Agony. A tectonic shift that ripped him apart from the inside.

  His blood was a torrent of ice shards, clawing backward through his veins. Molten iron flooded his marrow, a searing tide that threatened to boil him from the bone out. Fire and frost warred in his core, a battleground of impossible temperatures. Invisible vines, thick as pythons, twisted his muscles to their snapping point. Something coiled and grew beneath his skin, a pressure building, threatening to burst him open. Every nerve was a white-hot wire screaming. His bones ground against each other, caught between granite millstones.

  "Ugh—"

  A scream lodged in his throat. His airway was a passage choked with coarse sand, strangling all sound.

  His body arched, a bow drawn taut, suspended in the air. The impact shattered the world. He plunged into the milky-white Aramu River, and the water around him detonated in a silent, brilliant swirl of five colors, as if stained by the blood of a god.

  Why him?

  The thought was a flicker in the inferno. His body was a battlefield, and he was the scorched earth left behind. Master had promised the Five Elements Awakening would be "a little uncomfortable."

  Master, you liar… This isn't uncomfortable.

  This was being dismantled, atom by atom.

  Bang!

  His back slammed against the stone-strewn bank. Loose pebbles dug into his spine like sharpened teeth. The impact jarred the world into a black, swimming void as a sheet of river water slapped across his face. He convulsed on the shore, back arching again, a silent roar trapped behind grinding teeth. His fingers spasmed, clawing at slick, wet stones as five-colored light pulsed madly beneath his skin, a storm trapped in a bottle.

  "Hah… hah…"

  He gasped. Each breath was a mouthful of shattered glass that scoured his lungs raw. He tried to push himself up. His arms were ropes of frayed twine, utterly drained of strength.

  Master called this a once-in-a-century occurrence… this fatal torment.

  He gritted his teeth, his own voice a defiant roar against the part of him that begged for the sweet, quiet oblivion. "...There's always a way."

  Amid the agony, the golden, leaf-shaped amulet on his chest blazed with heat. A fire kindled against his skin. In the dim light, the veins of the leaf began to glow, faintly tracing the shape of an ancient sun totem. The warmth stirred the familiar, unavoidable question. Master had found him in the forest at the age of one, this golden leaf the only clue to a past he couldn't grasp.

  Who am I? Why must I bear this? Those warm hands… that voice… why can't I remember?

  "Damn it…" Ke Munan twisted his head, spitting a mouthful of sand and river water. His voice came out a broken rasp. "The books… they never said it would hurt this much!"

  As the searing pain finally began to recede, its tide pulling back from the shores of his consciousness, a strange, unprecedented sensation washed over him.

  The water of the Aramu River was still milky jade, but now, to his senses, its surface teemed with countless points of light—azure, crimson, emerald, silver, and ochre. The motes of light drifted toward him, sinking into his skin. The violent powers warring within him grew docile. A cool current of Water seeped into his flesh, dousing the internal fires. A searing thread of Fire reshaped his meridians. A living pulse of Wood, green and vibrant, stitched his torn muscles back together. The sharp weight of Metal tempered his bones to steel, and the dense gravity of Earth stabilized his foundation.

  He could hear the river singing, a frequency just at the edge of hearing. He could taste the Five Elements on the wind—the clean sweetness of Water, the sharp heat of Fire, the vibrant pulse of Wood, the metallic tang of Metal, and the dense weight of Earth.

  He closed his eyes, and the world unfolded not as sight, but as a vast network of energy. Every blade of grass, every stone, every wisp of breeze was a node on this web, interconnected, each influencing the last.

  "Is this… the Five Elements?"

  The feeling was strangely familiar. He remembered his master once saying, "The gift of a Five Elements Balanced Constitution isn't raw power, but a perception of the world's true nature. You will hear the breathing of stones, feel the emotions of the river, and even… converse with books."

  He'd dismissed it as another of his master's grand pronouncements. Now, it seemed, it was the truth.

  Then he realized something else. He could feel five distinct types of pain simultaneously—the glacial cold, the burning heat, the stabbing sharpness, the crushing ache, and the swelling pressure—and his consciousness could isolate each one, with no place to hide.

  In that moment, what Ke Munan wanted most wasn't power or talent, but a simple, warm embrace.

  As if in answer, a faint but peculiar warmth flowed through his meridians. The feeling was so fleeting he wondered if it was just his imagination.

  A wave of dizziness struck him, a storm surge in his skull. The five energies cycling within him were a far greater burden than he had anticipated. Ke Munan gripped the stone railing along the bank, taking several deep, shuddering breaths to steady the spinning world. His trembling hand found his crystal staff, and a familiar warmth spread from it, a calming anchor in the chaotic energy of his core.

  His master's words echoed in his mind: When you encounter trouble, don't panic. First, calm down.

  He reached out again, more carefully this time. His fingertips skimmed the water's surface, sending out fine ripples. Each ripple carried a different energy, spreading gently in all directions. The Spirit Wisdom Grass on the riverbank seemed to sense it, leaning slightly in his direction, the tips of its leaves quivering in a silent salute.

  A blue Water Spirit Butterfly rose from the river, dancing gracefully around his fingers. The droplets on its wings refracted the sunlight into a tiny rainbow, each flap bringing a cool, misty breeze. Ke Munan reached out, but the butterfly playfully fluttered higher, circling above his head.

  Just then, a cloud drifted across the rising sun. A chill skated across the world.

  Ke Munan's gaze shot toward the summit of Elder Peak. The morning mist swirled there, forming coiling dragons that half-hid the silhouettes of the temple halls.

  "Strange…" He scratched his head, his damp hair now an even greater mess. The feeling of being watched prickled at his skin like a thousand tiny needles, making him inexplicably irritable.

  Is Master watching me? He instinctively straightened his clothes, his movements slow, his limbs heavy as stone. If he was seen in such a pathetic state…

  He muttered under his breath, wiping river water from his face with a sleeve that still trembled.

  "Caw—Caw—"

  A piercing shriek tore through the sky, a black stone plummeting toward him.

  Ke Munan stumbled back, his weakened body nearly giving way.

  "Krupp?"

  A peculiar two-headed raven landed on his shoulder. Its four eyes darted about, one head cocked to study him, the other staring intently at the Water Spirit Butterfly. It extended a wing, pointing toward the mountain path. A drop of strange black liquid dripped from the tip of its feather.

  The black drop hit a stone with a sizzle, burning a perfect five-pointed star into its surface.

  "What is that?" Ke Munan's eyes widened. "Ink? Motor oil? Where did you get that on you?"

  "Ke Munan!" A familiar voice shattered the morning quiet from the path. "Ke Munan—!"

  It was Jin Luo. And from the tremor in his voice, he was frantic.

  "Ke Munan—!"

  Before the name had faded, Jin Luo came barreling into view. He ran so fast he nearly face-planted on a moss-covered rock, catching himself at the last second. He dropped to one knee, gasping for breath, his free hand carving frantic, useless circles in the air.

  "Are… are you okay?" Jin Luo looked up, his dark eyes wide with worry. His round face was flushed, his short black hair plastered to his forehead in sweaty clumps. His gaze swept over Ke Munan's pale face and soaked clothes. "I've been looking everywhere for you! Your face… you look like a ghost."

  "I'm fine…" Ke Munan tried to push himself upright, leaning heavily on the stone railing. His fingertips still trembled like hummingbirds' wings.

  Jin Luo let out a sigh of relief, but then a new thought struck him, and his eyes lit up with a manic fire. "Right! The Restricted Section—it's open! Just for today." He leaned in, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Uncle Chen told me they have it. The Five Elements Hidden Origin Manual. The real one. The last student who read it supposedly jumped straight to Mid-Foundation Stage."

  He rubbed his hands together, practically vibrating with excitement. "If we can get our hands on that book, and I add the new Five Elements Generation Cycle formula I derived last night…"

  "What?!" The name of the book was a lightning strike to his spine. The Five Elements Hidden Origin Manual—he'd dreamed of it. Adrenaline surged, a fire that burned through the exhaustion. He instinctively tried to jump up but his legs were still stone, refusing to cooperate. He ended up in an awkward half-squat, clinging to the railing. "I just… swallowed a bit of water. Are you serious? The Manual?"

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  "Of course!" Jin Luo shot him a proud look. "When have I ever lied to you?"

  A flicker of desire burned in Ke Munan's eyes. Seeing it, Jin Luo said smugly, "You know, if I can understand the theories in that book, I could create entirely new techniques! And if that happens…" He paused, his voice turning firm. "I can finally show everyone that brains are more powerful than brawn!"

  Jin Luo paused again, looking Ke Munan up and down with a frown. "But before we go…" He poked Ke Munan's soaked sleeve. "Are you sure you want to go to the Archive Hall looking like that?"

  Only then did Ke Munan notice his own disheveled state. Water dripped from his sleeves, his pants were caked with mud, and his hair was a chaotic mess.

  "Wait!" Jin Luo took a step back, a look of disgust on his face. He leaned in for a sniff and immediately recoiled. "Gods! The smell… did you roll around in the riverbed?"

  "Never mind that!" Ke Munan said urgently. Though his body was a wreck, the allure of the Manual was a siren's song, drowning out the pain. "The book is what's important!"

  "Of course it is, but you…" Jin Luo shook his head helplessly. "Fine, fine. Hold still." A grin tugged at his lips as he produced a talisman from his robes with a flourish. "Behold! The Quick-Dry Talisman, Mark Three. Perfected it last night—twenty percent more efficient. The secret," he declared, slapping the paper onto Ke Munan's chest, "is the vibration frequency of…"

  As he spoke, he rattled on, "…water molecules! I locked the temperature gradient at exactly forty-two degrees, absolutely perfect…"

  "Jin Luo…" Ke Munan said weakly, his teeth starting to chatter.

  "Alright, alright!" Jin Luo shut up, his hands flying through a series of seals. "Focus your spirit, calm your mind, guide the water to its source!"

  Instantly, a warm current flowed from the talisman, a thousand gentle hands caressing Ke Munan's body. The water evaporated into a fine mist, forming a hazy halo around him in the morning light.

  "Success!" Jin Luo clapped his hands proudly. "See? Perfect temperature control, it absolutely won't—"

  Before he could finish, the last wisp of mist dissipated. Ke Munan's hair stood straight on end, crackling with static, as if he'd been struck by lightning.

  "…" Both of them stared, dumbfounded.

  "Theoretically," Jin Luo rubbed his nose, feigning composure, "this is a static electricity effect. I may have forgotten to add air humidity as a variable in the formula…"

  "Jin Luo!" Ke Munan lunged, aiming for his friend's neck. "How many times have you used me as a guinea pig?!"

  "Strictly speaking, this is the seventeenth time," Jin Luo replied earnestly, dodging the attack. "But thirteen of those were successful, for a success rate of seventy-six point four seven percent!"

  "I'm about to drop your success rate to zero!"

  Ke Munan feigned a charge, but his legs were anchors. The lunge was weak, powerless. After two steps, his lungs were on fire. "Can't… run! I'll get you back for this later!"

  The early morning sun cast their long shadows across the stone bank.

  Jin Luo stopped, and seeing that Ke Munan was truly alright, he urged, "Okay, okay, stop fooling around. Someone's going to check out that book!"

  They abandoned their horseplay and hurried up the stone steps toward the Elder Hall. The steps glowed with a gentle luster, each one engraved with runes that pulsed with dormant power. To Ke Munan's new senses, they were not just carvings; they were the sleeping heartbeats of generations of elders.

  "Speaking of which," Jin Luo said, adjusting his breathing to a scientific rhythm he'd devised, "what were you doing by the river? From my observation angle, you held that posture for at least fifteen minutes, and your expression changed seven times. It was quite the performance."

  Ke Munan considered how to forge the chaos into words. In the end, he could only shrug. "It's hard to explain." He held up his hand, turning it over as if seeing it for the first time. "It's not like my vision is sharper. It's… everything has a hum. A texture. I can feel the life in the stones under my feet, the thirst of the moss on the walls. It's a storm in my head."

  "Interesting." Jin Luo's eyes lit up. He stared at Ke Munan for three seconds. "Your pupils are dilated by zero-point-two millimeters, your fingers are trembling slightly, and…" He covered his eyes. "There are residual fluctuations of five different energies on you. You… you've awakened?"

  "Awakened? I don't know, but… I can hear your stomach growling now," Ke Munan teased, pressing his ear to Jin Luo's stomach.

  "That's because I was in such a hurry to find you I skipped breakfast!" Jin Luo protested, then grew serious again. "But really, your situation is rare. I've checked the records. Most people don't develop this kind of perception until the Mid-Foundation Stage." He paused, uncharacteristically refraining from further analysis, and clenched his fist. "Forget it. The world of geniuses is beyond us mortals."

  "What genius?" Ke Munan gave a wry smile, his palm unconsciously opening. "I spent all yesterday afternoon practicing the Water Sphere Technique. Nine out of ten attempts failed. The one that worked was smaller than my fist."

  "But it was still a water sphere!" Jin Luo waved his arms excitedly, nearly hitting a lamppost. "Do you know how long it took me to form my first one? Three months! And that was only after consulting with the Jin family elders!"

  At that, his voice dropped to a whisper. "Sometimes I really wonder if I'm the least talented person in the whole Jin family…"

  "Don't say that." Ke Munan slung an arm over Jin Luo's shoulder. "Those people are blind. That Voice Transmission Talisman you drew last time was indistinguishable from one made by a professional. And your theoretical deductions—even the teachers say you're a once-in-a-century prodigy."

  "But what's the use of that?" Jin Luo wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "I can't even use the most basic techniques properly. Jin Gan is younger than me, but his talent for combat is so much greater." His voice grew faint. "Sometimes I feel like if I weren't a member of the Jin family, no one would ever take my theories seriously…"

  "How dare you look down on the power of knowledge?" Ke Munan stopped and looked directly into Jin Luo's eyes. "Remember when I was trapped in that ancient tomb? If you hadn't used your algorithms to find me, I'd be a pile of bones by now."

  "That… that was different." Jin Luo's cheeks flushed. "I was just applying a formula…"

  "Right, a genius's formula," Ke Munan said, giving him a firm pat on the back of the head. "Don't you ever say you're useless again. Without you, I wouldn't last a single day here."

  As they passed the first floor, Ke Munan's steps faltered. A unique scent wafted from the crack of a half-open door—pine mixed with some kind of herb, fresh yet tinged with a hint of bitterness.

  The scent… it was a key turning a lock deep inside him.

  A blurry image crashed over him: towering pines, a cradle of soft needles, a pair of warm hands lifting him, gently patting his back. A soft lullaby echoed in his skull, the melody gentle yet impossibly distant. He tried desperately to hold onto it, but the images dissolved like morning mist, the feeling like sand slipping through his fingers.

  "No… don't go…" He reached out, his hand closing on empty air.

  "Ke Munan?" Jin Luo looked at him with concern. "You're pale…"

  "I…" Ke Munan pressed his temples, trying to suppress the surging tide of emotion. "I'm fine. Just ran a bit too fast."

  Jin Luo peeked through the crack in the door. "Looks like visitors from the Forest Nation. Judging by their clothes, they must be from the Wood Spirit Clan."

  "Wood Spirit Clan…" Ke Munan repeated the name softly. His heart hammered against his ribs, a frantic, inexplicable rhythm.

  "Let's go," Jin Luo pulled him along. "The secret manual is the most important thing right now!"

  When they reached the staircase, Jin Luo's expression turned grim as he eyed the five flights of floating stairs. "I hate this thing."

  "Want me to teach you a trick?" Ke Munan offered.

  "What trick?"

  "Don't try to 'control' them. Try to 'feel' them." Ke Munan crouched, his fingertips lightly touching an azure crystal step. A soft blue light pulsed in response, a cool current flowing into his skin. "Every spirit stone has its own temperament. Azure crystal likes gentleness, while sunstone likes passion…"

  As he spoke, Ke Munan stepped lightly onto the stairs. The moment his foot made contact, the step glowed brightly, welcoming him. He leaped effortlessly between the five-colored steps, each landing sending out a brilliant cascade of light, a silent chime he could feel in his bones.

  "Come on, try it." He held out his hand to Jin Luo.

  With Ke Munan's guidance, Jin Luo finally made it to the top. "So that's how it works! I was always trying to force my way through. No wonder it was so hard!"

  The Archive Hall was a three-story ancient building, its gray stone walls covered in spirit vines. Each leaf glowed faintly, and Ke Munan could feel them breathing, slowly sipping the essence of knowledge that bled from the scrolls within. The air itself was heavy, thick with the scent of ink, old paper, and dormant power.

  Pushing open the heavy wooden doors, they stepped into a cathedral of silence.

  "Uncle Chen! Is the Restricted Section open?" Jin Luo ran straight to the counter.

  The administrator, Uncle Chen, lowered his voice. "It's open, but Huang Xiaohu is already in there… reading the Five Elements Hidden Origin Manual."

  Jin Luo's face fell, a stone dropping into a well.

  "Let's go see," Ke Munan said, a strange certainty settling in his gut.

  In the Restricted Section on the second floor, every book radiated a spiritual glow. In the deepest corner, Huang Xiaohu was flipping through an ancient text.

  "If it isn't the great theorist of the Jin family," he said, his back still to them. His voice was sharp, edged with contempt. "Come to bless us with another equation? And you've brought… an orphan."

  "Where is the Five Elements Hidden Origin Manual?" Jin Luo demanded.

  Huang Xiaohu turned. When he saw Ke Munan, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by his usual mocking smirk. A faint green light flowed around him, a Wood-element aura that felt like sharp thorns. "Too bad. I already have it." He waved the ancient book in his hand.

  "The rules say you can only borrow it for one hour," Jin Luo stated.

  "This book is too profound for you," Huang Xiaohu shrugged. "You'd be better off with the basic tutorials."

  "Wait," Ke Munan spoke up. His gaze was fixed on the book in Huang Xiaohu's hand. His newly awakened perception screamed. The Five Elements Power within him recoiled from the object, a sour, discordant note in the library's symphony.

  Huang Xiaohu was taken aback. "Of course it's the real one. The title is right there on the cover."

  "Wait…" Ke Munan stared at the book. He closed his eyes, focusing on the feeling. "It's too… lifeless. It's a hollow stone. An empty shell." He opened his eyes, the certainty hardening in his voice. "The real one… it should have a heartbeat."

  Just then, a slim, grey-spined book eased itself from the top of a packed shelf. It didn't fall so much as drift down, landing with a soft thump at Ke Munan's feet. A whisper in the dust.

  He bent down and picked it up. The cover was blank.

  The moment his fingers touched it, a jolt shot up his arm.

  …Here…

  The voice was faint, like the rustle of old paper, and it spoke directly into his mind.

  He froze, looking around. Jin Luo and Huang Xiaohu showed no reaction. Only he had heard it.

  A weak pulse emanated from his fingertips, the book's own heartbeat answering his. A five-colored halo pulsed from his touch, weaving across the plain cover. Light bled into threads, forming a pattern of five elemental streams—twisting, parting, and finally merging in perfect harmony. At their nexus, five ancient glyphs burned themselves into view, searing his retinas: Five Elements Hidden Origin Manual.

  "This is the real one!" Ke Munan blurted out.

  As if to confirm his words, every book in the Archive Hall trembled. The air shivered. A thousand paper whispers rose at once, a wave of pressure that made the floorboards groan. The entire library was responding to him.

  Huang Xiaohu stared, his expression unreadable. The thorns of his aura had retracted. "How did you know?" His voice was so soft it was almost inaudible.

  Ke Munan opened his mouth, but no words came. How could he explain hearing a book's heartbeat?

  "Interesting," Huang Xiaohu murmured. With that, he turned and left.

  "He just left?" Jin Luo couldn't believe it. "No argument, no fight?"

  "Guess he's in a good mood today," Ke Munan shrugged, already eagerly opening the Manual.

  What followed was astonishing. The book was a living teacher. Whenever a knot of confusion formed in his mind, the corresponding answer would flow from the page to untangle it.

  "Jin Luo, look at this." Ke Munan pointed to a passage about the Five Elements Generation Cycle. "It says here that generation is a transformation of energy forms, not simply A producing B…"

  "Wait!" Jin Luo interrupted excitedly. "This transformation formula… this is the one I was halfway through deriving last night! So this is the second half!" His eyes grew brighter. "If I apply this principle to rune design… Gods! I might really be able to create a new technique!"

  The two of them dove into the ocean of knowledge, losing all track of time.

  It wasn't until Uncle Chen's voice called from downstairs, "Time for class, boys!" that they looked up.

  Ke Munan closed the book, his head buzzing with a thousand new currents. "It's too difficult. I'll need to read it ten more times to understand it."

  Jin Luo patted his shoulder. "That's normal. It's a book from the Restricted Section. But…" He gave a mysterious smile. "I've already memorized a few key formulas. I'll study them when I get back."

  As they stepped out of the Archive Hall, the sun was high in the sky, and a new chapter of their lives was about to begin.