"I need to learn it—how to fly, don't I?" Andrew said.
"I don't expect you to bring the Hincum from the edge."
The man chuckled, and chuckled... until he burst into laughter.
"Ki," the man said.
"Ki—harnessing and controlling Ki—is what you seek. For I neither fly nor do tricks. I just use Ki, the essence of my mind. This release state allows me to be less dense than air, causing me to float," he said.
Andrew was stunned by the mention of Ki.
Mana he knew, but Ki he knew not. For at that time, Ki was a foreign concept to Bright Field, emerging from the Xiéyǐn (Shyeh-yeen) continent. The Edge Walkers were religious practitioners native to the continent.
"You're familiar with mana? So am I. For you see, I am a godblood—I can manipulate mana. But where I come from, Xiéyǐn, we prefer not to acknowledge mana, for such preaching is rooted in hate, envy, and wickedness," the man said.
"So impolite of me—I am Andrew Hunker. And you are?"
"Fēng Yuán. I am Fēng Yuán," said the man.
"Master Fēng Yuán, teach me Ki.
Punish me when I make mistakes.
Correct me when I stray.
Infuse discipline in me," said Andrew.
"Prepare? For time, we have none. I see your mother is on her last breath. Usually, it takes months to learn Ki, but you will do yours in a day."
"A day? But how? You yourself said it takes a month!" Andrew barked.
"SILENCE!" shouted Fēng Yuán.
"I SENSE IT. THE WIND HAS CHOSEN YOU, NOT ME. LISTEN—YOU WILL HEAR THEIR WORDS, NOT MINE."
Andrew was in awe—he heard it.
The wind.
The wind spoke.
---
The sound of water gushed from the waterfall. Leaves rustled everywhere. A strong breeze filled the air. That was the situation of the surroundings Master Fēng Yuán brought Andrew to—to train him in the Way of the Wind.
" 'Fēng Dào'—The Wind Way. This is the religion we Edge Walkers practice. I will train you in the tenets of our faith, so you can free your wind—harness your mind's essence," said Fēng Yuán.
"Before we start: like the wind, true strength is silent, unseen, and everywhere. You need not be brute to be strong. A snake can take down a tiger—if it isn't seen."
---
TENET 1:
Be Weightless in Spirit.
"Andrew, you must let go of hatred, ego, and vengeance—they anchor you to the surface," said Fēng Yuán. "You must be weightless in essence."
"All this is strange to me... I don't truly understand," Andrew said.
TICH
The sound of Master Fēng Yuán's staff struck Andrew's back.
"Owh!" Andrew reacted, his hand behind his back, motioning in pain.
"Do you hate me?" said Fēng Yuán.
He struck Andrew again.
Andrew dropped to his knees after the second hit, his face grim with pain, veins bulging.
"Do you hate me for hitting you?" Master Fēng Yuán barked.
Again.
And again.
He struck Andrew.
Each time followed with:
"Do you hate me?"
"Do you wish to hit me—to seek vengeance?"
Andrew burst in anger and tried to strike back, but with a single gesture of his hand, Fēng Yuán flipped him over.
His back slammed against the hard rocks of the waterfall.
Immense pain flooded his body.
"If you can't be free of hatred, you can never master Ki.
Your mother will be gone."
"One more chance. One last chance. I swear to God, I will not disappoint," Andrew said.
Again and again, Master Fēng Yuán struck Andrew with his staff.
But Andrew relaxed. Words echoed in his mind:
I don't hate him for hitting me.
I don't hate the Church for refusing my request.
I don't hate the non-godbloods.
I don't hate myself for being weak.
Vengeance I seek not.
I do not anchor to the earth.
Andrew started floating—his body rising above the ground.
He had completed the first tenet.
---
TENET 2:
Be Still to Hear.
"Andrew, the Wind speaks in silence. Move with mindfulness," said Fēng Yuán.
"You see this path? The one that leads past the waterfall?
You will walk it—slowly—learn how to be mindful of every step, so that you may hear the Wind. See this as meditation.
When you return, you will tell me what the Wind said."
Andrew nodded—half understanding.
"But how will you know what the Wind told me?" he asked.
"I will meditate at this spot. The Wind speaks to everyone," Fēng Yuán said.
With a steady breath, Andrew followed the path.
Eyes closed.
Body relaxed.
Stance free.
He walked in meditation.
Became one with the Wind.
But at the end—he heard nothing.
He returned and told Fēng Yuán.
"Go back and try again," Master Fēng Yuán said.
Again Andrew walked the path.
Again he heard nothing.
"I followed the path, meditated, walked slowly—but the Wind speaketh not," Andrew said.
"Go back and try again," Fēng Yuán said.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Each time—nothing.
Until Andrew's nerves burst.
"More than thirty times, I've walked this path—slowly—making the journey long and difficult. But at the end, I hear nothing!"
"It seems you learned nothing from Tenet One. Let go of anger—that's why you didn't hear the Wind."
Andrew repeated the same task—thirty more times.
But this time was different.
He wasn't angry.
He was calm.
Joyful.
He enjoyed the walk.
He saw it as penance for his earlier frustration.
Near the end of the path—he heard something.
He stopped.
Mind focused.
Ears rested.
Stance relaxed.
"Flow."
He heard—"Flow."
"Master Fēng Yuán! I heard something!
'Flow!' The Wind wants us to flow!"
"Good, young lad. To Tenet Three we go."
---
TENET 3:
Be as Water on the Wind.
"Adapt. Flow. Do not resist the current unless you must."
"This session—no training. The lesson will be applied in the final tenet.
A word of wisdom: when your body grows accustomed to being less dense, imagine your body as water.
Flow with the Wind's direction.
Sense it. Feel it," said Fēng Yuán.
---
TENET 4:
Respect the Edge.
"Andrew, the edge is not a border—it is a beginning. Value the edge. Don't fear it.
See it as the start of the world.
See it as your home."
"On my back," said Fēng Yuán.
"We're going to the edge, to complete your training.
After that, you'll pick the Hincum and take it to your mother."
Andrew climbed onto his back.
They soared across the sky.
He looked down and saw Bright Field from a bird's-eye view—beautiful.
The green grasslands.
The rocky mountains.
The erupting volcano.
The birds.
He saw his home.
His mother inside, awaiting his return.
The edge of the world—where people dare not go.
Due to gravitational principles, gravity there is weakest.
Without it, one can't walk or balance—they fall from the edge.
Andrew was afraid.
He had never seen the edge.
He saw it:
The World Tree.
The gigantic wall Ostina built to keep out non-godbloods.
"Are you ready, lad?
You will jump. Practice what you've learned.
Remember Tenet Three: Be like water. Fluid. Flow with the current of the Wind—not against it," said Fēng Yuán.
Gathering all his confidence, Andrew jumped.
Stance relaxed.
Mind sharpened.
Tapping into his mental essence—he did it.
He was floating.
Still trying to gain balance—but he did it.
He became an Edge Walker.
He saw plants.
Blue stems.
Red flowers.
He sensed it—the Hincum.
While floating, he picked the plant.
With Fēng Yuán, they flew to Bright Field.
---
The green grasslands.
The perfumed atmosphere.
It was Bright Field.
They landed.
Andrew rushed to his mother.
But as fate would have it—this was not his time to celebrate.
His mother had taken her last breath.
Her cold, lifeless body lay still on the bed.
Andrew cried at the edge of the room.
He felt disappointment.
After everything—he still couldn't save her.
His face became a waterfall—tears rained down.
Fēng Yuán comforted him.
---
Years later, Andrew Hunker and Fēng Yuán traveled across Bright Field—spreading the Wind Way.
They established Wind Temples, bridged peace between godbloods and non-godbloods, and nurtured harmony.
During one training session, a young lad brought his sick mother to them.
She suffered a sickness like Andrew's late mother.
Andrew was stunned seeing her in that condition.
He brought out the Hincum he picked years ago—still fresh like an eternal flower.
He used it to make a herbal medicine.
Gave it to the woman.
But it didn't work.
She died.
A deep realization dawned on Andrew:
No matter what he had done—he wouldn't have saved his mother.
That truth freed him from the burden he had cried over for years.
He stopped blaming himself.
That peace made him a better Edge Walker.
When Fēng Yuán took his last breath, Andrew Hunker changed his name to Fēng Yuán—to immortalize his master.
From that day forward, Fēng Yuán was remembered as the first and greatest Edge Walker in Bright Field.