Year-end assessment (II)

After the first round of running, only thirty had passed. Almost all of them lay collapsed at the edge of the field, their faces white as paper. A few vomited so violently they were close to bringing up bile.

Tetsu Uchiha's voice was like frozen stone, without much warmth.

"Second round: chakra control test."

He turned sideways and pointed toward the eastern end of the training ground.

At some point, a pool had been set up there. It was small, and the water was quite clear. A dozen or so wooden boards floated on it, each only a palm's width across and about half a foot long, thin enough to bob with the ripples.

"See those?" Tetsu Uchiha said. "Step on the floating boards and cross from this side to the other. Ten boards. You can't tip a single one over, and you can't fall in. If you fall or a board flips, you fail."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the children who had just run thirty laps and were still swaying on their feet, then added, "You can attach chakra to the soles of your feet to help, but don't think about using chakra to push the boards along directly-I've tampered with their undersides. They'll fall apart if chakra touches them. Do it properly. Rely on your control."

A low ripple of sharp intakes of breath passed through the crowd.

Stepping on floating boards sounded simple. But the boards were thin and small, floating on water; one slight wobble underfoot could send you tumbling. And they had just finished running with weights. Their legs were still weak, they could barely stand steady, and now they had to divide their attention to control chakra too?

"In reverse order of your rankings from the last round," Tetsu Uchiha said. "Twenty-ninth place, Uchiha Yutian. Get ready."

Yutian's heart lurched.

He had only just caught his breath, and now he had been called up first. His mind was still a little muddled. Everyone's eyes swept toward him at once. Some looked ready to enjoy a show, some were sympathetic, but most were sizing him up with an air of, "You go first, so we can see how hard it is."

He drew a deep breath and slowly made his way to the pool, dragging his still-trembling legs.

The water was clear enough to see the pebbles lining the bottom. Ten boards floated on the surface, spaced far enough apart that he would have to stride between them. The boards were thin, swaying gently whenever the water rippled.

Yutian crouched and dipped his hand into the water.

Ice-cold.

He steadied himself, closed his eyes, and went over the "clumsy method" Yinglang had taught him. Don't think about controlling it. Just imagine you've grown another pair of feet, and the chakra is the padding beneath them. It has to be steady, has to be solid.

He stood up, lifted a foot, and stepped onto the first board.

The board plunged, and water surged up, soaking half his trouser leg. He hurried to steady his center of gravity, not daring to lift his other foot for a long time-his legs were still weak and shaking uncontrollably.

"Hurry up," Tetsu Uchiha urged from beside him.

Yutian gritted his teeth and shifted his other foot onto it too. Standing on that tiny, wobbling board, he looked like a reed in the wind. He forced himself not to look at the shifting water beneath him, staring only at the second board ahead as he slowly adjusted his breathing and "pushed" chakra out through his soles, spreading it evenly over the board.

The board wobbled a little less.

He tried shifting forward a small step, lifted his foot, and reached for the second board.

The instant his foot landed, he failed to regulate his chakra output and gave it a little too much force.

Splash.

The second board tipped sharply under his foot, throwing him off balance along with it. He toppled backward, his hands grabbing wildly at the air twice, but he still failed to steady himself and crashed into the pool with a splash.

Water flew high into the air.

The edge of the field fell silent for an instant, then erupted with laughter that could no longer be held back.

"I told you! What can you expect from a servant's son?"

"He can't even stand steady on a board, and he's supposed to be elite!"

"Hurry up and crawl back to the stables to tend the horses!"

The taunts came without mercy. Yutian stood up in the waist-deep water, soaked through, his hair plastered to his face. Icy water poured down his neck into his clothes, making him shudder.

He wiped his face without looking at anyone and silently climbed onto the bank. Water streamed off him, forming a small puddle at his feet.

"Failed." Tetsu Uchiha made a mark on the roster, his voice flat. "Next. Twenty-eighth place."

Yutian walked to the edge of the field, found a corner to stand in, and wrung the water from his clothes. His fingers were red with cold and trembling slightly. But he paid them no attention, only staring at the bobbing boards in the pool and replaying the sensation of stepping onto them over and over in his mind-what had gone wrong? His center of gravity? Or had he released his chakra too abruptly?

Worried that Yutian would be too dejected, Yinglang used Sound-to-Thread to tell him, "They're mocking you because they're afraid you'll surpass them."

One child after another went up to try.

Most failed. Some tipped the first board over as soon as they stepped on it, while others fell at the third or fourth. Anyone who made it halfway was already doing well. Splashes, startled cries, and the sound of spraying water never stopped in the pool, while laughter, sighs, and buzzing discussion continued along the edge of the field.

When it was the thirteenth-place finisher's turn, Uchiha Yinglang went up.

He walked to the pool but did not hurry onto it. First, he crouched to examine the floating boards, then reached out to feel the edge of one, as though checking its thickness. Then he stood, brushed the dust from his hands, lifted a foot, and stepped onto the first board.

His movements were not fast, even a little leisurely, but steady.

The board dipped gently, wobbled, and steadied.

He waited two breaths, until the board had stopped moving entirely, before taking his second step onto the next one. He maintained that same unhurried rhythm, his chakra control extremely steady. The board barely wobbled at all.

The third step, the fourth...

He did not move quickly, but every step landed firmly. The boards behaved obediently beneath his feet, and even the ripples seemed gentle. At the seventh board, his foot seemed to slip. His body swayed, and the board tilted sharply-a few low gasps came from the edge of the field.

But he quickly steadied himself, sweeping one hand through the air as though finding his balance, then continued forward.

He crossed the final three boards with particular care, moving as slowly as a crawling snail. But in the end, step by steady step, he reached the opposite bank.

The moment his foot touched solid ground, he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. He raised a hand to wipe nonexistent sweat from his forehead, then turned and smiled toward the starting side, looking a little embarrassed.

"Passed." Tetsu Uchiha glanced at him and placed a check on the roster.

A few scattered, unenthusiastic claps came from the edge of the field. Yinglang's performance had not been dazzling, but it had been steady. For a five-year-old child, it was already quite good.

Several of the next children fell in, one splash after another.

When it was the tenth-place finisher's turn, Kagami Uchiha went up.

He did not look at the pool or warm up. He merely drew a light breath, then lifted his foot and stepped onto a floating board.

His movements were fluid and natural, as though he were walking on level ground.

The boards barely wobbled beneath his feet, and the water gently spread outward in a faint ring of ripples. He took one step after another at an even pace, his posture relaxed, almost as though strolling through a quiet courtyard. His chakra control was exquisite. A little more would tip the board; a little less would leave it unstable. Yet he applied just the right amount.

He crossed all ten boards in less than half the time the others had taken.

Stepping onto the opposite bank, he turned, his gaze sweeping indifferently over those still struggling or waiting on the starting side. His face held little expression, and he merely gave a slight nod in acknowledgment.

"Passed." For once, a barely perceptible trace of satisfaction entered Tetsu Uchiha's voice.

The gap was plain to see.

A few more children barely passed afterward, but most still fell in. The pool churned constantly, as though dumplings were being dropped into it.

Once everyone had tried, only eleven people stood on the opposite bank.

Tetsu Uchiha looked at the roster, then at the drenched children still standing on this side of the pool, some downcast, others visibly unwilling to accept the result. "There's one chance for a retest. Anyone who wants another try, step forward now."

The crowd was silent for a moment.

Then Yutian stepped out.

His clothes were still wet, his hair plastered to his forehead, and his face was somewhat pale from the cold and his earlier fall into the water. But he stood straight, his gaze fixed on the floating boards without looking at anyone.

"Have you thought this through?" Tetsu Uchiha looked at him. "Fall in again, and you won't have another chance this year."

"I have," Yutian said, his voice a little hoarse but clear.

Tetsu Uchiha said nothing more and waved a hand.

Yutian walked to the pool. This time, he did not hurry onto it, instead closing his eyes and standing quietly for a few breaths.

He remembered Yinglang saying in the pine grove, "Don't think about controlling it. Just think about pushing." He remembered the burning pain when chili caught in his throat, and how extraordinarily clear and obedient his chakra had felt after the pain passed. He remembered practicing over a basin at night, over and over, until his fingers cramped and his vision darkened.

He opened his eyes, lifted a foot, and stepped onto the first board.

The board dipped and wobbled.

He did not panic. Slowly adjusting his center of gravity, he "pushed" chakra out through his soles, not pressing down rigidly, but letting it cling to the board like a supple membrane, rising and falling gently with the water.

The board steadied.

He waited until the feeling of his "feet and the board growing together" became distinct before taking his second step.

He was slow, slower than a crawling tortoise. But he was no longer impatient, waiting until he was steady before every step. His chakra output was minute and continuous, as natural as breathing.

The third board, the fourth... At the sixth, the board wobbled a little harder. His body swayed with it, and he nearly lost his balance again. A few quiet snickers came from the edge of the field.

He stopped, collected himself, and waited until the swaying lessened before continuing.

The seventh board, the eighth... Only two remained.

Fine beads of cold sweat formed on his forehead, not from fatigue but from the drain of intense concentration. His legs still trembled slightly, but he gritted his teeth and inched forward.

The tenth board.

The instant his foot landed, the board tipped sharply-he instinctively drew back the chakra beneath his foot, then quickly spread it again, barely steadying himself. His body swayed as he stood on one foot on the board, his other foot suspended in the air, arms spread like a clumsy bird.

On the opposite bank, Yinglang watched quietly, his face expressionless. Only his fingers tapped lightly once at his side without his realizing it.

Kagami watched too. His gaze lingered on Yutian's suspended foot, then shifted away into the distance.

Yutian held his foot there for several breaths before slowly moving it onto the board as well. He stood on the final board, swaying on the verge of falling, but in the end, he did not fall.

He drew a breath, lifted his somewhat trembling leg, and stepped onto the bank.

His foot met solid ground.

He remained where he was, catching his breath twice before turning around.

"Passed," Tetsu Uchiha said, no discernible emotion in his voice.

Yutian said nothing. He merely walked slowly into the group that had passed, found a corner, and stood with his head lowered, his chest still rising and falling slightly.

The retest eliminated several more. In the end, only fifteen people stood on the opposite bank.

Tetsu Uchiha closed the roster, his gaze sweeping over those fifteen faces, some calm, some excited, some exhausted, some pale.

"Rest for an hour," he said. "Third round: combat sparring."

A stir ran through the crowd.

Sparring. That meant they would be fighting.

Yutian raised his head and looked across. Yinglang was crouching by the pool washing his hands, his profile calm. Kagami had already found a clean stone to sit on and was resting with his eyes closed.

He withdrew his gaze and found a stone to sit on too. He wrung out the still-dripping hem of his clothes, then closed his eyes and began slowly regulating his breathing.

An hour. I have to make the most of it to recover.

There's still a long way to go.

The next round will be a fight.