The morning sun bathed the Azure Feather Sect in gold, but Kael felt none of its warmth. He stood in the center of the inner court's battle arena, the stone tiles beneath his feet etched with years of combat. Around him, disciples gathered like vultures to a feast, eager for the entertainment promised by the public duel.
Kael's eyes met those of his opponent—Ren Hualing, a core disciple, one of the sect's rising stars. Tall and proud, draped in sapphire robes, Hualing sneered.
"You, an outer disciple, dared speak in Lin's favor. Are you her dog now, Kael?" His voice rang loud enough for the spectators to burst into laughter.
Kael said nothing. His silence, as always, irked them more than any insult could. In truth, he hadn't expected this duel. It was Lin who'd been humiliated during a formation class. When she corrected the instructor's flawed rune placement, Hualing had mocked her publicly. Kael, standing in the shadows, had simply offered a quiet word in her defense. Now here he stood, before the sect.
Lin watched from the side, her face unreadable. She hadn't spoken to him since that day. But Kael could see something in her eyes—concern, maybe even guilt.
Elder Su, the referee for the duel, raised her hand. "The rules are simple. No weapons, no death blows. Begin."
Hualing lunged, quick and vicious, his palm glowing with wind qi. Kael stepped aside, letting the attack slash through air. A blade of wind carved a scar into the arena wall.
"Running already?" Hualing taunted.
Kael moved calmly. He didn't summon any visible energy. His cultivation was hidden, suppressed to levels undetectable even by elders. To the crowd, he looked like a rabbit before a lion.
But beneath his robes, his muscles tensed, qi flowing in quiet, complex patterns drawn from forbidden scrolls of a long-lost sect. He'd mastered techniques in secret—refining them beyond what their originators had dreamed.
Hualing advanced again, this time with a flurry of palm strikes. Kael weaved through them like smoke. His foot slid, pivoted, and with a flick, he struck Hualing's chest.
The crowd gasped. Hualing staggered back.
It wasn't the strength of the strike that shocked them—it was that Kael had landed a hit at all.
Eyes narrowed, Hualing roared, "Enough playing!" He spun into the air, summoning a cyclone.
Kael let his breath settle. He channeled a hidden technique from the Cloudless Vale Sect—a style of movement that made him vanish like mist.
Hualing's cyclone tore through the arena—but Kael was already behind him.
With one swift palm, he struck the back of Hualing's neck. The core disciple dropped like a sack of grain.
Silence.
Then a murmur. Then outrage.
"He cheated!"
"He must've used a pill!"
"No outer disciple is that fast!"
Elder Su stepped forward, checking Hualing's pulse. "He's unconscious, but alive. The winner is Kael."
More murmurs. More disbelief.
Kael bowed respectfully. He caught Lin's gaze—her eyes wide with something that looked very much like wonder.
That evening, Kael returned to his courtyard in the outer sect. It was modest, even spartan. But he liked the quiet.
As he sat to meditate, a soft knock broke the silence.
He opened the door.
Lin.
She stepped inside, hesitant. Her gaze wandered around his humble room.
"Why did you defend me?" she asked finally.
Kael looked at her. "Because you were right."
"That's not an answer."
"Maybe not the one you want."
Lin studied him. "You're different from what I thought. From what everyone thinks."
Kael didn't reply.
She took a step closer. "Be careful. Ren Hualing isn't the only one you've embarrassed today."
He nodded. "I know."
"And... thank you."
She left without another word.
Kael closed the door, heart steady, thoughts sharp.
This duel wasn't the climax. It was only the first ripple.
In the coming weeks, whispers would grow.
Elders would begin to take notice.
Enemies would start to form.
And still, no one would know who—or what—Kael truly was.
Not yet.