Liu Guan Yi stopped laughing.
Silence returned to the room, as heavy as the memories that still echoed in his mind.
He exhaled slowly and walked out.
The palace corridors were wide, gilded, and cold. Servants bowed, their eyes flickering with pity—or worse, indifference.
On the way to the training hall, he crossed paths with his half-siblings.
The children of the imperial concubines. Regal in posture, dressed in silks finer than gold.
> "Oh look, the waste is walking again."
> "Didn't he cry in front of the emperor last month? Pathetic."
> "Must be looking for another beating."
The jabs came casually, like they were commenting on the weather. No one expected a response.
And they didn't get one.
Liu Guan Yi's face was calm. His eyes unreadable.
Inwardly, he thought:
> "Insults are just sounds. What can words do to me?"
He walked past them like they didn't exist.
The training hall was quiet—sunlight slanting through high windows. In the center, a boy no older than ten was practicing sword strikes, his movements precise and elegant.
Liu Bing.
The so-called genius of the royal bloodline. The pride of his mother. The favorite of the emperor.
He didn't even glance at Liu Guan Yi.
Liu Guan Yi didn't look at him either.
Two brothers, two swords, two worlds apart—sharing a room but not a single word.
Liu Guan Yi picked up a wooden blade from the rack and began his training.
His muscles were weak. His body unfamiliar. Every swing was clumsy. But he continued.
Again. And again. And again.
He wasn't trying to impress anyone.
He had no one left to impress.
The day passed slowly.
And the next morning arrived with solemn bells echoing through the palace.
It was the day of the Aptitude Awakening Ceremony.
A day that would decide their cultivation futures.
A day that would divide the dragons from the insects.
And Liu Guan Yi… was ready.
The next morning.
The palace buzzed with excitement.
Today was the Aptitude Awakening Ceremony—the day when the royal children would step onto the Heavenly Mirror Platform to unveil their talent and begin the path of cultivation.
Servants rushed. Ministers gathered. Proud fathers and cautious mothers waited.
And Liu Guan Yi stood at the edge of it all.
Alone.
But for the first time, truly awake.
> "No matter what the result," he whispered to himself, "I walk my path alone."