Blood-Forged Ascension

The mountain was grey and silent before dawn.

A wet wind scraped over the stone paths, hissing through cracked roof tiles like a whispering ghost.

Wei Lian woke without opening his eyes.

He was cold, but that was normal.

His fingers ached.

Ribs twinged with every shallow breath.

He forced himself upright slowly, listening to the dorm shift and creak as other disciples stirred in the dark.

No one spoke to him.

They hadn't in weeks.

He tied his robe at the waist, fingers stiff.

The cloth was still stiff with dried blood from old wounds that had split open again yesterday.

He didn't care.

He pressed his palm to his dantian for a moment.

Felt it: the ember of Qi.

A small, guttering flame.

2nd layer.

But there, beneath it, was that crack.

A hairline fracture in something old and buried.

Waiting.

He dropped his hand and left the dorm.

Fog hugged the ground, curling around the feet of disciples making their way to Copper Hall.

Wei Lian walked alone.

Boots scraping frost off the path.

His breath fogged in the air, slow and even.

Inside Copper Hall, the mats were cold and smelled of mildew.

He took his usual place at the back, sitting cross-legged.

Back straight.

Eyes half-closed.

Listening.

Others trickled in, shaking out their robes, whispering:

"I heard Shen is watching the front rows today."

"He won't waste time on trash in the back."

"Shut up, you'll get us in trouble."

"Did you see Jin Xiu's cultivation? Bastard's going to get picked for sure."

Laughter.

Fear.

Greed.

Wei Lian listened to all of it without moving.

Jin Xiu strode in with his usual smug calm.

Robes freshly washed.

A faint oil scent in his hair.

He didn't even glance at Wei Lian.

Didn't have to.

Elder Mu entered like a shadow.

His robes were patched but clean, hanging loose on bony shoulders.

He lowered himself onto the front platform with stiff precision.

Silence spread.

One boy coughed once, then stopped instantly when Mu's gaze cut over.

"Breathe."

The command fell cold and flat.

They obeyed.

The sound of dozens inhaling at once was like wind hissing through bare trees.

Wei Lian closed his eyes.

He drew in air slowly, fighting the ache in his cracked ribs.

He felt the Qi in the room swirl.

It went to others easily.

He had to drag it to himself.

The ember in his dantian resisted.

Flickered.

But held.

The crack inside him throbbed once.

Not enough to break.

But enough to remind him it was there.

He breathed.

He didn't stop.

Elder Mu's voice cracked through the quiet:

"Listen well."

Silence tightened.

"You are Outer Disciples. You serve. You train. You fail. That is your purpose."

"Most of you will not remain here long."

A few shifted uncomfortably.

No one dared speak.

Mu let the words sit in the cold air.

Then continued, voice low:

"Two months from now will be your next trial."

A ripple went through the room.

Whispers rose.

Fear.

Excitement.

"Shut up," Mu snapped.

Silence crashed down again.

"Two months. In two months you will be tested. Your cultivation. Your obedience. Your worth."

He spat the last word like it was dirty.

"Fail, and you leave this sect. No rations. No shelter. No protection."

"Pass, and you might earn the right to real training. Or die trying for it later."

Wei Lian watched Elder Mu's eyes.

Cold.

Unforgiving.

Like stone that had learned to hate.

Jin Xiu was smiling.

He didn't even hide it.

Wei Lian noticed.

Memorized it.

Mu's voice dropped even further, harsh as grinding rock.

"Don't think promotion means safety. It means more eyes on you. More work. More ways to fail. If you want to survive, become useful."

He let the silence spread again.

In the back of the room, someone whispered:

"He means they'll watch us closer. Cull us faster."

Another voice, bitter:

"Good. Less competition."

Wei Lian didn't turn.

He heard everything.

Mu's voice barked again.

"Continue breathing."

They obeyed.

Wei Lian felt the cold bite at his lungs.

He let it.

Felt the ember flicker.

Felt the crack pulse.

But nothing broke today.

He didn't want it to.

Not yet.

When the session ended, Elder Mu read out a list of names for advanced instruction.

Jin Xiu's was on it.

Wei Lian's never was.

He stood last.

Bones creaking.

Vision blurred.

He blinked it clear and left.

Outside the work board waited in the cold wind.

Names inked in cruel strokes.

LATRINE DUTY – WEI LIAN

He didn't hesitate.

Picked up the shovel.

The path to the latrines was churned mud and frozen ruts.

His feet sank to the ankles.

He hauled the waste cart alone.

Sludge slopped over his boots.

Splashed on his robe.

He didn't slow.

At one point he lost his grip.

The cart tipped.

Filth spread across the path.

He stood there a moment.

Breathing hard.

Watching it.

The stench made his eyes water.

A pair of disciples passed on the upper path.

One pointed.

Laughed.

"Look at the dog in the shit."

The other snorted.

Didn't bother to hide it.

Wei Lian didn't answer.

He wiped his mouth on his sleeve.

Picked up the shovel.

Scooped it all back into the cart.

By dusk he was covered in frozen mud and waste.

Hands split and raw.

Robe stiff.

He finished every load.

Dumped it over the cliff edge into the fog.

Watched it vanish.

The wind howled up from the chasm, cold as hate.

He walked to the creek.

Sat in the black water.

Felt it numb his legs.

He pressed both hands to his dantian.

Closed his eyes.

Inside was the ember.

2nd layer.

The crack pulsed once.

Waiting.

He inhaled.

Slow.

Deep.

Pain carved his ribs.

He let it.

Two months.

He repeated it silently.

Again.

And again.

Until it was carved in his bones.

When he opened his eyes, it was almost full dark.

He stood.

Shook out the worst of the water.

Picked up his shovel.

And walked back toward the dorm.

Because tomorrow they'd try to break him again.

And he would let them try.