The moonlight filtered through the cherry blossoms, painting silvery patterns on the training grounds behind the Lin estate. It was quiet—eerily so—save for the gentle rustle of petals falling like pink snow. Kael sat cross-legged on the stone platform, motionless, his body enveloped in a barely perceptible glow. Each breath he took harmonized with the world around him, as if nature itself bent to his rhythm.
Deep within, his spiritual core pulsed with a faint light, unlike the raw, violent surge of most cultivators. His cultivation, masked by the Veil of Nothingness technique, remained undetectable, even to those at the peak of the Earth Realm. This was his secret, one that even Lin didn't know.
He opened his eyes slowly. "Still too slow," he muttered.
Behind him, footsteps approached—soft, careful. Lin's presence was unmistakable. She always moved with purpose, her aura elegant yet restrained.
"You're still awake?" she asked, stepping into the moonlight. Her midnight blue robe fluttered slightly in the breeze, and a few stray petals tangled in her hair, making her look ethereal.
Kael gave a small nod. "I couldn't sleep."
"You've been like this a lot lately."
He offered a tired smile. "Just trying to get stronger."
She frowned slightly and sat beside him without asking. "You never were this obsessed before. What changed?"
He turned his gaze to the sky. "I realized how far behind I was… and how much I want to protect."
There was silence between them, comfortable but heavy. Lin looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "You're hiding something, aren't you?"
Kael stiffened, just for a moment. But he composed himself. "Aren't we all?"
She didn't press the question, though her gaze lingered longer than necessary.
"Father's been talking about marriage again," she said suddenly.
His heart skipped a beat. "Between you and…?"
"Lord Feng's son." Her voice was flat, emotionless. "He's a noble. Earth Realm Third Stage. A promising future."
Kael's fists clenched involuntarily. "And what did you say?"
"That I wasn't interested," she said, brushing a petal from her lap. "He's too arrogant, and he walks around like the world owes him something."
Kael said nothing. Lin looked at him, eyes narrowed slightly.
"You should be more vocal, you know. You don't fight back when people talk down to you."
Kael smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Let them think I'm weak. It's easier that way."
Lin frowned again, more deeply this time. "But I know you're not. You've changed, Kael. Ever since we turned fifteen… there's something different about you. Stronger… quieter… distant."
"I just grew up."
She shook her head. "No. It's more than that. You act like someone carrying a mountain on his back."
He didn't respond, and she didn't expect him to. The wind rustled the trees again, and the cherry blossoms danced like ghosts.
"You've always been calm," she continued. "But lately, you feel like… a storm waiting to happen."
Kael finally turned to face her, his eyes meeting hers. "Would that be a bad thing?"
Lin blinked, caught off guard. "I'm not sure. Maybe not… if the storm is on my side."
Kael chuckled, but quickly sobered. "I'm not on anyone's side, Lin. I'm just trying to find my place in this world."
"And if that place is beside me?" she asked quietly.
He looked at her, stunned for a heartbeat, but then masked his surprise with a soft smile. "Then I'll have to earn it."
A distant gong echoed through the night, calling the cultivators for morning trials at dawn. Lin sighed and stood.
"We'll both have to earn it, I guess," she said softly. "Goodnight, Kael."
He watched her walk away, her figure vanishing behind the trees. Only when she was gone did he allow his expression to change. Pain, resolve, and something else—something deeper—played across his face.
"I'll protect you," he whispered into the night. "Even if I have to hide in the shadows forever."
Meanwhile, in the noble sector of the city…
Lord Feng sat cross-legged in meditation, surrounded by incense. His son, Yuan Feng, paced the room, agitated.
"She rejected me again, Father. Said I wasn't worthy."
The elder opened one eye. "You are the heir to the Feng clan. If she cannot see that, she is blind."
Yuan clenched his fists. "It's that orphan boy, isn't it? The quiet one. Kael."
Lord Feng frowned. "He has no spiritual presence. A waste of the Lin clan's resources."
"Then why does she look at him like that?"
"Because women often fall for the wrong things," Lord Feng replied, voice calm but sharp. "But don't worry. Once the sect trials begin next month, we'll crush whatever hope he has left. She'll see the difference between a lion and a lamb."
Yuan grinned. "Then I'll make sure to humiliate him."
Lord Feng nodded. "And make it clean. If you go too far, the Lin patriarch might interfere."
Back at the Lin residence…
Kael sat alone in his chamber. A scroll lay open before him, etched with complex runes and diagrams of the Celestial Mirage Palm, a forbidden technique from the Azure Cloud Sect—one he had stolen during a trade meet by hiding in a merchant caravan.
He traced the lines with his finger, committing every detail to memory. Already, he had mastered the basics. With a few more nights, he'd surpass even the sect's inner disciples.
A knock came at his door. He quickly hid the scroll under his bed and opened the door.
It was Lin's younger sister, Li Mei.
"Brother Kael," she said shyly, "I… I made you some tea."
He smiled gently and accepted it. "Thank you, Mei."
She lingered a little longer than needed, eyes sparkling, before running off.
Kael sighed. Why are they all starting to look at me like that? he wondered.
He took a sip and returned to his scroll. His life was growing more complicated by the day—but he had no time for feelings.
Not yet.