Aru returned to the east road before noon to retrieve the training manual he had left with market carrier Sen while saying goodbye to his sister. The cart was waiting beside a low wall. Sen had tied the bags down, leaving a space near the driver’s seat for the book.
Aru carried the manual Lata had given him. “I want to ask something before I go.”
Yan stood with Bai near the route board. “Ask.”
“Why doesn’t White Orchard teach Blood Ignition to everyone? You can use it. The full version exists. If the only problem is a missing line, why not show people the whole thing?”
Yan took a breath before answering. “The System changes my personal cost. It does not protect another body. The complete art still carries real risk for ordinary practitioners. Knowing the whole text is not the same as being able to survive it.”
Aru looked down at the manual. “I thought there might be a way to become that strong without waiting years.”
His family had set aside a small sum for cultivation lessons, but the teachers he knew required expensive ingredients. The red sheet had seemed different because it promised a surge from breath alone. Yan asked what Aru wanted from training if he set aside the quick gain. Aru said he wanted to carry his share of the harvest and defend his family if trouble came. He did not need to become a legend; he wanted not to be the weakest person…
