The morning was quiet. I woke up, rubbed the sleep from my eyes, and just... sat there for a second. Chen Wei and Liu Hao were already up like always, moving around like they never even slept. Food was on the table. I didn't argue with that.

  "So… what's the training gonna be today?" I asked, looking at Liu Hao.

  She just smiled slightly and kept eating. Chen Wei glanced at us both like she knew something neither of us did. I decided not to push it.

  After we finished, we moved out. And by 'we,' I mean I ran on the ground while the two of them rode the flying boat above me like it was the most normal thing in the world. No comment. Not even a look. Just floating there, watching.

  My legs were already burning. There was a cut on my back from a jagged branch yesterday and it still stung with every step. I gritted my teeth. No stopping.

  I fell once—scraped both hands and both knees on the rocks. I just got back up. No one was coming to help me. I knew that by now.

  Hours passed. The forest started to thin out. A river appeared ahead, and on the other side, a cave—same spot as before. My muscles were screaming, my back was on fire, but I made it.

  Liu Hao landed the boat quietly by the riverbank. Chen Wei followed. Neither of them said anything. Just waited. Patient as always.

  I touched the cut on my back. Sharp pain. Still there. Good. Reminded me I was still moving.

  We reached the river. I was too tired to care about the cold—just stepped right in. The water hit me like a wall, but I didn't care. Sweat, dust, all of it needed to go.

  Chen Wei and Liu Hao moved to the other rocky side. I kept my eyes to myself. Or at least, I tried to.

  Then a scream sliced through the air.

  "What—?!" I spun around, heart jumping.

  Liu Hao was yelling, scrambling on the rocks. Her dress had caught on a stone. And then I saw it—a snake, slithering right through the folds of the fabric, head raised, fangs out.

  Before I could even move, Chen Wei's sword was already in front of my face. The tip stopped inches from my nose.

  "Stay. Still." she said. Ice cold.

  I froze. Hands up. Face burning. Heart somewhere near my throat.

  Liu Hao stumbled back, still trying to shake the snake loose. Chen Wei's eyes cut to me sharp.

  "Do not move until I say. Eyes forward."

  I nodded. Quickly. Couldn't even speak.

  Chen Wei handled the snake. I don't even know how. It was over fast.

  After that... we were done. I sat at the water's edge, still red in the face. I couldn't look at them. My brain, on the other hand, had zero intention of letting it go. The curves... hmmm.

  I shook my head. Cool breeze. Focus.

  "You! Ready?"

  Wei's voice hit me before I even turned around.

  Ready for wha—

  Her kick slammed into my stomach before the thought even finished. The air left my lungs. I stumbled back, eyes wide, completely lost.

  She didn't stop. Not even for a second. Each strike came fast, clean, no warning. I twisted, dodged, stumbled—tried to react, tried to keep up. My arms were flailing. My heart was hammering.

  From a rock nearby, Liu Hao covered her mouth and laughed every time one of Wei's hits clipped me. "Hahaha… hopeless!" she said, shaking her head.

  I gritted my teeth. It was embarrassing. But also—weirdly—exciting. My body was actually moving, actually reacting. This felt different from just running and lifting rocks.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Wei kept pushing. Every hit made me faster, sharper, more aware. And every time I glanced at Liu Hao laughing, I felt my face go red all over again.

  Then something shifted.

  Qin Mu moved like a storm unleashed. Every attack from Wei was met with instinctive speed, his body flowing faster than thought, each dodge and counter sharper than the last. Liu Hao shouted constantly, urging him to focus—but even her voice barely reached him now.

  Wei's eyes narrowed. "We have no choice…" she muttered. Every strike she launched was blocked or dodged. Every kick, countered. Something was driving him—something that didn't feel like him.

  Liu Hao lunged to restrain him. He slipped through her grasp like water through rock.

  The two exchanged a sharp look. This wasn't training anymore.

  "Knock him down… or the arrays," Wei said.

  With a nod, she drew a precise motion in the air. Symbols shimmered, stretching across the ground. Liu Hao moved alongside her, flags spinning, hands weaving fast. A high-level formation rose around them—layered, dense, pulsing with energy. Not a cage. A containment system.

  Qin Mu slammed forward. The moment he crossed the outer layer, invisible threads caught him, pushing back gently but firmly.

  "No—!" he muttered, frustration flashing in his eyes. His fists swung faster, a blur—but the formation absorbed every strike, deflected every kick.

  Liu Hao's voice cut through: "Stay calm, Mu'er! Control—not destruction! Don't fight the array!"

  But Qin Mu barely heard her. He slammed against the barriers again and again, something burning inside him, pressing outward, trying to break free.

  Wei's eyes flicked to his forehead. "Liu Hao… look."

  Liu Hao leaned in, frowning. "That's not from here. That's something deeper."

  Wei's jaw tightened. "It's active. The array is barely holding. That mark—it's like a dual force. Something inside him is trying to wake."

  Liu Hao's expression stayed hard. "We keep him contained. Any other approach and we lose everything."

  The formation shivered under the strain, holding… barely. Both of them understood the silent truth now—this wasn't just power. Something old, rare, and untamed was stirring inside him.

  Inside his mind, everything sharpened.

  Colors burned brighter. Edges felt like blades. And somewhere in the dark… he saw it.

  Another him. Taller. Calmer. Red eyes glowing like embers, a slow smile already on its face.

  "Oh… so you finally made it in," the figure said, voice low and smooth. "Took you long enough."

  Qin Mu's chest tightened. "Who… what are you?"

  The figure tilted its head. "You already know. I'm you. The part they've been keeping locked away." It stepped closer, unhurried. "Can't you feel it? All that power they keep telling you to control… to be careful with… to wait for." A soft laugh. "They're afraid of it. Of you. Of what happens if you just… let go."

  Qin Mu swallowed. "I shouldn't be listening to you."

  "Probably not," the figure agreed, grinning wider. "But here you are. And you want to know something?" It leaned in close, voice dropping to almost a whisper. "It feels good. Doesn't it? Moving like that. Faster than them. Stronger. Like the whole world finally makes sense." Its red eyes gleamed. "That's not a mistake. That's what you are."

  Qin Mu clenched his fists. The spark in his chest burned hotter.

  "Stop fighting it," the inner self said, almost gentle now. "Stop listening to them. They put chains on you and called it protection. But you felt it out there—you were free. Just take it. All of it. It's already yours."

  The words sank in deep. Too deep. "I… I can't just—"

  "Can't?" The figure laughed, sharp and delighted. "You already did. You just won't admit it." It spread its arms wide. "Come on. Stop pretending you're ordinary. You know you're not."

  Qin Mu's heartbeat pounded. The red eyes burned into him—a dare, a promise, a trap, all wrapped in one.

  And then—

  Black chains erupted from the floor. Thick, jagged, crackling with crimson energy. They wrapped around the inner self in an instant, locking it mid-step.

  "No—! Not yet—!" it snarled, thrashing against the chains.

  But they held. Tightened.

  The figure looked up at Qin Mu, still grinning even now, teeth showing. "Hahaha… fine. For now." Its red eyes didn't lose their shine. "But you felt it. You know I'm right. And next time…" The chains glowed brighter, pulling it back. "Next time, they won't be fast enough."

  Silence swallowed everything.

  Only the faint pulse of something deep and alive remained—a heartbeat that wasn't quite his own.

  I snapped back.

  And the first thing I saw was blood.

  Both of them—Chen Wei and Liu Hao—faces streaked red, clothes torn. Gripping each other's shoulders just to stay standing.

  My stomach dropped.

  "What… what happened?" I whispered.

  My legs gave out before I got an answer. I hit the dirt on my hands and knees, staring at them. My whole body was shaking. I couldn't remember any of it—not one second—but I knew. Looking at them, I knew.

  I did that.

  The guilt hit harder than any of Wei's kicks. I couldn't breathe. Couldn't move. Just knelt there in the dirt, chest caving in, trying to make sense of something that didn't.

  I woke up next to a fire.

  Every muscle in my body had something to say about that, and none of it was good. I tried to sit up and immediately regretted it. My arms, my legs—all wrapped in bandages. Every shift sent a jolt through me.

  Slowly, I got myself upright.

  "Good. You're back."

  Chen Wei. Sitting close to the fire, expression calm but tired around the edges.

  I tried to speak. My throat came out dry. "What… what happened?"

  Her eyes met mine, steady. "You overdid it. We had no choice." A pause. "But you're alive. That's what matters."

  I looked down at the bandages. Every ache, every bruise—all mine.

  And somewhere under all the pain, I could still feel it. That pulse. Quiet now. Waiting.

  It wasn't gone. Not even close.