Morning came like a whisper across the valley. The golden sunlight shining down the mountain slopes casting it's long shadows through the trees and onto the training ground prepared for Ren by his father.
The air was crisp, tension was clearly felt in the surroundings as if the land itself was holding it's breath.
Ren stood in the middle of a clearing, simply dressed. His fisted were clenched at his sides, soreness still felt from yesterday's dreamless sleep.
In front of him, Wu stood still with a wooded staff in his hand, his expression still as calm as ever.
"Go!" His father's calm, firm voice was heard.
Wu stepped forward, no hesitation evident.
Ren tried to dodge instinctively the incoming strike, but alas, he was still too slow as the staff just stopped before touching him, Wu's accurate motion.
"Too slow." Now it was Wu's voice that rang.
And so it began.
These days, after finding the note, everything around him changed, the dream he had, the way his parents changed making his daily life take a drastic turn.
What he didn't was that this change was made secretly by his parents, one not born out of concern, but out of necessity.
Hidden in the distance, Mu Qinglan stood, watching with her hands clasped behind her back, her gaze was no longer gentle, and the warm smile she always gave Ren wasn't there.
"This is just the beginning of what's to come..."she muttered before disappearing again.
----------
-----
Training became Ren's new daily life, it was no longer disguised as games this time.
His mornings begand with physical conditioning, running around the valley a few times, balancing on narrow sticks, lifting stones or anything of appropriate weight, even Mei at times. He found it fun at first, but as the days passed and the training intensified, they were no longer fun as they used to be, but that didn't make him stop either, because this was in favor of his goal.
And of course, Mei being competitive, didn't let him train alone. Always training with him and even challenging him at times. Ren did find her company fun in all that harsh training.
-----------
------
As the days blended together, Ren got to know Wu's training pattern.
His methods were methodical, sharp in precision. His mistakes weren't met with a scolding, but with repetition, over and over again till it was drilled into him ahd his body trembled from the effort.
Balance, footwork and focus.
He was taught, and learned how to dodge, not only the staff which he started with, but also stones, branches and even Mei's sudden ambushes, which of course, she considered 'Motivational ambushes' so he can get used to them.
During his training, he couldn't decide which was worse, the training itself, or Mei's commentary.
And one day, his father called him to a waterfall near their home during the time were the sun had not yet risen and the moonlight covering the sky was about to leave.
"Come." His father's voice was distinct and clear, not loud nor low.
The small waterfall trickled nearby, it's rhythm blending with the surrounding environment giving the place a serene feel.
The stood at the base of a flat stone, it's size big enough to fit five of them, it was surrounded by huge trees seemingly older than Wu himself. The stone had some strange markings, they looked like the symbols he had learnt before with his mother, but not quite fully, they seemed more... intricate and important.
"Sit."
Ren did as he was told and sat comfortably across from his father.
"As you noticed, I taught you very little compared to Wu." He stated as a matter of fact "and that was on purpose."
Ren nodded im agreement and then looked towards his father as a gesture to continue.
"Strength born from despairation runs deeper and more solid than strength born from comfort. Soon enough, you'll have to choose which type of strength you'll train and will handle the consequences of your choice, good or bad."
Ren didn't quite understand what his father meant, but he didn't say a word allowing his father to continue.
"You're growing fast" he continued " faster than even someone older than you by a few years. But strength isn't just about muscle and talent. It's about knowing why you fell, why you got up when you fell, and how not to fall again for the same reason. It's choosing what you want to do, and why you're doing it without giving up."
Ren's mind was now in deep contemplation.
"Now, listen carefully." His father instructed seeing him in a daze.
He raised his hand, his palm facing the moon and Ren saw the energy again on his palm, but it was much denser and purer than what he usually sees or feels.
"Close your eyes, breathe and focus. There us energy in everything, always existing in various forms, from stones, to air, to trees, even light, they all contained energy. Don't try to control it, not now, just sense it, recognize it, let it recognize you."
Ren followed his instructions.
At first there was nothing, just his own heartbeat and the sound of the waterfall, but less than a minute later he felt something.
Warmth from the surface rock beneath him, a cool pulse from the wind, a flickering heat from his father's palm radiating much stronger and brighter than all the energy around him combined.
He then felt a light current brush against him, it wasn't the wind nor the water, it was the energy, that same energy he always felt vaguely since arriving in this world, and even felt it faintly while in his original world.
His eyes burst open.
His father's eyes were intently watching him.
"You've felt it." He said, with a wide smile from ear to ear, pride evident on his face.
Ren nodded.
His father leaned forward and helped him get up, "That is the world's breath, now that you've felt it, you'll spend your life learning it."
He then looked up towards the rising sun.
"Ren, starting tomorrow, you'll train with me."
-----------
-------
"We didn't expect that, not in the lightest." Mu Qinglan's voice rang in Ren Xuanyin's ears, it was also filled with pride and....worry.
"Yes, it seems we should alter everything and increase the pace as possible."
The both stared at the flickering candle nearby.....