The shock of the awakening ceremony still clung to Li Tian as he followed Aaron back through the village. The stares and whispers from the villagers echoed in his ears, but his mind was too busy processing what had just happened. He had awakened a martial spirit so powerful that even the Spirit Hall representative had been left speechless.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion. The name stuck with him, repeating over and over like a mantra. He didn't know much about this world yet, but he could tell by the way everyone had reacted that he was no longer just a regular kid.
Aaron, who had been more talkative before the ceremony, now walked beside him in silence. The usual excitement in his eyes had been replaced with something else—admiration, maybe, or even a hint of fear.
"You alright?" Aaron finally asked, breaking the silence.
Li Tian nodded, though he wasn't sure if he was alright. Everything felt so strange. He had woken up in a new world with a new body, and now he had this... incredible power that he didn't understand. His memories from his past life were fading, but his sense of confusion wasn't. How was he supposed to live with this?
"You're not saying much," Aaron continued. "I get it, though. That lion... that was something else. I mean, I only got this Wind Serpent, and it's decent, but nothing compared to what you just showed."
Li Tian glanced at Aaron. The Wind Serpent spirit wasn't anything to scoff at—he knew that from the fragments of memories he had of this world. Aaron's serpent spirit gave him speed and agility, two things that could be deadly in the right hands. But Li Tian could tell Aaron felt the weight of comparison.
He stopped walking and turned to face Aaron. "It's not about whose spirit is stronger," Li Tian said, his voice more certain than he felt. "I don't even know what to do with mine yet. I don't know anything about this world."
Aaron tilted his head. "You're probably right. But still, people are gonna expect a lot from you now. You heard what the Spirit Hall guy said—your martial spirit is legendary. People are gonna notice that."
That thought sank in for Li Tian. He could feel the pressure already. The eyes of the villagers, the whispers... they all saw him as something special now. But deep down, he still felt like an ordinary person trapped in a world he didn't understand.
"What do I do next?" Li Tian muttered, mostly to himself.
Aaron shrugged. "Well, we train. We get stronger. We go to Spirit Academy now, remember? The Spirit Hall representative said you're going to need formal training if you want to control that kind of power. You can't just sit around and wait."
Li Tian had almost forgotten. The academy. Every child who awakened a powerful martial spirit would be sent to a special school to learn how to cultivate their abilities. The Spirit Academy was where people became stronger—where spirit masters were made. He had to go. It was his only option if he wanted to figure out how to live in this world, how to control the overwhelming force that had awakened within him.
A spark of determination lit inside him. Maybe he didn't fully understand his power yet, but he couldn't run from it. He needed to embrace it, figure it out, and learn to use it—not just for himself, but for whatever awaited him in this world.
"Yeah, you're right," Li Tian said, looking up at Aaron. "We train. We get stronger."
Aaron grinned. "Now that's what I like to hear."
The weight of uncertainty still hung over Li Tian, but he could feel the first flicker of confidence growing inside him. He wasn't sure what this new life would bring, but he knew one thing: he wouldn't back down.
Tomorrow, they would leave for the Spirit Academy. And whatever challenges came their way, Li Tian would face them head-on, because with a power like the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, there was no turning back.
That night, as Li Tian lay in bed, the events of the day played through his mind again. The golden lion, its roar shaking the village, the awe in the eyes of the villagers. He touched his forehead, where the third eye had appeared during his awakening, and wondered just how much more there was to this power.
But as his eyes closed and sleep began to take him, one thing remained clear: this was only the beginning of his journey. The path ahead was unknown, but it was his to walk, and no matter what, he would find out exactly what his new life—and his martial spirit—were truly capable of.