The training yard was open when Han Yue asked watch coach Lata to lead a class for former initiates and any residents who wanted to attend. Several had said the supervised-study rule still favored people who could afford private teachers. Han wanted the first lesson to cost nothing and require no enlistment.
Lata listened to the request, then looked over the yard. “The class is open to residents. No oath, no watch duty and no promise of advancement. If they come to learn balance, that is what they get.”
Han nodded. “That is what I want.”
Lata set a water bucket at one end of the yard and showed the group how to lift it with a steady stance. The lesson began with feet, hips and shoulders in line. She demonstrated how to carry the water across the yard without spilling. The method was ordinary guard training, not a forbidden art or cultivation shortcut.
A young cultivator asked if the bucket exercise would help open his channels. Lata said it would help him notice how he carried weight, but she would not promise a change in realm. “If you want strength, we can build it. If you want an opened core, this is not that.”
