Earlier that morning.

Ren and Lena had arrived at an isolated waterfall. Due to Ren’s identity, they chose to ignore the popular training hotspots.

After reaching the familiar river, Lena dropped her bag and inhaled a deep puff of fresh air.

“We’re here!”

Ren removed his hood and wiped the sweat on his forehead. The morning sunlight was unforgiving as it singed his exposed skin. He wondered how worse it would get in the afternoon.

“Phew. What should I do next?” Ren asked.

Lena smiled and answered.

“Rest, of course. You just completed an hour-long hike. After the rest, I’ll begin with the basics. We’ll take short steps in the right direction!” Towards the end, she enthusiastically placed a mat on the grass. Her attitude indicated that she treated this journey like a picnic.

Ren curbed his urge to curse. Taking short steps… Indeed, he’d be taking short steps straight into the Netherworld!!

“Sis Lena, I cannot waste any more time. I need to learn energy manipulation in one week at most!” Ren grumbled.

He only had a month! To succeed in the trial, he couldn’t depend on just manipulating energy. That was barely scratching the surface of his needs!

Finding a partner and improving his combat potential... He had to look beyond the entry requirement and prepare for the inevitable challenges in the trial.

Lena saw the frustration on Ren’s face. She hesitated and pondered.

“How much are you willing to sacrifice for strength?” She asked.

“Everything! I don’t care about food, water or sleep! I only want to learn Energy Manipulation!” His instant reply startled Lena.

“…Are you serious? Will you backtrack on your decision?”

“No! I can't be more serious!” Ren's eyes blazed with resolve.

Staring at those eyes, Lena felt her inner composure crumble. She hesitated before her expression turned grave.

“Fine! I’ll help you. But, this training will be the hardest course of your life. I won’t show any mercy. Even if you die from exhaustion, I will not help you! I will not hear your complaints! Are you sure you wish to proceed?” She asked for the second time, only to receive Ren’s acknowledgment.

“Yes!”

“Fine. Before we begin, I'll give you a brief explanation of what this course will cover. Natural Energy or Qi is abounding in our environment. We, as Practitioners of the Martial Way, absorb this energy into our bodies. After absorption, it improves a practitioner’s physique and turns into Physical Energy or Tai, which can be used for Physical Arts. Controlling Tai can be difficult but-”

“No, not Tai! The residue Natural Energy in my meridians. I want to learn how to control it.” Ren replied.

“Eh?" Lena took a couple of moments to register Ren's request. After regaining her composure, she frowned.

"That’s, um, complicated. Why are you even interested in this little energy? Mm..." Ren didn't dare to disturb her contemplation.

“I think it should work.” In the end, she nodded. She extended three fingers and continued.

“I will split your lesson into 3 different topics. One, gathering Natural Energy to a specific point of your body. Two, using Natural Energy to generate useful force. And three, controlling and maintaining this generated force for a longer duration.”

“These three topics will constitute your course. Is this fine with you?"

Ren vigorously nodded.

"Do you see that red tree?” She pointed at a tall broad-leaved tree. Ren easily recognized the tree due to its crimson red leaves. Within the border of the forest, it stuck out like a sore thumb. However, its branches were higher than normal.

“That is a special tree. It’s not supposed to live here but it has been blessed by the Divine Guardian. That is why we’ll use it for your training. Your task is to climb that tree and snatch two leaves from it. Note that you can’t use your hands while climbing.”

She guided him to the flowing river and continued.

“Then place those two leaves on the river and balance yourself on them. Follow the flow of the river and…” Pointing at the edge of the river, she calmly added.

“…survive the waterfall.”

Ren gulped. The difficulty had escalated exponentially without any warning.

“Also…”

‘It’s not over!?’ Ren inwardly cursed his big mouth. Lena indifferently continued.

“…when you land below, you must float on the leaves. If you fail, you’ll have to climb the cliff and start over from the beginning. At the bottom of the cliff, you can see a red sword mark. Climb directly above it and do not deviate from that path!”

As if not seeing Ren’s expression of agony, Lena added another layer of difficulty.

“You’re not allowed back into the cottage until you finish this course. For food, eat these pills.” She took out a bottle of pills and tossed it to Ren. Opening the bottle, Ren saw many black nail-sized pills.

“They’re very bitter but they’ll satiate your hunger and energy requirements. As for water, you must depend on the river. It’s not the best option but this was your choice! Good luck!”

After the explanation, Lena took a U-turn in her attitude towards Ren. She ignored him and relaxed on her mat. Grabbing a book, she dwelled into her own world.

Ren had already begun to regret his decision. He had spoken in a flamboyant manner, and it backfired. Now, he had no option but to stick with his word. At the same time, he created a mental note to think carefully before shooting stupid remarks.

He approached the tree and examined it in detail. The lowest red leaf stood at a height of 4 meters from the ground. Without climbing, it would be impossible for him to grab them.

He formulated a plan and gathered his energy towards his leg. Jumping at the tree, he stepped on it, hoping to improve his momentum in the upward direction. He had seen Azen execute this maneuver with the dark clouds and felt like he'd ace it as well.

Ren’s leg touched the tree and he released the gathered energy. A new force struck the tree. However, he could have never predicted the result.

Crash!

The rebound force pushed his leg back, creating a rotational torque that propelled his head forward. The inevitable crash occurred with his head slamming on the hard bark of the tree.

Thud! Enjoying his plight, gravity tugged at him, and he collapsed on his back.

Standing, Ren rubbed his hurt face. He glanced at his hand and noticed a trace of blood. He sighed, beginning to appreciate the difficulty of his task.

A few minutes later.

A bloodied Ren ran towards the tree. Jumping, he kicked the tree. Upon contact, he released the stored energy on his leg. The rebound from the tree sent him into the air.

Delirious with joy, he extended his hands into the air. The red leaf seductively posed for Ren, teasing him to take it.

His finger barely touched the leaf, before he fell down.

Thud! He landed on his legs.

He looked at the leaf and gritted his teeth. Unfortunately, his elevation wasn’t enough. Ren frowned and deliberated over his attempt.

‘The angle isn’t good enough. I should improve the angle or attempt two jumps. Hmm… I'll try both methods.’

Another hour had passed. Fortunately for Ren, he rarely collapsed on his back. He had learned to land on his legs, sparing himself from innumerable injuries. Nevertheless, his legs had started growing numb after the consecutive jumps. If they could speak, they would have filed a petition with God to change their owner.

After many attempts, Ren realized that he needed two jumps. One jumped failed to meet the target. It was barely enough to take him to the lowest leaf. Considering the difficulty of the rest of this course, he needed a stable supply of leaves.

Thus, he spent an hour working on double jumps. However, he realized that double jumps were an altogether different beast to conquer. His first contact with the tree always pushed him away, and he couldn't make the second contact.

After innumerable attempts, he brushed across the formula for success. To perfect the formula, he suffered through even more attempts.

He dashed towards the tree and jumped on its bark. Controlling his energy, he split it into two forces. He spent the first portion on generating an upward thrust. However, this maneuver produced a rebound force, pushing him away from the tree.

To offset this force, he utilized the second portion of energy as an attractive force, maintaining his horizontal distance with the tree.

With a successful first touch, his second leg touched the bark of the tree. This time, he concentrated all his qi on the upward thrust.

He flew into a plethora of red leaves. To Ren, it felt like he had graced upon heaven. Extending his hands, he grabbed two random leaves.

Gravity called and Ren panicked. His hands slipped through the leaves. He returned to the ground, reaping nothing for his hard work.

Thud! Ren opened his palm and stared at the whites of his palms. Riddled with blood and dirt, it lacked a red leaf. He dumbfoundedly glanced at the leaves above his head.

‘Why did it slip from my hands?’

Ren hid his anger and thought back to the moment he grabbed the leaves.

‘It’s slippery… Ugh, This… Damn it!’ Furious, he punched the tree, accumulating another wound in the process.

Ren sat and thought of his next plan, waving his injured arm in the process.

After missing a couple of times, Ren changed his approach. Instead of aiming for a leaf, he decided to grab a branch. He dashed at the tree, double jumped, and grabbed a branch. Fortunately, the branch wasn’t slippery.

With one hand holding a branch, he tugged on a leaf. His hand slipped through the leaf, confirming his doubts.

Frowning, he tugged at the petiole supporting the leaf.

‘What! It’s not coming out?! Just how strong is this stupid twig?’ Despite using all his strength, the petiole did not relent. It held onto the branch, outrightly rejecting Ren's invitation to elope.

The leaf's insistence forced Ren to use his qi. Gathering the little amount of qi he still possessed throughout his body, he pulled the petiole. Ren's eyes lit up in joy. The leaf saw through his determination and accepted his invitation, finally leaving the tree.

“Aargh!” Before he could relax, a bunch of thorns extended out of the branch. They drilled into Ren's palm. Without hesitation, he abandoned the branch and dropped onto the ground.

Watching his bleeding palm, Ren hurried to the river and washed it. Despite rinsing it a couple of times, his left hand had grown numb.

Ren frowned at this phenomenon. He stared at his bloodied reflection and sighed. He even wondered if he could ever finish this grueling course.

Frustration kicked in and the thought of quitting hammered his mind.

In the end, he thought of Azen, the one-month deadline and his unknown past.

‘I’m pathetic. I rejoiced over Azen’s failure… Yet, I have done nothing to bring myself any closer to success. Now, at the smallest sign of difficulty, I'm considering retreat.’ Ignoring the pain, he clenched his fist.

‘No! I cannot stop here. I’m weak, and Azen is too strong. If I depend on regular means, I can never catch up to his fading back! If I forfeit here, it will only demonstrate that I’m unworthy of this second life… unworthy of learning my past…’

‘In this life, I have only been a burden, an unnecessary soul that has achieved nothing. This is my last chance. I must complete this course. If I can’t complete it, then I’m better off dead.’

Ren's eyes rekindled with the flames of determination. He returned to the tree and continued his painful training.