The wind that day was sharp.
Not cold. Not hot. Just sharp—like something was being cut open far beyond the horizon, and the breeze carried its echo.
Luo Feng stood at the edge of the training field, arms folded as he watched his two disciples circle each other in a cleared-out circle of dirt and stone.
A-Yan moved first, quick and quiet. She blurred to the side, activating a crude but functional version of the Flickering Shadow Step, vanishing for a half-second before reappearing behind Bai Xueyin.
Bai didn't move.
Instead, frost rippled from her feet like a breath of winter. A thin layer of ice spread along the ground, halting A-Yan's charge mid-step.
A-Yan stumbled—but recovered, leaping back. She narrowed her eyes. "You're cheating."
"That wasn't ice. That was preparation," Bai replied evenly.
"She's not wrong," Luo Feng said. "But A-Yan—if your footwork is hindered by terrain, you're not mastering it. You're relying on it."
A-Yan grumbled and straightened her stance.
Bai Xueyin stood calmly, arms at her sides, but her breath was uneven. Her cultivation was still suppressed—more potential than power—but her control was terrifying.
Even now, she didn't realize how much danger she posed to herself.
'If her sealed veins crack under pressure' Luo Feng thought, 'she'll collapse. Or worse'
Ding! Dual disciple interaction active: Passive learning multiplier triggered (Void/Ice Resonance).Progress: +19% shared technique absorption.Potential synergy technique: "Frozen Step – Spatial Echo" (locked).Warning: Bai Xueyin's Glacial Veins are unstable. Recommend cultivation tempering session within 48 hours.
He turned toward the hut, mentally cataloging the few remaining herbs and pills in his possession.
Too few. Too weak.
He needed more.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Elsewhere—high in the Inner Sect's private alchemy tower—Li Yun knelt in silence, facing a jade chest glowing with golden runes.
Inside was a scroll bound in crimson cord.
An Ancient Flame Binding Technique.
It was meant for elite disciples only. It wasn't meant for Outer Hall use. And it certainly wasn't meant for a simple duel.
But Elder Mo had given it to him.
"This is a test," the elder had said. "Not just of you—but of him. I want to know what that coward's hiding."
Li Yun's fingers hovered over the scroll.
He was strong, yes. But not enough to challenge a man once considered for Sect Master candidacy.
And that man had already defeated Jiang Wei without lifting a blade.
So I'll burn his disciples. His dignity. And if he fights me… I'll burn him too.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Back on Dawnmist Peak, Luo Feng stood in front of his hut, facing his disciples.
He'd cleared a small stone altar, laid out dried herbs, incense, and the last of his stored spirit water. He wasn't going to waste a drop.
"Today, we open your paths," he said.
A-Yan sat on one side, her aura faintly pulsing with spatial flickers.
Bai Xueyin sat opposite, calm, cold, but her hands gripped her robe tightly.
"Your constitutions are dormant," Luo Feng said. "One walks between places. The other holds the cold of stillness. That's not a coincidence."
He poured a mix of spirit water and powdered frostleaf into a bronze bowl. It hissed and shimmered with light.
"You'll take this," he said. "You'll enter meditation. And for one hour, you won't move—even if you feel like you're dying."
A-Yan blinked. "What if I am dying?"
"Then I'll pull you back," Luo Feng said simply.
Bai met his gaze. "And if you're wrong?"
"Then I bury you like family," he said. "But I won't be wrong."
They drank.
The effect was immediate.
A-Yan collapsed forward, body shaking as spatial qi surged wildly through her limbs.
Bai shuddered, frost bleeding from her pores as her Glacial Veins lit up like northern stars.
Ding! Simultaneous breakthrough attempt detected. Dual Constitution Resonance activated.Special state: Interlinked Awakening – success rate increased by 40%.If completed: New passive unlocked – "Frozen Rift Unity."
Luo Feng watched, sweat beading on his forehead.
Please, he thought, hold on.
Time slowed.
Frost layered the courtyard, and ripples in space warped the air like heatwaves.
Then—
Silence.
Stillness.
And then—crack!
Bai Xueyin's eyes snapped open, glowing faintly blue.
A second later, A-Yan sat bolt upright, gasping, her pupils shimmering silver.
Luo Feng exhaled a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
Ding! Breakthrough successful: Constitution Awakening Level 2 achieved.A-Yan gains: Spatial Phase Shift (Basic).Bai Xueyin gains: Frozen Qi Manipulation (Intermediate).Host receives: "Frozen Rift Unity" passive — increases group cultivation efficiency by 25% during linked training.You have also received: "Icebound Void Sutra – Fragment 1."
Luo Feng smiled.
Then collapsed to one knee.
Blood dripped from his nose. His meridians screamed. His mind wavered.
Too much.
He had pushed everything too far.
Bai was at his side in a second. "Master—!"
He waved her off. "I'm fine. Just…"
He looked up at them—A-Yan glowing faintly, Bai's eyes hard but shaken.
"…You both leveled up faster than I expected. That's all."
"You're lying," A-Yan said softly.
"Of course I am," he muttered. "That's part of teaching."
Later that night, Luo Feng sat alone on the rooftop, staring at the stars.
His body hurt. His soul ached.
But he was smiling.
They were growing.
They were awakening.
And soon…
They would be unstoppable.