She watched Astra walking among the small group leaving the branch sect.
"Found you," she whispered, voice soft and amused.
She could feel his bloodline even through the medium.
"Just a tiny ember now. But the shape of your fate… is not small."
Her fingers traced the surface of the image.
"Grow, little king. I'll wait to see what kind of man you become… before I decide how close to stand."
The mirror dimmed.
Chu Feng – Lightning Tug
That same day, under a different sky, Chu Feng stood shirtless in a simple training yard, fist raised.
He completed a series of strikes, panting hard.
Lightning flickered faintly along his arm, then sputtered out.
He clenched his teeth.
Again.
He drove his fist forward.
This time, the lightning held a fraction longer, crackling more fiercely around his knuckles before fading.
He exhaled, sweat running down his back.
He straightened and wiped his face with a rough cloth.
As he did, he suddenly paused.
His heart… flickered oddly.
A faint, tiny sense—like he was not alone under the sky.
He looked up.
Clouds drifted overhead, ordinary and uncaring.
Weird…
He shook his head and went back to training.
From a distance, an elder watched him.
Far away place , in a quiet room, Chu Feng's father spoke again with the same robed man as before.
"I felt it again," the father murmured. "That other spark. Growing stronger. Closening… slowly."
The robed man's eyes glinted.
"So the other strand your wife talked about… is moving too."
Chu Feng's father looked out toward the horizon.
"My son thinks he walks alone now," he said softly. "One day, he'll realize he's not the only one who refuses to bow he will value of bonds ...."
Back at the branch sect gate, Han Qing surveyed the group.
"Listen up," he said. "Broken Ridge Forest is not far, but it has spirit beasts. Our task is to check on a low-grade spirit mine and confirm no other forces have encroached."
He looked at each disciple in turn.
"This is not a game. Stay together. Follow orders. If you see something you don't understand, do not play the hero. Understood?"
"Yes, Senior Brother," the group echoed.
Han Qing's eyes rested on Astra for a moment longer.
"Especially you, new one."
Astra met his gaze.
"I won't drag others down," he said simply.
Han Qing gave a faint smile.
"We'll see."
Beside them, Bai Ruyin formed a small spirit formation on a wooden bead in her hand—likely a contact charm with Elder Jian—then slipped it into her sleeve.
"Move out," Han Qing ordered.
They descended the mountain path in a neat line, boots scuffing against stone, the air growing wilder as they left the neat courtyards behind.
Astra glanced back once.
The branch sect looked small from here.
Contained.
Almost like a cage.
This is my first step outside it.
He turned his eyes forward.
The wind picked up.
Trees whispered.
Somewhere ahead, the forest waited.
Behind him, Bai Ruyin watched his back for a moment, eyebrows faintly drawn.
No nervousness. Interesting.
Ahead of them, in a different part of the world, Chu Feng finished another set of punches, panting but unbroken.
Neither of them knew the other's name yet.
But as Astra took his first step toward the Broken Ridge Forest—
A small, invisible line tied his fate a little tighter
to a boy with lightning in his blood
and a mother whose past hid a secret clan—
And to a future where Spirits would no longer just be contracted…
but would choose t.......