《Above Heavens I Stand》


 Chapter 1 - Li Lan

    On the peak of a mountain, standing large amongst the other mountains formed by the mountain chain. Cross-legged sat a young man. The name of this particular mountain was enough to calm this young man¡¯s mind. It was Peach Waves Mountain. Feeling better again, with a short sigh he started focusing on his breathing.


    The young man stood up and looked down to the river at the bottom. One could see how the side of the mountain had been harnessed by the river that had been pounding on the side. Strong cliffs stood at the bottom of the mountain. The young man could not help feel dreadful, clenching his fists with the sweat dripping off his hands.


    He calmed himself yet again, with the wind flowing in his hair he finally decided to turn around and head back through the shallow road he had taken to come up. His goal had been shattered and his only thoughts was to find a place to sleep for now. The county he was in was ruled by the xingxiu sect. They were particular with their pupils and would not take in anyone who could not train in the art of spiritual condensation.


    On the way down the mountain back to the county named xiejia. It was a small county in the vast world, not entirely poor but could only be classified as inferior. The young man met an old man who nodded and greeted the young man.


    ¡°Greetings Li Lan, what is a youngster¡¯ like you up to these days?¡± the elder spoke in a manner that neither seemed immature nor mature. ¡°I came to clear my mind, once again I have failed to enter the sect and be taken as a disciple.¡± Li Lan sighed. The elder pitied Li Lan but could only reassure him. ¡°All you young ones seem to want is to become an immortal, look at me, seventy-eight and still alive. I feel that you will be able to accomplish great merits Li Lan.¡±


    Li Lan could not help but sigh once more. They stood and spoke for a few minutes and went their separate ways. Li Lan had failed to enter the outer sect of the xingxiu sect. When one managed to enter the outer sect it could easily be told that their lives were taken care of. Li Lan though did not want to join to be taken care of, he wanted to become strong, to be able to protect.


    At his thoughts he clenched his fist before taking the last step down the mountain and go home. Calling it home is rather farfetched. Li Lan lives nowhere, he is homeless and have been ever since another sect, particularly the lingjiu sect, had attacked the xingxiu sect and its respective counties. He was the sole survivor of his family, though they were not part of a clan so he had no legacy.


    Li Lan headed to a distant place a long way to the east of the county, in a placid forest where he usually spent his time. He looked around to ensure there was no one around, then he popped onto a stone where he sat cross-legged and started training. What Li Lan did is not physical training, he tries to feel the energy emanating from nature and the heavens.


    Once when Li Lan had failed the test to inter the outer sect of the xingxiu sect, an elder had given him a few hints. One is that he should try to feel the energy, then lead it through his whole body through the dantian area and at some point a spiritual core will be formed inside his body where he will be able to condense his qi and become stronger.


    Only when one has formed the spiritual core will one be able to step into the outer sect. Many people without knowing was born with the core already formed, and therefore many attempted to join without the knowledge of whether or not one had a spiritual core already. Before reaching a certain cultivation level one does not emit any aura.


    A few hours passed while Li Lan sat meditating trying to lead energy through his body, yet he still fails. He stood up in a slight annoyance and rage, looked at the stone he had spent more than two years sitting on. He felt dissatisfaction and decided to try to move to another place. He had recently heard that in some areas the energy would be denser than other areas.


    Energy revolts around life, and especially so in forests. Lin Lan decided to look for a place with a little lake and a waterfall. Meditating in such a place could benefit him a lot. The sound of the waves had always calmed him, hence his name Li Lan. Li stands for beautiful, or pretty. Lan stands for waves. As a man he felt no disgrace by knowing his names meaning.


    Pretty waves were the same as him, they amounted to nothing, but they were pretty in the moment they existed. Li Lan gathered his thoughts before moving forward, he had to embrace the risks of moving late at night. He had neglected hunting, so he had no food. If he could find some kind of a spring he could at least have something to drink.


    He had always stayed in this spot, never felt the urge to move further into the forest, while he was here he was protected by the sect¡¯s barrier. If he without thought happened to walk outside the barrier, he could meet demonic beasts that would easily kill him in moments. With no fear Li Lan gathered his thoughts and moved forward.


    When he reached one of the trees encircling the grassy area with the rock in the middle, he could not help feel disheartened. This place had basically been his home for the past years. With new determination he shook his head as he continued forward. Moving through the dense forest, thick stick and bushes stood everywhere. It was hard to move through.


    Li Lan felt lucky as he stumbled upon a bush which grows a special type of berry. He kneeled down and picked a few. He could not help noticing that most berries had already been eaten. Most likely by the few wild animals that lives in the forest, the ones he usually hunts for food. He put some in a pouch that hung by his belt and kept moving forward.


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    Scouting the area, he felt he had been walking for days. Though what by time had only been five hours. He was used to the hunger as he only went hunting every other day to eat. What he did not notice was a presence watching him, which followed him through the forest.


    At last he frowned, he had finally found a spring. It was a seemingly grassy area, with a few rocks placed around the little lake that was provided with water from a minor waterfall. He ran to the side of the lake and sat down. Placed his hands in the water and gurgled some of it down. He had not had something to drink for days, if not weeks.


    He sat down besides one of the big rocks, with his back leaning to it he felt his power needed a reset. He was tired from the previous day. The way to the test in itself took a few hours, and before that he had prepared himself by continuously trying to grasp the energy. He knew he would fail the test, but he went for the hints and help from the elders.


    Despite sun rising, Li Lan chose to try and sleep. Walking in his own thoughts and grabbing himself, almost hugging himself to stay warm and feel secure. His mind wandered into sleep.


    ¡­


    Many hours went by, Li Lan still sleeping would show he was truly fatigued. The sun was setting and Li Lan was still dreaming, or rather he was having nightmares. He remembers his powerlessness when seeing his family being killed.


    Close to a house built of tree, a group of men with a Qi level of 5 or higher walked to the house. These men were not high rankings, they were simply outer sect disciples of lingjiu sect. For them this was not even a battlefield, it was a slaughterhouse.


    One of the men spat on the ground while looking at the house they neared. ¡°Lets round this up, my team will take this house yours can take the next!¡± the man said in a composed manner. A light smile could be seen on his face, he enjoyed killing.


    The man supposedly in the thirties, led his men inside the tree house. In a corner of the house, a family of three people sat and hoped for someone to come and save them. They had no power to fight with, only despair. The team supposedly led by the man in the thirties, quickly searched the house.


    ¡°Boss, we have found them!¡± a voice rang through the house. The boss walked to the kitchen where a mother and a father was begging and kowtowing for them to leave their son alive, their only child. Ruthlessly one of the underlings kicked the father away and dragged him into another room. Shouts could be heard.


    In another room, unseen by the child and mother, could only be heard shouting. Abruptly it ended followed by a shriveling and weakened voice, that left and never returned. The son was five years old, but at the thought of losing his father, he went enraged. He jumped up and hung to one of the underlings. Biting and tearing at him.


    For a practitioner of Qi physical attacks from that degree held no meaning. It only helped enrage the underling, as he picked up the boy and threw him into a table that lied on the ground. It had been a fierce through from a Qi practitioner, the boy spat blood. His eyes were still lit up, and he crawled to another¡¯s feet and started biting and tearing again.


    Quickly before the other underling could take action the boss returned. His eyes shrewd, he looked at the underling and saw the boy tearing away. The mother begged for mercy and tried to take his son off, but in his rage he was too strong. The boss waited before taking action.


    A few seconds, that felt like hours passed quickly. The boss picked up the mother and threw her to two underlings. ¡°Take care of her, make it quick. By patriarchs orders we have to return by sun rise!¡± the man commanded. His face was bloodied.


    The boy shouted, with hardships and not much voice left. ¡°I .. I will kill ..¡± the boy was left for voice, he struggled with the power he had left. The boss walked over and picked him up. ¡°You, kill me?!¡± the man laughed, then steadied his eyes as he looked into the ferocious boy¡¯s eyes. He snorted and on a whim he threw the boy to the ground and commanded his group to retreat.


    ¡°Sun rise is in a few hours, retreat to the meeting spot, I will be right there.¡± The boss wanted to take care of the child alone. One of the underlings was not content with leaving without his boss. ¡°Boss, just finish it, we do not have time play!¡± the boss looked at the underling. ¡°Are you implying I cannot kill a little child?¡± he almost roared.


    The underlings nodded and headed out, they felt that there was no more to say. Meanwhile the boy could not help but look in disdain. The boss sighed. ¡°Remember my name youngster, if you want to kill me, then find me when you get older!¡± The man spat on the child and turned. Before leaving he said his name and left. The child passed into unconsciousness.


    ¡­


    As night had once again come, Li Lan still sweating from his nightmares, the presence still stood watching him. It was as if this presence did not need to sleep.


    Li Lan woke up, and with all his might he clenched his one fist, as if he felt all the pain coming from the nightmare. He shook his head and grit his teeth. He sat there looking at the moon, and for a while he thought he heard the name again, as whispered to his ear. ¡°Wuhui Feng¡±.

 Chapter 2 - Disciple and Master

    Time passed slowly and eventually a little breeze passed by Li Lan. The leaves on the shattered sticks, whether it had parted from its original tree and was left on the ground, they still rustled and left a calm and sincere feeling.


    Li Lan opened his eyes, looked around suspiciously. Then let out a breath of relief. Seemingly he had thought that he had heard someone along with the breeze, but unable to see or hear anymore, he let it be.


    Once again he sat in the middle of a spring. The presence sat on a branch looking down at him, while he himself also meditated. What the presence saw was an ambitious young man, if not a young child. His long yet not long black hair, sat on the stone with no clothing.


    The presence nodded in accept. Closed his eyes and stayed around. A few days passed like this. Li Lan sat cross-legged on a rock in the middle of the little lake, rather close to the small waterfall. His heart jumped every other minute.


    Li Lan began to feel despair, soon a month had passed by. There had been no progress in his energy accumulation, and he had yet to even feel the slight energy enter his body. Li Lan skinny yet muscular chose to stop temporarily to go hunt.


    He put on his robe, tattered as it was. Picked up his belt and put it in, then he attached the pouch. Hidden under some tattered clothing was his weapon, it was almost blunt after the endless use of multiple years. It was a blade that had been reinforced with leftover steel.


    Li Lan gave himself a satisfied nod, as if he had just created this weapon of his, even though he had made it many years ago. The presence smiled lightly as he watched Li Lan place his weapon on the rock. Li Lan picked up some flint and gritted at the blade.


    After an hour of sharpening the blade he stood up and with flickering eyes he ran into the forest. Filled with excitement and hope for the prey he would find. When the presence saw this, he followed by, not close, but not far away either.


    ¡°Leaving my personal barrier kid, you have guts!¡± the presence thought to himself. For three hours Li Lan kept hunting, he picked up some pelt that he could use to sew as an attachment to his robe. This pelt came from a middle aged bear that Li Lan spent an hour and a half trying to defeat.


    Feeling his energy having depleted by half, he was still not satisfied with his haul. He had only gotten enough meat for a few days, and he kept going. Soon he was embraced by a small mountain chain and decided to move along at the end.


    Soon Li Lan stumbled upon a cave in the mountain, it was not particularly big, and inside was a dim shine of a turquoise bluish light. He entered and as soon as he did he felt a dense air, not breeze but the whole cave was filled with some kind of emanating energy.


    Li Lan soon realized what was upon him, and he went into a room in the side of the small cave. It was not bigger than thirty feet, the cave that is. In the room he entered an even denser air. Li Lan felt as if this energy had been accumulated for multiple years.


    Cross-legged he sat in the middle of the room and he began sweating. This time he had finally managed to feel a thread of energy moving through his body. Trying to get a hang of the energy his face was distorted. He had never expected the pressure would be this hard.


    It felt as if in his meditational state he had entered a black an unknown realm. The only thing that he could control in this realm was a line of light. Every time this light moved what Li Lan thought was an inch, the pain he felt was the same as a thousand needles. Suddenly his consciousness went into a state of dreaming.


    Time passed by and a month quickly went away. Li Lan dreamt of himself, meditating on a pillar made of stone. This particular pillar was so high that it went even beyond the skies and stood high in the heaven. Able to watch the whole country from this peak.


    A few times an image would flicker through his mind. The image of some pure energy solidifying slowly. As if it was in a cup that hit the floor, this pure energy suddenly burst and the energy flowed through his body. The pain was excruciating and it could be seen on his face. His body felt with sweat.


    A little pool of blood exited out of his mouth. But no matter what Li Lan kept being in this kind of condensational state. The energy that had before solidified spread and entered his veins. Soon a wooden bowl filled with a still current of the energy, four times the size of the energy stone he had seen in his body appeared.


    The presence outside of the cave took in a heavy breath, opened his eyes and smiled. Then closed his eyes and once again sat cross-legged cultivating. In his mind could be heard his fascination. ¡°Second level of Qi cultivation! What a golden boy.¡±


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    What Li Lan did not know, was the many years he had tried to form the spiritual core, he had kept flowing spiritual energy through his body and it had adapted to it. This cultivating of his had made it easy for him to easily enter a higher realm of qi condensation.


    The presence seemed to had noticed this long ago, and for any other practitioner of the immortals, they would easily be able to read his mind when seeing his face. This face that belonged to a forty-year-old practitioner of Qi.


    As Li Lan had not progressed from this point for a week he decided to stop and feel out what had happened. He opened his eyes and could see his skin had changed. Not only that, his body had undergone a miraculous change.


    His hair had grown longer, and now easily made it halfway down his back. His body was taller. His skin was as if it had been cleaned thoroughly. All impurities was gone and he no longer had pimples, as far as he could tell.


    A power surged through him, and when he clenched his fist he could almost feel his skin being pierced by his long nails. He looked around in the first room of the cave, the only other one. The room he had entered into was as he could think up, a place for cultivators.


    In the main room of the cave, was a skeleton. On this skeleton was an almost eaten robe and by this robe was a pouch. He bent forward and picked it up. Li Lan did not bother much with the skeleton, he had long forgotten how to react to such things.


    Not that he had necessarily experienced it before, but after his mother and fathers death he just could not seem to mind much. But as he was on the way out to head back to the small lake, he turned around and bowed to the corpse. Said a few words of grace then left.


    When he ran to the small lake, he could feel how he had gotten faster, his body was nimbler than ever. He urged to try to use his strength. On the way through the forest he saw a boar. He smiled, clenched his fist and took out his weapon.


    He followed it for a few minutes until it finally found a bush of berries to feed on. At that point he jumped out of hiding and easily flew above the boar. With a quick swing of his weapon he cut open the neck and the blood spurted everywhere.


    As sinister as Li Lan felt, he knew to survive, he would have to kill a few animals at least. The boar made a few shrieks and then fell to the ground. Dead as it was. Li Lan¡¯s earlier haul had been eaten while he was cultivating in the past month.


    He felt weird, he no longer felt the same hunger as he had usually felt. It might have been two weeks since he last ate, but there was only a slight pain in his stomach. To him this feeling was the same as if he had not eaten for two days, and compared to earlier times, it was nothing.


    He soon reached the little lake and without dropping his robe, he dropped his weapon and pouch, then jumped in. His robe had been filled with filth that had been pushed from his pores. After a few minutes he decided to get up.


    He looked at his reflection in the water, and noticed the many changes. Li Lan had not been particular ugly, he had always been somewhat pretty. But with the change in his skin he felt as if he looked like a goddess. A bit embarrassed he was.


    Not that he did not like goddesses, but he was not a girl. Lightly scratching his chin, he thought of what to do next. He was excited and hoped he could enter the outer sect as soon as he returned. Then he suddenly remembered, he had taken a pouch from the corpse, but had yet to check its contents.


    Walking towards the rock a chill suddenly emerged. He looked at a person. Forty years old sitting on the rock together with his belongings. ¡°Do not fret child. I just want to chat.¡± The man spoke in a comforting manner. His radiant feeling that comforted Li Lan did not make him fear.


    Li Lan suddenly felt some energy from the man, and instantly bowed. ¡°Hello Elder, may I inquire your name?¡± Li Lan instantly thought that he must be an elder from the sect, else why would he have such a bold energy coming forth from his body.


    ¡°Be my disciple young one, if you accept then I will tell you my name, I do not belong to the xingxiu sect.¡± The man spoke as if he offered the whole world on a silver plate. Li Lan frowned, he wanted to know his identity before complying, but he could not seem to find an answer.

 Chapter 3 - Answer

    As Li Lan considered his answer thoroughly, his thoughts were intervened by the man in front of him. "You may think for seven days and seven nights. In that time, I will be here. Come if you want, stay away if you do not."


    The man calmly smiled as he stood up and jumped off the rock. Li Lan was in deep thoughts. As the man walked away he stopped. "Take this." The man threw what looked like an old book. It was torn and the letters could nearly not be made out.


    As Li Lan read the cover he tried to make sense of it. "Qi, Qi cultivation guide!" He frowned his brows, to him this book could be his most precious. As he looked up to give his thanks, the man was gone.


    He decided not to dwell on the matter. Sitting on the rock cross-legged, he did not bother to use the one in the lake. At this moment he was not cultivating, neither had he opened the book. Instead he rumbled through his thoughts.


    Rummaging in his heads were all the grief, his hardships and his accomplishments. He was unable to fool himself. The grief and hardships bore deeper than his accomplishments. Until moments ago he had none.


    The only thing he could finally be glad with, was that he had actually formed a spiritual core. His wits did not follow him, as he did not understand much about his spiritual core. He had heard that it was like a ball made of energy.


    Supposedly it should have been a more solid energy, his conclusion were that his spiritual core was weaker than others. A sigh could be heard from him, his eyelids closed as he sat. His mind went blank and he just sat there.


    For six days and five nights. All he did was sit. The moon shone on him, illuminating him into the lake. He opened his eyes and peeked at himself once more. A slight smile appeared, the first that had been there for almost a week.


    To fully grasp his situation, he would need to open the book, or go see elders of the xingxiu sect. But he did not want to bother the man who had given him the book, and he did not want to feel indebted.


    In the night could be heard a slight rustle, but it did not continue for long, the same as the night. It quickly passed. On the last day. Li Lan made his decision and waited for the man to arrive.


    As the sun rose, he stood up and stretched his limbs. He went and washed his face in the lake, and could not fathom this indescribable feeling of calmness. Never before, had he felt like the decision he made could disgrace him.


    Not only disgrace him, but his caring mother, and his fun witted father. With the two blurry figures in his mind, he realized he had not thought much of them the last two years. Sadness covered his face for a while.


    Clenching his first he looked up, his body shone strong and face filled with determination. ¡°Mother, Father, I will do my best to honor you in the future, please await me!¡± he said, calm and reserved as he stood there. He said his grace and turned around.


    The man sat cross-legged on the stone, Li Lan was a bit shocked at first, then did not waver his mind with it anymore. He walked towards the man, as the man looked up he could see his strong smile.


    ¡°What is your decision youth?¡± the man said, as if he already knew the answer. But Li Lan was unpredictable, and the man had not considered this outcome.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Elder Brother. But I have unfinished business in the xingxiu sect, please listen to my selfish demands!¡± as Li Lan spoke, he hoped the man would accept his demands, but as he thought about it more, these demands were simply a test.


    What he wanted to know about this man was, if he were to become his master, to what lengths would he let him bloom, and what could he bring to the table.


    The man frowned his brows, then cleared his mind and nodded calmly at Li Lan¡¯s words. Li Lan started telling about his past, and his vengeance. About how he was a failure and always would be.


    Skies filled with pleasantry filled a certain part of a county. The county of xiejia, not far from the county to the west, in a grassy area was a boy and a man. A story had just come to the end, and the man made his answers after a few thoughtful nods.


    ¡°I can make you strong, but you will go through hardships worse and more painful than ever before. It will take years of training and being trampled on!¡± for a moment the man looked vicious as he tried to read Li Lan¡¯s inner thoughts, those that people never speak of.


    Li Lan feared not. He thought what he had been put through, was already to the extreme. He took a step forward and bowed. ¡°Please Elder brother, accept me as a disciple!¡± The man smiled and nodded.


    ¡°I will explain the five years plan I have already made for you, come sit!¡± the man said. And Li Lan walked over to sit in front of him. Having no idea who his master was, all he could do was believe in fate, have faith that he told the truth.


    The man explained his plan, first Li Lan is to go through a year of regeneration, he simplified this by saying. ¡°One cannot be immortal, if one¡¯s flesh cannot be regenerated!¡± He explained how he would start by removing the outer skin of Li Lan.


    Then the skin would heal, and he would then right after do it again, for four months this would happen, meanwhile Li Lan is to reach the third level of qi cultivation before the four months end. With this he is able to learn an ability.


    The ability set in the elders mind is a renowned and deathly ability passed down through his own sect. It can by the power of spiritual energy, grow body parts back to normal. Even if Li Lan lost an arm, he would be able to recuperate.


    Li Lan was astonished, and a bit frightened when he heard the next 4 months of the first year. It was to have his limbs ripped apart and have them regenerate until it could be done within an hour. That way he would already be a step closer to immortality.


    Night came on, but still speaking and discussing, was the master and disciple. Everything beyond the first year, is left to mystery for now. One of the things that was to happen after the first 8 months was for Li Lan to become an outer sect member of the xingxiu sect.


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    One way to accomplish that was simply to go notify the elders of his newly formed spiritual core. But his master had other thoughts. In the time it takes a year to pass, there will be a martial arts competition between qi practitioners to enter the outer sect.


    More spectacularly the top three people would be given a chance to enter the inner sect. Master did not want Li Lan to pass to top three, instead he told him with harsh words. ¡°Admit defeat, the highest ranking you are allowed to take, is the top fourth ranking!¡±.


    After becoming master and disciple, Li Lan had learnt a lot of cultivation. Soon he was ordered to read the whole guide he had received. When his master heard he had not yet opened it, he could not help laugh.


    ¡°When handling such matters in the future, take what you can get, ravage all! I will protect you, and you will bring my legacy further.¡± His laughter was warm and Li Lan could not help smile at this weird man in front of him.


    ¡°When do we start training?¡± Li Lan looked at his master with determination, his eyes shone and despite winter coming soon, he could not feel anything else than warmth emitting from his body.


    Master looked at Li Lan and pointed to the moon. ¡°Next full moon.¡±. Li Lan nodded and continued to read through the book. His understanding rocketed to the sky, and he had learnt of his own level of qi cultivation.


    His master did not teach in qi cultivation, nor did he tell him anything personal, for now they were strictly master and disciple. Li Lan did not inquire about anything else for the next two weeks, instead he sat cross-legged and cultivated.


    He ate anything that master brought him, it was mostly pills to satiate hunger. The weeks passed fast and it was the day to start his training. His master left frequently without saying where to, and frankly, Li Lan did not mind.


    Currently obsessed with his goal, he knew his only way of ever becoming strong, was to heed his masters plan. Even if he tried to go against it, it would be futile. His master was forty years old, and had a muscular stern body.


    It was scarred, and his darkish grey beard was a few inches covering his chin. His hair was 3 inches and was also darkish grey, he had partial side cut and his hair mostly stood up into the air. He spent most his time observing Li Lan.


    ¡°Time for the first phase. Ready your mind, it¡¯s painful.¡± His master ordered, despite it sounding more like a friendly hint, Li Lan knew that this was only the start, how could he not be ready to become strong.


    Li Lan nodded and took off all his close, he stood up and took a quick bathe. ¡°Where should I cultivate while healing? Would it be better to be half dived into the water?¡± he asked, he had thought of it before.


    Maybe the water could help ease the pain, or help clean the wounds. His master pointed. Following the line of sight from the finger, Li Lan frowned. It obviously pointed to the top of the waterfall, though small sitting in a current no matter how strong, would be hard.


    Not to mention he would be in a huge amount of pain and would need tons of concentration just to maintain awake. With a quick wave of his master¡¯s hand Li Lan was placed on top of a rock with half his body in the current. If he fell down he would be further injured, therefore prolonging the process.


    ¡°Ready?¡± his master spared no time, himself he was surprised at Li Lan¡¯s determination. He himself had undergone this training by his father when he was younger. But Li Lan was only around 13 years old, he had been 21 when he had undergone this training.


    With a slight smile and a short sigh, he confirmed Li Lan¡¯s nod to be his answer of compliance. In mere seconds his master had summoned some kind of whirlwind that ripped around seventy to eighty percent of Li Lan¡¯s skin off.


    No mercy was to spare, even his face was ripped, genitals was not spared. Of course his utmost vitalities had to be covered at least as much as rest of his body. All of this severity in training was also to strengthen his mind and mentality.


    The last percents that was not ripped off was skin such as on the eyelid, inside the ears, under the nails and inside his nose. Instantly a furious scream could be heard over the whole forest. The scream of a young man, maybe even a young child, that had almost no more skin.


    It took a week for the screaming to stop, although small breaks had occurred, not for long. Anyone hearing the painful screams would stop in their tracks and turn around. Animals did not come inside a circumference of five kilometers, they could not stand the screaming.


    The scream of Li Lan was severe, almost agonizing to anyone who heard it. Blood flowed from all of his body, and though half his body was in the water, all it did was cause more severe pain. The water he was in, was almost like a tiger tearing at him from the inside.


    Extreme suffering went on for that week, tormenting to his master¡¯s ears. His master now understood the pain his father had undergone when he himself had been taught this way. Of course he had been more disciplined and not screamed as much, but close to.


    Unbearable and almost unendurable. This way of training would mend together his mental and spiritual mind. The sharp pain would always be in his mind, reminding him to become stronger. Though it was a drastic measure, it was also extremely effective.


    Anyone of the fourth qi cultivation level would have a hard time fighting even a first level qi cultivator who had went through this. The stronger one¡¯s spiritual energy became, the faster one¡¯s ability to regenerate would become.


    What he sought from Li Lan, was for him to become his legacy. He wanted him to not only become the patriarch of his sect, but to become a legend. For six years he had been searching far and wide for a disciple.


    But all he had found was youngsters who did not dare to go through hardships. They all lived as underlings in outer sects of other sects, and were abominable cultivators. Finally, before him stood Li Lan. His second disciple, and hopefully his last disciple.

 Chapter 4 - Master Zhou

    A few months passed by and by that only 90 or so percent of the skin had been completely healed. Master sighed and looked at Li Lan. He was afraid he would not acquire a higher regeneration rate by doing this. Li Lan continuously meditated and cultivated his qi while being in a state of trauma.


    Time passed, moons flew by and suns rose multiple times. Three weeks more passed and finally by then he had completely healed his skin. He looked up and awaited his master¡¯s approval. His master had just returned from a city far away from the xiejia county.


    ¡°I have brought some medical pills to help you recover faster. Approximately it will take a month to recover the skin with these.¡± He threw a pouch to Li Lan. Inside was five bottles of pills, all marked with inscriptions he had never seen before.


    He knew he had only gone through the process once, and therefore not much progress had been made in his regenerative abilities. A bit out of mind he was afraid he would not make it in time for the yearly martial tournament. ¡°Will I be able to grasp it before the martial tournament this year?¡± he asked his master.


    With a look at Li Lan, he answered. It was easy to see his troubled mind. ¡°No. I have decided you will participate a year further from that tournament. It is only a slight change in plans, do not be afraid.¡±. Without consent from Li Lan he lifted his hands, and all of the wind he sent towards Li Lan was filled with sharpness.


    Instantly the skin was ripped and torn off from Li Lan¡¯s body. This time he screamed for half an hour before being able to calm down. He took a medical pill and cultivated. His cultivation was almost at the peak of the second level. He would soon be able to make a breakthrough, only a month.


    One month and one week passed, at the peak of his cultivation he could feel his body heating. The sweat was flowing from all his pores, even dripping out of his eyes. Slowly explosions began to happen inside, as if thousands small orbs of energy had swelled to a point of bursting. The pain was immense, but endurable.


    Li Lan said and endured for hours, seven or eight to be more accurate. Finally, the explosions stopped. Inside his core was the bowl filled with energy, this time just double the size. He looked at his master with awe written on his face.


    ¡°Good job reaching the third level of cultivation.¡± He lightly smiled. Closed his eyes and sat in thoughts. Li Lan nodded and kept cultivating. His skin was around perfectly healed now, the medical pills sure did their job. In around three or four days he would be completely healed.


    The time passed and they redid the process. A year had passed by and he were now able to heal his skin. If completely ripped off, it would take around a week. His hair had grown long, and despite it being dark black, the amazing wonder it emitted was embracing.


    He stood on the rock with his legs embedded in the water. The lake at the bottom of the waterfall had been tainted with blood. It had a faint red color, and the smell that had before restituted him, had been traded with the reek of blood.


    His master jumped to his side, as they stood and watched the sun set. ¡°From now on call me Master Zhou.¡± And smiled. Li Lan frowned his brows, this was one of the first pieces of personal information he had ever gotten from his master. ¡°En Master Zhou.¡± He responded. Calm as ever.


    Li Lan thought back to when he had first met his master. Then it occurred to him, he had once attained the pouch of a former cultivator, he had never checked its contents. Due to his meeting with Master Zhou he had forgotten all about it.


    ¡°Master Zhou, what happened to the pouch I got from the Cultivator Cave?¡± he looked with a question mark on his face. He frowned his right brow as he was in considerate rummage through his mind. He could not seem to find it in his memories beyond that day.


    Zhou sighed, looked at his disciple then looked at the setting sun, thinking of his reply he scratched his beard. A few minutes went by and the sun was soon beyond visible from the horizon. ¡°I sold its contents to pay for the medical pills.¡± his face was filled with a bit of sadness.


    Of course he had not intended to hide the matter from his disciple, but he had stolen from him. With his good intentions he had hoped to be forgiven for his deeds. He looked at his disciple with a light smile. Li Lan could not help laughing softly and showed a wide smile.


    ¡°I will not dwell on the matter, anything Master Zhou have done have only been to my benefit. I am truly grateful Master.¡± The gratitude was not only seen in his smile, it was shown with his body. Heard in his laughs and experienced from his attitude.


    Master Zhou was in thought for a while, then decided to proceed with the next training. ¡°We shall have a week of rest and eating, then we shall begin the next method of training.¡± Forgetful as he was he jumped down the waterfall to hunt.


    As he was on his way to leave, Li Lan asked. ¡°What about the ability to regenerate limbs?¡± His face was excited, and so was his tone. He had been waiting to look at his first ability, and to learn how they were used.


    With a slight Hm and a quick motion of his right arm, a scroll appeared and was thrown towards Li Lan. His senses had truly become better since he had begun his road to become an immortal. He easily caught the scroll. Jumped off the waterfall and went to lean against a rock.


    Sitting in the same place as he had a year ago, he rolled the scroll out in front of him. Inscriptions were seen, with a nod he inserted his spiritual energy into the scroll. With great confusion inscriptions roared through his mind.


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    The weirdest was that he understood the inscriptions, as if they were described in his native language. When he learnt the ability he truly understood the importance of this ability. This ability would certainly not be passed down to mere inner sect disciples.


    This also left him with a tiny confusion. What is the identity of his master, and could there actually be a completely sane reason for him to hide his persona from his disciple? It could very well be he was from one of the major asura sects beyond the capital of the godlands. Or maybe he was from the demon sect?


    Actually, there was no way he was from the demon sect, if so he would have a different appearance. But this fierce ability he had just passed down to him, was not one of common nature. When thinking through the details, he truly sat in wonder.


    What he was trying to figure out, was his master¡¯s origin, and his current level. He went through the map that he had learnt from the stones in the village. Currently he sat to the east of the county xiejia, which was part of xingxiu sect¡¯s domain.


    Other than this county, were 5 other counties in circles around the capital of the sect, which was only accessible to the respective outer and inner disciples, and other members of the sect. The xingxiu sect¡¯s domain was not that huge, and was to the northeast of the vast world. In one of the four corners.


    Then there was the tang sect, which was placed north of the vast world. This was the the fourth strongest sect known. To the northwest corner was the lingjiu sect, which he had in mind to destroy if ever possible. In the middle after passing one of the great seas, the sea of purity, was the capital of the godlands. In the center was the strongest and biggest sect, the asura sect. This could be said to be able to annihilate the other sects.


    Well that was in the past. The two other major sects placed beneath the godlands, outside of the asura sect¡¯s domain. Respectively one to the east and one to the north. These twos name was Purple Haze Sect and Vast Mountain Sect. These two sects would also walk in hands to suppress the asura sect if they were to act rash.


    Only the northern part of the world still used names such as xiejia and tang. Tang held a higher meaning, but xiejia was clearly not as powerful in name. All the sects had counties around them, except the asura sect. They used the income from the capital of the godlands to finance them, so they were set for decades if not more.


    Going southwest further below the two major sects, one would then reach a huge lake, if not a sea. This was the Sea of Illusion. Itself had killed thousands of crossers. Therefore, many chose the safe way around it, despite it taking around three months.


    South to this sea, was a city, not huge, but big enough to not be called a village, this was the only human city in these parts. However of course not only humans traversed the city, it was a more anonymous place to wander. Many demons were there too.


    But this was not the only city south to the sea, when going further one would enter the demonland. The rulers there were the demon sect, it had many branches which was basically sects of their own.


    Other than these sects, there were many sects that was spread out around the world. Some hidden some in small amounts. Some were even rumored to be heavenly, but these were just rumors, many of the godly sects did not show themselves if not necessary.


    This was truly the only option he saw. Master Zhou must definitely be from one of those heavenly sects. Why else would he hide his origins? This was the only thing he could figure out. As far as his master¡¯s power. It must be at least master realm.


    (Authors explanation. Alright so I thought at least I could explain the tiers so far. At the rock bottom of it all, when formed a spiritual core you are at martial realm. The martial realm is not very strong, and it is what most people is able to reach. However, it is truly dependent on martial arts for it to actually be used. Therefore, Martial Realm.


    After that is the establishment realm. This is where one establishes a fundament for spiritual energy, the core is simply very regular and not astonishing. Normally people can learn abilities in martial realm, but all abilities strengths are nurtured by use and spiritual energy (power). Most abilities are only able to be learnt from second level of martial realm or higher. Such as the ability Li Lan just learnt, even though you don¡¯t know its name yet, it is only able to be learnt after reaching third level of martial realm.


    For now, I had no use of explaining these tiers, so I used the simple ¡°second level of qi cultivation¡±, this was because it was the lowest realm, and also the start of it all. Beyond Establishment Realm is Expert Realm. Then Master Realm.


    True geniuses are said to at least reach master realm, while others might stagnate at expert realm. However, beyond Master Realm are 3 higher realms. Beyond Master is Ancestor, then comes Heavenly, and then at last God Realm. More of this will come further down the line.).


    Li Lan snapped out of his thinking, and thought he might as well start training his spiritual energy into using the new ability. As he sat down and murmured the incantations of the inscriptions that earlier entered his mind, he found out that the name of the ability is [Heavenly Reconstruction]. The tier of this ability was definitely God Tier.

 Chapter 5 - Heavenly Reconstruction

    After a week passed, he finally understood and felt he could use the heavenly reconstruction. Normally such high grade abilities would have side effects that would cause people to think twice. But this magical ability held only good fortune.


    In his mind, Li Lan had already become forever grateful to Master Zhou. Glancing at his rough blade, he picked it up and decided to cut off the tip of the index finger. Placing the blade on his lap, he picked up some cloth and placed it between his teeth.


    Enduring pain is something different than causing pain to yourself. The mental confusion that accumulates can cause one to subconsciously bite one¡¯s tongue. He did not want to pass out, he had to use [Heavenly Reconstruction] and test out its use.


    The skill had some dangerous factors, such as if more than a few days goes by without healing the limb, it will be forever irreplaceable. Which means it cannot be reconstructed. On this windy day, Li Lan picked up the blade and made ready to cut the tip off of his index finger.


    He gnawed on the clothing in his mouth, and with a move of his arm, blood went flowing. Despite having his teeth hold down on the cloth, he still let out a few growls. The pain of getting cut in comparison to cutting one self. It is excruciating beyond thought.


    After a few minutes he had adapted to the situation and calmed down. Although not completely undeterred by the pain his actions had caused, his mouth still bent slightly upwards and showed a smile of excitement.


    Without further ado he starter fusing his energy and went through the incantations in his head. Not bothered by the pain and in complete peace with himself, the ability activated. The progression of the reconstruction was slow, albeit it worked and after a quarter of an hour had passed his index finger was whole again. The breeze flying past him, frowned. It was as nature itself frowned their brows at this astonishing fact.


    For a human to have regenerative abilities, was something that was not known of in this realm, and under these skies. Li Lan himself, could not hide his amazement from his eyes. With pure thoughts and a heart filled with gratitude, he kowtowed to the heavens for a few breaths before standing up.


    In the county where the tournament is held, one has to go to the Tang Sects capital city. The overseers of the tournament are all from various sects, this was also a reason why his master had told him to only rank fourth at best. This was also not to provoke the eyes of the major sects. Ranking fourth was generally never chosen by the major sects, as the one ranking fourth usually was of an older age than the other participants.


    Every year the tournaments was held, however only every fourth year it could be said to flourish. People ranking above the hundredth was always able to join the inner disciple of a sect. However, to join a sect from a tournament required the invitation from the sect. The first ranker had almost every time got to choose which sect to join.


    A representative always came the three years, but the fourth and every fourth years the sect leaders and elders all came to see how the young had prospered. It would be quite the danger to not show up, a genius might ascend the heavens if they were to neglect this responsibility. Of course it would also be to not show Tang sect face, and would cause a minor uproar.


    With this in mind, Li Lan smiled, and kept cutting his fingers while using the heavenly reconstruction. He also had to break through to enlightened as soon as possible. As his mind emerged into deep consciousness, he had remembered what his master had told him.


    The cave he had been in which had caused him to be a cultivator, was a kind of cave that was used for low cultivators. It was able to keep spiritual energy from diminishing and was able to contain a fair amount of it. Due to this, he had told him to go and cultivate there once a few times if able to while he was away.


    Li Lan stood up and rushed through the forest. On his way he easily slaughtered a few animals for meat, and after only half an hour he had already emerged a few hundred meters from the cave. What stunned him was, that the before broken stone that was supposed to block the cave, lied a few meters from the cave as it had been flung my monstrous power.


    A new stone larger than the other had been stationed as a new door. Actually these stones were supposed to block people away. And hide the presence of the cave. Li Lan did his best to suppress his energy as he walked quietly closer to the cave. He could not feel the slightest fluctuation in energy from inside, and decided to take a look. If he disturbed anyone if could possibly not be that hard to escape.


    He knew the forest and mountainside way better than most people, and people who used these caves were all below the cultivation of astonish. Even so, he could not take light of his enemy, if one. In such young ages, just a level of difference, not to mention a realm or two, were like thousands of times difference in strength.


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    As he did his best to push the stone away, multiple blood veins shot up and showed itself on his face and arms, even those hidden under his robe on his legs showed themselves. It was so heavy that he could only move it a few inches. With a sigh of a breath, his eyes became ferocious.


    He readied his body and made all his spiritual energy spurt to his legs and shoulders, this was where the most pushing power came from, the legs were the best move to make. With a few breaths of time his veins grew three times the size as he finally managed to move the rock a few meters, which also let the entrance be unprotected.


    Inside was the same as when he had last seen it, which surprised him a lot. He had thought that something was within here, or at least someone. He instantaneously bumped to the wall inside of the cave, with a disturbed movement he brought up a wooden gourd and drank from it. He stood up after a few minutes of time and went inside the cultivation room.


    Indeed, the spiritual energy had already become the dense the months he had not been here, or rather the year. He poked around and thought something was weird, however since he did not have time to dwell on this he decided to start the cultivation.


    Li Lan was of course still unaware of his condensational prowess, and thought a long time was necessary for him to reach the level of his peers of same age. He took off his stash as he continued to condensate his spiritual energy. As his dantian area suddenly over flooded, he could only consider the possibility of the yin energy merging with his yang energy.


    The pain felt as fingers tearing at his insides, the sweat poured from his body, especially his pained face was wet and it flowed. His red face released white steam as if vaporizing the humidity around him and inside the cave. As he sat there he could feel his filthy pores open and release large amounts of filth.


    A week passed, and he could not understand what had happened to his body. It was as if he could not completely understand the changes. He also had no idea of what his current power was, not to mention his cultivation. One thing he understood was that he was not in the realm he had been in before; this was definitely something different.


    He stood up and put on his stash, hung his pouch from there and walked out. When the wind hit his face it felt so comforting to him. It was almost as if the breeze instead of changing course when hitting his body, had entered him and calmed him. His smile curved into an arc full of comfort. As he quietly turned to the right and chose to take a walk that were not in the direction of his spring.


    While walking in the woods, suddenly a huge roar could be heard. Li Lan stopped in his tracks and sweat began pouring from his clenched fists. He looked around and headed in the direction of the sound, not haltingly but not quietly. When he arrived behind a bush he could see a cave where a white demon creature stood.


    With its black lines that showed its prowess, it could be seen that it was angry to the point of killing everything in its area. It had red eyes that proved it furious. Blood flowed from its neck, and in front of it lied another beast, a king of the forest. Li Lan had read about demon beasts and could discern them.


    The white creature was an Emperor Demon Tiger, when mature it could easily reach the peak of heavenly master, as was definitely not a beast to be competitively fighting against. What was weird was in this part of the world, beasts above attribute god was all close to zero. Even the enemy had only been an attribute master, which was also as rare as a ton of gold.


    When Li Lan noticed a presence inside the cave, he understood. The emperor demon tiger was nearing its end, and as Devil Fire Demon Boar had noticed it had thought that it for a long time for a first had a chance to gain the upper hand of this whole domain. But even for an attribute master to challenge an attribute god in the closer end to its death was instantly attempting to suicide.


    Li Lan suddenly lost balance on his toes and fell forward. As he fell the Emperor Demon Tiger noticed him, but instead of jumping to end him, it stood still and looked at him. It was as if it knew he had no intent to cause harm. Suddenly a voice emerged and the silence was disrupted.


    ¡°What is your business here, human boy!¡± the emperor demon tiger spoke with contempt. Li Lan was scared to the point of almost losing consciousness, that in addition to the overwhelming pressure of the emperor he could almost not speak, doing his best he uttered.


    ¡°Please ¡­ too strong .. pressure ..¡± his eyes closed and his power left his body as he fainted. However, the emperor had understood and sighed as it walked over and picked him up. The emperor picked him like a dog picking up its child. A day passed.

 Chapter 6 - Contract

    Inside the cave a puppy tiger ran around playing with a few stones. Sometimes its energy would fluctuate and become as strong as an attribute junior expert and this would cause the fainted Li Lan to spasm. Suddenly one of the fluctuations caused him to awaken.


    As he woke up and sat up, he realized he was inside a magnificent huge cave. This was definitely the cave of the emperor demon tiger. His gaze froze, and his body stopped all movement, when he saw the tiger puppy running around, when it noticed him it stopped. It ran to his side and jumped on him, it was in size not different from any other dog. It was pure white, not even the snow could beat this color of pure white. Its eyes were crystal green as jade that had been harnessed by thousands of generations. As a thousand tons of jade where the color deep inside the center of this huge jade, this was the color that this tiger¡¯s eyes surpassed.


    Looking at this demon tiger, he was not scared, actually he had clearly forsaken his mind, he was not able to understand this feeling of being dazzled to the extreme. Even if he had never been in love with anything, this feeling was far from love, but so close to it. It was as if this creature that rushed to him with small steps was so familiar to him that he could not think of anything else.


    His body even began to tremble, and water began to blurry his eyes, as tears rolled down. He lifted his hand and clenched it has he did not understand why he was crying. In the time it takes one to breathe once, the tiger puppy jumped up on him and began licking his face.


    Without resisting all he did was laugh and began caressing the puppy. A half hour passed as they played around. Li Lan was only just a boy, in spite of his absolute decisiveness. In fact, the only way he would be able to fool others was by his appearance. Both by being young, and by being younger than expected.


    Li Lan seemed to be 13 years old. But this was only by looks. His real age is for now a mystery. It can be said that Li Lan¡¯s current spiritual level is already beyond peers of his age, by far. But until his Master returns he can¡¯t seem to understand in what way.


    As another half hour passed, the emperor demon tiger returned, when Li Lan saw this he froze with fear and did not dare to play around with the emperor¡¯s legacy. He immediately sat down the puppy and kowtowed to the emperor. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for having disturbed you, I will remember this favor and will without doubt return it when I become stronger!¡± he bowed respectfully and cupped his fists.


    A few breaths passed and suddenly a sly laugh could be heard from the emperor. ¡°Boy, why do you not return the favor this day!¡± It said in a calm yet profound manner. It startled Li Lan, what did he possibly have that he could bring this kind of beast. He looked dumbfounded at the emperor and sought words, but his mind was empty for ideas.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry boy, I have a task that only you can complete. It will even compliment your skills and bring you further to the heavens.¡± The emperor spoke. This was the first time he noticed, that the emperor was not raising his son as a father, but in fact was the puppy¡¯s mother. ¡°Say thy¡¯ terms and I will heed them.¡± Li Lan spoke courteously and with great manner.


    ¡°Haha great, then I shall tell you my conditions. Firstly, you shall make a contract with my son. I will die in a matter of years, when the contract is made, the second condition is that you take my demon crystal and when you reach heavenly master use it to become a heavenly god. I will of course kill myself right after the contract is made. You are bestowed with a great wind attribute, clearly that of a sect far from this realm. We are beasts of the wind attribute, and yet I who have lived for thousands of year cannot identify it.¡± It paused for a brief moment to let Li Lan think about this.


    Even he himself did know nothing of this wind attribute at all, he clearly had to ask his master returning. But these conditions all worked in his favor. To have such a strong demon beast as his contractor would relieve him a lot. Even that, this demon beast emperor was clearly at the peak of heavenly master, and close to heavenly god.


    If his contractor of this pure energy could become a heavenly god, it would adapt flying abilities and would be able to soar the sky with him. He felt compliant and could not think of how familiarly this young demon tiger had felt to him, he nodded and said ¡°I agree, are these all the terms?¡± he asked out of curiosity. There had not been anything that would not help him, therefore it was a bit weird.


    But he knows that the legacy of this emperor solemnly lies in this young demon tiger, so of course to ensure its safety the best thing would be to have it contracted to someone with a similar attribute that could eventually become a strong body of this realm.


    Li Lan never thought of himself as weak, and his goals were definitely higher than to just become a pillar of this realm, he wanted to break through and find out what realms that lies beyond the heavens. The emperor asked for one more thing. ¡°I also want you to promise to protect my child, in case you are to die, if at all possible, save his life. If you can promise this, I will grant you the profound wind ability that only contractors with hundreds of years of experience together can learn. Whether or not you will be able to grasp it, is based on the origin of your wind attribute.¡±


    He thought for a while, then agreed. ¡°I already feel a complete familiarity with your son, I will do my best to protect and befriend him, and I will always think of his needs before mine. About the wind attribute you keep mentioning, I have no idea whatsoever about this. I myself have no knowledge of my attribute, and less than that of its origin.¡± He spoke in calm manner.


    The demon tiger puppy stood besides its mom. Then suddenly it spoke. ¡°I will forever remember mom, I will also do my best to protect this boy who have granted compliance to your terms!¡± the puppy spoke with dignity and grace. It clearly understood the situation, and had already embraced and accepted his mother¡¯s death.


    Because of the puppy speaking Li Lan had gone completely silent, only demon beasts of certain cultivation or age could speak. This puppy was certainly not older than five or ten years old. ¡°How old are you?¡± he inquired with respect while looking at the puppy, and then shifting to the emperor.


    ¡°My son is six years old, but have already broken through to the heavenly energy stage of cultivation. When he reaches ten years old, he should be around my size and won¡¯t grow anymore. But when he reached heavenly god realm, he will grow wings like those of angels in dreams.¡± The emperor answered, he would have thought that the demon tiger puppy was only around his stage of cultivation, but to already be this high was amazing.


    Not to speak of the major sects. The amount of contracted beasts of the heavenly master realm was few and could be counted on one hand, and even for the devastation and energy stages were only able to be counted on two hands. This would mean his power would already be among the top. A sudden idea jumped into his head, and he trembled for a moment before catching his breath and calming down.


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Inquiringly he asked ¡°Is there a way to hide his prowess, I do not want to get in trouble before I can even protect him.¡± He was afraid that the major sects would kill him if they knew a peasant like him had come by this sort of beast. The emperor however, did not think of this and simply laughed.


    ¡°You have not realized it yet, but you can clearly feel that it is already hidden. Did you not wake up by his fluctuation in power? He only released power to make your body move and mobilize so that you would wake up faster.¡± Laughingly the emperor spoke.


    They sat and spoke for a few hours before night finally fell. To make the contract both the demon beast and the human had to give consent with blood. Their spiritual energy would then be fused and if one was higher, it would help alleviate the others ability by a lot. This though did only help for a certain amount of power, but it would still help it improve quite faster afterwards. Reaching heavenly energy stage was only a matter of five or ten years at this point.


    The contract was made, and instantly their minds merged. They were practically one entity now. What surprised Li Lan, because of his minor knowledge in contracting, the demon tiger puppy disappeared. Suddenly it emerged in his mind. ¡°What is my name master!¡± it called out to him. To have the ability to merge with his mind was really disturbing.


    ¡°I will call you Li Tao. Tao means large waves, and inside my profound ability, you certainly is a large wave!¡± he laughed and smiled. Of course the chattering was inside his mind, and could only be heard by them. But the emperor also laughed.


    The emperor sighed, and spoke to her son for a while, before falling down dead. This surprised Li Lan as he was not prepared for this. He did not have the ability to listen to their telepathy despite Li Tao being in his mind. But for the emperor not to speak to him before dying was a bit weird.


    ¡°What about the profound wind ability?¡± he asked Tao with a weird feeling. Tao laughed a bit, then answered. ¡°First pick up mom¡¯s demon crystal, in her abdomen there should be a divine profound scroll. She had already created it years ago so if I was able to find anyone able to contract me after she was death, I would be able to bring it up as a means of exchange.¡± Li Lan furrowed his brows.


    There is no reason for anyone to decline the contracting of such a powerful beast, nonetheless their bloodline is indeed surpassing of almost any other demon beasts. Clearly one of the top ten bloodlines. He did not inquire further, but stepped forward. He took out his blade and did his best to cut open the head of the dead emperor. This took a while, his blade was not sharp, and the toughness of such a profound beast was beyond recognizable for Li Lan.


    A few hours passed and he had finally obtained the demon crystal and the scroll. He decided to skin the dead emperor to use for clothing, the teeth could definitely be sold for a high price, and the claws and paws too. A day¡¯s worth of time went by and Li Tao never once spoke when seeing his mother being skinned and ripped for all the parts.


    When done and packed, he had many bags of cloth filled with parts and meat of the dead emperor demon tiger. He sighed and walked out of the cave. The sun was setting, then he looked at the demon beast lying on the ground. He already had too much on him, but he could not ignore another demon crystal and much worth. He who had always been poor could only sigh and started skinning the boar. This boar was way too easy to skin and cut in comparison to the emperor.


    It only took three hours to skin and find the demon crystal, finally he could go back and find his master. When he thought of this, he froze once, then decided to hurry back. He had not eaten much, and he had been gone for ten days, his master should have been back long ago, and might worry. He did not interact much with Tao, but understood the sorrow one goes through, especially after seeing his mother being skinned and cut apart.


    A few hours are what it took to travel back to the waterfall. On the rock in the night sat a man, this was his master Zhou. ¡°Where have you been?¡± he asked and turned around looking with one raised brow, his face changed from a bit disturbed to amazed. Completely in trance he just stared at his disciple.


    Before Li Lan could answer his master began laughing. ¡°What is this, what have you been up to my disciple! To actually reach attribute junior expert stage. How naught, how did you accomplish this? You were only at the stage of envision just a few weeks ago. Clearly you could not just breakthrough six realms at once!¡± He looked trembling with excitement.


    Li Lan sat down, then ordered Tao to come out, this shocked Zhou even more. ¡°To even be able to bring out such a highly cultivated demon beast, and you have a contract of blood already.¡± This caused him to tremble in excitement. Not only being able to rank top ten in the tournament, he would even be able to rank number one now.


    Li Lan told him what had happened and how his power had surged, also of the incident with the emperor demon beast, and how he had a wind attribute. All of this, one at a time made him stunned. His face was pale and there was no sign of liveliness. The blood clearly rushed through his veins, but it was if he was frozen himself. Especially when hearing of the level of Li Tao.


    An hour passed by chatting. And eventually everything had been told. This aptitude of luck and cultivation that his disciple had was just too stunning. In five or ten years he would definitely be able to compete with the sect masters.


    Tomorrow would a year of training his new abilities begin, and of course learn the way of the wind. Zhou would depart with haste to find books and manuals of wind controlling to help him learn. And so, a year went on with divulging in training and mastering of one heavenly, and one profound ability. Within this year also a strong bonding between Lan, Tao and Zhou occurred.


    Artwork of Li Lan & Li Tao