traces of life that could be used to survive.
Soon, an old merchant drove him away with a stick. Tian Yu stepped back, bowed slightly, and smiled faintly. Every insult, every strike left traces he understood. They thought him weak, yet he read the world like an open scroll.
As the sun leaned westward, Tian Yu climbed to the rooftop of an old warehouse. From there, he observed the city: busy street children, bargaining merchants, people oblivious to his existence. Shadows flickered in his eyes a sign of something sealed within. Even slightly, the world felt its effect: swaying branches without wind, dancing dust, startled animals all subtle yet mysterious, enough to hint that this boy was no ordinary human.
Suddenly, a soft step echoed from a narrow alley. A thief tried to snatch his bread. Tian Yu watched calmly. With a subtle gesture, a small object hovered in the air, blocking the thief. The boy stepped back, astonished, while Tian Yu remained cold.
"Laugh now… one day, that laughter will become screams," he thought, eyes locked on the child.
Night fell over the city, and Tian Yu remained atop the roof. A beggar in the eyes of the world, yet the sealed cosmic shadow within him began to stir faint, mysterious. The world was not ready to acknowledge him, but that day, Langtian felt the first tremor of something that would change everything.l
The night deepened over Langtian, yet the city never truly slept. Shadows stretched along narrow alleys, and the faint glow of lanterns painted the streets with streaks of gold and orange. Tian Yu remained on the rooftop, his eyes scanning the movement below, each step of the townsfolk calculated, every whisper of wind absorbed into his perception.
A faint scuffle echoed from the alley below—a group of street urchins cornering a smaller boy, demanding his few coins. Tian Yu's lips curved into a faint, cold smile. Not from cruelty, but from amusement.
He leapt silently from the rooftop, landing on the edge of a wooden cart. The sudden creak drew the attention of the gang. Their leader, a wiry boy with a cruel grin, turned sharply.
"Who's there?" he hissed.
Tian Yu's eyes glimmered with a subtle darkness—barely noticeable, yet enough to send a chill down the spines of those sensitive to spiritual energy. One step closer, and the gang froze instinctively, as if an invisible presence pressed down on them.
"Looking for trouble?" Tian Yu's voice was calm, almost bored, but carried a weight they could not measure.
The leader scoffed, shaking off the unease. "A little street rat thinks he's scary?" He lunged forward, fist aimed at Tian Yu's face.
Tian Yu didn't dodge—he let the punch pass through empty air. The boy stumbled forward, arms flailing, and slammed into the wall behind him. No sound, no struggle—only a brief distortion of the air around Tian Yu's hand, subtle yet undeniable. The others stared, their bravado faltering.
> "Even now… they cannot see me clearly," Tian Yu thought. "But soon, they will."
The small boy who had been cornered froze, staring at Tian Yu with wide eyes. The gang hesitated, fear replacing arrogance. Tian Yu crouched slightly, his gaze scanning each movement, noting every imbalance, every hesitation reading the world not with tools or words, but with instinct and calculation.
A lantern wobbled nearby, casting long shadows that danced unnaturally. For a moment, the shadows seemed to thicken, curling around Tian Yu like living tendrils, responding to a will he barely understood. It was the first subtle stirrings of the sealed power within him.
The gang leader's jaw tightened. "Get him!" he barked, but his voice lacked certainty. One by one, the others took hesitant steps back, as if unseen hands guided them.
Tian Yu stood slowly, eyes cold and unwavering. "You think this world is yours to control?" he murmured, almost to himself. "I walk in its shadow, yet it bends to what lies beneath."
With that, he vanished into the alleys, leaving the gang staring at empty streets. Only the faint whisper of displaced air hinted at his passing. The smaller boy, trembling, whispered, "Who… who was that?"
Tian Yu paused atop a nearby rooftop, gazing at the moon rising over Langtian. His lips curved into a faint, sinister smile.
"They see nothing… yet everything is already mine to observe. This city, these people… all pawns in a game they cannot even perceive."
The night deepened further, carrying with it an eerie stillness. Somewhere within Tian Yu, a sealed force stirred again, stronger than before, reaching out subtly to the world. A whisper of future chaos, a promise of shadows yet to come.
The alley fell into an uneasy silence after Tian Yu vanished. The faint disarray of overturned crates and flickering lanterns remained—a subtle reminder that something unseen had passed. Below, the small boy clutched his coins, eyes wide, trembling. Even the usual street rats and urchins kept their distance, instinctively sensing a shift in the air.
Tian Yu crouched atop another rooftop, watching the aftermath. A faint pulse ran through the alley—like a heartbeat vibrating in the world itself. The sealed power within him stirred stronger, sensing the tension, testing the boundaries of its confinement.
> "Not yet… the world is still too weak," he whispered, voice calm, almost bored. "But it is beginning to notice."
A merchant shouted from the street below, demanding to know what had happened. Tian Yu's eyes narrowed. He could sense fear, curiosity, and awe mingling in the crowd below. Every emotion, every ripple, every subtle shift in their movements—he absorbed it all, not as data, but as patterns, as traces that revealed the nature of those around him.
From the shadows, another threat emerged: a group of older street bullies, bigger and more reckless than the first. They had heard the commotion and came to investigate, unaware of the force that had passed.
Tian Yu stretched out a hand lightly, and the wind shifted. Dust swirled unnaturally, the shadows of nearby barrels stretching like fingers toward the intruders. A subtle pressure descended, almost imperceptible, yet heavy enough to make their hearts pound and minds hesitate.
"Pathetic," Tian Yu murmured, his lips barely moving. "You play in shadows, yet do not even understand the light that watches you."
One of the bullies lunged, daring to close the distance. Tian Yu shifted slightly, and a small, barely visible distortion of air redirected the punch. The boy stumbled, arms flailing, colliding with the wall, leaving the others frozen in a mix of disbelief and fear.
The crowd in the alley gasped, some whispering about spirits, others about curses. None could see clearly what had occurred, but all felt it a tremor in the world, subtle yet undeniable.
Tian Yu leapt silently to another rooftop, crouching and observing the city below. His lips curved into a faint, sinister smile.
"They still do not see me… but their fear has begun to bloom. This is only the beginning."
The moon climbed higher, casting a pale light that mingled with the faint energy radiating from Tian Yu. The sealed force within him pulsed again, stretching its tendrils, touching the city in whispers of shadows and unseen tremors. Langtian would remember this night, even if no one understood why.
The night deepened, and Langtian's alleys grew colder, shadows stretching unnaturally. Tian Yu perched atop the highest rooftop nearby, his eyes scanning every corner. The subtle tremor of his sealed power lingered in the air, weaving into the movements of the city below.
From a narrow passage, a larger threat emerged a gang of older, vicious street fighters, notorious even among Langtian's toughest urchins. They had heard the rumors of the strange happenings in the alleys and came seeking the source.
Tian Yu's gaze sharpened. He sensed their approach long before they reached the alley, each footstep, each breath, resonating faintly with the subtle vibrations of his concealed force.
"Arrogant fools… they tread paths they cannot even comprehend," he thought, voice calm, almost detached.
The leader of the gang bellowed, stepping forward with a crude blade in hand. "Come out, ghost! Show yourself, or we burn this street to the ground!"
Tian Yu remained hidden, his shadow blending perfectly with the rooftop's dark edges. He exhaled softly, and the wind shifted a quiet, almost imperceptible current that carried the scent of smoke, dust, and fear.
The gang hesitated. One step closer, and Tian Yu's sealed power responded instinctively. A faint ripple ran through the air, distorting light and shadow. The blade-wielding leader felt an inexplicable weight pressing against him, his muscles stiffening as if the alley itself resisted his motion.
"Pathetic," Tian Yu murmured, barely audible. "This is only a child's toy…"
With a subtle motion, Tian Yu released a tiny pulse from his sealed core. The barrels, crates, and debris around the gang seemed to shift of their own accord, tripping some, deflecting the blade of the leader, and forcing them to stumble backward. None could see the force directly, yet each experienced its effect vividly.
The gang members froze, uncertainty and fear flickering in their eyes. In the chaos, Tian Yu descended silently, landing behind them. A soft whisper, almost lost in the night wind, escaped his lips:
"Langtian is mine to watch… and you are merely shadows beneath it."
Before the gang could recover, Tian Yu leapt back to a higher rooftop, leaving them bewildered, shouting into empty air. The tremor of his sealed power lingered, subtle but undeniable a prelude to chaos.
From his vantage point, Tian Yu observed the city breathing below. The faint pulse within him grew stronger, stretching its tendrils subtly, brushing against the edges of reality itself.
"They still cannot see me clearly… but soon, they will understand. All of Langtian will."
Night's chill deepened, carrying with it whispers of shadows and unseen forces. Somewhere in the city, the stirrings of his sealed power began to awaken latent energies both feared and revered.