Only seven days remained before the clan examination.
The atmosphere within the academy had changed.
Even the laziest disciples had become serious.
Everywhere Ye Fu looked, people were training.
Some practiced fist techniques.
Some cultivated beneath ancient trees.
Others sparred with one another.
Everyone seemed to be improving.
Everyone except him.
At least, that was how it felt.
As the sun began to set, Ye Fu remained alone on the training grounds.
Again and again, he repeated the Body Tempering exercises taught by Elder Han.
Sweat soaked his clothes.
His muscles ached.
Yet he could feel little improvement.
Not far away, Ye Ming was practicing with several disciples.
Even from a distance, the difference was obvious.
Ye Ming's movements were precise.
Powerful.
Confident.
Every strike carried force.
Every step seemed perfectly measured.
Ye Fu lowered his head.
The gap was too large.
Much larger than he had imagined.
That night, after dinner, Ye Fu quietly slipped into the courtyard.
Moonlight covered the ground like a silver blanket.
He began training once more.
One movement.
Two movements.
Ten movements.
A hundred movements.
His breathing gradually became heavier.
Yet he refused to stop.
"Fu'er."
A calm voice suddenly sounded behind him.
Ye Fu froze.
Turning around, he saw his father standing beside his mother.
His mother's eyes were filled with concern.
"You're still training?" she asked softly.
Ye Fu lowered his head.
"I don't want to fall behind."
His mother sighed.
His father remained silent for a moment.
Then he slowly walked forward.
"When I was your age, I thought the same thing."
Ye Fu blinked.
His father rarely spoke about his youth.
"Really?"
His father nodded.
"I constantly compared myself to my brothers."
His gaze drifted toward the night sky.
"No matter how hard I trained, they always seemed ahead."
Ye Fu quietly listened.
Then his father smiled faintly.
"My mother once told me a story."
Ye Fu immediately became interested.
His father continued.
"There were once two hunters who entered the mountains."
"One hunter was strong."
"The other was quick."
"The strong hunter believed that strength alone could solve every problem."
"The quick hunter spent years learning the mountain paths."
Ye Fu listened carefully.
"One day, they encountered a powerful beast."
"The strong hunter charged forward."
"The beast crushed him."
"The quick hunter escaped."
Ye Fu frowned.
"Because he was faster?"
His father shook his head.
"No."
"Because he knew where to place his feet."
Silence filled the courtyard.
Even his mother smiled slightly.
His father looked directly at him.
"Most cultivators focus on striking."
"Very few focus on moving."
With that, he stepped forward.
His movement appeared ordinary.
Yet somehow strange.
Smooth.
Natural.
As if he had become one with the wind.
Ye Fu's eyes widened.
His father took three steps.
Each step seemed simple.
Yet none followed a straight line.
One moment he stood in front of them.
The next, he seemed to have shifted several paces away.
Ye Fu stared in disbelief.
"Father?"
His father chuckled.
"It's called the Wandering Mist Step."
"A footwork technique your grandmother taught me."
His mother looked surprised.
"You've never taught anyone that."
His father smiled.
"I never had a reason to."
Then he looked at Ye Fu.
"Until now."
Ye Fu's heart began to race.
His father raised a hand.
"Don't misunderstand."
"This is not some powerful secret art."
"It won't make you stronger."
"It won't make you a genius."
"It won't win battles for you."
Ye Fu's excitement immediately dropped.
His father laughed.
"But it may help you survive long enough to become strong."
Those words struck deeply.
Slowly, his father demonstrated the movements again.
One step.
Two steps.
Three steps.
Simple.
Yet strangely difficult.
Before long, Ye Fu was attempting to imitate them.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Every mistake was corrected.
Every movement repeated.
Hours passed.
The moon climbed higher into the sky.
Finally, Ye Fu collapsed onto the ground, exhausted.
His father extended a hand and helped him up.
"Remember."
"A cultivator's path is not measured by how fast he starts."
"It's measured by how far he travels."
Ye Fu nodded silently.
For the first time in many days, the pressure in his heart seemed lighter.
As he looked at his parents standing beside him beneath the moonlight, a strange warmth filled his chest.
Perhaps he was behind.
Perhaps the gap between him and Ye Ming was enormous.
But he was not alone.
And he was not giving up.
Far above the clouds, thunder rumbled faintly in the distant night sky.
No one noticed.
Not even Ye Fu.
The moon hung quietly above the courtyard.
After finishing his training, Ye Fu sat beneath a tree, exhausted.
His legs felt sore from practicing the Wandering Mist Step.
Just as he was about to rest, a familiar voice sounded.
"Little Fu!"
Ye Fu immediately knew who it was.
His elder brother.
Ye Luo.
Turning around, he saw the chubby youth walking over while holding a large roasted chicken leg.
Ye Fu rolled his eyes.
"Brother, are you eating again?"
Ye Luo looked offended.
"What do you mean again?"
"This is my third meal."
Ye Fu nearly choked.
"Third meal? It's already night!"
Ye Luo proudly bit into the chicken leg.
"Cultivation requires energy."
Ye Fu shook his head helplessly.
At that moment, another figure ran into the courtyard.
"Big Brother! Second Brother!"
Ye Tian's cheerful voice echoed through the night.
She rushed over and threw herself between them.
Ye Luo immediately grinned.
"Tian'er, look."
He puffed out his chest.
"Your big brother has become stronger again."
Ye Tian's eyes sparkled.
"Really?"
"Of course."
Ye Luo walked toward a nearby training stone.
Without warning, he slapped it.
Bang!
The stone trembled slightly.
Ye Tian immediately clapped.
"Amazing!"
Ye Luo's smile widened.
Ye Fu stared.
"Brother, that stone moved."
Ye Luo proudly nodded.
"Naturally."
Then he lowered his voice.
"I've been eating more lately."
Ye Fu immediately understood.
His brother was serious.
Ye Tian giggled.
The three siblings sat together beneath the moonlight.
For a while, nobody spoke.
Then Ye Tian suddenly asked,
"Big Brother, what do you want to become when you grow up?"
Ye Luo blinked.
"What kind of question is that?"
Ye Tian crossed her arms.
"You have to answer."
Ye Luo thought for a moment.
Then he smiled.
"I want to eat the best food in the world."
Silence.
Ye Fu stared.
Ye Tian stared.
"You can't be serious."
"I am serious."
Ye Luo nodded confidently.
"If I become strong enough, nobody can stop me from eating whatever I want."
Ye Tian burst into laughter.
Even Ye Fu couldn't help smiling.
Then Ye Tian looked toward him.
"What about you, Second Brother?"
Ye Fu became quiet.
For a moment, he looked toward the distant mountains.
Beyond them was a world he knew nothing about.
A world Elder Han had spoken of.
A world far larger than the Ye Clan.
Finally, he answered.
"I want to become strong."
Ye Tian tilted her head.
"How strong?"
Ye Fu thought for a moment.
Then he clenched his fist.
"Strong enough so nobody can look down on Father again."
The courtyard became quiet.
Ye Luo slowly stopped smiling.
Ye Tian lowered her head.
They all understood.
Their father had suffered many years of ridicule.
Ye Luo suddenly reached over and patted Ye Fu's shoulder.
"Then you'll do it."
Ye Fu looked up.
His elder brother's expression was unusually serious.
"You'll definitely do it."
For a moment, the three siblings sat beneath the moonlight.
Nobody spoke.
Yet somehow, words were no longer necessary.
Because no matter what happened during the upcoming examination…
They were family.