Pan Feng cried out as Ishin’s spear pierced him through the chest. Blood flowed from his mouth as the last of the Senior Disciple’s strength left him and he fell to his knees. Grinning, Ishin twisted the spear, causing Pan Feng to gasp in pain. A clean death was too good for Pan Feng. Ishin would make him suffer first.

  “Assistant Instructor Ro Ishin!” Elder Fa shouted. “That’s enough!”

  Ishin turned to look at the old fool who had dismissed him. Who is he to give me orders?

  “No.”

  Now that Ishin was a cultivator, he would do what he wanted. In defiance, Ishin struck Pan Feng’s face with a roundhouse kick, snapping his neck. Pan Feng’s corpse turned limp and collapsed to the ground. Ishin pressed his foot against the dead man’s head, damaging its face, as he yanked out his spear. Before he stepped away, a thought occurred to him. He speared the body through the neck and then whirled the spear in a cyclone motion. The head flew from the body, rolling several feet away and staining the floors of the Martial Hall with blood.

  “You have gone too far, Assistant Instructor,” Elder Fa growled. Beside him stood Sister Na and Brother Bin, horrified expressions on their faces.

  Ishin glared back at the old man. “I forfeited that title already, Old Man.” He slammed the butt of his spear onto the ground. “You don’t give me orders anymore!”

  Ignoring Elder Fa’s look of utter disbelief, Ishin pointed at a terrified Jun Wu. “Senior Disciple Jun Wu! I challenge you to a duel to the death.”

  Ishin’s eyes snapped open and he gasped for breath. His lungs hurt as he took in air, and all he could see was an endless bright white light. What’s going on? Blinking rapidly, Ishin tried to lift himself, but had no success. He then attempted to move his fingers, but his body didn’t respond. His heartbeat quickened as panic began to overtake him.

  “Drink this,” came the familiar sound of his mother’s voice. Ishin felt something touch his lips. Soon, a chilling liquid that tasted of oak and ash filled his throat. Too afraid to question what was happening, Ishin only swallowed the strange liquid until there was no more.

  “Mother,” he called out. “I don’t… what’s happening?”

  “Shh, dear. Just go back to sleep.”

  Ishin didn’t understand how he possibly could go back to sleep, but sure enough, within seconds, he was pulled back into unconsciousness.

  This time, Ishin found himself standing in the middle of a meadow of pale yellow grass. Unlike the lush green grass of the Nine Striped Hills that reached his waist, this grass appeared lifeless and only came up to his knees. That wasn’t the only difference. The sky was a dull gray, devoid of clouds—or more notably—a sun!

  Ishin looked around the flat, endless meadow and the vacant sky. Where is the light coming from? Ultimately, he shrugged, chalking it up to the strange nature of a dream. He began to walk through the dull landscape, curious how long it would be until he woke up. After walking for an unknown amount of time, he heard a faint moaning from up ahead.

  Bored, Ishin rushed toward the sound, interested in what he’d find. Soon, he came across a vast river that stretched hundreds of feet wide. Now beside the riverbank, he could hear the unmistakable moaning far more clearly—like a subtle chorus of agony.

  Ishin looked up and down the riverbank, realizing that the river stretched beyond both ends of the horizon. It’s not just an empty meadow then. More interesting was the contents of the river. Unlike the azure waters of the rivers flowing through the Nine Striped Hills, this river was a milky white color. But not entirely.

  Peering down, Ishin realized the water wasn’t empty. It was filled with transparent, thin indigo streaks that floated within. The scene reminded him of a painter’s muted landscape.

  “You shouldn’t be here.”

  Ishin turned around to face the speaker. She was a young, attractive woman with silver hair, green eyes, and flawless skin. Her feet were bare, and she wore a simple yellow robe adorned with white flowers. Most strikingly, a pair of antlers protruded from her head, taking Ishin aback. He had never seen or heard of someone like this before.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Strange dream, he told himself.

  The mysterious woman tilted her head. “I see.” She stretched out her hand toward Ishin. A yellow circle manifested in the air. Arcane sigils filled its interior, radiating with foreign energy. Before Ishin could react, the woman uttered, “Begone.”

  Ishin’s eyes opened again as he sat up. His breathing was heavy with alarm. What was that? His shock was so great that it took him a moment to realize—his body had just moved.

  I can feel my body! Ishin brought his hands in front of him, examining both sides. Next, he patted his legs before wiggling his toes.

  Everything seemed back to normal. His vision—he could see again! The realization almost brought tears to his eyes. For a moment, he thought he was truly crippled. His lungs, his skin, his head—everything felt completely normal.

  No. Something was different. There was a strange warm sensation near his navel. Ishin concentrated on it. Realizing that his vision distracted him, he closed his eyes and focused his attention on the strange source of heat. In the dark space of his mind, a small light-blue sphere sparking with energy appeared. Ishin opened his eyes.

  It was a chakra. It was his chakra! He’d done it. He was a cultivator!

  “Yessss!!” Ishin roared. Heavens above—he was a cultivator!

  “Congratulations on your success,” Akira called from in front of him.

  Ishin blinked, only now noticing her presence. She stood before him with a proud smile, but there was more than just pride. She looked… tired. He had never seen her look so tired before. Really looking around for the first time, he saw they were back under the shelter. He was seated on his bedroll, with a wool blanket over him, his clothes removed.

  “I did,” was all Ishin could say at first. “Mother, I did it!”

  Akira nodded, her pride clear. “You did, son. You’re now a cultivator. Congratulations.”

  A cultivator. He still couldn’t believe it. All those years of envy and frustration—no longer. Ishin let out a deep sigh of relief.

  I’d like to see Pan Feng fight me now.

  Then he recalled what had happened atop the column. The lightning, the pain, the sensation of his blood boiling, and being flung through the air—certain he would die. Looking at his arms and bare chest now, he seemed… fine.

  “I’m alive?”

  “Just barely,” Akira admitted, her voice heavy. Ishin again noted how tired she looked. “I managed to catch you after you were knocked off the column, but a fair amount of your body was burned.” She studied him. “Once I brought you back here, I discovered that most of your muscles were torn and several limbs broken. Your spine was also… damaged.”

  Ishin remembered waking up unable to move. A wave of panic rushed through him from the memory, sending chills down his back. Calm yourself, he commanded. You’re fine now. Your body is fine. But how?

  “I remember some of it, but… how am I alright now?”

  Akira revealed a clay bottle. Ishin noticed the rim was engraved with miniature symbols. “I held on to this for a long time. It’s called the Second Tear of the Phoenix Elixir. I had you drink it while you were awake, and it was able to repair your internal injuries. For the last two days, I watched as your bones and muscles mended themselves. The sudden rush of qi from your new chakra managed to heal the rest of your external wounds.”

  “It did?” Ishin scanned his bare arms. There wasn’t a single scar.

  “That often happens when a cultivator reaches a new realm,” Akira explained. “The appearance of a new chakra and the rush of qi that accompanies it often has a positive physical effect. I’m just glad you’re feeling better.”

  He was, but something still bothered him. “Mother, did Elder Lee provide that elixir to you?” Ishin wasn’t an expert in healing or alchemy, but even he had never heard of a medicine that potent.

  Akira shook her head. “No. I brought this from Spear Shore years ago. As skilled as Elder Lee is, she can’t brew a medicine of this caliber.”

  Spear Shore. He’d never heard of such a place. “Is that where you came from? Where our clan is?”

  “No,” Akira answered simply. “Don’t worry about it. Now, how does it feel to have a chakra finally?”

  Ishin focused again. It felt like it floated within both his body and soul at once. He hadn’t noticed before, but now there was a web of tendrils spreading from his chakra throughout his body.

  His meridians! Ishin had learned about them in theory—how chakras were a union of spirit and body energy—but now he truly understood.

  His chakra. There it was—in all its glory. A brilliant light-blue source of power.

  Huh.

  Ishin examined it more carefully. In his excitement, he hadn’t noticed—his chakra was already aspected. That wasn’t supposed to be possible. A newly formed chakra was always transparent until it absorbed enough of one qi type to gain an aspect. The scrolls always described an initial chakra as glasslike.

  Yet his… was clearly aspected.

  “Mother,” Ishin said hesitantly, “I think something is wrong with my chakra.”