《Steps of the Immortal Tree》 Chapter 1 - Staring at the Stars Evan stood on a hill, staring calmly at the gate of his former clan. A crowd waited behind him, some eyeing the clan in an unresigned manner, others looking at their spiritual support. Some of the young children shivered at the gnawing cold. Wind howled in his ears, seemingly deploring his fate. A silvery cloud drifted over the mountains surrounding the compound. The roar of a river could be heard from underneath its frozen surface. He had reincarnated many years ago. Hailed as a prodigy from his youngest age, Evan had seemingly tread on a path to invincibility. He had gotten married with his childhood sweetheart and had cultivated with a group of friends, forming a considerable power of his own. Yet now, here he was, devoid of any path to move forward, with his energy locus destroyed. His wife was dead and his branch had been kicked out of the clan. He looked at his progeny that had been entrusted to him. The baby seemed content in his father¡¯s strong arms, too young to understand anything but the warmth of the father¡¯s beating heart. Signaling to the people behind him, he turned around and the procession gradually disappeared in the distance, as the sun gradually set and the stars acted as a guide. Chapter 1 - Staring at the Stars Darkness encroached upon the sky as the sun hid its head behind the horizon. Twilight faded, as the moon became the sole supplier of light in the region. A little speck of light gradually lit up the sky, followed by many others, forming an eternal firework. The night was calm and the sky clear.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Daniel laid down on the roof, one hand trying to reach the river in the night. His clearblue eyes stared at the foreign wonders in amazement. He never got tired of this sight. A gust of wind hit him, moving his hair and his hand, which he subsequently put down. ¡°Too excited to sleep?¡± His father asked as he jumped on roof, landing with a gentle thud. This martial prowess was a result of his training, cultivation, which allowed one to refine oneself. One could do so by appropriating the energy of the world with the martial spirit, a mystery of the soul. This was a world where cultivation was the central aspect of all things, as the cure to old age and military might. Daniel¡¯s martial spirit would be revealed at the Manifestation Ceremony the next night. He could not wait to know what his spirit was. As the son of arguably the strongest man in the region, Evan King, he could not do too badly, lest he damage his father¡¯s reputation. Although the man himself may not care and all the adults in the township of V¨¢n were friends, family, and subordinates of his father, he could not lose face in front of his friends and the villagers from the villages nearby. The Ancient Mountains were a fairly unpopulated situated at the eastern extremity of human lands. It, and the integrality of five villages, were ruled by the sole township in the region, V¨¢n. All of the villages had been created recently by pioneers, mostly people fleeing persecution. As such, The Ancient Mountains was a melting pot of diverse groups of people. However, only V¨¢n had cultivators versed in the arts of martial spirit manifestation. As most cultivation clans kept their techniques secret to empower themselves, most people had to hope to manifest one¡¯s own martial spirit through polishing their body and by pressing the barrier through sheer willpower. V¨¢n was thus doing a favor to the people in the region by allowing the children¡¯s martial spirits to awaken. Faced with Daniel¡¯s silence and palpable excitement tinged with fear, the well-built young man climbed onto the roof, laid down next to his son, and hugged him. Daniel seemed to calm down and calmly drift into sleep. Staring at his son''s sleeping face, a fatherly smile crept on the Evan¡¯s face. Chapter 2 - Cracks Chapter 2 - Cracks The wind blew, sending a shiver down the sleeping 10-year-old''s spine. A frown formed on his face. As he saw this, Evan circulated a bit of Qi into Daniel, effectively warming him up and easing his expression. He then proceeded to lift the child up softly, ensuring that Daniel continues his adventures in his dream. After laying him down on his bed, he tried to leave the room, but small arms shot up, hugging his head. Helpless, the father stayed unmoving for a while, hugging his son. A while later, the muffled sound of the door closing could be heard, signifying the end of the young man''s stay in the room. ---------- Evan opened the door to his study. He took out a Qi Core and lit it up, illuminating the myriad of books sitting quietly in his personal library. Many of these books had been penned by him, others acquired elsewhere. The smell and touch of books reassured him, reminding him of his time spent on the other Earth. A lifetime had literally passed since then, as he had gone through awhole infancy, childhood, and young adulthood, blurring his prior memories. Although they had later resurfaced as he progressed in cultivation, he felt partly detached from them, as they did not fully represent who he currently was. Sensing himself drifting into memories, Evan shook his head, creating a gust of wind doing so. A contraption activated, the books disappearing. Acknowledging his stupidity, Evan pressed himself to put these jewels of knowledge back on the shelves from the safe they went into. Living in a world where men could flatten mountains meant that delicate physical objects such as books had a very short life expectancy. Such objects could only be preserved with sufficient preparation.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Finishing this chore relatively quickly, he joined a corner of the room where laid once again a strange contraption. Glowing on the ground, Qi Cores powered several devices in which sat big round objects. The eggs came up to Evan''s knee, denoting the abnormal size of its tenants. While having yet to be born, the infant beasts inside projected a strong bloodline aura, not letting down the dragons'' reputation. Evan had taken care to constantly send gentle Qi into the many eggs, reinforcing the lives inside, helping them until birth. None making it out alive was not something he was willing to see, as he had been entrusted with them by their wise progenitors before they succumbed to a curse that had drained their lifespanover years. Having been taught by the dragon couple, he had vowed to keep its progeny safe, leading to the present. Due to all the precautions taken, all of the eggs had reached vitality levels that ensured the continued development of life inside. Some had even started to absorb the Qi on their own, hinting to their approaching arrival on Earth. After checking that nothing had gone wrong, the father sat down on his desk, delving into plans to find new paths of cultivation. His original one had been closed off due to his broken energy locus. Although he could continue to comprehend laws, effectively strengthening his combat ability, the limitations of his current body were impossible to surpass without a vast reserve of energy to temper the body with, in the form of a Revolving Core and a Core Sea. He had yet to find a way to find a remedy to his situation but had created many different cultivation techniques during the years of research and development. His former engineering background drove his predisposition to such endeavors and Evan believed that good luck shines on those who work hard. ---------- What he did not realize while he focused on his work, was that, silently, cracks had begun to form on one of the eggs. Chapter 3 - Birth of a Life Chapter 3 - Birth of a Life The sun started to show its face, a ray of light shining on Daniel¡¯s face. His eyes opened gradually, and a yawn escaped from his mouth. Rubbing his eyes, he jumped off his bed. ¡°When did I move to my room?¡± he wondered. He lifted his right arm and turned the silver door knob, heading towards his father¡¯s study. The half-open door welcomed him with a view of his father working. Sensing his son¡¯s gaze, Evan put down his dip pen and looked up from his paper. ¡°Good morning, dad.¡± In his half-awoken state, Daniel walked over and hugged his father; Evan¡¯s strong arms wrapped around him reciprocally. ¡°Good morning.¡± Crack. The young boy¡¯s blue eyes drifted over to the eggs at the side of the room. One of the eggs had cracked loudly and forcefully. ¡°Can I help it out?¡± Evan thought about his son¡¯s question seriously. He remembered hearing that it was not advised to help a bird hatch from an egg, lest it damages the blood vessels all around the egg. Therefore, instead of answering Daniel''s question, he picked his son up and walked towards the eggs. Squatting down next to the eggs, he put his Qi into the crack of the egg, bypassing the natural Qi-absorbing barrier formed by the egg shell. Momentarily startled by the vitality radiating from the soon-to-be-born little dragon, he was assured that it would be safe to aid the baby creature in its endeavor to break out from its shell. Turning to his curious child, Evan nodded and was witness to the instantaneous apparition of a gigantic smile.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Daniel squatted down next to his father, quite unsure of how he should help the hatching creature. After a short while, as he reached toward the egg, a loud sound vibrated across the room, the crack giving way to a sapphire head and large glistening emerald eyes. Another crack gave way to streaks of red donning the now-visible front arms, making for quite a sight. The duo lost their breath, not unlike when people see extremely beautiful gemstones. The dragon opened its mouth to roar, announcing itshatching to the world. But what came out of its mouth was more similar to a puppy''s endearing bark than anything else. The father and son duo could not help but feel their heart melt. The little hatchling curiously tended its head forward to inspect Daniel, dislodging the egg from its stabilizing contraption.Losing balance, the baby creature started rolling to side. Panic could clearly be seen in its luminous eyes. Daniel precipitated himself to catch the infant. Although the baby would not have any physical consequences from the fall, the ten-year-old did not want the cute infant¡¯s first experience outside of the egg to be that of a fall. The green eyes relaxed in the arms of the young protector and rubbed its head to his chest. The extremities of Evan¡¯s lips could not help but go up as he watched this scene. But what happened next stunned the father. The dragon brought its head down, lightly bit at the top of one of its fingers, and tended the bloody tip to Daniel. The child was confused and panicked at this seemingly self-mutilating action. In all its childish innocence, the dragon had offered the highest form of contract that could be formed between beasts. Evan had never read or heard of this happening with humans. ¡°Give him a drop of your blood!¡± Evan exclaimed and unsheathed his sword. While not understanding why, Daniel let his father poke his finger with the tip of his sword, wincing at the sight of a liquid red ball forming. The dragon put its own finger against Daniel''s. The two drops of blood mixed and the two children fell unconscious as a feeling of warmth and comfort swept through them. Chapter 4 - The Manifestation Ceremony Chapter 4 - The Manifestation Ceremony Daniel felt refreshed as he woke up to the sight of a ball of blue on his chest and a loving father probing his body for any problems. He felt like his senses were sharper than before and felt an instinctual link to the little baby. This was probably just an illusion, he thought. The dragon woke up as well and wobbled up to Daniel¡¯s face. ¡°Should I give you a name?¡± Daniel pondered out loud. Daniel felt an affirmation resonating in his head. This threw him off guard, as this message seemed to be coming from the little dragon. ¡°Are you talking to me?¡± Once again, the mental equivalent of a nod resonated in his mind. Excited at this novelty in his life, thechild experimented with the link. He could also send his own thoughts through his new link to the newborn, that he decided to call Eifion, meaning ¡°deep¡± in the ancient elven language. As the young boy calmed down, he took his new companion out to the bathtub, where he started to wash the little dragon¡¯s liquid off. As he came back to the living room, Evan had a breakfast ready for Daniel, which he started eating. Taking care of the baby dragon that his son had let go of in favor of his breakfast, Evan tried to make it eat. The dragon did not seem to be interested in anything the father presented him. Since Eifion did not seem to be troubled by not eating, Evan just let it do what it wants to. Maybe it only need to draw energy from the air to survive. He wasn''t a specialist in dragon biology, after all. The family had to get ready for the Manifestation Ceremony. ¡°Wash your hands!¡± Evan said as soon as Daniel finished his meal. The dragon escaped from Evan¡¯s arms and adorably wobbled behind Daniel as the child left the room. While marveling at the visible progress Eifion had made in its stride since it was born, Evan took out an armor out from his spatial ring, a contraption in which space was compressed. The armor was a plated armor, dark blue with lines of gold. Forged by Evan, this was to be Daniel¡¯s ceremonial attire and first armor. Evan himself donned an elegant red armor. Scales composed the whole armor, and beautiful small ruby-red Qi Cores were interspersed around the armor, and runes were engraved onto both the scales and the cores. Radiating an aura of majesty, this was Evan¡¯s beloved armor and trusted companion. Evan had forged this armor himself under the supervision of his master with scales that had been given to him by that same master, Jura Champion of Dragons. This armor had contributed greatly to his reputation as a Heaven¡¯s Chosen in his younger years. It even had not left his body since his son was born, as his martial cultivation had made him transcend the need to dispense things from his body.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Evan properly adjusted the armor on Daniel and led the excited boy outside. Daniel could not wait to manifest his Martial Spirit. Each person in this world possessed a spirit, which was awakened through the injection of Qi in small quantities into the brain, simulating the soul. Having a spirit enhanced one¡¯s ability in a certain compatible field. Although there were differentranks of Martial Spirits, even an ordinary spirit benefited its owner. Moreover, the Martial Spirit enabled cultivation, as it could be used to attract Qi from the surrounding atmosphere provided it was paired with a suitable cultivation method. Cultivation, even without great achievements in it, could strengthen the body and prolong youthfulness, making most of the population of the Ancient Mountains a labor force. Furthermore, at certain heights, life expectancy could be multiplied. It was even rumored that reaching immortality was possible with cultivation. Thus, many people spent a great deal of effort cultivating. Schools teaching cultivation were also considered the most prestigious. After all, cultivation guaranteed longevity and power. Only by having a powerful cultivation or having the backing of such an individual could one hope to live life as one wishes. However, life was unfair. Martial Spirits did not have equal cultivation aptitudes. Practice speed differed greatly depending on the different aptitudes. However, it was not unheard of that some cultivators were able to cultivate to great heights even with mediocre Martial Spirits. It was nonetheless rare to hear of such a tale, and most such legends involved some lucky chance that enabled the quality of the martial spirit to be raised somehow. Thus, there tended to be silent discrimination among the cultivators towards those with lower aptitude. It was nothing too overt but could be distinctly felt by any cultivator. A rare portion of society were even born without a Martial Spirit. They were doomed to a life without cultivation and could only practice their bodies to protect themselves to a limited degree. Many of such people, if they lacked backing, were destined to become slaves of others. Most people, however, did not have the opportunity to awaken their Martial Spirits, as the method to manifest the spirit was kept in the hands of cultivation clans. Thus, outside of the Ancient Mountains existed a cast of people ruled by the cultivation clans. After generations of testing, ten years of age was determined to be the point at which the body is most ready to start cultivating. All cultivation clans thus organized a ceremony called the Martial Spirit Manifestation Ceremony wherepeople versed in the art of spirit manifestation would helpall the ten-year olds in the clan manifest their spirits. In the Ancient Mountains, the township of V¨¢n allowed any 10-year-old to participate in the ceremony as long as they are willing to travel from their villages to the town. Daniel could not understand why it wasn''t his father who helped everyone manifest their Martial Spirits. The people in charge of the Manifestation Ceremony were the nine Elders, friends of his father''s. It was furthermore widely agreed that Evan was the strongest fighter in the surroundings, but he was always only a spectator during the ceremony.Moreover, the exact cultivation of this father of his never seemed to be mentioned among the adults. Adults must have their reasons, Daniel sighed. Chapter 5 - The Vibrant Sapling Chapter 5 - The Vibrant Sapling The trio walked towards the outskirts of the town. Daniel didn''t stop pestering Evan about how having a Martial Spirit felt like, but the young man successfully responded to all of these questions with non-answers, so much that Daniel got frustrated and start to throw a fit, which was ended by a gentle headbutt by Eifion in his arms, visibly annoyed by the commotion. As they reached a big building, an old man with hair as white as snow was waiting for them with children, each more excited than the other. Some were going to participate in the Martial Spirit Manifestation Ceremony. Others were excited to see what kind of spirits the bigger children had. This place was the orphanage. Several times every year, Daniel would see his father off for a trip. Evan would come back a week or so later with ten or so orphans, leaving them in the care of Grandpa Pete. Even though Grandpa Pete looked old and harmless, he was a strong cultivator approaching 3000 years of age. After reaching 10 years of age, the orphans would undergo the Manifestation Ceremony like everyone else and someone in the town had to take the child as an apprentice if his skillet was most suited to the child¡¯s Martial Spirit. Evan and the Elders would convene a meeting every year to choose which child would go where. The village was the first known place in this world where this system had been implemented. It was an idea brought by the reincarnator outfitted to this world. Fromthe older children brought back, Daniel had learned that Evan would pick them up from alleyways most often half-starving. In this world, parents disappearing suddenly was relatively common, as many of those of higher cultivation lived their life as they liked and some often let their desires and emotions go unchecked. The children surviving such an encounter alone were often left to fend for themselves. Most of these young children died unable to take care of their needs. Some were kidnapped and raised for the nefarious hobbies of others, living life worse than death. Many babies were left unattended after the death of their parents and died of starvation, only to be found long afterwards, a cry never heard by anyone. A red-haired boy, who had yet to lose all his baby fat came running up to Daniel. ¡°What is this creature? Is it a dragon? Aren''t they legends? Why do you have one? Why is it so small? ¡­¡± The barrage of questions from Mark did not end until Dellons, another friend of Daniel¡¯s, performed a knife hand strike towards the head, effectively making him shut up. Mark rolled on the ground clutching his head, swearing at Dellons. The latter just ignored him and stared at Eifion. He was clearly tempted to hold the little dragon was in his arms.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Sensing what his friend wanted, Daniel asked Eifion if his friend could hold him. Since the dragon did not express an explicit refusal, he handed over the cute newborn. This usually relatively mature friend of his donned a childish smile as he held and patted the little dragon. Eifion purred, expressing his visible contentment. Dellons seemed to melt at this adorable sound. Mark got up and was about to speak up but shut up and hid behind Daniel as Dellons glared at him. With the new addition, the group headed towards the training grounds. As they entered the grounds, the children were greeted by a loud crowd. ---------- The time for the ceremony came. As the nine most powerful beings of the township, the nine Elders, Evan¡¯s sworn siblings, released their Martial Spirits. They had all formed nine Heavenly Palaces and were at the peak of the second major state of cultivation, the Xiantian lifeform. These were the people that the residents ofV¨¢n relied on to keep their independence in the wilderness. Pillars of color shot up to the sky and the nine cultivators soared to the sky. The surroundings suddenly became quiet, as they all admired the magnificent show of strength. The targets of this year¡¯s ceremony all converged towards the middle of nonagon formed by the Elders. Everyone then ceremonially pointed their index finger towards the sky, then to the ground, and finallytowards the children, as if pointing at the union of heaven, earth, and man. The onlookers'' gazes shifted to the children, as the released Qi transformed itself into a soft golden light that cascaded on the children. Daniel felt the warm Qi permeate the entirety of his body. Vitality filled his body and the light reached a certain corner of his brain. There, something seemed to click into place. One by one, projections appeared over the children¡¯s heads. Some were tools, others creatures, and some even pure elements. The brightness of each Martial Spirit was different. Among the early projections, one particularly drew attention: it was Mark¡¯s. A swordsman donned in black armor stood, wings floating separately behind its back. This was a rarely seen Double Spirit. Furthermore, one was even humanoid. However, what happened next completely eclipsed the previous sight. Floating above Daniel¡¯s head was a young sapling. Facing it was a mediating human. A dragon was curled up on the other side. Underneath the sapling was a emerald green sea of vitality. A pitch-black snake could be seen swimming in the sea. Over the sapling was a flying phoenix. All of them gravitated around the small sapling, as if paying respect to a little emperor. Chapter 6 – Joy and Sadness Chapter 6 ¨C Joy and Sadness ¡°...¡± The onlooking crowd fell completely silent as they were witness to this overwhelming manifestation. They had never heard of four martial spirits appearing on one person, never mind six. The shock they felt was incomparable to when they saw Mark¡¯s Double Spirit. Although there had been cases where people had been in possession of a far greater amount of martial spirits formed by the spirits of slain animals, such spirits were never truly part of oneself. Daniel¡¯s being, however, was fully tied to his six spirits. However, what truly drew the crowd¡¯s attention wasn¡¯t the number of spirits. It was rather the behavior of the snake, phoenix, dragon, and human. Even the common villagers present knew that this display of deference was abnormal. Each martial spirit looked absolutely exceptional on its own, yet they were submitting to the most simple-looking martial spirit. This shock was even more intense among the knowledgeable cultivators present, as they knew the other martial spirits. The naked meditating human was the Rank 8 Hermit Sage. It, and the two Rank 7 Martial Spirits, the Luminous Phoenix and the Black Leviathan, were the characteristic Triple Spirit that allowed Evan to stay unrivalled among his peers in his younger years. Although they did not know the exact rank of the dragon spirit, even the weakest Dragon Martial Spirit was Rank 7. The emerald green sea was an equally impressive Martial Spirit, the Rank 8 Sea of Vitality. What truly drew Evan and the people¡¯s attention was the vibrant sapling. Although it resembled the infant form of the often seen Rank 3 Common Ash Martial Spirit, there was something singularly different about it. Something almost transcendent. However, no matter how he looked at its physical appearance, it looked like the greatly downgraded version of the Rank 7 Wise Ash of Life characteristic to Evan¡¯s deceased wife¡¯s clan. Yet, Evan felt that something was hidden underneath its utterly mundane facade. ---------- The silence was broken by the successive manifestation of other children¡¯s Martial Spirits. The parents naturally refocused on their children.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Between Mark and Daniel¡¯s flamboyant phenomenons quietly sat Dellons. ---------- The pace of manifestations gradually lessened, and finally after an hour or so, the children started to break out of the meditative states induced by their Martial Spirits. Many got up and departed from the circle to rejoin their parents. Most of the children could not wait to test their spirits out. Yet, they had to wait for all the children to end their manifestation. Left in the circle were the three friends. Dellons opened his eyes dejectedly, only to see his two good friends¡¯ success. He hadn¡¯t been able to manifest a Martial Spirit. This left him with a dispiriting void. How many nights had he stayed awake, imagining what kind of spirit he would have? How many times was he woken up by the nightmare of manifesting a trash spirit? How many times had he vowed his parents had he would take revenge for them once he started cultivating? How was he going to do that now? He hated the Heavens that rejected him. This was the moment a flame lit up in his heart that would later shake the world. ---------- Mark soon woke up, followed shortly by Daniel. They looked around and saw that they were the two left in the area. They got up and joined Dellons, Evan and the orphans. ¡°Dellons, what kind of Martial Spirit did you get?¡± Mark asked innocently, only to be greeted by silence. Sensing that something was wrong, Mark guessed that Dellons manifested a trash Martial Spirit. He patted Dellons in the backand added: ¡°Talk to me about your Martial Spirit when you feel like it.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have one.¡± Dellons snapped.This time, it was the red-haired boy¡¯s turned to be silent. Never had he imagined that such a rarity would occur in this group of friends. If Dellons had a trash Martial Spirit, at least he could cultivate. The absence of one meant that his road out of mortality would be nigh impossible. Mark could not think of anything to say. Realizing that he had just talked very harshly to his friend, Dellons tried to justify himself. "Uh... I''m sorry, I just..." ¡°I¡¯ll ask dad if he can do anything for you.¡± Daniel could only say so to comfort his friend. An uncomfortable silence settled itself as the three children waited for the next and final step of the Ceremony. Chapter 7 - Each Childs Future Chapter 7 -Each Child''s Future Daniel watched Evan walk out in front of the crowd and then tap his spatial ring. A short flash gave way to a human sized transparent rock. ¡°As you all know, this is an Energy Crystal. All those who need to have their Martial Spirit Rank tested, please get in line.¡± The children precipitated themselves to the line. Leaving Dellons to join the line, Daniel could not wait to know his spirits¡¯ rank. The Energy Crystal lit up as a brown-haired girl put her hands on it and words in an unknown language appeared on the crystal. ¡°Rank 3 Sylvan Boots. Cheer up, Emma. Although it¡¯s a low rank, it¡¯ll be immensely helpful for hunting and scouting.¡± ¡°Rank 3 Aquatic Sloth. It excels in defense and has decent water compatibility.¡± ¡°Rank 4 Midnight Hawk. It can evolve into a Roc if you work hard. It has a lot of potential.¡± ¡°Rank 5 Blacksmith Hammer. You can go ask Careus about forging.¡± ¡°Rank 2 Arboreal Sloth. Another Sloth? That¡¯s rare. Don¡¯t just laze around just because people can¡¯t find you.¡± ¡°Rank 3 Fire Spirit ¡­¡± ---------- ¡°... Rank 6 Giant Ground Sloth. Lucky you, Ivan. It¡¯s the strongest sloth. You¡¯ll get a lot of power with this Martial Spirit.¡± Although each child¡¯s level of joy was different, all of them seemed interested by their new plaything. As each child got their Martial Spirit appraised, Daniel¡¯s excitement grew. It was finally Daniel¡¯s turn. ¡°Rank 7 Luminous Phoenix, Rank 7 Black Leviathan, Rank 8 Hermit Sage, Rank 8 Sea of Vitality, Rank 8 Fafnir and Rank 4 Mutated Common Ash? ¡­.¡± Evan and Daniel were both dumbfounded. This didn¡¯t make sense. Putting aside the high rank Martial Spirits, why was the central sapling a Rank 4? ¡°Let¡¯s talk about it at home.¡± In the end, 75 Martial Spirits and 69 people were appraised. Among them, two were adults who had their ranks re-evaluated. One was a female huntress who had reached rank 5 from rank 3 as he had ingested a Rank 3 Lightning Eagle¡¯s spirit which was incorporated into his own Rank 3 Wind Eagle Martial Spirit, which led to a successful mutation to a Rank 5 Storm Eagle. This was one way to break free of the intrinsic boundaries of a martial spirit. The other man was the Seventh Elder, Mulcan Dove, who managed to mutate his Rank 6 Fire Hammer through the sheer hard work of tempering it into a Rank 7 Volcanic Hammer with his comprehension of Laws. Such mutations were rare event, but happened twice this year, increasing the festive atmosphere.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. The crowd dispersed to celebrate in their homes. ---------- The orphans and Elders followed Evan and Daniel to the Town Hall, which also functioned as the father and son¡¯s home. After entering the premises of the building, the Elders settled around the long oval table. ¡°Let¡¯s get the thing going. I¡¯ll just call dibs on G¨¦r?me.¡± said a boisterous man with a substantial midriff, pointing at the child who had manifested a Rank 5 Blacksmith Hammer. He was Aaron Schmid, the Third Elder, from the famous blacksmithing clan, the Schmid Clan. ¡°Don¡¯t forget the procedure we made, fat-ass.¡± ¡°Shut it. You aren¡¯t the main characters today. The childrens are. Let¡¯s start the meeting already.¡± Before the swearing between the Seventh and Third Elders could intensify, First Elder Hellen cut them off by announcing the start of the meeting. Her dazzlingly intense black eyes cut the two men off. No one dared underestimate this beauty. She was the strongest of the sworn siblings after Evan. Swaying her black hair, she asked a young girl to come forward. The girl seemed to tense as she approached the woman. Hellen chuckled and stroked the girl¡¯s head. ¡°Just relax. We¡¯re not going to bite you. So Nance here has manifested a Midnight Hawk. What ideas do you guys have?¡± As soon as she finished speaking, the Second Elder spoke: ¡°I guess a hunter could take her in as a disciple. What do you say, Careus?¡± ¡°Why not? The second hunting squad leader should be able to teach her the ropes. I mean, her Storm Eagle¡¯s pretty similar to the Midnight Hawk.¡± ¡°I disagree. The Midnight Hawk¡¯s appeal is that it¡¯s attuned with the Darkness Element. She should join my Shadow Corps¡­¡± The conversation went on to a consensus that she should either join one of the Fourth Elder¡¯s Hunting Squads or the Sixth Elder¡¯s Shadow Corps. Seeing that both sides had valid arguments, Evan chose to ask the subject of the debate, Nance, what she thought. Irresponsible as it was to let a ten-year-old make the choice by herself, it was after all her life. She had to take the reins of her life because parents could not do it for her. The brown eyes looked up at Evan and said naively: ¡°Grandpa Pete says that Daniel¡¯s daddy is very wise. He said that I can trust Daniel¡¯s daddy. What do you think I should do?¡± The adults broke out in laughter. ¡°This again from the first one this year?¡± ¡°I should also ask Grandpa Pete to instill that I, Aaron Schmid, am a good person.¡± Yet, during this commotion, the brown eyes stayed on Evan. ¡°Keith, can you teach her about the rudiments of the Darkness Element for a month or so? And then Nance can join the Hunting Squad under Teresa (the second squad leader) for another month or so. You can chose then what you want to do. Right, Nance?¡± The girl nodded. ¡°Ok, stand behind the Sixth Elder.¡± ¡°Now, next. G¨¦r?me. -¡± ¡°I want to study under the Third Elder!¡± As soon as he stepped forward, the tall child shouted out his will. ¡°HAHA. You¡¯ve got eyes, kid. Good choice. You shouldn¡¯t learn blacksmithing under a Dove, but a Schmid.¡± Aaron snickered. ¡°Oh, you -¡± ¡°Ok. Next.¡± The meeting continued on until only the three friends were left. Evan left no room for discussion. ¡°I¡¯ll take these three. No one disagrees, right?¡± ¡° ¡° ¡° Nope.¡± ¡± ¡± ¡°Ok. That¡¯s it. The meeting¡¯s dismissed.¡± Chapter 8 - The Night Sky Chapter 8 - The Night Sky ¡°Grandpa Pete, so¡­¡± ¡°Grandpa Pete! Grandpa Pete!¡± Overly excited by the next step in their life, the orphans jumped over to the old man waiting for them with a tender smile outside the town hall. He patted the children who were inundating him. Each trying to explain to the man who had taken care of them for years what the council had chosen for them, the children were overwhelming Grandpa Pete. And yet, in this joyous atmosphere, his seemingly smiling eyes betrayed a certain sadness. Dellons would often spy this complicated emotion in the old man. Dellons¡¯ eyes met the eyes of the director of the orphanage. The child cast his eyes to his left and tightly clenched his fist. Because of the strength used, his fingernails dug into the palm of his hand, inflicting brief pain. ---------- The children came back to the orphanage to spend their last night in the orphanage. As the younger children crowded around the 10-year-olds, the children boasted about their Martial Spirits. Mark and his Double Spirit, G¨¦r?me and his Blacksmith Hammer, Nance and her Midnight Hawk... The younger children were excited throughout the whole evening. In the sleeping hall, the children did not seem to realize that the sun had fallen and the moon was rising, as they continued talking well into the night. Mark fell asleep first, followed by a constant trickle of children embracing their dreams.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ---------- As the moon majestically dominated the night sky, Dellons could not fall asleep. He looked at the children of various ages in dreamland, their infantile faces illuminated by the soft moonlight. A certain red-hair¡¯s mouth was wide open, as drool dripped out his mouth onto a towel that he grasped very tightly. Mark had been found clenching this towel in an alleyway crying 8 years ago. Since then, Dellons had never seen Mark sleep without the towel. Raising his head revealed a delicate and immature face. The jet black stared at the ceiling for a second, before moving to remove the little angel sleeping on his left arm. The 4 year-old frowned as Dellons softly put him back on his futon. Having tiptoed out of the hall, the child softly opened the front door and laid down on the grass. In his mouth was a strand of green grass. He chewed it slightly and let the bitterness gradually spread into his mouth. Dellons spat the grass out after a while. Facing the sky, he whispered: ¡°What did I do to deserve this?¡± The mellow light and silent night pierced his heart. His lungs were constricted by an imaginary pressure and Dellons could not help but breathe heavily. Raising his white palm to block the moon, only letting some moonlight pass through the gaps of his fingers, Dellons sighed lightly. He lazily pulled his hand back and, as his arms started to hurt from being put up, he put both of his hands behind his head absentmindedly. Preoccupied to the extent of being unaware of his surroundings, he did not realize that a certain old man was approaching him. ¡°Little Dellons, it¡¯s already quite late. Why are you out here?¡± Only the sound of frogs croaking answered him. The director sat down next to the boy and stroked his head gently. Tears started welling up in Dellons'' eyes and his young arms wrapped around the caretaker. Chapter 9 - The Beginning of Apprenticeship Chapter 9 - The Beginning of Apprenticeship Only three people were left in the Town Hall as evening settled itself comfortably. ¡°Dad, can¡¯t we do something for Dellons?¡± ¡°Hmm... Let me think of something, okay?¡± Evan patted Daniel¡¯s head and addressed his sister Alene. ¡°Oi. (Whap) You should have come back earlier. I thought that you were going to miss the Manifestation Ceremony.¡± On her face appeared a shadow of repentance and her eyes shifted down to the ground, unable to meet the big brother¡¯s gaze. The back of her black robe started to dampen as But Evan allowed none of that. ¡°Alene, don¡¯t avoid my gaze. You need to be more self-aware of the fact that you¡¯re the Ninth Elder!¡± ¡°Dad, you¡¯re saying too much! Big Sis Alene came back on time for the ceremony, right? And she seems to be regretting her actions.¡± Daniel positioned himself between the two adults. He was happy to see the affectionate and gentle brown-haired lady and although she was at fault for not coming back to V¨¢n for nearly a month, the child felt that her actions didn¡¯t warrant such a reprimand. ¡°You¡­you¡¯re always too nice to Alene. Sigh... Fine. I¡¯ll go think about Dellon¡¯s problem.¡± The father left the hall, heading to his office. As the door closed, Alene jumped to hug the ten-year old, burying Daniel in her not-so-insignificant chest. ¡°Thank you Dany!¡± ¡°Big Sis, you¡¯re suffocating me!¡± Her two mounds were akin to two small watermelons pushing on both sides of the poor ten-year-old. As oxygen was getting scarce in the boy¡¯s lungs, the shapely lady let go of him. A deep breath served to revive Daniel. Daniel gave Alene a frustrated stare that she paid no attention too. Although those breasts tormented him from time to time, he loved her curves of softness. It calmed him. She gave him part of the motherly love that he had never had. She was his protector, someone with whom he had discovered the world in his infanthood. He had lost count of the number of times her soft blue eyes, unchanging black hair and soft citrus scent had lulled him to sleep. She was something robust and real. Alene was his Big Sis, his father¡¯s little sister.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. A recent flaw of hers was that she would often disappear for a week or so from time to time. Daniel did not know what she did in this period of time, but she would always come back when she needed to fulfill her limited responsibilities as the weakest of the Nine Elders, as well as the youngest. Daniel routinely pestered her about what she did during the times when she was away, but Alene would never say. ------ As Daniel bent down to touch the morning dew, he didn¡¯t see Mark approaching him from the side. A branch cracked, soliciting a reaction from the blue-eyed boy, much to the dismay of the red-haired boy plotting to push Daniel from the back. As he saw his two friends approaching, a smile crept up on his face. ¡°Where¡¯s your dad?¡± ¡°Inside! Come in, it¡¯s going to be your new house for a while.¡± The three friends entered the premises of the Town Hall. After having put down their belongings into their respective rooms, the trio knocked at the door of the study. ¡°Come in.¡± Daniel opened the door, leading the other two in the room. ¡°So, I¡¯ll be your master in cultivation for a while if you guys don¡¯t mind. Do you know why I chose to take you guys? I mean, of course I was going to take Daniel in. He¡¯s my son. But, for the two of you, the reason¡¯s different. It¡¯s not simply because of your friendship with Daniel. Mark, you¡¯re predisposed towards swordsmanship with your Night Swordsman. And your Lustrous Wings also gives you a predisposition to my own cultivation art, so I deemed that you¡¯d get a good instruction under me. I mean, you¡¯re always free to go study under someone else, but I thought that¡¯d be the best for you. As for you, Dellons, you don¡¯t have to be dispirited about not having a Martial Spirit. I have ways for you to cultivate.¡± (Growl) ¡°Haha, but before explaining that, it seems like someone needs to eat breakfast.¡± A growling stomach had cut Evan off. Mark¡¯s face turned all red as Dellons and Daniel restrained themselves from laughing. However, it didn¡¯t take long for everyone to burst out laughing when Daniel¡¯s own stomach harmonized with Mark¡¯s. ------- Under Evan¡¯s supervision, the four of them started to prepare breakfast. Daniel broke several eggs in a bowl and started beating it. Dellons sifted the flour, over Mark¡¯s bowl in which he mixed the sugar, baking powder, salt, milk, and oil that Evan passed him one by one. And then came the beaten eggs. Evan took over to mix the whole until the texture became smooth. As Evan poured the batter onto two lightly oiled frying pans, the children seated themselves at the dining table. They drank milk in anticipation of the thin and round flat cake that would degust soon. Probably awaken by the scent of the soon-to-be-made breakfast, Alene appeared in the dining room, her eyes still half closed. A yawn escaped her sleepy lips, just as the first two pancakes made their way to Mark and Dellons. The two children poured a thick, viscous syrup onto the golden delicacy. The sight blew any drowsiness away from Evan¡¯s little sister, who seated herself, awaiting her turn. After several pancakes, the stomachs of the three children and two adults were satisfied. A curious dragon watched on as they ate. Alene took their plates to wash while grumbling, as a punishment for waking up late. ¡°So, yeah. Teaching you guys everyday stuff like cooking is also part of my mentoring in cultivation. You need to be good human beings before becoming a strong cultivator. Your mentality has a great impact on how you progress, so you have to keep that in mind.¡± Three heads nodded simultaneously. ¡°So let¡¯s finally begin talking about cultivation.¡± Chapter 10 - The Pursuit of Strength Chapter 10 - The Pursuit of Strength ¡°So let¡¯s finally begin talking about cultivation.¡± A certain blue dragon with emerald eyes and red streaks donning its arms hopped onto Daniel¡¯s lap, eager to listen to the lecture. ¡°Let¡¯s start with explaining the world we live in for little Eifion. As the three of you know, we live in the sole township of the Ancient Mountains, V¨¢n. V¨¢n has approximately two thousand inhabitants. Do you all know why this town has a lot of friends and family of mine?¡± The children started pondering on the question, but seeing that no answers would come out any time soon, Evan continued to explain the history of the township. ¡°The Ancient Mountains are situated at the eastern extremity of human lands. The five villages and many hamlets are ruled by V¨¢n, because we are the only ones capable of granting them protection. We have the Elders, who all have Nine Heavenly Palaces at the least. To explain how powerful the Elders are, we need to explain the whole cultivation system. Daniel, list out the cultivation realms for me.¡± ¡°Ok, dad. The first state is the Houtian lifeform. The realms in this state are the Qi Sensing Realm, the Pathway Refinement Realm, the Locus Creation Realm, and the Limit Unlocking Realm. The second state is the Xiantian lifeform. The realms in this state are the Revolving Core Realm, the Core Sea Realm, and the Palace Creation Realm. I think I heard Uncle Keith (Sixth Elder) talk about about becoming a Law Soul lifeforms¡­ Am I right, dad?¡± ¡°That''s already a pretty good overview. You didn''t mention some things, but I''ll get to it. So, you begin cultivation by sensing Qi with your Martial Spirit. This is the Qi Sensing Realm. It''s not technically a real realm in that it doesn''t actually change anything in you. But until you go through this step, you can''t start cultivating. In the next Realm, the Pathway Refinement Realm, you take the Qi you sense in your surroundings into your body and circulate it in your Qi pathways with a cultivation method. Little by little, you allow the pathways to get used to the Qi and expand to accomodate more Qi. By circulating the Qi in your body, you also pump energy into your muscles, bones, organs, and skin, enforcing them according to your cultivation technique. Once your body is ready, you can create an energy locus with your Qi as a base. You can store various energies in the locus and depending on how big your locus is, you can use Qi outside of the body as what we call basic magic, such as creating a fireball, or creating a gust of wind. Even if you don¡¯t have enough Qi to use outside of your body, you will still have enough Qi to give your body an instantaneous boost. At this stage, most people start to choose whether to become a warrior and focus on the strength of their body, or become a magician. However, up to this stage, you are still within the bounds of humanity. If someone were to train their body to the maximum, they most likely can battle against someone in the Locus Creation Realm to a standstill. The next step is the real decider on whether you can become a real cultivator or not. Most people are stuck at this step. You have to break the limits of human body. That is why we call this realm the Limit Unlocking Realm. Their are the gates in your body that put a natural stopper to the human body. You have to break through them with your Qi. You can break through as many as you want, but at the very least you need to break the Heart Gate, the Brain Gate, and the Navel Gate, where the locus is located. You can break through as many gates as you want to and unlock the limits of your body. Some very popular gates are the arm and leg gates, as well as the lung gates. You can also break through the individual gates governing each of the fingers for example, so there are infinite possibilities, according to the individual compatibility to each Gate and the cultivation method. If you break through the three central gates, your lifespan quadruples, and you are an official cultivator. You usually need to wield a Rank 4 or higher Martial Spirit to break a gate, so most people are innately limited to this step with a low rank Martial Spirit.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. These are the well known Realms of the Houtian Realm. But I like to add two Realms between the Locus Creation Realm and the Limit Unlocking Realm.¡± A smile crept up on Evan¡¯s face, as he prepared himself to present his own research to the four listening children. ¡°Although you only technically need these four steps as a foundation to break into the Xiantian Realm, I found that there are still ways to get stronger within the bounds of the Houtian Realm. And these two Realms are the Locus Expansion Realm and the Sensory Evolution Realm. In the Locus Expansion Realm, you just expand the locus. So, even if your original locus were to be too small to allow the use magic, you can improve your own aptitude towards magic. After this Realm, there is the Sensory Evolution Realm. Before breaking through any of the other gates of the body, you can unlock the gates of the five senses. It is way harder and painful to open than the other gates and these gates become almost impossible to open while in the Houtian Realm if you open the other gates first. If you choose to go through the Sensory Evolution Realm, as a trade off for the pain and effort, you can feel... see, hear, taste, smell, and touch Qi. These are the foundation that you create to break free of humanity.¡± ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Cultivation Realms
Lifeform Realm Lifespan
(transition) Qi Sensing 100
Houtian Pathway Refinement 100
Locus Creation 100
(Locus Expansion) 100
(Sensory Evolution) 100
Limit Unlocking 400
(transition) Qi Crystallization 400-1000
Xiantian Revolving Core 3000
Core Sea 10000
Palace Creation 20000
(transition) Soul Nourishing 20000-40000
Law Soul Law Soul 50000
Law Domain 60000
(transition) Law Baptism 60000-1000000
Immortal False/True Immortal As long as the law exists
World King As long as the world exists
World Creator As long as any one of the worlds created exist
Divinity Divinity Infinite
Chapter 11 - What You Give, What You Get Chapter 11 - What You Give, What You Get ¡°These are the foundation that you create to break free of humanity.¡± A sigh could not help but escape Evan¡¯s mouth as he remembered the state of his own locus. Realizing that he was still instructing the children, he took out two books from his spatial ring and passed them to Mark and Daniel. ¡°Mark, since your martial spirit has similar specializations to mine, you¡¯ll be training with my Balanced Swordsman Cultivation Method. It¡¯s my very own cultivation method. Don¡¯t look down on its plain name. I created it from the Silver Cloud Clan¡¯s three supreme methods.¡± The Silver Cloud Clan was one of the five famous clans that were granted self-governance in the Deatus Empire, to the west. The thousands of members of the clan all inherited a Rank 6 Martial Spirit, the Cloud Sage. This inherited Martial Spirit and its higher mutated forms, coupled with the three Supreme Cultivation Methods, had given birth over time to a clan that had the power to inflict a grave wound to the Empire if they ever were to be in opposition. Its Patriarch (Law Soul Realm), Grand Elders (Law Soul Realm), and many Elders (Palace Creation Realm) gave them an unshakable position and powerful influence. They were also known to be very possessive of their cultivation methods. If it were ever found that their unique cultivation methods were in possession of a stranger, a hunt for that individual would ensue. Mark thus almost threw away instinctively the book in his hands. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The essence of the methods are mixed together, so no one should be able to surmise that it is a cultivation method of the Silver Cloud Clan.¡± Mark could only nod, although some doubts still remained on his mind.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡°As for you Daniel, what I gave you is your mother¡¯s clan¡¯s cultivation method, the Primordial Ash Method. It¡¯s only to start cultivating. Creating an ecosystem around your tree spirit in your Soul is probably the best on the long term, so I will be working on that for a while.¡± Evan¡¯s eyes shifted to the last child, visibly dejected by the fact that he did not get a cultivation method, which seemingly reaffirmed his perception that he would not be able to cultivate. A sigh once again escaped Evan¡¯s mouth. ¡°Dellons. Do you really want to cultivate, no matter what?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Even if the process will hurt you much more than your friends?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Even if there is a chance you may lose your mind?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Unshakable determination, unbefitting a ten-year-old, rang out of Dellons¡¯ larynx. A third sigh decorated the scene. A red crystal appeared in the master¡¯s hand. ¡°I propose that you cultivate like a Qi Creature. To do so, you¡¯d need to have a Qi Heart. This dragon¡¯s heart is exactly that. Implanting this will change your blood and thus the quality of the body and you will be able to breath in Qi from the air, just like the Qi Creatures, such as dragons, do. I have a dragon¡¯s heart in my body as well, but I didn¡¯t have as much risk as you do because I was already in the Xiantian Realm when I had my heart transplanted. So, the first step you will have to take is to train your body until can undergo such an operation.¡± A sudden gust of wind flung a half-open window to its most extended state, the natural phenomenon personifying the child¡¯s excitement as Evan¡¯s words started to sink into his heart. Mark¡¯s face wore a bright smile as his friend¡¯s excitement infected him. Daniel¡¯s brows, however, were knit together, as he thought about the implications of the transplantation. A certain father¡¯s hand ruffled his hair, easily redirecting the child¡¯s thoughts with his cultivation philosophy. ¡°You get out what you put in. If you want more, give more. The effort you put in to your cultivation will form who you will be. As long as you don¡¯t lose sight of who you are and put in the effort, you can reach for the stars.¡± And thus began the three friends¡¯ cultivation journey. Chapter 12 – Order of Business Chapter 12 ¨C Order of Business ¡°Here are your preliminary schedules. (Chuckle) Don''t complain because it is packed. As I said before, you need to be good human beings before being strong cultivators. Train yourself and your own mentality, and your cultivation will progress more smoothly.¡± Looking through the timetable, Dellons saw a word that he had never heard of. ¡°Master, what does ca-li-s-the-nics mean?¡± ¡°Calisthenics is just a fancy way of saying body weight exercise. You¡¯ll be doing a variety of movements meant to increase strength, fitness and flexibility, through movements such as pulling, pushing, bending, jumping, or swinging. I¡¯ll show you, so let¡¯s go outside.¡± With a smile, Evan motioned them to go outside. He then took out a set of metal bars from his spacial ring and grabbed a bar. He then assumed an upside down tuck position, with his knees to the chest. After his knees passed over his head, his legs were raised up into an inverted hang position. Evan lowered his body little by little, leading from the toes, down to a horizontal hold. The children were dumbfounded at the strangely elegant sight of Evan¡¯s body and the ground drawing parallel lines, the sun glistening on the elegant red scale armor. Evan inclined his head to face the children. ¡°This is called the back lever, a figure in calisthenics. For now, you guys are too weak to do it, but by working progressively step by step, you¡¯ll one day be able to do this. Or by using your cultivation, but that would defeat the purpose of doing these exercises¡­¡± Evan unraveled himself from the figure and showed each type of existing exercises explaining them in detail. A visibly excited Mark asked if he can try doing a front lever, as a certain exasperated group let him fail wretchedly, his muscles, or lack thereof, simply not supporting his ten-year-old body. ------- An oppressive might rushed out from the basement door that Evan opened. Dellons stared in amazement at the sight in front of him. A golden materialization of energy glowed in the room under the Town Hall. The warm light wrapped around the two adult and three children. Dellons had felt this before. The last time was at the Manifestation Ceremony. This was Qi in all its infinitude, in all its omnipotence, in all its rawness. It did not reject Dellons; Dellons just could not keep it. This confirmation of his inability caused a reflexive clenching of his fists, his nails cutting into his palm. Pain shot up instantaneously from his hand, but it faded away before Dellons could finish putting his hand up in front of his eyes. There existed only a faint pink line on his palm.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Before Dellons could put his doubt into words, his train of thought was cut off by Evan. ¡°Mark, Daniel! Move your Martial Spirits to take in a strand of Qi!¡± ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Preliminary Schedules
Daniel Mark Dellons
6:00 AM - Wake Up 6:00 - 7:00 AM - Cultivation 7:00 AM - - Run to Mount Dilla Breakfast 8:30 - 11:30 AM - Alchemy with Alene Lunch 1:00 - 2:30 PM - History, Geography, and Politics 2:30 - 4:00 PM - Swordsmanship Training 4:00 - 5:00 PM - Study of the Body and Nature 5:00 - 6:30 PM - Cultivation Dinner Chores Rest and Medicinal Bath 9:30 PM Sleep 6:00 AM - Wake Up 6:00 - 7:00 AM - Cultivation 7:00 Am - - Run to Mount Dilla Breakfast 8:30 - 11:30 AM - Blacksmithing with David Lunch 1:00 - 2:30 PM - History, Geography, and Politics 2:30 - 4:00 PM - Swordsmanship Training 4:00 - 5:00 PM - Study of the Body and Nature 5:00 - 6:30 PM - Cultivation Dinner Chores Rest and Medicinal Bath 9:30 PM Sleep 6:00 AM - Wake Up 6:00 - 7:00 AM - Stretches and Calisthenics 7:00 AM - - Run to Mount Dilla Breakfast 8:30 - 11:30 AM - Strength Training and Medicinal Bath Lunch 1:00 - 2:30 PM - History, Geography, and Politics 2:30 - 4:00 PM - Swordsmanship Training 4:00 - 5:00 PM - Study of the Body and Nature 5:00 - 6:30 PM - Stretches and Calisthenics Dinner Chores Rest and Medicinal Bath 9:30 PM Sleep
Chapter 13 - Strengthening the Body Chapter 13 - Strengthening the Body ¡°Mark, Daniel! Move your Martial Spirits to take in a strand of Qi!¡± Daniel sat down panting as he nudged his Martial Spirits. His body suddenly vibrated and prickling numbness assaulted his limbs. An incorporeal sapling appeared over his head, simultaneously creating a small swirl. The surrounding golden Qi condensed into a wisp, the hue disappearing as it entered within his flesh and blood, all too easily. [Author: If anyone knows Japanese, I meant ¤¢¤Ã¤±¤Ê¤¯ "akkenaku". But I couldn¡¯t find the right word, so if anyone has a better suggestion, please comment¡­] The boy felt a strand of spiritual energy appear inside him. He beamed with excitement, his eyes still closed. Pulling the strand across his body, a soothing and invigorating feeling spread across his body. Wrapped in warm light, he and a certain red-haired boy, who had yet to lose all his baby fat, were tasting the sweetness of cultivation. ------- Daniel, Mark, and Dellons stood outside the gates of the town, an early morning breeze hitting them, sending shivers down their spine. Stretching his already tired muscles, Dellons looked at Mount Dilla, standing steadily in the early light. Mount Dilla was a snow-capped mountain, two hills away from the town. V¨¢n was located in a relatively flat area in the Ancient Mountains, breaking the continuous surrounding mountain chain. This topographic advantage, coupled with its proximity to both a spring and a river, was the reason Evan chose to settle at this site. However, one should not be fooled by this description into thinking the place was a plain, as the terrain was still considered hilly by any reasonable definition. Grrrr. The freshness of the morning, accompanied with their stomachs¡¯ unsubtle demand for a breakfast, motivated the three children to start running. Seeing them starting off at a rapid pace, Evan shook his head, while smiling faintly to himself. The children would have to learn pace management the hard way, he mused. ------- Dellons considered himself a good runner. He had never lost in a foot race against anyone of his age. Except for Mark, but Mark didn¡¯t count, he convinced himself. And yet, he was having difficulty keeping up with the two of them. Yes, he did work his body out with his master while the other two were cultivating, but his pride did not allow him to fall behind.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Several times a year, Grandpa Pete took the orphans on an excursion to Mount Dilla, so the children were used to the road. And yet, the road to the peak seemed to lengthen manyfold as they ran. Dellons wheezed as his burning lungs gasped for air. His legs felt numb and unsteady, painfully sore; the lactic acid left in the wake of the squats and lunges was whispering to Dellons that he should stop his effort. His throat felt dry and the cool morning air hurt his lungs. His clothes gradually clung to his body; his neck, forehead, and spine were accumulating sweat, while his stomach cooled down. Part of him wanted to stop running and gasp for air. But Dellons could hear his friends¡¯ shoes hitting the ground beside and in front of him. His steps synchronized with the other two¡¯s unknowingly. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. As he turned around at Mount Dilla, Dellons felt himself approaching his limits ¡­ and breathing became increasingly arduous. Having spit out mucus, he couldn¡¯t be bothered to breath through his diaphragm anymore: his whole chest was taking in fresh air like a pair of over-solicited bellows. Going up the hill, the pain became greater and greater. Daniel also seemed to be struggling, and Mark was starting to breath faster. Suddenly, something seemed to click together, and Dellons entered a state of nothingness. In this condition close to his limit, his mind completely blank, energy seeping into his suffering legs, Dellons found the surroundings blur past him. He found himself plopping down on the grass in front of the Town Hall. ------- Sensing the arrival of the children, Evan came out of thehouse with three cups of water positioned on a wooden board. Looking at Dellons who had completely lost strength in his lower body, Evan knew that his goal was accomplished. In this world, as people persevered on after reaching their limits, the world would extend a momentary aid to the individual, pumping some Qi into the overworked place. Most of it would be expended in the effort, but a fraction of the Qi would stay and get assimilated. He was banking on using this natural phenomenon to acclimate Dellons¡¯ body to Qi. That was the only way he would not implode, be crippled, or lose sovereignty over his own body upon transplanting the Qi Heart. And, he gets to create a good foundation at the same time, Evan thought. There were only merits to this action, except for the immediate suffering. The children quenched their thirst with the cup of water and Evan lifted Dellons up and dumped him in a filled bath, whereMark and Danieljoined him without much delay. Shortly afterwards, a clean and energetic Mark could be seen dragging his tired friend to the dining table, where a hot meal was waiting for them. This sight reinvigorated the two other children, who could not stop the forks and spoons from scooping the breakfast. Chapter 14 - A Foreshadowing Shadow Chapter 14 - A Foreshadowing Shadow His father talking about the Beolum Kingdom in the west, its seven founding clans, and the Deatus Empire further to the west, did not seem to enter Mark¡¯s ears, as the morning lessons had drained him of energy. Mark had always been an action over words person, Daniel mused. Daniel himself, though, liked these classes, especially the Study of Body and Nature. There was something inherently beautiful about how living things grow, take in food to create energy, make waste, and reproduce. Of course, History, Geography, and Politics lessons were also important, as they explained where they all were, what elements surrounded they, and how they came to be. Decisions, wars, and disasters had shaped the world into what Daniel lived in now. However, he still found natural phenomenons and wonders of nature much more appealing. Although he had not see it with his own eyes, the endless depths of oceans, the unforgiving tornadoes, the towering tsunamis, the undying trees and tall mountains piercing the skies were simply¡­ cool. Daniel looked on amusedly as Evan smacked Mark from his stupor. Eifion on his laps also let Daniel know of his amusement through their mental link. As Mark overreacted, Dellons could not help but chuckle and Mark glared at him, clenching his head. Daniel could already imagine Dellons¡¯ ass get walloped later during the spar. Mark had already displayed his overwhelming talent in the art of swordsmanship: he had something, something that gave him an edge over the other two children. Mark and Daniel were by no means bad. The ten-year-old red haired had reflexes that far-outclassed his peers and owned a sort of controlled lucidity whenever his hand grasped a sword. He was a genius of the sword, although a disappointment in most other fields. Although sometimes, he¡¯d have too much fun that he becomes a bit sloppy in his form. During this half year, all three of them were smoothly getting stronger and the progressively longer morning runs had shaved off most of the boys¡¯ baby fat. Speaking of morning runs, as soon as the blue dragon could wield its wings to fly, it had taken a liking to following them on their runs. Eifion usually slept during their trainings in the basement room, breathing in the golden Qi in its long naps, but it seemed to have taken a liking to riding on the wind that the three friends hated so much. It had never occurred to him until he compared himself to the little dragon, but Daniel realized how truly feeble a human¡¯s body was. The fact that cultivating could allow them to secure more and more land from the other inhabitants of the world was plainly a miracle. It wasn¡¯t just on their physical capabilities that they could not compare to other species; there were still many other fields they were lacking in.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. The fertility rate of most Qi creatures were higher than humans of the same level and their offspring were mostly born in batches, instead of individual birth. If wars were to be fought solely by population, in a given area, humans were most likely to get overrun than not. Humanity¡¯s cooperative ability were also lacking compared to races who shared experiences and feelings telepathically, and humanity¡¯s resistance to extreme weather was pathetic. Of course, this was solely if humanity¡¯s ability to cultivate was not considered. Smack. It was now Daniel¡¯s turn to be reprimanded for having his head in the clouds. ------- ¡°Mark, stop swinging your sword with too much momentum. You¡¯re losing balance.¡± ¡°Daniel, it¡¯s fine to be calm, but don¡¯t overthink it when you see an opening.¡± Evan instructed the two children as they sparred, but occupying the greater part of his mind was another thing. In the last week, there had been several sightings near V¨¢n of wandering Qi creatures that were usually too frightened to approach the human bastion. He had ordered the hunting squad to investigate, and for some reason, this news had caused all the Elders¡¯ sixth senses to ring menacingly.