《I'll try this cultivation thing》


 1. The End

    A motorbike was speeding through theslight traffic making zigzag turns as if a snake was sliding to catch its prey.


    Patrick loved riding, it made him feel like a bird flying in the sky. Normally, he would ride at his own pace enjoying thewinds but it was different today. He was late for one of his best friend¡¯s birthday party. And the reason for it was his friend Drake who he had to pick up from the other side of town. Drake¡¯s sister would borrow his car from time to time and Drake neverhesitated calling Patrick to pick him up. It annoyed Patrick but he himself had asked for a ride or two from his friends so he just couldn¡¯t deny.


    Patrick was an average 19 year old guy. Black hair, brown eyes, 5.9 ft tall and slim build with average looks. He was neither social nor antisocial. He had a small circle of friends and was happy with it. He appreciated privacy and shared only what was needed and spoke less. He wasn¡¯t a genius but was smart and disciplined. If he needed to remember something, he¡¯d repeat it 50 times or 100 times inside his mind if needed, such was his habit and his way of self motivating and disciplining himself.


    ¡°Hey rick, lets go from the road to theright across the next block, it¡¯ll be faster¡±. A loud voice was heard from behind him which nearly made him lose his balance. He was not sure why Drake suggested that, as it meant going the wrong way into a no-entry. Sure, if he took thatright turn for about 200 meters, it would avoid making a round trip and save time but it was still the wrong way.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so Drake. Its a no-entry¡±.


    ¡°Oh, come on! Its always empty, even if we go, no one would notice and the cctv camera there has not been working for few months now¡± argued Drake. It sounded right, theroad was narrow and always empty, no vehicles could be seen coming from theright as there were shorter alternative ways.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    No matter how disciplined, Patrick was still a 19 year old who did occasional mischief here and there so taking the always empty and shorter road didn''t seem a big deal to him.


    ¡°Ok then, just today as we are already late¡± said Patrick as he neared the corner and turned the handle left.


    ¡°HHHRRNNNNNNNNN¡± Everything seemed to slow down when he heard that loud horn noise coming from the truck which was only about three meters his front. There was not time to turn, no space to dodge and even if he stopped, the inertia would throw him 2 meters easily. Moreover, the truck was speeding from the other side, no way to avoid collision, instant death for sure.


    Life flashed in that short moment before death. His life till now, his parents, his friends, it all seemed like it was yesterday. He was always careful, and avoided unnecessary troubles. If he felt he needed to do something, he¡¯d constantly remind himself to strengthen his resolve. A single wrong decision and everything was going to end. He didn¡¯t fear death itself as everybody had to die someday, but he never thought it would end so soon, he wasn¡¯t even married, he had yet to live life to the fullest.


    But it didn¡¯t matter now, death was at the door. May it was because he was just a teenager, no matter how many times he reminded himself, there was bound to be a mistake. If he got another chance, he would never take that turn. He wasn¡¯t ready to accept this so all he could do was deny it .


    ¡°I can¡¯t die! I can¡¯t die! I can¡¯t die! I can¡¯t die! I can¡¯t die ....¡±


    ¡°SCREECHH....BANG... THWAKKKK¡±


    ¡°..............¡±


    Silence. Darkness. Emptiness. No thoughts, nothing. The End. The persona called Patrick vanished from the world.


    ¡°................¡±


    ¡°can¡¯t... ¡°


    ¡°die... ¡°


    ¡°can¡¯t.. die.... can¡¯t.. die.... can¡¯t die¡±


    Two words kept repeating in the boundless nothingness. No one was speaking it for there was no one to speak, no one could hear it for there were none listening, but somehow the same words kept repeating like a small piece of wood floating endlessly in the middle of ocean, rocking here and there with each waves, floating without care.

 2. Wandering Soul

    Afterlife. Various religions have various beliefs on what would come after death.


    Some said, there would be another world waiting, some said there was heaven and hell, or an endless yellow river. But no one returned back to verify the truth.


    In the boundless darkness, there were countless small dark spots the size of grains flowing. If one could see, then it would be like a river of sand flowing, like the desert was moving. But those dark spots could not be seen, not by anybody. It was like wind, which can only be felt. They were souls of the dead without consciousness, without emotion, without feeling but only memories,memories which were fading away to form empty spots, to become empty containers as fresh as new.


    Most of the dark spots were quiet as the dead, but some had sounds coming out of them, gibberish noise, like a broken radio which couldn¡¯t get proper signal. In time, those sounds would also stop. But there was a peculiar one among them which kept repeating the same two words over and over without fading.


    ¡°can¡¯t.. die.... can¡¯t.. die.... can¡¯t .....¡± same two words without any change. In fact, if there was someone checking for a long time then they would notice the sound of these two words becoming more and more clear. It sounded like someone was chanting a magic spell. It was the soul of the same boy who died in an unfortunate accident on earth, the soul of Patrick.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    This was the soul plane, a plane which acts as a bridge for souls, and the dark spots were souls. The souls in soul plane were infinite, it would never change no matter if the souls were removed or added.


    Living beings cannot sustain themselves, even if a perfect human body was formed, it would need soul to be alive. At birth, the soul would be empty but slowly, over time, it would learn, grow, store memories, create a persona and such. Everything a person is becomes their soul. After death, the souls go to soul plane and merge with the endless ocean of souls where they recycle to become empty vessel. When a life-form is conceived, it would attract an empty soul from the soul plane and gain sentience.


    Countless souls were flowing in the soul plane, never ending river of souls. Like Patrick¡¯s soul, there were few other souls which were abnormal, some were smaller, some were larger, some were quiet, some were speaking, but each of these were uniquely abnormal. Nobody knew what would become of the person who were born with these abnormal soul.


    More and more souls were coming to soul plane, being recycled and leaving the soul plane again. There was no concept of time in soul plane, so everything was happening in the moment. It could be million years or one second outside but it was the same moment in soul plane.


    At a certain moment, there was a pull, Patrick¡¯s soul which was flowing in soul plane reciting the same two words was pulled. A gentle tug, the soul started going to the side instead of flowing with the current. It was at that time, there was a sudden change in the soul.


    ¡°can¡¯t.. die.... can¡¯t.. die... ..............¡±


    ¡°FWOOOSH!!¡±


    ¡°I......... can¡¯t ... die¡±


    ¡°PUAAK¡±


    The soul which was Patrick in its previous life was gone, vanished from the soul plane, to who knows where, to be born as new.

 3. Adrian Silvermoon

    Planet Leven, at one glance was a habitable planet like earth but five times its size. Much of the planet¡¯s surface, about two third, was covered with water and fog. Remaining was all land separated into three continents.


    The Maand continent was the largest of the three continents ruled by a single empire, the Moonshine empire.


    To the north of the continent lay various large and small mountain ranges reflecting the sun¡¯s ray as if they were meant to filter out and distribute the light into the lands below. The hills and lands below the mountain ranges were covered with lush forest defining the quality of the land. Various flora and fauna spread across the land.


    Similarly, countless cities and towns were situated in the entirety of the land filled with houses and trees, muddy roads. However, it didn¡¯t seem like the civilization existed separately, it looked like they were molded into the nature, as if the cities grew naturally over time.


    In the midst of various such cities lay a small town surrounded by hills forming a valley around the town as if standing to protect it from all sides. With an area of about 9 squares km but there were fewer houses than one would expect from a town of that size.


    The name of the town was the Silvermoon town, home of the Silvermoon clan, established by the genius general Jagan Silvermoon about 7000 years ago. An orphan who grew out to be one of the most vicious general of the Moonshine empire.


    Overtime, the town accepted various other small clans and now was home to them all. But, the leadership of the town was always passed down to the Silvermoons as a form of custom and respect to the famous general.


    On the center of the town were few one and two story houses, courtyards, small gardens clustered together to form an estate. One of such houses was a little bigger than others, completely white with plants and grasses growing out of walls. Supported by two round pillars at the front which had stems and roots of plants wrapped around them as if a snake coiling around the legs of an elephant, the white and green made it more beautiful.


    The top and corners of walls were lined with sculptural art of snakes, dragons, warriors, making them have an ancient feel. A round triangular roof was mounted on the two story house, the whole house gave the vive of a holy palace or temple. Surrounded by grasses and plants with a long pavement across the front, making the house not much less than a palace.


    This was the residence of Alfons Silvermoon, head of the Silvermoon clan who was the current leader of the town. A worthy leader, noble and calm, loved by the people of the town.


    It was an auspicious day for the Silvermoon family. Erna Silvermoon, the wife of Alfons Silvermoon was giving birth to their second child after 14 years. Outside an wooden door with silver knob, was a man pacing around left and right with an anxious face. Alfons was quite worried for his wife and soon to be son because the town priestess had predicted that they would face complexities during birth of their second child.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    ¡°Goodness gracious Alfons, get a hold of yourself, will you? This is not the first time you¡¯ve having a child!¡± complained an older man with long white beard and big stature. Alfons¡¯ father was himself a retired captain with quite a few scars on his name.


    ¡°But father, the priestess said it would be a difficult birth and I haven¡¯t heard a single sound from inside, is mother even there?¡± grumbled Alfons looking towards his father. Only women were supposed to be present during the time of birth so the men were waiting outside.


    Even though he was built the same as his old man with broad shoulders and sculpted face, Alfons¡¯ eyes had a gentle and noble look on them, just a little worried. Wearing a white robe with silver linings, long black hair which reached few inches below the shoulders, he gave quite an air of nobility and character.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind that old witch! We are the Silvermoons, one of the strongest, what problems can one of Silvermoons have? Your child will be born like a dragon, healthy and kicking, hahahahaha, hahahahaha!¡±


    ¡°hah!¡± The only thing Alfons could do was sigh after hearing this senile old man who was more proud than their famous ancestor himself.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Ethan, you¡¯ll soon have a younger brother for yourself to teach and bully around¡± said Alfons smiling towards a youth of 14 years old leaning towards the wall in the side of the room.


    ¡°I should be saying that to you father with all the prancing around, and who¡¯d bully my brother, I¡¯ll thump them if they dare!¡± said the teenage youth with a slight hint of anger and care at the last part of the sentence. Ethan was their first born, a good son, devoted and already showing signs of a future leader. Wearing the same white robe with hair tied to a pony standing proud, he was his fathers son alright.


    ¡°AARRGGHHHHH, I¡¯M GONNA KILL YOU... YOU UGLY OLD WOMAN...¡± came a high pitched stressed sound from inside.


    ¡°Calm down Erna, its almost over. You there! Hold her down and may be stuff her mouth with a towel or something!¡± said an old woman to Erna, trying to calm her daughter in law without minding her tone.


    Hearing his wife shout like that, Alfons tried to explain to his father - ¡°Sorry father, please don¡¯t mind her words, it should be the pain talking¡±.


    ¡°What are you talking about? She¡¯s really the daughter I never had, she didn¡¯t even use any swear words this time. Hahahaha, hahahaha!¡±. The old man gave a questing look before bursting our laughing again.


    ¡°Sigh!!¡± It was Ethan this time giving a long sigh who felt he was the only normal one in this family.


    ¡°AARRGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!¡±


    ¡°.............................................................................¡±


    ¡°.......................................¡±


    ¡°........................¡±


    ¡°Uuwaah, Uuwaaah... Uumuu.. waaaaaahhhhhhh!


    ¡°CLANK... Shwoooshh!¡± The door was opened after a minute and a maid walked out hurriedly. Turning to Alfons, she bowed and spoke in an excited tone - ¡°Master! The lady has given birth to a healthy child! Both of them are fine. Your presence has been requested¡±.


    ¡°Swoosh!!¡± Everyone rushed inside hearing the good news.


    Inside the room were four people, two maids, an old woman and a sweating woman in her early thirties sleeping in the bed, smiling at a new born baby at her side. That satisfied smile of hers looked as if she had never went through any pain earlier.


    ¡°Erna, my love!! Are you ok?¡± The first thing Alfons did after rushing in was to check in his wife and then take a glance at his second son.


    Erna smiled sweetly and replied - ¡°I¡¯m just a little tired honey, this one took a while to come out, I bet he¡¯ll be the stubborn one, hehe¡±.


    Holding the baby, Alfonse slowly lifted him in his arms with teary eyes that didn¡¯t suit his face. ¡°My.. son...¡± He couldn¡¯t muster any more words before admiring him for a minute. ¡°He¡¯s quiet already after only few minutes. He¡¯ll be a genius¡±. Alfonso couldn¡¯t help develop a reason to make him proud of his son. ¡°Come, Ethan! Meet your younger brother¡±.


    As if waiting to be called, Ethan jumped out for the chance to meet the younger brother who he¡¯d always promised in his heart to take care of.


    Taking the sleeping baby from his father, Ethan looked with a big smile on his face and said his first words to his brother.


    ¡°Welcome to the world... Adrian!¡±

 4. Three Years Later

    The sun was high straight up in the sky around noon and shining brightly in the Silvermoon household. At a garden beside the house a boy around 3 years old wearing white robe with a round face, clear brown eyes and short black hair could be seen sitting below a tall tree muttering something to himself. This boy was none other than Adrian Silvermoon.


    ¡°Locking Emin ish bad... locking Emin ish bad.... locking Emin ish bad... locking Emin ish bad............Yosh!! Thats ten times ten fingers. I¡¯ll never forget thish again! Mother was sooo mad. I just locked Emin inside the storage room for three hours, hehe. But brother said it ish not good.. uh.. something... for a noble warrior.¡±


    Right around that time a young boy of around 12 years old with pale face and thin build came running in the direction of Adrian and stopped when he neared. He looked tired and was bending to support himself on his knee with his left hand.


    ¡°Hah..hah..hah.. young... master¡± [Gulp] ¡°I was looking for you all over the place... and you were here young master. And you are doing that thing again, muttering same thing over and over¡±. Complained Emin with huffed speech.


    Adrian looked a little annoyed at that and spoke for himself - ¡°But, I was jusht trying to remember brother¡¯s.. uh... I was just trying to remember what brother said. If I don¡¯t remember, I will do it again, won¡¯t I? And... I¡¯m sorry Emin, I¡¯ll not lock you again...¡±


    It was still difficult for Adrian to remember the complex words considering his age but Emin couldn¡¯t help be amazed at his three year old young master. Ever since Adrian started walking, Emin was told to look after Adrian from time to time by Emin''s sister who was a maid under lady Erna and one of the witnesses of Adrian¡¯s birthing.


    ¡°Its fine young master, I don¡¯t mind but what young master Ethan said is correct. Even though it seems a small matter to lock someone now but if you continue to do those things, it will become a habit and define your character later when you grow up. And please try speaking inside your mind instead of muttering like that, it doesn¡¯t look good¡±. Emin explained politely to the young boy and hope he¡¯d reason with him.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    Adrian was considered a genius and talented boy by everyone in the Silvermoon household. He showed signs of understanding the words and recognizing much faster than other infants. His habits were a little unusual and spoke gibberish words sometimes but the town priestess said his soul might have remembered it from past life and in time he¡¯d forget those. But it was still unusual, as those with memories from past life would only remember few things, they didn¡¯t do anything weird and would be like any normal kids after few years.


    Happy with how genius his son was, Alfons ordered the maids to teach him reading and writing. Erna was a little mad with her over-excited husband but she didn¡¯t deny. As a result Adrian was quick to speaking and reading but writing was still difficult with his under developed hands.


    Adrian was an eager kid. Even though he had some memories from past life as mentioned by the town priestess, he didn¡¯t remember it all while some of it was jumbled and he wasn¡¯t at the age nor had an interest to piece all of them together. But he always felt things weird, like he knew it wasn¡¯t supposed to be like that. Somethings he learned felt like he had done it before but forgotten so it came easily to him after some practice.


    ¡°Oh yes young master, weren¡¯t you saying you want to visit the library to read some books? Since you are pretty good with basic reading, lady Erna has decided to let you check it out and ordered me to take you there¡±.


    ¡°Reeallyyyy? Cool! Lets go there now. I want to know so many thingss¡±. An excited look surfaced on Adrian¡¯s face when he heard that he could finally visit the Library. He had been wanted to visit it ever since he came to know about it. He wanted to know about this world, about warriors, about this Qi thing that everyone talks about. For some reason he knew he had to know about these things early.


    Emin couldn¡¯t help but chuckle at those words. Kids Adrian¡¯s age would be playing around all day and here was his young master making time to even visit the library and learn about various things which others his age wouldn¡¯t understand even if told hundred times.


    ¡°Yes young master, you can read all about Qi warriors, immortals, and this world which is so big that it is million times bigger than our town. When I first learned about it, I was so surprised and amazed. Lets go young master, I¡¯ll explain you in detail if you don¡¯t understand anything¡±. Emin himself seemed excited on the prospect of being a teacher for his young master.


    ¡°Yeshh! library, here I come!¡± shouted Adrain and got up to make a pose as if pointing at the stars and declaring his purpose.

 5. To The Library

    As the duo were walking towards the Library which was located at the west side of the estate, Adrian couldn¡¯t help ask Emin about the interesting things he could find in the library. His mom would often tell him stories of brave warriors, magicians to help him sleep but they didn¡¯t go much on detail.


    Seeing the boy getting excited over visiting a library, Emin would only reply with a smile and say ¡°you¡¯ll know soon, young master!¡±. Letting Adrian hold his hands and walking together he felt like a big brother to the boy rather than just a caretaker. It was a year back when he was assigned to look after Adrain. Ethan, being reached the age of 16 was sent to the academy to graduate as a warrior.


    After a minute of walk they finally reached the library. A white building stood there supported by pillars on the sides. Taking a few steps up one could see a tall statue of a scholar standing at the side of the door with a hand on his chin. ¡°Do you know who that is, young master?¡± asked Emin. To which Adrain uninterestingly answered ¡°Yess, thats the great scholar Georgios. I hear about him from father every time we pass through here. He was a good friend of our ancestor¡±.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look down on him, young master. He wasn¡¯t just a friend to our ancestor. Just a friend wouldn¡¯t earn him such respect from the great general Jagan. Did you know there are statue like this in almost every academy, library or places of knowledge all over the empire? Do you think a simple person would garner such respect without being great?¡± Emin gently retorted the boy.


    Adrain was a little surprised and curiously asked ¡°What? All over the empire? Why?¡±. Feeling successful at making his young master interested Emin explained ¡°Because, he was not just any scholar, he was also the 8th prince of the empire at that time. He was called a failure of a warrior for being born physically weak. But he overcome fate and became a great scholar when he established the school of martial arts. It was because of his various ideas that humanity was able to refine the cultivation practice and increase our strength that we could fight back against the blackblood empire in the war 7000 years ago otherwise we would have become part of the blood river continent. Now every academy, city has at least one branch of school of martial arts to research on the cultivation practices.¡± Looking at the figure of such a man, Emin¡¯s face showed nothing but reverence.


    ¡°Wow¡­. he was sooo great!¡± Adrian felt shocked to hear about the scholar, if just the statue before the library had such a story, what interesting things could he find inside. He was more motivated to go in.


    After admiring the statue for a minute, they both gave a bow and went through the door. The first thing Adrian saw after entering was a desk where an old man with white hair was relaxingly reading a book. ¡°Uncle John!!¡±. The old man put down his book and noticed the boy and gave a smile ¡°Huh! ahhaha, so its young Adrain here, what mischief are you upto again boy?¡± Uncle John came around the house to have tea with Adrian''s grandfather so he was more familiar with the boy than others.


    ¡°Uncle John! I dinn do any mischy. I¡¯m here to read about warriors and magic, I¡¯m here to study, yess!!¡±. Complained the boy with a frown and a little pride at the end. ¡°Hoh, to study or to read stories? hehe, just go to the left and you¡¯ll find what you are looking for. Emin, be careful about the books and don¡¯t let the boy damage a single page!¡±. Uncle John then opened the book and got back to whatever he was reading.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    After walking a few meters to the left, a big hall could be seen with rows and rows of racks that could easily be 4-5 meters tall, all of which were filled with books of different colors and sizes. Emin quickly found a book, patted it a few times to remove the dust and brought it to the table. Adrain was waiting eagerly to open the book and know about the interesting things it could tell.


    Emin opened the book and flipped few pages to reveal a picture of a large map, so beautifully drawn that it looked like a work of an artist. ¡°Young master, this is our world, its called Leven. Much of our world is water, and the land is separated into 3 continents - the Maand continent, Blood River continent and the Baum continent.¡±


    Letting the boy a moment to digest the picture Emin continued ¡°We are in the Maand continent, where there are mostly us humans and some of the other humanoid races. The Baum Continent to the South is occupied mostly by other humanoid races, legend has it that millions of years ago, there were only humans but because of continuous practicing of magic and cultivation, there was evolution and other different humanoid races were formed, like the giants, little eyeums and others more.


    And the last one is the blood river continent, ruled by the blackbloods which I¡¯m sure you have heard many times in stories as the enemy of humanity and the plague of this world.¡± Flashing a little anger in his eyes at the mention of the blackbloods, Emin continued to read and explain. In the process, he showed Adrian various drawn out pictures of lands, mountains, rivers, life forms and also explained about the geography and structure of the world.


    Closing the book, Emin could see a shine in the young boys eyes. Adrain looked at Emin and said, ¡°Emin, when I¡¯m big and strong, I¡¯ll go visit all the places and see the world, I¡¯ll go to the blood river continent and punish the blackbloods, yess¡±.


    ¡°Of course you will, young master, of course¡±. Adventure was common among the cultivators, they were warriors and blackbloods were humanity¡¯s enemy. Such words were encouraged among the young ones.


    Emin went and brought another book with golden rim at its edges, making it seem precious. ¡°Now that you know about the world we live in, let me tell you about cultivation, magic, and how the heroes and warriors you hear about in the stories become so strong. It all starts with qi. All living organism posses qi, after a certain age, our heart will develop a core at its center which would circulate qi along with blood. That will be the time when we will be able to feel ¡­!¡±


    At this point Emin realized the weird face his young master was making and remembered that Adrian was just a 3 year old child who just learnt to speak and walk, and could barely communicate, forget about the human anatomy and cultivation practices. And being 12, Emin himself did not understand it all nor was he qualified to teach someone. So he thought hard for a minute and tried to come up with a simple explanation. ¡° Young master, I¡¯ll explain in a simple way. When you grow older, you¡¯ll be able to feel qi like how you can feel wind. Then you can use cultivation methods to absorb qi into your body and become strong. You can make your hand as hard as a rock when you use qi and make elephants fall with one punch.¡±


    Adrian was shocked to hear such a explanation. ¡°What?? Punch an elelephant? WOW! Cultivation is so great!¡±. With big round eyes staring at Emin, he asked ¡°Then what about magic, can I do magic also? Can I cut mountains and make rain??¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha, yes young master, you¡¯ll also be able to do magic. Magic actually falls under cultivation but it differs in a way that we warriors cultivate qi with ourselves whereas magic is when qi is used to influence nature. Using qi to manipulate the movement of water, fire, wind, earth, etc is magic. But such things as cutting mountains and making rain, I¡¯ve only heard in stories. I don¡¯t know much about higher cultivation and magic. You¡¯ll know more about that when you grow up I guess¡±. The books the young ones could access and the information provided was limited to what they could handle so Emin himself wished to know more on the subject but alas, he was just a servant and still young for such knowledge.


    Closing the book, they both were in thoughts of their own. Suddenly, Adrian took a deep breath and said those few words which no kids around his age would even know how to say. ¡°Emin¡­.. I will try this cultivation thing¡±.

 6. An Unexpected Event

    As they were walking back to the estate Emin could see the downcast face of Adrain and tried to console him ¡°Young master, you¡¯ll have your chance at cultivation but you are still to young to even think about it. Most people, generally start cultivation at the age of 8 as human body needs to grow to be able to build a foundation¡±.


    ¡°But Emin, thats too far, I want to start now, just little by little, muu¡±. No matter what, Adrian was still just a 3 year old child, he wouldn¡¯t accept the truth easily.


    Emin sighed and wondered if it was a good choice to let Adrain know about cultivation this early. He¡¯ll have to leave it to Master and Lady to convince this stubborn young master of his. Suddenly thinking of something Emin added ¡°But there is still a good news for you, may be others are helpless before 8, but you are a descendent of the Silvermoon, those born in great family can prepare much better than others. With the help of resources and training methods in our family, young master can start building the foundation at 5 and prepare your body for cultivation. With that, you¡¯ll have a stronger and solid foundation than others which will help in smooth cultivation and progress later in the future. You¡¯ll be much stronger than the others your age, isn¡¯t that great?¡±


    A little excitement appeared in the young boys face after hearing that he could start early. Even though he didn¡¯t understand everything Emin said, he still felt it was something great and couldn¡¯t wait to grow soon.


    Soon they reached their home and saw a luxurious carriage waiting outside their house. They had seen various kinds of luxurious carriages before but this one was different. Embroidered with precious jewels, curvaceous edges, rubbered wheels for comfort than the normal plain wooden wheels, the prices of tens of the normal carriage probably couldn¡¯t even buy a single such carriage. Curious to know about the kind of guest that had come to their home, Adrian went inside while Emin waited outside.


    Inside, Adrian saw his parents seated at one side. Across the table a plump golden man could be seen smiling. Correction, the man was normal but he was wearing so much gold that it was giving a golden radiance to his whole figure.


    Erna motioned with her hand calling Adrian to sit beside her and his father. Adrian soon followed and began studying this man in gold.


    ¡°This must be young Adrian I presume, how cute, just like Lady Erna. He will surely be a handsome lad when he grows up unlike some musclebrain I know, hehe¡±. Commented the man in gold while giving Alfons a quick glance. He had the weird smile plastered on his face.


    Alfons gave a grunt and retorted back, ¡°talk about yourself Hugo, carrying all that weight around, you might accidentally kill someone if you bump into them. But, I guess you could compensate them with all that gold. Uh huh, so thats the reason you wear so much gold!¡±


    Hugo Plancius was the richest merchant in the Silvermoon town. Although the town was under the Silvermoon Clan, Hugo came from a long line of merchants family who had travelled to the area a few centuries back. Alfons and him were childhood friends or a more accurate term would be childhood rivals. Rivals, for both aspire to do great things. One came from the long line of powerful cultivators and another a renowned merchant family. Merchants were regarded high in the Moonshine empire, as in any world, power and wealth went side by side. To become powerful, one required wealth and as long as you had wealth, power was within reach.


    The rivalry between the two had always been complicated, sometimes even going to the extreme. But being two of the major pillars holding the town, they had to tolerate each other. Adrian could sense the hostility between his father and the golden man. Seeing his always calm and cool father making unhappy face against this man, he marked the man as a bad person in his mind.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Of course, you don¡¯t have to worry about me Alfons, I am very careful. In fact, that is why I am here today, you still haven¡¯t paid me for the piece of land you bought a few months back. your interest is pilling up, if I don¡¯t come to remind you, it¡¯ll only increase more so here I am helping you to make some profit, hehe. I can¡¯t imagine how hard it must be for a beautiful lady like Erna managing all things by herself¡±. Stating his generous intentions he directed a face of pity towards Erna.


    Rolling her eyes towards the two, Erna couldn¡¯t help sigh inside but still maintained a lady¡¯s grace and said with a smiling face. ¡°I have no problem whatsoever Hugo, please don¡¯t bring me in both of your childish games. Your money will be sent to you tomorrow. Give my regards to Celia, and hows the young lady. Right, how about I send Adrian along tomorrow so that he can meet the young lady? It¡¯ll be good, they are around the same age and it is nice to have some friends.¡±


    The golden man¡¯s smile grew even larger at that ¡°what an excellent idea Erna, of course, it¡¯ll be a good opportunity for the young ones to make friends and play, that daughter of mine is few months younger than young Adrain here so may be she can learn a thing or two from him. Hehe, what do you think young man?¡± Turning towards Adrian he asked but what he saw puzzled him as he saw an angry expression on a childish face which made it more cute. The irritated face of this child somehow gave him a bad premonition.


    Adrian had been listening to this golden man bickering with his father and the unhappy face his father made whenever this man talked. In this life, he had never met a person who wouldn¡¯t talk respectfully with his mother, but this fat man in front of him had been talking without any care. At first he was irritated but soon he disliked this man more and more. He wanted to scold this man but didn¡¯t get chance to interrupt the elders.


    And when the golden man suddenly turned and asked something to him, he wanted to say ¡°i don¡¯t like you gold man¡± or ¡°who are you to talk like that to my father¡±, but instead he did something that was totally unprecedented and unexpected.


    When Hugo asked the question to the boy, he saw the boy take a deep breath, press his lips hard and ¡°THHWOOOO¡­ !!!¡±. Time itself seemed to slow down right at this moment. Hugo couldn¡¯t process what was happening. He could see a spray like water flying out of the boys mouth towards him. His eyes became round and he wanted to say no to what was happening as he couldn¡¯t accept this outcome, but when he opened his mouth to speak, he realized midway that he shouldn¡¯t have done that and soon closed it shut again. Alas, a few drops went in, by reflex all he could do was gulp down. He could feel the cool drops mixed with warm saliva in his throat. He felt like crying, he tried to say something but no words came, he opened and closed his mouth few times. For the first time since he came, there was not smile on his face.


    ¡°ADRIAN! You.. you unruly child!¡±. Both Alfons and Erna stood at the same time. Disbelief was plastered on their faces. Alfons was a cultivator, may be he could have reacted in time and stop it but when it happened he was numb from shock. This was something out of the world, adults sometimes gave an expression of spitting but it was limited to an expression, nobody had ever spit in others face like this. If the word of this ever got out, it¡¯d be a disgrace to the Silvermoon¡¯s name. He was angry but felt a little glee at the same time seeing the crying face of the fatso like that for the first time.


    Erna was shocked beyond belief, worried that something might go wrong, she proceeded to quickly mend things before it became worse. She grabbed Adrian¡¯s ear and pulled it a little and scolded angrily ¡°You undisciplined child! How could you do something like that? Quickly, apologize to uncle Hugo! Doing this kind of things, are you even our child? Please forgive him Hugo, we¡¯ll send you extra money tomorrow for compensation. This will never happen again!¡±


    With a pained face Adrian whined - ¡°Aai ya. ow.. ow¡­ I¡¯m sorrry mother¡­ ah.. the gold man was rude to father and mother. I just¡­wuuu¡±. As Adrain began to cry, Erna felt a tinge of pain in her heart and left his ear. This was the first time she saw Adrian do something like this, he was a little mischievous but this was out of the world. ¡°Silly child, you don¡¯t get to decide on matters of the adult. Now quickly apologize!¡±


    By this time Hugo had stood up, with a bitter face that lacked the cunningness of a merchant and its previous glow he said few words getting ready to leave - ¡°haha, don¡¯t punish the child lady Erna, I guess he gets his anger from his father, haha. Then i¡¯ll be waiting for the money tomorrow. You can send young Adrain along as planned, it seems it¡¯ll be him learning from my daughter. Then, I¡¯ll be taking my leave¡±. Saying this, he turned and started leaving.


    ¡°Wait, Hugo! Why don¡¯t you have a cup of tea and¡­¡± Alfons tried to make some comment but stopped midway seeing Hugo hurrying out without looking back.


    ¡°I guess he had enough of his fill for a day!¡±.

 7. Body Training With Friends

    Three kids around five years old could be seen half squatting with both hands parallel pointing straight to their front. Sweat dripping down their forehead, grinding their teeth, trying hard to maintain the the position they looked extremely exhausted but determined at the same time. They were none other than Adrian and his two close friends he''d made these past years.


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m so tired, I want to eat 4 servings of smoked meat and potatoes, yummy! Mom said if I could complete todays training, I would get to eat till I can¡¯t stand, fufufu!¡±. Imagining the food she was so eager to devour she took a big gulp and tightened herself to endure further. With a body that was more than a little plump and a face as round as the moon, hair cut in shape of a mushroom, this girl was the first ever friend Adrian made. Sizuna Plancius was the only daughter of the town¡¯s merchant Hugo Plancius and loved two things mostly in her life, to eat lots and lots of tasty food and to bully Adrian. Ever since she found Adrian was the reason behind her fathers sour face that she saw for the first time in life two years back, she has been trying to teach this cute boy a lesson and finding every chance to do so.


    ¡°Hah, hah¡­I can hold ..hah.. much longer, I¡¯m not tired.. hah.. at all. Look at you Adrian, you can¡¯t even ..hah.. take this simple training, hah, hah!¡± said the other boy with brown hair, blue eyes and freckled face. This thin and frail looking boy was Niall Smith, Adrian¡¯s only other friend who was a boy and his self claimed rival. Rumor had it that the Smiths ancestors migrated from the Baum continent. His father was the top blacksmith in town and a close friend to both Sizuna¡¯s and Adrain¡¯s parents thus the three of them often met and came to be friends.


    Adrian looked to his left at the round girl with gleaming eyes and hungry looking grin, muttering something about how she would like to chew her food bit by bit. Having known this chubby and watching her futile antics for two years now, he was used to her company. On the other side was the son of smith who ever since meeting Adrian wanted to be better than him at everything. Over the years, he¡¯s gotten quite close to both of them. Being the only ones with similar age, be it sneaking around, playing, training, they¡¯d always been together.


    ¡°KER-CHAKK!!!¡±


    The crack of the whip snapped all three back to reality. Straightening their backs, they shut their mouths tight and expressed their sincerity to the training. The scar-faced tall trainer already looked intimidating enough for them to show even a slight negligence.


    ¡°I just went out for a minute and you lot start yapping and slacking off. Three months, doing the same thing and you can¡¯t even finish the basic endurance training, PEI!! What type of cultivators can such weaklings become I wonder! Now hold it for half an hour more and then do three laps of the training ground before going off¡±. Then giving another crack of his short whip at empty air, he announced his authority and walked off, his assistant following him.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    As they reached a distance far enough where the kids couldn¡¯t hear them the assistant asked curiously - ¡°Aren¡¯t they doing great for the beginner body training? 5 hours of total endurance is quite an impressive feat for even someone two years older than them¡±.


    ¡°SsshhH! Don¡¯t let them hear you. It is indeed quite impressive. But it doesn¡¯t matter, for these three who had the pleasure of having the lesser vitality pill before 8 years old, if I can¡¯t even squeeze a few hours extra from them then whats the use of being called an expert trainer, hmmff!!¡±. The trainer showed a proud and unyielding face but soon remembering something he shivered a little with fear and said ¡°Besides, I¡¯ve to get much more out of these kids than this. The Silvermoon clan head declared his son would have the best foundation, along with the crafty merchant and that bull of a smith, I really have no choice, I¡¯ll have no place in this town or even a life if theres even a little dissatisfaction. Damn! what misfortune!¡±.


    To this the assistant nodded vigorously as he realized he was tied together with his boss. Sighing, both went on forward.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡°Hahaha, I¡¯m first, I¡¯m first, finally, I¡¯m fir.. ??¡± Shouted Niall at the top of his lungs running with his might but right then¡­. ¡°SWOOSH¡± - A shadow flashed by and he saw Adrian pass him by taking the lead, a smirk hung on his face. Seeing the taunt, Niall bit his lower lip harder and tried to bring out the last of his energy in an effort to overtake his rival.


    Adrian noticed the extra effort Niall was making out of the corner of his eye and couldn¡¯t help sigh inside. Every gesture he made was like issuing a challenge to this boy. He had trained hard these few months even by his own whenever he had a chance and seems like it was paying off, his speed and endurance was increasing slowly but certainly, he couldn''t help smile.


    Just then an anxious sound came by - ¡°Wait! you guys, you can¡¯t go too fast, I need to catch up, I¡¯ll mess my appetite if I drain out my energy. Wait! Adrian, your pant¡¯s about to fall, look!¡±.


    ¡°Hah, Nice try chubbs! I¡¯m not falling for that again, haha!¡±- Shouted Adrain turning back which made his acceleration slow down a notch.


    Like this the trio finished their third lap around the training graound. The sun was low by now, red and orange filled the sky and the wind was carrying a slight chill with it. Sizuna was irritably trying to lecture Adrian with him ignoring her, Niall was showing a smirk and making winning poses trying to entice Adrain for the win he had over Adrain at the last lap.


    Suddenly, out of nowhere they heard a thumping sound like that of something heavy falling. When they caught the sight of it, their eyes gape wide in shock. A giant covered with silver and black fur all over tis body with four legs, teeth sharp as knife, eyes deep yellow, was staring at them menacingly, a sight that made them tremble in fear.


    ¡°GGRRRRR¡­ GRROOOWWWWRRRR¡±. They were dumbfounded with fear and utter shock.


    ¡°¡­..¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°OH MY GOD! Its a vicious BEAST!...... MOMMY!!!!¡±

 8. First Battle

    As the trio saw the beast about two hundred meters staring at them like a predator ready to jump on its prey, they felt their body heavier than usual, mouth completely dry and sweating much more than when they were training.


    Niall¡¯s leg were trembling and failing to hold up his thin frame. Adrian¡¯s heart was beating so fast that he felt it would jump out of his chest any moment now. Sizuna felt her body betray her, for the first time in life she felt she was completely made up of bones, without muscle or skin, tears rolled down her eyes like waterworks, she couldn¡¯t hold herself and shouted pointing at the beast.


    An animal this huge and intimidating could only be a vicious beast that they heard about so much. A vicious beast was the name given to animals that could sense qi, use qi as second nature and cultivate. They didn¡¯t need cultivation techniques, they just integrate qi into their habit and slowly progress further. As they grow stronger, they grow more intelligent when they become familiar with their body and start to reason with themselves.


    Adrian jolted awake hearing Sizuna¡¯s cry and saw the beast leap towards their direction. It would probably kill or heavily injure them if they collided head on with the beast. Suddenly, Adrain saw a flash of himself colliding with a big metal object but quickly snapped out of it, probably the fear twisting his thoughts.


    ¡°The stones¡­! Grab the stones and hit it, and don¡¯t stop!¡±. Shouted Adrain. With their body and legs betraying them, running was out of option at that moment, the beast could probably catch them before they turn around and take few steps. The training ground was like a field, grasses and stones scattered around everywhere.


    Right after he said it, Adrian had already started picking up stones and throwing them at the incoming beast. Following the cue, both Niall and Sizuna were throwing whatever they found around their feet at the beast. It only took a moment for the beast to cross a hundred meter distance and saw stones flying in front. It came to an abrupt halt, with a slight maneuver of its joints it jumped left and right dodging the stones and slowly nearing towards them.


    Adrian scanned around and saw a silver metal pole about three meters tall with hook like protrusions at its sides every three feet distance. There were objects and equipments of various shapes and sizes made for different training purposes in the training ground and the pole was nearest to them.


    ¡°Quick! Climb that pole. To the top, NOW!¡±


    Niall was nearest to the pole so he quickly ran and started climbing the pole like a ladder using the hooks at its sides. Adrian and Sizuna followed suit. The beast was almost near them and ready to jump and take the first bite. Niall reached the top with Adrain below him and Sizuna at the bottom. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Just then, the beast jumped! It opened its mouth wide and attacked the nearest prey accessible. When its head was a meter from Sizuna¡¯s feet her heart skipped a beat, she opened her mouth but no sound came. But then, she felt a grab at her hand and with a pull she was lifted.


    ¡°THUNGG!!¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­ ¡°THUMPP!!¡±


    The beast collided with the pole and fell back hard on its side. It was Adrian who seeing the beast, bent his body with one hand holding the pole and other lifting Sizuna, surprisingly he was able to lift her swiftly without any problems. Sizuna caught upto what was happening and grabbed at the hook she found after being pulled.


    This whole process happened in a short time from the beast jumping to falling down. While lifting Sizuna and moving, Adrian head bumped into Niall¡¯s behind as he was already at the top. It looked like Niall was sitting on his head. He could feel Niall¡¯s bones on his head and it hurt as Niall was wriggling and struggling to maintain the hold. He saw Sizuna hold the top hook with the other hand. Letting go of the hand he was holding her, he put his arms around her waist instead to let her other hand also support her weight.


    Adrian could feel his body tearing apart. His head supporting the boy and one hand holding the overweight body of his friend, he saw Sizuna¡¯s face, messy hair, dried up tears, lips and chin trembling, one hand on top holding the hook, other hand clutching Adrian¡¯s clothes, she looked like in the verge of a breakdown. He felt a tinge of pain seeing her in a state much more miserable than him.


    By this time the beast had fallen and was trying to get up. Thats when Adrian suddenly saw Niall lose balance and fall down in front of him.


    ¡°NOOO!¡± He shouted but couldn¡¯t do anything as both his hands were occupied. He saw Niall bump with the beast making it wail a little and slump back down. Adrian let go of his hands holding both the pole and Sizuna, then jumped down. Hetook out a small stone from his pocket which he''d put inside whilst climbing the pole. Clasping the stone with both hands and pointing its edge down he fell on the beast and struck the stone at its neck.


    ¡°GRRRUUAAAHHHHH!!¡±. The beast growled in pain at being hit hard at one of its vulnerable parts. For a moment, it lost hold of its senses but quickly came about and tried to get the two weights off its body.


    ¡°FUOOH!!¡± ¡­ ¡°THWAKKKKK¡±


    Then it happened. Sizuna was the last to fall down. May be she saw both her friends attacking the beast and got courage or may be she couldn¡¯t hold her weight with those small hands. Either way, she fell ass down on the beast¡¯s head. It could never die with this much but it lost consciousness and stopped moving. A moment of silence.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Ow.. ow¡­ ow. Oh my bum, my bum! It hurts, it hurts so much! Wuuuu.. wuuu.¡± Rubbing her eyes, she started wiping her tears and cried hard.


    Adrian leaned back on the beast and closed his eyes. Niall didn¡¯t even seem to know what followed behind him after he fell down.


    During this whole time the kids were experiencing their life threatening attack, there seemed to be a few pair of eyes above the roof of a house outside the training grounds that were watching all that happened ever since the beast appeared and fell.

 9. The Road Ahead

    Right when the kids finished their training and the beast had appeared, there were four silhouettes a few distance away on a roof watching the scene unfold. They all seem to be middle aged men.


    One was a man with towering figure like that of a seasoned veteran of war, the other was a fat plump man with his body covered with gold and jewels, then there was a bull like hulking figure of a man with a tattoo of a black hammer with fiery read smoke swirling around it, the last one was a scar-faced man who in an ordinary situation would himself by quite intimidating but standing near the other three he looked like a soldier in presence of kings and generals.


    ¡°Holy mother of god!! Just look at the size of that dog. No wonder they thought it was a vicious beast, is it really safe to use such an animal for the test?¡± - the plump man¡¯s eyes went round in surprise for even he had not seen a dog that big in his life. Any normal animal would turn into vicious beast upon developing a core which would increase their size tremendously but the animal before them had not developed a core, yet it was so big that a normal dog would look like a puppy compared to it.


    ¡°No matter how big, it is still just a dog, and a trained one at that, it might bare its fang but it¡¯ll never bite unless commanded to. Isn¡¯t that right trainer Li?¡± asked the bull sized man turning towards the scar-faced trainer.


    ¡°Ye.. yes sir! There¡¯s absolutely no danger, the dog has been trained to chase around and play so it¡¯ll never attack¡±. Answered trainer Li without delay. This mountain like man before him was Jonathan Smith, the top blacksmith, and one of the stronger cultivator of the town.


    Right then they felt a strong pressure emitting from the towering man beside them who spoke in a serious tone - ¡°It starts! Get ready to intervene at any moment¡±. This man who spoke in such a authoritative tone was none other then Alfons Silvermoon. A faint silver glow seemed to surround him that sent chill down the spine of whoever met his gaze.


    At this time, the dog sprang towards the trio. They saw the kids shower stones towards the dog which slowed down its pace. As the dog neared, one by one the kids started climbing the metal pole. The dog lunged but couldn¡¯t catch up in time. It smacked its head right into the pole and fell down.


    ¡°Damn! How dare that animal attack my little baby, I¡¯m gonna mince it alive!¡± Growled Hugo seeing the pitiful state his daughter was in. Soon, the dog lay limp with the kids sprawled around and back of it.


    ¡°Trainer Li, go take care of it and send the kids home. It seems you are doing a good job. The training ground looks like it could use some improvements, the clan will cover up the expenses, do continue taking care of the young ones¡±. Saying that he flicked his wrist signaling the man to go.


    ¡°Yes, my lord. It is an honor!¡± Glee spread across the man¡¯s face, he bowed slightly towards them, stepped on his foot and disappeared with a jump.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡°Genius! He has a bearing of a true leader, capable of decisive actions, truly impressive. At such a young age, responding to a critical situation without much help, using the surroundings to his advantage, just what kind of cultivator will he grow to become, makes one wonder. In front of such a genius, others like my son just pale in comparison¡±. Praised Jonathan, admiration filling his eyes.


    To that, Hugo frowned his eyebrows and snorted - ¡°Hmmff! What genius? That kid will grow up to be a scheming thug, I say you. At least he did a good job of protecting my baby, I¡¯ll give him that! But, he¡¯s still a thug, believe me, a complete bully!¡±. A sour memory flashed across his mind as he looked at the boy who has always been a pain in his ass. After the ¡°heavenly spit¡± incident, there was the ¡°yellow rain¡± incident a year back which he dared not speak out loud.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t mater! Genius or no genius, for those who have the heart to cultivate, nothing maters. Countless genius fall on the path of cultivation and heroes have risen from weak and frail. It all depends on themselves.


    And don¡¯t look down on your son Jonathan, you smiths always have growth spurt around the age of 10. With your cultivation technique being based on raw strength and his competitive heart, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll grow up to be a man in your shadow. Theres a harsh and cruel world ahead waiting for the them, time waits for none. It will be painful and unbearable for them, but they¡¯ll grow up to be strong and unyielding. Lets go, it is time to introduce them to the world of cultivation¡±.


    Looking at the back of the man in front of them, Jonathan and Hugo¡¯s eyes filled with reverence. He was the lord of their town, the strongest cultivator around, a capable leader. Nodding their head, they followed ahead.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The trio were in a hall inside the Silvermoon household. Looking haggard, their eyes were red, hair messy, expression a mixture of anger, sadness, fear and anxiety.


    In front of them stood Alfons with a serious face like a general looking at his soldiers. Meeting his gaze made them shiver and forget about the frightful encounter they just had. Hugo, Jonathan and Erna were on the side watching silently.


    After a period of silence, Alfons spoke - ¡°Are you angry? Do you think this was too much?¡±


    With their head down, their expression betrayed their thoughts, but they didn¡¯t dare to voice it.


    ¡°Cultivation is a long journey. To become strong, to have the power to protect what is yours is not easy. It seems magical but cultivation is harsh, its filled with pain, sadness, blood flow like river, it is hell. Only by crossing this hell can one stand strong. That is what differentiates us from mortals. Not everyone gets a chance to cultivate, not everyone can cultivate, not everyone stays alive for long in this road. We can prepare you and give you the best foundations, but it¡¯ll be useless if your heart is not strong.¡±


    There was a pin drop silence. The trio now had eyes burning with desire, their fist clenched, body straightened. Even the adults couldn¡¯t help feeling their heart beat faster.


    Alfons directed a little qi to his throat which made his voice reverberate like roars of thunder.


    ¡°Tell me, do you have what it takes to walk on this path?¡±


    ¡°yes..¡° ¡° yes..¡± Ye¡­yes.¡±


    ¡°Tell me, Do you want to be a cultivator that surpasses their predecessors?¡±


    ¡°¡°¡°Yes!¡±¡±¡±


    ¡°TELL me, Did you think the experience you had earlier was unfair?¡±


    ¡°¡±¡±No¡±¡±¡±


    ¡°TELL ME, Are you willing to suffer what it takes to be a cultivator?¡±


    ¡°YES!!!¡±


    The atmosphere changed in an instant. By now the exhausted kids looked like they were ready to go to battle, all their energy restored. Alfons had his hands around the back, a big grin plastered on his face, he said ¡°Then so be it, give your best and prepare the next few years, cause¡­ Hell is waiting for you!!¡±