Jin's hand tightened on his sword hilt.

  Five men. Four 3rd rate thugs. One leader at his cultivation level. An overturned cart, an unconscious old man, a terrified woman.

  He could do this.

  "Wait."

  The old man's voice was sharp in his mind. Jin froze, still hidden behind the boulder.

  "Before you go in there, I need you to understand something." The apparition materialized beside him, translucent form flickering in the afternoon light. "When you engage, you do so with the intent to kill. No hesitation. No mercy. These are bandits. They won't show you any."

  Jin's jaw tightened. "I know."

  "Do you?" The old man's eyes were hard. "I watched what happened in the city streets. When you faced that Valerian soldier. You had him down, wounded, and you hesitated. Almost cost you your life."

  The memory surfaced unbidden. The soldier on the ground, clutching his wound. Jin standing over him, sword raised, unable to bring it down. And then the man lunging with his sword, forcing Jin to kill him in a messy, desperate scramble.

  "That man was only 3rd rate," the old man continued. "If he'd been stronger, if he'd been faster, you'd be dead right now. These bandits won't give you a second chance either."

  Jin looked down at the canyon floor. At the woman pressed against the rock wall. At the bandits circling her like wolves.

  "I understand."

  "Then show me." The old man's form began to fade. "Watch their movements. Wait for an opening. And when you strike, strike to kill."

  Jin watched.

  The bandits were spread across the canyon floor, their attention focused on the overturned cart and its terrified occupants. Two of the 3rd rate thugs were rifling through scattered cargo. Another stood guard near the unconscious driver. The fourth lingered near the woman, saying something crude that made his companions laugh.

  The leader stood apart from the others, his spear resting on his shoulder as he surveyed the scene. There was perhaps ten paces between him and the nearest thug.

  "Now," the old man said. "While they're distracted. Take the two near the cargo first."

  Jin moved.

  He burst from behind the boulder and closed the distance before anyone could react. His blade took the first bandit through the back, punching through leather and flesh. The man made a strangled sound and crumpled.

  Jin yanked the sword free and pivoted. The second thug was just turning, eyes wide with shock, mouth opening to shout. Jin's slash opened his throat before the sound could escape.

  Two down.

  Jin stood over the bodies, breath steady despite the violence. Blood dripped from his blade, dark against the steel. He looked at it for a moment. Felt the weight of what he'd just done settle into his bones.

  Then he looked up.

  "Ambush!" The third bandit had seen it. He was already backpedaling, drawing his crude sword. "We're under attack!"

  The fourth thug spun away from the woman, weapon raised. The leader's head snapped toward Jin, eyes narrowing.

  "Finish those two," the old man commanded. "Before the leader reaches you."

  Jin didn't hesitate.

  He charged the shouting bandit, closing the gap in three strides. The man swung wildly, all panic and no technique. Jin sidestepped, let the blade pass him by inches, and drove his own sword into the man's chest.

  The fourth thug came at him from the side, trying to take advantage of the moment. Jin pulled his blade free and spun, catching the incoming strike on his guard. The impact jarred his arms but he held firm.

  This one was slightly better. Slightly faster. But still just a 3rd rate thug with no real training.

  Jin gave ground, drawing the man forward. Let him overextend on a thrust. Then stepped inside the attack and slashed across his midsection.

  The bandit staggered back, clutching his stomach. His eyes went to Jin's chest, to the insignia visible beneath the dirt and dried blood.

  "That insignia," he rasped. "A royal guard?"

  Jin's blade took his head before he could say anything more.

  Four down.

  Jin released a heavy breath. His pulse pounded in his ears. Blood spattered his armor, his hands, his face. But he was alive.

  Footsteps crunched on sand behind him.

  He turned to find the leader approaching, spear held in a ready guard. The man was older than the others, scarred and weathered, with the look of someone who'd survived through violence for a long time.

  "Well, well." The leader's voice was rough, carrying the accent of the desert slums. "Didn't expect no royal guard to show up here. You..." His eyes moved over Jin's battered armor. "How the hell did you survive? Heard the whole kingdom got turned to ash."

  Jin didn't answer. He shifted his stance, bringing his sword up.

  The leader's lips curled. "Silent type, huh? Fine by me."

  Jin attacked.

  He came in fast, using the footwork Captain Hu had drilled into him since childhood. A feint to the left, then a real strike to the right. The leader's eyes went where Jin wanted them, and the spear moved to block an attack that never came.

  Jin's blade sliced across the outside of the man's thigh.

  The leader stumbled, cursing. Jin pressed forward, not giving him time to recover. Another slash, another. The spear came up to deflect, but Jin was faster, more precise. His training showed in every movement.

  "Damn it," the leader snarled.

  Something shifted.

  Jin felt it more than saw it. The air around the leader seemed to thicken. His movements became sharper, faster. When he swung his spear, it came with more force than before.

  Jin blocked and felt the impact shudder through his arms. Stronger than expected. Much stronger.

  The next exchange confirmed it. The leader was enhancing himself somehow. His speed had increased, his strength had doubled. Each clash of weapons drove Jin back a step.

  "You fight pretty good for a royal guard," the leader said, grinning now. "But it don't matter none. That sword in your hand is gonna look real nice in mine."

  Jin tried to find the opening, tried to use his superior technique to compensate for the gap in raw power. But every time he thought he saw a weakness, the leader's enhanced reflexes closed it.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  He reached inward, searching for that feeling. The warmth. The sparks. The power that had saved his life against Ryze.

  Nothing.

  His qi circulated through his meridians, sluggish and blocked. Whatever was sealed inside him refused to respond.

  The leader pressed his advantage, driving Jin across the canyon floor with a series of brutal thrusts and sweeps. Jin's arms burned from blocking. His legs ached from constant movement.

  But he didn't give up.

  He watched. Waited. Let the leader's aggression create the opening he needed.

  There.

  The leader overcommitted on a thrust, his weight shifting too far forward. Jin sidestepped, pivoted, and brought his blade down in a clean arc.

  Steel bit into flesh. The leader's left shoulder opened up, blood spraying across the sand.

  "Gah!" The leader staggered backward, spear dropping to one hand as he clutched the wound. His face twisted with pain and fury. "You little... think you're all that just 'cause you was a royal guard, huh?"

  He laughed then, an ugly sound.

  "A royal guard for a kingdom that don't exist no more. How pathetic is that? Your king's dead. Your captain's dead. Everyone who ever gave a damn about that fancy armor you're wearin' is dead." He spat blood onto the sand. "And you're gonna join 'em real soon."

  The words hit Jin harder than any blow.

  *A kingdom that don't exist no more.*

  *Everyone who ever gave a damn is dead.*

  His father's face flashed through his mind. The smile in those final moments. The lightning that had erased him from existence.

  "You bastard..."

  The words came out low. Quiet. Something cold settled in Jin's chest. Something that had nothing to do with grief and everything to do with rage.

  The leader saw the opening. He shifted back into his stance, spear coming up, grin spreading across his bloody face. "Hah, look who finally decid..."

  White sparks crackled around Jin's eyes.

  The world slowed.

  Jin moved.

  He didn't think about it. Didn't plan it. His body simply acted, qi flooding through his meridians with a speed and clarity he'd never felt before. The distance between them disappeared in an instant.

  "Huh?"

  The leader's voice was confused. His eyes widened. Then his view tilted sideways, spinning, and the last thing he saw was his own headless body crumpling to the sand.

  Jin stood over the corpse, sword extended, breathing hard. The white sparks flickered once more around his eyes, then faded.

  "There."

  The old man's voice cut through the red haze clouding Jin's mind.

  "That feeling. Right there. That's what you need to remember."

  Jin blinked. The rage receded slowly, leaving him hollow and shaking. He looked at his hands. At the blood. At the body at his feet.

  "What... what just happened?" The last few seconds were hazy, fragmented. He remembered the bandit's taunt. The cold fury rising in his chest. And then... movement. Speed. A sensation of something flooding through him.

  "You unsealed your attribute again. Briefly." The old man materialized beside him, studying Jin with intense eyes. "You did it through rage this time, not desperation. But the result is the same. For just a moment, the seal cracked and your true power slipped through."

  Jin tried to recall the sensation more clearly. The flood of qi. The clarity. The speed that had seemed impossible just seconds before. It was there, faint but present in his memory.

  "I remember... something. My qi moving. Faster than before. Like everything just clicked into place for a moment."

  "Good. Hold onto that memory." The old man's tone was thoughtful. "Your body knew what to do even when your conscious mind was overwhelmed. That's instinct merging with training. That's progress."

  A soft sound drew Jin's attention. The woman. She was still pressed against the canyon wall, eyes wide with terror. Not of the bandits anymore.

  Of him.

  Jin sheathed his sword and held up his empty hands. "It's over. They're dead. You're safe."

  The woman didn't move for a long moment. Then, slowly, she pushed away from the wall and stumbled toward the unconscious driver.

  "Grandfather!" She knelt beside him, checking for wounds. "Grandfather, wake up!"

  The old man stirred, groaning. His eyes fluttered open, unfocused and confused.

  "Mei? What... what happened?"

  "Bandits." Mei's voice was shaking. "But someone... someone saved us."

  The driver's eyes found Jin. Took in the blood-soaked armor, the bodies scattered across the canyon floor, the young man standing among the carnage.

  "Thank you," he said hoarsely. "Thank you for... for saving us."

  Jin nodded, not trusting his voice.

  Mei helped her grandfather sit up, then turned to Jin. Her fear had faded slightly, replaced by something like gratitude.

  "You're hurt," she said, noticing the older wounds on his arms and shoulder. "Let me..."

  "I'm fine." Jin shook his head. "The blood isn't mine. Not most of it, anyway."

  An awkward silence fell. Jin wasn't sure what to say. He'd never saved anyone before. Never been looked at with that mixture of fear and thankfulness.

  "Where were you traveling?" he asked finally.

  "South," the driver said. "From the Kingdom of Hydra. We were heading to trade in the southern settlements, but..." He gestured weakly at the overturned cart. "We heard at the border that bandits had made camp somewhere north of here. They said if we paid tribute, we'd have safe passage." He laughed bitterly. "We paid. They attacked us anyway."

  "A camp," Jin repeated. "How many?"

  "We don't know. The ones at the border mentioned their leader, called himself the King of this area. Seemed to think pretty highly of himself." The driver shook his head. "We never saw the camp ourselves. Just heard it's further up the road, between here and the northern trade routes."

  Jin filed that information away.

  Mei was looking at his chest again. At the insignia.

  "That armor," she said quietly. "You're a royal guard. From the Kingdom of Fire."

  Jin went still.

  "We heard what happened." Mei's voice was soft. "The whole kingdom, destroyed in a single night. They said there were no survivors."

  "They were wrong."

  Mei and her grandfather exchanged a glance. Then the old driver nodded slowly.

  "We won't tell anyone," he said. "What we saw today, who you are, where you're going. It stays with us."

  "Why?"

  "Because you saved our lives." Mei's eyes were steady now, the fear replaced with something like determination. "Whatever you're running from, whatever you're running toward, that's your business. We owe you a debt. Keeping quiet is the least we can do."

  Jin studied them for a moment. Then he nodded.

  "Thank you."

  He turned to the bodies scattered across the canyon floor. The leader's corpse lay closest, his rough clothing relatively intact despite the blood.

  Jin knelt and began stripping the armor from his own body.

  "What are you doing?" Mei asked.

  "The armor marks me." Jin pulled off the chest piece, revealing the worn tunic beneath. "Every person who sees it will know where I'm from. I can't afford that kind of attention."

  He didn't look at the royal guard insignia as he set it aside. Couldn't let himself think about what it meant to abandon the last physical connection to his former life.

  The bandit leader's clothes were crude but serviceable. A worn leather vest, a traveling cloak that had seen better days, rough trousers. Jin changed quickly, stuffing his old garments into his pack. He'd burn them later, when he had the chance.

  When he stood, he looked like what he was supposed to be: a wandering martial artist, unremarkable and forgettable.

  "Help them right their cart," the old man said quietly. "Then we talk."

  Jin did. It took time, and his muscles ached from the fight, but eventually the cart was upright and the scattered cargo collected. Some goods had been damaged, but most were salvageable.

  "Thank you again," the driver said as they prepared to leave. "If you ever find yourself in Hydra's capital, seek out the Chen family trading company. We'll repay this debt properly."

  "I'll remember."

  Mei climbed onto the cart beside her grandfather. She looked back at Jin one last time.

  "Be careful," she said. "The bandits up north, they're dangerous. More dangerous than these ones were."

  Jin nodded. "I know."

  The cart rolled away, heading south toward safety. Jin watched until it disappeared around a bend in the canyon, then turned north.

  The old man materialized beside him.

  "So," the apparition said. "Are you actually considering what I think you're considering?"

  "The bandit camp." Jin started walking. "You said I need real combat to awaken my attribute. That camp is full of real combat."

  "It's also full of bandits who will kill you if you're not careful." The old man floated alongside him. "The one you just fought was 2nd layer, 2nd rate. There will likely be others at his level in that camp. Maybe even stronger."

  "I know."

  "And you still want to try?"

  Jin thought about the sensation he'd felt in that final moment. The clarity. The speed. The power flooding through him when the seal cracked.

  "I think I understand now," he said slowly. "What you were talking about earlier. Circulating qi while moving. That's what I did just now, isn't it?"

  The old man's eyes sharpened. "Explain."

  "When I killed the leader. When the sparks appeared." Jin struggled to put it into words. "My qi was moving. Not just sitting in my dantian, but actually flowing through my meridians. Faster than I've ever felt it. Like it was alive."

  "And?"

  "I think I can do it again." Jin met the old man's gaze. "Not perfectly. Not consistently. But I felt something unlock in that moment. A door opening. I want to push through that door."

  The old man was silent for a long moment.

  "The camp is a risk," he said finally. "If there's anyone more than three layers above your cultivation, you need to leave. Immediately. No heroics, no pride. You run."

  "Agreed."

  "And if your attribute doesn't fully awaken during the fighting, you don't force it. You survive first, unseal later."

  "Agreed."

  The old man studied him, then nodded slowly.

  "Fine. We'll scout the camp. See what we're dealing with. Then decide whether to proceed."

  They walked in silence for a while, the canyon walls giving way to open desert as the road wound northward. The sun was beginning to set, casting long shadows across the sand.

  Behind them, five bodies lay cooling on the canyon floor. Jin's first real kills. Not desperate survival like in Emberhold's siege. Deliberate violence against those who preyed on the weak.

  It should have bothered him more than it did.

  Maybe that's what the old man meant about resolve.

  As Jin walked, the apparition drifted beside him, lost in thought. Eventually, a small smile crossed the old man's translucent features.

  *To think he grasped how to circulate his qi while moving in such a short time,* the old man thought to himself. *And without proper instruction. Just raw instinct and desperation.*

  His smile widened slightly.

  *He really may be a prodigy after all.*