RaizellV

  The night air was alive with music.As Feiyin walked alongside his parents through the vibrant streets of Red Moon City, the festival's energy remained as spirited as ever. The st of roasted meats and died fruits lingered in the cool air, mixing with the soft glow of tless nterns swaying overhead. It was an atmosphere unlike anything he had ever known—bustli harmonious, chaotic yet perfectly ordered.Just as they were about to return to their inn for the night, Feiyin’s ears caught something different amidst the hum of voices and flickering lights.A band of musis had gathered on a small wooden stage at the edge of the festival square. The audience, scattered in groups, swayed gently to the melody as flutes, lutes, drums, and zithers iwined in a mesmerizing performance.Feiyin stopped in his tracks.The moment the first note vibrated through the air, his osciltion seirred to life.He could see the frequencies, as clear as ripples on a still pond. Eastrument had its own unique resonance—a flute’s crisp and airy notes, a zither’s deep and yered strums, a drum’s powerful and grounding rhythm. They were vastly different from one another, yet in the hands of the musis, they flowed seamlessly, each pying its part to create a masterpiece of sound.Feiyi something cli his mind.‘This… this is it.’For weeks, he had struggled with the Five Elements—trying to replicate their natural osciltions, to baheir flow within his own irength. But every time, something had gone wrong. The resonance of one would overpower another, creating instability, causing him to lose trol.But now, as he watched the band of musis, he uood.The Five Elements were like instruments. Each pyed its own tune, each carried its own voice. If a musi ighe rhythm of the others and pyed recklessly, the result would be discordant noise—jarring, unpleasant, unstable. But in the hands of a master, eastrument would enhahe others, creating something far greater than its parts alohe Five Elements were not meant to be forced into submission.They were meant to be ducted.A thrill ran through Feiyin’s chest, his heart pounding like a drumbeat.‘If I want to wield all Five Elements together, I must be the maestro of my own irength. I o cultivate my foundation so that my body endure and deploy all five harmoniously. I he right rhythm, the right trol…’He gnced down at his hands, g and ung his fingers, as his mind raced with new uanding.Up until now, he had been trying to use his irength to replicate one element at a time, fog only on individual mastery. But that was like pying a single instrument in isotion—useful, but limited. To reach the pinnacle of Body Tempering, he o create a symphony of power.That meant perfeg all five aspects of his outer body—Skin, Muscles and Tendons, Bones, Marrow, Blood.Only by pleting them fully, by tempering his body to withstand the forces each element brought, would he be able to haheir simultaneous resohe realizatio a surge of excitement through him, his thoughts turning sharper.‘If my body is inplete, then my irength will always remain unstable when trying to wield all Five Elements at once. I o cultivate my foundation pletely before I truly use them as a single force!’The st piece of the puzzle had fallen into pce.His hands trembled slightly, not from fear, but from the sheer exhiration of crity.He knew what he o do.For so long, his training had been a path of exploration, feeling out the limits of his abilities, but now—now, he saw the road ahead clearly.He o:Achieve full mastery over all five body aspects to support and el his irength properly.Hone his irength trol so that he could "duct" the elements like a maestro with an orchestra.Train his ability to bance each element's power, ensuring one did not overwhelm the others.A huge grin stretched across his face. He felt light, unburdened, yet overflowing with anticipation.“Feiyin?”His mother’s voice brought him back. He turo find both parents watg him curiously—Cai Feng’s arms crossed, and Mei Liao’s head tilted slightly, studying his expression.“Did you see something iing?” his father asked.Feiyin nodded excitedly, gng back at the musis as the melody reached its climax.“Yes! The Five Elements… they’re like instruments, aren’t they? They each py their own sound, but if you don’t use them together properly, it creates discord instead of harmony.”Mei Liao’s lips parted slightly, surprise flickering in her amethyst eyes. “Oh? What brought this on?”Feiyin took a deep breath, trying tanize his rag thoughts into words. “I was struggling because I was treating them as separate forces. I thought I just o master them individually. But that’s wrong! I have to treat them as a whole—to bahem like a musi leading an orchestra.”Cai Fe out a low chuckle, shaking his head in amusement. “You’re always thinking about training, even in the middle of a festival.”Feiyin grinned sheepishly. “I… I ’t help it.”His mhed softly before kneeling in front of him, pg a hand on his cheek. Her expression was warm, but her voice carried gentle wisdom.“You’re right to feel excited,” she said, “but Feiyin, do you know why you even had this realization?”Feiyin blinked. “Because I was thinking about my training?”Mei Liao shook her head, still smiling. “No. It’s because you allowed yourself to experienething new. If you had stayed in the vilge, training without rest, you wouldn’t have had the ce to see these musis, to feel the inspiration from their performance.”Feiyiated, her words settling deep into his heart.“Training is important,” she tinued, “but so is living. If you rush too fast, you might miss the things that will help you grow the most.”His father nodded in agreement, pg a firm hand on Feiyin’s head. “Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. Mastery takes time. Take your lessons as they e, and don’t let impatience cloud your judgment.”Feiyin exhaled, feeling his previous eageremper slightly, not with disappoi, but with uanding.“…I get it,” he said finally. He looked back at the musis, watg them lose themselves in their craft, pying with joy, not obligation.A bright determinatioled in his chest.He would train harder than ever, but he would also take his time, ensuring every step forward was firm and steady.With this realization, his path no longer felt frantic—it felt purposeful.Mei Liao smiled and stood up, taking his hand. “e o’s go back to the inn.”Feiyin took o g the musis before following his parents dowern-lit street, the melody still ringing in his ears.But now, it was no longer just a song.It was a guide.