Su FengQiu
Night fell soft over LianXu, draping the city in sleepy hues of violet and gold.
Me and HaoYu?
We did what we always did after big days.
Snuck out, climbed the old path behind the clan house, and parked ourselves under the Grand Lian Tree.
It was our spot.
Always had been.
The stone under me was cold, rough, half-buried in dirt.
Not even the old storytellers in the city knew where it came from.
They said the tree grew around it.
That the stone itself might've been older than the city.
Or maybe it was just a rock.
But the story everyone knew?
They said during the first Great War, when the First Sovereign—the strongest Demonic Master in history—finally fell, it was a Su who took him down.
The head Heavenly Emperor, back in those days, also carried the Su name. He fought the Master for months, until the skies bled black and the rivers ran dry.
And when he won...
He didn't even make it back to the capital.
Old folks said he just came here.
Laid down on this stone.
And died.
Peacefully, like a man who had no more battles left to fight.
HaoYu flicked a pebble at me, breaking my trance.
"You spacing out again?" He grinned, stretching his legs like he owned the place.
"I was thinking," I said, propping my arms behind my head.
"About that story the old uncle always tells during the festivals."
"You mean the one where the Su ancestor croaked right here?"
HaoYu smirked, staring at the tree.
"Bet if you lay down on this rock long enough, you might turn into an ancestor too."
I chuckled.
"Maybe. But I'd rather become an ancestor who actually did something first."
We both stared at the twisting branches above. They looked like claws scratching at the heavens.
Silence drifted between us for a while, only broken by the wind and the rustle of leaves.
"You know, FengQiu..." HaoYu said suddenly, his voice quieter, almost serious.
"Today kinda sucked."
I blinked.
"You got Black. That's solid."
He frowned, hugging his knees to his chest.
"I don't wanna be solid. I wanna be someone."
I sat up, brushing dirt off my sleeves.
"Then we leave this place. One day. We walk out of this forgotten city, into the real world."
I grinned, leaning back against the stone.
"And when we do, first thing we find? A real Awakening Stone that isn't as old and limited. Just to see what you're really made of."
He snorted.
"Yeah, yeah. Maybe I'll awaken something crazy and be your boss."
I laughed so hard I nearly fell off the stone.
"In your dreams, HaoYu."
But deep down… I kinda wished it would happen.
This city was too small for us.
Most people in LianXu called me lazy. Some of them said I was wasting my potential.
But no matter how much I slacked off or skipped morning drills, they still looked at me like... I dunno. Like I was supposed to be the next big thing.
Like it was written in the stars or something.
"That's Su FengQiu, ain't it? The Su bloodline's heir."
"Look at him, all casual like he owns the place."
"Doesn't even try and still beat the other kids at martial arts. Tch, unfair brat."
I heard 'em whisper it behind my back. Sometimes I heard 'em say it to my face.
Even Uncle Wen, the old blacksmith, always smacked my head when I wandered into his forge.
"Brat, you can't keep pretending you're normal when you got golden eyes and the Su name."
Golden eyes.
Yeah, they kinda stood out.
It wasn't like I asked for 'em.
Just like I didn't ask to be born into the only noble family in this dusty border city.
They all wanted me to be something more.
The next protector. The next pillar. The next Su who'd make the family name shine again.
But me?
I just wanted to lay under the Grand Lian Tree a little longer.
And maybe... maybe change my fate on my own terms.
*Next Morning
Morning light spilled through the thin clouds, lazily stretching over the sleepy streets of LianXu City.
Inside the Su family manor, however, peace was already broken.
"Father! He's out there again!" Xu Qingyu stormed into the dining hall, fuming like a teapot about to blow.
Su Jian, the head of the Su family, barely looked up from his breakfast. He calmly sipped his tea, as if used to these morning complaints.
"FengQiu slept outside all night again! After the ceremony, too! Doesn't he care even a little bit? Everyone in the city saw his result, and he's out there acting like nothing happened!" She threw her hands up, clearly on the verge of a meltdown.
Su Jian placed his teacup down with a soft clink, his expression as steady as a mountain.
"Let him be."
"But—"
"Qingyu."
That one word was enough to shut her up.
The old patriarch let out a long breath, his gaze distant as it drifted toward the direction of the Grand Lian Tree.
"That stone... your grandfather also rested upon it after the First Great War. When he slew the First Sovereign, his injuries were beyond healing. They say he spent his final days lying on that very stone. Some people believe the tree remembers... others say it's cursed."
Su Jian smiled faintly, but his eyes betrayed a sliver of something heavier.
"Maybe FengQiu finds peace there. Maybe he's looking for answers."
Xu Qingyu bit her lip, still glaring, but she didn't argue anymore. She knew better. Once their father got into one of these moods, it was like trying to move a mountain.
Outside the manor, the citizens of LianXu went about their day. Whispers about the golden light at the ceremony still lingered like echoes in the wind. Most didn't dare speak it aloud, but everyone knew—Su FengQiu had awakened something far beyond what their tiny city deserved.
And yet...
The boy himself?
Still sleeping under the same tree. On the same stone. Like always.
Su FengQiu
The morning sun barely peeked over the rooftops when the city square was already packed. I was still groggy, sitting cross-legged under the Grand Lian Tree, chewing on the last of a cold meat bun. I didn't even have time to enjoy my post-awakening peace before the town crier started yelling like the world was ending.
"All youths of stem level Purple and above are to prepare for immediate departure to Leixiao City under decree of the Sky Thunder Divine Sect!"
The words echoed like thunder. No one in this dusty corner of the Orders Empire ever imagined a day like this would come.
Leixiao City.
The Sky Thunder Divine Sect.
Even backwater kids like us had heard the stories—towering palaces that scraped the skies, cultivators who could split mountains with a flick of their fingers, and disciples chosen from every corner of the empire. And now… they wanted us?
Well… they wanted the others, mostly.
I glanced around the square. The smug faces of the Su family brats—my cousins and distant relatives—who all awakened purple or black stems. Typical. The Su bloodline might've faded out of history, but in this city, they still carried that pride like they owned the heavens.
Then there was me.
The only one who hit gold… Well, not really.
There was more to that stone than what it showed, but that was a tomorrow problem.
HaoYu stood off to the side, arms crossed, doing his best to act like he wasn't mad about his black stem. He tried to act chill, but I caught that twitch in his brow every time the others looked at him like he was already beneath them.
I elbowed him.
"Don't look so grumpy, genius," I whispered.
"This is just the first test. That old stone in our city's trash. When we get to Leixiao, you should test again. Bet you ten buns you're higher than black."
He blinked at me like I sprouted another head.
"You serious?"
"Dead serious."
"Bro... you're the only person who'd gamble food over cultivation."
I grinned.
"Because food never lies. Unlike those old geezers in the sect."
He finally cracked a smile. I could tell, though—he didn't fully believe me.
But that was fine.
Sometimes, you gotta believe for your brother until he sees it himself.
The decree was final. By the end of the week, we'd be leaving for Leixiao City.
Goodbye quiet, forgotten border town.
Goodbye meat buns from Auntie Lin's shop.
Goodbye boring life I thought I'd be stuck in forever.
For the first time in my life, my world felt... bigger.
And yet, standing under the old Grand Lian Tree, part of me couldn't help but look back.
At this little city. At the stone under the tree. At the home I pretended I didn't care about.
I ran my hand along the cold, nameless stone.
They said it was where the first Su Heavenly Emperor took his last breath after defeating the First Sovereign of the Chaotic Empire.
Crazy, right?
To die so far from the heavens you fought for.
I wondered...
Would I end up like him?
Or would I write a different ending on this stone?
I clenched my fist.
Guess I'd have to find out in Leixiao City.
I never thought packing would feel like saying goodbye to my whole life.
The sect sent us a list.
Three sets of clean robes, basic supplies, sword if you had one.
They made it sound simple.
But standing in my room, staring at the worn-out wooden chest I never touched except to toss junk into it, it hit me...
I didn't really have much worth taking.
A few old training manuals my father made me copy by hand—stuff I could recite in my sleep.
A dagger my uncle gave me when I turned eight.
The dried-out ink brush my sister gave me on my last birthday.
And that was about it.
"You're packing like you're going on a trip, not leaving forever," Qingyu snorted from the doorway, arms crossed.
"Well... maybe cause I'm not planning to die there?" I shot back with a grin.
She rolled her eyes.
"Leixiao isn't some vacation, dummy. The sect's gonna chew you up if you act like this. You're not a border hick anymore, got it?"
I tossed the brush into the chest.
"Relax, sis. I'm bringing this. That counts as me being responsible, right?"
She scoffed but didn't say anything else.
Instead, she walked over and stuffed a folded scarf into my chest.
"You'll forget stuff like this," she muttered, not meeting my eyes.
"Don't forget where you came from."
The scarf still smelled like lotus flower incense.
I almost laughed. Was she trying to make me homesick before I even left?
I tossed it on top of the pile without another word.
It's not like I'd admit it, but... I kinda appreciated it.
Downstairs, the servants were busy loading the carriages. The city was small, but we still had some pride to keep up—our family would leave in proper style.
I caught HaoYu sitting by the courtyard steps, arms wrapped around his bag like it owed him money.
He only had one small sack. Typical.
"Bro, that all you got?" I asked, nudging him.
He shrugged.
"Didn't see the point of packing useless crap."
I smirked.
"Guess one of us is carrying all the nostalgia."
He glanced at my overstuffed chest and actually laughed.
"You're such a softie when no one's looking."
"Shut up."
We sat there for a moment, watching the servants scramble and my father barking orders. The city looked the same as always, but... something was different.
Guess that's what happens when you realize you're not coming back the same person.
I leaned back, letting the warm morning breeze hit my face.
"Let's not die in some fancy sect, alright?"
HaoYu snorted.
"I was about to say the same to you, young master."
"Then it's settled."
We bumped fists and that's that.