The courtyard had long returned to silence, but the air still carried a faint trace of distortion—like the echo of something that had briefly existed and then vanished.
Jiang Chen stood at the center, unmoving.
His eyes were closed.
"…You're thinking too hard," Han Wei said lazily from the side, though his gaze remained fixed on him.
Zhou Yan didn't agree. "…No. He's refining."
Lin Xue watched quietly. "…He's trying to recreate it."
Jiang Chen exhaled slowly.
They were right.
He wasn't trying to force a breakthrough.
He was trying to understand it.
The moment from earlier replayed in his mind.
The threads.
The connection.
The distortion.
It wasn't power…
It was alignment.
Jiang Chen opened his eyes.
"…Again," he said.
Chen Yu sighed. "You've been saying that for an hour."
"And I'll keep saying it," Jiang Chen replied calmly.
This time, he didn't raise his hand immediately.
Instead—
He stepped forward.
Slow.
Measured.
"…Not from the outside," he murmured.
"…From within."
Zhou Yan's gaze sharpened slightly.
"…Good."
Jiang Chen closed his eyes again.
But this time—
He didn't search for the threads.
He became aware of himself first.
His breathing.
His heartbeat.
The flow of qi through his meridians.
Then—
Beneath it—
The faint presence of Origin.
The thread appeared.
Calmer than before.
More stable.
Jiang Chen didn't move it.
Didn't extend it.
He let it exist.
Seconds passed.
Then—
He took a step.
The thread didn't follow.
But something else did.
A faint ripple spread outward from his body.
Subtle.
Barely visible.
Zhou Yan's eyes narrowed. "…There it is again."
Lin Xue nodded. "…It's more stable this time."
Han Wei straightened slightly. "Yeah… I can feel it now."
Chen Yu frowned. "…Feel what?"
"…Pressure," Han Wei replied. "…Not heavy, but… different."
Jiang Chen continued walking.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Each step—
A ripple.
Each breath—
A shift.
The space around him began to change.
Not visibly.
But perceptibly.
The air felt denser.
Sharper.
Jiang Chen stopped.
"…Not enough," he said quietly.
He raised his hand.
Golden qi gathered.
Then—
The Origin Thread appeared.
This time—
He didn't separate them.
He let them coexist.
The qi flowed outward.
The thread remained within.
Then—
He aligned them.
A faint distortion spread outward again.
Stronger than before.
Zhou Yan stepped back slightly.
"…He's increasing the range."
Lin Xue's eyes focused. "…But it's still unstable."
Jiang Chen felt it.
The strain.
The resistance.
The threads around him—
Reacting.
But not obeying.
"…Not control," he murmured.
"…Influence."
He adjusted.
Instead of forcing the space to bend—
He matched it.
The distortion steadied.
For a brief moment—
The space within a few meters of him felt… unified.
As if everything inside it—
Was connected.
Jiang Chen opened his eyes.
The world looked the same.
But it felt different.
Clearer.
Slower.
More defined.
He moved.
A simple step forward—
But this time—
It was smoother.
More precise.
As if the space itself—
Was no longer resisting him.
Han Wei's grin widened. "…Okay, that's new."
Chen Yu blinked. "…He looks faster."
"…Not faster," Zhou Yan corrected.
"…More efficient."
Jiang Chen clenched his fist.
The distortion trembled.
Then—
Collapsed.
He exhaled sharply, stepping back slightly.
"…Still unstable."
Lin Xue stepped forward. "…But you held it longer."
Zhou Yan nodded. "…And with less backlash."
Han Wei crossed his arms. "…So what do we call that? Half a domain?"
"…Not even close," Zhou Yan said.
Jiang Chen shook his head.
"…It's a foundation."
He looked at his hand again.
"…If I can maintain that state…"
"…Then every movement inside it becomes more effective."
Chen Yu grinned. "…So basically, your own territory?"
"…Something like that," Jiang Chen replied.
The system flickered faintly:
[Domain Comprehension Increased]
[Current State: Pseudo-Domain (Incomplete)]
[Stability: Low → Improving]
Jiang Chen closed his hand slowly.
"…I'm getting closer."
Zhou Yan studied him carefully. "…Don't rush the next step."
"I won't," Jiang Chen said.
But his eyes—
Said otherwise.
Far away, in the shadows, a figure observed in silence.
"…He hasn't completed it yet."
Another voice responded.
"…Good."
A pause.
"…Let him grow."
"…Why?"
"…Because incomplete power… is easier to break."
Back in the courtyard, Jiang Chen stood still once more.
The faint memory of that "state" lingered in his mind.
For a brief moment—
He had touched something beyond technique.
"…Next time," he said quietly,
"…I'll hold it longer."
And with that—
The training continued.