"The Zhao family attacked the Chen compound two days ago! They said it was revenge for something, but no one knows what. The fighting lasted hours!"My heart dropped. I released the man and sprinted toward my family's compound.Please let them be okay. Please.I reached the compound and found it heavily damaged. Walls were broken. Buildings burned. Bodies—both Chen and Zhao family members—lay in the courtyard."Wei!"Uncle Feng ran toward me, his arm in a sling but otherwise okay."What happened?" I demanded."The Zhao family went mad! They attacked without warning, claiming we'd stolen something from them. We fought them off, but the damage is severe. Several family members are dead. Many more injured.""Where's grandfather?""In his chambers. He was hurt during the fighting but he'll survive."I rushed to grandfather's room. He lay in bed, bandages covering his chest. But his eyes were alert when he saw me."Wei. You came home.""Of course I did. What happened here?""It was a setup

The morning sun barely touched the academy grounds when I woke. My body ached from yesterday's training, but my mind was already racing. Something about Master Shen bothered me—not in a bad way, but in a way that made me curious. The way he looked at me sometimes, like he was remembering something. The way he corrected my sword forms with techniques that seemed oddly familiar, like I'd seen them somewhere in the scattered memories of my father.I dressed quickly and headed to the training yard earlier than required. The compound was quiet except for a few servants sweeping the pathways. The air smelled fresh, carrying the scent of morning dew on grass. I liked these moments before the chaos of the day began, when I could think clearly without dozens of eyes watching my every move.But I wasn't alone.Master Shen stood in the center of the training yard, moving through sword forms so fluid they looked like a dance. His movements were precise, economical, wasting no energy. Each strike