《Shattered Heavens》


 Chapter 1: A Tranquil Life

    The cool morning breeze swept through the vast plains as the clouds floated by in the sky. The relaxing babbling of water moving downstream could be heard as everybody in the village woke up.


    The village was built beside a river and even had a view of the beautiful mountain range, Hundred Mirage Mountains.


    At the outskirts of the village was a shabbily built shack. It was made entirely out of wood and straw. One could even see dirt was used to stick some parts of it together. The shack also laid on the other side of the river opposite the rest of the village with a line of stones somewhat connecting the two.


    From the shack, thunderous snores echoed out coming from a young man sleeping on a bed of grass. One might even catch the whole shack subtly shake under his powerful snores. Suddenly, the sounds stopped and silence invaded the shack. If any of the villagers were here, they''d let out sighs of relief as their nightmare had finished.


    With a soft creak, the door opened and revealed the young man who lived in the shack. His eyes were still droopy and hair disheveled. Oddly enough, one could still sense that he was brimming with energy to begin the day with. He grabbed his fishing rod from beside the door and walked to a large rock protruding out of the river.


    This young man was Wu Ming. An orphan who was left behind in the village without a name. Nobody knew anything about him and nobody wanted to take care of him. Strangest of all, even he did not know anything about himself. As such, the head of the village had given him the name ''no name'' and left him a house isolated on the other side of the river. To survive, he accompanied multiple villagers to the outer regions of the mountain range to hunt. After all, he was still just a child.


    "Wu Ming!" Someone called. "Did you get a good sleep? When are you going to catch some fish?"


    Wu Ming looked up towards the village. Squatting there beside the water was an acquaintance of his. It was a boy who had taken recent interest in his fishing routine, Wang Qi.


    Wu Ming responded with a slow nod before turning back to his fishing rod. He had placed some bait on the hook that he had collected himself. But instead of trying to catch the fish, he let them bite away at his bait. He just sat there and looked at them peacefully.


    "Uhh, Uncle. The fish are eating your bait... Aren''t you going to catch them?"


    The water off the river was very clear to the point that one could see the fishes in them very clearly. As such, fishing was relatively easy here unless one was an utter fool.


    The boy looked up from the fish to see Wu Ming sitting down with a dazed expression. He snickered and amusedly muttered, "Wow, he''s sleeping again."


    Afterwards, he jumped up and ran off back into the village. Little did he know that Wu Ming was not asleep. He was just fully immersed in this peaceful feeling.


    "Ahhh, this is nice," he thought. "More fishes are swimming downstream, is winter coming?"


    A few hours later, his bait had run out and the sun was past its peak. During this period of time, he could hear the occasional passerby laughing at him, joking about how he had not caught any fish for himself yet. But he was used to it and paid it no heed to it.


    He walked upstream towards the forest at the outer regions of the Hundred Mirage Mountains. Anybody who saw him would forever find it strange that he was walking to such a danger with nothing but a fishing rod. Contrary to their beliefs, Wu Ming clearly believed the forest to be a place of leisure.


    Upon arriving at the forest, he whistled a special tune he played every now and then. He moved himself through bushes and trees while ensuring he was still safe.


    A few minutes later and he witnessed a scene of a small hog laying down helplessly in a pit. A spike had pierced through its body, rooting it to its place. As it breathed heavily, Wu Ming just casually mentions, "This is your fault. I didn''t do anything, you just fell into this pit on your own..."


    Wu Ming picked up a nearby wooden stake and stabbed the hog right in the head, instantly killing it. He picked it up and carried it by his shoulder.


    This area of the forest was on the other side of the river as well. Thus, Wu Ming was free to place as many traps as he wanted without endangering others.


    As the day began to turn dark, Wu Ming finally left the forest with a total of 3 dead animals tugged on his back. Although Wu Ming was poor, he was already near self-sustaining. Honestly, he wasn''t sure why he was the only one on this side of the river...


    When he reached his shack, his droopy eyes finally opened up entirely in shock. His sharp features revealed themselves as he saw a towering flame from the village!


    "What''s going on? Did Wang Qi light the entire village on fire this time?"This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Yet, in this moment of emergency, Wu Ming did little to no effort to help the village out. He just sat down outside his shack and looked on as the fire burned everything down.


    He extended his arms outward and stretched. The glow of the fire reflected deeply in his opened eyes as he took a deep breath. "Ahhh, the relaxing warmth of a fire in the middle of the night. What a rare pleasure. Eh?"


    In the dark of the night, it was hard to notice but there were figures hopping his way on the stone path. Behind them was a huge cloud of purple gas and the occasional shout of urgency.


    "Don''t let them escape!"


    "He''s got all the treasures. Get him!"


    Wu Ming swiftly got up from his comfortable rock and went back to his shack to gather his belongings. There was clearly conflict afoot and he did not want any part in it!


    "Wu Ming, help us! We raised you so help us. I''ll even give you 2 gold coins for it!!" A voice exclaimed out. It came from the leading dark figure who was revealed as the village head''s son as he came closer, Jun Yi. Behind him was a group of men that carried bags of gold and another that wielded spears.


    At the moment, Wu Ming had just started packing his stuff but time was short. So, he just bolted out the door and was about to run towards the mountain range. However, his eyes spotted movement heading towards him even from the direction of the forest.


    "My last hope is the forest," he grudgingly thought. His face twisted as his path was blocked.


    His heart pounded as he experienced turmoils he never expected to ever happen. His hands were shaking and his face started dripping with cold sweat. But this only lasted a few moments before he was overwhelmed with a sense of crisis.


    While lost in his trepidation, Jun Yi and his group had now moved past his shack without him realising it and now, the pillagers were right behind him. While the main group was chasing after the treasures, a few had noticed him and his shabby home and separated from the horde.


    Wu Ming jumped to the side, successfully evading a blow to his head. Adrenaline quickly pumped through his veins and his mind worked at accelerated speeds. With a low growl, he lunged at his enemy.


    Afterwards, his mind turned blank and when he came to, 5 men were dead on the ground. In his hand was a sword that wasn''t his and on his shirt was blood that wasn''t his either. His knees buckled in his shock and a stream of tears unknowingly trickled down his cheeks. Looking at the bodies around him only made him feel worse.


    "Oh, what have I done..." Wu Ming whispered, his voice unsteady. He didn''t want to partake in any of this bloodshed so why was he holding a sword in his hand?


    Sounds of a haughty laughter entered his ears off in the distance. He instantly recognized that laughter as one that only came from Jun Yi. Wu Ming raised his chin to look towards the source of laughter. As expected, Jun Yi was there along with a few others. All of them were injured in one way or the other but what caught Wu Ming''s eyes was a stranger accompanying Jun Yi.


    The stranger had a head full of luscious hair and an overbearingness that could fill his allies with confidence and valor. His white and red robes were embroidered with designs of auspicious clouds and he even had a golden medallion hanging by his neck. Yet, all these dazzling features were invisible to Wu Ming. The moment he laid his eyes on this stranger, his heart shook and his emotions flared up inside him. The stranger was floating...


    "An Immortal... I never expected to see one in my life..."


    Ever since he had heard of Immortals roaming about the vast continents, Wu Ming was profoundly curious about how they worked. More precisely, how they achieved immortality. But that was merely a thought that he would ponder on occasionally and not something he was truly concerned about. If he gained immortality, he''d probably just continue sitting down to look at fish.


    However, the Immortal that hovered by Jun Yi''s side took notice of Wu Ming after his brief stare and took a glance back towards Wu Ming. But seeing that there were 5 dead men around him without so much of an injury, the Immortal couldn''t help but nod in approval. However, that soon turned to a sense of bewilderment when he noticed how Wu Ming was kneeling down on bloody grass with a sword while crying silently.


    "Interesting..." He mouthed as his curiosity towards this young man reaching its peak. A few moments later and without so much of a notice, the Immortal started moving higher.


    The survivors of the battle looked on in wonder that soon changed to confusion when they witnessed a few of their own starting to levitate into the sky. There were 3 total, the only young ones who managed to live through this ordeal.


    "As promised, I will be taking a son of the family that helped me once during my time of need. Additionally, I apologise but I''ll be taking away 2 more somewhat exceptional kids with me."


    Naturally, Jun Yi was the son of the family mentioned while the last two were unexpected to all still standing on the ground. They were Wu Ming and Wang Qi!


    "Hey... Put me down, I don''t want this!" Wu Ming wanted to scream out but to his surprise, nothing came out of his mouth. He couldn''t even move as his entire body rested in the hands of the Immortal.


    He looked towards Wang Qi, the boy was covered in blood and had numerous cuts on his body. But, to Wu Ming''s shock, the boy was smiling!


    Seeing that his struggles were pointless, his gaze shot towards his home. The water that had once been clear had turned red from blood as did the grass. But tears still welled up in his eyes as he burned the scene of his home for the last time. This instant felt as if it lasted a year to him before he was whisked away.


    They unwillingly flew after the Immortal, following him into the deeper regions of the Hundred Mirage Mountains. As they flew, Wu Ming found himself looking at a vast number of mountains and the network of valleys that ran through them.


    "What a beautiful sight," he thought. "Who named this the Hundred Mirage Mountains anyway? This is clearly more than just a hundred..."


    He spent hours in the sky as he tried to examine every mountain he passed by, an effort that was only made easier when the sun started to rise. A feeling he never experienced before arose deep within him, leaving behind a small seed of desire.


    "This is what it''s like to be an Immortal!"


    Suddenly, a huge mountain materialized in front of him. It was three times the size of the other mountains and had pierced the thick layer of clouds above them. The most shocking of all was good this mountain was clearly split into two!


    Wu Ming was lost for words as rumbles filled his mind. He had never imagined a mountain that looked like this. The rising sun could be seen emmiting its gentle morning light from between the two sides. Betraying the holy image in his eyes, the mountain was revealed to have jagged spikes protruding out of the mountain!


    Then, he heard a voice in his mind that amiably said, "Welcome to the Valiant Sky Sect."

 Chapter 2: Valiant Sky Sect

    *Ding* *Ding*


    Bell tolls rang through the air as the Immortal landed at the bottom of one of the mountain sides. Wu Ming saw a few houses and facilities all over the place while he was in the air and mentally prepared himself to do some unwilling and troublesome work.


    "Sect Uncle Ji, welcome back! Who are these that you brought?" A sweet voice sounded out. " Are they new juniors of mine?"


    It was a lovely lady who wore a pair of light blue robes. She let out a little giggle at the end which caused little Wang Qi to blush slightly. A few hours after the battle had ended, Wang Qi seemed to have turned back into an innocent boy again. Wu Ming''s spine shivered whenever he recalled that chilling sight of a little boy smiling amidst the blood and gore.


    Thankfully, all of their injuries had been healed through some medicine that the Immortal had brought with him while they were flying. Magically, it had even cured them of their fatigue. Such wonders left Wu Ming feeling more curious about this strange world.


    "Nn, these three will serve in the Servants'' Quarters from now on," the Immortal said, his previous overbearingness revealing itself once more. "Bring this one to the Disciplinary Committee and toss the other two to suitable facilities."


    He made quick gestures towards the three to indicate his plans more precisely. When Jun Yi heard that he was going to be in the Disciplinary Committee, his eyes lit up and a bit of haughty pride leaked out in a smile.


    "Of course, Sect Elder Ji. Please take care. I, Li Fu, will take care of this personally."


    The lady bowed to the Immortal respectfully without failing to mention her name. Satisfied, the Immortal finally flew towards the higher areas on the mountain.


    Li Fu then led the three youngsters up a winding pathway until they happened upon a large building. It was a wide structure that boasted an extravagant and unnecessarily large door. A mere glance at it and one would recognize it to be made out of wood that was taken from the vicinity.


    Once inside, Li Fu turned to face them with a stern yet friendly smile. "Wait here for a while and we''ll get your things ready. Oh, anything that you brought with you will be considered useless here."


    Right after she left them, the atmosphere immediately felt stifled. Jun Yi and Wang Qi both looked disheartened about their free entry to a sect. After all, they all just survived a traumatizing encounter with fierce pillagers. They witnessed their close friends and family perish by the edge of the blades or the fires that trapped them in their houses.


    Jun Yi especially looked depressed about the village that would be his in the future. What kind of man would he be if he didn''t feel anything when his things were taken away from him?


    However, his personality didn''t allow him to feel sad without venting it immediately. He raised his head to look straight at Wu Ming. "Why didn''t you help us fend them off? I saw you play around with 5 of them at a time! My father died! And yet, right after fighting them off without a single scratch..."


    Wu Ming was the only one of the three that didn''t feel like their world had toppled down over their heads. Instead, he looked oddly calm about his current situation and seemed to be taking everything from the people and surroundings in stride.


    But upon hearing that condescending and criticizing tone, Wu Ming sized up the man in front of him. Tall, sharp jawline, skinny and fair. The only unattractive point about him would be his personality. For years, he would occasionally check up on Wu Ming and mock him from a distance, somehow coming up with different things to call him everytime. One time, he even broke Wu Ming''s shack apart.


    After a few moments, Wu Ming just lazily looked at Jun Yi like he was a bother. "I already did my best..."


    With that, Jun Yi''s fiery rage rose further but was soon extinguished by Wu Ming''s continued response.


    "Your men didn''t die by my hands. If you want to blame someone, blame the incompetent men you had under your thumb. Better yet, thank them for keeping you alive. We should be thankful for the lives we were given. For a man like you, that might be hard but at least try..."


    Jun Yi was at a lost for words. Although he wanted to erupt at Wu Ming again, the words Wu Ming had spoken threw his thoughts into turmoil as well as the silently crying Wang Qi beside them. Jun Yi''s expression changed every now and then as his complicated emotions filled his mind.


    Li Fu came back shortly after this short exchange between the two while bringing three bags in her hands, one of which was somewhat larger than the other two. Pushing two bags towards Wu Ming and Wang Qi, she introduced its contents without noticing the sombre air around them.


    "In these bags are your Servants'' attire and the first chapter of the Sect''s qi condensation cultivation technique. There should also be a wooden slip carrying information on your accommodations. As for your duties, both of you will start mining in the caverns."


    Without even waiting for the two to inspect the mentioned items, she passed the larger bag to Jun Yi and explained its contents cheerfully.


    "In this one, your can find the same things like in those other two bags. But you get extra spirit stones from your seniors here. They can be used for cultivation or as currency to exchange for the Sect''s resources. For now, it''s better to use it for your cultivation."This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    Jun Yi took out a crystal the size of his hand from the bag. It shone with a dull azure blue that seemed to shift about in the crystal. The expression of the three new servants immediately turned into ones of wonderment.


    After Li Fu explained a few of the Sect''s rules in the Servants'' Quarters, she led them out of the building and brought them to their new homes. All accommodations were built out of stone in the outer parts of the Servants'' Quarters and could house up to four people in them. Here, different districts served to separate the servants from the rest depending on their allocated work.


    "This district will be your new home. Just enter any house that isn''t occupied," Li Fu casually said, her arm pointing up at a shoddy sign above her.


    "The blue miner''s district?" Wang Qi quietly read the sign, his seemingly innocent eyes worrying over how the sign was held up by two worn out strings.


    Li Fu then elaborated further on the topic, "Since we have two mountain sides, naturally there would be two Servants'' Quarters. The one here is called the Blue Servants'' Quarters while the other is Red."


    She laughed and quietly muttered something before shoving Wu Ming and Wang Qi into the district. As for Jun Yi, she brought him away to a different district.


    But before she got out of sight, she shouted out, "You start working tomorrow morning!"


    While not minding Li Fu''s forceful treatment, Wu Ming quickly made his way towards each house to check for any vacancies with Wang Qi following behind him. All of the houses were fully packed except for a few empty ones at the back of the district. Once he entered one of the empty houses however, Wang Qi didn''t follow him through the door and scratched his head awkwardly.


    "Big bro Wu, I don''t think we should stay in the same house..."


    Wu Ming was confused at first but didn''t think much about Wang Qi''s opinion. After all, it was his own choice and Wu Ming didn''t feel any need to even try to persuade him. He had long grown used to a certain degree of isolation...


    "Alright, there''s still many houses you can choose from."


    Wang Qi beamed a smile to Wu Ming and hurriedly left to find a house. Wu Ming shut the door behind him and inspected the insides of the house. It was separate into 4 sections at the corners and a large pillar at its center supporting the house. Each section only had a bed and one cabinet. After settling down one of the beds, he threw out the contents of his bag.


    Out came a set of brown clothing and a small book. On the cover of the book were the words ''Expansive Sky Cloud Art''. Flipping open the book, he found instructions on how to absorb the spiritual energy of the world. There were also pictures depicting the various hidden pathways within the body.


    Wu Ming read through each word eagerly, trying hard to memorize these words by heart. Much to the In his hands currently were the secrets to becoming an Immortal!


    "To walk the path of Immortality, you must first absorb spiritual energy of the world and condense it to form qi in the dantian. Interesting..."


    The book talked about the various stages of Qi Condensation, from 1 to 9, and the methods to advance from one stage to the next. But to his surprise, the book only described the path to the 4th stage of Qi Condensation along with descriptions of a magical technique. "Where''s the rest?"


    After he flipped past the last page of the book and looked at its back, he immediately noticed a short note written in blue. "To cultivate further on the path, the outer sect welcomes you..."


    Wu Ming flipped back to the previous pages and started pondering on its contents. He stayed like this for a few minutes trying to fully understand the concepts that were thrown at him before shrugging his shoulders in defeat.


    "Spiritual energy, qi, the meridian system..." He muttered. "All of it sounds so unrealistic so how did the first Cultivator discover this path..."


    He shook his head to avoid thinking of random things and tried to absorb spiritual energy as described in the manual.


    He sat down on the bed cross-legged and focused on sensing the world and an invisible energy flowing around him. To him, this wasn''t very hard as he''s often done this back in his village. The only difference this time was the direction of his focus.


    He sat there until the sun went down trying to accomplish this but to no avail. His stomach had grumbled so he finally went out to search for some food.


    Thinking that food would be provided to the servants, he went out fantasizing about wondrous foods harvested in the skies. However, to his dismay, he was told by a fellow miner that food was only provided to those who did their job. At that moment, he furrowed his eyebrows and thought, "Doesn''t this mean I only get fed tomorrow?"


    Unsatisfied with his current situation, he went back to his new stone home and waited for the next day to come. However, he couldn''t sleep as the familiar silence caused him to start pondering on anything that came to mind.


    He tried to recall the battle that had occurred back in the village of Jun but only a muddled mess came to mind. There was this blank piece in his memory that disturbed him...


    He also started to think of his new position in the world as a servant in the Valiant Sky Sect. With how everything looked like, he deemed it impossible to have peaceful times currently and that he would have to adapt to the new lifestyle here. However, he would occasionally recall sitting down on his rock and watching the seasons flow by as if he was unconsciously denying change...


    ~~


    "Hey, Wu Ming! Wake up, it''s already morning!"


    Wu Ming slowly opened his eyes as he felt the bed beneath him shaking vigorously. He sat upright on the bed then wiped the crust off his eyes. While shooting a cold glare towards Wang Qi, he snorted and quickly got up. Nobody had ever bothered waking him up so it naturally felt very uncomfortable for him at the moment. However, he knew that he had work to be done so he didn''t bother much with Wang Qi''s action.


    Right after he followed Wang Qi out, he was greeted with odd looks by other servants nearby. Every single one of them looked annoyed with him. Some tried to hide it by turning away immediately when Wu Ming looked in their direction but some outright stared him down with tired eyes.


    Puzzled, Wu Ming quietly questioned Wang Qi about the weird behavior of the other servants. To that, Wang Qi simply flashed a helpless smile and without even mumbling a single word about it. Instead, he bragged about the new roommates he had in his new house were nice enough to give him a heads up on the way of life in the Servants'' Quarters.


    And soon enough, they arrived in front of a huge cavern digging into the base of the mountain after following behind other a group of other miners. While keeping a distance, the both of them copied the actions of the group in front quietly. After having picked up their pickaxes, they examined the area around them as they proceeded to enter the cave.


    The cavern''s huge and eerie entrance caused an unfamiliar feeling of dread to surface in Wu Ming. It would have already made him turn back and search for another cavern to mine in if not for the presence of Wang Qi by his side.


    His eyes jumped back and forth between the cave walls and the teeth-like protrusions above and around him. Wu Ming''s thoughts ran wild with his new surroundings and his caution soon caused him to fidget restlessly.


    Then, an odd question popped into his overactive mind. "Surely I''m not in some land of ghosts right?"

 Chapter 3: Bullying

    "Sir! Please, let me through. I''ve been here since last night mining..."


    "Haha, this does seem to be enough to satisfy us. I''ll need to check up on some people before compensating for your time here."


    Because of the sudden shout of some middle-aged man, Wu Ming was kicked out of his unstable state of mind and noticed the presence of a few black robed individuals standing around the cave entrance.


    Just as he started wondering who these figures were, a nearby servant who noticed their odd behavior came up to them. He was small and had a petite face but the blisters on his hands were enough to tell anybody that he was not to be taken at face value.


    "Hey, you two must be new here. Don''t be scared, this is just an ordinary cave with ordinary rocks that don''t bite back. As for those guys, they''re the kids from the Disciplinary Committee. Every single one of those enforcers are arrogant, unreasonable dogs who take delight in our misery."


    The servant paused for a moment to send rude gestures to the enforcers of the Disciplinary Committee behind their back.


    "Anyways, watch out and don''t offend them too much. Come with me, I''ll get you started on your work. And by the way, I''m Du Heng."


    After sparing a moment to think, Wu Ming chose to follow Du Heng deeper into the cavern with his pickaxe resting in his arms and Wang Qi walking alongside him. Although this sudden warm-hearted welcome seemed very suspicious, Wu Ming didn''t reject it. After all, one of the sect rules were that fighting amongst sect members was prohibited and was punishable by imprisonment!


    They passed by numerous branches from the main cavern both natural and seemingly man-made. At the center of the main cavern was a cart system with servants pushing their carts along a designated track. A few minutes after moving deeper in, they eventually moved into a branch of the cavern. Even though it was substantially smaller than the main cavern, there was still enough space to fit a hundred men in it. Currently, there was nobody inside but them.


    Du Heng brought them to a rather isolated corner before urging Wu Ming and Wang Qi to start chipping away at the rough walls of rock as he explained some important details.


    "As you may know, the Servants'' Quarters houses those that are at the 3rd level of Qi Condensation and below. So, every kind of work here has 4 different sectors for the differently ranked Cultivators with one being for mortals like us."


    "You saw how big and endless the main cavern was. I heard that thing goes down to the roots of the mountain where they searched for all kinds of mystical materials..."


    As Wu Ming''s muscles trembled whenever his pickaxe made loud thuds against the rocky walls, his understanding of the Servants'' Quarters and the miner district itself grew with each passing word that slid off Du Heng''s tongue.


    Beside him, Wang Qi seemed to already know this as he kept nodding to himself. Instead of listening, he was more focused on mining.


    After a few hours passed by slowly and each of the trio had mined enough to fill a cart. They then started to lift the mined materials into the carts situated at the sides of the main cavern.


    Throughout the time spent mining here, Wu Ming gradually got a better impression of Du Heng. He had held nothing back and wholeheartedly informed Wu Ming on all the places in the Servants'' Quarters.


    At the cavern''s entrance, the trio pushed their carts towards the enforcers stationed at the side. There, they silently let the enforcers inspect their findings. With a nod of satisfaction, the enforcers led a middle aged man to the carts where he suddenly waved his hand and seemingly absorbed all the materials into his hand.


    Wu Ming raised his eyebrows in surprise at the sight and immediately started to make deductions about the middle aged man''s action.


    "Get moving! Could it be that you want more work?" An enforcer shouted, seeing that a lowly servant rudely paused in place at the front of a queue of other miners.


    "Wu Ming, let''s go!"


    Wu Ming pushed his thoughts to the back of his head and hurriedly followed Du Heng out. Meanwhile, a young enforcer at the other side of the entrance rushed over, his eyes flashing with ill intent. He approached the middle aged man before he spoke out.


    "Reporting to Elder Shu, that miner from before is Wu Ming. He and I came here to the sect together and I can confidently say that he is rebellious and needs discipline!"


    The middle aged man raised an eyebrow at the words of this young man. It seems that he has some grudge against that miner...


    "Oh? Then I''ll leave you to educate him. What''s your name?"


    "Sir, my name is Jun Yi!"


    ~~


    The sun had already glided behind the mountain and the sky was slowly being dyed orange. Right now, Wu Ming was sitting down cross-legged in his house alone while trying to sense the spiritual energy around him. However, all he felt was the cold breeze that brushed against his arms occasionally.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    This went on endlessly into the night but when he thought that he was done for now, he faintly felt that the pressure around him had increased ever so slightly. After all the time spent by himself both in the village and the sect, his senses had become extremely acute for someone of his age.


    However, that only lasted for an instant before it disappeared. Wu Ming opened his eyes and tried to recall that feeling like being a fish surrounded by water. The next step after sensing the spiritual energy was to try and absorb it into one''s meridians.


    "I just need to focus on sensing the spiritual energy around me but how do I absorb it? Let''s try!"


    Thus, encouraged by his recent success, Wu Ming spent the entire night meditating. Throughout this session, his biggest success was maintaining the state of sensing spiritual energy for a full minute. However, the method of absorbing it into his meridians remained a mystery to him.


    *Knock* *Knock*


    Wu Ming opened his eyes slowly at the sounds of knocking on his front door. He noticed that it was still relatively dark outside so everybody should still be in their homes. If anybody were to approach him at this time, he felt that whatever it was would have to be important.


    After a brief stretch, he got up to open it. A frown quickly emerged on his face when he found Jun Yi and a few other enforcers on the other side.


    "Wu Ming, with the authority of the Disciplinary Committee, we require you to honorably serve the sect more by mining more in the caverns."


    Jun Yi stepped up and with a slight smirk, shamelessly ordered Wu Ming to waste away his time in the caverns. Just as Wu Ming was about to close the door, one of the enforcers beside Jun Yi stepped in and stopped the door from closing. From his muscular build, one could easily tell he was not to be meddled with. But the most fearsome part was that his presence brought a near suffocating pressure to Wu Ming.


    "Tsk tsk, why are you like this Wu Ming? Men, I think it''s time to make him remember his place. Good job choosing a house with nobody else."


    Following that, the enforcer at the door threw Wu Ming to the back of the house effortlessly before the entire gang strutted into the house. On the faces of all of them were their malicious intents fully exposed in the form of smiles. One of them even licked his lips as if this occurrence was a rare delicacy.


    "The Disciplinary Committee is a bunch of bullies after all. I didn''t do anything wrong and I''m getting picked on? Thanks, I''ll be sure to tell everybody else of your lesson."


    Wu Ming staggered up to his feet with a trickle of blood escaping his lips. He looked up at the gang as they closed the door behind them. When they heard his words, they glared daggers at him but paid it no mind afterwards.


    "If you speak of this outside, prepare for another lesson. Shi Xing, guard the door."


    The gang surrounded Wu Ming swiftly with the strongest one blockading the door as if it was practiced routinely. Moments later, seeing that Wu Ming refused to show signs of despair, the first enforcer started to beat him up.


    "Argh!"


    The next few minutes were spent with Wu Ming curled up on the floor. Every kick was accompanied with the pains of the unfairness of the sect. Each one fueled a small flame of anger in his heart and caused blue veins to emerge all over his body.


    Ever since young, he had beared with the constant insults to the point where he considered it a normal part of his life. However, nobody had gone too far to the point of physically abusing him; until now that is.


    "Why is this happening to me? I never did anything my entire life so why? I''ve started anew here and I thought that under the sect rules, I would be safe. What utter bullying!


    ...


    Maybe that''s the reason. Maybe I should be doing the same to them!


    Suddenly, Wu Ming''s blood boiled, causing steam to rise up around him. Veins bulged out his arms and forehead, pulsating sporadically. To top it off, his face contorted in a rage never seen on his face before. His face occasionally trembled, as if it was incapable of displaying his rage.


    Just as this change happened, Wu Ming threw his arms out, pushing away all the enforcers around him.


    "What''s this? I''ve never seen anything like this..."


    One of the enforcers mumbled as all of them stared at Wu Ming. Then, without a moment''s notice, Wu Ming dashed towards the gang with his right fist high up in the air.


    "Shi Xing, come!"


    Right before Wu Ming''s fist reached Jun Yi, the enforcer at the door appeared between them, stopping the attack barely before Jun Yi''s stomach. The muscular enforcer''s face twitched with pain before he shoved Wu Ming back to the wall.


    "Sorry but you''ve upsetted one of our own. You''ll have to pay a price."


    Then, the pressure surrounding that muscular enforcer increased before he pounced toward Wu Ming.


    ~~


    "Ugh..."


    Wu Ming woke up in the morning to stinging pains on his chest and right arm. He was leaning his back against the wall beside his bed and noticed that black scabs had formed on various parts of his body. He tried to move but a wave of fatigue pushed him back down.


    "What happened last night?"


    He tried remembering what happened the night before but only saw flashes of what Jun Yi did. As for his retaliation, he knew nothing of it...


    "Ah!"


    Suddenly, with a loud thud, somebody fell through the window. That person was revealed after he got up to be Wang Qi!


    "Wha- what happened to you Wu Ming?!"


    Wang Qi rushed to Wu Ming''s side and carefully touched Wu Ming''s injuries. Clearly, he didn''t know what he was doing.


    "What''s wrong with him? Is his nose inverted from the snoring?" Someone chortled as he forced his way through the window as well.


    "Du Heng, shut up and help him!"


    Hearing the urgency of Wang Qi''s call, Du Heng turned his head towards Wang Qi and was immediately startled. Not wanting to waste anymore time, he tended to Wu Ming''s injuries after carefully carrying him onto the bed.


    Minutes passed by slowly as Du Heng and Wang Qi tried to mend Wu Ming''s injuries while he told them of what happened during the night before.


    "That''s..." Du Heng and Wang Qi both gave an odd stare towards Wu Ming. Then Du Heng began to explain the predicament he was in.


    "I heard that Shi Xing is a talented enforcer that has just advanced to the first stage of cultivation! No wonder you got beat up. But the weirdest part is that he kind of, appeared beat up this morning..."


    "If you''re wondering if I was the one who beat him up, I don''t think that''s possible. As you said, he''s advanced to Qi Condensation already."


    Then, Wu Ming''s eyes flashed with understanding at those words. He knew the world was unfair since young but it seems that it seems that it can get worse.


    "They plan to use their authority and pin some crimes to my name huh. With Jun Yi''s unreasonable attitude towards me and that brute''s status, the Elders of the sect will probably ignore worthless miners like me..."


    Wu Ming''s train of thoughts led him to the most probable explanation and his mouth slowly murmured.


    "This place is awful."

 Chapter 4: A Peculiar Find

    Knowing that he''d be in deeper trouble if he just stayed there and rest, Wu Ming got up and reluctantly made his way to the mines. Along the way, Wang Qi and Du Heng had slung his arms over their shoulders, alleviating a bit of his burden off of him.


    "Screw his mother! Damn, why''s he here?" Wu Ming silently cussed.


    There in the distance, was Jun Yi and Shi Xing with bruises visible on multiple areas of his body. They had their eyes narrowed and their hands were up to their foreheads as if they were searching for something.


    "There he is!" Jun Yi shouted, pointing towards Wu Ming.


    Straight afterwards, the miners who were near Wu Ming edged away and continued to move towards the cavern a bit further ahead. Wu Ming pushed Wang Qi and Du Heng away and jerked his head, signalling them to go ahead as well.


    "Don''t worry Jun Yi, I know my punishment. Spend an entire day in the mines right?" He asked, a mischievous glint flaring up in his eyes. "That''s what you told me last night before you beat me up."


    Jun Yi noticed what Wu Ming was trying and responded in kind, "Don''t try to spread lies Wu Ming. I said your punishment was a full week in the mines supervised by me."


    "Also, we didn''t beat you up, you rashly picked a fight with Shi Xing here. We agreed that if you won, we''d let you off with just a warning. Hmph, overestimating yourself has its own consequences."


    Some people nearby overheard and looked at the two parties and had their own thoughts of the situation.


    "Unlucky bastard, I pity anybody who offends the Disciplinary Committee..."


    "If that story holds true, then this Wu Ming must be really strong to injure Shi Xing to that extent!"


    Just then, the middle-aged man from the day before showed up and loudly proclaimed.


    "Jun Yi, that''s too far. Let me take it from here."


    It was Elder Shu wearing black robes with gold patterns on it. He gave off a feeling of absolute authority that Wu Ming had never felt before which immediately caused him to take a step back unconsciously.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this Elder the one I saw yesterday at the cavern entrance?¡± Wu Ming recalled.


    Jun Yi clicked his tongue and was about to say something else when Elder Shu slowly said. "Or do you need me to tell everybody what happened last night."


    Hearing that, Jun Yi revealed a disappointed look before turning around and followed behind Shi Xing. Even as Wu Ming witnessed Jun Yi giving up on troubling him, he still remained tense. In his head, he didn¡¯t mind whatever Jun Yi did as long as he could still have some sense of freedom.


    However, the Elder in front of him could easily imprison him or even take away his life at a whim. From what he had heard from Du Heng, Elders hold a very special place in their designated locations and are usually identified by the golden patterns adorned on their robes. They are able to control whatever takes place in the area and only obeys the Sect Master within their domains.


    So, many sect disciples take initiative to cosy up to these Elders so they are able to become mini-overlords in the area. After all, with the backing of such giants, who would dare to offend them casually?


    The Elder at the head of the group approached Wu Ming slowly and shooed away the two servants propping Wu Ming up. Then, in a flash, he lifted Wu Ming up and brought him to a secluded area higher up in the mountain.


    During this short time, Wu Ming didn¡¯t feel anything like what happened in his journey to the sect. This time, there was no sudden blast of wind against his face nor was there any form of discomfort. And before he knew it, he was in a small cave dug into the mountain but furnished to the point of luxuriousness.


    ¡°So, before we get to it, I am Elder Shu,¡± The Elder in front of him introduced himself complacently before he inched closer and closer to Wu Ming. ¡°I know who you are and what occurred the night before. I just want to ask¡­¡±


    Wu Ming gulped down his uneasiness as he realized that the Elder in front of him was probably not going to harm him in any way. Instead, he seemed to show some interest in the former¡­


    ¡°Would you like to join the Disciplinary Committee?¡±


    Wu Ming¡¯s eyebrows raised up at the sudden unexpected offer. His pessimistic expectations toppled down in front of him as he saw the Elder look at him with such eager eyes. He found such a situation quite suspicious and turned to cautiously asking some questions of his own.


    ¡°Why? I don¡¯t think I¡¯m suitable for the Committee.¡±This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    The Elder, as if he saw the question coming, immediately responded. ¡°You have extraordinary fighting capabilities. As one of the Elders in charge of the Disciplinary Committee, I am obligated to recruit such strong individuals into the Committee.¡±


    ¡°We will regularly provide you with food, cultivation resources, and have a house all to yourself with no intrusion of privacy. Please think this through.¡±


    Wu Ming¡¯s mind reeled while imagining the riches he could experience and the power he would possess. But for some reason, he just didn¡¯t look forward to it. Instead, he felt it was somehow wrong for him to join the Disciplinary Committee. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was due to the presence of Jun Yi or how he would have to leave his new allies behind. In the end, he decided to follow his heart.


    ¡°Sorry esteemed Elder, I will have to decline your offer,¡± Wu Ming bowed down respectfully and clasped his hands together as he apologised.


    Contrary to the Elder¡¯s expectations, his gracious offer that had worked on every servant thus far just failed! His face stayed as still as a rock, unsure of what expression to display. Then, he let out an awkward cough and continued.


    ¡°Here, this pill will allow you to recover from most of your injuries. Once you swallow it, I shall bring you back to the mines. I still strongly suggest you join the Committee but I understand if you have your own reasons.¡±


    A bright blue pill formed in Wu Ming¡¯s hand simultaneously with a subtle glow from a certain ring secured on the Elder¡¯s index finger which Wu Ming didn¡¯t fail to notice. Trusting the Elder, he popped the pill into his mouth and a sudden burst of heat erupted from within him.


    However, the heat wasn¡¯t painful. Rather, it brought with it quite a pleasant and relaxing feeling like bathing in warm water after a long day. It faded away after a few moments and so did the feeling of lethargy that accompanied Wu Ming¡¯s injuries.


    At the sign of his injuries disappearing, Wu Ming simply stood there then thanked the Elder with a bow.


    The middle-aged man nodded his head lightly then brought Wu Ming to the cavern entrance in a flash. Off in the distance, Wang Qi and Du Heng¡¯s eyes brightened when they saw Wu Ming land in front of them safe and sound.


    Only a short time has passed since Wu Ming was ¡®abducted¡¯ away and counting the time spent to travel from the living quarters to the cavern, not much time was wasted. Actually, considering his past injuries, he might have reached here faster than if he staggered all the way here.


    Cupping his hands in gratitude again towards the Elder before grabbing some mining gear and entering the cavern with the two. After they left, the Elder mouthed some words to himself.


    ¡°Will he surprise me during the Outer Sect Promotional Test?¡±


    ~~


    ¡°Wu Ming, you little rascal, you nearly scared me half to death when you disappeared with that old man!¡± Du Heng chided as he slung his arm around Wu Ming¡¯s shoulder.


    Wu Ming let out a nervous laugh as they descended into the depths of the cavern. They noticed how most of the upper levels were occupied by the early birds who arrived before them so they were forced to move down to the lower levels.


    After a long time walking down, they entered a random branch that seemed vacant enough for three young adults. It was close to the deepest level servants were given access to who haven¡¯t started cultivating yet. The problem was that the deeper one goes, the harder it was to mine.


    Hours passed by slowly since the trio started mining as the three made some idle talk ¡°If it weren¡¯t for us helping Wu Ming get to the cavern, we would¡¯ve arrived here faster!¡± Wang Qi complained.


    Du Heng immediately slapped the back of his head then scolded Wang Qi. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s the Disciplinary Committee¡¯s fault. Don¡¯t forget it.¡±


    Wu Ming paid no heed to Wang Qi¡¯s comment and just hacked away at the sturdy cave walls. Beads of sweat rolled down his face but his arms had showed no signs of slowing down at all since the start. In fact, he was the fastest among the three of them in mining.


    ¡°Hey, Du Heng. You know so much about the Servants¡¯ Quarters and seem like a nice guy. Why do you hang around us so much?¡± Wang Qi asked, dropping his pickaxe to take a break.


    ¡°Erhhh, I don¡¯t feel like answering this one¡­"


    Suddenly, an unusually loud clank sounded out from where Wu Ming which immediately led to Wu Ming''s pickaxe bouncing back with great force. The three of them diverted their attention towards the source of the sound.


    Wu Ming''s eyes were glued towards a medallion embedded in the wall. On the face of the medallion was a carving of a devil!


    It depicted a fearsome devil with wings the size of his very body sealing the Earth below his feet. It had sharp canine teeth at the sides of his mouth and a crown seemingly made of his own horns.


    But the strangest part of the carving was how it''s stone eyes seemed to follow Wu Ming around. And when Wu Ming stared back into it''s eyes, he could somehow sense a chilling aura that caused his body to softly quiver on the spot.


    "Damn, that''s an ugly guy. Eh, why doesn''t he have a face?"


    "What a crap carving. No wonder it was abandoned."


    Shockingly, to the two beside Wu Ming, the carving seemed unfinished. It had no face, no legs and in short, completely unworthy of mention.


    Hearing the two speak out caused Wu Ming to jump out of his trance and take a look at the medallion again.


    "It''s gone!" He thought.


    Without a moment''s delay, he lifted his pickaxe up and a few minutes later, freed the medallion from the wall. The others looked at him funny when they saw how engrossed he was in mining out the medallion but didn''t mind it.


    Now with the medallion in hand, Wu Ming''s face tightened in concentration. Then, a similar sensation surfaced from the medallion and the devil carving appeared again!


    However this time, the face was different as well as it''s other characteristics and posture. The only actual similarity was that chilling aura and how it followed Wu Ming with it''s eyes...


    He placed it down and thought about bringing it out of the cavern with him. Such a unique item brought out the unending curiosity rooted in Wu Ming''s personality.


    When they were all done with their work, Wu Ming tucked the medallion in his shirt and hid behind the two as they handed in their findings for the day. He assist tried his best to look as honest as he could without anything to hide.


    But despite Wu Ming''s attempts to remain inconspicuous, it had the opposite effects. In fact, a certain man had already noticed the slight oddity in his behavior. It was Elder Shu!


    As an Elder of the Sect, he would naturally be a Cultivator of a certain standard and from his expression, he seemed to be performing an inspection on Wu Ming.


    "Huh, what''s that? Oh it''s just some rubbish? I guess I''ll let him keep a souvenir today..."