Volume One, Chapter Three: The Bronze Button

This was an old-fashioned peace amulet. Made of brass, it bore an ancient, austere design and fractured, indistinct seal script. The touch of the brass was slightly cool at first, warming with time; the once-polished surface now bore the mottled marks of years, no longer bright enough to reflect a face. This brass amulet had been a gift from the man the very first time they met. Besides the amulet, the man had also given him a name: Mode.

After folding and wrapping a thin black cord through the amulet and fastening it around his wrist, Mode sprang out of bed in one swift motion.

In daily life, he wore the amulet on his wrist, only shifting it to his chest when he went on missions or accepted assignments. In those moments, he was no longer Mode—he was ‘Qin’ of the Tidal Order.

Today, there was no work. The organization had granted him an extended leave for rest and recovery.

After washing up, the youth changed into his school uniform, went downstairs for a breakfast of fried dough and tofu pudding, then slung his backpack over his shoulder and set off toward the bus station.

He bundled away all unnecessary emotions, tucking them into the deepest drawer of his heart to be sorted out later when he had the time. This was the man’s proudest “drawer theory.” “Live in the moment, naturally and joyfully,” the man used to say. Mode had always imitated that figure ahead of him, even though he was gone now.

Breathe in, breathe out… He adjusted his rhythm, stepping lightly toward the morning sun.

Yet in tidying up his heart, Mode had clearly forgotten that today was September 29th, a Friday—a fine day for Tianshui High’s monthly exams.

“Ding dong… The exam is over. All examinees, please put down your pens…”

Dragging his backpack behind him, Mode walked down the corridor, face pale as a ghost. He had indeed forgotten about the exam. Before leaving for his assignment, he’d only managed to request a leave of absence from school in haste. After completing his mission, he spent a day recovering at the Tidal base, only returning home yesterday to compose himself, leaving no time to catch up on missed lessons. Honestly, he was already proud to have remembered to come to school at all. It wasn’t for lack of effort—fate had simply dealt him a merciless blow, reality landing heavy punches until his head spun. Even after the listening comprehension, his mind was still buzzing.

“What’s with that face? Looks like you just swallowed a fly. This time, am I finally going to beat you?” An arm hooked around Mode’s neck.

Suppressing the instinctive urge to counterattack, Mode replied irritably, “No way, no way. With your skills, I can only look up to you.” He shrugged off the arm and slung his backpack over his shoulder.

The chubby boy behind him was Wu Fan, who sat at the desk behind Mode. By a mixture of luck and effort, Wu Fan managed to place dead last in every exam. Their homeroom teacher had once howled in anguish during class, “Even random guessing should get you a higher score! Wu Fan, how did you get all twenty true-or-false questions wrong?” To which Wu Fan had meekly replied, “Well, I did guess,” nearly causing the teacher to faint.

“Hey, you never know—maybe this time I’ll turn it around. You were out on leave for two weeks and missed a lot. If I paid attention and really studied, maybe this time I’ll surpass you. Wanna bet? Ten bucks!” Wu Fan nudged him, eyebrows waggling. “I bet you come in last this time. All the teachers have been rushing through material lately, especially Old Qiao in Elemental Theory—going at it like his life depends on it. I heard from our homeroom teacher that it’s to free up time for some upcoming research trip.”

“I’ll take that bet. Make it a hundred—I need the cash.” Mode answered, then was distracted by the information hidden in Wu Fan’s words. “What research trip?”

Wu Fan clapped his hands, full of confidence. “Deal! With my luck lately, I can’t lose. Anyway, they say the ‘Archive Pavilion’ is finally rotating to Tianshui, so the school is combining the autumn hunt with the research visit. Not sure about the exact date, but it should be in the next two weeks.” The more Wu Fan spoke, the more animated he became, his small eyes shining with the glee of someone who relished any break from classes.

“The Archive Pavilion, at last. Looks like I’ll finally have time to catch up on the lessons I’ve missed.” Mode sighed quietly to himself. Because of missions and assignments, he’d been a chronic absentee since childhood. Even though he always crammed frantically upon returning, his grades just barely kept him afloat among the majority.

Wu Fan, of course, was not part of that majority. There were times Mode wondered if Wu Fan was even human.

“Three days off is a break, five days is a windfall—if this research trip lasts seven days,” Wu Fan exclaimed, waving his arms as he dreamed of a perfect holiday, “I’ll lose thirty pounds in a month, I swear!”

“Cut it out. Thirty pounds? Skip one meal and you howl like a slaughtered pig all day. Besides, this research trip isn’t a vacation—you’re not going sightseeing. Don’t come complaining to me when you’re exhausted.” Mode tugged at the corner of his mouth, pouring cold water on Wu Fan’s unrealistic fantasies.

“Still better than being stuck at school. You get time off whenever you want, but I’ve been working myself half to death—half a day of theory, half a day of practice, then evening study hall. I nearly lost weight from exhaustion,” Wu Fan grumbled, looking deflated. It was clear the recent academic frenzy had taken its toll.

“Hang in there for tomorrow’s physical exam. The break you’ve been waiting for is just ahead! I’ve been looking forward to this for a month!” Wu Fan’s mood flipped in an instant, and he began psyching himself up.

“Same tests as always?” The bus stop was in sight. Mode turned to Wu Fan, not wanting any more surprise packages tomorrow.

“The usual nine, plus another round of awakening tests. Probably just for show,” Wu Fan replied, halting as he watched Mode step onto the platform. “Hey, don’t you ever… feel anything?” he asked.

“As always—nothing I can do about it. See you tomorrow.” Mode didn’t look back, just lifted his left hand in farewell and, with his backpack slung over one shoulder, stepped onto the bus that had just pulled in.

“See you,” Wu Fan sighed, heading off toward his own car.

Through the bus window, Mode watched the black sedan drive off and smiled wryly. There was nothing he could do. Ever since middle school, every awakening test had found him steady as a mountain—the immovable king of non-awakeners, utterly unresponsive to the test stones. If not for the fact that only part of the “Twelve-Year Universal Education” curriculum involved ability training, he would have been expelled long ago. Wu Fan, for all his bottom-of-the-class theory scores and last-place practicals, always ranked among the top in awakening progress.

Tianshui High, like other secondary schools, belonged to the Inter-School Alliance, the final stage of the twelve-year universal education system. What previous generations had longed for—physical education—had become a top priority: half the day devoted to theory, half to physical training, a routine standard across all schools. Of course, evening self-study was still dominated by endless worksheets.

From childhood, students learned knowledge and honed their bodies, entering mid-tier academies like Tianshui High during their secondary years to study theory and practice. Most completed their first awakening in these years, gradually hearing, witnessing, and eventually touching the true nature of the world.

A world hidden beneath peace and order, standing on the edge of chaos and peril—fragile and mad.

A world that had survived a metallic onslaught and elemental storms, now barely restored to a delicate balance.

Within the order constructed by humanity, another ladder of evolution had been forcibly installed.

Abilities, sparked by dramatic changes in the laws of heaven and earth, now slumbered in all living things—brimming with opportunities and dangers.

Destruction came with new life; evolution with death. A new system of power was taking shape: the sword in hand could slay foes or wound its bearer. Calamities struck, human malice lurked in the shadows, and the very notion of “civilization” had hovered at the brink of collapse more than once.

All things under heaven had already changed, quietly and completely. In the surge of the new era, all living beings were as ants. Yet, rising with the tide, even ants might shake the heavens.

In this new world, nothing was certain; anything was possible.

With a single blare of the horn, the bus pulled away from the station, stopping and starting, winding along its route. The youth gripped the handrail tightly; on his wrist, the black thread shimmered softly, the peace amulet swaying gently, as calm and silent as ever.