The announcement came during morning temple lesson, two weeks after Wei Chen's one-year anniversary.
Elder Shen stood before the eight students, expression more grave than usual. "I have news. Yun Hao has been accepted to the Water Academy in the capital. He will depart in one month."
The other students murmured excitedly. Yun Hao stood with his usual composure, but Wei Chen caught the slight smile — pride, carefully controlled.
"This is a significant honor," Elder Shen continued. "The Water Academy rarely accepts students before age nine. Yun Hao's talent and dedication have earned this early admission."
Wei Chen felt something twist in his chest. Not jealousy exactly. More like... recognition. The gap between them was about to widen again. Yun Hao would have access to continental-level instruction, resources Wei Chen couldn't dream of.
After the lesson, Yun Hao approached Wei Chen as the other students dispersed.
"I wanted to tell you personally," Yun Hao said. "Before the formal announcement."
"Congratulations." Wei Chen meant it, despite the complicated feelings.
"Thank you." Yun Hao hesitated. "I know this changes things. Between us. The sparring sessions. The rivalry."
"It does," Wei Chen acknowledged. "You'll be in the capital. I'll be here for two more years."
"Three years total before you can apply to sects," Yun Hao said. "That's a long time. A lot can change."
They walked to the courtyard, away from the other students. The morning sun cast long shadows across the stone.
"Will you come back?" Wei Chen asked. "To visit?"
"Probably not for the first year. The Academy is strict about leave for new students. After that, maybe during festivals." Yun Hao looked at the town stretched below them. "But honestly? I don't know. The capital is... different. Bigger. More opportunities."
"You'll forget about this place."
"Maybe," Yun Hao said honestly. "Or maybe I'll remember it differently. As the place where I learned the basics. Where I met someone who pushed me to be better."
Wei Chen glanced at him. "I didn't make you better. You were always ahead."
"You made me work for it. That matters." Yun Hao turned to face Wei Chen directly. "Most people in my life — my family, my tutors, even Elder Shen — they expected excellence from me. But you? You competed. You made me prove I deserved to be first. That's different."
Wei Chen didn't know what to say to that.
"I want to spar one more time before I leave," Yun Hao said. "Next week. Not supervised. Just us. A proper match."
"Elder Shen won't allow unsupervised sparring."
"Then we do it somewhere else. The old training grounds outside town. No one uses them anymore." Yun Hao's eyes held challenge. "Unless you're afraid."
Wei Chen smiled despite himself. "I'm not afraid of losing to you again."
"Good. Because I want to see how much you've really grown." Yun Hao extended his hand. "Next week. Dawn. Bring your best techniques."
They shook on it.
That evening, Wei Chen told Instructor Feng about the match.
Feng was cleaning his practice daggers, movements methodical and precise. He paused when Wei Chen finished explaining.
"Unsupervised sparring," Feng said. "Against someone with better training and more resources. What do you expect to accomplish?"
"I want to know where I actually stand."
"You'll lose."
"Probably," Wei Chen acknowledged. "But I'll learn more from a real fight than from controlled temple sessions."
Feng smiled slightly. "That's the right mindset. But if you're going to fight him properly, you need an edge. Something he won't expect."
"Like what?"
"Like fighting dirty." Feng set down the dagger. "The Academy teaches honorable combat. Proper technique. Fair engagement. That's fine for tournaments and supervised matches. But real fights? Real fights are won by whoever's willing to do what the other person won't."
Wei Chen listened carefully.
"I'm going to teach you something that Elder Shen would never approve of," Feng continued. "A technique that breaks the 'rules' of proper mage combat. Interested?"
"Always."
Feng demonstrated. It was a feint — not magical, but psychological. Create a shadow attack that looks devastating but is actually harmless. When the opponent over-commits to defense, strike with a real physical attack from an unexpected angle.
"It's dirty," Feng said. "Deceptive. Honorable mages would call it cowardly. But it works. Especially against people trained in formal academies who expect everyone to fight 'properly.'"
Wei Chen practiced the technique for an hour. It required perfect timing — the fake shadow attack had to look real enough to draw commitment, but the physical strike had to come before the opponent recognized the deception.
"You won't beat him with this alone," Feng warned. "He's still more skilled. But you might surprise him. And surprise can create opportunities."
Over the next week, Wei Chen prepared obsessively.
He practiced Feng's dirty technique until his muscles memorized the movement. He reviewed everything he knew about Yun Hao's fighting style — the preference for water whips, the tendency to create defensive spheres when pressured, the reliance on water sensing to track opponents.
He also visited Merchant Liu for advice.
"You're fighting someone richer and better trained," Liu summarized. "So you need to leverage your advantages."
"What advantages?"
"Unpredictability. Desperation. Willingness to take risks." Liu leaned forward. "Rich kids fight to prove they're better. Poor kids fight to survive. Those are different motivations. Use that."
"How?"
"Make him think you're desperate. Overcommit to an attack. Let him think he's won. Then strike when his guard drops." Liu smiled. "It's the same principle as business negotiations. Show weakness to hide strength."
Wei Chen absorbed this. Between Feng's combat advice and Liu's strategic thinking, he was building a plan. Not to win — that was probably impossible — but to make Yun Hao work harder than he ever had before.
The night before the match, Lian Xiu found Wei Chen practicing shadow techniques behind his house.
"You're going to fight Yun Hao," she said. Not a question.
"Yes."
"You'll lose."
"Probably."
"So why do it?" Lian Xiu sat on a crate, watching him work. "Pride? Stupidity? Or something else?"
Wei Chen paused his practice. "Because in two years, I'll be in the capital too. And Yun Hao will be two years ahead of me at the Academy. I need to know what that gap actually means. What I'm up against."
"You could just ask him."
"Numbers don't tell the whole truth. I need to feel it. Experience it." Wei Chen resumed his shadow manipulation. "Besides, this is the last time we'll be equals. Sort of equals, anyway. After he leaves, he'll be Academy student Yun Hao. I'll still be town kid Wei Chen. This match is... closure, I guess."
Lian Xiu nodded slowly. "That makes sense. In a sad way."
"It's not sad. It's realistic."
"Those aren't mutually exclusive." She stood up. "Good luck tomorrow. Try not to get hurt too badly."
"I'll try."
Dawn came cold and gray.
Wei Chen arrived at the old training grounds — an abandoned lot at the town's edge, overgrown with weeds but still mostly clear. Yun Hao was already there, warming up with basic water manipulation exercises.
"You came," Yun Hao said.
"I said I would."
They faced each other in the center of the clearing. No formal rules. No Elder Shen to stop them. Just two intermediate-level mages, testing themselves against each other.
"Ready?" Yun Hao asked.
Wei Chen drew his practice dagger. Shadows coiled around his feet, ready to respond.
"Ready."
Yun Hao moved first. Water condensed instantly into three whips, attacking from different angles. Wei Chen blocked with shadow walls, but the force drove him back. He countered with shadow tendrils, trying to disrupt Yun Hao's focus.
The exchange was faster than their temple sparring. Without Elder Shen's supervision, both were holding less back. Yun Hao's water attacks came harder, sharper. Wei Chen's shadows moved more aggressively.
Five minutes in, Wei Chen was breathing hard. Yun Hao barely looked winded. The gap in endurance was clear — Academy-style training built stamina that Wei Chen's brutal but shorter sessions with Feng couldn't match.
Time to try Feng's technique.
Wei Chen created a massive shadow construct — a wall of darkness rising ten feet high, far larger than anything he'd used before. It looked devastating. It looked like it would drain his entire core.
Yun Hao's eyes widened. He committed fully to defense, creating a rotating water shield that would deflect the shadow attack.
But the shadow wall was hollow. A shell. Wei Chen had put just enough magic into it to look real without actually draining himself.
The moment Yun Hao's defense activated, Wei Chen moved. He used Shadow Step — the short-range teleportation he'd been practicing with Feng — and appeared behind Yun Hao. His dagger, coated in unstable but present Shadow Blade, thrust toward Yun Hao's side.
Yun Hao reacted on instinct. Water whipped backward, catching Wei Chen's wrist. But the dagger still connected — a shallow cut across Yun Hao's ribs.
First blood.
Yun Hao stumbled forward, surprised. "That was..."
"Dirty?" Wei Chen offered, breathing heavily from the exertion.
"I was going to say clever." Yun Hao created water to heal the cut — barely a wound, more like a scratch. "The fake shadow wall. I completely fell for it."
"Feng's technique. He said honorable fighting is for tournaments."
"He's not wrong." Yun Hao's expression shifted — respect mixing with renewed focus. "But now I know you'll use tricks. That changes things."
The fight resumed. This time, Yun Hao didn't trust any of Wei Chen's attacks. Every shadow manipulation could be a feint. Every aggressive move could be setup for something else.
It made Yun Hao cautious. Defensive. Wei Chen pressed the advantage, using the psychological edge to push harder than he normally could.
But it wasn't enough. Yun Hao adapted within minutes, figuring out the patterns. His superior technique reasserted itself. Within ten more minutes, Wei Chen was exhausted, his core nearly depleted.
Yun Hao's water prison formed around Wei Chen's legs. "Yield?"
Wei Chen tested it. Solid as always. "Yield."
They both collapsed on the ground, breathing hard. The sun was fully up now, morning light washing over the clearing.
"You wounded me," Yun Hao said after catching his breath. "In all our sparring, that's only the second time you've managed that."
"But I still lost."
"Yes. But you made me work for it. You made me adapt. You forced me to think." Yun Hao sat up. "That's more valuable than you realize. Most of my opponents — the other students, even some of my tutors' examples — they're predictable. You're not. You improvise. Create new tactics on the spot. That's dangerous."
"Not dangerous enough to beat you."
"Not yet," Yun Hao agreed. "But Wei Chen? In three years, when you come to the capital? I think you'll surprise a lot of people. Maybe even me."
They walked back to town together. At the main road, where their paths diverged, they stopped.
"I leave in two weeks," Yun Hao said. "I probably won't see you again before then. My family has preparations. Farewell ceremonies. That sort of thing."
"I understand."
"When you get to the capital — when you join Shadow Sanctuary or wherever you end up — look me up. I'll be at the Water Academy's dormitory. We can spar again. Compare progress." Yun Hao extended his hand one last time. "Stay sharp, Wei Chen. The capital is different from here. Bigger. More dangerous. More opportunity."
Wei Chen shook his hand. "I will. And Yun Hao? Don't get too comfortable at the Academy. I'm coming for that number one spot eventually."
Yun Hao smiled. "I'd be disappointed if you didn't try."
They parted ways. Wei Chen watched Yun Hao walk toward the noble district, that confident stride carrying him toward a future that was already arranged. Academy. Prestige. Success.
Wei Chen turned toward his own home. His path was different. Harder. Less certain. But it was his.
And maybe that was enough.