The sun stood high above the Nolan clan’s training grounds, flooding the wide stone arena with harsh golden light. Heat shimmered above the slabs, bending the air in slow, wavering ripples. Dust drifted lazily in the breeze, carrying the dry scent of earth mixed with the faint metallic tang of released spirit power.Energy pressed in from every direction.Nolan stopped at the edge of the field and simply watched.Dozens of spirit masters trained in organized formations. Blue streams of water twisted through the air like living serpents. Crimson fire burst outward in violent flares, folding in and exploding again. The ground trembled in steady yellow pulses. Sharp blades of wind cut through space in spinning arcs. Threads of violet lightning snapped with a sound like splitting stone.Five elements.Five paths toward power.And somehow, standing there, Nolan felt as though he were still trailing far behind.For several days he had locked himself away in cultivation. No noise. No distrac