The wind brushed against his face as Qin Feng descended the mountain, carrying with it the sharp scent of pine and distant hearth smoke. His tattered robes fluttered gently, sun-bleached and stained with sweat. His bare feet pressed into dry soil and scattered gravel, but he felt none of the pain he once would have.
He walked in silence, step after step. Though blind, the world was no longer dark.
Shapes bloomed behind his mind; echoes of life, pulsing with warmth and movement. Trees shimmered faintly, like ghosts made of breath. Birds became motes of heat fluttering across the sky. The road stretched ahead like a whisper. He didn't see it as others would, but he saw enough.
He had walked for some time when he felt it.
People.
The warmth of human presence lit up in the distance. Dozens of them. Laughter. Movement. The thud of feet and the soft thrum of a river nearby. He quickened his pace slightly, led by his senses.
Then, through the trees, it emerged: a small village. It was modest. wooden homes with tiled roofs, smoke rising from clay chimneys, a well at the center, and fields stretching out beyond. Farmers worked with calloused hands, children ran barefoot chasing chickens, and a dog barked lazily in the sun.
Qin Feng approached slowly, knowing how he must look.
His robes hung off his frame like rags. His face was pale, streaked with dried sweat. His black hair, once neatly tied, was tangled and wild. He looked like a lost soul from the woods.
Several heads turned.
A man stopped chopping wood and narrowed his eyes.
A group of children grew quiet and stepped behind their mother's skirts.
But before suspicion could settle in, a voice called out gently.
"You there boy. Are you alright?"
It was an elderly man with a stooped back and a warm tone. His voice was thick with the accent of North Ember's outlying clans. There was no fear in his posture, only curiosity and concern.
Qin Feng bowed his head slightly. "I mean no harm. Just... looking for food."
The man took a step closer, eyes narrowing as he took in Qin Feng's condition. "You're not from here."
"No. But I used to be."
There was a pause.
"Blind too, are you?"
"I've always been," Qin Feng replied evenly. "But I can manage."
That earned a quiet hmph from the man, who turned and called toward a nearby hut. "Lian'er! Fetch a bowl of rice and stew. Bring some bread too."
A moment later, a girl barely into her teens emerged from the hut with a tray. She paused when she saw Qin Feng, eyes widening at his disheveled state, but quickly composed herself and handed the food to him with both hands.
Qin Feng took it gratefully. "Thank you."
The warmth of the bowl seeped into his fingers. The aroma made his stomach twist with longing. He didn't wait he sat by the village well and began to eat slowly, savoring every bite. The stew was simple but rich with root vegetables and a hint of salted meat. The bread was coarse but filling.
Villagers watched from a distance, murmuring quietly. But no one moved to drive him off.
"Poor boy," someone whispered. "Probably a refugee."
"Or a crippled cultivator," another said.
"Still, better blind than a bandit…"
The old man returned and sat beside him. "You're lucky you found Stone Brook Village. Not many of us left in these outskirts. Most were pulled into the city walls years ago when the bandit raids got worse."
Qin Feng nodded slightly. "Stone Brook… this is near Ember City, isn't it?"
"Just three days east of the outer gate. You'll see the smoke pillars if you climb high enough." He studied Qin Feng's pale face. "You know it?"
Qin Feng gave no reply.
A short silence followed before the old man spoke again. "The Azure Sky Sect announced their outer disciple selection a few weeks ago. Five months from now, it'll begin. They're sending representatives to every major city in the province."
Qin Feng's chopsticks paused mid-bite. "Five months?"
"Aye. Word is that anyone under 17 can try, as long as they reach the peak of body tempering."
He froze mid-bite.
He remembered now: he'd heard them whisper it at the training grounds of the Qin Clan, where Qin Liang and those young prodigies trained harder than ever before. The same recruitment. They were preparing for the tests just like everyone else in the province.
Yet he had forgotten it… lost track of time in the shrine. A month gone. A month… but now he had five left.
One month gone already.
Qin Feng stood slowly and bowed. "Thank you for the food… and the information."
"You got a place to stay?"
"No," Qin Feng said, Thank you
He turned and began walking,heading back towards the shrine....
He clenched his fist. he had a new goal now..
5 month from now...
Azure Sky sect, he had to enter