《White Tiger》


 Chapter 1 - Flames of War

    Wang Jie leaned against a building in the plaza, watching as a platoon of soldiers escorted a few carriages through the city. This had been a common scene the past few days, soldiers hustling and bustling around, making all sorts of ruckus. Rumors were spreading that there was going to be be war. All things considered it wasn¡¯t all that surprising. Wang Jie was barely 15 and he had already lived through two wars in this kingdom. The Eastrock Kingdom that is.


    The Eastrock Kingdom was apart of a small cluster of kingdoms in the southeast part of the continent. Altogether they were called the 14 Lesser Kingdoms. The reason for that was that there were a distinct lack of resources in the area. The land was barren and it was hard to grow things. This all stemmed from the lack of spiritual essence in the air. Because of the lack of essence, the dirt was never nurtured, minerals never formed and it was extremely hard to cultivate. Altogether there wasn¡¯t much to fight for in the area, yet the kingdoms did.


    Wang Jie sighed as he pushed himself off of the wall, it was time to go home. The long walk back to the outskirts of the city gave him plenty to think about. At 15 years old it was about time for him to choose a profession. He wanted to be a cultivator, though he was fairly sure he didn¡¯t have spiritual roots. Even if he did it hardly mattered, he would have to be tested for it and there¡¯s no way they could afford that. His father had been dead since he was 6, and his mother toiled hard to provide for him as a baker. They could barely afford their daily necessities, let alone have money to squander. Wang Jie kicked a rock and gazed around at the dilapidated buildings, a yearning in his eyes. He tightened his fists and kept walking.


    ¡°I¡¯m home.¡± Wang Jie called, looking around the cramped empty wooden house. Stepping inside, he slung his tattered cloth bag off of his shoulder and set it down on the wooden dining table. A few of the school books slipped out onto the table. His stomach rumbled, but he knew that they had nothing to eat in the cupboards. With nothing else to do he sat down on one of the chairs, picked up a random book and started studying.


    The hours passed by and the room grew dark. The sound of boots hitting the wooden steps sounded out, right before his mother came in through the door. She had a bag in her hand and a smile on her face as she looked at Wang Jie, ¡°Oh I¡¯m sorry, did you have to wait long?¡±


    ¡°No it¡¯s alright mom, but weren¡¯t you supposed to be home before me?¡± Wang Jie gave her a tight smile as he put down his book.


    ¡°Yeah but one of the girls didn¡¯t show up, so I had to cover their shift.¡± She said as she walked into the kitchen and took a loaf of bread out of her bag, ¡°I managed to get this though, there are some benefits to working late.¡±


    Half of that bread was all Wang Jie had for dinner, it wasn¡¯t all that varied but it was decently filling. It was enough to go to sleep on at least.


    Wang Jie woke up the next day feeling well rested. It was a Sunday so he didn¡¯t have school. Putting on some clothes, he went into the living room right as a knock came from the door. Wang Jie¡¯s brows furrowed as he walked over to answer the door, it was extremely rare for them to have guests. Opening the door he was greeted by the weathered face of a middle aged man in full soldier uniform.


    ¡°Are you Wang Jie?¡± His eyes looked down to scan his scroll.


    ¡°Yes?¡± Wang Jie raised his eyebrows as he looked back at the soldier.


    ¡°I¡¯m Adjutant Zhang Yun, you¡¯ve been drafted for military service. Get your things and follow me.¡± Zhang Yun looked up.


    Wang Jie¡¯s eyes widened in shock, ¡°Right now?¡±


    ¡°You have 5 minutes.¡± Zhang Yun rolled his scroll back together and stuffed it into his inner pocket.


    ¡°My mom isn¡¯t home right now though.¡±


    ¡°Just leave her a note.¡± Zhang Yun coldly replied, not willing to waste much time.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Shaken he could only go back inside, pick up a few necessities, write a quick note and follow the soldier outside where a group of other boys his age were waiting. 5 soldiers of lower rank accompanied them, standing around, perhaps keeping guard so none would run off.


    Wang Jie couldn¡¯t help but wonder what was going on. Wars hadn¡¯t been rare during his life, but he¡¯d never heard of the military drafting people before.


    Silent with not a single word spoken, the group walked to the city gates where they met up with three other groups led by an adjutant. In total there was probably around 200 boys around his age, some older but none younger than 15. The adjutants spoke to each other briefly before one of them went up to a city guard and got him to open the gate. They still hadn¡¯t said a single word to any of the groups.


    Looking around, Wang Jie noticed that people looked quite nervous. A fat kid in the next column over was sweating quite heavily, perhaps from a mix of both exhaustion and fright.


    The trip took quite a long time, they had been walking for at least a few hours when they spotted an army camp in the near distance. Perhaps the frightening atmosphere had done its job, because even the fat kid who had looked about ready to drop from the start managed to walk the whole way.


    Without any issues they were led into the camp where a seemingly high rank military officer was waiting. The adjutants made them line up in their respective groups and then face the officer.


    ¡°Great, I¡¯m sure you all have some questions by now.¡± The officer paced up and down the line. ¡°I¡¯ll try to answer them now. I¡¯m Colonel Zhang Yong and I lead this regiment. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve all heard rumors about a war, those are true. You¡¯ve all been drafted to fight in this war as we are simply too heavily outnumbered. The Rosalan Kingdom has allied with the Highlands and the Valian Kingdom to fight against us.¡±


    A few gasps rang out through the crowd. Some people started whispering to each other.


    ¡°QUIET!¡± The Colonel yelled, ¡°We are lucky we learned about this in advance, which leaves us with a little time to prepare. Everyone with decent spiritual roots has already been sent to the capital¡¯s military academy to undergo study. We will be testing the rest of you to see if you¡¯ll have the same opportunity. We¡¯ll call on you one by one and you will each have your chance.¡± Saying his piece, the Colonel walked off to return to his tent.


    With the Colonel gone, one of the Adjutants walked up to take charge.


    ¡°When your name is called, follow me and I¡¯ll take you to get tested. The rest of you, stand still and wait your turn.¡± Clearing his throat and reading from a scroll he called a name, ¡°Liu Wei¡±.


    Wang Jie tried to look around to see who it was. Looking in front of him there was that same fat kid who was slightly bewildered now. Stumbling a bit, he realized he was being called on and hurried up to follow the adjutant who led him inside another tent.


    Less than a minute passed and he came back out and got back in his position. He didn¡¯t seem too happy, so he probably didn¡¯t pass. Shaking his head slightly Wang Jie stood and waited as name after name was called. Quickly he noticed that some people didn¡¯t come back to stand in line, those were probably the people with good spiritual roots.


    After a while, Wang Jie¡¯s name was called and like so many others before him, he followed the adjutant inside the tent. Inside there was a man sitting behind a table with a crystal laying on top. Before Wang Jie could say or notice anything else, the man spoke up ¡°Grab the crystal and hold in in your palm.¡±


    Doing as the man said, Wang Jie grabbed the crystal and held it. Not a single thing happened as he did. The man behind the table shook his head and wrote something down. ¡°No spiritual roots, get the next one.¡±


    ¡°Wait that¡¯s it?¡± Shocked, Wang Jie couldn¡¯t help but blurt out. The man didn¡¯t even look up to answer him, while the adjutant just pushed him through the tent flap and told him to go back and line up.


    His hopes and dreams were just destroyed in less than a minute and the man wasn¡¯t willing to spare a single second on him. He knew this wasn¡¯t the place to make a scene though, so he just got back and obediently lined up. A myriad of thoughts swirling through his head as he stood still for hours, waiting for the testing to end.


    Finally an adjutant came forward and brought him out of his daze. ¡°We¡¯ll now be assigning you your accommodations.¡± The soldiers that had been escorting them earlier came forward and started handing out some wooden tokens. ¡°These tokens are both your tent assignments and your new identity.¡± A quick look around let Wang Jie know that around 40 people had gone missing from the groups. ¡°After you receiver your token, line up with the corresponding soldier and he¡¯ll take you to your lodgings.¡±


    Receiving his token he looked down at it and saw it read ¡°11-4¡±, looking back up he saw a soldier holding up a sign with 11 on it. Resigned to his fate, he walked over to him and was quickly joined by 7 other guys, one of them being the fat kid, Liu Wei. Liu Wei saw him looking at him and gave him a nervous smile back, Wang Jie just nodded in response, slightly distant.


    After the soldier saw his whole group was there, he led them to another part of the camp where there was a big grouping of tents. A wooden sign with 11 on it hung outside one of them and the soldier led them inside.


    For an 8 person tent, it was really quite small. Four bunk beds were lined up at the back of the tent, while a wooden desk stood on either side of the entrance. In the middle there was a little clearing with nothing there. His fallen apart house had more space than this.


    ¡°Pick a bed and wait here, someone will come take you to get uniforms soon.¡± The soldier laid down that line and left, leaving no time for questions.


    8 strangers stood there, alone in a tent together. It was kind of awkward.


    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll take this one then.¡± The fat boy meekly scratched his face and set his bag down on a bottom bunk.


    Taking their queue from him, the other boys quickly got to work claiming their own sleeping place. Wang Jie ended up picking a top bunk in the right corner of the tent. He¡¯d never slept in a bunk bed before, but he could imagine it would hurt if he sat up in the middle of the night and slammed his head into the bunk above him. Besides, he was rather tall and would like to be able to sit up on his bed, especially with there only being two desks in the tent.

 Chapter 2 - Introductions

    After everyone picked a bed and unpacked the few things they had, they started introducing themselves to each other. First Wang Jie said hello to the one sharing the bunk with him. A short, lanky, dispirited boy. The skin around his eyes was red and puffy, he actually looked like he was about to cry.


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m Wang Jie. What¡¯s your name?¡± Wang Jie looked down at the short boy. Standing next to each other there was a stark contrast in height.


    ¡°C-Che Xiao Wen¡± The boy stuttered, looking down, unable to look Wang Jie in the eyes.


    Wang Jie just sighed and went to get to know the other people. It wasn¡¯t his job to comfort some stranger, or help him come out of his shell. He had his own share of troubles.


    Liu Wei was just as he had imagined, honest, forthright, and easygoing. His dad was a merchant so they lived in the better part of the city, it was no wonder he had gotten so fat. He was 15 like Wang Jie.


    There were two twin brothers, Huang Bo and Huang Chao. It seemed they had adapted to the situation quite well, they looked incredibly relaxed. They were both around 182cm tall, 6 centimeters shorter than Wang Jie himself. It was incredibly hard to tell them a part. If not for the fact that Huang Bo had a short thin scar above his left eyebrow, it would¡¯ve been impossible. They were 16.


    Another guy was Guan Yi, he was a monster of a man. Standing at 194cm he was by far the tallest person there. He was wide too, though Wang Jie was equally muscular. He was the oldest in their tent too, being 17 years old.


    Liao Kang looked like a gentle helpful person, a very soothing expression lingered on his face the entire time. Wang Jie couldn¡¯t explain it, but he just felt comfortable when he talked to him.


    The last guy was a bit weird. He didn¡¯t speak much, Qiang Yi said his name and walked off. A bit blunt perhaps.


    With the introductions out of the way, the group of people began conversing among each other. Wang Jie was listening to Liu Wei talk about his dads businesses when another soldier walked into the tent and clapped his hands.


    ¡°Follow me¡± He turned on the heel of his foot and led them outside. Wang Jie had to go over and shake the half crying boy, Che Xiao Wen, to awaken him from his brooding. At a quick pace they walked to another tent, the sign outside read quartermaster.


    Following the soldier inside, they hung back while he began to converse with who Wang Jie assumed was the quartermaster. Meanwhile the quartermasters female assistant came out from somewhere and measured them all. It was the first girl they had seen at the camp. When she measured Wang Jie she gave him a quick double take, he was quite handsome, especially when compared to these average soldier types. None the less she did her job just like she had with everyone else.


    After she finished taking their measurements, she went to the storage room and started picking out the uniforms in the correct sizes.


    When she came back, she handed a sheet over to the quartermaster before beginning to hand out two sets uniforms. While handing them out, the quartermaster started speaking ¡°These uniforms are now your responsibility. Unless it¡¯s from combat, I don¡¯t want to see any damage done to them.¡±


    Che Xiao Wen shook slightly at those words, it didn¡¯t seem like he understood that they would be seeing combat.


    ¡°Keep them clean, when you step off for the day, clean them before you start enjoying your leisure time. There will be penalties if you show up next day in a dirty uniform. Same goes for your boots, you need to brush and polish them. The supplies for that are already in the pouch attached to your bed.¡± The quartermaster tapped his finger on his desk. ¡°Perhaps some of you have already seen those, maybe not, but now you know, so don¡¯t pretend you haven¡¯t been told. Go back and change now, don¡¯t wear your civilian clothes around the camp.¡±Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    The soldier led them back to their tent and gave them a quick address ¡°After you change, you are free to walk around and explore the camp. Reminder, that is within the camp. Anyone leaving the camp will be considered a deserter and punished accordingly.¡± The soldier took a quick pause to look each one of them firmly in the eye. ¡±The eatery is next to the grounds where you were first taken in. Dinner is in 3 hours, if you aren¡¯t there you simply won¡¯t eat. Any questions?¡±


    Surprisingly, for once they were allowed to ask some questions.


    ¡°What about breakfast?¡± Liu Wei asked.


    There were a few chuckles but the soldier answered seriously. ¡°That¡¯s a good question, if you didn¡¯t ask I wouldn¡¯t have told you. 5 in the morning, lunch is between 10-12, the exact time depends on when your instructor thinks there¡¯s time for it.¡± The soldier nodded ¡°Is there any other questions?¡±


    Wang Jie took a quick look around and saw none else was going to say anything ¡°What exactly are we here for?¡±


    The soldier looks towards him, then seemed to mull things over for a bit ¡°Right, you haven¡¯t really been told yet. Everything has been such a rush. You¡¯ve been brought here for training, after which you¡¯ll be fighting in the upcoming war. When exactly that is going to be, we are not sure. It¡¯s possible you won¡¯t be able to finish the training program.¡±


    The soldier did another quick scan for questions, but it seemed none had anything to ask. ¡°Finally, you need to pick a group representative. Every day at 6, an adjutant will come by and check the conditions of your tent. Make sure you sweep it clean and keep it in order, there will be penalties if it doesn¡¯t look good. You may as well get used to that. Don¡¯t leave your things laying around, keep them on top of your beds or below. I¡¯ll leave you to it.¡± With that, the soldier turned and left the tent.


    The boys all stood around, glancing at each other. Wang Jie was the first to speak up ¡°So¡­ I guess we have to pick a representative?¡±. Everyone nodded, but none said anything in reply.


    ¡°Does none want to do it?¡± Most of them shook their head, while the meek boy Che Xiao Wen just continued looking at the ground.


    ¡°I mean¡­ I really just don¡¯t think I¡¯m suited for it.¡± Liu Wei said, a slight smile on his lips.


    ¡°Right, me neither. Maybe you should do it Wang Jie, you seem like you¡¯d be good at it.¡± Guan Yi the tall boy said, quickly receiving the approval of everyone else.


    ¡°I agree, I think you¡¯d be good at it.¡± Liao Kang with his soothing smile and gentle demeanor was almost too out of place here. It was hard to imagine him as a soldier.


    Speechless, Wang Jie looked around at these shameless people and rolled his eyes ¡°Fine, I guess I¡¯ll do it.¡± Perhaps he gave in too easily, but it wasn¡¯t that big a deal, better to just get it out of the way.


    At dinner time they all went to the eatery and grabbed some food, if you could call it that that is. Rice soup and a dark, tough piece of bread. It looked pretty burnt and it was seriously tough, no joke, you could almost make a mace out of it. If you gave it to an old woman she¡¯d probably crack her teeth on it.


    Not that Wang Jie ate that well at home, but at least it was decent bread, it was from a bakery after all. On the bright side, at least there was the opportunity to get more here, which Wang Jie, fatty Liu Wei, Guan Yi and the twins Huang Bo and Huang Chao all took advantage of.


    Che Xiao Wen just sat and poked his food. Wang Jie looked over and frowned, he really didn¡¯t want to be stuck babysitting this kid. Well, they were the same age and Che Xiao Wen just seemed so helpless.


    ¡°Come on, just eat. Get over it and stop feeling so sorry for yourself.¡± Wang Jie shook his shoulder, causing Che Xiao Wen to look up.


    ¡°Right, thanks.¡± His eyes turned back to his food and he took a bite. Wang Jie¡¯s encouraging didn¡¯t seem to help all that much after that.


    ¡°I wonder how the kingdom is planning to fight back against three countries at once.¡± Liu Wei said, drawing the attention of the rest of the group.


    ¡°Both the Highlands and the Valian Kingdom are both pretty small, it¡¯s doable.¡± Guan Yi said, continuing to shove food into his mouth.


    ¡°Sure they are, but we¡¯ll be fighting on three fronts at once. It honestly doesn¡¯t look like the chances are good.¡± Liu Wei muttered, seemingly in deep thought.


    It was silent as everyone began to ponder.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think all that is for us to worry about. Not like they¡¯d tell us much regardless.¡± Liao Kang said, breaking the silence.


    ¡°Yeah you¡¯re right, it¡¯s better not to think about it.¡± Liu Wei nodded.


    They ate the rest of their meal in silence. Wang Jie began to think about his mother. She¡¯d probably read his note by now. No doubt that it would be a huge shock, he hadn¡¯t even had the opportunity to say goodbye. It was probably the same for a lot of the people who were dragged here.


    After the boys finished their meal they returned to their tent. It was late and most of them were exhausted so they went straight to bed. It hadn¡¯t even been a minute before that fatty had fallen asleep, snoring like an elephant.


    From his top bunk, Wang Jie could hear sniffles and whimpers coming from below him. It was no doubt Che Xiao Wen feeling sad again.


    Wang Jie tried to block out the noises and fall asleep. It had been a long day despite how fast they tried to make it. They¡¯d been standing and waiting for hours, not to mention the walking here. Oh, and they had to get up extremely early the next day. It¡¯d probably only get worse from now on. Finally letting go of his thoughts, he managed to fall asleep

 Chapter 3 - Training

    Wang Jie awoke to the piercing crashing of metal pans banging each other right outside of the tent. Groggy he reluctantly pushes the blanket off of himself and sits up. After running a hand through his short hair he shakes his head to pull himself together. The annoying banging sound quickly fading in the distance.


    Looking around it was clear that it was still dark out. A very slight bit of light leaking in through the tent opening. Wang Jie leaned over the end of his bed and grabbed the pouch that had been there. Rummaging through the contents he grabbed a box of matches. Using the small amount of light as guidance, he stumbled his way to a desk and grabbed the lantern on top of it. The shiny smooth surface was icy cold as he popped open the chamber. He quickly lit a match and lit up the wick. A dim light spreading around around the tent.


    A few groans came from all around, while surprisingly, that arrogant Qiang Yi was already getting dressed in his uniform. Walking over to his bed, Wang Jie first put on the coarse dark gray pants with a robe to match. On top he donned the red lined lamellar armor. It wasn¡¯t the most comfortable fitting wear but that was to be expected.


    Hearing a creak, Wang Jie turned around to see Liu Wei rolling out of bed. He stifled a chuckle and waited for the others to get done dressing up.


    Together, they all went to eat breakfast. They didn¡¯t know the time, but assumed from the whole being woken up that it was time to eat. When they showed up they realized they were among the last to get there. The skilled soldiers were had already sat down and made it halfway through their meal. Some were even finished and heading somewhere else. They were clearly experienced with the whole routine.


    Getting their food they tried to follow the veteran soldiers good example and finish it quick. Everyone chowed through it, except for Che Xiao Wen who was still just poking at his food. No one really paid him any attention.


    They made their way back to the tent and began cleaning it up. Liu Wei was sent to get a broom from god knows where, but even though he had it, sweeping the place seemed pretty futile. The floor was just regular cloth in the same dark green color as the tent. Even if they cleaned it, it was just going to get dirty again soon. Not that any of them would argue that to any of the commanders.


    When they heard a sudden rustle at the tent flap, they all hurried to stand aside and look somewhat decent as some adjutant stepped in.


    ¡°Who¡¯s the representative here?¡± His eyes gazed around at them.


    ¡°I am Sir Adjutant¡± Wang Jie took a slight step forwards and presented himself.


    ¡°Okay, it¡¯s on you if there¡¯s any problems.¡± The adjutant nodded and then started looking over the tent. It seemed to be more out of custom than anything really. He ran a finger over a desk and examined his finger closely.


    ¡°Alright, it looks decent. You have five minutes to report to the training ground and line up,¡± He turned to look at Wang Jie ¡°Representative in front, that means you.¡± With a final nod and left the tent, possibly to check on some other recruits. It looked like the process was a bit of a chore to him.


    The group felt relieved though, especially Wang Jie, who didn¡¯t want to be punished for some ridiculous dirt in a tent people walked in with their boots.


    Finding the training grounds was easy and they quickly lined up next to the other groups. Wang Jie stood in front, followed by Che Xiao Wen, Liu Wei, Liao Kang, Qiang Yi, Huang Bo, Huang Chao and finally Guan Yi. If not for Wang Jie standing in front, they would¡¯ve been lined up according to height.


    An unknown lieutenant stood in front of them with a few adjutants by his side, among them was Zhang Yun, the one who had showed up at Wang Jie¡¯s doorstep. They all stood there silently while waiting for the last few recruits to trickle in.


    After the last group came running and lined up, the Lieutenant stepped forward and opened his mouth. ¡°Some of you are late¡± There was a clear glare in his eye as he turned to look at the last group. ¡°In the future, don¡¯t be.¡± His gaze lingered for an extra second before he turned back.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    ¡°With that out of the way, let¡¯s get to it. Our primary force is made up of spear men, so that is what you will be training to be.¡± The Lieutenant looked back to his adjutants and said a few words before turning his attention back to the recruits. ¡°We¡¯ll be breaking into smaller groups for your training, groups 2, 5, 7, 9 and 11 are with Adjutant Zhang Yun.¡± The Lieutenant pointed to Zhang Yun.


    ¡°With me, hurry up now.¡± Adjutant Zhang Yun raised his hand and started walking towards a distant part of the training grounds.


    Wang Jie¡¯s group hurried to fall in behind him along with the other groups. They walked to the opposite side of the training grounds and Zhang Yun stepped up beside some perfectly round sticks all of them the same length.


    ¡°One group at a time, come up and get your practice sticks starting with the lowest and ending with the highest.¡± Zhang Yun pointed to the sticks. ¡°Do this now.¡±


    Wang Jie¡¯s group was last, so they watched as the other groups went up and got their sticks, finally it was their turn and they quickly picked one out of the pile. They were all the same anyway.


    Zhang Yun looked them over and seeing that everyone had a practice stick, he nodded satisfied ¡°Okay, now everyone spread out a bit so you can all see me.¡± He gave them time to do so before continuing ¡°First I will demonstrate the forms, we¡¯ll do them together after.¡±


    He began demonstrating the various spear forms slowly, making it easy for them all to follow along. The forms themselves were quite simple, intended to be easy for anyone to learn. To say it bluntly, they were created to be used by grunt soldiers.


    The recruits weren¡¯t thinking about that though, most of them were absorbed in the forms, doing their best to remember them. Wang Jie kept an extreme focus, committing the forms to his memory. As he watched, something in him sparked. Maybe he wouldn¡¯t get to be a cultivator, but at least this way he could fight to take charge of his own destiny. Fight to be his own man. This might be the best opportunity to change his life that he would ever get.


    Zhang Yun came to a stop and spoke ¡°This time we will do them together, practicing each form by itself first, later we¡¯ll focus on merging them together.¡±


    The group started whirling their sticks around together. It didn¡¯t take long before the sound of wood striking wood rang out as people accidentally bumped sticks with each other. To top it all off someone cried ouch and fell down on the grass. Wang Jie hadn¡¯t seen it, but apparently the guy had managed to hit himself in the head with his stick. It was a wonder how he¡¯d managed to accomplish that.


    Zhang Yun just shook his head in disbelief, even for him it was probably a first. It took a few tries to get everyone through the first form without someone dropping their stick or hitting someone with it.


    For Wang Jie it came a lot easier, sure it probably didn¡¯t look very pretty or nimble but the spear-stick did what it was supposed to. Most of the time at least.


    They continued practicing till everyone was able to perform the forms at least once. There was a quick break for lunch before they came back to the field. Filled up with new energy Wang Jie refocused himself.


    ¡°Now that you¡¯ve learned a bit, I want to pair you off for some sparring. I¡¯m aware you don¡¯t know much yet, so we¡¯ll keep it simple. I just want you to try and put some of these things into practice. Pair yourselves off now.¡±


    Wang Jie was going to go ask someone, but Liu Wei went straight for him and asked him to practice together. He couldn¡¯t see any problems with that, so he agreed.


    Amazingly, Che Xiao Wen and Qiang Yi got paired off. Probably because one of them was too shy to ask anyone while the other was too arrogant to.


    When everyone had a partner, Zhang Yun instructed them on how to fight. One would attack while the other would defend and then take turns. That way it was easier to drill some of the forms.


    Despite what he looked like, Liu Wei actually had some skill, though Wang Jie managed to get the upper hand most of the time.


    Wang Jie had just thwarted one of Liu Wei¡¯s attacks when he began to whine ¡°Damn man, it¡¯s not fair, your arms are a hell of a lot longer.¡± Wang Jie gave him a smirk and was about to respond when someone cried out in pain.


    Turning around he saw Che Xiao Wen hunched over and clutching his wrist. Qiang Yi stood over him and looked down with an evil grin and raised his stick to strike him again. Too distracted by his wrist, Che Xiao Wen was struck in the jaw and let out another yelp of pain as tumbled on the ground.


    Wang Jie could feel his fists shaking as he prepared to go over and teach Qiang Yi a lesson. Before he could move though, he felt Liu Wei pulling on him. Right, it wasn¡¯t his place to do so.


    He calmed down and watched as Adjutant Zhang Yun went over and inquired into what had happened. Two boys who had been training beside them explained it and Zhang Yun¡¯s face turned visibly red. He grabbed Qiang Yi and dragged him by his armor, ¡°You all wait here!¡± he turned back and yelled, dragging Qiang Yi with him. Qiang Yi¡¯s face quickly turned into shock and then terror.


    Everyone watched as the instructor dragged off Qiang Yi, some of them confused because they had no idea what was going on. Someone explained it to them and most of them were visibly shocked.


    Wang Jie walked over to check on Che Xiao Wen and saw that he was going to be okay. Still, it was probably quite a fright for the timid boy to be attacked by his own roommate.


    When the instructor came back he didn¡¯t say or explain much, just that Qiang Yi had been dealt with. Whatever that meant, no one was quite sure.


    After dropping that bomb, they picked up right where they had left off. Of course, Che Xiao Wen was permitted to watch from the sidelines. He didn¡¯t have a partner and his wrist was still aching.


    Qiang Yi didn¡¯t return to their tent that day, in fact, they never saw him again. The group couldn¡¯t help but wonder what they¡¯d done with him, but it seemed to serve as the perfect reminder for everyone to keep in line and follow orders.

 Chapter 4 - The War Begins

    The next few weeks proceeded smoothly. After setting an example with Qiang Yi, the recruits learned their place and managed to fit into the system. Che Xiao Wen had returned to training the next day and to fill in the gap, Zhang Yun would rotate around and spar with everyone.


    After the first few days, long marches was incorporated into the daily training. The training ground was also opened up to the recruits, allowing them to come there whenever they had free time. Something Guan Yi and Wang Jie took advantage of, sparring with each other to up their skills.


    The boys quickly got used to getting up early and taking care of their belongings. After a week the Lieutenant had stopped the morning checks. The training went well and everybody could at least handle a spear now, though it was clear there was a long way to go for them to be fully trained soldiers.


    Never the less, time was the exact thing they were lacking. Two and a half weeks after they arrived at the camp, war had broken out. Two days after, a front line camp at the border of Rosalan Kingdom suffered a devastating attack. They requested reinforcements and as the camp Wang Jie was being trained at was the closest by it fell on them.


    400 soldiers was all the camp could spare, of those 400, 100 were the recruits. As faith would have it, Wang Jie¡¯s group was among the chosen recruits.


    Each equipped with nothing but a spear and a backpack stuffed with a thick blanket and a pathetic amount of rations, they were sent on their way.


    That day was when they received their spears. They hadn¡¯t practiced with them, let alone fought battles. From stick to spear, it was quite a big difference.


    It wasn¡¯t easy to stay cheerful. They had been walking for at least 5 hours by now with no break. Wang Jie¡¯s group followed closely behind a wagon. It almost felt like the rider was taunting them, sitting up there while they were lugging their equipment around.


    It all came so suddenly. They¡¯d been made aware from the start that they might not have the chance to finish training. Still, sending a bunch of juveniles out to fight, without even a shield to defend themselves with. Things really had to be bad.


    Wang Jie looked over at Liu Wei, they exchanged glances, a suspicious understanding forming between them. Yeah, it had to be bad.


    When Che Xiao Wen had heard they would set out immediately that morning, he¡¯d almost broken down. It had been just as much of a shock to everyone else, but they seemed to handle it better.


    A light breeze blew by, cooling everyone down a bit. Wang Jie closed his eyes momentarily. It felt so good.


    Yet it only lasted for a second, before he felt the heat return, the breeze long gone. The sounds of hundreds of boots hitting the dirt road continued endlessly.


    A bead of sweat trickled down his face and he brushed it off with the back of his hand. It was spring but it hardly felt like it.


    ¡°We¡¯ll break here for now, 15 minutes.¡± A yell came from the front. It had to be one of the lieutenants or the Captain, only a Qi Condensation master could transmit his voice like that, and they were the only ones here.


    The boys went off to the side of the road and sat down in the long plump grass. One hard piece of bread was what each of them had to eat for lunch. Not exactly filling, and this time there was no opportunity for seconds.


    Supposedly a group would be in charge of hunting for dinner, that sounded real nice as they sat there and chewed on the steel-like bread.


    ¡°Arghh I¡¯m still hungry.¡± Liu Wei leaned back and rested on the grass.


    ¡°Tell me about it. This was already barely edible when it was fresh.¡± Wang Jie chucked slightly.


    ¡°True.¡± Guan Yi nodded. ¡°It honestly seems like the dirt would be easier to eat.¡±


    ¡°Probably easier to chew, but I bet you¡¯d regret it real fast.¡± Wang Jie¡¯s lips curved up into a smile.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    At least he got along well with most of them.


    ¡°Quit dawdling, we¡¯re leaving now.¡± Unbeknown to them, Adjutant Zhang Yun had walked up on them.


    The group could only get up on their feet and hurry back into position.


    After they had walked for 6 more hours it was starting to get dark. They broke again for dinner and since there was a huge forest on the left side of the road, ten hunting parties were sent out to catch their meal. That amounted to 1 per platoon.


    A platoon was made up of around 40 soldiers plus an adjutant and a lieutenant. The Captain led the company while the Colonel led the regiment. The Colonel hadn¡¯t come with them though, he was back with the other soldiers and officers at the camp.


    After waiting a few hours, the hunting parties started to trickle in. Rabbits, squirrels and a few deer here and there was what they managed to get. It sounded like a lot, but there were over 400 soldiers who needed to be fed. But at least it was meat, and they were also given another piece of bread from the wagons for dinner.


    It was hard to imagine what that bread would be like in a few days though, every hour passed increased its toughness by a lot. At the end they might have to use them as weapons, or throw them like rocks. Perhaps they could even throw it to a hungry enemy soldier and watch him pull his teeth out on it, that would be a distraction.


    As he thought about it, Wang Jie chuckled to himself, he¡¯d done that a lot lately. Was he always that funny? Maybe it was just finding humor in adversity.


    He yawned and felt himself getting tired.


    39 people slept close around a huge bonfire. With only a single blanket to drape over them, no one was stupid enough to sleep without their uniform on.


    The crinkle of logs burning was quite soothing to the ears. As he lay there, Wang Jie kind of wished they¡¯d been given a hat though, it was cold around the ears. He pulled the blanket up and curled himself into a ball. That would have to do.


    It was chaos when he woke. All around him screams and yells came forth. An arrow whizzed by his face and a boot hit him in the ribcage as someone ran past. Disoriented he woke up and grabbed the spear by his side. What was going on?


    Liu Wei was in a deep slumber beside him, it was incredible how he could sleep through all the noise. Wang Jie shook him roughly and he woke muttering some words.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± He blinked, looking around fervently.


    ¡°It¡¯s an attack, come on, we have to get the others.¡±


    Liu Wei nodded and quickly grabbed his own spear, getting up to follow Wang Jie. It seemed like everyone had gotten up by now.


    Guan Yi and the Huang twins ran up to them a few seconds later. Liao Kang and Che Xiao Wen were nowhere to be found however. They were supposed to be sleeping right next to them almost.


    The only person they found nearby was a lifeless body with an arrow sticking out his neck. It looked like he¡¯d been struck while he was sleeping. Wang Jie didn¡¯t feel great about it, he didn¡¯t know the guy, but seeing him lie there was so tragic. He hadn¡¯t even known what was coming, so fragile he had no chance to resist.


    The arrows had long stopped so they ran around the nearby area looking for Liao Kang and Che Xiao Wen. Having no luck, they went towards the clanging of steel. People were fighting over there.


    It didn¡¯t take long before they ran into the enemy. Four enemy soldiers were standing over a few dead bodies, laughing to each other as they kicked it. One of them spotted their group and pointed them out to the guy that seemed to be the leader.


    There were only four and Wang Jie¡¯s group had 5, yet the enemy had obviously been in far more battles. They were dressed in dark tattered leather, most of them unshaven and unkempt. Their weapons were a mix, two wielded a sword while one wielded an axe and the last had a mace. They were all equipped with shields though. They looked like bandits.


    Slowly the bandit group started walking towards them. It was no use running as they¡¯d have to fight at some point. At least this time they outnumbered the enemy.


    Wang Jie tightened both his hands around the spear, it hurt a little bit, but that just made him feel more awake. His whole group looked tense, in comparison, the bandits were awfully relaxed.


    As the bandits got closer Wang Jie decided to cease the initiative. When the leader was in range, he stepped forward and struck out towards him. He didn¡¯t put enough into it though and the bandit merely raised his shield and blocked it like nothing.


    The bandits used the opportunity to charge them and a fight quickly broke out. Wang Jie bit his lip as he fought against the leader. The mere weight and speed of his attacks felt like it was overwhelming him. He tried to fight back but it was difficult. If not for the range advantage of his spear and his nimble movement, he would¡¯ve already been gone.


    Everyone else seemed to be struggling like him. Only the twins who had ganged up on someone managed to get the upper hand together. However, that person was still able to fight back against the two of them.


    Something had to be done. They exchanged blow after blow, Wang Jie¡¯s hands were starting to get numb. The forms had long since disappeared from his spearmanship, now he was just parrying whichever way he could. The bandit leader knew he had him cornered too.


    Frustrated, Wang Jie made a mistake and ended up slipping and falling backwards onto the dirt. The bandit seized the chance and was right on him now. Wang Jie was panicking now, he had to do something, anything. He looked around and didn¡¯t see much else but dirt. Dirt as far as the eye could see. Wait, that¡¯s right there was dirt.


    In a hurry he grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it right at the eyes of his opponent. He gripped the spear firmly with his right hand and loosely with his left, putting all his energy into it he slid the spear forward sending it piercing right into the bandits uncovered collarbone.


    The sound was gruesome to his ears as the spear slid unobstructed into the bandits flesh, blood seeping out of the wound.


    He retracted the spear and watched as the bandit dropped his sword, unable to hold onto it with that arm. The bandit was now the one on his ass, looking up at Wang Jie with wide eyes. He could recognize that same expression he had worn on his face just moments before.


    It was an empowering feeling, looking down on your opponent. Another mans life in your hands. Did he really wanna do this? Kill another person?


    He knew the answer in his heart, as the cold night breeze washed over him, he knew he had to kill him. For himself, for the others, to take charge of his own life.


    ¡°Pleas-.¡± The bandit begged, it was funny how one could change when death stared you right in the eye.


    The spear hurtled right through his heart, not giving him a chance to plead his case. The bandit had desperately tried to block it, but in his final moments he wasn¡¯t fast enough.


    As he took his last breath, his eyes were still frozen in the wide eyed state, unwilling to believe he had lost, unwilling to believe that he would die here.


    Wang Jie just scoffed, as he looked over the now dead man, a cold expression spread across his face. It wasn¡¯t over yet, he still had to help his comrades and take the other bandits out

 Chapter 5 - Arrival

    After picking up the dead bandits shield, Wang Jie turned his attention back to his group that were still fighting. He¡¯d been right next to them, but in his frantic battle he was a bit far off now. Everyone was still struggling, he had to help them.


    Running over to the twins he raised his shield, braced himself and knocked right into the bandit they were fighting. With a tremendous crack, the blow sent the bandit sprawling onto the ground. Before he could even turn his head Wang Jie had pierced him through the neck. The man gurgled as he choked on his own blood. He tried to speak, but only bubbly noises came out.


    Not sparing a second look for the man, Wang Jie called out to the twins, ¡°Go help Guan Yi, I¡¯ll help Liu Wei.¡± Seeing them nod in response, he charged over to help Liu Wei.


    The man fighting Liu Wei saw him coming though, and after blocking one of Liu Wei¡¯s attacks he hit him with a deft kick to the upper chest. As Liu Wei fell on the ground the man sent a monstrous swing with his mace against Wang Jie¡¯s shield.


    There was a giant crack as the right side of the shield broke off, leaving Wang Jie unbalanced for a moment and numbing his entire left arm.


    The man caught this opportunity and sent another swing of his mace towards Wang Jie. There was no way he could bring his shield up to block the blow in time.


    Wang Jie felt a big gust of wind as he ducked under the mace, letting it pass right above him. In his ducked position he lunged forward and drove the spear into the mans abdomen.


    In the moment after, Liu Wei got up and stabbed his spear through the mans ribs, right into one of his lungs.


    When they both retracted their spears there was nothing to support him and gravity enveloped him as he fell over on his face.


    He wheezed on the ground as his lung failed him and he leaked pools of blood from two separate wounds.


    There was no way he would survive and neither of them felt like finishing him off. They left him to his final moments as they saw the twins and Guan Yi had defeated their opponent too.


    They met up halfway and there was a kindred understanding between all of them.


    ¡°We still need to find Liao Kang and Che Xiao Wen.¡± Wang Jie looked at each of them. None of them looked too good and he felt the same way himself.


    It had been okay in the moment, but the feeling you were left with after taking another persons life wasn¡¯t pleasant.


    A horn blared from the distant tree line and the sounds of clashing seemed to die down a bit with it. In mere minutes the sound had completely disappeared as they saw some of the other attackers retreat into the trees.


    Was it over just like that? The excited cheering seemed to confirm so.


    They weren¡¯t in the mood to cheer though, they were missing two members and it didn¡¯t look good.


    ¡°Let¡¯s split up and search for them and,¡± Wang Jie sighed and glanced around at the bodies, ¡°we should probably search the bodies.¡±


    ¡°You mean?¡± Liu Wei let it linger.


    ¡°Yeah, most likely.¡±


    They nodded, it was a sad atmosphere.


    The boys started looking around, turning over the different bodies in search of their missing members. They were far from the only ones doing so. It was a scene of cruelty all around as people came to term with reality.


    Wang Jie walked up to another body, this was already the 7th one he¡¯d checked. Every single one brought back the images of the people he¡¯d killed. How they¡¯d looked at him or how they hadn¡¯t even had the chance to look at him. The sounds they made as they died, it made him queasy.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Shaking it off he glanced back down at the body. It kinda looked like Liao Kang¡¯s face. A small tremble went through his body as he prepared to turn over the body.


    Pushing the dead boy with a stick, the way it moved was so uncanny. The arms twisted like noodles as he gave it that final push.


    It was Liao Kang.


    There was a deep gash at the side of his neck, his mouth hung open loosely, completely devoid of the soothing smile he used to have.


    Admittedly, Wang Jie didn¡¯t know him that well. But he had gotten along with him well.


    He bent down and gently closed Liao Kang¡¯s eyes with his fingers. That was all he could do for him.


    Walking back to their campsite, he saw that the rest of the group was all waiting on him.


    ¡°I found Liao Kang.¡± Wang Jie said.


    ¡°I found Che Xiao Wen too.¡± Liu Wei spoke.


    No one needed to say anything, it was quite clear what was meant.


    They shared the moment in silence, with respect for the people they had barely gotten to know. Surprising even himself, Wang Jie felt a tear fall down cheek.


    But in war, remembering the fallen can only take up so much time. The sun was starting to come up, and it was a given that they would have to get back on the road.


    Over a hundred people had been lost on their side alone. There was no way they would have time to bury them all. The Captain arranged for all of the bodies to be gathered, and then they were burnt. As enemies their bodies burnt together.


    The trek was eerily quiet for the first few hours. Not a word was spoken, the only sounds audible being the footfalls and wheels of wagons turning.


    They had survived their first battle, and they knew well what price it had brought with it.


    The experienced soldiers had gone through it before, and after the lunch break they were back to it, bantering around with each other.


    For Wang Jie and the other recruits, it would probably take a little while longer.


    The rest of the trip went smoothly. After 3 more days on the road they arrived at the front line camp. At this point the boys had gotten quite a bit of experience. Sleeping outdoors got easier, even if they were all paranoid the first night after the attack.


    You could even say they had gotten used to their rations. Yeah, the bread only got worse for every day passed, but they got used to it.


    The experience had brought the remaining survivors closer together. Even the adjutants got looser around them.


    When they arrived at the camp everyone cheered up. You could get used to traveling on the road, but it was so much nicer to not be constantly on the move.


    But when they were let in by the guards, it was quite a different sight that met them. It was a huge camp, setup to defend against the kingdom¡¯s biggest and most powerful enemy, the Rosalan Kingdom. Yet the camp was barren, only a few dozen soldiers visibly walking around. Quite a few of them were busy trying to repair the wooden fences protecting the camp.


    All in all there couldn¡¯t have been more than 800 soldiers there. There was supposed to be a couple of thousand. It was worse than they had expected.


    With the camp¡¯s big size and few inhabitants, there were more than enough available tents. Wang Jie and his group quickly got settled into one. 4 bunk beds, just like before, except this time they were only 5 to occupy them.


    There were positive sides to it though, that night they had the biggest meal they¡¯d eaten in a long time. Meat, soup and bread, variety was really nice. And after tasting that horrible bread, this was actually kind of nice. One could even say that it was tasty without lying too badly.


    It was a comfortable sleep, safe behind the walls of the camp. Dedicated lookouts to watch out for them. Not to mention a bed and actual cover from the climate.


    The next morning they woke up just like they had gotten used to, the banging of pans smashing against each other. Wang Jie felt great though, like it was the best nights sleep he¡¯d ever had. At least as far back as he could remember.


    There was almost a bounce to his step as he got dressed and headed to breakfast.


    ¡°Man this place is great, so much food, nice beds. I could get used to this.¡± Huang Bo grinned.


    ¡°Things are good now but, it¡¯s doubtful it¡¯ll stay that way.¡± Guan Yi muttered, dipping a piece of bread in his soup.


    ¡°You noticed it too?¡± Liu Wei looked over Guan Yi.


    ¡°What do you mean? Noticed what?¡± Huang Bo raised his eyebrows.


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you seen how big this camp is?¡± Wang Jie gestured with his arms, ¡°Yet there¡¯s barely any soldiers at all.¡±


    ¡°Not to mentioned the scorched grass and the absolutely bashed fence. They¡¯ve suffered more than just one attack here.¡± Liu Wei nodded. ¡°Which means Rosalan by far has the upper hand on the border.¡±


    ¡°Huh, I hadn¡¯t noticed all that.¡± Huang Bo scratched his chin, looking down at the table.


    ¡°They¡¯re probably getting bombarded with fire arrows every so often.¡± Liu Wei crossed his arms. ¡°There¡¯s probably not much hope to defend the line here.¡±


    ¡°Well, what are you saying? You wanna-¡± Wang Jie gave him a doubtful look.


    ¡°Desert? I¡¯m certainly considering it. It¡¯s not a bad idea.¡± Liu Wei interrupted him and said matter of factly.


    ¡°Keep your voice down, don¡¯t be so brazen about it.¡± Wang Jie gave him a light smack. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Seems kind of risky. And we¡¯d be abandoning everyone here.¡±


    ¡°You want to lay down your life for them? None of us volunteered to be here, we don¡¯t owe them anything.¡± Liu Wei shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m telling you this because I consider you my brothers by now. There¡¯s no one else I¡¯ve gone through as much with.¡±


    ¡°Where could we even go?¡± Huang Chao who had been silent until now raised a question.


    ¡°We could just throw down the gear and hop one of the borders. This camp has way too much on their hands to chase us down as it is right now.¡± Liu Wei looked around, he didn¡¯t seem to have convinced anyone.


    ¡°What about our families though? Couldn¡¯t they go after them?¡± Huang Chao asked.


    ¡°Yeah, I still haven¡¯t talked to my mother. I can¡¯t let them brand me as a traitor, it¡¯d devastate her.¡± Wang Jie sighed.


    ¡°You¡¯d rather let her see you dead? And it¡¯s not like they¡¯re just going to imprison people for being related to us.¡± Liu Wei uncrossed his arms. ¡°I¡¯m saying, just think about it. There¡¯s no reason for us to die here.¡±


    There were some faint words of agreement, though Wang Jie didn¡¯t seem to have been swayed the slightest. He didn¡¯t want to go into some foreign city by himself and train to be some blacksmith or something. If he couldn¡¯t cultivate he would at least be a soldier.

 Chapter 6 - Night Raid

    After they had gotten settled in the camp, training was resumed. They weren¡¯t capable of helping much with the daily ongoings in the camp, so the higher ups had decided it was better if they were ready in case of a battle.


    Wang Jie felt a lot better now while practicing. It was like everything just connected in his head. The bandit ambush and the hesitation he had at the time had sparked something in him. He realized that these were killer moves, meant to take another persons life. They needed a certain conviction behind them in order to show their full power.


    You couldn¡¯t half heartedly go out there without being willing to take someones life. That would be putting yourself in danger. Only by being ready could you protect yourself. Only by practicing until the moves were ingrained in your very soul could you destroy your enemies.


    At the same time as their training was taking place, a heated discussion was going on in the camp¡¯s most luxurious tent. Two young captains stood on the other side of a desk, while an older stalwart man sat down and stroked his chin.


    ¡°I¡¯m telling you, we need to attack them now. Their fortifications are a lot weaker than ours.¡± The camps Captain plead his case to the Colonel.


    ¡°I disagree, our fortifications are the strong point here.¡± The Captain leading Wang Jie¡¯s company spat. ¡°We don¡¯t know what¡¯s out there or how many soldiers they have.¡±


    ¡°Shut up, what do you know? You weren¡¯t here.¡± The camp Captain threw him a look of disdain. ¡°However many we lost, they aren¡¯t far behind.¡± He turned his attention back to the man behind the desk. ¡°I¡¯m telling you Colonel, this is by far our best shot.¡±


    Having both said what they wanted to, they waited for the Colonel to speak his mind. They stood in silence for a while as he mulled things over.


    Clearing his throat, he spoke, ¡°You both have a point. I think there is wisdom in the middle ground.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t very well send our whole force into unknown territory, but I can¡¯t let things go on like this either. We¡¯ve been getting harassed almost every night before you got here. Fire arrows raining down everywhere in the middle of the night.¡± The Colonel sighed. ¡°They may not be vocal about it, but I know all the soldiers are getting tense. We need to make a show of our own force.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll do a night raid with 100 soldiers. Disturb their sleep quickly and retreat, it should calm the Rosalan Kingdom¡¯s advance for a while.¡± The Colonel nodded to himself.


    ¡°Only 100 soldiers? That¡¯s idiotic, we don¡¯t even know if they have scouts. They might see us coming from miles away. By all mans, you¡¯ll be sending those soldiers to their death Colonel.¡± The company Captain flared up.


    ¡°Be quiet, don¡¯t speak out of turn.¡± The Colonel sent him a glare, before turning to look at the camp Captain who was under his command. ¡°I want you to lead this. Pick your soldiers and take the recruits with you. We need the best soldiers here defending the camp.¡±


    The camp Captain nodded.


    ¡°The recruits? Are you out of your mind? They¡¯ll be slaughtered.¡± The company Captain pleaded again.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already warned you once. Don¡¯t get out of line. If they get slaughtered that¡¯s how it¡¯ll be. There are bigger priorities than conserving the lives of some meager recruits. The whole kingdom is at stake in this war.¡± The Colonel banged his hand on the table. ¡°Get out of here now before you say something else.¡±


    The company Captain held his gaze for a few seconds, before furiously turning around and storming out the tent with a frown on his face.


    In his anger he kicked a rock outside and cursed. Looking around, he saw that he had attracted the attention of the nearby soldiers. Muttering some words he left, heading back to his own tent.


    ¡ª


    After having been briefed of their objective, the recruits donned their equipment in the early evening and set out with the rest of the soldiers.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    They set off in the early evening, so when they arrived at the enemy camp it would be night and completely dark.


    As they didn¡¯t want to alert any enemy scouts, they were forced to travel without torches though, which made it hard to find ones way through the silent night.


    They were all traveling on foot, being as quiet and sneaky as a grouping of 100 soldiers possibly could.


    At the slow pace, they were able to see the enemy camp after 4 hours.


    They stood atop a hill, gazing at the camp that was lit up by lanterns and torches. A sign was passed down through the line, signaling to stop and hold still. Adjutant Zhang Yun went up to talk with with the lieutenants and the Captain.


    After receiving his orders he signaled for the recruits to follow him. Circling around, they ended up at the back of the camp at a close distance. This was as close as they could get without being spotted.


    They laid in wait there, waiting for the archers to attack. Zhang Yun had told them the plan, and when the archers attacked, they would use that distraction to attack from the back. The aim was to take out a few of the night guards, some stragglers, and then leave. Staying too long would be suicide.


    That way they could harass the enemy and get them on edge. While the rest of the soldiers were sleeping back at camp, the enemy would be on edge for the rest of the night. Tired soldiers were bad soldiers.


    An orange glow streaked through the night. It was so beautiful as it lit up the night sky, following an arc as it descended upon the camp, striking a tent and lighting it on fire.


    That lone arrow was quickly followed by dozens of others, tearing up the sky as they swept over the camp and enveloped it in chaos.


    ¡°Now¡± Zhang Yun spoke before leading by example and charging towards the camp. He was followed closely by all of the recruits.


    A guard was standing around, looking towards the front of the camp. As he heard several running footsteps behind him, he turned around and watched as several enemy soldiers were approaching him. He brought up his sword and tried to defend, but there too many it was too sudden. Being pierced in several spots he slumped over dead.


    Scenes like this occurred at several points before the whole camp became aware. Wang Jie himself had managed to kill two people before the tides started turning. Smartly, he decided to turn around and run back towards the forest where they had hid.


    As the enemy soldiers spotted them, several recruits who had been too hesitant to run were cut down.


    The enemy even sent horse riders after them, trying to chase them down. However the enemy had reacted too late, most of them were far gone by now.


    Wang Jie arrived at the tree line and watched as the horse riders managed to chase down a few of the late recruits.


    He almost felt good about the attack, until he saw Huang Bo and Huang Chao were running and a horse rider was about to catch up to them. Without even considering it, he sprang up and charged towards them.


    As the horse rider raised his spear and prepared to strike, Wang Jie knew he couldn¡¯t make it in time. He tried yelling ¡°Turn around! Raise your spear¡± But they couldn¡¯t hear him.


    He needed to save them. Wang Jie raised his spear, flexed his arm back and made a sudden stop as he threw the spear with all his might, his entire body snapping forward like a bow.


    It was extremely fast as it sailed towards the horse, but not nearly fast enough. The horse rider stuck Hang Chao through the back and pierced through him. He died on the spot. Having just missed the timing, the thrown spear arrived right after, piercing through the horses front leg and felling it on the ground.


    The rider was cast off, sent tumbling to the side. He didn¡¯t get up after.


    Wang Jie ran up and grabbed Huang Bo, dragging him back towards the tree line. Huang Bo was distraught, attempting to resist him.


    ¡°We can¡¯t leave Chao.¡± He yelled, tears streaking down his cheek.


    ¡°He¡¯s dead.¡± But Huang Bo didn¡¯t seem to let up. ¡°He¡¯s dead.¡± Wang Jie shook him violently and screamed.


    That seemed to loosen Huang Bo up, and they ran back towards the tree line together.


    Some of the horse riders chased them up right to the entrance of the forest, but seemed to realize it wasn¡¯t smart to chase spear men into a forest on horses.


    Having regrouped with the other survivors, they circled back around to the archers who had been bombarding the front of the camp continuously throughout their attack. Before they pissed off the enemy soldiers too much, they decided to retreat.


    Everything had happened so fast. They had lost yet another member of the group. Why did everything keep going wrong?


    The deaths around him only seemed to steel Wang Jie¡¯s conviction. He raged against the camp commanders for sending them on this suicide mission. He raged against himself for not being strong enough. With every passing death he felt himself becoming a bit colder.


    All of the recruits were in a bad mood. Most of them had realized by now that they had been cast as the sacrifice. While they had to go in and put their lives on the line, the regular soldiers had merely been archers or slept back at the base. Yes, there was a 1000 people sleeping back at the camp while they sacrificed themselves for this.


    ¡ª


    After the attack the recruits grew dissatisfied with their treatment. Many of them talked of desertion, but before any plans could be made, the enemy made their response to the night raid.


    The camp was sieged all around, thousands of soldiers surrounded their camp and set up tents a few hundred meters off. It certainly looked like they had received plenty of reinforcements.


    The soldiers started talking about surrendering. Hope seemed to fall, no one was optimistic about making it out of this situation.


    Food supplies started to dwindle, and the once luxurious meals they could have dwindled to being even worse than what they had eaten on the road.


    One day after training, Liu Wei cornered him.


    ¡°Come with me, we can run away!¡± Liu Wei grabbed him and shook.


    ¡°Are you crazy? There¡¯s at least 5000 soldiers out there right now, how do you plan on making it through that encampment?¡± Wang Jie lightly pulled Liu Wei¡¯s hands off of him.


    ¡°If we surrender ourselves they won¡¯t cut us down. It¡¯s the exact thing they¡¯re hoping will happen.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s too risky, maybe they won¡¯t kill us, but we¡¯ll be killed by our own allies before we can slip through the fence.¡± Wang Jie shook his head. ¡°We should just wait until the Colonel decides to surrender.¡±


    ¡°You think they¡¯re going to surrender? Don¡¯t forget it¡¯s the same crazy higher ups who sent us to die in the first place.¡± Liu Wei sighed.


    Wang Jie started to consider it, but ultimately he knew he couldn¡¯t do it. ¡°I won¡¯t tell.. But¡­¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t come with me.¡± Liu Wei finished his sentence. ¡°Fine, suit yourself.¡± He kicked a wooden sign and walked off, leaving Wang Jie there by himself.


    That same night, Liu Wei didn¡¯t come back to their tent. From 8 they had decreased to 3, but none of them went to snitch on him.

 Chapter 7 - Fire

    The situation only got worse and worse and people started to get desperate. When a soldier managed to convince a dozen others to desert, the Colonel cracked down hard on them with his own personal force.


    The soldiers were all beheaded and their heads were strung up as a show of warning. The talk died down, but it was still there, left to fester in the background. Perhaps that was even more dangerous, only time would tell.


    The Colonel stayed stubborn, it was impossible to know what he was thinking.


    The training had long since stopped, with the bare bones nutrition, no one had the spare energy to waste.


    One evening the three remaining group members sat in their spacious tent and talked.


    ¡°What do you think the Colonel¡¯s goal is?¡± Guan Yi said, mostly directed at Wang Jie.


    ¡°Probably just to delay, I don¡¯t think he¡¯s ignorant enough to think we have any chance of winning.¡± Wang Jie said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, at this point I think he could be.¡± Guan Yi inhaled deeply and sighed, a frown came over his face, ¡°Do you smell that?¡±


    ¡°Smell what?¡± Wang Jie sniffed as it dawned on him, ¡°Fire!¡±


    He jumped off of the bed and saw that the tent was burning. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here, were being attacked.¡±


    They all stormed out of the tent, spears in their hands.


    The vision that came before them was a hail of arrows descending upon the camp like punishment decreed by god. Clangs of steel had already broken out as people were being killed left and right.


    Wang Jie looked around for a target but he was left frozen, unable to make heads or tails of everything. All the people fighting were their own allies. Everywhere he looked, allies were fighting and killing each other.


    ¡°What in the-¡± Huang Bo blurted right before he was knocked off his feet.


    A giant man had charged into him and the boys were swept into the battle.


    In a matter of seconds 6 men had surrounded them and Guan Yi and Wang Jie were forced to back up against each other. Covering each other¡¯s backs.


    Huang Bo was no help as he laid on the ground unconscious.


    Without giving them time to react the enemy started slashing out at them. Blocking three enemies each was impossible and they both got riddled with cuts here and there.


    Suddenly a giant crack sounded out and Wang Jie felt Guan Yi go limp and slump to the ground.


    ¡°Guan Yi!¡± He yelled, turning his head to see.


    The distraction cost him dearly as the opponent used that moment to knock him in the back of the head with a staff.


    He hadn¡¯t even felt the blow as his body gave out on him and he fell onto the ground.


    ¡ª


    Wang Jie groaned, the headache was massive. His brain pounded against his skull, threatening to break through. He tried to move his hands but they were tightly bound in front of him.


    As he opened his eyes, he realized he was in a caged carriage. It was moving.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re finally awake.¡±


    Looking over he saw Guan Yi speaking to him.


    ¡°How long was I out?¡± Wang Jie¡¯s voice was coarse and it was hard to speak.


    ¡°Over two days. We were starting to get worried.¡± Guan Yi gestured at Huang Bo who was sitting next to him.


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    At least none of us died, Wang Jie thought. Relieved, Wang Jie started to scan the rest of the carriage. They weren¡¯t the only ones here. He recognized a few other soldiers from the camp who were tied up just like them.


    ¡°What happened?¡± He asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m not exactly clear. After the battle I woke up in the carriage too. Originally Rosalan soldiers were escorting us, but then we were handed off to these people.¡± Guan Yi nodded towards the guards walking behind the carriage. ¡°Huang Bo and I agreed that they looked like slave traders.¡±


    Wang Jie took a look at the guards. Yeah, they definitely looked like slave traders. The merchant looking people that were following along explained enough. Not to mention the pristine arms that the guards carried. They definitely weren¡¯t soldiers, they looked too clean.


    ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re definitely slave traders¡± he said.


    They discussed a few more matters and then Guan Yi left him alone to recover.


    After a while a few soldiers came up and started handing out pieces of bread and flasks of water. One of them looked over Wang Jie and smiled as he spoke, ¡°Glad to see you up, the boss will be happy to know the product is fine.¡± The man laughed and after shoving the items in front of him he left.


    He didn¡¯t have much degree of maneuverability with his arms bound. Just picking up the bread was a hassle, but manageable. The flask was a whole other matter.


    Just uncorking it required some finessing, but drinking was even harder. Wang Jie ended up spilling half of the contents all over himself, still it felt amazing to get some liquid.


    When it got dark out, the traveling company broke for the night. Everyone in the carriage went to sleep too.


    Finally having some kind of privacy, Wang Jie used the opportunity to relieve himself. He walked over to the edge of the carriage, fumbled with his pants and pulled out his tool. The wooden bars provided way more than ample space for him to pee over the side.


    After finishing he tried pushing the bars, but they didn¡¯t even have the slightest give. It was hopeless. He could only keep himself well rested and hope for another opportunity.


    He walked back to the spot where he had sat the whole trip, curled up around himself and tried to go to sleep.


    It was freezing cold. The spacious wooden bars did little to protect him against the chill of the night. While shivering he drifted off into sleep.


    ¡ª


    It was already super bright out when he opened his eyes. How long had he slept for? He chalked it up to still being exhausted from his injuries.


    Traveling in the carriage quickly got monotonous. He talked with Huang Bo and Guan Yi a bit, but they quickly ran out of things to talk about. There were also many ears and eyes. He may have trusted his group members, but he didn¡¯t trust these other people in the carriage. After all, the other allies betraying them was what had landed them all in here.


    For days they continued in silence until something caught Huang Bo¡¯s eye.


    ¡°What¡¯s that in the distance?¡± He said and Wang Jie and Guan Yi both turned to look.


    ¡°Thats, the border wall isn¡¯t it?¡± Wang Jie was shocked, he turned to look at Guan Yi for confirmation.


    ¡°It should be, I¡¯ve never seen it in person.¡± Guan Yi said.


    ¡°That¡¯s the border wall?¡± Huang Bo gasped as he looked up trying to see the top. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize it was so tall.¡±


    The border wall was a wall separating the 14 Lesser Kingdoms from the rest of the continent. The reason for it¡¯s existence was contested. The most commonly hailed reason seemed to be because the continent didn¡¯t want the citizens from the poor kingdoms migrating over. Though it was hardly impossible to pass through, just a bit more expensive than the average person could afford. That was why most people from the lesser kingdoms agreed that it was there to keep them in.


    As they got closer and closer to the wall it got larger and larger, it was hard to imagine how costly it had been to build.


    Soon they were right in front of it and came to a stop.


    One of the merchant looking people went up and spoke to the gate guard. Upon seeing the merchant the guard was suddenly very deferential and they were let through quickly.


    This was Wang Jie¡¯s first time traveling to the other side of the wall. It might have been a thing to remember if it were under more pleasant circumstances.


    They traveled for a few more days before they arrived at a big city. It was a grand sight, gold and silver decorated the various buildings and traders were out in full force selling a variety of colors of jade. A grand river ran through the city, further adding to the prestige.


    The carriage continued for a while before it came to a stop in front of a building in the central part of the city. Without explaining anything, one of the guards opened the cage with a key and they started to drag out the people inside.


    Wang Jie followed along as he was led to a side entrance of the building where he was shoved into a room filled with hay. Crouching down the guard fastened a shackle around each of his ankles. After doing that the guard gripped both of his hands and cut the rope around his arms.


    Seeing the opportunity Wang Jie exerted all his force and tried to break free, but the guard simply held him there easily and grinned. He fastened a shackle around each of his wrists. With the cocky grin still on his face he left and shut the door.


    He pulled on one of his arms and just heard the rustle of chains as it held him back. It was easier to move now but it was going to be even harder to escape now.


    Giving up on breaking free he started examining the room. There was a big stack of hay to his left and a bucket in the opposite right corner of the room. He was pretty sure he knew what it was for.


    Meals were served thrice a day and in generous portions too. Quite a nice stay if one forgot the implications of being here. And the shitting and pissing in the bucket of course.


    Well, if there was anything that cheered him up, it was seeing the guy who tasked to come pick up his bucket daily.


    After a few days there, other people started coming to take a look at him. There was a slit in the door that could be opened, so they would never set foot inside the cell. They¡¯d just stand out there beyond his reach and commentate about what he had or lacked. It felt weird being objectified like that.


    He knew they were prospective buyers, what else could they be?


    There had already been three groups of people here to see him, none of them quite willing to buy him yet.


    On the third day there the fourth group showed up. A woman, a man following her and a merchant to present the goods.


    After they had taken a look through the slit, they shut it and Wang Jie could hear them speaking through the door.


    ¡°Yes his looks are definitely good, I¡¯m just not sure if he can be tamed.¡± He heard a woman speak, ¡°He has this awful kind of glare in his eye, he looks like a beast.¡±


    ¡°If you want him Madam I¡¯m sure I can tame him.¡± The man spoke.


    ¡°Yes, they all learn quite well.¡± The merchant agreed eagerly, ¡°I¡¯m sure you will find him most satisfactorily.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, if you say so. Siyu, give the man the money.¡± The woman said.


    ¡°Of course Madam.¡±


    ¡°Ahh thank you thank you. I hope you¡¯ll be happy with him.¡±


    The woman laughed faintly, ¡°I¡¯m sure I will.¡±


    Having received the money, the merchant brought a guard over to unlock the door. After opening the door, the guard stepped inside and unlocked the clasp holding the chain to the wall. Taking the chain in hand he walked over the door with Wang Jie in tow.


    ¡°Do you want a guard to escort you to your manor Miss?¡± The merchant tried to curry favor with the woman.


    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary, I¡¯m sure Siyu can handle him.¡± The woman shot him down.


    The merchant nodded towards the guard who then handed the chains over to the servant named Siyu.


    As the woman looked him over, Wang Jie glared in return.


    ¡°Oh my, see, that¡¯s what I was talking about. He¡¯s such a beast.¡± She laughed again, not too bothered by the display.

 Chapter 8 - The Manor

    Pulled by the chain, Wang Jie followed behind the two. If the woman had that much trust in her servant, he was probably a cultivator. With his mortal strength Wang Jie knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to overpower him.


    They went out through the main entrance and entered the woman¡¯s carriage.


    ¡°Sit.¡± Siyu pushed him down on the bench seat. Yeah, there was no way he could overpower him.


    Wang Jie noticed the woman staring at him, ¡°What are you looking at?¡± he growled.


    She recoiled slightly while Siyu smacked the back of his head.


    ¡°You will refrain from speaking to the Missus that way.¡±


    The rest of the ride continued in silence. They exited the city and Wang Jie saw the stream from the city out of the window. It looked like they were moving downstream. Whatever that was worth.


    She was staring at him the whole trip, like a child appraising her toy. He didn¡¯t speak up though.


    Soon they crossed a bridge and drove up a slight incline. When they passed over it, a colossal manor came into view.


    After they stopped the woman left the carriage while Siyu dragged Wang Jie to another part of the manor. As they walked through several halls, they passed guards along the way that nodded and let them past. Wang Jie focused his attention on committing the layout to memory.


    They passed through a door and met two guards on the other side. Focusing on them, Wang Jie saw they each had a keyring attached to their belts. Siyu exchanged glances with the guards and then led him to an empty cell. He led him in and then started talking.


    ¡°This is going to be your new home till you learn to behave.¡± Siyu glanced at his shackles, ¡°Still, I think we can take those off now.¡±


    He brandished a key and unlocked the shackles. It felt good to regain ones movement.


    ¡°Someone will be by shortly to give you some clothes, if you don¡¯t want to make it hard on yourself you would be smart to put them on.¡± With that, he left and locked the iron door.


    The moment he left Wang Jie started looking around the room. There were brick walls on three sides of the room, the final side was made up of vertical iron bars, meaning he had no privacy. A bed with a metal frame stood in the corner, a tall wooden dresser beside it. He checked the drawer, empty, of course. He started searching the bed when he heard a noise behind him and hurriedly withdrew his hand.


    ¡°You looking for something?¡± One of the guards from the entrance stood behind him.


    ¡°Uhhh, no,¡± His mind turned a mile a minute, ¡°just making the bed.¡±


    ¡°Riiiiiight¡­¡± The guard didn¡¯t believe him. ¡°Anyway, heres your clothes. I¡¯ll just put them here.¡± He stuck the clothes through the iron bars and left them on the ground.


    As soon as the guard left he started searching the clothes, there had to be something useful right? But no, it was just clothes. A linen shirt, some pants and boots. In his frustration he picked up a boot and threw it at the wall. It bounced off harmlessly and landed on the floor.


    He sat on the floor waiting for a few minutes before he heard footsteps walking down the hall.


    ¡°I see you haven¡¯t changed.¡± Siyu eyed the boot on the other side of the room, stepping towards the .


    ¡°Can¡¯t say I wasn¡¯t expecting it.¡± He held up his whip, ¡°I came prepared.¡±


    ¡°Screw you.¡± Wang Jie¡¯s eyes narrowed.


    ¡°What did you say?¡± Siyu took a step towards him, ¡°Go over and put your hands on the wall.¡±


    Wang Jie just ignored him.


    ¡°Listen to me.¡± Siyu screamed and kicked Wang Jie in the face with his boot.


    The blow sent him knocking against the bed frame. He caressed his face and tightened his fists, he wanted to fight back so much but he couldn¡¯t.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°I¡¯m not giving you another chance, hands on the wall now.¡± Siyu pointed towards the wall.


    His fists clenched so hard as he walked over to the wall and put his hands up.


    ¡°Now take off your robe.¡± Siyu fondled the whip in his hands.


    Wang Jie grumbled a bit, but none the less he pulled the robe up over his head and threw it on the floor.


    ¡°Good, now as I whip you, I want you to count out each and every single lash, loud and clear.¡±


    The crack of the whip broke by his ears as he was struck on the back. He couldn¡¯t help but yelp in pain, his whole back burning with pain.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t hear you count.¡± The crack of the whip came again, even harder than before, the pain even worse than before.


    Wang Jie bit his lip and cried out, ¡°1.¡±


    ¡°Much better.¡± Siyu¡¯s lips curled into a smile as he swung the whip again, striking him so hard that he drew blood.


    ¡°2.¡± The pain was so bad, it felt like it was burning him both inside and out.


    ¡°3.¡± His eyes bulged outward and he began to feel the blood drip down his back.


    ¡°4.¡± He bit his lip so hard he tore through, the taste of blood filling his mouth.


    ¡°5.¡±¡­-


    ¡°6.¡±¡­-


    It just continued on and on, he so angry. At himself, the world, the slavers, the colonel, Siyu, the woman, the guards. Why was he so helpless? Why couldn¡¯t he do anything?


    It was a gruesome night as the cries of pain rang out through the halls. He took a total of 20 lashings before Siyu saw fit to stop and left.


    The pain tore into him as he laid on the bed to sleep. He barely slept at all.


    He didn¡¯t even bother trying to resist the next day, and just put on the servants outfit when he woke up. The shirt hurt as it touched his back, but he had to wear it.


    Early morning a guard came by with his meal. Without saying a word he shoved a bowl of rice with fish, some chopsticks and a flask through an opening.


    When the guard left he lunged at the food. Wang Jie didn¡¯t hold himself back as he ate. It was perfect, it might have even been the best meal he¡¯d ever had. Scratch that, it really was the best meal he¡¯d ever had. Back home they couldn¡¯t afford eating like this.


    It was almost like an abusive relationship. First they mistreat you, then pull you back in with little niceties here and there. The thought disgusted him.


    After eating he kept the flask and chopsticks. He could sharpen the chopsticks and if he smashed the flask he¡¯d probably get some sharp pieces out of it.


    When the guard came back to collect the items, he quickly realized something was amiss though.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the flask?¡± He asked, a frown on his face.


    Wang Jie could only pull it out from under the bed and hand it over. With the flask in hand, the guard was happy and left.


    Seeing home gone, Wang Jie couldn¡¯t help but smile to himself.


    He spent a few hours sharpening the chopsticks by driving them against the ground.


    That evening Siyu came by again like promised.


    ¡°So I heard you tried to hide a flask?¡±


    Wang Jie nodded.


    ¡°Well it¡¯s good you¡¯ve learned to admit your mistakes, but you¡¯re not being entirely honest with me are you?¡± Siyu looked him into the eyes, ¡°See I¡¯m not an idiot like that guard, one would have to be blind to not notice a missing flask. Which means you didn¡¯t take it because you thought you could get away with it. No, you took it to use as a distraction.¡±


    Wang Jie shook, how did the man know so much?


    ¡°Which the real thing you¡¯re trying to hide,¡± Siyu reached his hands into Wang Jie¡¯s pocket, ¡°are these chopsticks in your pocket am I right?¡± He grinned as the dangled the two chopsticks in front of Wang Jie.


    To Wang Jie it was the most demonic smile fathomable. Standing in front of him, dangling his keys to freedom. The demon laughed in his face as it sentenced him to 40 lashes.


    He didn¡¯t even manage a wink of sleep that night. His eyes grew bloodshot as he lay in bed with the pain engulfing him.


    The next day he didn¡¯t bother trying to steal anything from his meals. It wouldn¡¯t work, Siyu just knew too much and the guards had definitely been made aware by now to keep a look out.


    But even though he had been good, Siyu still came by in the evening and lashed him 10 times. This continued everyday till Sunday, where he didn¡¯t show up at all.


    Mystified by it all, Wang Jie couldn¡¯t help but wonder. He had come here everyday like clockwork, but suddenly he wasn¡¯t coming around?


    The line of thinking got Wang Jie to consider some other matters too. Every evening it was the same guard serving him his food. Breakfast and lunch differed, but it was always the same guard in the evening.


    Was there only one on shift? He would have to find out.


    On Monday, Siyu was back like nothing had happened. 10 lashes just like before and then he left.


    He came every single day of the week, except Sunday where he was missing again.


    With this clue, he started thinking about a plan. The biggest obstacle was the guards, were they possibly all cultivators? No, there was no way that could be possible. Siyu himself was probably only in the early stages of Qi Condensation, so it would be impossible for other cultivators to submit to his command.


    Wang Jie could handle the guards, he had total confidence in that.


    To check the schedule Wang Jie started calling out for a guard in the evening. Without fail, every single time it was the same one guard who came. He had tested it three times and was sure of it by now, he had to be the only one there.


    After the guard had gotten annoyed with Wang Jie¡¯s unnecessary calling, he had told Siyu about it. That very same evening he came by and sentenced him to 40 lashings.


    While he was whipping him, he started asking questions, ¡°What are you planning?¡±


    Wang Jie just laughed back as he counted out the strikes.


    ¡°Are you laughing at me?¡± He flared up, ¡°Another 10 lashings!¡±


    At this point Wang Jie started embracing the pain instead of resisting it. He let it seep into his very bones, let it permeate his soul and envelop him from within. He was beginning to grow numb to it.


    This pain was nothing, it couldn¡¯t hurt him and it certainly wouldn¡¯t break him. He would endure.


    The days passed and one night he took out the drawer and broke off the back panel. It was super thick and wide, it would take a long time to sharpen it. Thus he started reducing his sleep to 4 hours and spent the night sharpening the wooden panel. During the day he hid it under his mattress, and would bring it out to continue sharpening whenever he knew it was safe.


    Siyu continued to find trouble with him, lashing him tens of times every single night. The torture didn¡¯t bother him anymore though, he would endure, he couldn¡¯t be broken.


    Suddenly one Friday the woman who hadn¡¯t seen since he arrived at the manor came and checked on him with Siyu.


    ¡°Is he still not ready Siyu?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid he¡¯s not broken quite yet Madam, lately he hasn¡¯t been responding as well to my methods.¡±


    ¡°Arghhh,¡± she stomped her foot. ¡°I wanted to take him along for the trip on Sunday.¡±


    A glint passed through Wang Jie¡¯s eyes as he listened.


    ¡°Apologies Madam, I¡¯ll have him trained for next Sunday.¡±


    ¡°Fine, but you better keep your word.¡± She stormed off.


    ¡®So she goes somewhere each Sunday¡¯ he thought. ¡®That has to explain why Siyu is gone, he escorts her.¡¯


    Siyu gave him a glance and then left to follow after the woman.

 Chapter 9 - Escape

    He had to make the escape this Sunday. He couldn¡¯t stay for another week and wait for Siyu to come up with other methods, and he certainly didn¡¯t want to find out what trip she wanted to bring him on.


    Taking out the makeshift stake from the drawer, he felt the sharpness of it. It was far from a blade, but it would certainly go through as long as there was force behind it.


    With just 2 days remaining, he had to prepare himself for the escape. He spent the remaining time going over the manors layout in his head over and over. It¡¯d been a long time since he had stepped foot outside of the cell, so it wasn¡¯t easy to recall.


    Bits and pieces connected till he felt a had a solid understanding of the manor. Slowly he started to formulate his plan. He absolutely had to do it quietly, there wasn¡¯t anywhere to escape to nearby, so if they realized he was gone too quick he¡¯d be found. Ideally they wouldn¡¯t find out till morning when the other guard came back.


    With everything coming together he felt ready, there was a solid chance he would be successful.


    The fateful time came as he heard the guard whistling as he walked down the hallway to serve his dinner. Wang Jie leaned against the wall, trying to look as inconspicuous as impossible while he clutched the stake in his non-visible hand.


    Soon, the guard turned the corner and came into view.


    ¡°Not planning on calling on me several times again tonight are you?¡± The guard laughed as he gave him a quick look.


    ¡°Probably not.¡± Wang Jie said as he gripped the stake harder.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s nice to hear.¡± The guard bent down and started setting down the items.


    After finishing he turned to walk away.


    ¡°Actually, can I ask you something?¡± Wang Jie said, taking a slight step forward while still keep the stake out of the guards eye.


    ¡°Hm, what?¡± The guard came back.


    ¡°I was just thinking.¡± Wang Jie lunged into action, gripping the mans shirt and pulling him closer.


    ¡°What are you-¡± The guard began to speak, but before he could say anymore Wang Jie plunged the stake through his chest, aiming for his heart.


    ¡°You- you- you-¡± The guard began to panic, weakly he tried to loosen Wang Jie¡¯s grip on him while the stake was being twisted and turned inside of him.


    His eyes almost popped out of his forehead as his body began to slump. When Wang Jie felt the last of his life leave him, he dropped the stake and yanked off the mans key chain. With his goal in hand, he let the man fall down on the floor.


    With the key in hand he walked over to the gate and unlocked it. Now on the other side, he stripped himself and the guard naked, before putting on the guard uniform, grabbing the sheathed sword and sticking the key in his pocket. The whole front part of the outfit was bloody, so he could only show his back.


    He started walking down the hallway, following his memory. Quickly he came to a spot where he remembered a guard being stationed when he was taken through. Peeking around the corner, he didn¡¯t see anyone. A sigh of relief escaped him. He¡¯d been counting on the fact that there were lesser guards during the evening.


    But just when he thought luck was on his side, he turned another corner and saw a guard there facing away from him. He frowned as he started considering.


    It was impossible for him to sneak past him, he had to murder him. But if he did, there was a big chance someone would pass by and find the body. It was just a risk he would have to take.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    Making as little noise as possible, he unsheathed the sword and held it close. Slowly he started tip-toeing towards the man. He held his breath as he neared him, by now he was so close that he could hear the mans breath.


    In one motion he covered the mans mouth as he plunged the sword through him from the back. The man started shaking in his arms as he felt the sword enter him. There was little resistance before he breathed his last. Feeling him go limp, Wang Jie carefully laid him down.


    It had really gone better than expected.


    The rest of the way was clear and he soon found himself inside the grand entry hall. The door was just within his reach when he heard someone behind him.


    ¡°Hmmm? Hold on a second, what are you doing out of your post?¡± The person behind him was clearly suspicious.


    Wang Jie stopped and without turning around he answered, ¡°I have to use the bathroom.¡±


    ¡°You know theres no bathroom that way right?¡± The person took a step closer, ¡°Turn around for me.¡±


    What should he do? Wang Jie tried to think of a way out as he heard the man nearing him. Out of options he drew his sword and spun around while swinging at the man.


    A clank rang out as steel met steel and his attack was blocked. The guard had been prepared for it.


    ¡°Intruder!¡± The guard started yelling as he took a step back to go on the defensive.


    Shit, he was running out of time. Soon the place would be swarming and he¡¯d truly be caged in. Making up his mind he re sheathed the sword and started running for the door.


    Breaking out through the door Wang Jie sprinted across the courtyard towards the wall. The entire time he could hear hurried footsteps behind him. It seemed the guard had chosen to chase after him. A loud bell began to ring and guards started flooding out of buildings behind him.


    Finally nearing freedom, he made a leap and used the wall as a stepping stone behind him. As he went over, he heard a sword strike against the wall. He had just narrowly dodged that one.


    After he landed he heard the man scale the wall behind him. He had to get rid of this pursuer before he lead anyone else to him.


    When the man came over the wall and was on his way down, he was instead met with a sword thrust from Wang Jie on the other side. Completely unable to defend himself in the air, the sword effortlessly pierced through him.


    Without confirming his death, Wang Jie ran inside the forest. He kept running for a bit before slowing down and being careful not to make noise. In the distance behind him, he could see various orange glows entering the forest one after another. The place was absolutely swarming with them. He couldn¡¯t attract their attention or they¡¯d descent on him like a flock of vultures.


    Navigating through the forest, he was nearing the hill. Still, if he managed to get that far he would be in open territory. The only thing on the other side was the river, the road to town and a whole lot of nothing. It was the only way though.


    Just 20 meters were left when Wang Jie heard someone run towards him at high speed. His eyes widened in disbelief as he turned and saw who it was.


    He raised his sword to defend but before he could even react he took a kick to the stomach and was sent flying back and dropped the sword.


    Slumped on the ground as Siyu stood over him, looking down, he felt his hope leave him. Was he going to die here?


    Siyu reached down and pulled him up by his neck. With a single arm he he held him up and looked him over. ¡°Did you really think it was going to be that easy?¡± Siyu gave him a mocking look, ¡°I knew you were planning something.¡±


    No, he could still fight. Wang Jie started kicking out with his legs, trying to get free. It wasn¡¯t going to work through, Siyu just laughed at his antics.


    Glaring and giving up on that end, Wang Jie sneakily began reaching down his pocket. Straining as he started running out of air from the choking. He felt a bit of metal touching his finger and he quickly reined it in to grip it in his hand.


    ¡°You know what, that¡¯s what I like about you, even at this moment you still have that unbreakable glare in your eye.¡± Siyu spoke, enjoying himself.


    With a slight sneer on his mouth, Wang Jie mustered up all the energy left in his body, and with a quick move he swung the key in his hand at Siyu¡¯s eyes.


    He knew it had worked when he was let go and fell down on the ground. Coughing, he hurried back on his feet and without sparing a glance he ran for the hill. Even if Siyu was blind he would still be able to beat him.


    15 meters¡­


    ¡°You fucking.¡± Siyu screamed behind him, ¡°I¡¯ll flay you alive!¡±


    10 meters¡­


    But before he could get any further, he felt a massive strike on his back. He flew more than 10 meters and started rolling down the hill, bumping into rocks along the way.


    The last thing he heard was the splash of water before he faded into nothingness.


    ¡ª


    Siyu and several guards stood at the bottom of the hill, looking around.


    ¡°He has to be somewhere! He can¡¯t have just fucking disappeared!¡± He screamed as he flailed about madly, his right eye dripping with blood, ¡°Search the river, I want him found.¡±


    ¡°Sir with all due respect, you likely killed him with that last attack. He¡¯s probably lying dead somewhere.¡±


    ¡°So then if he¡¯s dead go find his damn body idiot.¡± Siyu gave him a smack and turned to yell at the other guards, ¡°You useless blockheads go and find him already.¡±


    That set them off and they quickly started running around checking everywhere. Moving downstream and scanning the river, but no one was ever able to find anything. No sign was left behind. They continued for hours but ultimately they were left empty handed. He had disappeared from right under their noses.


    ¡ª


    Wang Jie regained consciousness lying in a shallow pool of water, his whole body ached as he looked around, trying to find out where he was.


    Bright white light filled his surroundings as he looked around. He was inside of a cave, but how had he gotten here? Using one of the walls as a support he managed to clamber up on his feet, and used his new height to check out the cave.


    A few meters away he saw an altar, above it there was a suspended white orb, was that the thing lighting up the cave? With nowhere else to go he started walking towards it, every single step was arduous as he moved. Before even getting halfway he started coughing up blood. He may have escaped for now, but he was going to die anyway from his internal injuries.


    He kept dragging himself, slowly getting closer. He began to notice there were some things on top of the altar. At last he was there. He braced himself on the altar, helping to keep himself up as he looked down at what was there.

 Chapter 10 - Cultivation

    On the stone altar a white pill with black lines, a silver ring and a white leather bound book lay. Disregarding the pill and ring for now, Wang Jie took a closer look at the book. It was quite thick and there was some golden text in the middle that read White Tiger Cultivation Manual.


    His heart skipped a beat, but he was quickly disappointed. He¡¯d almost forgotten that he didn¡¯t have any spiritual roots. Even with a cultivation manual he wouldn¡¯t get anywhere.


    Still, if he was going to die in this cave all alone, he would at least satisfy his curiosity. Gently turning the first page he was met with a title page.


    ¡®A cultivation manual to compliment the west continent¡¯s mythological white tiger body, created in year 205.¡¯


    The west continent? What was that? Wang Jie had never heard the continent described by a name before. If there was a west, did that mean there was more than one continent? Which one was he on? What was a white tiger body? And most importantly of all, year 205? That was insane, according to the calendar they were in year 9613.


    That single line had spurred a lot of questions in his head. Only left with more questions and having answered none, he turned the page.


    ¡®To achieve a white tiger body, one needs to ingest the white tiger pill. The pill exerts an extreme pressure on the users will, surviving the transformations is incredibly rare. Even so, it is an incredible pill capable of transforming any type of spiritual or mortal roots into supreme quality roots with metal affinity.¡®


    His breath quickened and he quickly read the rest of the page. It just went on to talk about the recipe, listing various things Wang Jie had never heard of and something about needing a tier 9 Heavenly Pill Refiner to create the pill. Whatever that was. Finally it described the appearance of the pill, matching exactly what was on the altar.


    Wang Jie eyed the pill, most die? It didn¡¯t sound promising, but right now he was already dying. He suspected that even if he wasn¡¯t, he¡¯d take his chances and try to absorb the pill anyway. Sure it could all be a lie, but it was hard to imagine someone going through all this trouble just as a cruel joke.


    With his mind made up he closed the book and picked up the pill. Taking a deep breath and calming himself, he brought it up to his mouth and swallowed it.


    Less than a second after swallowing, his eyes widened and he dropped on the floor. He felt all of his bones break and was unable to move any part of his body.


    A strange foreign energy coursed through him, destroying various parts of his body in it¡¯s path. It felt like getting burned by a scorching hot flame from the inside. He would scream if he had any muscles to move his tongue or mouth with. Meridians he didn¡¯t even realize he had were breaking into thousands of pieces and disappearing. The internal destructive energy broke through his body and ripped apart his clothes.


    But then, another kind of energy started to spread, repairing parts of his body. He felt his muscles and bones reforming, stronger and thicker. His meridians came back, wider and thicker this time.


    That joyful feeling only lasted a brief moment before the whole thing restarted itself, the pain a hundred times worse. Before he could even appreciate his new changes, the bones, muscles and meridians had shattered themselves again. It was absolute agony as he lay there helpless on the cold cave floor, trying to writhe and twist but unable to move at all. Even his skin was starting to flake off in pieces, before reappearing like every other part of him.


    Nothing that Siyu had done to him could compare. This was a torture from the inside, a torture residing in every nook and cranny of his mind and body.


    As his willpower to live through it started to wane, a strange sensation washed over him and he felt his soul trying to tear out of his body. Was this death? No, he couldn¡¯t let that happen. Being so close and giving up make him deserving of dying here.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    The only thing he could do was focus his mind and will himself to power through it. He may have felt like he was getting hammered, burned and sliced to pieces, but every time something was broken, new life sprouted in its place. Stronger and harder, his body was breaking limits he didn¡¯t know restrained him.


    As long as he kept thinking like that, the pain couldn¡¯t hurt him. If he didn¡¯t let it, it would never be able to kill him. He was the one in control of the process.


    It continued on for hours, but Wang Jie had already conquered the pain. When his body had finally repaired and broken itself for the last time, a black tattoo started taking shape on his body. On his back, the image of a tiger came into view, while black stripes spread around his body covering his upper arms, chest and thighs.


    Lying there on the floor, he could feel that he had completely healed. Whether it was the injuries from before or what had happened during the transformation, it was all gone. Even so, it took him an hour before he had enough energy in him to get up.


    Slowly, he made his way over to the shallow water and checked his reflection. The tattoo¡¯s came as a shock more so than his body. He was thankful that the stripes hadn¡¯t covered his face. Thinking about his face, he leaned in closer and realized that it had changed. It was hard to see clearly through the water, but there was no mistaking that it was different. Slightly more handsome sure, but what surprised him was that it had changed to become fiercer. Like an unrestrained predators.


    After finishing with his face, he started studying the changes to his body. He both felt and looked a lot stronger. His muscles had become thicker and fuller, his skin paler and more smooth. On the inside he knew his bones and organs were tougher too.


    Done with looking himself over, he walked back to the book and continued where he had left off. He was excited, but unhurried as he turned the pages and continued reading.


    On the page was a basic explanation on how to cultivate. One had to follow the book¡¯s breathing exercises to feel the spiritual essence in the air and draw it inside, forming it into Qi. Wang Jie studied the breathing exercises for a few minutes before giving it a try.


    Sitting down in a lotus position he started performing the breathing exercises. There was a vague stirring in his body, but aside from that he felt nothing, let alone spiritual essence in the air. Wang Jie frowned slightly but continued following the breathing exercises.


    This continued for a few hours before he finally felt a strange energy outside of his body. It permeated the entire world around him and gave him a weirdly comfortable feeling. Now aware of the energy, he began drawing it inside of his body at a slow pace. It only took him another few hours before he was able to produce a tiny speck of Qi in his dantian. He had no idea what he was supposed to do now, so he went back to the book.


    Turning to the next page he saw a litter of diagrams take up the page. The book described how he had to circulate his Qi following a specific circuit. Completing a full circulation would mark him as stepping into the 1st of the 9 Qi Condensation stages. Again he studied the diagrams for a while before putting it into practice.


    Sitting back down he started trying to move the tiny speck of Qi inside of his dantian. At first it wouldn¡¯t even budge at all, just firmly remaining in place. It took him a while before he was able to get it to move a little bit, and finally he was able to guide it into one of his meridians. But just as it had entered, he lost control and it floated back out into the dantian.


    Just that alone had exhausted him and he was unable to continue. Taking a break, he realized that he was hungry and thirsty. Problem was, there was no food around. Only able to satisfy his thirst, he went over to the shallow water and drank from it. With nothing else to do, he went back to studying the diagrams for a few hours before reattempting.


    Once he came back, he was able to make it a little further before the same problem cropped up again. Frustrated, he could only take a break again and relax for a while. Now when he thought about it, he was actually quite tired. He had no idea what time it was, but he¡¯d been up for at least 24 hours by now. It was the perfect time to sleep, he could come back to the cultivation when he woke up.


    There wasn¡¯t really any decent spot to sleep anywhere. He managed to find a somewhat flat place and go to sleep there. The stone floor was uncomfortable and piercing on his naked body, but he still managed to get some rest.


    He woke up a number of hours later and went right back to practicing. For days he continued like this, getting further and further along. When he couldn¡¯t get any further, he would take a break and study for a while. When he was tired he would sleep. When he was thirsty he would drink and when he was hungry he would¡­ Well, he would ignore it and continue on. There was nothing else to do, so besides taking care of his needs, studying and practicing was all he would do.


    After 5 days spent in the cave like that, he was infinitely close to completing a full circuit. As he sat there practicing, the tiny speck of Qi floated through his meridians slowly. Finally it came back around and passed through to re enter his dantian.


    He had done it, after 5 days of continuous practice, he had finally managed to complete a circulation. It was an almost dream like feeling, he was a cultivator now. And from the looks of things, not just any ordinary cultivator. He had the white tiger body with supreme quality metal affinity spiritual roots. As far as he knew, supreme quality was the absolute best, followed by high, medium, low and of course the dreaded mortal roots he once had. And that wasn¡¯t the only thing, he also had the white tiger cultivation manual, which from the looks of things had to be strong, right? He was sure it had to be.


    His thoughts started wandering back to Siyu. He wondered if he would be able to beat him now, but he had no idea what exact level he was at. There was no doubt he was in the early stages, but which one? 2nd stage? 3rd stage? Or perhaps even 1st stage like himself? He also had no idea if the woman Siyu called Madam was a cultivator as well. Yes there was no reason to risk it, he would come back and take his revenge when he was stronger. Like that, he had already decided their fate in his mind, sentencing them both to death.

 Chapter 11 - Sunlight

    Since he had completed the circulation, it was time for him to leave the cave. That shallow amount of water had already decreased by more than half and he would have to eat at some point.


    Walking over to the altar he glanced at the ring that had remained untouched till now. Picking it up he studied it and instantly felt a vague connection with it. Like there was a room inside of it that he could control with his Qi.


    Manipulating it came naturally and he was soon able to see inside of it. It was just a small space, right around half a cubic meter. Still, he was very pleased by this. With a few minutes of practice he was able to store the book inside of the ring. With that out of the way, he slid the ring down his left ring finger and started looking for an exit.


    First he went to the shallow water and looked up. As far as he could gather, he¡¯d fallen through the river there and the cave must¡¯ve closed up behind him. He crawled up the cave walls and tried banging on the ceiling. Nothing happened however.


    Maybe he could use his new Qi? He had no way to move it outside his body yet, so focusing, he controlled his Qi to move from his dantian, through his arms and to his hand. But it didn¡¯t do anything either.


    Frankly he had no idea how it worked, so he could only give up on that idea for now. Having reconsidered, he began walking along the cave walls and found a few crevices, though they were pretty much all so narrow that he wouldn¡¯t be able to get through. After doing the whole tour and not finding anything satisfactory, he bit his lip and went back to the widest crevice he had found.


    Trying to make himself as slim as possible, he barely managed to squeeze into it. It really was a tight fit as the rocks cut against his bare skin. The crevice turned out to be quite long as it took him 15 minutes of maneuvering to pop out into another part of the cave system. He stretched his limbs and looked down at himself. A few cuts here and there, but nowhere too important and nothing that time wouldn¡¯t cure quickly.


    After that the rest of the way was smooth sailing despite how dark the cave was now that it wasn¡¯t lit up by the white orb. Over a day of walking later, he came out on the other side and was met with bright, warm sunlight shining through the gaps of a multitude of trees.


    It felt good to finally be free. Not only from the cave, but from the Manor itself. He didn¡¯t feel like the situation was over before he got out of that cave. After all, he had no idea where he would end up after wards. Luckily, he was now a days walk away in some random direction.


    With his newfound freedom and abilities he found himself wondering what he should do. He didn¡¯t know anything about the rest of the continent. He considered going back to the 14 Lesser Kingdoms, but he was a cultivator now, it was clear he was meant for something more. Sure his mother was there, but he was a far different person than he had been when he last saw her.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    There was also the question of his comrades Guan Yi and Huang Bo. How much did he care about them? Enough to go throw himself into the wolf¡¯s den to find and save them? He wasn¡¯t quite so sure about that. Something in him had changed, he felt a bit more cold when considering these people he¡¯d once fought to survive with. He didn¡¯t quite understand it yet, but inside he knew he wasn¡¯t going to go offer himself up for a chance of saving them.


    Well, for now the goal was just to get out of this forest and get some clothes. It was decently warm now, but in the night time he would be freezing. With no clue where he was, he could only pick a direction and keep following it.


    But as fate would have it, he was out of there in less than an hour. As he passed away from the forest he suddenly realized that it wasn¡¯t that big at all. No matter which direction he went in he would¡¯ve been out quickly.


    Finding a road nearby, he started walking along it, letting it take him wherever it may lead. There was no one to meet along the way as he walked. He started growing a bit frustrated, when he spotted a farm house in the distance.


    Walking up to the house, he knocked and covered his manhood as best as he could with his hands.


    ¡°Be right there.¡± A gruff voice yelled as heavy footsteps came near.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± A man in his late thirties opened the door, his expression quickly turning into surprise, ¡°What in the world?¡±


    ¡°You some kind of pervert?¡± The man warily closed the door slightly, leaving a small gap.


    Something inside him took over and urged him just to kill the man, it would be far easier. Again he was baffled where it came from, he never would¡¯ve considered it before. He shook off the thought and answered the man.


    ¡°I was in a bit of an accident and hoping to borrow some clothes, ¡° Hesitantly he added, ¡°and maybe a place to stay for the night.¡±


    ¡°Clothes, yeah I can see you need those,¡± The man chuckled at his own wit and looked Wang Jie over carefully, ¡°But I¡¯m not sure we want someone like you staying around here looking like that.¡± The man pointed to his tattoos and cuts, ¡°You look like a bloody beast. It¡¯s not a good image for my household.¡±


    ¡°Honey just stop giving him a hard time and let him in. We¡¯ve got plenty of space.¡± A cheerful voice came from behind the man as a woman stepped into view. ¡°Oh my, strong and handsome.¡± The woman winked at him while the man just grumbled and opened the door to let him in.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Wang Jie stepped inside and looked around.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you can fit into some of my husband¡¯s old clothes.¡± The woman smiled and left to find some clothes.


    ¡°Coming into my house naked.¡± The man continued to grumble, ¡°Stealing my clothes.¡± He took a seat and stared vigilantly at Wang Jie, ¡°Coveting my wife.¡±


    It was hard to tell whether he was serious or just messing around. After all, for Wang Jie this was quite an awkward situation too. He was butt naked in this man¡¯s living room, only two hands to cover himself, while the man¡¯s wife had gone to fetch him something to wear.


    The woman soon came back and led Wang Jie to a room where he could change clothes in privacy. When he came back out, there was a younger girl alongside the husband and wife in the living room.


    ¡°Hello, dad said you lost your clothes?¡± The girl spoke to him.


    ¡°Uhh yeah sort of.¡± Wang Jie nodded.


    ¡°How¡¯d that happen?¡±


    ¡°Actually, I¡¯d rather not talk about it if that¡¯s fine.¡± He really couldn¡¯t be bothered to come up with a convincing excuse.


    ¡°Okay sure, I understand.¡±


    ¡°Now he¡¯s trying to take my daughter too.¡± The dad crossed his arms and glared, ¡°When will this vulture have enough?¡±


    ¡°Oh stop it already.¡± The woman rolled her eyes and jabbed her husband in the side. Instantly his attitude took a 180 degree turn.


    Now all smiles, Wang Jie was a bit overwhelmed by the man¡¯s prior acting abilities.


    Still, getting past that it was a bit less awkward and Wang Jie shamelessly took them up on their offer of dinner. He hadn¡¯tateanything in days.

 Chapter 12 - Capital City

    Conversing over dinner, Wang Jie asked where the nearest town was. With the husband now over tormenting him, he was eager to help out. With a stomach full to the point of bursting, he went to the room he¡¯d been given and after cultivated for a few hours before going to bed. The first bed he¡¯d slept on in almost a week.


    Waking up the next morning he said his goodbyes and left to continue on his journey. It would be 6 hours before he arrived.


    The walk was scenic and enjoyable, but having run out of luck, it began to rain midway through. A common sight on the continent, in fact it pretty much rained all year round. This spring hadn¡¯t been that bad so far, but there was still time.


    Absolutely soaked by the time he arrived, Wang Jie headed to the first open building he saw and went inside to dry. It turned out to be the local tavern. It was already filled up this early in the day, with loads of people making a racket and drinking.


    Wang Jie took a seat near the exit and enjoyed the heat.


    ¡°What can I get you?¡± A barmaid had walked up and asked.


    ¡°Nothing.¡± He didn¡¯t have a single coin.


    The barmaid just frowned and left him alone.


    Yeah, that had made the decision easy for him. With no money and no backing, all he could really do was join a sect. Besides the technique to cultivate, he knew almost nothing about cultivation itself. How was he supposed to fight? What were the techniques? What did this metal affinity even mean for him? He needed information on so many things, and the best way was probably to join a sect.


    From his memory, he knew that the sect selections were on the final day of spring. A rich classmate of his had his spiritual roots tested and found out he was quite talented. With wealthy parents, there was no doubt they would send him to join a sect, and of course they did. He had rambled on and on and bragged about how he was going to a capital city and would join a sect for weeks. At least his information was useful now.


    With a goal in mind, he stood up and left the tavern. He had to find a way to travel to one of the capital cities, maybe he could join a caravan.


    Outside of the 14 Lesser Kingdoms, there were far fewer existing kingdoms. Two big kingdoms ruled over the majority of territory while three smaller kingdoms lorded over the territory near the border wall. Each of these two big kingdoms had a capital city.


    Wang Jie went to the town plaza and checked the notice board for caravans traveling to a capital city and hiring guards. There were actually quite a few and he managed to find one that was leaving later that day. Wanting to get there sooner rather than later, he decided to go for that one.


    He headed to a place on the outskirts of the town where a few carriages were being loaded up and prepared. Wang Jie walked up to a gruff man directing others and looking like the caravan master.


    ¡°Hm?¡± The man paused what he was doing and turned to him, ¡°What do you want?¡±


    ¡°I saw you needed a guard.¡± Wang Jie stated plainly.


    ¡°Ahh, that¡¯s great, I was hoping for two more but I guess one will do. You do also look pretty solid.¡± The caravan master clapped him on the shoulder, ¡°5 silvers for the entire trip, take it or leave it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take it.¡± Wang Jie nodded, there was no point in saying he was a cultivator to try and bargain. He didn¡¯t even know how to prove it.


    Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    ¡°Great great great.¡± The man gazed down at Wang Jie¡¯s waist and formed a puzzled expression, ¡°You don¡¯t have a weapon?¡±


    Right, how had he forgotten, he didn¡¯t even have a weapon.


    ¡°Uhh, no, I don¡¯t have one.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not good.¡± The caravan master shook his head, before a smile quickly lit his face, ¡°2 silvers and you can have a sword.¡±


    ¡°2 silvers that¡¯s quite a lot for a sword, besides, I have no money at all.¡± Wang Jie frowned.


    ¡°Oh no problem no problem, I¡¯ll just take it out of your pay. If we don¡¯t make it you can keep the sword.¡± The caravan master laughed happily.


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll take it.¡± Wang Jie wasn¡¯t pleased, but this was not the time to make a scene. He needed both the money and guidance.


    ¡°Good good good.¡± The caravan master turned and yelled, ¡°Stiff bring me a sword.¡±


    A man quickly came running. He handed a sword to the caravan master who then gave it to Wang Jie.


    ¡°I¡¯ll just write this down to keep track.¡± The man pulled out a journal and started scribbling.


    ¡°Right¡­¡± He felt like he¡¯d just willingly gotten scammed.


    They set off a few hours later and began the long trek to the capital city Andory, located in the Aldan Kingdom. A bustling city known for its lavish decorations and various luxury goods. It was a city for the elite where few could afford to live.


    Except for the constant rain during, the trip went smoothly and they arrived at Andory after seven days on the road. By now Wang Jie was used to things like that, not to mention his new body and cultivation base made it a lot easier. The other guards had been impressed by his physique and tried to make small talk here and there, but beyond tidbits of information about the continent, he wasn''t too interested in speaking to them.


    The center of discussion had mostly been about something he¡¯d come to know as spirit beasts. Apparently strong beasts on the level of cultivators roamed desolate parts of the continent. The guards considered them extremely dangerous, and seemed to be a threat they were even warier of than bandits. The school books he¡¯d read had never had anything on them, so he took advantage of the opportunity to gain some new information.


    According to the guards the beasts were classified into tiers 1 through, well, they disagreed quite a bit on that. Some said 9, some 100 and one guy even proclaimed that there were a 1000 tiers. Yeah, besides knowing that they existed, the information wasn¡¯t worth too much.


    After arriving at the city, Wang Jie received his three measly silvers and split from the caravan. He wouldn¡¯t be making the trip back with them.


    Settling into an inn, he got robbed of another silver to pay for two days lodgings. People who didn¡¯t risk their lives like a caravan guard, often didn¡¯t earn more than a few silvers per month. It was absolute robbery, but he could only begrudgingly hand over the money.


    He¡¯d be a beggar roaming the streets soon if it weren¡¯t for the fact that the last day of spring was three days away.


    The room was decent and carried the basic furniture you would expect in an inn. A desk, chair, closet and a bed, just about the bare minimum furnishings.


    He didn¡¯t mind though, all he wanted the room for was privacy and a bed. Sitting in lotus position on the bed, he began to cultivate. Inside his dantian, the tiny speck of Qi had already grown a little bigger. He could feel himself nearing the second stage, but there was still one or two more days left. He¡¯d cultivated whenever he could while on the trip, but that hadn¡¯t been much time.


    Besides going out to eat and searching for information on the sect selection, Wang Jie spent all his time trying to gather enough Qi to break into the next stage. It finally happened on the second day, a day before the sect selections would begin.


    As Wang Jie sat atop the bed, he felt the absorption speed growing faster and faster till it almost exploded in a flood, gathering together and breaking through the shackles of his cultivation stage.


    It was a rush-like feeling as the Qi flowed rapidly through his meridians. Again he could feel his body altering, but a much lesser degree. No breakages or pain took place, just a weird heat as the Qi spread through his body parts and strengthened them.


    He clenched his fist and felt his new strength. Through that he also came to an understanding, yeah, he definitely wasn¡¯t quite as strong as Siyu yet. Maybe in pure body strength he could take him, but Siyu had a lot more Qi. Siyu was likely at the peak of the 2nd stage. That meant it had been a good decision to not go and immediately challenge him, but it also let him understand that Siyu was not much more than a mere ant. After around 15 days Wang Jie had already started nearing his level of strength. That was probably the reason he was a servant to some woman in the outskirts of the continent. The only way you could get further towards the outskirts was passing through the border wall.


    With that he started dedicating all of his time to seeking out information regarding the sect selection. He¡¯d come to know that it wasn¡¯t really all that special of a process. Different sects would send out sect officials that were responsible for testing applicants. Nothing more than a test of aptitude, but hey, at least it was free. They really had a lot more resources outside of the 14 Lesser Kingdoms. Anyone that wanted to be tested there had to fork over a nice large sum. Not nearly as much as passing through the wall, but still a considerable sum. Only the rich like Wang Jie¡¯s classmate could afford it.


    Since the manual had told him he had supreme grade spiritual roots, Wang Jie was pretty much certain he would pass the test.


    After going to bed and waking up early, Wang Jie checked out of the inn and headed towards the town center. He wanted to get there early so that he could inspect the various sects and find out some information about them. It probably wasn¡¯t that good of an idea to just randomly join one.


    Walking around he saw various stands and tents. Some bigger sects even had their own buildings with signs leading to them. Wang Jie wasn¡¯t stupid, if he had supreme grade spiritual roots he would obviously focus on the bigger sects. No need to waste one¡¯s own opportunity on some low tier sect. If he wanted that kind of life he might as well just have gone back home and never even pursued the cultivation path in the first place.

 Chapter 13 - Mountain Cloud Sect

    In total there were four big sects that had been allocated their own building. All of these were neutral sects, meaning they weren¡¯t affiliated with any of the kingdoms. Sure they have had some background deals, but on the surface they took a neutral stance.


    Wang Jie went to each of the four sects and received information about them from a disciple standing outside.


    One of these was the Azure Dragon Sect which required it¡¯s disciples to have either a affinity for wood or no affinity at all. It was also the strongest out of the four. However, it was of course ruled out as an option by default. Sharing it¡¯s fate was the Maiden Butterfly Sect that only took in female disciples. Removing that one seemed pretty self explanatory.


    Finally he was left with only two options. The River Swallowing Sect and the Mountain Cloud Sect. Neither of them had any specific requirements of it¡¯s disciples, except passing the aptitude test. But it was an easy choice to make, the Mountain Cloud Sect occupied the position of the 2nd strongest, while the River Swallowing Sect was merely the 4th strongest.


    Not that there was a big difference in the level of strength between the sects was that big, but stronger was always better, right? With that settled he headed to the sect¡¯s building and was let in by the disciple out front.


    The hall he found himself in wasn¡¯t anything special, just regular boring stone floors and walls. It was clear that the sect didn¡¯t use this building much except for the selections every year.


    A few people waiting in the hall gave him a glance, but quickly returned their attention to the door they were waiting in front of.


    The process was very alike to how they¡¯d done it at the army camp. This time they spent a lot longer on each individual though. Maybe because there were far fewer people here than there had been at the camp.


    Minutes passed as people came and went. Though he quickly noticed that most people didn¡¯t come out the door again. It seemed that they were the ones that had passed. It made sense since testing wasn¡¯t that expensive outside the 14 Lesser Kingdoms. All those here probably already knew that they would be accepted. As time continued to pass, there were new people coming through the doors to wait behind Wang Jie.


    At last, it was Wang Jie¡¯s turn to enter. With confidence in his eyes, he stepped through the open door and closed it behind him.


    In the middle of the room, slightly off to the side, there was a large translucent pillar. Behind it were two elders seated at a desk. One of them nodded at him while the other one began to speak.


    ¡°Please walk up to the pillar and touch it.¡± The elder gestured.


    Wang Jie gave a nod and stepped up to the pillar. Reaching out with his left hand, he touched the pillar and felt a cool flow spread through his body.


    The elders watched with anticipation as the pillar slowly began to light up with a dark gray color. Starting from the bottom it traveled upwards further and further, not looking like it had any attention to stop.


    ¡°Metal affinity!¡± One of the elders stood up in shock and watched as the light traveled up the pillar, finally coming to a stop at the very end of the pillar.


    ¡°And not only that, it¡¯s supreme grade too.¡± The other elder spoke.


    ¡°Fantastic, a very rare talent here in our continent.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, our sect seems to have received a blessing here today.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, how is it rare?¡± Wang Jie got curious.


    The elders shared a look and one of them then spoke up to answer Wang Jie.


    ¡°Well, the native element of our continent is wood. This is why the Azure Dragon Sect can be picky enough to deny cultivators with an affinity for other elements. That is not to say that other elements don¡¯t exist at all. The fire, water and earth elements all show up regularly.¡±


    ¡°Why is this?¡± Wang Jie kept asking.


    ¡°Like our eastern continent has a native element of wood, other continents have their own native elements too. The question of rarity in this case is simply a matter of geography. The western continent is the furthest continent from here, while the southern, northern and central continent are all much closer. And truly the metal element is not that unseen either, but the combination of having both supreme grade spiritual roots and metal affinity is very rare indeed.¡± The elder stroked his beard.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    ¡°Oh, I see.¡± Wang Jie could only nod. But while this had answered many of his questions, it had created many many more. He¡¯d found out that he was on the eastern continent, but the cultivation manual was from the western continent. Why had it then been placed here? He could only shove it to the back of his mind.


    ¡°Tell me child, are you aware of any ancestors of yours hailing from the western continent?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, I haven¡¯t heard of any.¡± Wang Jie played along, of course he knew the real reason why he had this metal affinity.


    ¡°Well, no matter. What is your name?¡±


    ¡°Wang Jie.¡±


    ¡°Wang Jie, you definitely pass the requirements to become a disciple of the Mountain Cloud Sect, are you willing?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m willing.¡±


    ¡°Good, then you shall take this jade token, it shall mark your identity as an A-class outer disciple of the sect.¡± The elder presented him with a green jade token. Inscribed on it was a big A and his name, on the bottom was the name of the sect. He hadn¡¯t even seen him inscribing it with his name.


    ¡°Outer disciple?¡± Wang Jie felt his beastly arrogance trying to rear its head. He knew he had become a lot more cold blooded after everything that had happened, but where had this arrogance and feeling of superiority come from?


    ¡°Don¡¯t fret, it is merely a requirement that all disciples must prove themselves. With your talent, I¡¯m sure you will manage to become an inner disciple soon.¡± The elder smiled.


    Suppressing the beast inside of him, Wang Jie gave a polite nod. It was good to make a favorable impression on the elders.


    ¡°It is good that you understand. The path of cultivation is long and arduous, one mustn¡¯t be in a rush.¡± The elder shared a bit of his wisdom.


    ¡°Since you are now officially a disciple of the sect, you must address me as Elder Dai and Elder Rao as such. Now, passing through this door you will find the other new disciples. When Elder Rao and I are finished here we will guide you all to the courtyard where you will be staying. Our means of transport will not be arriving before a few more days.¡± Elder Dai said and gestured to the door.


    Nodding, Wang Jie sticked the jade token in his pocket and walked through the door. He was met with at least 20 different faces on the other side. It seemed the sect took in quite a few disciples every year. They ranged from looking one to two years younger to a year or so older.


    A very outgoing short boy went up and spoke to him, while the rest seemed content to hang back and listen in.


    ¡°Hey, my names Lou Fu, whats yours?¡± The boy greeted him. He looked like he was a bit younger than Wang Jie, but nonetheless he wasn¡¯t scared at all to approach him. He had a good looking friendly face and a smile on his lips, overall he just looked easy to get along with.


    ¡°I¡¯m Wang Jie.¡± He kept it brief.


    ¡°Where are you from Wang Jie?¡± Lou Fu asked.


    ¡°The Eastrock Kingdom, you might not have heard of it.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve never heard of it before. Where is it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ Through the border wall.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you mean the 14 Lesser Kingdoms right?¡± Lou Fu smiled, he didn¡¯t seem to mind.


    ¡°Right


    ¡°My family is from Andory, we own a few shops around here, oh,¡± Lou Fu looked like he¡¯d gotten a good idea, ¡°you should meet my friend Tang He, his family is from Andory too.¡± Lou Fu scattered off and quickly came back with another good looking male with a tall build and broad shoulders.


    ¡°Tang He this is Wang Jie, Wang Jie meet Tang He. He¡¯s a bit cultivation crazy.¡± Lou Fu sighed.


    ¡°Who are you calling crazy you idiot?¡± Tang He smacked Lou Fu on the head before turning to Wang Jie. ¡°Wang Jie is it? What class disciple are you?¡±


    ¡°A, you?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s pretty good. I¡¯m A too, that midget Lou Fu is only B as expected.¡± Tang He laughed but then frowned, ¡°But then again, his rich family will probably make up for his pitiful talent.¡±


    ¡°What are you saying? It¡¯s not like your family is poor either.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not the firstborn like you, my family doesn¡¯t devote all of its resources to me. Both my first and second elder brother also have good talent.¡± Tang He sneered.


    ¡°Oh that¡¯s right, both of your elder brothers are already in the Mountain Cloud Sect right?¡± Lou Fu touched a finger to his chin.


    ¡°Yeah, and they¡¯ve both managed to become inner disciples.¡± Tang He had an expression of gloom when he spoke about his brothers.


    ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m sure Wang Jie doesn¡¯t want to hear about your family drama.¡± Lou Fu rolled his eyes dramatically.


    ¡°That reminds me, there¡¯s something I wanted to ask. Do either of you have any elemental affinities?¡±


    ¡°Nah, I don¡¯t.¡± Tang He looked at him puzzled.


    ¡°Me neither, do you?¡± Lou Fu asked.


    ¡°Yeah, metal affinity.¡± Wang Jie said. He wanted to know just how rare affinities were.


    ¡°Are you from the western continent?¡± Tang He blurted excitedly.


    ¡°No he told me he was from the 14 Lesser Kingdoms.¡± Lou Fu looked over to receive confirmation, ¡°Right Wang Jie?¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± Wang Jie nodded.


    ¡°Oh.¡± Tang He¡¯s excitement faded visibly.


    ¡°Tang He¡¯s obsessed with the western continent, thinks its the strongest or something like that.¡± Lou Fu said.


    ¡°I¡¯m not obsessed, and they are the strongest. Well, maybe after the central continent, but I don¡¯t know much about that.¡± Tang He shrugged.


    ¡°How do you know they¡¯re the strongest?¡± Wang Jie said.


    ¡°According to legend, the western continent is lorded over by one of the four mythical beasts, the white tiger. It¡¯s said to be the god of war. Following true to this, most of the strongest battle-cultivators all come from the western continent.¡± Tang He said, clearly excited by the prospect of the strongest.


    ¡°Four mythical beasts? What do you mean by that?¡± Wang Jie said, everything just puzzled him more and more.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know about that either? Shouldn¡¯t they have taught you this in school?¡±


    ¡°Uhh, no?¡± Wang Jie raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Oh right, you¡¯re from the 14 Lesser Kingdoms. You guys probably don¡¯t even know about any of this over there.¡± Tang He shook his head, ¡°Well, the four mythical beasts each lord over a different continent. Our eastern continent is home to the Azure Dragon, which the Azure Dragon Sect named itself after. I don¡¯t remember too much about it though, I wasn¡¯t that interested to be honest.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know either really, except something about it bringing wealth and good fortune. My grandfather is always droning on and on about how we owe our circumstances to the Azure Dragon. We even give up offerings to it every year, seems like a bit of a waste if you ask me.¡± Lou Fu said.


    As the boys talked, new people continued to enter the room. After hours had passed the number of people waiting reached almost 50. At that time, the elders finally came through the door and led them to the courtyard they would be staying in. The courtyard had a mix of 2, 3 and 4 man rooms. Tang He and Lou Fu invited him to stay with them and he accepted.

 Chapter 14 - Flying Ship

    The room they found themselves in was just alright. But there was a silver lining for Wang Jie, for once while sharing a room with other people, he wouldn¡¯t have to sleep in a bunk bed. They each had their own bed to sleep in.


    Sitting down and claiming a bed, Wang Jie said, ¡°So you guys have any idea what kinda transportation were waiting for?¡±


    ¡°Should be some kind of large flying tool.¡± Tang He said.


    ¡°Flying tool?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a kind of spirit tool, powered by Qi or spirit stones.¡± Lou Fu said, ¡°Spirit stones are basically a source of Qi, usually used as a currency.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Wang Jie nodded, ¡°You both know a lot about all of this.¡±


    ¡°Well both of our family clans have cultivators.¡± Tang He said to explain.


    The time passed peacefully. Unfortunately they weren¡¯t provided any meals, so Wang Jie had to borrow money from Lou Fu to eat every time. Lou Fu didn¡¯t mind and had plenty of money, but Wang Jie felt a bit ashamed. But at least he¡¯d heard from them that meals were free at the sect.


    During this waiting period, except for conversing with Lou Fu and Tang He, Wang Jie had initially spent most of his time cultivating. Neither of the two boys spent a minute of their time cultivating though. They had been cultivating with their clan¡¯s cultivation techniques since 13, but after reaching Qi Condensation tier 3 they had stopped. Apparently the sect¡¯s cultivation technique was of a higher grade, so cultivating with it would allow one to form a higher quality cultivation base. But since the difference between their cultivation techniques and the sects wasn¡¯t that big, the difference was negligible before breaking into the 4th tier.


    On the other hand they had advised Wang Jie to completely cease cultivating with what they referred to as his trash cultivation technique. So he was pretty much forced to stop cultivating whenever they were around. He wasn¡¯t really able to explain how he had an extremely good cultivation technique. At least as far as he thought.


    He¡¯d also found that his cultivation speed had decreased by quite a bit. It seemed that cultivating wasn¡¯t as easy or fast as he had expected it to be. What he didn¡¯t realize was that his speed was actually quite fast considering he wasn¡¯t using any resources to increase his rate of progress.


    ¡ª-


    After five days the transportation finally arrived. As Lou Fu and Tang He had guessed it was indeed a kind of flying tool. More precisely, it was a large flying ship. When they were herded on board they were met with two other elders and around 50 other new disciples. The reason they had to wait was because the flying was picking up the new disciples that had been selected in the other capital city.


    Now all here, the flying ship set off for the sect. Unlike the generous lodgings that they had stayed in at the courtyard, the ship wasn¡¯t comfortable at all. They were stacked on it like cattle, just sitting on the deck. There wasn¡¯t really much space to move at all. But fortunately, the meals were free here, not that there was anywhere to buy them anyway. Wang Jie figured that some of the elders probably had that same sort of ring that he had stored the cultivation manual in.


    It only took another three days before they arrived at the sect. Supposedly the location of the sect was close to the city of Andory. Flying over the steep mountain peaks made for quite a grand sight. Wang Jie was shocked at what he saw before him, apparently the six mountain peaks way in front all belonged to the sect. It was quite a big territory.


    They flew closer and landed on the outskirts of the sect. Herded off the flying tool they followed two of the elders while the other two elders left to do something else.


    It didn¡¯t take long before they arrived at a two story wooden pagoda named Cloud-Spirit Hall. Despite not being very tall, it was quite an impressive sight. The fine craftsmanship and design was breathtaking. They formed a line and waited their turn to be registered. Wang Jie waited in line with Tang He and Lou Fu for a few hours before they got to the front. Standing in front of the pagoda, there was a hole in the wall where an elderly man sat, facing him.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Give me your token.¡± The man said in a monotonous voice.


    Wang Jie pulled his token out of his pocket and handed it to the man.


    ¡°A-Rank hmm?¡± The man stroked his white beard, ¡°Quite good.¡±


    The elderly man didn¡¯t say anymore and just assigned Wang Jie to the 4th district within the outer disciples living quarters, handed an outer disciples robes, a translucent blue pebble sized crystal and the Mountain Cloud Sect¡¯s cultivation manual. He was then sent off in a hurry.


    After getting his things, Wang Jie decided to wait for Tang He and Lou Fu. It took a few more minutes before he saw them both come over.


    ¡°What¡¯s this crystal?¡± Wang Jie held up the translucent blue crystal he¡¯d received.


    ¡°Oh that¡¯s a Spirit Stone. If you hold it while cultivating you can cultivate faster.¡± Tang He said, ¡°It¡¯ll get used up though.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Wang Jie stuck the Spirit Stone back in his pocket.


    ¡°As A-Ranks the sect will give us four every month, Lou Fu only gets two.¡± Tang He laughed mockingly at Lou Fu but then frowned as he remembered, ¡°But his family will likely provide him with even more than us.¡±


    ¡°Wealth is also a talent.¡± Lou Fu said and changed the topic, ¡°What district are you guys in? I¡¯m in the 4th.¡±


    ¡°Same.¡± Wang Jie said.


    ¡°Me too.¡± Tang He added.


    ¡°Lucky!¡± Lou Fu cheered and smiled, ¡°I guess it¡¯s assigned in order.¡±


    ¡°Guess so.¡± Tang He nodded.


    Together they went to the 4th district to find their living quarters. The 4th district was in a little valley, small buildings were scattered throughout. A river peacefully flowed through the valley and it was a bit breezy as the wind rustled their clothes. They were already a few weeks into summer, but on the eastern continent it rained all year round so the grass was wet and damp. Just breathing in Wang Jie could feel the thick spiritual energy in the air.


    While they had all been assigned to the 4th district, their rooms weren¡¯t right next to each other. They split up and went their respective living quarters, but not before agreeing to meet up at the same spot and explore after they had changed into their robes.


    The living quarters were plain and cramped. A bed, dresser, table and chairs was all the furnishing the room had to offer. Wang Jie didn¡¯t need much though, so he was very comfortable with the arrangements. Most of all, it felt great to have a private place to call his own. Rooming with others was nice, but he wasn¡¯t even comfortable bringing out his cultivation manual in an environment like that. He put the Mountain Cloud cultivation manual in the dresser, it didn¡¯t matter much to him. But he¡¯d read it anyway just to see if it contained any basic information that the White Tiger cultivation manual didn¡¯t have.


    He stripped and changed into the blue and cyan colored robe that indicated he was an outer disciple. Having changed, he left his quarters and went to meet up with Tang He and Lou Fu.


    As they explored the sect, Tang He was able to explain a lot about the various places because of the information he¡¯d received from his brothers.


    ¡°This place should be the canteen, most of the outer disciples eat there¡­¡±


    ¡°That over there is the Pill Refining Valley, only inner disciples are permitted to study pill refining there. Everyone needs medicinal pills, so my brothers both said it was best to be on their good side. You never know when you might need their help. Of course you could always become a pill refiner yourself, though I doubt either of you have the knack for it.¡±


    ¡°What are you on about? I¡¯m sure I have a great talent for pill refining.¡± Lou Fu bragged and thumped his chest.


    ¡°Arghh be quiet, quit blabbering Lou Fu.¡± Tang He gave him a jab and turned to Wang Jie, ¡°What about you Wang Jie? Are you considering pill refining?¡±


    ¡°Nahh, I lean more towards battling.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the same for me.¡± Tang He nodded in approval, ¡°Strength is all that matters.¡±


    They left to explore the other places of the sect, after walking for a while they stood in front of a giant pavilion with multiple levels.


    ¡°As far as I know, this should be the sect library for inner disciples. The sect has a giant collection of various techniques and books. There¡¯s a sect library for outer disciples too, but it¡¯s only general information¡­¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that Tang He?¡± Lou Fu pointed at a distant summit.


    ¡°Actually I¡¯m not quite sure about that. I¡¯ve never been here after all, I only know these places from my brothers¡¯ descriptions.¡± Tang He shrugged and gazed at the summit.


    The summit was shrouded in thick white fog, circling around and completely covering up what was behind it. One couldn¡¯t help but be drawn to it and what it was hiding.


    After they had explored for a few more hours they went back to the canteen and ate a big meal. At that time the canteen was filled with other outer disciples, but it was still easy to find a table. After satisfying their hunger, they walked back to the 4th district and split up to return to their quarters.


    Now alone in his room Wang Jie pulled out the book and began to browse through it. The diagrams didn¡¯t seem quite advanced as his own manual, but there was quite a bit of information that his lacked. For example, the book had a detailed guide on how to use the Qi of a Spirit Stone to aid in cultivating.


    Deciding to try it out, Wang Jie pulled out his Spirit Stone and sat cross-legged on his bed to cultivate. As he held it in his palm, he closed his eyes and began cultivating. He quickly felt a difference in his flow of his Qi as he absorbed the Qi from the Spirit Stone. It was indeed quite a bit faster than just cultivating without the aid of the Spirit Stone.


    However, he also felt that the stone wouldn¡¯t last very long at the rate he was going. It wouldn¡¯t take more than five days before the stone was completely used up. If he was to receive four stones a month he would only be able to use a Spirit Stone twenty days out of a month. Still, it was better than before when he hadn¡¯t had any stones at all, and it wasn¡¯t like he couldn¡¯t cultivate without, it was just slower.


    Wang Jie now understood what Tang He had meant. If Lou Fu¡¯s family provided him with enough Spirit Stones to cultivate with, it would definitely make up for his lesser talent.

 Chapter 15 - Arena

    Wang Jie didn¡¯t waste anytime. Now that he was here and settled in, he had to seek out information. There was so much he didn¡¯t know about the cultivation world, and he couldn¡¯t rely on Tang He and Lou Fu filling him in every time. Early morning after eating breakfast, he went to the sect library for outer disciples.


    It turned out that it really was only general information. Outer disciples didn¡¯t have access to things like techniques, skills or spells. But that wasn¡¯t what he had come for anyway, he collected a book about spirit beasts and sat down at a table to read.


    He quickly realized that none of the guards had been quite on the mark. In fact they were all wrong to some degree. Spirit beasts weren¡¯t just classified into tier 1-9, but instead made use of the same stages as cultivators. They could be a Qi Condensation stage tier 2 just like him, though they were thought to be a bit stronger than a human at the same tier.


    Wang Jie continued studying for a few hours, reading up on various spirit beasts and their traits, and whatever information that was available regarding the five continents he knew of and the four mythical beasts. There wasn¡¯t too much about the continents, but he did learn some things regarding the mythical beasts.


    Like that he settled into a routine, he¡¯d study during the day and cultivate at night. The stone had broken after five days like expected, so now he wouldn¡¯t have any new Spirit Stones until the 1st of the month. It¡¯d been thirteen days since he arrived at the sect, so there was still over half a month left.


    The price of spirit stones was 50 gold per, far more than Wang Jie could afford. The price was absolutely astonishing for someone of his origins, he could pay for 50 people¡¯s passage through the border wall with that amount of gold.


    If he wanted to fulfill his grand ambitions, he had to find a way past this obstacle. He needed another source of spirit stones.


    The first idea that came to him was the sect missions. The sect offered various rewards and spirit stones in exchange for completing dangerous sect missions. However, he was only in the 2nd tier and had no fighting techniques. Going on a sect mission was practically suicide. Most of the ones taking on a mission were either in the 3rd tier or above, or just disciples without talent desperate for spirit stones. He was desperate sure, but not that desperate.


    He could also get a job in the sect. Various departments offered payment in spirit stones in exchange for working. Outer disciples were employed in many positions to help with some grunt work. However, it really was grunt work and therefore didn¡¯t pay very well. It would also take up a lot of his time. For one or two spirit stones a month, it was hardly worth it spend several hours a day doing some menial task.


    Mulling over his options, Wang Jie realized there was one more thing that he hadn¡¯t considered. The sect had an arena where disciples could duel each other, staking a spirit stone on the match. All duels between outer disciples were unarmed, but that was the exact reason it might work for Wang Jie.


    He didn¡¯t have any nimble or elegant sword arts, but he had something else, strength. He was certain his physical body was levels above anyone of the same tier. As long as he could get hits in, he would definitely come out on top.


    There was still the matter of securing the one spirit stone as his startup funds. His mind quickly went to Lou Fu. He didn¡¯t like to borrow from others too much, but if things went as planned he could pay him back. Making up his mind he headed to Lou Fu¡¯s quarters and knocked on the door.


    Footsteps came closer and then the door swung open.


    ¡°Who is-, oh hey it¡¯s you,¡± Lou Fu¡¯s lips curled into a grin, ¡°what can I do? You wanna come inside?¡±


    ¡°Nahh it¡¯s okay, it¡¯ll be quick. I just wanted borrow a spirit stone. I¡¯ll pay you back later.¡±


    ¡°Sure I don¡¯t mind, but what do you need it for? Cultivating?¡±


    ¡°No, I want to go try my luck at the arena.¡±


    ¡°The arena? Are you nuts!¡± Lou Fu smacked his lips, ¡°You¡¯ll just be throwing it away.¡±


    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be a problem, the rankings are split into the early, middle and late parts of Qi Condensation right? I¡¯d only be meeting 3rd tiers at the worst.¡±If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Yeah but I don¡¯t think you realize what that means. Not only would they be a tier above you, but they¡¯ve been cultivating a lot longer than you. There are some old disciples who¡¯ve been here for years stuck at the very pinnacle of the 3rd tier.¡± Lou Fu shook his head, ¡°I just don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea. Your base isn¡¯t even that solid since you cultivated with that other technique.¡±


    ¡°Trust me okay? I know what I¡¯m doing.¡±


    ¡°Fine fine, you can have it but, you should really use it to cultivate instead of throwing it away.¡± Lou Fu sighed, ¡°Just don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t try to warn you. This is the only one I¡¯m giving, I need to buy things too.¡±


    ¡°I understand, I¡¯ll pay you back when I have the chance.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not worried about getting it back, I¡¯m just worried you¡¯ll waste it for no reason. Anyway, I¡¯ll go get it right now, give me a moment.¡±


    True to his words, shortly after Lou Fu came back out with a spirit stone in his hand and offered it to Wang Jie.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Wang Jie took the stone in his hand and put it away.


    ¡°You better win now.¡± Lou Fu nodded, ¡°That¡¯s five days of cultivating right there, should be precious to you.¡±


    ¡°It is, I¡¯ll put it to good use.¡±


    With the stone secured, Wang Jie headed towards the arena. It was a solid half hour walk to get from the 4th district to the arena.


    Registering was a breeze, he just had to hand over his jade token, a spirit stone and tell the disciple behind the desk that he was looking for a duel. With that out of the way he went to the arena grounds where he sat on the ground, waiting for his name to be called.


    There were four stages set up, with fights taking place on them all. A few less ambitious disciples were in the stands, cheering on the various fighters. Wang Jie couldn¡¯t see the worth in that. They were wasting their time watching fights that were little to be gained from. These were just early Qi Condensation fighters going at each other in a battle of attrition. No techniques or skills were used at all as it was extremely rare for an outer disciple to know any.


    A fight finished on one of the stages as a brutish disciple smacked his opponent off the stage with a fiery hit. The referee declared the brutish disciple the winner and two disciples came running in to get the disciple that had been knocked unconscious.


    ¡°Next match, unranked Wang Jie vs rank 150 Sheng Yu.¡± The referee called out.


    Wang Jie perked his ears, that was his name that had been called. 150? That seemed like quite a high number. He knew that there was at least 1000 outer disciples in the sect. Still, in his opinion, many of them were useless, just like these spectators. Getting on his feet he calmly walked to the stage and stepped on it.


    His opponent hadn¡¯t arrived yet so Wang Jie just crossed his arms and waited patiently. Glancing around, he saw someone walking towards the stage. At that same time the spectators spotted him too and started cheering even louder.


    ¡°Go Sheng Yu!¡±


    ¡°Crush him!¡±


    Wang Jie listened to the cheers coming from all around him and sneered. Something inside him disdained these pitiful people. Cultivation was about your own strength, it wasn¡¯t some celebrity contest.


    ¡°Hello, Wang Jie, right? I haven¡¯t seen you around before, are you new?¡± Sheng Yu smiled amicably, he seemed like a friendly person.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Wang Jie scoffed and didn¡¯t bother elaborating. He felt that this guy wasn¡¯t worth his time.


    Sheng Yu couldn¡¯t help but frown at Wang Jie¡¯s behavior, but quickly regained his amicable smile. That was the exact thing Wang Jie didn¡¯t like about him. He was treating this whole thing like a popularity contest, like it was his job to win over these so called fans.


    ¡°Bow.¡± The referee said.


    Wang Jie just went through with the formalities and bowed.


    Seeing that both fighters were ready, the referee started the fight.


    Both fighters flew towards each other and clashed in a blow of fists at the middle. Perhaps Sheng Yu had been eager to end it after the disrespect he had been shown.


    A rain of blows landed on Wang Jie¡¯s body hitting him all over.


    ¡°They¡¯re heavy.¡± He thought, ¡°But not that heavy.¡±


    The blows weren¡¯t that bad. Sure Sheng Yu was a lot faster than him and could use his Qi better, he probably even had more. But his attacks just didn¡¯t do enough damage. The tough skin and organs allowed Wang Jie to take the blows and remain relatively unscathed. Meanwhile, with every punch of Wang Jie¡¯s that hit, Sheng Yu looked visibly rattled.


    The sound of flesh striking flesh continued to ring out as the battle grew in intensity. Wang Jie had given up on dodging or blocking Sheng Yu¡¯s attacks. He simply wasn¡¯t fast enough as the other would use Qi to speed up his movements.


    Battling was also good to train Wang Jie¡¯s Qi control. He couldn¡¯t move his arms in time to block the blows, but he could move Qi to the spots being struck and negate most of the force. As he increased his proficiency most of the attacks became useless, barely doing any damage to him at all.


    Blood started oozing out of Sheng Yu¡¯s eyes and a few cuts on his face. The tides were turning in Wang Jie¡¯s favor and even the crowd seemed to have noticed.


    ¡°Come on Sheng Yu!¡±


    ¡°Beat his ass!¡±


    ¡°I believe in you Sheng Yu!¡±


    In Wang Jie¡¯s eyes it was absolutely pathetic. These people were cheering for a person who probably didn¡¯t even know their names. Whether he won or lost they would have no benefits to gain from it. A bit of anger started to well up in it, and before he knew it, it had carried into his attacks. The anger fueled his attacks as he put even more force into them.


    At this point it was clear Sheng Yu was already running out of gas. It seemed that he was a cultivator in the beginning of the 3rd tier.


    Sheng Yu sent a desperate kick, but since most of his energy had depleted, Wang Jie was able to see it and easily grabbed the leg.


    It was a comical scene as Wang Jie stood there holding the leg and Sheng Yu tried to balance himself on his remaining leg.


    Cruelty came over Wang Jie, he had this idiots leg in hand, he could break it so very easily. The thought was very alluring to him. He looked into Sheng Yu¡¯s eyes and saw the pleading. What was he doing right now? Why was he even thinking of doing it? A wave of clarity washed over him. He shook himself and pushed Sheng Yu off of the stage, sending him crashing straight into the dirt.


    A thump was heard and the arena turned completely silent. The crowd began talking.


    ¡°Did that new guy just defeat Sheng Yu?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe it.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s crazy! He looked like he wanted to kill Sheng Yu at the end.¡±


    Some might have basked in the glory of the win, but Wang Jie just ignored them. After the referee had called his victory he walked off the stage to go collect his spirit stones. That was the difference between him and Sheng Yu. He believed in strength, not popularity. The way of a cultivator was paved by his own might.