The morning after Yun's accidental sky-kick incident (which nearly sent poor Uncle Guo's roof tiles flying into next month), the village still hadn't calmed down. People peeked out their windows every time Yun walked by, like he was carrying a thunderstorm in his pockets and might drop it by accident.

Honestly, Yun felt like he might. His whole body was buzzing again, that strange warm-cold feeling, like starlight stuck inside his bones and trying to escape through his elbows. Every time he breathed too deep, little sparks flickered around his nose. Which was embarrassing, especially when Shen Yu saw it and covered his face like he was tired of existing.

"Yun," Shen Yu said in his too-calm voice, "please stop glowing randomly. It's… very concerning."

"I'm not glowing on purpose," Yun muttered, kicking a small rock. The rock exploded into dust. "See? I'm just… stronger."

"That is exactly the problem," Shen Yu replied.

Yun lowered his head but inside he felt something firmer, bold, almost stubbornly excited. He wasn't scared anymore. Not like before. Something inside him wanted to grow, to move, to step again even if it meant breaking another roof.

He followed Shen Yu behind the fields, to the empty training spot between two old trees. Shen Yu took a deep breath like he was preparing for disaster.

"Today we try Second Star Step," Shen Yu announced.

Yun's eyes widened. "But I only—uh—kind of learned the first one yesterday."

"Yes," Shen Yu said, rubbing his temples, "and you nearly tore open a small spatial crack. So I rather you learn the proper way before you accidentally teleport yourself into a chicken coop."

Yun nodded earnestly. "I won't mess up this time."

He paused. "Probably."

Shen Yu looked up at the sky like asking the heavens for patience.

Training… or Something Like It

Shen Yu demonstrated first. He stepped once quietly and the ground didn't shake, but somehow Yun felt space itself move aside politely, like giving Shen Yu room. Graceful. Smooth. Not even a pebble rolled.

Yun tried to do the same.

He inhaled, focused on the warmth in his chest, let it roll to his legs, then

BOOM

A shockwave blasted out. Dust flew everywhere. A tree branch snapped. A goat screamed somewhere in the distance.

Shen Yu coughed. "That… was not horrible," he said, brushing dirt off his robe. "But maybe use less… everything."

"I didn't try to use everything," Yun protested. "It just came out!"

Shen Yu wanted to give up, Yun could tell, but instead he sighed the sigh of a man who accepted destiny's cruelty.

"Again."

They practiced for hours. Yun tripped over his own power, stumbled over invisible steps, launched himself backward once, forward twice, and sideways into a bush that really didn't deserve it. He kept apologizing to the bush even after Shen Yu pulled him out.

But slowly very slowly Yun felt something click.

Like the stars inside him found a rhythm.

His steps didn't explode. They hummed.

His breath didn't shake the ground. It steadied.

His body didn't feel too big for itself. It felt… correct.

He took another step, soft this time.

Whuuum.

Shen Yu's eyes widened. "That's it. That's exactly"

Yun slipped.

The step turned sideways and he shot straight into the air like a confused firework.

"SHEN YUUUUUUU—"

He spun. "—UHHHHHHHH HELP WAIT I DON'T KNOW HOW TO COME DOWN—"

Shen Yu pinched the bridge of his nose. "Every time," he murmured.

He pulled Yun down with a gentle force. Yun landed in a pile of hay and got stuck there like an upside-down carrot.

At least the landing didn't explode anything this time.

Meanwhile… Far, Far Beyond the Sky

High in the cosmic heavens, two massive regions of space trembled as if something ancient rolled in its sleep.

Colossal star beasts stirred in the distant nebulae. Armored galaxy-serpents slithered through the dark matter belts. Even the long-dormant Obsidian Thrones flickered with pale light.

Across a floating continent made of shattered moons, a council of tall, silver-eyed beings whispered among themselves.

"He awakens again," one said.

"The child of Lianxing awakens too quickly," murmured another. "His steps shake realms without him knowing."

"If he continues," a third whispered, "the Veiled Predator will find him. And then the crack between worlds will open again."

They paused. The stars flickered strangely.

Then one asked the chilling question:

"Will his parents intervene?"

But no answer came.

Yun's Parents – Somewhere in the Celestial Dominion

Empress Yueran glanced up suddenly, brows knitting.

"Did you feel that? His rhythm changed," she whispered. "He's learning."

Emperor Lianxing clenched his fists. "Faster than we hoped… and faster than they feared."

He stared into the galaxy mirror where ripples of Yun's training danced like tiny pulses.

"He must be careful," Lianxing murmured. "The more awakenings, the louder his bloodline sings. And the cosmos is already listening too closely."

A tremor shook their star-palace.

Yueran frowned. "The Hunters?"

"No," Lianxing said. His expression darkened. "Something worse."

Back on Earth – Yun, Still Stuck in Hay

Yun finally crawled out of the hay, straw stuck in his hair and down his collar.

"I think I'm improving," he declared proudly, though he was covered in twigs and dirt.

"You are," Shen Yu admitted with the look of a man who wasn't sure if he should be proud or terrified. "But your bloodline is getting… noisier."

"Noisier?"

"Yes," Shen Yu said. "The Cosmos is hearing you."

Yun scratched his head. "The who is hearing the what?"

Shen Yu sighed. "Never mind. We just continue."

But Yun didn't mind the weird feeling anymore. Instead he felt bold. His blood, his body, his heart—they all felt like they wanted more. To move. To climb. To reach something calling him from somewhere he didn't understand.

And for the first time…

He wanted to reach it.

Even if he didn't know what waited on the other side.

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