The spring rippled softly beneath the moonlight.

  Then the wind changed.

  It came down from the high cliffs of Five Elements Mountain, cold and sharp, carrying with it the faint scent of stone and metal. The mist above the pool thickened.

  Li Wei’s eyes opened.

  Across the water, Feng stirred uneasily, his brows knitting together as if he were hearing something far away.

  “Did you feel that?” Feng murmured.

  Li Wei nodded slowly.

  “The mountain is waking.”

  Above them, the sky shifted.

  At first it was subtle — a single star brightening on the western horizon.

  Then another.

  And another.

  The constellations slowly revealed themselves like ancient lanterns being lit one by one.

  Twenty-eight stars flickered faintly across the western sky, forming an old celestial pattern recorded in ancient charts — the domain of the White Tiger.

  Lin Fan looked up, eyes wide.

  “Are – stars supposed to appear like that?”

  No one answered.

  Because at that moment, the mist over the spring began to move.

  It curled inward, folding upon itself like drifting silk.

  Then something stepped out of it.

  A silhouette.

  Large.

  Feline.

  For a brief heartbeat, no one moved.

  The figure walked across the surface of the spring as if the water were solid stone. Moonlight caught its outline — powerful shoulders, a long tail, and faint stripes that shimmered like polished steel.

  It was a tiger.

  But not flesh.

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  The creature was made of swirling mist and condensed qi, its body half-formed from the metallic energy saturating the mountain.

  Its eyes glowed silver.

  Feng’s breath caught.

  The metal qi within his meridians suddenly surged violently.

  It was as if something inside him recognized the presence of the apparition.

  The tiger stopped.

  Its gaze fell directly on him.

  The pressure in the air sharpened like a blade drawn across a whetstone.

  Li Wei instinctively took a step back.

  Ru Yan, still soaking quietly in the spring, opened one eye and watched with calm curiosity.

  “Relax,” she said lazily. “It’s not a beast.”

  Li Wei frowned. “Then what is it?”

  Ru Yan dipped her hand into the water, letting ripples spread across the surface.

  “Accumulated elemental qi,” she replied. “Five Elements Mountain has been gathering power for centuries. Sometimes that power – forms shapes.”

  As if agreeing with her explanation, the tiger’s body flickered slightly.

  Its edges blurred like mist in the wind.

  Yet the presence it carried was unmistakable.

  Ancient.

  Sharp.

  Pure Metal.

  The tiger took another step forward.

  The water beneath its paws rang faintly — a clear metallic tone.

  Feng felt his heartbeat accelerate.

  Something deep in his dantian resonated violently.

  The tiger lowered its head slightly.

  Not a bow.

  Not submission.

  Recognition.

  High above them, the twenty-eight stars of the western sky burned brighter.

  The air vibrated.

  Then the tiger roared.

  It was not a sound carried through the air.

  It echoed directly through their bodies.

  A roar of pure Metal qi.

  The spring exploded into ripples.

  Feng staggered as the force rushed through him. His meridians trembled, his injured channels suddenly burning as if molten steel had been poured into them.

  “Feng!” Li Wei shouted.

  But Feng barely heard him.

  The tiger’s body dissolved into streaks of silver light.

  Then it rushed forward.

  Straight into Feng.

  The moment the energy struck him, Feng collapsed to one knee.

  His entire body shook.

  Metal qi surged wildly through his meridians, tearing through blockages that had lingered since their previous battles.

  For a terrifying moment, Li Wei thought Feng’s body might explode.

  Then the energy stabilized.

  The silver light sank into Feng’s dantian.

  Silence returned.

  The stars above slowly dimmed.

  The mist over the spring thinned once more.

  Feng remained kneeling, breathing heavily.

  “What just happened?” Li Wei whispered.

  Ru Yan leaned against a smooth rock at the edge of the spring, completely relaxed.

  “You were chosen,” she said casually.

  Feng looked up, still dazed.

  “Chosen?”

  She shrugged.

  “The mountain has a lot of Metal qi. You have a strong affinity for it.”

  Her eyes flicked toward the sky.

  “When too much elemental qi gathers in one place, it sometimes manifests as a phenomenon.”

  Li Wei exhaled slowly.

  “So that tiger – ”

  “Wasn’t alive,” Ru Yan finished. “Just qi.”

  Feng slowly stood up.

  His body felt different.

  Lighter.

  Sharper.

  He flexed his fingers.

  For a moment, faint threads of metallic light flickered around his hand before fading.

  “I think my meridians just got forcefully repaired,” he said.

  Li Wei stared at him.

  “That sounds incredibly dangerous.”

  “It was.”

  Ru Yan yawned.

  “But also very efficient.”

  Li Wei looked from Feng to the sky and back again.

  “So, does that mean the mountain is going to start throwing animals at us now?”

  Feng rubbed his temples.

  “I sincerely hope not.”

  Behind them, the spring rippled again.

  Very softly.

  No one noticed.

  But deep beneath the water, the currents shifted.

  Far within Five Elements Mountain, other elemental qi began to stir.

  Something ancient was responding.

  The mountain had awakened.

  And it had only just begun.

  But Five Elements Mountain holds more than one element.

  If Metal has answered… what do you think the other elements might become?

  Let’s see what happens next in Chapter 24 — Eat. Drink. Bathe. III.