《Black Dragon Rising》 Prologue Prologue ¨C The End Huff¡­Huff¡­. Whoosh! A whistling sound of wind shook the trees for a second and then all became normal again. A lone man was panting and running deeper and deeper into the mountain. ¡°Have¡­to..escape!¡± Behind his back, there were people following and screaming at him to stop. ¡°Wu Jin! Halt your steps! Just give us the item and we¡¯ll spare you!¡± He turned around and shouted, ¡°I¡¯ll never give it to you despicable thieves!¡± With that, he utilized all his energy to escape. His mission was to originally protect his client, but unexpected events happened and now he had to protect the item he was holding. What a laughable request¡­the client protected the item over his own life, but still he had to do his job. His client¡¯s last words were to protect the item at all costs and destroy it if necessary. However, it seems luck was not on his side today. He could see a cliff in the direction he was running. ¡°Haha¡­it seems even fate plays me. So be it¡­if I die, I¡¯ll die without failing!¡±This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. He paused after reaching the cliff and turned around to face his chasers. His pursuers saw the cliff and the fact that he stopped, so they also stopped a few feet away from him. ¡°Wu Jin¡­You¡¯re just a paid bodyguard, why risk your life for such an item? Just give it to me and I¡¯ll let you go, I¡¯ll even compensate you.¡± One of his pursuers said. ¡°Screw you! You betrayed me! If you let me live, I swear to kill you!¡± Wu Jin roared. ¡°Hey, who says you could take the item? You think we¡¯re just going to let you?¡± Another pursuer said. ¡°That¡¯s right. We spent a lot of effort and time to chase him and now you think we¡¯re just going to hand it obediently as a present to you?¡± The surrounding crowd clamored. ¡°Now..now, my fellow brothers how about whoever grabs it first can take it? Fighting each other won¡¯t do us any good.¡± The pursuer feigned a smile. ¡°That seems fair.¡± ¡°I also agree.¡± With the crowd agreeing, the crowd all turned their gaze at Wu Jin with sharp killing intent in their eyes. ¡°Che, bunch of greedy scum. If so I¡¯ll destroy this item before them!¡± With that, Wu Jin took out the item which was star shaped and circulated his qi into his fists and clenched. However, no matter how much strength he put into his fists, the item did not break or even show any signs of breaking. ¡°What..what the hell?! What is this thing?!¡± ¡°Hahahaha! You idiot¡­you don¡¯t even know what you¡¯re holding. You can¡¯t destroy it! Just give it to me and I¡¯ll kill you without pain!¡± Someone in the crowd roared. ¡°Wu Jin, give it to me! I swear to kill you painlessly and will even prepare a funeral for you!¡± Another one in the crowd roared. ¡°How am I supposed to destroy it then?! Even if I toss it over the cliff, at best it¡¯ll be lost, but they¡¯ll find it one day! Fine! I¡¯ll make it hard for you guys!¡± Wu Jin muttered. Wu Jin in the spur of the moment took the item and put it into his mouth and swallowed. His plan was to swallow it and destroy it inside with his qi since it was more dense, however, his plan would never bear fruition. ¡°He swallowed it?! Dig it out of his bo¡­¡± BOOM! Silence descended on the cliff and after the smoke cleared out, there was no sign of a cliff any longer or bodies. Chapter 1 - The Beginning Chapter 1 ¨C The Beginning A young man sat up on his bed in the darkness soaked in sweat and taking deep breaths. ¡°What..what in the world was that dream? Who was that person?¡± The young man muttered, frightened. He got up only to fall when he felt an unbearable sharp pain in his head for a second and if one looked closely, his eyes and aura were no longer the same. It felt as if he was another person entirely. ¡°Haa¡­I see. So I¡¯ve died before¡­¡± The young man muttered, but this time his voice was firm. He got up from the floor and lighted up his room by injecting a bit of his qi into a lamp. ¡°If I had trained harder, perhaps I would be stronger¡­¡± He muttered to himself. He went to the mirror in his room to get a better look at himself. A 16 year old young man with an immature face that had delicate looks and bit of feminine quality reflected back at him. His body was lanky, but had signs of developing muscles. ¡°As expected of a rich family, at least I trained a bit. If it was me from before, I wouldn¡¯t even have this appearance!¡± The young man gave a heavy sigh. He had died before, but reincarnated. However, during those 16 years of his life in this world, he was the only son of his parents in the Lin family, by the name of Lin Ye. He had no memories of his previous life and it was only today that his memories of his previous life, Wu Jin came to him. He touched his head to feel his hair and nodded. ¡°Good. At least it¡¯s of suitable length. Best if I do it tomorrow, probably won¡¯t be easy to do. What a pity though¡­If I trained a bit harder, I would definitely be able to surpass the me from before!¡± Lin Ye gave another sigh and walked back to his bed. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- With the sun beginning to rise, Lin Ye was already up and training. If it was the Lin Ye from before, he wouldn¡¯t even be up until noon and no way would he even be training. The servants that saw him were all surprised and most mumbled ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Young Master today?¡± ¡°Whew¡­as expected. This body definitely lacks compared to my old one.¡± Lin Ye said with heavy breaths. It wasn¡¯t unexpected to him as his body before had to become stronger in order to survive and to be able to ensure that he could do his job efficiently and in return he gained a lot of scars, experience and a mindset that ensured he did what should be done. Although, he wasn¡¯t a famous or sought after bodyguard, the times he did get a job he usually ended up with a new scar or a new wound. ¡°I wonder...what happened afterward¡­? That dream is still so vivid¡­did they get the item or not?¡± Lin Ye thought for a while, but decided not to think about it in the end. ¡°Forget it, that life is now over. I can¡¯t find the answer no matter what I do. I¡¯ll have to adjust to this life, although I¡¯ve regained myself I still find this weird as hell.¡± It felt as if those 16 years of his life was a dream and it was now that he woke up from that long dream. It scared him a bit at how strange it was, but at least he was here now and that gave him a bit of relief. After training for a while and feeling that his qi was stable enough, he went back into his room, tied up his hair into a small ponytail, fetched his money pouch and walked out. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As it was still early, most people weren¡¯t awake yet so there were only a few stalls and market houses open. He was not unfamiliar with this street as the old him often traveled here to buy stuff as whatever he wanted could be gotten here. Although it wasn¡¯t crowded now, soon in the afternoon there would bustling people and that would make it hard for him to get what he wants, so he decided to come now instead of later.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡°I wonder if they sell any dragon scales? Hopefully I can find one.¡± Dragon scales were rare materials, as getting a scale of a dragon was not easy and getting an unblemished, intact scale was even harder. Even a small scale could sell for a small fortune and since he had never looked for one before, he could not be sure if could find one. He had to find one with qi intact, no matter how small thus it must be a somewhat fresh scale. He went to multiple different stalls and market houses, but could not find any. This put his spirit down a bit, but he did not give up. After visiting nearly all the stalls and market houses that were opened or opening, he had finally found one! It was a shabby looking stall with a rough looking man with a sign on the stall ¡°Selling Materials¡±. Lin Ye looked to the dragon scale that was giving off a faint bit of qi. It was a red, fiery looking dragon scale that had traces of blood on it. He was excited at having been able to find it, but he quickly calmed down as now he needed to be able to obtain it. Lin Ye motioned with his eyes to the scale and the man just nodded. Lin Ye picked it up and pushed a bit of qi into it. ¡°Good. This scale is still fresh, I don¡¯t know how long this can last thus I need to use it quickly!¡± Lin Ye thought in his mind. ¡°I¡¯m interested in this scale. What¡¯s the price for it?¡± Lin Ye inquired. ¡°1000 silver coins.¡± The man replied in a quick and flat tone. Lin Ye nearly choked. What the hell was that price?! ¡°1000 silver coins? That¡¯s not right. For such a small piece of a scale, it should be only around 300-500!¡± The man snorted. ¡°Look kid, I¡¯m probably the only one selling a dragon scale and there¡¯s the fact that it¡¯s still a bit fresh. My team and I went through a lot of sacrifices for this scale, and even then it was such a small scale.¡± Lin Ye gave a heavy sigh and took out his money pouch. ¡°Damn it! 1000 silver coins is nearly all of my money!¡± Lin Ye was about to pay when the man suddenly saw the Lin family name on his pouch. ¡°Oh, wait. Seeing you want it so bad, I¡¯ll give it to you for 500 instead.¡± The man¡¯s sudden change of attitude surprised him, but he didn¡¯t tarry as he worried the scale would lose its qi. He paid and hurriedly ran around a bit to search for another material he needed, however, it seems he wasn¡¯t that lucky. He gave a depressed sigh and hurriedly ran home instead. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Upon arriving at the Lin clan¡¯s entrance, it was already close to noon. There was a stout looking man with a face that did not match up with his physique waiting at the entrance. Upon seeing Lin Ye, he hurriedly ran over. ¡°Y-Young Master, y-your father has told you to c-come see him.¡± The man stuttered while talking all the while with his face down. Lin Ye looked at the man with mixed feelings. This big looking man was Ze Bai, a servant of the Lin family, who was only 15 and truly did not match his physique. He had a baby face, was timid and often bullied. It seems that when he was still ¡°Lin Ye¡± he also bullied him. Lin Ye scratched his head as he felt awkward and a bit guilty. He nodded his head and tapped Ze Bai¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I got it; tell my father I¡¯ll see him later.¡± He could see Ze Bai flinched a bit, but he didn¡¯t move instead he nodded his head. Lin Ye gave a sigh. ¡°It seems I have to fix some things.¡± Lin Ye left all the while Ze Bai was staring at his back, wondering if the Young Master was in a good mood today or something. Upon arriving at his room, he closed the door quickly, locked it with his qi and took out the scale. ¡°Whew¡­With this I can again practice the Black Dragon Arts.¡± Black Dragon Arts was one of his main martial arts he relied on back in his old world. It was passed down to only the head of his family, while the rest used an incomplete version. The requirements were a dragon scale containing qi and¡­.hair. In his old world there were no dragons, thus how his family got hold of a dragon scale was still a mystery to him. Lin Ye undid his hair and cut a bit of it to form a symbol on the scale. With that, he sat down on the floor and carefully placed the dragon scale on his lap. He closed his eyes and circulated his qi and then directed it at the dragon scale. As expected, there was a clash; however, since it was only a tiny strand of dragon qi, it quickly died down. With this, he started to absorb this qi into his body and let it revolve around his body. The hair on the scale started to submerge into the scale. He followed after what he remembered from the manual of the Black Dragon Arts. Weaving and guiding his qi into a certain shape, attempting to push and feel his qi even for a split second into his hair, it took him a lot of effort and an unknown amount of time, but he finally felt a slight tug of qi into his hair. His hair was floating! ¡°Now!¡± Lin Ye roared. With that, he opened his eyes and attacked his own qi points! These were the points that he shaped before! Lin Ye winced a bit, but kept attacking his qi points. When all the points were attacked, if one looked closely it vaguely resembled a dragon. It was hard for him to maintain consciousness and his body''s qi was quickly drying up. "Shit! This body is...too weak! Damn, am I going to fail?!" He kept focusing and trying, he did not notice it, but there was a faint pulse inside of him for a split second and he instantly felt his qi points relax. "It...it worked!" Lin Ye said with heavy breaths. He slumped and relaxed. ¡°Huh¡­Finally done.¡± The dragon scale that was on his lap was now dimmed and then turned into dust. Lin Ye patted his pants and got up. He threw out a punch and felt much more speed and force than before. ¡°Good. This should be the first stage. I wonder if I can surpass the fifth stage in this new life¡­¡± Lin Ye muttered. ¡°All I need is a fire source to completely learn the Black Dragon Arts. Well¡­first I should see what father wants.¡± With that, Lin Ye unlocked his door and walked out. Chapter 2 - Lin Family Chapter 2 ¨C Lin Family Lin Ye walked quickly to his father¡¯s room and knocked on it twice. ¡°Come in.¡± A rough voice said. Lin Ye pushed open the door and entered. He quietly closed it afterward and faced toward the person in the room. It was a man around his late thirties or perhaps his early forties, but he had a stocky build, the same black hair as Lin Ye except his hair was short, a rough, yet it had a bit of resemblance to Lin Ye. He was sitting and writing some things on a paper, but when he saw Lin Ye, he stopped working. The man got up and his rough face softened up a little. ¡°Lin er. You¡¯ve made me wait a while.¡± ¡°I apologize¡­.Father.¡± Saying father made Lin Ye feel weird, but also gave him a sense of familiarity. Since he was used to saying it before, it felt right, but since his mind was now back, it made him feel awkward. When he grew up as a child in his old world, he lost his mom when she died to protect a client and his father, when he left everything he had to Wu Jin and took revenge. ¡°I just have to accept this. This is my life now¡­¡± Lin Ye thought and tried to convince himself in his mind. His father seeing him so stiff and awkward heaved a sigh and gave a slight smile. ¡°Lin er. Don¡¯t stand there. Come and sit down. Father is not mad, I¡¯m just worried. Your mother isn¡¯t here and if she knew I let you be in harm¡¯s way, she would definitely skin me alive.¡± Lin Ye regained back his senses and nodded his head. He proceeded to a chair and sat down. ¡°Let me finish up first. Give me 3, no 2 minutes and I¡¯ll be done.¡± With that his father sat down again and with renewed vigor, quickly went back to work. Lin Ye glanced around the room and finding nothing of interest, he looked to his father working. He recalled what he could of his parents. His father, Lin Long did not belong to the clan Lin. Lin Long and Lin Ye¡¯s mom Lin Ai were in love, but Lin Long was not of noble status or worthy in the eyes of the Lin family, so their marriage was rejected and obstructed. However, due to some circumstances the Lin family eventually accepted his father, but there was a condition. He had to marry into the Lin family, thus all his children and anyone willing to join him will have the Lin name and not his father¡¯s family name. His father without question accepted and thus another subsidiary of the Lin family was born. Although his father rejected becoming the head, he still held a lot of say and power in the subsidiary Lin family. Lin Long¡¯s father and Lin Ye¡¯s grandfather was the head of the family, at least, until Lin Long wanted to become the head or let someone else. Lin Ye was the only son of Lin Long and Lin Ai, thus they doted on him extremely much, that he became very spoiled and neglected his training, hoping to ride on his parent¡¯s coattail and live a carefree and promiscuous life. They both loved and treated him dearly, but that was only in private. When it was out in public, excluding in the Lin family, they acted as a parent should, albeit with some restraints. Lin Ye was still recollecting his thoughts, when he heard a chair move and his father putting the pen in his hand down. ¡°That¡¯s done. I¡¯ll have to send it later.¡± His father picked up the piece of paper, put it into an envelope and then looked to Lin Ye.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°Now¡­Lin er. Do you know why I called for you?¡± ¡°Did I do something stupid again?¡± Lin Ye blurted out his thoughts in his mind without thinking. Oh shit. That wasn¡¯t what I was going to say! ¡°I meant, I do not know.¡± His father looked at him with an amused smile, and then shook his head. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You¡¯re not in trouble this time, it¡¯s just I was wondering how your progress in your training was going. I heard the servants caught you practicing in the morning today.¡± ¡°Oh. My training. Well, it¡¯s going alright. I suddenly had the urge to train.¡± ¡°I see. Did you have any improvements?¡± ¡°Improvements? Hm¡­Yes. I definitely did.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. That¡¯s good. I want to measure your level, give father your hand.¡± Lin Ye sweated a bit. He¡­he wants to feel my qi! He won¡¯t find anything strange right? The Black Dragon Arts instills me with dark destructive qi that can be mistaken for evil qi! ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Seeing his son still hesitating, his father got worried. Could my son have been lying? Or worst case¡­he was crippled?! His father had thought the worst of things and without waiting; he pulled his son¡¯s arm and pushed a bit of his qi into Lin Ye. Lin Ye was caught off guard and even if he was prepared, he was still no match for his father. Lin Ye prayed he would not find it and with anxious breaths, he waited. After an eternity passed for Lin Ye, his father released his arm and sighed. He didn¡¯t find it right? That sigh seems more like¡­he¡¯s disappointed. However, his father brightened up a bit again. Good. Nothing happened to my son. Thank the heavens. Lin Ye¡¯s father knocked him on the head softly and said, ¡°Lying to your father like that, you¡¯re still at the same level.¡± Lin Ye relaxed since his father didn¡¯t find anything wrong. Lin Ye¡¯s current cultivation was the 2nd Rank, 5th stage, which was also known as the Opening stage. Reaching this stage was considered a bit below average as his kids his age were at mostly around the 6-8th stage. In the Quan world, martial artists or cultivators ruled. The strong makes the rules, while those weaker look up to or struggle to become strong. Cultivation levels are separated into 9 Ranks with 10 Stages each rank. Every rank has a special name and in order to go up in ranks and/or stages, one must need hard work and practice to temper and refine their qi. Lin Ye rubbed his head, since his father¡¯s soft knock was still a bit painful even if he did restrain his strength. ¡°F¡­father. Don¡¯t worry. I still have a long time to improve.¡± Lin Ye still found it a bit hard to say father. Lin Ye¡¯s father gave a sigh. ¡°That¡¯s¡­we don¡¯t really have that much time.¡± ¡°No time? What do you mean?¡± Lin Long put his hands on Lin Ye¡¯s head and gave another sigh, this time it was dispirited. ¡°Your mother went back to her clan for a visit, but now they want us to come and participate in the Lin family trial. They say it¡¯s just a little thing to measure you. Hell, they must think I don¡¯t know! It¡¯s not just an ordinary trial. It¡¯s a Youth competition meant to measure all the Lin family¡¯s youths, including the branch families. Your mother tried to reject it saying you weren¡¯t ready or interested, but they pushed for it! They must really want to embarrass us.¡± Lin Long¡¯s voice rose higher and higher, but then he stopped. ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to reason with them, but it seems they¡¯re adamant on you coming. Your mother also tried. I¡¯m sorry, Lin er.¡± Lin Ye felt a bit of warmth. They really do dote on me too much. Lin Ye gave a laugh, and then replied. ¡°Father, don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s not a big deal. We can¡¯t let them call us cowards, you don¡¯t see my improvements now, but I¡¯ll definitely improve by the time I participate. When is it?¡± Lin Long¡¯s father looked perplexed at Lin Ye. Is this my son? When did he get so mature? Was he always this brave? Tons of questions popped into Lin Long¡¯s head, but right now, he was content. ¡° Lin er, the competition is in 2 months. If you really want to go, father will protect you no matter what, if you don¡¯t, it¡¯s also ok. Your mother and I do not mind if you ever change your mind. ¡°Father. It¡¯s alright. I want to go. I do not want to disappoint you, plus this could give me some experience.¡± Lin Ye smiled widely. ¡°This is the perfect opportunity. With many opponents to test myself, no way I won¡¯t improve!¡± Lin Long looked at his son as if he didn¡¯t recognize him anymore. Then he gave a great laugh. ¡°Haha! Great. Then I shall write we¡¯ll participate!¡± With that, he sat back down and tore up the envelope he had settled aside before. He went back to writing and Lin Ye smiled. ¡°Then father, I shall be going now. I have to practice a bit.¡± ¡°Good! Father will await your improvements!¡± With that, Lin Ye walked out. While walking toward his room, he started to think. Lin family, huh? I shall show you, that there are hidden dragons in places unexpected. Still¡­I wonder why father couldn¡¯t find the black dragon qi? Is it because it¡¯s qi is different or is it due to other circumstances? Lin Ye couldn¡¯t come up with an answer either way, so he started to think of a move in the Black Dragon Arts he wanted to practice. Upon reaching his room and walking in, he decided on the move to practice. The Black Heaven Field.