The courtyard remained silent long after the other disciples left.
Li Shen stood where he was, his breathing slowly stabilizing. The last traces of golden light had already faded beneath his skin, but the feeling remained.
A faint warmth?
No this was something deeper, something watching and waiting.
"…Sit," Lian Yue said.
Li Shen obeyed without question.
His body was still exhausted, but his mind was restless.
Lian Yue stood before him, her gaze steady and far more serious than before.
"What happened just now," she said, "was not protection."
Li Shen frowned slightly. "…It saved me."
"No," she replied calmly. "It acted."
A brief silence followed.
Li Shen's expression hardened. "What's the difference?"
Lian Yue stepped closer.
"A weapon protects when you command it," she said. "A tool responds to its user."
Her eyes locked onto his.
"But what you have…does neither."
Li Shen said nothing.
"Tell me," Lian Yue continued, "when it activated… what did you feel?"
Li Shen hesitated.
Then spoke slowly.
"…Hunger."
The word lingered in the air.
Lian Yue's gaze sharpened.
"…As I thought."
She turned slightly, walking a few steps away as if organizing her thoughts.
"What you possess is not ordinary armor," she said. "It is not a relic that simply grants power."
"It is something that… consumes."
Li Shen's hands tightened slightly.
"…Consume what??"
"Everything," she replied.
Silence.
"Qi. Energy. Life force," she continued. "Even techniques."
Her voice remained calm, but the weight behind her words grew heavier.
"And eventually…its user."
Li Shen's eyes narrowed.
"That is the hidden danger," Lian Yue said. "The more you rely on it, the more it will act on its own."
"The more it feeds…"
"The stronger it becomes."
Li Shen exhaled slowly.
"…Then I just won't use it."
Lian Yue looked at him for a moment
She almost smiled.
"If it were that simple," she said, "you would not still be alive."
Li Shen froze slightly.
"It activated without your will," she continued. "That means it has already begun to recognize threats on its own."
"And when it decides something is a threat…It will act."
A pause.
"Whether you want it to…or not."
Li Shen's gaze darkened.
He remembered the moment clearly.
The strike, his inability to move, the instant before impact.
And then the explosion of power.
He hadn't called for it, he hadn't chosen it.
It had chosen for him.
"…So what do I do?" he asked quietly.
Lian Yue turned fully toward him again.
"You gain control."
"How?"
"You grow stronger."
Her answer came without hesitation.
"But right now," she said, "you are too weak to resist it."
"You have no Qi. No foundation. No control over your own body."
Her gaze sharpened slightly.
"To something like that…"
"You are nothing more than a vessel."
Li Shen clenched his fists.
"That is why," she continued, "you must learn cultivation properly."
"Not for power but for control."
She stepped closer again.
"If you cannot suppress it…you will eventually lose yourself."
The courtyard grew quiet again.
Li Shen lowered his head slightly.
Not in defeat but in thought.
"…Then teach me," he said.
Lian Yue studied him for a moment.
Then nodded once.
"Good."
She raised her hand slightly, a faint ripple passed through the air.
"We continue from where we stopped," she said. "Qi sensing is only the first step."
"Now, you will learn to draw it in."
Li Shen straightened slightly.
"This will not be easy," Lian Yue continued. "Your body is not prepared. Your meridians are unopened."
"If you force it, you will damage yourself."
Li Shen nodded.
"…I understand."
"Good," she said.
"Then listen carefully."
She stepped behind him once more.
"Close your eyes."
"Recall the sensation from earlier," she said. "The threads of Qi around you."
"Do not chase them let them come."
Li Shen steadied his breathing.
Inhale... Hold... Exhale...
Slowly
The world around him quieted again
Then the faint threads returned.
Qi.
They drifted gently through the air, subtle yet constant.
"Now," Lian Yue's voice came softly, "guide a single strand toward your body."
Li Shen focused.
Carefully.... Gently....
One strand trembled.
It drifted closer and closer until it touched his skin.
Immediately a faint chill ran through him.
"Do not lose focus," Lian Yue said. "Guide it inward."
Li Shen concentrated.
The strand began to sink into his skin.
A strange sensation followed It wasn't painful but not comfortable either.
It felt like something foreign entering his body and this made Li Shen's breathing waver
The strand flickered then vanished.
He opened his eyes slightly, frustration rising.
"It disappeared again."
"That is normal," Lian Yue said. "Your body is rejecting it."
She stepped in front of him.
"You are not yet suited for Qi," she continued. "But you must force your body to adapt."
Li Shen frowned.
"…Force it?"
"Yes."
Her voice remained calm.
"Again."
Li Shen closed his eyes once more.
This time he didn't hesitate he reached out again for another strand.
It touched him and again he tried to draw it in and held it longer.
The sensation deepened.
It became uncomfortable and heavy.
But he endured.
The strand sank slightly deeper than before.
Then It shattered.
Li Shen's body trembled slightly.
But he didn't stop.
Again and again each attempt failed.
But each time, he held it a little longer endured a little more.
Lian Yue watched silently with calm expression
But her eyes were sharp.
"…Good," she said quietly.
Li Shen opened his eyes.
His face pale, his breathing uneven.
"…It's harder than fighting," he muttered.
"It is," she replied. "Because this time…you are fighting yourself."
Li Shen fell silent.
Deep within him the armor remained still.
Watching and waiting like a predator…
Patient for the moment he lost control.