《A Way of Life》 Chapter 1 - A Small Insight Beep...Beep...Beep¡­ On earth, within a room where the walls were coloured white and without stain like the clouds in the sky, an old man with white hair lay down on a bed. Beside him was a similarly aged woman who, contrary to the open eyes and rising and lowering chest of the man, had her eyes closed and a chest that neither rose or fell. ¡°I''ll see you on the other side soon, my wife¡­¡± The old man gripped the woman''s slightly cold hands before turning his head to give her one last look. Although to others the woman would seem plain and ragged, to the old man, she was the most beautiful woman in the world. The smile she showed when she was happy or the pouting face she revealed when she was angry, everything about her the old man saw as an irreplaceable gem. ¡°I wonder what death will be like¡­? Do I go towards a light or maybe I''ll simply disappear?¡± As the old man talked to himself he slowly closed his eyes and from the corner of his eyes a small ball of water slid down his cheek. There was a tinge of regret that welled up from within his heart. It was the feeling of a life long goal, which one spent all their breathing years on, never being accomplished. And to the old man, this meant the failure to understand the Universe. ¡°All my life was spent trying to understand the Universe, yet why does it feel like I haven''t even scratched the surface of understanding it? What is the Universe? Why do we exist? Was there anything that existed before the Universe? Because if there is something then there will also be nothing, just like where there is light there is also darkness¡­¡± To others this old man would seem to have gone insane. How could a mere mortal understand something so divine? Yet this old man still pursued this goal. ¡°Where there is something, there is nothing, but how could something come from nothing¡­?¡± Suddenly, a flash of nearly transparent light appeared in the air above the old man¡¯s body which then spread open like a net, enveloping the old man. Strand after strand, the mysterious light entered the old man¡¯s body. To this event, the old man was completely oblivious. Instead, what he felt was some sort of revelation of the Universe. Unknownst to him was that each strand of light that entered his body contained the principles and energy of the Universe. As the strands of light entered the old man¡¯s body, his mind became calm like the seas under the quiet sky. All that remained in his mind were the principles of the Universe. ¡°Where there is something, there is nothing. This is how the Universe came into existence. The Universe is simply an existence of nothingness¡­¡± The old man pressed his eyebrows together followed by a faint smile. ¡°Haha¡­ To think that I¡¯d finally scratch the surface of understanding the Universe on my deathbed. A pity it is only this much, but¡­ at last I¡¯ve accomplished my life¡¯s goal,¡± the old man said with a voice filled with emotion. Slowly, the old man relaxed himself and let his body go into a deep slumber as he patiently waited for nature to take its course. His consciousness faded away by the ticking of the clock. At this point the light that initially enveloped him slowly descended onto him before finally condensing and entering the middle area of his chest. Whoosh! A rush of mysterious energy suddenly entered the old man. ¡°What? Is this what death is supposed to feel like?¡± The mysterious energy caused the old man to immediately open his eyes and stare at his body. But what he saw astonished him. Within his sight he saw two identical bodies. One was definite, yet the other body was almost totally transparent. Quickly checking himself, he raised his hand only to be surprised yet again. The hand that moved was not of the body which was solid and defined, but of the transparent body. ¡°This¡­ What is this?¡± Before the old man fully understood what was going on, the transparent body began moving upwards from the other body until the transparent body was at a distance of about a metre from the other body. In front of the old man he could clearly see the body of an identical old man laid on the bed and to his side was the woman the old man¡¯s heart could never forget, as if he was a completely different person looking at his own body. But as the old man looked at the woman, the transparent body started to rise once more. At first the rise was unnoticeable, but after a few seconds the surroundings turned into a blur as his body passed through the walls and into the sky, just like a ghost. To this, the old man stayed abnormally calm as if he had witnessed this countless of times, but in actuality, he was already too shocked to register any emotion on his face. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. The body rose faster until it reached the very ends of the sky. This time the surroundings was no longer a blur but a scene of numerous coloured lights that weaved around the old man. As the old man travelled through this, a searing pain started emanating throughout his transparent body, originating from the middle of his chest. ¡°Gyaa!¡± A horrifying scream escaped the mouth of the old man followed by involuntary writhing. Immense pressure came down onto the old man¡¯s body with a weight comparable to that of a large mountain. Along with the pain bursts of violent heat and a coldness that seemed to be able to freeze the seas spread throughout his body, creating a feeling of needles stabbing every single cell. Crack¡­ crack¡­ crack¡­ The old man felt his body tearing apart. Lines of uneven bright white lines ran up and down his body like lightning. Where every white line was located, the old man¡¯s body started separating until finally his body was split apart into several tens of pieces. Crack! Each piece emitted a faint light, making it almost invisible, and slowly reformed into small spheres from its original irregular shape. As every piece turned spherical, the spheres started gathering together until a perfect circle was formed. After, the spheres paused for a short while it then started vibrating violently, crashing into one another. Looking at it, every time several spheres crashed into each other, only a single bigger sphere would remain¡­ bang¡­ bang¡­ bang¡­ The spheres were actually fusing together! At this point the old man no longer let out a sound. If someone were to have seen what happened to the old man¡¯s body, they would undoubtedly think that he had died an extremely painful death that would be utterly incomparable to being trampled by a thousand or even a million horses! Yet the old man had still not died. However, although he had not died, he already had half his body within his grave. The reason for remaining ever so silent was due to the fact that the pain he was feeling had already reached the point where he didn¡¯t even have the power to let out a squeak nevermind a scream. When the spheres stopped vibrating, what was originally a transparent body was now a single and almost invisible white sphere the size of a watermelon which eventually started condensing to the size of a fist. The surroundings continued to be brightened with numerous colours, but in the distance, a faint image could be seen wavering. As the sphere moved closer, the image split into countless projections containing moving images of unknown people and places which started gathering around the sphere. These projections flickered slightly and would then be swallowed by the sphere. But no matter how many projections there were, the sphere swallowed each and every one of them unceasingly. As time went on, the amount of projections that the sphere swallowed entered the hundreds, closely approaching the thousands and when the sphere had swallowed its thousandth projection, another sphere was revealed in the distance. This sphere had a radiant golden white colour to it compared to the sort of invisible white colour the opposing sphere had. The two spheres got closer and at the same time sped up, reaching speeds that could cover tens of kilometres within a second. Boom! When the spheres made contact, a reverberating sound travelled far and wide, and the old man who was already on the verge of dying, blacked out. The colour rich surroundings was no longer. All that remained was a vast void that was filled with darkness¡­ -END- Website Chapter 2 - Reborn ¡°He-hey¡­ you''re seriously not going to do this are you?¡± ¡°Y-yeah Kyril, we were just joking. That''s right joking!¡± Puchi¡­ Somewhere unknown, a young boy by the age of twelve, was surrounded by two panicking boys and several other onlookers. This young boy went by the name of Kyril. He had disheveled long hair and scruffy attire that appeared to have not been washed for days. His face was exceedingly pale and filled with soot and on it, a pained expression that grew uglier by the second was present. ¡°I''m tired of it all¡­¡± The surrounding onlookers creased their brows and stared at Kyril. They were filled with mixed emotions at the words said by Kyril. Some were pitying him and others felt glad while others showed no expression at all. Looking at the onlookers, it was easy to tell that what they were looking at was not the face of Kyril, but his hands. Both his hands held a rusted knife that was so blunt that seemed to not even be able to cut butter. Yet with this rusted knife, Kyril had embedded it several centimetres deep into his lower abdomen. drip¡­ drip¡­ drip... A deep red liquid escaped through the wound and ran along the blade of the rusted knife before falling to the ground. ¡°If this continues won¡¯t he really die?¡± said a woman, who was watching nearby, anxiously. Not too far from the woman, a bulky man sharply retorted, ¡°Hmph! So what? Previously we had to offer him our best quality products in order to try and nurture him and this is how he repays us? This is just what he deserves!¡± Upon hearing the conversation of the two, the majority of onlookers made a slight nod. On the other hand, the two boys, who were slightly older than Kyril, that Kyril was facing fell to their knees and stared at Kyril with trembling bodies. Nervousness plagued their minds. ¡°I-I¡¯m not taking any responsibility for this!¡± One of the boys who seemed to be totally shaken said out loud before he forcefully stood up and ran through the other people in an attempt to disassociate himself from the current event. As for the other boy, as soon as he saw his friend run away, he too regained a bit of himself and quickly crawled past the people. His legs were shaking so hard that he had to use his knees and arms to get out. After all, how can two boys who have barely made it past their youth withstand the guilt of pressuring someone into suicide? ¡°Those two have really gone too far¡­¡± When the two boys left, several other onlookers still stayed. Murmurings could be heard between them. ¡°Look! He''s swaying!¡± A person from the crowd pointed at Kyril¡¯s figure. At this moment, it seemed that even a gust of wind could blow Kyril off his feet. Kyril had already lost a large amount of blood. The ground beneath him, perhaps fish could swim in it if they could survive in blood. His face had lost all colour, turning pure white. If one said that he was a ghost, then many others would believe it. Kyril could no longer make sense of what was happening around him. All he could see was a gradual darkening of his surroundings and then finally¡­ Thud! Kyril''s body dropped to the ground, his face towards the sky and his vision engulfed by darkness. An audible sigh was released and the onlookers shook their heads gently. ¡°Hmph. Serves you right,¡± said the bulky man who turned around to leave. Although his voice wasn''t loud, it was loud enough for everyone present to hear it clearly. The onlookers watched this man leave with a slight sense of disgust. They thought that even if Kyril was a ¡®waste,¡¯ it was not his fault for being born that way. That would be just like an Emperor blaming his daughter for being a girl, and not a boy! But alas, what could they do in front of this bulky man. To the bulky man, they were just like an ant standing before an elephant. Following the bulky man¡¯s lead, the remaining onlookers left as well. The only one who stayed was a middle aged hunched back woman wearing a simple yet clean robe. The wooden cane on her hand stood straight as if it could withstand the weight of a mountain on it. This hunched back woman simply stared at Kyril''s motionless body. Her eyes displayed a shine and glow not befitting of her appearance. tap¡­ Slowly, the hunched back woman lifted up her walking cane and neared Kyril. She drew her hand out from her robe and, under no one''s gaze, she flicked her hand which sliced through the air like a sword in the grasp of a master swordsman. whoosh¡­ Kyril''s body moved. A layer of air continuously formed on his back as his body floated into the run down shack behind him, onto a bed. The woman gave a quick glance at Kyril before turning around to leave. A day went by and the blood on Kyril''s clothes dried up and stuck to the wound, acting as a barrier to stop anymore blood escaping. However, the amount of blood Kyril had lost was really too much. Even after a day, the paleness on his face had not subsided, rather it turned white like the hairs on an old man a step into his grave. His body stayed still without movement as a rock does on the road. When the sky turned dark and the sun at rest, an unusual phenomena took place within the run down shack of Kyril. If there was a person present to see this scene, they would have wet their clothes or even fainted, as if they had seen a ghost! From Kyril''s body, an identical transparent body rose up and hovered a metre above Kyril''s body. The transparent body exuded a radiant light that covered the walls of the room and as soon as the light dimmed, the transparent body trembled and then shot up towards the stars¡­ ¡­ Somewhere in a place of darkness, two spheres could be seen merging with each other. The golden light and the invisible white light that were emitted from the spheres intertwined like dragons becoming one. When the final strand of light came together, what was originally two spheres was now one, causing the surrounding darkness to be swept away. Instead, an endless crystal ocean appeared upon which the sphere descended from above to float on. On the surface of the sphere, minor distortions formed that slowly grew over time. With each distortion, the old man who had only his head above the grave, started to be filled with life and youthful vigour, replacing the pain from earlier which had completely subsided as if it was only a dream. After the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the distortions stopped, revealing a human figure. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Layers of light started circling the old man''s body. With each revolution the human figure was gradually being refined and became less transparent. Each revolution lasted a few breaths and after several dozens of breaths, the human figure was now no different to an actual person about the age of twelve. The body of the old man was filled to the brim with energy as a layer of light flowed around him. ¡°What really is happening here?¡± The old man stared at the ocean that was beneath and around him. His lower mouth acted like it had no bones to keep it up. However, before the old man could begin to move around, a strong suction force pulled on the old man from a distance. Without any chance for resistance, the old man was swept off his feet with a force that caused his entire body to become stiff. Not even his eyelids could open or his fingers move. This took only a few breaths, but it was enough to completely baffle the mind of the old man. The old man felt himself in a completely different place. The air smelt foul and there was an eery silence that pervaded the area around him. When the suction force disappeared, the old man felt a change in his body. He felt smaller yet full of energy and thinner but stronger. However, the most astonishing things was that within the old man''s mind, he discovered there to be memories he could not recognise. The old man ignored the changes in his body and delved into the memories. The memories seemed to have been a part of the old man ever since birth and appeared very clear in his mind. After an hour, the old man had finished looking over the unknown memorises within his mind. ¡°What is this? I''m called Kyril? I''ve never even heard of such a name. It even shows that I committed suicide! I clearly remember dying alongside my wife!¡± Although the old man had understood what the memories showed him, these new found memories contradicted greatly with the memories he already had. ¡°These memories are so mysterious. They appear to have been a part of me ever since I was born, but at the same time it appears like memories of someone else! ...Forget it. Forcefully thinking of an answer won''t get me anywhere.¡± With that said, the old man stopped thinking of the memories and proceeded to feel the changes in his body. ¡°Strange. This is really too strange. I don''t know what death feels like, but it certainly can''t be something like this!¡± The feeling he had of his body seemed totally foreign, as if he was a completely different person. The old man''s eyes opened and a place completely unknown to him entered his vision. ¡°Wha-¡± The old man froze for a while and with an empty gaze, stared at the walls and ceiling of the run down shack. Shock and confusion covered his face. Afterwards, he lifted his body up into a seating position. But once his body got up, an intense pain rippled through his body from his lower abdomen followed by a wave of dizziness. Everything around the old man seemed to spin around. Gritting his teeth, the old man endured the pain, he lowered his head to look at the knife that was embedded into his stomach. Although the old man¡¯s head was full of questions, he had no time for pondering. If the blade of the knife was not removed, his body might become poisoned due to the rust on the blade. Without hesitation, the rusted knife was pulled out and blood rushed through the wound. A length of cloth, at about the length of two arms, was then cut from the old man''s clothes with the rusted knife. Throwing the knife aside, the old man wrapped around the wound tightly before tying a knot. After a few minutes, the blood finally stopped seeping out. Seeing this, the old man heaved out a heavy sigh. Although the bleeding had stopped, the old man knew he had lost far too much blood. The dizziness in his head was becoming too overbearing. In an attempt to deal with the dizziness in his head, the old man paused for a bit and massaged his temples to reduce the dizziness surging through him. When the dizziness subsided to a manageable level, the old man closed his eyes, recalling the new memories in his head. After some time passed, a crease formed in the old man''s brows. The knife that he removed was exactly the same as the knife that boy used to stab himself with! Thinking of this, the old man took a deep breath to ready himself for what he was about to see. He already had some thoughts of what had happened. Opening his eyes, the old man observed every detail he could see. Even though he prepared himself, there was still some shock and confusion that could be seen all over his face. Around the old man, there were four walls that seemed to be made out of rotting wood. Pieces of wood had already fallen to the ground, leaving holes as big as two fists. Above him, a cloth held by sticks blocked out the sky. This was a place that could not even be compared to a shelter of a dog or a pig. As the old man''s eyes moved around, everything he saw he was able to identify with the memories he had unknowingly acquired. And every time he recognized something, he started tirelessly connecting all the previous events together. It seemed that the thoughts he had before, was becoming a reality. The old man pulled his hand up to his face, making the pupils on the old man''s eyes shrink to the size of the head of a needle and his heartbeat to become erratic. The hand in front of him was not covered in veins or had skin that wrinkled, but a hand that had skin with no marks or creases. ¡°This¡­ How can this be!¡± Hurriedly dragging himself towards the pail of water at the corner of the room to the left side of the entrance, the old man looked hard into the water. The reflection on the water caused the old man to freeze with his mouth wide open. Without knowing any details, to an outsider this old man would seem like a person who hasn''t seen water for days. His mouth was so wide open that he may as well fit the pail along with the water in his mouth! Minutes passed and the old man finally moved. He staggered back to the bed with a heart that was pumping violently that you could faintly hear it through the air. Thud The old man''s backside hit the bed and eyes wide open that held a gaze filled with shock. ¡°I¡­ I''ve actually been reborn!¡± - END - Website Chapter 3 - Crippled A week had past from the time the old man realized he had been reborn. By this point, the old man had already come to accept the fact that he did not die like he expected. ¡°My wife, although I haven¡¯t followed you to other side, that time will definitely come. But right now, I¡¯ve been given another chance to pursue my dreams and this time I will absolutely succeed!¡± The old man was currently lying down with a scruffy grey robe around his body on a bed that could hardly be considered a bed at all. It was a simple plank of wood that had dried leaves and grass spread on top of it to add a bit of cushion. Currently, aside from the metal pail situated beside the entrance to the shack, which was occasionally used in place of a chair, the bed was the most luxurious thing the old man had. The old man had his eyes fixed on the cloth ceiling as he fell into deep thought. During the past week, the old man had been able to connect everything that happened and found out a bit about himself thanks to the memories he obtained. ¡°According to my memories, at the time I died, this body¡¯s original owner also died from blood loss, and when my body became transparent, the same thing also happened to this body. If I¡¯m correct, then when my body turned transparent, then I was probably in some sort of soul form and travelled through a mysterious space before I eventually merged with this body¡¯s original owner¡¯s soul, causing our memories and personalities to fuse.¡± The old man had realized that after he was reborn, due to the merging of his soul with the other person¡¯s, some conflicting personalities had arisen which caused him to feel as if something foreign was controlling his body. So before going out, he spent the time to recuperate from the self inflicted wound on his body and to familiarise himself with his new self. Going out with a wound that would open from the slightest force or with a body that he was unfamiliar with, would only result in unwanted accidents. It was also due to the conflicting personalities that the old man had realized that he was now a totally different person from his previous life. ¡°It seems that from now on, my life will be drastically different than before. This world I¡¯ve been reborn into is called the Hundred Sky World and currently I¡¯m living in a town called ¡®Vale Town¡¯ within the Flowing Cloud Continent. Furthermore, I no longer have the same name. From now, I go by the name ¡®Kyril Reyva¡¯ and I am no longer the person I was before¡­ but this is fine. Since I was reborn into this body, then naturally I am a completely new person. Starting from now on, I live as Kyril Reyva.¡± Kyril made sure to set in stone his identity. Being reborn, he considered his biggest secret. If someone were to find out that he was leading two lives then who knows what sort of trouble would come looking for him. Thus, before he did anything in this world, he had to make sure that he wouldn¡¯t confuse his past self with who he was now. ¡°However, the previous Kyril has suffered quite a bit. He¡¯s been shunned by the other townsfolk and has been living alone all his life. The only person he appears to have relations with is a young girl called Airyn who¡¯s apparently left for an academy a year ago. But what¡¯s even worse, is that the previous Kyril was actually born a cripple at cultivation¡­¡± As Kyril contemplated this, his brows furrowed and slightly shook his head as he sighed. After being reborn, Kyril learnt that power was everything in this world. There is only one law in this world, and that law is absolute. This law is survival of the fittest. Only those with power can survive in this world and the only way to attain power is through cultivation. Kyril had learnt various things about this new world and out of all the things he learnt, what excited him was the concept of cultivation. When Kyril learnt of cultivation, flames could be seen burning from within his eyes. By searching through his memories, Kyril understood the basics of cultivation. Cultivation was a way of life in which everyone in this world followed. Those who cultivated were called Practitioners. Cultivation is essentially the strengthening of one¡¯s body, mind, and soul through the absorption and refining of an energy called Martial Essence. By absorbing and refining Martial Essence, Practitioners are able to crush rocks with their bare hands, while the more powerful Practitioners are able to uproot trees with a single punch from their fist! To Kyril, this would be a power that belonged to only the Gods in his previous life, but in his new life, it was actually as common as clouds! But alas, some things just are not meant to be. With his body crippled, Kyril¡¯s hopes of cultivation was shattered. While some people cultivated for power, Kyril did not have such a thing in mind. Kyril believed that cultivation was an opportunity that was able to allow Kyril to grasp an understanding of the Universe more thoroughly. This belief was due to the fact that this world seemed entirely magical. Through cultivation, Practitioners in the Hundred Sky World were able to achieve things that were deemed impossible on Earth. Although this seemed like naive thinking, to the point where people would scoff at it, to Kyril who has the experience of two lives, this idea was completely plausible. After all, if one cultivated themselves to a level where breaking rocks became possible with a mere hand, then should it not be possible to cultivate to the point where one could create rocks with their hands instead? If one could destroy then one should also be able to create. But the process of creating required an understanding of what it is that is going to be made. After all, one cannot cook food without understanding how to cook food. It was this idea that sparked his desire to cultivate. ¡°This probably means that I, too, am a cripple¡­¡± This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Kyril descended into silence. Previously, when Kyril went through his memories, he became aware of how essential cultivation was. Science and technology was non-existent in the Hundred Sky World since all the benefits science and technology brought to people could be achieved through cultivation. Practitioners could even surpass the limitations that science and technology could not achieve. Thus the importance of cultivation grew more. The Hundred Sky World is a very hostile place, comparing Earth to the Hundred Sky World is like comparing a cat to a dragon. The Hundred Sky World is a place filled with dangers. As far as the previous Kyril¡¯s memories go, the current Kyril was able to find out that aside from humans, there were a lot of other existences. But the most terrifying existence were said to be the Magical Beasts. From what Kyril found out, Magical Beasts were beasts that could cultivate and had bodies that were exceedingly tough. In addition to this, they also had senses that were superior to those of humans, giving Magical Beasts¡¯ an overall advantage. Thus, Kyril knew how disadvantageous his situation was. But what could he do? Since he was reborn like this, all he could do was accept it. Kyril sighed, ¡°...It does no good to want things that I can never have. Although with cultivation I may be able to speed up my understanding of the Universe, some things are just not meant to be¡­ Perhaps this is the price I have to pay for being reborn.¡± Perhaps it was because of his past life, but Kyril was not a person who would drown himself in regret or depression if he could not get what he wanted. After accepting that cultivation was something he was not able to do, he chose to forget about it and move on. ¡­ Like this, a week passed by once more and the situation about Kyril¡¯s body had long gone. Instead it was replaced by a determination and curiosity, like a young child exploring their new home, to live his new life and to achieve his ultimate goal of understanding the Universe. Right now it was early morning and Kyril was left with food that was not enough to feed even a mouse. The pail of water the previous Kyril collected had also already been emptied in Kyril''s body. In reality, the food that Kyril ate couldn''t be considered food at all. The food that had been left behind consisted of long thin pieces of grass called ¡®yellow grass¡¯ which were dried and then crushed and mixed with water to form a thick soup. There were also several potato shaped foods called ¡®earth nut¡¯ that did not taste like potato at all. It was dried to preserve it for longer, but it was this that caused the earth nuts to become dry and hard. Eating it was like feeding on stones. ¡°...I can''t believe the previous Kyril actually ate something like this. It¡¯s no different to eating stones! After I recover, I''m definitely going to get better food.¡± While Kyril was never too picky about food, but he was still accustomed to the food he ate back on earth. The sudden switch to food that appeared to have been picked off the streets made Kyril reluctant to eat it. However what could he do when there was nothing else to eat? Kyril knew that the Kyril before him scraped by by doing small jobs such as picking herbs from the nearby mountains or cleaning the houses of the nobler families around town. Luckily, the amount of food that was stockpiled was enough to last until Kyril had recovered to the point at which he can move. ¡°Well, I guess it¡¯s about time I explore this place.¡± Kyril got up from his bed and made his way to the upside-down pail by the side of the door. From it, Kyril picked up a grey length of cloth about the size of two arms and began wrapping it tightly around the wound on his lower abdomen. With that set and the pail handle in his hand, he opened the door of his shack for the very first time ever since being reborn. shua¡­ When the door opened, cool air that carried a fresh scent drifted into Kyril¡¯s nose and entered his body. As it entered his body, it seemed like the air was cleansing every part of his body. ¡°Such fresh air! Air of this quality could never be found on Earth!¡± Taking a few steps forward, a scenery that could never be found on Earth presented itself in front of Kyril. To the sides of his shack, trees and grasses with flowers bloomed and on the front, a slightly obscure path wide enough to fit the height of an adult man was carved out of the ground which led to a wider street that connected other houses. There were several trees that exceeded the fifty metre mark which stood over him. Its leaves swayed gently by the wind. The grass and flowers that covered the ground danced along with the leaves of the trees, emitting a calming fragrance as its scent was carried by the wind. Before going anywhere, he first inspected the area around his shack. Like the sides, the back was also adorned with plants. As he inspected further, Kyril found out that his shack was located relatively near to the edge of a cliff, about ten metres. And below the cliff, there was a drop of about ten metres to a ground that was similarly covered in grass and flowers. But to this, Kyril paid no attention to. In fact Kyril liked it. With this, Kyril would be able to gaze out into the Universe at night without having any trees blocking his field of view. - END - Website Chapter 4 - Picking Herbs After checking the back of the shack, Kyril proceeded along the path in front of his shack. This path was abnormally long, at twenty metres, compared to the paths which were around three to five metres that connected the other houses to the main street. Apart from this, Kyril also realized that his shack was the only shack he could see. The houses in the distance, although they were far inferior to the quality of houses on earth, they were still a hundred times better than Kyril¡¯s shack! If Kyril¡¯s shack could be considered a house, then the houses in front of him were mansions! To this, Kyril only smiled lightly. He knew the reason why it was like this, but could not be bothered to waste any energy complaining about it. As Kyril neared the main street, he started to see other people walking along the middle of the street and men and women chatting normally by the side. Occasionally horse driven carriages carrying baskets and barrels of goods would drive by, causing all the people to spread to the sides and stare at it with curious eyes. It was an atmosphere that seemed to be from a fairy tale. However, when their eyes landed on Kyril¡¯s body, the atmosphere from before instantly turned tense. The people stopped talking and some of the people¡¯s eyes showed signs of disgust and loathing, and when Kyril turned to look at these people in the eye, the signs of disgust and loathing intensified. ¡°Look! That boy Kyril actually didn¡¯t die!¡± someone among the people cried out, drawing even more attention towards Kyril. There were also some people who expressed astonishment at the fact that Kyril was still alive. These people had seen the state Kyril was in and so everyone assumed that the stab would undoubtedly have killed him, especially since he could not cultivate. Never did they expect him to stand upright again. ¡°What! How could he still walk with such a wound! He''s also a cripple, there''s no way his injuries could have healed so fast!¡± someone shouted. When Kyril heard this, he too felt a little surprised at how fast he recovered. Never mind the deep stab wound, the rust on the knife should have been enough to kill him or at least keep him bedridden until his death. The only answer he could think of was that it was due to him being reborn. Not thinking about it any longer, Kyril ignored the shouts of the people around him and continued to walk along the street. Unlike, the orderliness often found in towns on Earth, Vale Town was quite disordered. The streets were not uniform, resulting in a parts of the streets wider or bumpier than the rest of the street. As Kyril''s sight drifted into the distance, he noticed a distinct change in the houses. The houses around him were quite plain and boring, but the houses in the distance had beautiful designs. There were steel gates that surrounded some of the distant houses and reflected the sunlight like mirror, while the gardens the gates guarded let out a sense of tranquility. Seeing this, Kyril knew the reason for this change. ¡°That must be where the wealthier people live and the place I''m in right now should be where the common townsfolk would reside.¡± As Kyril looked at the distant houses, a mocking voice entered his ears. ¡°Ha! Do you think you''re qualified to enter that place, you, a cripple? Dream on!¡± Turning his head, Kyril looked at the source of the sound. When his eyes landed on the person, Kyril only shook his head. These people were the two boys who previously drove the Kyril before himself into attempting suicide. ¡°These boys¡­ After nearly sending someone to their death, they still dare to speak like this? They were clearly shaking on the ground when the previous Kyril stabbed himself and now here they are trying to act tough.¡± Kyril had recalled that the two boys were close to wetting themselves after realising what they had done before. But now they were acting like this, as if they had completely forgotten about it. This was a sign of being extremely thick headed! Not bothering to waste his time, Kyril simply ignored them and continued walking onwards. When the two boys saw this, their face turned red and gnashed their teeth. Thinking back to how they were near wetting themselves on the ground, humiliation welled up in them. ¡°You! You''ll regret this you trash!¡± the two boys shouted at Kyril while looking at the metal pail in his hand. A strange glint flashed within their eyes before they began running away. Kyril just walked on unaffected, reverting back to the curious gaze, he started looking around once again. Even though he knew what everything looked like from his memories, seeing it in person was a completely new experience. ¡­ Once the sun had reached its peak in the sky, Kyril finally stopped walking around aimlessly. He didn¡¯t try entering the wealthier area since he knew that the people there did not welcome him. Turning his head to look at one end of the street, he walked towards it with the metal pail swinging in his hand. ¡°Now that I''ve explored the place, it¡¯s time to earn some money.¡± The place Kyril was heading to was the Grassy Mountains. The Grassy Mountains grew various types of herbs and plants, getting its name from the abundance of plants that covered it. Different animals also roamed the perimeter of the Grassy Mountains and as one went deeper, Magical Beasts would also start appearing. Of course, the previous Kyril never dared to venture too deep into the Grassy Mountains. With his strength, it would simply be courting death. Fifteen minutes later, Kyril had entered one hundred metres into the Grassy Mountains. The Grassy Mountains were filled with different coloured flowers with each of them having its own unique fragrance. But so far, Kyril had not found a single herb. ¡°Let''s see¡­ The previous Kyril would usually manage to gather three or four herbs every week, enough to feed him for a day. But that¡¯s just for food. I also need a new set of clothes and possibly a new knife. This knife looks like it¡¯ll break when even cutting butter. So if I can at least pick up ten herbs per day, then I should have some left over money for other necessities as well as emergencies.¡± In order to identify herbs from normal plants, one must look for the tiny crystals of Martial Essence embedded on their leaves and stem. This is the most common way to identify Herbs, but this required the person to check each herb individually. It was also the way Kyril previously gathered Herbs. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°This method is too inefficient. No wonder Kyril would only manage to obtain very little Herbs within a week. With such a huge area this mountain covers, there''s bound to be enough Herbs to gather more than even five a week. Perhaps I just don¡¯t know where to look.¡± Kyril believed that there was a more efficient way of gathering herbs that he didn''t know about. ¡°I should go to the library to research later. I might be able to find out other efficient ways of gathering herbs. Also, I might learn something beneficial there too.¡± The further Kyril walked deeper into the Grassy Mountains, he started noticing a growing number of footsteps imprinted on the grass. ¡°Strange. There shouldn¡¯t be this many people gathering herbs,¡± Kyril said to himself. ¡°Aside from myself, only around three other people would collect herbs, but by the looks of it there are at least ten people present.¡± Kyril began following the footsteps. ¡­ Not too far away from Kyril, a group of twelve boys were moving hurriedly amongst each other. Each boy carried a pouch bag by their hand and were vigorously pulling plants from the ground and stuffing it into their pouches. ¡°Alek, don¡¯t you think this is enough? We¡¯ve been running around here for several hours already. We¡¯ve never even picked herbs before!¡± complained one of the boys. ¡°Yeah, our feet and knees already hurt from walking¡­¡± ¡°Shut up! This is what the boss says! Or do you plan on going against the boss!¡± While Kyril followed the footsteps through the different plants and trees that grew on the Grassy Mountains, a series of shouting could be heard near him. ¡°Huh? This voice sounds familiar¡­¡± Narrowing his eyes, Kril looked around him. Roughly a hundred metres away from him, he spotted the twelve boys that were pulling plants from the grounds and placing it into their pouches. ¡°So they''re the ones who are taking all the herbs¡­¡± Kyril said softly. As Kyril moved closer, he immediately recognised one of the boys. ¡°It''s that boy again. It seems like he hasn''t given up on me.¡± Kyril stopped moving and silently listened in on them. ¡°But Alek, from what we¡¯ve found, that cripple is only able to find at most four herbs a day. We''ve already scavenged the whole place, if he''s lucky he''d only be able to find one herb!¡± ¡°Did you not hear me! This is what the boss wants us to do! If you don''t want to do it, go tell the boss that! Before Kyril manages to find herbs, we must pick them all up so there is nothing left!¡± Hearing this conversation, Kyril managed to understand who the boy was and and the reason for the lack of herbs. ¡°So that boy who nearly wet his pants is called Alek and the leader of this group. As for the others around him, they appear to be like dogs under him.¡± Kyril shook his head and turned back around. ¡°Those boys should have been sent by this ¡®boss¡¯ character. For him to be able to control a group of twelve boys, he should be quite powerful.¡± Thinking this, a hint of sadness appeared in Kyril''s eyes before immediately disappearing. ¡°I guess if I want to pick up herbs by tonight, I''ll have to go deeper into the Grassy Mountains.¡± After another fifteen minutes of walking, Kyril arrived two hundred metres deep into the Grassy Mountains. If this was the previous Kyril, then he would already be trembling in fear, but due to the merging of personalities, this fear was replaced with curiosity. Kyril slowed down his walking pace and once again looked at everything around him very carefully, like an animal seeking its prey. Suddenly, in the corner of his eye a slight sparkling could be seen. Turning to look at it, a light smile formed on Kyril''s face. ¡°Finally found one!¡± Kyril immediately rushed to the herb and then stopped to observe it in great detail. Wonder and shock had filled him. Even though he knew what it look like from memory, looking at it in person he still couldn''t help but be taken aback. The herb was covered in small crystals that were similar in size to grains of sand. These crystals were spread out on the leaves and the stem, and emitted a yellow glow. ¡°This world is really too exotic! It''s just like something from one''s dreams!¡± Kyril said in awe of the world. After calming himself, Kyril carefully picked up the herb, ensuring that the roots were still intact. ¡°Hopefully by leaving roots, the herbs can grow again.¡± Once that was said, Kyril got up and began looking for more herbs¡­ By the time the sun had almost disappeared and the sky tinted red and orange, Kyril was able to collect five herbs in his metal pail. Although he had not obtained ten herbs like he wanted to, he was still satisfied. After all, this was his first time doing something like this. - END - Website Chapter 5 - Importance of Power ¡°Now all that¡¯s left is to exchange these herbs for money.¡± Running back to the entrance of Grassy Mountains, Kyril made sure to stay vigilant of the group of boys. Only when Kyril arrived at the entrance and entered back into the town did Kyril relax. ¡°Perhaps they left earlier. If I encountered them I might have lost all the herbs I picked up,¡± said Kyril. He remembered how in the past there were some incidences where Alek and his group would bully Kyril and take his herbs. Though as Kyril said this to himself, he didn''t notice that several of the twelve boys were standing looking at him from afar. ¡°He''s back! Quick! Go tell Alek! He¡¯s heading for the store!¡± one of the boys shouted amongst themselves. Kyril did not notice the actions of the boys and just continued hurrying towards the shop he would usually exchange the herbs with. The store Kyril was headed for was a nameless store that would never have stalls outside. Kyril found it weird for such a store to exist. If this was earth, then there would have been no doubt that the store would have already been closed due to a lack of awareness from the people, but surprisingly in Town Vale, the store was still quite popular. And the reason why came from the owner of the place. Upon arriving at the front door of the shop, just as Kyril was about to knock, an oddly sweet mature voice called out to him. ¡°Come in.¡± ¡°Cultivation sure is amazing¡­¡± Kyril thought to himself as he opened the door. Kyril remembered how Practitioners were able to sense someone¡¯s presence from far away. But given Kyril¡¯s constitution, Kyril could only admire it. In front of Kyril an old hunched back woman was sitting behind a plain wooden counter. ¡°You''re quite late today,¡± the old hunched back woman said with a voice barely audible to the ears, yet this voice contained a very sweet tone to it. The voice of the old hunched back lady stunned Kyril. ¡°For an old lady to have such a sweet voice, it''s really unexpected. Only by experiencing it can one believe a woman like her would have such a voice.¡± Quickly regaining himself Kyril replied back respectfully, ¡°I encountered some problems along the way which caused me to arrive late.¡± This old hunched back woman seemed ordinary on the outside, but after being a regular customer for some time, Kyril knew that she was anything but ordinary. She was able to sense things that others could not and despite being old and having a hunchback, her movement was swift and nimble, like a monkey. To the previous Kyril, apart from Airyn, this old hunched back woman was a person he respected because unlike the other townsfolk, this woman treated him like a normal person. She showed no signs of pity or hate towards him. ¡°Mmm¡­ Was it Alek?¡± the old hunched back woman questioned. ¡°You knew?¡± ¡°He exchanged thirty two herbs for about twenty copper coins earlier. Since he¡¯s never picked herbs before and there¡¯s also some conflicts between you two, I was naturally able to guess.¡± ¡°Twenty copper coins¡­ that¡¯s enough for roughly five days worth of food¡­¡± thought Kyril. But he quickly dispelled this thought, he was not the type of person to fawn over someone else¡¯s belongings. In the Hundred Sky World, copper coins were the lowest value of coins available. One thousand copper coins is the equivalent of one silver coin. To Kyril, if he was able to obtain a silver coin, then it would be enough for him to survive for several months without working. If one had one thousand silver coins, then it could be exchanged for a gold coin. Gold coins were a symbol of wealth in Vale Town, but this was only what he heard from others since he had never seen one himself. If Kyril had a even a single gold coin, then he would be able to spend the rest of his life without working. Of course, after being reborn, Kyril did not have that sort of lifestyle in mind. All he wanted was to accomplish his goal of understanding the Universe! There was also a coin called ¡®Platinum Coin,¡¯ but Kyril did not even try to imagine it right now. It was too far from his reach. He could only dream of having it. Seeing Kyril becoming silent, the old hunched back woman asked him another question, ¡°How¡¯s your wound? You¡¯ve healed pretty fast if you¡¯re now able to run around to pick herbs. Usually people with low cultivation have to rest for two weeks before returning to their peak state, never mind a person who can¡¯t cultivate.¡± Kyril looked at the woman for a while and then began placing the herbs on the counter as he replied dryly, ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know how my wound has healed this fast either. Right now, the wound has already closed. I just need to make sure I don¡¯t apply too much force on it for now.¡± Kyril made sure to hide any details that could lead to suspicion. If people knew about his rebirth, who knows what could happen? People might even think that Kyril might have a legendary treasure which would cause nations to fight over or he cultivated a mysterious technique which would attract endless numbers of Practitioners. Perhaps due to the old hunchback woman¡¯s questioning, Kyril¡¯s actions subconsciously quickened. He picked the five herbs from the metal pail and placed it on the counter. ¡°How much can I exchange for this?¡± The old hunched back woman picked up the herbs and inspected them carefully. ¡°...Usually this would only be enough for three or four copper coins, but since you¡¯re still recovering I¡¯ll give you six copper coins,¡± the old hunched back woman said. Hearing this, Kyril was slightly surprised. Even with his experience from his past life, Kyril had never met a person so generous to a person who was generally hated by everyone else. ¡°Is she not afraid that people might turn on her?¡± thought Kyril. Humans, in nature, were people who became easily influenced by the majority. If the majority favoured someone, then other people would also favour that person. It was the same with hating someone. ¡°Thank you very much.¡± Kyril bowed and expressed his thanks. Although Kyril seemed like a beggar on the outside, he still maintained his manners. When the old hunched back woman saw the actions of Kyril, she was slightly startled and gave a contemplative look at Kyril, her brows slightly furrowed. Under this look, Kyril became confused and as soon as the old hunched back woman saw this, her face relaxed back to its original tranquil state and she let out a sigh. ¡°Haa¡­ You seem like a completely different person,¡± smiled the woman. Kyril froze for a bit before managing to smile back at her, ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s because I¡¯ve nearly experienced death¡­¡± After saying that, Kyril took his leave. ¡°It seems that he¡¯s matured¡­¡± thought the old woman. Somehow, this caused her to feel relieved and happy at the same time. ¡­ Under the night sky, several boys could be seen running across the street. The boy leading them had creases all over his forehead and eyes filled with fury. ¡°You¡¯re saying that cripple managed to gather herbs? Impossible! How can that cripple gather any herbs, we already picked all the herbs within one hundred metres!¡± ¡°Alek, I¡¯m not lying! We really did see him heading off to exchange the herbs for money!¡± The sky was now dark, painted with black and blue colours. And spread all over the night sky, tiny dots of sparkling stars glowed like fireflies. ¡°Alek, there he is! And look! He¡¯s holding copper coins in his hand!¡± Just as Kyril was about to walk away from the old hunched back woman¡¯s store, the several boys who were running started shouting loudly. This caused the residents of the nearby houses to fling their door open, ready to shout at whoever was causing the ruckus. However when they saw who it was that was shouting, they immediately shut their mouths. ¡°Hmph!¡± Alek sneered at the angry residents and just continued running. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for that man¡¯s son, this Alek kid wouldn¡¯t have the guts to act like this!¡± Some of the residents let out disgruntled voices and shut their doors. Soon enough, Alek and his group in front of Kyril. There was a brief moment of silence between the two sides. Kyril just stood their with an expressionless face and an aura of tranquility like still water. On the other hand, Alek looked at Kyril with flaming eyes. ¡°You¡­ Did you pick up any herbs?¡± Alek said with a twitching face. Kyril still retained his calm and said, ¡°Yeah, I picked them up here and there.¡± Hearing such a nonchalant reply, Alek¡¯s whole face creased to the point that he looked just like an old man. ¡°This cripple actually humiliated me and now he speaks to me as if I¡¯m some sort of ant!¡± Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°Bastard! Do you think humiliating me comes for free!?¡± Kyril let out a mischievous smile and said, ¡°Humiliate you? Since when did I humiliate you? Tell me, what is it that I did that caused myself to unintentionally humiliate you?¡± Towards Alek, Kyril felt like it was a waste to bother arguing with a mere twelve year old. His old mindset didn''t allow it. ¡°Let''s see¡­ if he doesn''t accept that it''s his fault for being humiliated, then I''ll just continue playing with him.¡± ¡°How? You were the one who-¡± ¡°Stop brother.¡± Just then, a hand was placed on Alek¡¯s shoulder and then a person from behind walked to the side of Alek. ¡°Brother Silas.¡± ¡°Brother Alek, don''t speak anymore.¡± ¡°This cripple is trying to get Alek to admit his own fault. If Alek talks anymore, he¡¯ll just humiliate himself even more¡­¡± Silas turned to face Kyril with an air of arrogance, ¡°You cripple. Hand over the coins and we''ll let you go. You''ve made us waste quite a bit of our time.¡± ¡°All I did was pick up some herbs. I don''t recall wasting your time.¡± Kyril said while smiling. Like Alek, Silas was also the other person who forced the previous Kyril into suicide. ¡°It seems that I''ll have to play with you too.¡± Unlike Alek, Silas appeared rather calm at Kyril''s nonchalant reply, but underneath his skin, fury was coursing through his veins. ¡°It seems like you don''t understand. We couldn''t find any herbs in the Grassy Mountains because of you.¡± ¡°Changing the story huh¡­¡± Kyril inwardly snickered to himself. ¡°Because of me?If I recall correctly, no one owns the Grassy Mountains so if you couldn''t find any herbs, is the person to blame not yourself for your lack of ability?¡± Kyril laughed. ¡°You-¡± Unable to withstand it anymore, Alek pulled Silas back and stepped forward, shooting his finger outwards to point at Kyril. ¡°You piece of trash! Do I have to smack your head for you to remember! You clearly¡­¡± ¡°Alek stop!¡± Silas hurriedly called out quietly as he tried pulling Alek back, but he was too late. Alek had suddenly became quiet and after a few breaths of time his face began twisting with his eyes locked on Kyril. ¡°Ah¡­ Looks like he realised.¡± ¡°You bastard!!¡± Veins popped up on Alek''s forehead and his eyes turned a shade of red. ¡°Whoa¡­ A twelve year old child has actually managed to form a vein on his forehead from anger? This is amusing¡­¡± Kyril began laughing inside, but on the outside he still showed calmness. However, this laugh didn''t last long. Shortly after Alek began cursing, he launched towards Kyril with open palms. ¡°If you''re not going to hand over the coins, then don''t blame me for taking them!¡± Alek shouted. Around Alek¡¯s hands, the air started warping. sou! Suddenly, Alek''s body disappeared from sight and after not even a second, he reappeared like light at arms length from Kyril. In response to this, Kyril''s pupils shrunk. He tried to jump back, but with his crippled body, his body was just too slow. Even though Kyril''s mind could react to it, Kyril''s body couldn''t. Alek drew his palms to his waist and then pushed forward with a force that appeared to contain the weight of a small mountain. The warped air around his hands began condensing within his palms until it glowed softly with a white light. But before Alek''s palms made contact with Kyril''s body, a reverberating sound entered everyone''s ears. ¡°Audacious! You dare to rob a person in front of my store!¡± Boom! The door behind Kyril crashed open and an overbearing pressure flew out the door causing Alek to be blown back while the other boys took several steps backwards before collapsing to their knees. The onlookers who came out of their houses and were watching the events unfold further away also felt the pressure and had to exert their utmost effort just to keep standing. Only Kyril remained standing in the same spot. ¡°Who!¡± Silas shouted out while looking into the store. ¡°Who? Scram before I make you!¡± Walking out the store, the old hunched back woman appeared into view. The onlookers and the several boys all narrowed their eyes at this sight. Everything became dead silent. If a needle were to drop on the ground, it would be heard by everyone present. One of the onlookers whispered, ¡°Who would have thought that this old woman was actually very powerful¡­¡± Although it was a whisper, everyone present heard it. Surprise covered their eyes. The only people that showed did not show surprise were the Alek and Silas along with the several other boys behind them. Instead, dread filled their eyes. ¡°I said scram!¡± A threatening voice came out the old hunched back woman''s mouth. Not daring to hesitate any longer, the group of boys ran away, and in the distance, Alek shouted, ¡°I¡¯ll make you pay for this!¡± ¡°Hmph! Just you try it!¡± shouted back the old woman, causing Alek¡¯s face to turn white. ¡°Who really is this woman? And why is she protecting someone like that cripple¡­?¡± ¡°Her background is so mysterious. No one even knows where she came from.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ Apparently she came from another village, but there''s not a single village near here!¡± The onlookers broke into discussion, but when the old hunched back woman began to move, their mouths quickly shut. The old hunched back woman approached Kyril and gave him a conflicting look as she held onto both of Kyril''s shoulders. Due to her hunched back, she was a little smaller compared to Kyril who had a height of about one and a half metres. ¡°Kyril, are you hurt anywhere?¡± Kyril looked at the old hunched back woman''s face and replied, ¡°No. Thank you for helping me, miss¡± Hearing this, the old hunched back woman relaxed her face. ¡°Stop with the miss, just call me Zalea.¡± ¡°Then¡­ Grandma Zalea¡± Kyril said with face that was turning red. ¡°Calling someone who''s younger than my actual age Grandma. It''s quite¡­ weird,¡± thought Kyril, ¡°It appears that I still have to adapt to being a twelve year old.¡± Kyril continued. ¡°Just Zalea is fine. I''m not actually as old as I look haha¡­¡± laughed the the old hunched back woman. In her eyes a wisp of sadness flashed by. The onlookers were dumbfounded. ¡°Not as old as she looks!? She''s clearly as old as my Grandma!¡± someone from the onlookers shouted. However as soon as he realised what he said, he immediately turned pale. ¡°Idiot she¡¯s heard you¡­¡± someone else said. But as if she never heard what was being said, Zalea still looked at Kyril. With a serious tone she said, ¡°I know that you might be a cripple, but as you''ve experienced earlier, you will not be able to survive in this world if you don''t have power.¡± Zalea paused for a bit and then continued, ¡°Perhaps in the future you may be able to find a way to cultivate, but it doesn''t have to be cultivation, however, you need some sort of power to protect yourself. This is the importance of power!¡± - END - Website Announcement | Chapter 2 - Reborn EDIT Hey guys, so I re-reading the previous chapters for any errors and thankfully I did! I have spotted a crucial error which I have fixed immediately in Chapter 2 - Reborn, so if anyone wants to read the chapter again, please feel free. Or if you just want to read the edit, then here it is: The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ... A light skinned face adorned with sharp, deep black eyes and a pair of eyebrows as sharp as knives reflected off of the surface of the water. Long hair as dark as the night flowed down the person''s shoulders and drooped down and touched the water, sending ripples across the reflection. Chapter 6 - A Ferocious Encounter The next day, Kyril woke up before the sun had risen - a habit he picked up from his previous life. After fixing up his clothes, he took a small handful of dried yellow grass and crushed them before mixing them with water to form the thick soup he usually ate. Last night, after obtaining the six copper coins from Zalea, he directly exchanged all the copper coins for two handfuls of dried yellow grass and three earth nuts. Five minutes later, Kyril finished the soup and headed outside to the back of his shack with the metal pail in his hands. Flipping the metal pail upside-down, Kyril sat on it and stared into the vast blue sky. ¡°The importance of power¡­ If I want to achieve my goal of understanding the universe, then I need to survive in this world¡­¡± Kyril said quietly. Reclining back a little, Kyril recalled what had happened last night and how we was close to being severely injured by Alek. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for Zalea protecting me, my lack of power would have sent me straight back to my grave,¡± Kyril said with a sigh, ¡°if I want to survive I need to somehow become stronger.¡± Kyril closed his eyes and folded his arms. ¡°Back on earth, the most obvious meaning of power was by having high personal strength. But there are also many other meanings. One can obtain power from being extremely wealthy or by connections with a vast number of people¡­¡± However thinking of money and connections, Kyril quickly dispelled this thought. Kyril did not want to survive off of having an abundance of materialistic items, but even if he did, Kyril did not have the means to gather enough money. Similarly, Kyril knew that forming a vast network of connections with other people was but a dream. With his body crippled, there would not be many people who would lend helping hands to him. ¡°I guess the only way I can survive is by finding out a way to fix my crippled body.¡± Previously, Kyril did not think too much of not being able to cultivate, although he was saddened by it a little, he saw it as something he didn¡¯t need. He survived on earth without cultivating, why should it be different here? But that was just wishful thinking. Kyril had only known the power of Practitioners through words. He had never actually seen any demonstration of the power of Practitioners in person, and when he eventually experienced it first hand last night, it forced him to broadened his outlook on the world. ¡°I¡¯ve been too naive. In the Hundred Sky World, cultivation is basically synonymous with survival. If I want to survive, I need to find a way to fix my crippled body quickly,¡± Kyril said as he opened his eyes and unfolded his arms. Kyril picked up the pail from the ground, which left a circular imprint on the ground, and headed off into the street of Vale Town. Since it was still early morning, it was still a bit cold from the night. Despite this, around the streets, men and women were coming in and out of their stores, setting up stalls in the front to prepare for the day to come. Occasionally children were helping as well. ¡°First, I need to go to the library. Before picking up herbs again, I need to know where to find them, otherwise I would end up just wasting my time unknowingly looking at places where herbs can¡¯t grow,¡± Kyril said, ¡°I might also be able to find something about my body.¡± Around twenty metres in front of Kyril, there stood a building that was bigger than most of the other houses around it and was located between the houses of the wealthy people and commoners¡¯ houses. The library was a building that was decorated like the wealthy houses around it. It had designs carved into the stone pillars that supported it and a door that appeared impenetrable, yet despite the design, it still gave out the air of a humble man. It was a rule set by the Town Head that the library was open to all people and that any form of discrimination was banned within the library. The library was a place of knowledge, banning people people from entering it just because of status would be the equivalent of preventing someone from learning. This would be extremely shameful! Because of this, Kyril viewed the Town Head in a new light. Kyril held the same view as the Town Head. Even on earth, there were not many people who valued learning as much as Kyril did. When Kyril arrived in front of the library door, two guards dressed in pads of leather armour blocked Kyril from entering. Looking at these guards, Kyril felt a pressure coming down on his body. The guards stood firm and straight, as if a pole was stuck to their backs, with arms that were exposed and looked almost as thick as Kyril''s thigh! ¡°If you want to enter the library hand over the metal pail!¡± the guard to the left said with an imposing manner. Furrowing his brows, Kyril looked at the guard with a confused face, but didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°Kid, don¡¯t you know the rules? Anything that can carry items are forbidden in the library. Weapons are also forbidden!¡± the guard to the left said, slightly annoyed. ¡°Hey, relax,¡± the guard to the right said to his partner, ¡°I haven¡¯t seen this kid before so he probably doesn¡¯t know the existence of the rules never mind knowing what they are.¡± Both guards then looked at Kyril. The guard to the right said, ¡°Kid, the reason why we take those items is to prevent anyone from hiddenly stealing books from the library. As for weapons, it¡¯s obvious. Sometimes youngsters would end up arguing over Martial Scrolls which would lead to disputes. We don¡¯t want anything serious happening in the library.¡± ¡°Martial Scrolls¡­¡± thought Kyril. From his memories, Kyril knew that Martial Scrolls contained techniques used by Practitioners. To Practitioners, Martial Scrolls were extremely important. It not only provided ways for Practitioners to use their strength, but also acted as a guide to help them cultivate. Kyril gave the metal pail to the guards and then took out the rusted knife out of his inner pocket. When the guards saw the rusted knife, they both raised an eyebrow. Kyril noticed this, but as he was already expecting it, his mood didn''t fluctuate. Furthermore, he has already seen all the reactions of others towards him so he was practically numb to it all. The guards took another look at Kyril and saw just how poorly dressed he was. Only then did they realise who this boy in front of them was, but they said nothing of it. The two guards pushed the door open. Veins appeared on their thigh thick arms. Just from seeing this Kyril was able to get an idea of how heavy this door was. It might be as heavy as an elephant! ¡°You may enter. When you''re done you can collect your things from us,¡± said the guard as he gestured his hand to point at Kyril''s belongings. The guard continued, ¡°And since this is your first time in the library, I''ll explain it''s layout. There are five floors in the library. The first three floors are open to everyone and only contain general knowledge books. The fourth and fifth floor are open to only those who have passed the Cultivation Admission Test. The fourth floor contains basic Martial Scrolls while the fifth floor has advanced Martial Scrolls. There is an additional test required to enter the fifth floor. This is to stop overly confident youngsters from wasting their time by overreaching themselves.¡± Kyril nodded at the guard¡¯s explanation and then walked into the library. With regards to the Cultivation Admission Test, Kyril did not bother with it for now. He wanted to be able to cultivate first before taking any sort of test. The first thing Kyril wanted to find was information about herbs. He followed the labels on the shelves which led him to the second floor where he finally found several books about herbs. Taking the first book, titled ¡®General Information of Herbs,¡¯ Kyril began reading through it. There was an obvious excitement in his eyes. ¡°Herbs, unlike other types of plants, are a type of plant that survives by absorbing Martial Essence. By absorbing Martial Essence, herbs are able to live longer and may also develop the ability to move on it''s own. Upon further growth, herbs may be used to help Practitioners cultivate or to treat injuries for faster healing¡­ Compounded herbs. Several herbs can be mixed together to create a single herb which has higher quality effects than normal herbs. Compounded herbs do not appear in nature and so it has to be specially made by alchemists. However there are risks of creating a compounded herb. If done incorrectly, the final result may end up being worse than its ingredients¡­ Grades. Herbs and compounded herbs are classified into different grades based on the quality and amount of Martial Essence the herb has absorbed. For compounded herbs, it is based on the amount of martial essence the compounded herb has in it. There are only two grades of herbs: gradeless and Earth grade. Herbs with no grade have not absorbed enough Martial Essence to form crystals beneficial for Practitioners, they can only be used to treat minor wounds. Earth grade herbs are able to aid cultivation and treat deeper wounds, but are very rare to find. Grades are further split into three different levels: low, medium, and high¡­¡± Kyril¡¯s eyes were glued to the book and every single word was read by him. It was as if missing a word would cause him to lose his life. ¡­ In a large room that was filled with gold and silver decorations, two boys were kneeling on their knees in front of another boy of similar age. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Alek and Silas¡­ You''re telling me that that cripple was able to pick up herbs even though there were twelve of you who scavenged the Mountains for herbs?¡± the boy asked as he twisted a bronze ring on his finger. ¡°Ye-Yes boss,¡± Silas stuttered, ¡°But it wasn''t that we weren''t able to pick up all the herbs, it was just that Kyril had gone deeper than we expected¡­¡± ¡°Oh?¡± the boy raised an eyebrow, ¡°how deep?¡± ¡°Two hundred metres boss¡­¡± Silas said. ¡°Two hundred metres?¡± the boy furrowed his brows, ¡°before he goes to pick up any herbs, go and gather all the herbs within two hundred metres. This time take fifteen people with you.¡± ¡°Yes, boss!¡± Alek and Silas said together and then rushed out of the room. Back in the room, the boy stayed standing and watched Alek and Silas rushing from the window. The boy''s face gradually distorted and his fists clenched. A faint grinding sound filled the room. ¡°Kyril¡­ I really don''t know what Airyn sees in you, but I''ll make sure she never sees you again¡­¡± ¡­ In the library, a pile of six books were stacked neatly on top of each other. ¡°I¡¯ve really made the right decision to come here. With the information I¡¯ve gathered from these six books, I should be able to manage to gather around ten herbs. If I¡¯m lucky, I might be able to gather more! Other than that, I¡¯ve also been able to learn more about this world. Before, I thought that this world was similar in size to earth, but now I know that it¡¯s actually a hundred times bigger!¡± said Kyril. Picking up the books, Kyril put them back into their respective shelves. ¡°Today has really been an eye opener for me¡­¡± Kyril said with a smile. After putting the books back, Kyril went to collect his belongings from the two guards ¡°Kid, you¡¯ve finally come out. There¡¯s never been anyone your age stay in the library for as long as you did! You¡¯d only see those old bag of bones staying in the library for several hours. If you came out any sooner, we would have thought you¡¯d fallen asleep!¡± The guard to the right said. ¡°Haha¡­¡± Kyril laughed and rubbed the back of his head. Seeing these guards¡¯ reactions made him feel quite amused because in reality, he actually was one of those ¡®old bag of bones!¡¯ ¡°Alright kid,¡± the guard to the right said, ¡°here¡¯s your stuff. Next time you come here, you know what to do.¡± The guards handed Kyril his belongings and after expressing his thanks, Kyril walked away from the library and began heading for the Grassy Mountains. ¡°It¡¯s already past noon, so if I start picking up herbs now, I should be able to finish by sundown.¡± Kyril said to himself. He was looking forward to the number of herbs he was going to gather. However, as he entered the Grassy Mountains, in the distance he noticed almost twenty people rushing back and forth. And upon closer inspection, Kyril knew who these people were. ¡°Alek and Silas again¡­ And they¡¯ve brought more people with them, there¡¯s a total of seventeen of them. Moreover, it looks like they¡¯re going deeper into the Grassy Mountains as well. They must have found out that I went deeper into the mountains yesterday in order to gather herbs. I may have to go deeper into the Grassy Mountains now if I want to gather herbs without being discovered,¡± Kyril said as he furrowed his brows, ¡°but if I go in too deep, I may encounter a wild beast¡­¡± From the new information he picked up in the library, Kyril knew that if one went too deep into the Grassy Mountains, they would mostly encounter wild beasts and perhaps even magical beasts. According to the books that he read, wild beasts were beasts that could not cultivate. Magical beasts on the other hand were beasts capable of cultivating just like Practitioners. ¡°If I analogise it, then wild beasts are like the wolves and tigers of earth, while magical beasts are like dragons and mythical creatures. If I were to accidentally encounter a wild beast, then there¡¯s some hope of running away and even possibly injuring it. At least wild beasts have regular bodies. But I were to encounter a magical beast, then I¡¯m dead for sure. With their bodies being as hard as steel, I¡¯ve got no hope. Luckily Magical Beasts only appear roughly after five hundred metres so I should be safe by two hundred metres if I enter three hundred metres in.¡± said Kyril. With light steps to make as little sound as possible, Kyril started running in between the trees to hide himself from Alek and Silas. During his run, he was listening in on the barely audible conversations between the several boys in the distance. ¡°Alek and Silas are making us go deeper into the Grassy Mountains, don¡¯t they know that there¡¯s been rumours of a beast roaming around these parts of the Grassy Mountains.¡± ¡°Mmm¡­ We don¡¯t even know if it is a magical beast or not! Hopefully it¡¯s just a wild beast, but if it¡¯s a magical beast then how can we deal with it? We might end up dying!¡± one of the boys shouted. ¡°Beast?¡± Kyril stopped running. He looked into the distance with a complicated look. ¡°If there really is a beast, then today is going to be quite difficult¡­¡± thought Kyril. ¡°Hey!¡± Kyril saw Alek pointing at the several boys who were talking, ¡°Stop talking and get moving!¡± As if a cold bucket of water was poured over them, the group of boys immediately started running in all directions, some even ran towards the direction of Kyril. Seeing this, Kyril immediately started running as lightly as possible again between the trees. After around ten minutes of running, Kyril finally was able to reach a safe distance of about three hundred metres away from Alek and Silas. At the three hundred metres mark, the number of trees started increasing, making the ground somewhat dark by blocking the sunlight. The colour of the grass also changed from a light green to a dark, almost black green colour. Changing to a walking pace, Kyril began treading carefully. Due to the rumours of the beast, Kyril made sure to stay vigilant of his surroundings. As he walked, Kyril remembered what he read in the library. ¡°According to the books, the deeper one goes into the Grassy Mountains the more herbs they¡¯d find. It also said that more herbs are found in areas where there are lots of plants surrounding it since herbs tend to also absorb the innate martial essence from other plants,¡± Kyril said to himself, ¡°in that case, then I¡¯ll have to look for concentrated areas of plants.¡± Walking for a few breaths of time, Kyril saw an unusual amount of trees gathered together. But unlike the healthy trees that were a few metres away from the gathered trees, the gathered trees¡¯ leaves were slightly yellow and one by one fell to the ground. Kyril instantly realized this as a sign for a growing herb. ¡°There must be a herb growing somewhere here!¡± Once again, Kyril ran towards the gathering trees and just like he expected, a sparkling herb much brighter than those he previously found appeared. ¡°Such a pure glow¡­¡± Kyril said, but as he looked closer his eyes suddenly widened. ¡°This¡­ This is an Earth Grade Low Quality herb!¡± Kyril¡¯s body trembled. Unlike gradeless herbs Earth Grade herbs were purer and had richer Martial Essence within the crystals. Kyril never had the chance to obtain an Earth Grade herbs ever in his life. They were just too rare! ¡°Earth Grade herb can aid cultivation¡­ Perhaps with this I can fix my crippled body!¡± Kyril said. A surge of excitement rushed through his body. But before Kyril approached the herb, a vicious growl resounded in the air. Growl! Kyril¡¯s pupil shrank to the size of a pinhead as he looked at the source of the sound. thump thump thump! Kyril¡¯s heartbeat became erratic. A sense of urgency rushed through his veins. ¡°There really is a beast roaming around!¡± - END - Website Chapter 7 - Black Wolf Author Note: I¡¯ve got some real life stuff at the moment, so next chapter might be delayed, sorry guys! ----- Kyril took several steps back from the herb and focused his eyes on the wild beast in front of him. ¡°This is a Black Wolf!¡± A cold chill ran through his spine. Black Wolves were not like ordinary wolves from earth. They had pitch black fur and blood red eyes that showed endless bloodthirst. Although their bodies were not any harder than wolves from earth, their bodies had formidable defences which they could use in order to survive. Their tails had fur that was thin and sharpened into spikes capable of piercing through flesh and bone, and a set of teeth which were as sharp as knives, capable of cutting straight through wood! Kyril remembered the encyclopaedia of Magical Beasts and Wild Beasts he read in the library. He had skimmed through the encyclopaedia but still managed to remember some information and luckily, Black Wolves were one of them. Hou! The Black Wolf roared. The surrounding trees began shaking and some of the leaves were blown away. Kyril who was standing twenty metres away also felt a sharp pain ringing from his ear drums. The roar echoed throughout the Grassy Mountains and gained the attention of some of the boys who Alek and Silas brought. ¡°I-It¡¯s the roar of the beast! The rumoured beast is near us!¡± said one of the boys. All the blood had drained from his face. ¡°Run! Or else we¡¯ll die!¡± the several boys shouted together. Further away from the boys, Alek and Silas also paled from the roar. ¡°Shit! There''s actually a beast here? I thought that was a rumour!¡± Alek screamed. Alek and Silas both looked at each other before they threw the hoard of herbs in their hands to the ground and began running to the exit. When all the boys finally exited the Grassy Mountains, it was as if a huge boulder was rolled off their shoulders and they immediately flopped to their knees. After a few breaths of resting, Alek got up and furiously looked at the fifteen boys. ¡°Who was the bastard that provoked the beast!¡± But none of the boys responded. The fear from the beast had been ingrained deep into their minds, how could they still think about answering Alek? This caused Alek to become more furious. He walked to the closest boy to him and grabbed him by the shoulders. ¡°Ason, was it you!¡± Alek looked at him with eyes that could kill. Ason blanked. He was opening his mouth, but no words came out. ¡°Speak!¡± Alek howled as he shook Ason. ¡°N-no!¡± Ason hurriedly said and lowered his head, ¡°I-I was picking herbs within one hundred metres, there''s no way I''d dare to go deeper than that¡­¡± Seeing that Ason was on the verge of breaking into tears, Silas said, ¡°Alek, leave him be. There''s no way he''d outrun the beast if he provoked it.¡± On the surface Silas put on a sincere tone, but to those who knew him well, he was actually mocking Ason. ¡°Si-Silas, what if it was Kyril who provoked the beast¡­¡± one of the boys said. Hearing this, Alek and Silas¡¯ eyes suddenly brightened. ¡°That''s right! It might have been that cripple!¡± Silas jumped up to his feet and pointed at one of the boys, ¡°You there! Go check that cripple¡¯s shack to see if he''s there. If he''s not, then it truly might be him whose encountered the beast heh heh¡­¡± Silas laughed with a distasteful sound. Without hesitation, the boy Silas referred to hurriedly ran towards Kyril''s shack and after about ten minutes, he could be seen running back waving his arms in the air. ¡°Silas! He''s not there!¡± shouted the boy. Although he was already panting like a dog, his face instead showed a smile, ¡°It must be him who''s provoked the beast!¡± Alek and Silas became instantly delighted upon hearing this. ¡°Alek, come on! We must report this to the boss!¡± Silas excitedly said. He was already on the verge of jumping and hopping all over the place. ¡­ In front of the Black Wolf, Kyril maintained a calm appearance, but if one looked closely, sweat could be seen sliding off of his forehead. His eyes darted around trying to think of ways to escape. Hou¡­ hou¡­ The Black Wolf let out soft roars and started walking towards Kyril. Volumes of saliva dripped down from the Black Wolf''s mouth like a waterfall. ¡°This is bad¡­ If it were any other Wild Beast, then I may have had a chance of outrunning them, but definitely not a Black Wolf!¡± Out of all the wild beasts, Black Wolves were one of the fastest! With his crippled body, there was no chance of outrunning one! When the Black Wolf was ten metres away from Kyril, a pungent smell which came from the Black Wolf¡¯s mouth invaded his nose. This smell carried the scent of blood and rotting flesh. When Kyril smelt this, his sense of urgency was aroused even more. If he could not think of something quick, then he would die! The Black Wolf was just like a mirror in front of Kyril. Whenever Kyril stepped to the right, the Black Wolf would follow and when he stepped to the left, the Black Wolf would jump to the left. At a mere five metres away from Kyril, the Black Wolf began licking its lips. It already had thoughts of ripping this human child up into shreds. ¡°...The only option I have now is to fight¡­¡± Kyril thought. Behind his back, with his index finger and thumb he felt up and down the blade of the rusted knife which he hiddenly took out from his inner pocket. ¡°This rusted knife will at most only be able to endure one strike. If I can¡¯t do it in one strike, I¡¯m surely dead.¡± Kyril began forming a plan in his mind, ¡°...I¡¯ll have to go with this.¡± Once the Black Wolf was a mere two metres away from Kyril, Kyril slammed his foot backwards and turned his back to the Black Wolf. Looking at how its prey began running away from it, the Black Wolf let out an enraged howl. Hou! The Black Wolf flexed its legs and then immediately straightened them. boom¡­ boom¡­ boom¡­ Sounds of joints popping from the Black Wolf¡¯s legs were heard by Kyril as the Black Wolf lunged itself into the air. ¡°Three¡­ two¡­ one¡­¡± Kyril counted down. ¡°Now!¡± Kyril suddenly stopped and turned around. With his right hand gripping tightly onto the rusted knife, he hurled his right arm into the air. Pii¡­ The rusted knife whistled through the air, slicing it in half. Puchi¡­ The blade of the rusted knife tore skin and ripped flesh. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Finally, after the rusted knife embedded itself four inches deep into the Black Wolf¡¯s chest, the blade broke away from the handle. But when Kyril¡¯s right hand made contact with the Black Wolf¡¯s body, the jumping force from the Black Wolf¡¯s body transferred into Kyril¡¯s body, flinging Kyril¡¯s body back by several metres until his back smashed into a tree trunk. Bang! Hou! Hou! Hou! The Black Wolf let out a series of painful roars as it staggered back and looked at its chest. Blood was gushing out from the deep wound. Kyril stared at the Black Wolf struggling. ¡°Did it work? No, I clearly felt that I had accurately stabbed the heart, it has to work!¡± Kyril consoled himself. Stabbing the heart was only one part of his plan. The other part was that he needed it be a surprise! If did not manage to stab the Black Wolf by surprise, then there would be now way that the Black Wolf would have allowed it to be stabbed by Kyril! The Black Wolf raised its head and stared angrily at Kyril with bloodshot eyes. Blood had already started dripping out of its mouth, staining its fur into a deep dark red colour. It was utterly furious! A mere human child had actually managed to take it by surprise and even deal a death strike at its heart! The Black Wolf felt totally humiliated! Hou!!! The Black Wolf charged at Kyril with all its remaining strength and leaped into the air. If it was going to die, then his human child will have to die with it! ¡°What! It still has the strength to try and kill me!¡± Kyril broke into nervousness. The Black Wolf had spread out its claws and slashed at Kyril¡¯s body. Swish! Kyril raised his arms into a cross and guarded his face and body. ¡°Let us see who shall die today!¡± Kyril screamed. He tensed his body and hardened his face. Sha! The Black Wolf¡¯s claws split apart Kyril¡¯s clothes and tore his flesh open. ¡°Gyaaaa!¡± Kyril let out a blood-curdling scream which spread throughout the Grassy Mountains, to the point that even the residents of Vale Town heard it! Boom! The Black Wolf¡¯s body collided with Kyril¡¯s body. Kyril¡¯s body was already leaning against the tree trunk, but when the Black Wolf¡¯s body smashed into Kyril¡¯s body, the tree trunk broke in half instantly and fell to the ground behind Kyril. Due to the impact, Kyril¡¯s vision turned black and all sense of feeling had left his body¡­ ¡­ ¡°Is what you¡¯re saying true? How sure are you that that cripple was the one who encountered the rumoured beast?¡± ¡°Boss, what we¡¯re saying is absolutely true! We even checked his shack and he wasn¡¯t there! The only other place he would go to is the Grassy Mountains!¡± Silas said respectfully as he kneeled down on to the floor. ¡°Have you checked the library?¡± the boy in front of Silas asked. ¡°The library?¡± Silas said questioningly and gave Alek beside him a confused look. ¡°You pieces of trash!¡± the boy said, ¡°that cripple has recently started going to the library and you¡¯re telling me you didn¡¯t even know!¡± Having their boss shout at them, Alek and Silas turned slightly pale. ¡°B-boss we¡¯ll go check now!¡± Silas said. At the same time, a loud commotion could be heard in the distance. ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± the boy said and looked out the window. In the distance, he could see several Turning his head back to look at Alek and Silas, he said, ¡°go ask those men what¡¯s happening. How can there be such a large gathering of men at this time.¡± But before Alek and Silas could respond, a knocking could be heard from the room¡¯s door. ¡°Seth, it¡¯s me.¡± a deep voice said. ¡°Father.¡± The door opened and a bulky man entered the room. He looked a Seth, and then swept his eyes across Alek and Silas, causing shivers to run down their spines. ¡°Seth, there¡¯s been multiple load roars coming from the Grassy Mountains. It might be that beast that¡¯s been rumoured to be roaming around. Do you want to come?¡± the bulky man said cooly, yet it was obvious that this bulky man spoiled Seth very much. Seth looked at Alek and Silas, and said, ¡°Hmph. It seems that we¡¯ll be able to find out if what you said is true or not.¡± ¡°It¡¯s true boss. It¡¯s definitely true!¡± Alek and Silas hurriedly said. Kyril going to the library? Why should Kyril go to the library? He was not capable of cultivating! Aside from looking at Martial Scrolls, what point is there in the library? This was what Alek and Silas had ingrained in their minds. ¡­ An hour passed and the sun was still high up in the sky. Kyril¡¯s body which was originally motionless started showing signs of movement. After another thirty minutes passed by, Kyril finally opened his eyes. A wave of pain and nausea swept through him. ¡°Urgh¡­¡± Kyril groaned. He was on the verge of vomiting, but forced himself to hold it in. When he tried to move, he found that there was a heavy weight sprawled all over his body which was preventing him from moving Kyril looked at this body and became delighted. ¡°So it died¡­¡± said Kyril with a sigh of relief, ¡°it must have used up all its strength during that last attack.¡± Kyril struggled to push the Black Wolf¡¯s body aside and stood up. Aching pains spread all over his body. There were cuts on his upper body and arms, including his face, that felt like thousands of needles piercing through his skin. The bruise on his back he received from flying into the tree trunk was as if a large boulder had rolled all over him. Gritting his teeth, Kyril forcibly ignored the pain and began walking towards the herb which the Black Wolf was protecting. ¡°An Earth Grade herb hahaha!¡± Kyril said as he laughed, ¡°I¡¯ve really struck gold this time!¡± Even though his body was about to fall apart, the only reason he could ignore the pain was due to the attraction of the Earth Grade herb! If it were any herb, Kyril¡¯s fight against the Black Wolf would not have been worth it! Kyril bent down and sliced the stem of the herb. Like before, he did not uproot the whole herb, leaving the roots still intact with the earth. sha¡­ sha¡­ ¡°Who¡¯s there!¡± A voice from behind Kyril suddenly called out¡­ - END - Website Chapter 8 - We Are Powerless ¡°So it was you!¡± Kyril heard a familiar voice behind him. He turned his head around and hurriedly placed the Earth Grade herb into his inner pocket. Just behind the fallen tree, Alek and Silas appeared and stared at Kyril. ¡°Boss, I told you it was Kyril who provoked the rumoured beast!¡± Silas said relieved. If in the end Kyril was not the one who provoked the beast, then Seth would think that he was lying. He could not have that or else he might get punished! If that were to happen, then his relationship with Seth could be damaged and Silas would not have the qualifications to act as he pleased anymore! Following behind Alek and Silas, Kyril saw two figures walking to the side of the two boys. The one on the left was a bulky man, about the same size as the two guards Kyril saw outside the library, but instead of wearing padded leather armour, the bulky man wore a thick silvery robe that was made from animal fur. ¡°This man¡­ The previous Kyril suffered a lot of injustices by the hands of this man¡­¡± Kyril thought for a moment before shifting his eyes to the smaller figure beside the bulky man. This smaller figure was Seth. He had a similar face to the bulky man and also wore a similar silver robe. His face displayed a pair of eyes that looked at the world with a gaze which held everything as beneath him. Below the eyes, Seth let out a contemptuous smirk that showed an overflowing amount of arrogance. ¡°Heh, so it really was that cripple who provoked the beast,¡± Seth sneered, ¡°Looks like you were lucky this time,¡± Seth said as he looked at Alek and Silas. ¡°This boy should be who Alek and Silas refer to as ¡®boss,¡¯ Kyril thought, ¡°judging from the similarities in appearance, this boy should be that bulky man''s son¡­¡± Kyril thought back to when he overheard Alek and Silas referring to their boss when trying to hoard all the herbs from Kyril. ¡°It also seems that this pair of father and son both hold grudges against me¡­¡± thought Kyril as he scanned the pair, ¡°moreover, from their expensive looking robes, they appear to be quite wealthy. Dealing with them might become quite troublesome¡­¡± Seth threw his gaze at Kyril and said sarcastically, ¡°Heh¡­ It looks like that rumoured beast let you off quite easily.¡± Seth looked at the blood drenched body of Kyril. The smile on his face widened. ¡°Yes. Quite easily¡­¡± But to this, Kyril only let out his own mocking smile and signalled his hand to the Black Wolf¡¯s body a few metres away from them. Seth stared at the Black Wolf¡¯s carcass in shock. The two boys beside him held similar expressions, except that their jaws seemed to have lost all its bones and just hung down by the skin. ¡°You¡­ You¡­ How can this be?¡± Seth said with eyes wide open, ¡°Impossible! A cripple like you couldn''t possibly defeat a Black Wolf!¡± Seth could not believe that Kyril managed to kill the Black Wolf with his crippled body. Even a Practitioner like himself would have a hard time dealing with a Black Wolf. They were just too fiercesome! But what Seth didn¡¯t know was that Kyril did not fight the Black Wolf head on, if he did this then Kyril would have surely lost! The only reason Kyril defeated the Black wolf was that he managed to take it by surprise! However, Kyril did not bother explaining the methods he used to Seth. To Kyril, Seth was just one of the many obstacles preventing him from achieving his goal. Against people like that, Kyril felt that it was a waste of energy to argue against them. While Seth was still shocked, the bulky man beside him had recovered. ¡°Why would a Black Wolf appear away from the deeper parts of the Grassy Mountains¡­¡± the bulky man thought and then transferred his eyes onto Kyril, ¡°Could it be that there was something in this area?¡± The bulky man found it odd that a Black Wolf would come away into the outskirts of the Grassy Mountains. Usually, Black Wolves reside deeper in the Grassy Mountains as a pack. Only something of major attraction would cause wild or magical beasts to come away from their territory. While the bulky man was staring at Kyril, Kyril immediately felt that something was wrong. From his inner pocket, Kyril felt streams of an invisible force coming out from the herb which began twirling around his body. ¡°Crap. Is the Martial Essence leaking out?¡± Although Kyril didn''t know what exactly was going on, he had a vague idea. With each stream of invisible force that twirled around Kyril''s body, a sinister light twinkled in his eyes followed by greed. ¡°Boy,¡± the bulky man said in a cold voice, ¡°hand it over.¡± The bulky man set his eyes firmly on Kyril¡¯s body. Hearing this, Kyril¡¯s forehead creased. ¡°So he did find out¡­¡± ¡°Boy, no use trying to hide it. A cripple like you may not know it, but to us Practitioners, we can clearly feel that there¡¯s an abundance of Martial Essence around your body. Since it¡¯s impossible for you to cultivate then the only other explanation is that you¡¯re holding onto some treasure!¡± Hearing this, Alek and Silas¡¯ eyes filled with greed, but when they looked at the bulky man, they could only shrink back. ¡°Father, is this true? There¡¯s a treasure on his body?¡± Seth asked while rubbing his palms together and locked his eyes on to Kyril''s body. ¡°Of course it¡¯s true! Do you think that I could possibly make a mistake! With a cultivation base like mine, I can clearly feel the Martial Essence from Kyril¡¯s body. Unless he¡¯s holding onto a treasure, how could there be such pure Martial Essence around his body!¡± the bulky man said, ¡°now boy, hand it over or I¡¯ll have to take it myself!¡± However before anything happened, a large number of almost thirty men rushed around Kyril and the bulky man. These men all carried swords and axes, and wore similar clothing of leather armour or cloth robes. ¡°Shit¡­¡± the bulky man cursed softly as he looked at the men, ¡°obtaining the treasure on Kyril¡¯s body is going to become troublesome¡­¡± The men looked wide eyed at the Black Wolf¡¯s carcass and then at Kyril¡¯s body. ¡°This¡­¡± one of the men muttered and looked at the bulky man, ¡°...did senior Garren defeat that Black Wolf?¡± ¡°Hmph,¡± the bulky man looked at the man with disdain, ¡°do you think that I, Garren Kairo, would bother with such a trivial Wild Beast?¡± The cold response of Garren made the man¡¯s face twitch, but he said nothing of it. This man called Garren Kairo was someone he could not offend! On the other hand, the rest of the men fell into shock when they heard Garren¡¯s response. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°Then does this means that Kyril defeated the Black Wolf?¡± another man said aloud. ¡°No chance! He¡¯s a cripple! How can a cripple defeat a Black Wolf!¡± ¡°But¡­ Then who defeated it?¡± one man said hesitatingly, ¡°Senior Garren said he didn¡¯t do it¡­¡± The men quietened. A cripple defeating a Black Wolf? They have never heard of it! Could he really have killed the Black Wolf?¡± a man started muttering to themselves. The men looked at Kyril with wide eyes. If they widened their eyes any further, their eyeballs might just roll off! One should know that without cultivation, then the person would have the strength of an ant! If it weren¡¯t for Garren confirming the men¡¯s suspicions, then they would only laugh at Kyril if he claimed to kill the Black Wolf. Among the Wild Beasts, Black Wolves were among the strongest due to their tail! With a swing of its tail, it would be able to cause trees to come crashing down! ¡°Wait!¡± one of the men shouted, interrupting the other men. ¡°Do you feel that? There¡¯s Martial Essence coming out from the cripple¡¯s body!¡± As that was said, silence immediately dawned onto the surroundings once again. The men focused their senses on Kyril and like the man said, there was indeed Martial Essence around Kyril''s body. ¡°Heavens! What is happening today! First he unexpectedly kills a Black Wolf and now Martial Essence is gathering around him. Could it be that today is the day he can start cultivating!¡± shouted one man. ¡°That¡¯s impossible! Even the doctors who the Town Head hired couldn''t find a cure for him, how can he fix his crippled body so easily!¡± another man retorted. ¡°Then how can their be Martial Essence around his body¡­?¡± the men fell into confusion. ¡°...! It might be a treasure!¡± blurted out a man. Hearing this, Garren¡¯s face changed. ¡°This idiot! Now everyone knows about the treasure!¡± Out from Garren¡¯s body, a pressure started pressing down on all the men, causing the other men¡¯s face to harden. ¡°That boy''s treasure is mine. If anyone wants it, then they''ll be making me their enemy.¡± Garden swept his eyes across the men. A slight killing intent emanated from his body. He could not let anyone else take the treasure. ¡°Your treasure?¡± Kyril who had been watching the events unfold, said, ¡°let me ask you, was it you who killed this Black Wolf? Was it you who found this treasure? Since it wasn¡¯t you, then it doesn¡¯t belong to you!¡± Kyril shouted sharply at Garren. ¡°Hmph. What of it! What does a powerless cripple like you know?¡± Garren sneered. ¡°Hahaha!¡± Kyril laughed out loud. ¡°Garren, since you to want to steal from me, then I''ll play with you!¡± Kyril thought. Turning his head towards the men, Kyril shouted, ¡°Men! Am I or am I not powerless against this man called Garren!¡± Kyril''s voice echoed throughout the Grassy Mountains. The questions he asked had dumbfounded the men. ¡°What sort of stupid question is this cripple spouting? Of course he''s powerless! Has he lost his mind?¡± all of the men thought. Seeing the men look at him as if he was as dumb as a rock, Kyril continued, ¡°I shall take your silence as a yes!¡± Kyril walked to the middle, where every man could see him. ¡°Then I shall ask another question!¡± To the men, even though they thought that this cripple had turned insane, they could not help but feel some charisma in the way he spoke. ¡°Are you or are you not powerless against this man called Garren!¡± Once again, the men were rendered speechless. But out of these men, some had realised what Kyril was trying to say. ¡°What bullshit are you saying you cripple! Of course these flies can''t compare to my father!¡± Seth exploded. But when Garren heard his son, his face formed a mountain range! Creases and crumples appeared all over his face as he looked at Seth! Seth saw this and was somewhat perplexed. ¡°What''s wrong? What I''ve said is true!¡± Seth thought and took a few steps back. ¡°Hahaha!¡± Kyril laughed once more, ¡°so you men are powerless as well! That makes us both powerless!¡± More men started realising what Kyril was doing. Some of the men showed amused smiles while some of them stared at Kyril with raised eyebrows. Ignoring the reactions, Kyril continued, ¡°Then since we''re both powerless and Garren is trying to rob me, who says that Garren will not steal from you!¡± Bang! All the men now understood Kyril''s point and some even began looking at Garren with distant eyes, as if he was a person who was one thousand kilometres away! But when they looked at Kyril, he seemed like a child who played with words like an old man! Only one word about this child appeared in their minds. Cunning! At this point, Seth finally realised what he had done. His face turned red and the pupils within his pair of eyes looked at Kyril as if trying to pierce his heart. Kyril saw this and simply laughed at it. Towards Seth, Kyril showed a tranquil face. ¡°This is a world where the powerful eats the strong! There is no place for the weak in this world,¡± Kyril''s tone turned severe as he continued to look at Seth, ¡°but even if I am weak, I will not be eaten! Even if the Heavens want me dead, I will make the Heavens fall!¡± It was as if Kyril had been possessed by a God. Such a domineering tone had actually been said by a mere twelve year old child and even a cripple at that! The surrounding men looked at Kyril with a mixture of faces. Some men looked at Kyril with a hint of respect. The words Kyril spoke were words these men would never dare to say in their entire lives! However some other men thought that Kyril''s words were as empty as a bag of air, spoken to hide that he was actually frightened of Garren. ¡°Hahahaha! Such bold words!¡± a man¡¯s voice boomed throughout the air, ¡°but¡­ I like it!¡± - END - Website Chapter 9.1 - Affinity With Space + Announcement Announcement: Since school has started, I will be releasing each chapter in parts. Each part will be ~1000 words. Monday ¨C 1 Chapter Part Thursday ¨C 1 Chapter Part Saturday ¨C 1 Chapter Part ----- Hum¡­ Fifty metres away from Kyril, an extremely faint silhouette of a man appeared. The silhouette glowed with a transparent light, but because of the trees which shaded the sunlight, the silhouette could be seen clearly by everyone. Kyril looked at the silhouette. He felt an overflowing amount of power coming from the silhouette. The space around it seemed to warp like ripples on the surface of water. In the distance, the silhouette started moving towards Kyril. Every step it took covered roughly five metres at a time. It was swift and unhindered by the obstacles in its way, weaving through it like a ghost. In a flash the silhouette arrived by the side of Kyril. It had covered the fifty metres like it was a mere five metres. Now that the silhouette was very close to them, everyone present could see what exactly this silhouette was. Being the person closest, Kyril could see that the silhouette was an old man who had more wrinkles and whiter hair than Kyril did in his past life. Yet, despite being old, the old man displayed an imposing pose and let out an aura that even Garren could not compare too. But what seemed strange to Kyril was the faint glow and transparency that covered the old man''s body, causing him to look more like a ghost than an actual person. All the men around Kyril noticed the same thing and were extremely frightened by it! ¡°Thi-this is a soul projection! How c-can such a thing appear here!¡± Garren carelessly let out. Seeing his father in shock, Seth tugged on Garren¡¯s sleeve and asked, ¡°Father, what''s happening? What exactly is a Soul Projection?¡± ¡°Soul projection¡­ I''ve only heard of soul projections by word of mouth during my travels around the continent but¡­¡± Garren began tensing up, ¡°those who can form a Soul Projection are said to be peerless experts capable of bringing down mountains with a single wave of their hand or creating winds enough to blow down trees with just a breath¡­¡± Although it seemed unbelievable, since the men had heard it from Garren, they had become terrified of the old man. Some even backed away in case a strand of hair from their heads would be blown by the wind and end up touching the old man. ¡°Hoh,¡± the old man suddenly let out and looked at Garren with an expressionless face, ¡°you praise me too much.¡± Saying this, the old man moved his finger slightly. Boom¡­ The space around the men crashed onto their bodies. It was as if it was trying to condense and create meat balls out of them. ¡°Argh!¡± All the men howled out in pain. Even Garren let out a small moan. As for Seth and his two lackeys, they were already on the ground. However only Kyril remained unaffected, or rather, the fluctuations of the space around him seemed quite relaxing! The old man looked at the men who started falling to their knees, ¡°Hmph, even if you try and flatter me, to actually dare try to steal from my disciple, you all are simply looking to die!¡± The men instantly paled. ¡°This cripple is a disciple of this monster!?¡± All the men thought in unison. Shock covered their faces. Seth, on the other hand, showed extreme jealousy. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°What! Disciple! Why can that cripple become the disciple of an expert!¡± Seth said in shock, ¡°I am the son of the most powerful person in Vale Town! How can he compare to me! He can¡¯t even cultivate!¡± Seth could not keep his calm anymore. To become the disciple of such a peerless expert? Who wouldn''t want that! When Seth heard from his father that the old man was a peerless expert, he was ready to kowtow tens, even hundreds of times, to beg the old man to take him as a disciple! But before he could do that, who would have thought that not only would the old man send his face to the floor, but the old man also claimed Kyril as his disciple! Seth felt wronged. Is this old man stupid? Why did he pick a cripple over him? ¡°Old man are you blind! He''s clearly a cripple who can''t use a sliver of Martial Essence and yet you choose him to be your disciple!¡± Seth shouted at the old man. ¡°Blind?¡± the old man looked at Seth, ¡°I do not care whether or not he is a cripple. Look around. Do you see anyone else apart from this junior who can withstand my powers?¡± Indeed, when Seth looked around, he couldn''t find anyone other than Kyril standing. All the others were either kneeling or lying on the ground. To this, Seth could say nothing. Seeing that Seth had resigned back, the old man turned to Kyril and said, ¡°Child, what is your name?¡± ¡°This junior is called Kyril!¡± Kyril firmly said. ¡°Good!¡± the old man said. He then looked earnestly at Kyril and asked, ¡°Are you willing to become my disciple?¡± Although the old man had claimed Kyril to be his disciple, right now it was only one sided. A teacher-disciple relationship was one that required both sides to be willing, otherwise how would the relationship hold? If the teacher wanted to teach, but the disciple did not want to learn, then it is simply wasted efforts for the teacher! Kyril hesitated for a while as he was lost in thought. ¡°Why would this person want to take me in as a disciple?¡± Kyril thought. In life, nothing comes for free. There is no such thing as a free lunch. But at this moment, a peerless expert had suddenly asked Kyril to be their disciple. This lead to many questions forming within Kyril''s mind. ¡°Senior, why do you want to take me in as a disciple? You can clearly see that I am a cripple,¡± Kyril asked the old man. Kyril''s words may have sounded as if he was trying to humble himself, but looking at his face, there was instead an expression of sincere curiosity. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± the old man gave a deep look into Kyril, ¡°if you want to know¡­¡± The old man flicked his wrist though the air and the space became even more constricted. ¡°Buargh¡­¡± Some of the men spat out blood from their mouths. Their faces turned white like paper and showed terrified expressions. ¡°This is why,¡± the old man gestured his hand to all the men on the ground, ¡°Of all people here, only you can withstand my power of space,¡± the old man said. ¡°Power of space?¡± Website Chapter 9.2 - Affinity With Space Under the old man''s power, Kyril really could not feel any sort of harm from it. As if the old man could read his mind, he said, ¡°The power of space is something only very few people can use. It is something only those with affinity with the Universe can understand!¡± ¡°The Universe!¡± Kyril almost blurted out. Kyril''s one goal in life was the complete understanding of the universe. It was the thing he yearned for the most! Previously, Kyril regretted that he only gained a small insight on the universe before his death in his first life, but never would Kyril have thought that right after dying he would be reborn! Now with a new life, Kyril was determined to achieve his goal! Kyril¡¯s body trembled slightly as he looked at the old man, ¡°Senior¡­ You said affinity with the universe¡­?¡± ¡°Affinity with the universe is whether one is compatible with the universe and whether one can understand the universe,¡± the old man said. ¡°Understand the universe¡­¡± Kyril repeated. His body was filled with excitement. ¡°Then¡­ do I have an affinity with the universe?¡± Kyril anxiously asked. This question was perhaps the most important questions he has ever asked in his entire life! If he had an affinity with the universe, then that means that he is truly capable of understanding the universe and it is not just a dream which he can only see when he sleeps! But¡­ if he does not have an affinity with it then his goal of understanding the universe would be crushed¡­ Seeing the anxious look all over Kyril''s face, the old man smiled, ¡°of course you do. I''ve said it already, since you can withstand my power of space, then naturally you have an affinity with Space.¡± Kyril was overjoyed. Today not only did he find an Earth Grade Herb, but he also found a teacher that could lead him to understanding the Universe! ¡°This junior pays his respects to teacher!¡± Without even waiting for the old man to ask again, Kyril bowed down deeply to show that he was willing to have this old man as a teacher. When the men saw Kyril perform such a deep bow, they became filled with envy. Seth¡¯s hands were already drenched with blood due to his nails stabbing through his skin as he clenched his fist. ¡°That cripple actually became his disciple!¡± Seth roared to himself. But the old man and Kyril could not be bothered to pay attention to these people. Looking at Kyril, the old man said seriously, ¡°Kyril, although I''ve said that you have an affinity with the universe, you''re comprehension of it is still too weak and therefore I cannot teach you anything yet.¡± The old man observed Kyril''s reaction and continued, ¡°the path of understanding the universe is a way of life that is completely dependant on the individual, thus I cannot help you. For now, go. All you can do is build your understanding. When your understanding reaches a certain point, then you will be able to come back again and find me.¡± With that, the old man disappeared and the space around the men returned back to normal. At the same time, Kyril didn''t hesitate to leave the Grassy Mountains. Although the men on the ground were injured, Kyril did not want to take any risks and be near them any longer. Who knows? There might be someone who still wanted to steal the Earth Grade Herb from Kyril. But unexpectedly, as Kyril walked past the men, none of them showed signs of movement. They just watched Kyril walk past them as if they were nothing but air. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°They must be scared of my teacher haha¡­¡± Kyril laughed to himself and walked on. ¡­ After finally exiting the Grassy Mountains, Kyril immediately headed for Zalea¡¯s store. As Kyril walked through the street, he noticed weird glances being thrown at him from the townsfolk. The people near Kyril also covered their noses and turned away. Kyril was slightly confused. He looked at their eyes and followed their line of sight. ¡°...! Crap!¡± Kyril looked at his body and discovered that his clothes were covered in blood and filled with holes. He was practically half naked! Kyril began walking faster. Letting others see him half naked was not something he enjoyed! Upon arrival at Zalea¡¯s store, Kyril hurriedly opened the door and entered, closing the door behind him as fast as he blinked. ¡°What happened to you?¡± As soon as Kyril entered Zalea¡¯s store, Zalea immediately asked. She furrowed her brows as she looked at Kyril''s wounds and blood drenched clothes. ¡°Where did you get those injuries?¡± Zalea asked again. Kyril looked at Zalea with an awkward smile, ¡°I¡­ fought with a Black Wolf.¡± ¡°A black wolf?¡± Zalea raised an eyebrow but then shook her head, ¡°we¡¯ll discuss that later. First we need to fix you up.¡± Zalea walked to the back of her store and returned back with several crushed up herbs and plain clothes in her hands. She then signaled her hand to a chair she pulled in front of her, ¡°come here.¡± Kyril walked over to the stool and sat down. Zalea began removing the torn pieces of cloth with on his upper body and started massaging the crushed up herbs onto his upper body. ¡°Argh¡­¡± Kyril let out a small cry. A stinging sensation erupted from the wounds, but Kyril endured it and forcibly shut his mouth. This process took nearly an hour. Zalea had made sure not to miss even a single scratch on Kyril¡¯s body. ¡°Now you just have to rest. Make sure not to move so much or else the wounds might open up again,¡± Zalea said and then she looked at the stab wound on Kyril¡¯s abdomen, ¡°You¡¯re lucky that wound didn¡¯t open up again¡­¡± Kyril subconsciously rubbed his hand across the stab wound and moved his head up to look at Zalea¡­ ¡°... Why do you help me?¡± Kyril asked, ¡°are you not afraid that other people might start hating you too?¡± Kyril was truly curious as to why Zalea would help him. Zalea gave Kyril a complex look. There were conflicting expressions on her face, but the one that was most obvious was an expression of immense sadness. ¡°Because¡­ we are similar¡­¡± Website Chapter 10.1 - To laugh or to cry? The sky turned black and the bright, yellow stars appeared like millions of flaming candles that twinkled in the deep dark ocean known as space. Occasionally, wisps of clouds would gently drift by, blocking the silver full moon that hung above the ground as its strands of light illuminated the cracks of shadows that blanketed the soils. Watching this scene of nature, Kyril sat on top of his metal pail at the back of his shack and gazed into the endless night sky with unblinking eyes. ¡°Because we are similar¡­¡± Kyril thought of the mysterious words Zalea said to him when he questioned her. ¡°What did she mean by that¡­?¡± Kyril asked himself as confusion covered his face, but as he tried thinking of what she meant, he remembered the sad eyes she revealed to him when she answered him. Thinking back to it, although Kyril could not understand what she meant, he could guess that whatever he asked brought upon her great pain. The eyes she showed were like the eyes of someone who lost everything they had in the world; it was the feeling of being stripped of everything you ever worked for. Lost. Empty. ¡°Forget it. Perhaps there are some things that are just not meant to be known. If she wants to say it, then I will naturally listen, but as for now, I should not meddle with things I know nothing of,¡± Kyril said and shook his head gently. As someone who Kyril was close to, Kyril did not want to pry into Zalea¡¯s secrets. Kyril, with his past life, had already developed a mature mind and outlook with regards to others¡¯ personal affairs, thus Kyril was able to control himself from his curiosity. Pushing that to the back of his mind, Kyril began to clear his mind and focused his eyes on the boundless star-lit sky before him. In front of sights like this, Kyril found an unusual sense of serenity which was something he felt even during his previous life. And due to the words of his teacher, Kyril also became more confident that this sense of serenity was truly an indication of his affinity with the universe. ¡°Universe¡­¡± Kyril mumbled as he fell into a trancelike state facing the night sky. Slowly, Kyril adopted a meditative state and the only thing left in his mind was the image of the universe and its mysteries, until finally Kyril had lost his sense of self. His mind and body became empty and pure. Unknowingly, as Kyril entered this state, strands of transparent light started condensing out of thin air and formed beside him. As the strands appeared, it began circulating around Kyril¡¯s body a few times and then entered directly into his soul. Each strand of transparent light brought an inexplicable feeling of freshness and comfort, like entering a cool bath after walking through the scorching desert. Accompanying this feeling, information stored within the strands of light also filled Kyril¡¯s originally empty mind. From these strands of light, Kyril did not feel alarmed or distracted. Instead, he felt a sense of familiarity from the strands of light. ¡°...This is the same feeling as the time before I died¡­¡± Everytime information from the strands of light entered his mind, Kyril did not let out a hint of resistance and just allowed it to enter. This continued until the moon had set and the sun started rising. Only when the drops of dew from the leaves of the trees above him splashed onto his body did Kyril sober up from his meditative state. But with such important information he gained from night, how could Kyril think of doing anything else other than trying to comprehend the information? After filling up his stomach with soup he quickly made from yellow grass, Kyril immediately calmed his mind again and started comprehending the insight he had gained from the night. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. As Kyril looked at the information, he discovered that every piece of information contained deep insights on space, to the point where even just looking at it would cause the minds of the most genius people to be overwhelmed. But as for Kyril, he was undaunted. These pieces of information were like gold to him. In fact, if someone right now offered Kyril all the treasures of the world in exchange for these insights, Kyril would toss the treasures away as if it were mud! Compared to treasures, these insights would allow him to get nearer to his goal! So to Kyril, the insights he gained were simply priceless! More priceless than any treasure he could ever find! ¡°Space is but a container filled with nothingness. Yet without this container, stars, planets, and beings would cease to exist¡­ If space, didn¡¯t exist then the idea of nothingness cannot exist¡­¡± thought Kyril. ¡°Thus, without nothingness, the idea of something cannot exist¡­¡± Each time Kyril comprehended a piece of information, profound bits of insight ingrained itself into his mind. It was like an old man teaching a young child about the world except this time, it was the Universe which has existed for trillions of years providing insight into a man who had not even lived a fraction of its age! Kyril¡¯s mind took in all the information and spared no effort to comprehend it. To Kyril, missing a single piece of information would be like death. He would not be able to bear it if he missed a piece of information! However, in addition to gaining a better understanding of the Universe, what Kyril did not notice was that every time Kyril comprehended a piece of information, the gained insight would not only enlighten his mind, but also strengthen his body! Impurities from within the body would be secreted out of his pores as a foul, black ooze that could knock down several horses just from its smell! But with Kyril fully focused on comprehending the pieces of information, he did not know of the existence of the black ooze coming out from his body. Every time the black ooze left his body, Kyril¡¯s body started appearing much fuller and healthier. His skin which was originally dry and filled with cracking lines, started recovering to show smoothness and firmness. The muscles of Kyril also recovered from its usual sagginess and formed under his skin to show a sense of robustness. Time went by and Kyril had stayed in this position without moving for three days straight. The only thing that indicated that he was still alive was the regular breathing pattern that escaped from his body every few seconds. However, compared to Kyril¡¯s calm state, in a not too distant place, an old hunched back woman had a slight frown on her face. ¡°Has something happened to Kyril?¡± Zalea said. Currently, Zalea was sitting in her nameless store behind the wooden counter with her hands clasped together. ¡°How come Kyril hasn¡¯t come to exchange herbs these past few days¡­¡± Zalea said to herself. ¡°Usually Kyril would come to exchange herbs everyday. Very rarely would he miss a day of picking herbs, but to not come here for three days straight, something must have happened...¡± Zalea pushed herself up from her seated position and headed towards the door. But just as she touched the doorknob, a wave of hesitation covered her. This hesitation stemmed from her unusual amount of concern towards Kyril. ¡°This Kyril is special¡­ Ever since almost dying from his attempted suicide, I¡¯ve felt an unusual strength coming from him¡­ Could he be the one I¡¯ve been looking for¡­?¡± Website Chapter 10.2 - To laugh or to cry? Zalea tightened her grip on the doorknob. ¡°I should go check on him¡­ Who knows¡­ He might really be the one¡­ ¡± After saying this, Zalea loosened her grip on the doorknob and went outside. But before any townsfolk could see her, her body disappeared like the wind¡­ And when not even several breaths passed, Zalea had already crossed tens of metres to arrive at Kyril¡¯s shack. But with regards to Zalea¡¯s sudden arrival, Kyril took no notice of it. His face still retained the usual calmness hardly seen by children of his age. When Zalea arrived at Kyril¡¯s shack, the foul smell that came from the black ooze attacked Zalea¡¯s nose. ¡°Impurity cleansing? Who¡¯s cleansing their bodies of impurities here? Moreover, there¡¯s such a large amount of it too¡­¡± Zalea said. Despite the foul smell of the black ooze, Zalea was not too disgusted by it and only wafted her hand in front of her nose to dispel the smell. Rather, she appeared to be quite used to it, as if she had dealt with the smell hundred of times already. ¡°Is there someone other than Kyril here?¡± Zalea asked herself. Immediately, she moved to the source of the foul smell which brought her to the back of Kyril¡¯s shack. Zalea¡¯s eyes landed on Kyril¡¯s ooze covered body, causing her to be momentarily startled. This was because contrary to her expectations, other than Kyril, there was no one else around. The foul smell she smelt earlier did not come from anyone else, but from Kyril! Zalea did not care about what the black ooze on Kyril¡¯s body was, but what it meant for it to be coming out from Kyril¡¯s body! ¡°Kyril is actually undergoing impurity cleansing! Has the heavens finally took pity on him?¡± Zalea became thoroughly shocked within her heart when she saw this. What did impurity cleansing mean? It was the process of purifying the body! The dirt and waste that accumulated in Kyril¡¯s body was being thrown out to leave only the ¡®good¡¯ material! Such a process was an indication of achieving a breakthrough and ascending through into another realm! ¡°Has Kyril finally escaped the chains of being a cripple? Looking at him now, there¡¯s clearly a huge increase in his strength¡­ He should be in the Normal Realm, Third Stage right now! Although he is just in the lowest realm of cultivation, to jump three stages from being a cripple¡­ And he even seems to have received some enlightenment! This is quite extraordinary¡­¡± The shocked eyes of Zalea only held for a few minutes before being replaced with happiness for Kyril, yet at the same time concern. ¡°With this, Kyril has stepped into the world of Practitioner¡¯s. But whether or not he gets far depends entirely on him. However with his attitude, he should definitely get far¡­ ay¡­ if only I could do the same¡­¡° Zalea sighed to herself before her body disappeared once again into the surroundings. The process of comprehending information gained from enlightenment was a difficult one. Those who received enlightenment could not afford to be distracted from anything otherwise they might risk losing valuable insight. Thus, although Zalea disappeared, she did not actually leave. She simply blended her presence with the environment and spread her senses to detect for anything that might distract Kyril. ¡­ Just like this, ten full days had gone by and Kyril began to show signs of awakening from his cultivation. During this time, Zalea had been keeping watch over him from a distance ensuring that there were no distractions approaching him. And when Kyril awoke from his cultivation, only then did Zalea relax a bit. ¡°Normal Realm, Sixth Stage¡­ He actually jumped six stages¡­ Amongst all the people I¡¯ve seen, never have I seen person jump Six Stages of a realm from just one case of enlightenment¡­¡± thought Zalea as she watched Kyril finally start moving. As Kyril got up, only then did he notice the black ooze all over his body. ¡°What is this?¡± Kyril muttered to himself, but then he suddenly remembered one of the books he read from the library. ¡°Could this be impurity cleansing!?¡± Kyril involuntarily shouted out. He scraped his finger along his arm, and looked at the black ooze on the tip of his finger with eyes like an eagle that was looking for it''s prey on the ground. Rubbing his fingers together in circles and then taking small sample to nose to smell it, Kyril inspected every bit of it. After doing this for more than five minutes, Kyril was sure that this black ooze were indeed impurities that came from his body. ¡°Hahaha! This means I can cultivate! I can really cultivate! Hahaha!¡± Kyril laughed. His mouth spread open and he threw his arms in the air as he started jumping up and down in the same spot. Zalea who was watching this also felt glad for Kyril, but also could not help but snicker at Kyril¡¯s current actions. The sight of him jumping up and down like a child was a complete contradiction of his normal calm attitude. But it was understandable. Zalea knew how much Kyril had suffered from not being able to cultivate, and now that he was able to, it was akin to the feeling of one receiving everything they ever wanted. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. As Kyril slowly calmed down from his excitement, he focused his mind on his body and started feeling the changes that had happened to him. Gradually, he felt surges of energy and vitality erupt from within his body. It was as if Kyril¡¯s body was a volcano filled with fiery lava that wanted to shoot up and explode into the air! Immersing himself into this feeling, Kyril did not need to look at a reflection of his body. He could already feel that his body had become a lot stronger and more flexible! Right now, Kyril felt like his body had the strength of a tiger with the flexibility and ferociousness of a coiling dragon! ¡°With this, I¡¯m one more step closer to my goal!¡± Kyril took off all his clothes and grabbed a few leaves from a tree beside him. ¡°I need to test out my strength whenever I get back to the Grassy Mountains. Who knows? I might even be able to defeat two or even three black wolves with just my bare hands!¡± Kyril was truly elated. From today onwards, his life would be drastically different! ¡°After this I should go to the library to learn a bit more about cultivation. Now that I can cultivate, those books about cultivation are no longer just storybooks to satisfy my curiosity, but books that are useful in helping me achieve my goal! I would also need to go and pick up some more herbs to exchange it for more coins. Meager foods like yellow grass and earth nuts just won¡¯t be able to provide the right nutrients to supply healthy growth for a Practitioner. After all, you are what you eat!¡± Kyril said to himself as he planned his next course of action. With leaves in both hands, Kyril rubbed all over his body in an effort to remove the black ooze from his body. ¡°If only there was a source of water nearby and a disposable cloth to wash my body¡­¡± Kyril said to himself. But what could he do? If he went to the Grassy Mountains to look for a river, he would have to go through the Town. Doing this would just attract unnecessary trouble, furthermore, he did not want to expose the fact that he could cultivate. This was a hidden surprise which could be his life saver! ¡°I should keep the townsfolk thinking that I am still a cripple. That way I would not attract unnecessary trouble from people who are overly curious about how I recovered. It is, after all, related to the fact that I have lived two lives! Although I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s true or not, I should have been able to cultivate since being reborn into this world because aside from being reborn, what else could have made major changes to my body? I just didn¡¯t try it under the assumption that I was still a cripple due to being in the body of the previous Kyril who was crippled ever since he could remember¡­¡± Kyril thought. ¡°Wait! Wait! Take this and wipe yourself!¡± Suddenly a figure flashed from above the trees and arrived in front of Kyril holding a pail of water on one hand and a small piece of cloth on the other. ¡°Zalea?¡± Kyril looked at the figure in front of him. ¡°Why are you here?¡± Kyril continued, seemingly unaware of the situation. ¡°Ahh¡­¡± But instead of answering Kyril, Zalea¡¯s eyes stared, with a face that changed several times, straight at Kyril¡¯s bare upper body which had just been purified before her gaze lowered down to his equally naked legs¡­ Looking at Zalea¡¯s weird facial expressions and following her gaze, Kyril was struck with the sudden realisation of the situation he was in. Currently, Kyril¡¯s hands were wrapped around his shoulders trying to remove the black ooze. Thus, there was nothing hiding his ¡®little brother¡¯ down below¡­ ¡°Ah uh¡­ Here¡­ I brought this pail of water and piece of cloth for you¡­¡± However, before this Zalea could hand over the pail of water, her shaking hand had dropped the pail onto the ground spilling all the water. ¡°S-sorry!¡± Zalea quickly said. Her shaking figure was like a flustered young girl. ¡°I-I¡¯ll go get another pail of water!¡± Zalea said with a reddening face. Her face at this moment looked much like a tomato! Although Kyril had, quite literally, his everything seen, he did not mind it too much. He was an old man in reality, what did it matter if his ¡®little brother¡¯ was seen? Not only that, he was also just a mere twelve year old child! How could Kyril be bothered with it? But what made him quite confused was Zalea¡¯s reaction! ¡°What was with that reaction?¡± Kyril involuntarily let out as Zalea disappeared from view. An old hunched back woman who looked older than he did in his previous life was acting like a teenage girl! What is this? To this Kyril truly did not know whether to laugh or cry! Website Chapter 11.1 - Advancement of learning Author Note This chapter was quite hard to write (explaining things so it won''t get boring etc.) so please understand... XD
¡°Here¡¯s the water¡­¡± Zalea said with her head turned away from Kyril. She held the pail of water towards him. Due to the previous ¡®accident¡¯, a layer of light red covered the wrinkled cheeks of Zalea. Kyril took the pail and couldn¡¯t help but push his eyebrows together to form what looked like two sloping sides of a mountain. ¡°Well this is a first¡­ never have I seen an old woman blush like a teenage girl! She¡¯s at least five or six times older than me right now, has she never seen ¡®that¡¯ before??¡± Whatever it was, such a reaction from an old woman was totally unexpected. As if realising what Kyril was thinking, once Kyril took the pail from her hand Zalea turned around and with a jerk from her legs, she vanished from view, throwing two or three leaves into the air. ¡°What¡­¡± Watching Zalea¡¯s sudden disappearance startled Kyril, making him forget the out-of-character expression of Zalea from before. Instead, his eyes pinned straight ahead like an arrow, unblinking and wide open. ¡°...Is this what cultivation can do?¡± Coming and going like the wind, such inconceivable speeds were nothing short of extraordinary to the mind of Kyril! ¡°If cultivation can enable Practitioners to move like the wind, who knows what other abilities cultivation can grant Practitioners! Breathe under water? Walk through the pits of burning lava? Or maybe it can even allow people to withstand the dangers of outer space! If that¡¯s the case, achieving my goal would no longer just be something that will depend on my luck, but as long as I work hard I can achieve it!¡± The hands by the side of Kyril balled into fists and a crescent grin that spread from ear to ear formed on his now purified and handsome face. Within his eyes, a glint of burning fire set alight and shot rays into the world. To understand the Universe completely was previously just a life goal that Kyril aimed for to satisfy his curiosity. But to Kyril now, understanding the Universe was no longer just a goal, it became a part of him, an inseparable piece of his heart that could not be taken away. For Kyril, understanding the Universe was now a path he was determined to follow. From the insights he got earlier, Kyril gained a depth of understanding for the Universe that was incomparable to the depth of insight he got from his past life. It was like taking the contents of a profound, million year old book and copying the contents directly into his mind! If the insight from the thirteen days he spent sitting down was just a drop in the ocean, then the insight from his entire past life would simply be nonexistent. It would be too small to even exist! When he finished cleaning himself of the black ooze on his body, Kyril walked to the entrance of his shack, exhaled green, rotten air composed entirely of impurities, and then took in a deep breath of fresh air. With a metal pail in each hand, Kyril proceeded to walk towards Zalea¡¯s nameless store. After fifteen minutes of walking, Kyril arrived in front of the nameless store and entered. And like before, Zalea sat behind the wooden counter looking at the opening and closing of her store door as Kyril entered. ¡°You could sense me?¡± Kyril asked to avoid a silent atmosphere. Although he already knew the answer, thinking of the incident that happened earlier and Zalea¡¯s reaction, Kyril could tell that coming here would, in the end, be quite awkward. ¡°Mmm¡­¡± Zalea said with a youthful voice unbefitting of an old woman and she lowered her head to reveal the mountain on her back. Hearing Zalea''s unenthused response, Kyril could only smile wryly as he placed one of the metal pails he held on to the wooden counter. ¡°Ahem¡­ Here''s your metal pail. Thanks for watching over me while I was undergoing enlightenment,¡± Kyril said. Stolen story; please report. Having read several books on cultivation from the library, Kyril knew the importance of not being distracted when receiving enlightenment. Thus, to Zalea who looked over Kyril out of her own will, Kyril naturally expressed his sincerities. After Zalea took the metal pail from Kyril, silence once again dawned upon them. As if the silence were arrows that threatened to shoot at them if one of them did not speak, despite her embarrassment, Zalea raised her head and asked quietly, ¡°Um¡­ H-how does cultivation feel¡­? To be able to jump six stages is quite astonishing, after all¡­¡± ¡°Six stages? Uh¡­ Yeah¡­ About that¡­ now that I''ve fixed my crippled body, can you explain to me more about the path of cultivation? I currently know very little about cultivation,¡± Kyril replied embarrassedly. If Kyril were to ignorantly walk on the path of cultivation, then he could suffer some major setbacks in the future. This was something he did not want! Additionally, there was also the display of power Zalea previously showed. Judging from this, Kyril concluded that this old hunched back woman was quite likely a wolf in sheep''s clothing who had an abundance of experience on the path of cultivation. Except, sometimes she was sometimes also like a docile sheep... ¡°It¡¯s better to ask Zalea about cultivation while I have the chance than reading books first,¡± Kyril thought to himself. ¡°While it is possible to learn of cultivation from books alone, all books can do is provide knowledge and not experience! Without experience, knowledge is nothing! That is to say, if a swordsman with the experience of a hundred battles fights against a swordsman who has studied a hundred books of sword techniques, then the swordsman who has fought a hundred battles would surely win!¡± As a person who has lived for decades Kyril knew how important experience was. Raising her head to look at Kyril¡¯s serious face, Zalea backed a few centimetres away. ¡°Ah¡­ Um¡­ Well, exactly how little do you know? I¡¯ll start from there.¡± ¡°Probably next to nothing I guess? So just from the start,¡± Kyril said as he rubbed the back of his head. If someone other than Zalea, who knew about Kyril being crippled, heard that Kyril knew next to nothing about cultivation, then they would think he had been living under a rock his whole life! Cultivation meant survival in the Hundred Sky World, how could one not know about it? ¡°Well¡­ He did have a crippled body so it makes sense for him to know nothing about cultivation¡­¡± Zalea thought. Slapping her cheeks lightly twice to calm herself, Zalea said, ¡°since you didn¡¯t understand what I meant by stages, I¡¯ll start from there.¡± Zalea''s face changed. The shy and timid attitude from before were completely blown away now that she was about to talk about cultivation. ¡°The world of Practitioners is split into five different realms: Normal, Grand, King, Emperor, and Arcane. Each of these realms are then further split into nine stages. Entering a higher stage of a realm is mainly dependent on how stable your cultivation is and how strong your body is. To strengthen the body, Practitioner''s would usually absorb and refine, or cultivate, Martial Essence which can be obtained from the Elemental Nuclei of Magical Beasts or Energy Gems, Herbs, and World Qi that come from the world itself. You can read about these things from the library so I won¡¯t talk about it too much. However, unlike entering higher stages, to enter a new realm is called ¡®ascension¡¯ and requires an advancement of understanding of the attributes of a Practitioner¡¯s Martial Pneuma rather than simply strengthening the body or stabilizing one¡¯s cultivation. As such, things like herbs would not be able to aid in ascending a realm as understanding the attributes of one¡¯s Martial Pneuma is like learning. No matter how much the teacher spoon feeds the student with information, if the student cannot understand anything, then it is simply useless and the student will not be able to learn anything!¡± Website Chapter 11.2 - Advancement of learning Kyril listened to every word of Zalea with interest and committed everything she said to his mind. ¡°Then what¡¯s a Martial Pneuma?¡± Kyril asked. ¡°The Martial Pneuma is the core of all Practitioners and is the form that Martial Essence takes shape in the Practitioner¡¯s Soul Space when it is absorbed and refined. And since it is located within the Soul Space, one can even say that the Martial Pneuma is the soul.¡± ¡°The soul of Practitioners? ...Could it be that it was due to my revival that this body could finally cultivate?¡± Kyril pondered. ¡°Martial Pneumas also have attributes that determine what Martial Essence Practitioners can absorb and refine. As Martial Essence is composed of the six elements: Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Light, and Dark, a Practitioner should not cultivate any other Elemental Attribute other than the Element they have an affinity with! Instead, one must ensure that they remove the other Elements they have no affinity with from the Martial Essence before absorbing it to avoid cultivating Elements that are not suited to them. Absorbing Martial Essence with no affinity to one¡¯s Martial Pneuma would just cause more impurities to build up in the body which would later hinder development! I have witnessed countless Practitioners think that cultivating more Martial Essence would somehow be more beneficial than cultivating their compatible Elemental Attribute only to find out that their bodies became so full of impurities that they could no longer cultivate.¡± Kyril¡¯s head nodded several times as Zalea spoke. But when he heard about the six Elements, Kyril grew slightly confused. ¡°Six Elements? What about my Space attribute teacher said I had affinity with? Should there not at least be seven Elements?¡± ¡°Zalea, are there any other Elements other than the six you mentioned?¡± At Kyril''s sudden question, Zalea shuddered a bit before her eyes locked onto Kyril, ¡°...Why do you ask?¡± To others Zalea¡¯s subtle falter may have been near undetectable, but who was Kyril? He was a person who has decades of experience from his past life. If he could not notice the slight reactions of Zalea then his past life would have been for naught. ¡°So there is another attribute¡­ But why does she seem to want to hide it from me¡­?¡± Kyril thought for a while. ¡°Come to think of it, from the stories I read about Practitioners in the library, there was nothing written about Practitioners who had an affinity with Space. Could it be related to that?¡± Not bothering to wait for Kyril''s response, Zalea stood up and walked to the back of her store and after several breaths of time, Zalea came back to the counter with a transparent crystal shaped like rough rocks found by the side of cliffs in her hands. ¡°This is a Testing Stone. It¡¯ll be able see the shape of your Martial Pneuma as well as Elemental Attribute. Place your hand over it and inject some of your Martial Essence into it.¡± Zalea said and placed the Testing Stone onto the counter. Kyril hesitated for a bit before resting his hand on top of the Testing Stone and injected some of the Martial Essence from inside his body into the Testing Stone. When not even three seconds passed, a faint light flickered and then lit up from within the Testing Stone. In the middle of the stone a dark, hazy figure appeared. Seeing this, Zalea moved closer and looked deep into it as if she was inspecting every nook and cranny. Kyril also looked at the Testing Stone and felt an overwhelming sense of mysteriousness from the fuzzy figure within the Testing Stone. It was as if the fuzzy figure was a hole that had no end, yet was filled with secrets that could cause the skies to fall and the heavens to crash. Turning her head to look at Kyril, Zalea gave a complex look. ¡°From the Testing Stone, it seems that you do not have any affinity with any of the Elemental Attributes, but the Primal Attributes¡­ and the Space Primal Attribute too¡­¡± Zalea said. ¡°Primal Attributes? Is that something different than the elements you mentioned before?¡± Kyril asked curiously. Zalea placed her hand on her head. ¡°It''s completely different! If the Elemental Attributes were like water, then the Primal Attributes would be like fire! Heaven and Earth, light and dark, completely different!¡± Zalea sighed. ¡°Now I don''t know if the heavens have pitied you or wanted to play some tricks and games¡­¡± ¡°This¡­¡± Kyril hesitated. If having an affinity with the Primal Attributes were as bad as Zalea made it out to be, how would it affect achieving his goal? ¡°Is having an affinity with the Primal Attributes really that bad?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not bad, it''s just¡­ extremely wasteful. You should know that the Primal Attributes are much stronger than the Elemental Attributes, but also extremely difficult to cultivate. The amount of effort used to cultivate the Primal Attributes, can be used to cultivate the Elemental Attributes to a level four, even five times greater!¡± ¡°...? Then is it not just more difficult than cultivating the Elemental Attributes?¡± Kyril replied as if saying something that was so obvious that even newborn babies would know about it. Zalea shook her head and moved the Testing Stone to the side so that only the wooden counter and air separated herself and Kyril. ¡°It''s better for me just to explain it. Primal Attributes, unlike Elemental Attributes which comes from the Martial Essence of World Qi, come from Cosmic Qi. The Martial Essence of Cosmic Qi is composed of only four elements: Space, Time, Cosmos, and Chaos, and you have the Space attribute,¡± Zalea explained to Kyril. And when Kyril heard about this he was immediately filled with excitement. ¡°Space¡­ Time¡­¡­¡± Kyril silently thought to himself, repeating the list of Primal Attributes to himself. Then his eyes lit up and his body lightly trembled. ¡°These are the laws of the Universe! Does this mean that if I can get enlightenment in all of the Primal Attributes, I would be able to achieve my goal?¡± This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Kyril felt his mind floating, but did not dare become distracted for too long and focused himself to listening to Zalea again. ¡°However, due to the difficulty of cultivating any of the Primal Attributes, the amount of Practitioners that can cultivate the Primal Attributes doesn¡¯t exceed the number of fingers in my hand. In fact, you may be the only be left! Even counting the number of Primal Attributed Practitioners in all the billions, perhaps trillions, of years, it doesn¡¯t even enter triple digits!¡± Zalea gestured her fingers in the air. ¡°There are also very little records detailing anything about the Primal Attributes and the records that do record some information are at least millions of years old! Furthermore the only information they have is the lives and deaths of Practitioners who cultivated the Primal Attributes. These Practitioners were able to come and go like the wind. Unhindered and free. But their deaths are even more tragic,¡± Zalea said seriously. ¡°Kyril you must remember something, unless your life is threatened, do not easily reveal that you can cultivate any of the Primal Attributes.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Kyril was confused. ¡°Humans are beings that get jealous by nature. Due to the lack of information about the Primal Attributes, if they see you using its power, they will think that you have a priceless treasure and will surely kill you to obtain it. And if powerful Practitioners knowledgeable of the Primal Attributes realise that you are able to cultivate the Primal Attributes, they will kill you before you become more powerful than them. Either way, revealing your Attribute can get you killed!¡± Zalea firmly said with concern evident in her eyes. ¡°Mmm¡­¡± Kyril nodded understandingly. With his life experiences, the emotion called jealousy, he was all too familiar with. Then a sudden realisation dawned onto Kyril. ¡°Zalea, is it possible to be able to cultivate multiple Elements at the same time?¡± ¡°Of course it is. While cultivating one Element is the norm, there are always exceptions to the rules of the heavens. There have been Practitioners who were capable of cultivating two and even three Elements, but the possibility of this happening is very rare. Out of thousands of Practitioners, it''s likely that not even one of them can cultivate two Elements. As for three¡­ perhaps not even one in a million!¡± Hearing this, Kyril''s eyes burned. And when Zalea saw this, she froze. ¡°Wait¡­ Don''t tell me you want to cultivate more than one Primal Attribute¡­¡± To this, Kyril only grinned. ¡°Of course I do! It''s the laws of the Universe, after all!¡± ¡°Not happening! Kyril, did you not hear me earlier? Cultivating the Primal Attributes can be five times harder than cultivating any of the Elemental Attributes! Moreover, cultivating multiple elements is also much harder - two elements would require twice the effort and three elements, three times the effort!¡± Zalea harshly said like a mother warning her child. ¡°And you can¡¯t just gain an element, you¡¯re born with it! If you try to cultivate elements you don¡¯t have an affinity with, you¡¯ll just fill your bodies with impurities! Now that you¡¯re able to cultivate, don¡¯t do something so wasteful!¡± From Kyril, Zalea felt that if she did not say anything to restrain him, Kyril might end up making decisions he might regret in the future. But this only served to encourage Kyril. The Primal Attributes basically meant understanding the Universe! This was Kyril¡¯s ultimate goal in life, how could he face away from such an opportunity? ¡°Wasteful? Utter nonsense! This is a golden opportunity for me! A silver platter served right into my mouth! With this, my goal becomes one step closer!¡± Kyril smirked at Zalea. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that there are always exceptions to the rules?¡± ¡°No no no no no,¡± Zalea repeated. ¡°Were you listening to me? Primal Attributed Cultivators are as rare as ice existing in volcanoes! And previous Practitioners are recorded to only cultivated one of the Primal Attributes! In fact, for the Cosmos and Chaos attributes, there are scarce amounts of records about them, if at all! And you want to cultivate all Primal Attributes? Boy, do I need to smack you to fix that head of yours?¡± Looking at Zalea refuting him as if her life depended on it, Kyril was taken aback, but at the same time was quite amused. ¡°Does this old woman have two personalities? Where did the blushing go? The shyness and the timidness?¡± Kyril wondered, but pushed this to the back of his mind. Instead, Kyril started staring deeply into Zalea. Feeling this stare, it was as if the whole world was looking at her. The eyes of Kyril contained a worldly depth that would shame any ancient book causing Zalea to immediately shut her mouth. ¡°Zalea, let me tell you something.¡± Kyril¡¯s voice grew deep. ¡°When a person follows the crowd, that person will get no further than the crowd. But the person that walks alone will find themselves in places far and high; in places no one has ever been.¡± Silence. Zalea did not know how to respond to such words teeming with wisdom. ¡°Is this really a twelve year old child?¡± Zalea thought in admiration. After a while, Kyril broke his stare with a blink and slight shake of his head before finally revealing a smile. ¡°Thank you for your guidance Zalea, but don¡¯t worry about me,¡± Kyril said. With a light push of his legs, Kyril leaned closer to Zalea and whispered a few words. ¡°I will succeed.¡± Website Chapter 12.1 - First step to greatness Under the rising sun, a young boy with the appearance of a man living through poverty, could be seen walking out of a store with a smile. Contrary to the poverty stricken attire of the young boy, his face formed a smile that outshone the heavens. Hum~ Kyril walked with his hands held behind his back and a head that rocked side to side, humming. ¡°Now that I can cultivate, I should go and take a look at some cultivation books at the library. There should be some within the first three floors that explain the basics of cultivation and after that I can go and take the Cultivation Admission Test. That way, once I get a grip of the basics of cultivation, I should be able to pass the test.¡± Kyril elatedly said and pulled out a pouch made of Wild Beast skin from his robe¡¯s pocket. The pouch was dark brown in colour that looked like it had existed far longer than the young boy, Kyril. It stretched a little to the ground, forming a ball shape at its base. ¡°That Earth Grade Herb was quite a good harvest, I was able to exchange it for five hundred coppers - just half the value of a single silver coin,¡± Kyril said and lifted the pouch to eye level. ¡°It¡¯s a pity that I can¡¯t use it to absorb Martial Essence from. According to Zalea, herbs that can cultivate the Primal Attributes are unheard of!¡± Although Kyril felt a tinge of regret exchanging the Earth Grade herb, which he fought with his life for, for money, but it was unavoidable. Absorbing the Earth Grade herb that cultivated the Elemental Attributes would just have brought impurities into the body instead. ¡°But it¡¯s fine. I need the money anyway. Before I take the Cultivation Admission Test, I need to buy a new set of robes that has a hood to cover my face up during the test. I can¡¯t let it become known that I can cultivate.¡± Dangling the pouch of copper coins in front of him, Kyril planned for any precautions he needed to take to ensure his secret was kept hidden and then threw the pouch back into his robe¡¯s pocket as he walked on forwards to the library. Arriving in front of the library doors, Kyril encountered the two guards from before. Like before, the guards made sure that he was not carrying anything banned before allowing him to enter. The weight of the door still made him look at it with disbelief. Following the different labels on the shelves, Kyril eventually found three suitable books for cultivation that were around a finger thick. Kyril was never one to only obtain his information from one source. By using multiple sources of information, one would be able to form a stronger foundation of the information trying to be learned. ¡°Let¡¯s see here¡­¡± Kyril flicked through the pages of one of the books and briefly scanned its contents while walking to one of the wooden tables located at the entrance of each floor. After taking a seat, Kyril stopped running his finger through the pages and began reading through each page of the book. ¡°In order to cultivate, one should only absorb and refine their Elemental Attribute from the World Qi and leave everything else. To do this, one must be able to control their bodies so that only the preferred Element is absorbed. Then with the mind, a Practitioner should control the Martial Essence in their bodies to refine, as much as they can, the absorbed Martial Essence. This is the core of cultivation. Control the body. Control the mind. By developing this foundation, cultivation becomes more efficient and beneficial¡­¡± Kyril read through the first book with a myriad of expressions. Occasionally his eyebrows would form arcs like the crescent moon and other times a sloping mountain. Picking up the second book, Kyril began reading with an equally serious expression as before. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°To control the body, one must strengthen the skin, muscles, bones, and organs to the point where they can feel every part of their body. To control the mind, one must keep their mind broad and open, and allow it to become all-encompassing¡­¡± Mind and body. These two words appeared on the second book once again. Upon reaching for the third book and opening the first page, the words were both mentioned for a third time. ¡°The mind and body must be indispensable to all Martial Arts. Even back on earth it was said that one wouldn¡¯t be able to reach the pinnacle of Martial Arts without controlling the mind and body.¡± Closing the third book, Kyril let out a sigh. ¡°Cultivation is truly only for the strongest minds. It is not only physical strength that matters with cultivation, only those with determination, patience, and willpower can become powerful,¡± Kyril said with anticipation. He was confident that he had all these traits and that one day he would reach the peak of cultivation and achieve his life goal. From reading the three books, Kyril gained a rough understanding of cultivation. ¡°All the books explained things so simply, but in reality something so easily explained is actually very complex. If I were to make an analogy, then cultivation is like painting. Anyone can paint a picture, but not everyone can paint an image that is capable of capturing hundreds of emotions,¡± Kyril said. Although it was only three books, Kyril learnt many things about cultivation which granted him a deeper understanding of it. ¡°From what I understand, the most important things in cultivation are the mind and body. The body is used to separate the Elements in World Qi, but can also be used to attack and defend. The mind is for controlling the Martial Essence within the body, but can also be used to activate Martial Techniques.¡± Kyril recalled what he read. ¡°To control the body is much easier than controlling the mind. With the body, physical training is enough to strengthen it, but with the mind, it can take years, even decades to fully hone it,¡± Kyril muttered to himself. ¡°But whether it be years or decades, as long as I can achieve my goal then those years mean nothing!¡± Kyril was not the least bit intimidated at the seemingly difficult path he was about to walk on. If he became scared by something like this, he would have never pursued a goal as unimaginable as completely understanding the universe. And now he was about to take his first step of cultivation. All he had to do now was to put what he read into practice. After all, what use is knowledge if it is just collecting dust in the corner of one¡¯s mind? ¡°But if I cultivate here, someone might see me cultivating¡­ I should go home to cultivate, that way there''s no chance of being seen.¡± Kyril weighed the advantages and disadvantages of cultivating in the library. If he cultivated in the library, he would have immediate access to any books if he were to run into a problem, but this risked the exposure of getting caught which he could not have. Thus, Kyril decided to practice at home. There he was certain to not be distracted. Furthermore, he liked the scenery of the back of his shack where everything of nature seemed to gather. Trees, leaves, mountains¡­ there was something about it that brought a sense of harmony and tranquility to him. With those thoughts, Kyril rose from his seat and descended to the first floor of the library and then to the entrance of the library where greeted the guards before heading back home to his run down shack. Website Chapter 12.2 - First step to greatness The closer Kyril was to home, that faster he walked. He already could not contain his excitement to properly start his Martial Life. ¡°Hmm¡­ I should start with training the mind first. The body can be strengthened as one grows older, but the mind is not so simple. If a man does not use his mind, no matter how old he is, it would only be a place for dust to collect.¡± At the back of his shack, Kyril reversed the metal pail in his hand onto the ground and sat down. ¡°But what does it mean for the mind to be broad and open?¡± Kyril voiced out his thoughts as he contemplated the meaning behind the words he read from the books. ¡°Should it not be possible to train the mind like the body?¡± But upon further thinking, Kyril dispelled this thought. How could the mind be compared to the body? The mind is incredibly complex and enigmatic. It cannot be so simply trained! The mind does not need all arms or legs to exist, but if the body has a partial mind, then the body would be useless. The mind can exist without part of the body, while the body, without a complete mind, is just a piece of useless meat! Leaning his back onto the wooden boards of his shack, Kyril began contemplating the words he read in search for a deeper meaning. His eyes rested far into the distance and on nature¡¯s most remarkable work of art. Everything he saw - sky, birds, clouds, and the swaying trees and leaves - calmed his mind, lulling him into a serene state. Only several words floated in the empty space of his mind. These words gradually started stretching and contracting, later forming into a ball of light mist. And from it, a series of ghostly images appeared within his mind. But Kyril did not think anything of it and simply observed everything. The images displayed a shadowy figure that had wisps of light coiling around its body. Every time the light entered the figure¡¯s body, a sweet and comforting sensation emanated from the same spot on Kyril¡¯s body. It was as if Kyril was connected to the shadowy figure by a mysterious force. Everything the figure had in its mind appeared in Kyril¡¯s. Kyril¡¯s breathing turned soft and long with both his eyelids having kissed long ago. Slowly, Kyril transitioned into a state of mindfulness. ¡°So it was like this¡­¡± Kyril reached a sudden realisation. With his mind accepting all the thoughts of the shadowy figure, the deeper meaning behind the books he read began to reveal itself. ¡°The mind is not honed by trying to hone it, nor can it be trained like the body. The mind can only be honed by letting it free and away from any restriction. Trying to forcibly hone the mind would just place limitations on it. Only by allowing it to be free will the mind be strengthened¡­¡± Seconds turned to minutes, and minutes into hours¡­ and when two hours had passed did Kyril showed signs of sobering up from his previous state. His eyes opened and a wave of profoundness flowed out. ¡°To hone the mind I must become aware. Aware of everything around me and aware of everything within me¡­¡± Kyril lightly said. This was the deeper meaning of cultivating the mind. It is the complete awareness of everything. Taking in a deep breath, Kyril stretched his fingers and let out a bright smile. ¡°Although it took me a while to find the deeper meaning of those books, I¡¯ve finally firmly set my foot on the path cultivation and become a step closer to my goal!¡± But if anyone heard Kyril at this moment, they would have already dropped to the ground in shock. Nevermind what his goal was or that in his twelve years he only started cultivating now, but to say that two hours was long would just cause others to bang their heads in shame! One should know that most people could not even comprehend the deeper meaning! And those who did took days, even weeks to gain just a bit of understanding! Perhaps it was due to Kyril¡¯s experience of two lives, but such a comprehension speed was truly abnormal! But Kyril was totally oblivious to this as he had no one to compare himself to. Right now Kyril was calming his excited mind. The smile on his face was replaced with an expression that showed neither happiness or sadness. When his breathing steadied, Kyril suddenly felt a faint gathering of energy around him. And as Kyril focused his attention on this energy he discovered that this energy was actually made up of two distinctly different energies. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°This must be the two different Qi¡¯s, Cosmic Qi and World Qi. One feels like it¡¯s burning and freezing at the same time, while the other one feels almost nonexistent, yet there seems to be more of it around me¡­¡± Kyril probed the two energies with his senses. ¡°The Primal Attributes doesn¡¯t have any heat or ice related attributes so it must be the near nonexistent energy which is the Cosmic Qi.¡± Kyril had little information to confidently make his judgement, but he had to do so eventually. Otherwise he would be wasting time and not make any progress. Kyril controlled what seemed to be the Cosmic Qi with his mind and willed for it to come closer, making it form a thin layer of it around his body. This occurrence lasted for not even the blink of an eye and soon the Cosmic Qi was suddenly absorbed into his body. Kyril¡¯s pores were wide open and sucked the layer of Cosmic Qi into his body like a wild whirlpool. At this point Kyril could feel different existences in his meridians. There was an existence that was violent and uncontained, one that was calm, but radiated a terrifying might, and another that was unmoving and seemingly unshakable. But from these existences Kyril did not feel any familiarity. Yet Kyril observed patiently. And after sometime, Kyril found the presence of another existence that was too calm. Only minor distortions occurred in the area around it. But apart from that, it was simply¡­ there. ¡°This must be the Space Primal Attribute¡­¡± Kyril instinctively knew what this existence was. From it, there was the sort of feeling that one got when they found the thing they spent countless years searching for. An indescribable feeling of yearning and intimacy. Following the teachings of the book, Kyril felt the Martial Essence in his body and started circulating it throughout his meridians, organs, and bones. Doing this, Kyril focused his mind and made sure to force anything other than the Space Primal Attribute out of his body, ensuring absolute purity. This was a slow and extremely boring process that only allowed droplet sized Martial Essence to be cultivated, but Kyril persevered. He understood that cultivation would not be an easy path to tread on. Only those with an iron heart could succeed! grumble... Many more hours passed and Kyril¡¯s stomach started protesting at its owner¡¯s lack of food consumption. Feeling the slight discomfort in from his lower abdomen, Kyril reluctantly awakened from his cultivation state and stood up while rubbing his stomach. If not for his stomach, Kyril might have even cultivated all day! ¡°It looks like on an empty stomach, even cultivation cannot be done,¡± Kyril said and picked up the metal pail from the ground. ¡°But even if I want to eat, those yellow grasses and earth nuts would probably do more harm to my body than good. Even bark from trees would be more nutritious than that!¡± Kyril frowned as he thought of eating something that was no better than swallowing mud. ¡°Luckily I now have five hundred coppers. With that I should be able to buy a decent meal,¡± Kyril said and replaced the thought of eating mud with the thought of a steaming meal going down his throat. Kyril raised his head towards the sky. The sun no longer hung in the sky. During Kyril¡¯s period of cultivation, the sun had started to lower and when Kyril stopped, the sun was replaced by a moon and innumerable stars that lit up the night sky. ¡°Hmm¡­ After looking for food, I should go and test the improvement of my body in the Grassy Mountains. Although it¡¯s dark, It shouldn¡¯t be too dangerous if I just stay in the outskirts.¡± Of course, there would always be danger lurking around, especially in the night. But danger was essential to a Practitioner¡¯s growth. Without facing any perilous situations, how can one expect to gain experience and improve? Stretching his stiff back and legs, a resplendent smile spread across Kyril¡¯s face and he proceeded to the entrance of his shack. He was looking forward to the rewards of his first step to greatness. ¡°Well, let¡¯s go.¡± Website Chapter 13.1 - Power of the Sword Walking into town, Kyril saw that there were a large number of shops still open and were all lit up by large candles that hung on its walls and entrances. Kyril was currently strolling through the streets of Vale Town''s outer vicinity. Through the guidance of his memories, Kyril had no trouble finding his way around. After ten minutes of walking, Kyril arrived in front of store that had a sign hanging above the entrance. Engraved on the sign were the words ¡®Gaana Armoury.¡¯ Entering the shop, the first thing Kyril noticed was the large familiar figure reclining on a chair with their leather padded legs resting atop a wooden counter. ¡°Hm? If it isn''t the library kid. You¡¯re not calling me to open the library are ya?¡± The man yawned. ¡°If so, you¡¯ll have to wait until tomorrow morning,¡± the man said. Taking a closer look at the figure, Kyril instantly recognised this figure as one of the guards of the library. Without knowing it, Kyril¡¯s body slightly relaxed and a soft breath escaped his mouth. Thinking back to their first meeting, this man had not treated him like a bird that could not fly. ¡°Actually, I¡¯m just here to look for a replacement,¡± Kyril said and reached into his pocket. Two halves of a knife were then placed on the counter. ¡°So it¡¯s finally broken huh?¡± The guard reached for the broken blade and then pointed his thumb to a door behind him. ¡°Check in their. Aside from knives, there are swords, bows, and axes. Once you choose something, come and pay for it here.¡± Kyril nodded his head and opened the door. Through the opening, a silvery light filled the room reflected off of the metal blades and arrows, and escaped through the opening of the door. Kyril swept his eyes over the various weapons. The room¡¯s walls were lined categorically with the different weapons the guard mentioned, but aside from the swords that hung on the wall opposite him, none of the other weapons piqued his interest. ¡°Should I get a sword instead? In terms of fighting the sword will always win. Compared to a knife, the sword is like a tiger in front of an ant! In the hands of a powerful Practitioner, the sword is simply unmatched!¡± Kyril had read several historical records of terrifyingly strong Practitioners in the library and ever since ancient times, the sword had always been the ultimate bladed weapon. A single slash would rip mountains like butter! A single strike to a person can cause fountains of blood! A single wave could create a sea of blood out of an army of thousands! With but a sword and a single move, a strong Practitioner can dominate the world! This is the power of the sword. But a sword that cannot be used is like a brush that cannot paint. All the swords in front of Kyril were simply too big. ¡°However, right now my body is too small. All the swords here are at least a head taller so it¡¯s a bit impractical to use one at the moment...¡± Kyril thought. While swords were extremely powerful, it could only be considered powerful if used properly and with such a height disparity, a mere twelve year old child trying to control a sword tens of centimetres taller than them was too difficult. ¡°Hmm?¡± Suddenly, Kyril noticed that in the top-right corner of his eyes, an unusually black curved sword hanging down the walls like the crescent moon. ¡°That¡¯s quite a unique sword...¡± Kyril moved to the side and reached for the sword. Kyril looked at the curved sword in his hands. It had a blade that was as long as some of the other swords on the wall, but because of its curved blade, its actual height only reached to the nose of Kyril, making it tens of centimetres smaller than the other swords. A perfect fit for Kyril. Looking at the curved sword, Kyril remembered back to the swords of his previous life. Out of all the swords, there was one sword that resembled the sword he held in his hands - the katana. Among all the swords, the katana was peerless in its field. It''s curved blade allowed for swift attacks that could kill in an instant and it was forged in such a way that bricks that had the hardness of rocks could not stop it''s cutting power! The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. With these thoughts in mind, Kyril began swinging the katana with both hands. Swish! Each swing sliced through the air with an ear splitting sound. Even though Kyril had not learnt any sword techniques, the mere sharpness of the blade was enough to cut holes in the air. ¡°Unlike the other swords, this curved sword is smaller so it is easily carried. Moreover, it¡¯s weight and height suit me perfectly...¡± Kyril stopped swinging and a wry smile formed on his face. ¡°Hopefully the price won¡¯t be too high...¡± Exiting the room, Kyril placed the katana in front of the guard. ¡°How much is this?¡± ¡°Mmm?¡± The guard looked at the curved sword and then shook his head. ¡°You youngsters really need to stop being so impulsive,¡± the guard paused. ¡°There has already been tens of other kids who thought they could learn how to use this sword only to bring it back to me and demand their money back. Even that Seth kid of that bastard Garren couldn¡¯t handle this sword,¡± the guard said. In his eyes, Kyril noticed a fleeting ray of hatred. Lifting his face to Kyril, the guard continued, ¡°kid you should know that between straight swords and curved swords, curved swords are by far the most difficult to train in. Curved swords can¡¯t cut with both sides of the blade and are less effective at stabbing therefore decreasing its overall power. And... I¡¯ll say it bluntly. With your body¡¯s condition, it¡¯s useless. Are you sure you still want to buy it?¡± The guard tried his best to convince Kyril, but it was to no avail. Immediately after asking Kyril, Kyril responded with a deep nod. ¡°So what if it¡¯s the most difficult to train in? Nothing ventured nothing gained! If I don¡¯t at least try to use it, then it would be for sure that I achieved nothing! Only by experiencing difficulty and setbacks can one truly grow!¡± Kyril thought. How could he be compared to those youngsters? He was a person with the experience of two lives, there was no way such a thing could scare him. ¡°Haa¡­ that¡¯ll be two hundred coppers. Just so you know, if you plan on returning the sword, I won¡¯t be giving back the same amount of money and I won¡¯t be accepting it back if it¡¯s damaged.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Kyril replied and hid the sword in his robe before turning his back to face the front door. But just as he was about to place his hands in the door handle, the door abruptly swung open and a child at the height of Kyril¡¯s shoulder came into view. A wall of silence separated the two as they looked at each other, both with vastly different expressions. Kyril put on a face that was like still water and just observed the child. Not a twitch of muscle on his face, but the child opposite had a variety of changing faces that finally stopped at wide-eyed with an opening and closing mouth. ¡°Ason, what¡¯re you standing there for? Weren¡¯t you going to say something to him?¡± The guard suddenly said. If the guard did not say anything, then the silence between the two could have continued for hours! ¡°Aa...um¡­ um¡­¡± The child¡¯s eyes raced back and forth between the guard and Kyril. His body started shaking and his legs trembled like leaves in the wind. ¡°I¡­ um¡­ Excuse me!¡± The child bolted off to the opening side of Kyril and straight up the stairs with occasional loud thumps and cries of agony. Seeing the child run off, the guard let out a sigh. ¡°Sorry, my son gets nervous easily. Please don¡¯t mind him.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Kyril smiled wryly and gave a slight bow to the guard, ¡°I¡¯ll be going then.¡± Exiting the shop, Kyril made sure that the curved sword was completely hidden in his robe then started his way towards a shop that leaked an aroma capable of driving the stomach mad. Website Chapter 13.2 - Power of the Sword As Kyril approached the shop, the aroma of freshly cooked food invaded his nose. The open stalls present in front of the shop were lined with foods Kyril had never seen before. But before Kyril could start choosing from the stall, he was met with the sunken eyes of a fat middle aged man who aimed his dagger filled eyes at Kyril. ¡°Trash, if you''re thinking of getting free food from me then scram. This shop doesn''t serve haggards,¡± the fat old man sneered and pointed his finger at a wooden box filled with rotten food that had large black flies buzzing around it. ¡°If you want free food you can have that, go rummage through that,¡± the fat middle aged man snickered. His voice was loud enough to let the few other townsfolk hear his voice. Mocking laughter echoed from the people watching this scene. ¡°Haha¡­ you might even find a piece of yourself in there!¡± Someone joked causing the others to laugh even more. Everyone present looked at Kyril with eyes containing not a shred of pity. Satisfied by the reaction of the crowd, the fat middle aged man picked up a piece of roasted meat from the stall and dangled it above his mouth while looking at Kyril, hoping to see Kyril come to him begging on his knees so that he could embarrass him more. However, contrary to the fat middle aged man¡¯s expectations, Kyril was not looking at the piece of meat. Kyril¡¯s mouth and stomach neither watered or grumbled. Instead, his gaze focused at the places below the fat middle aged man¡¯s head. ¡°Rolls¡­ rolls¡­ and more rolls¡­¡± Kyril muttered. ¡°Huh?¡± The fat middle aged man and the crowd gawked in unison. Hearing such nonsense, the fat middle aged man and the onlookers almost burst out laughing. But before they could do so, a piercing glare shot towards the fat middle aged man. ¡°Hmph. Are those fat-filled rolls of yours for sale too? Perhaps if you tried flaunting them above your mouth I''d be at your knees. After all, what I, Kyril, likes the most are rolls filled with fat!¡± Kyril voiced out loudly and returned the glare to the fat middle aged man. The fat middle aged man¡¯s mouth flapped open and close like a leaf blowing in all directions by the wind. ¡°You¡­! You...! How dare you!¡± The fat middle aged man¡¯s face turned tomato red as he threw the piece of meat to the ground and then pulled the collar of his robes up to hide his neck. For a moment, the onlookers were sent into confusion, but following Kyril¡¯s gaze and looking at the reaction of the fat middle aged man, they finally realised what Kyril was referring to. Some even shamelessly chuckled at the fat middle aged man¡¯s embarrassment which only lead to the tomato red face turning even redder to the point where steam could be seen rising from the fat middle aged man¡¯s head. ¡°Dare? Hmph! You think I¡¯ll let you humiliate me? Do not think that I am a person so easily bullied!¡± Kyril said and swept his eyes at the fat middle aged man then towards the townsfolk. The words and eyes of Kyril contained an endless coldness that sent chills up everyone¡¯s spine. Kyril looked with a sharpness that could kill. This was a warning aimed at all those present and not to be taken lightly. The onlookers were rendered dumbfounded at this very moment. Since when did Kyril act like this? Kyril had always been subservient to all the townsfolk. He never went against anyone and always stayed quiet. But now Kyril actually shouted back at someone, who could expect this? But this was Kyril''s biggest secret. Kyril was no longer the Kyril from before. The previous Kyril is gone. The Kyril now had ambitions and goals so high that it surpassed the heavens! And the only way to achieve this is through strength! Only the weak were bullied. How could Kyril allow such obvious bullying to pass? Peng! Kyril pulled out thirty copper coins from his inner pocket and threw it at an empty part of the table. Lifting the two bones wrapped in roasted meat with each hand, Kyril shot one last look at the fat middle age man before turning around to the direction of the Grassy Mountains. Along the way, some of those who heard what Kyril said took a step back, while those who had not heard, tilted their head with furrowed brows at their fellow townsfolk. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡­ In the Grassy Mountains, the young figure of Kyril moved rapidly through the trees under the night sky. Around him, a trail of fallen branches covered the ground while droplets of dark red blood sprinkled all over his robes. Shing! Shing! Shing! The continuous whistling of a blade resounded through the air like the howling wind. Within the midst of darkness, Kyril held out his sword and slashed out towards him. Every slash he made appeared to cut through nothing but empty darkness. However what appeared to be nothing, was actually the faint silhouette of a Black Wolf. Due to the colour of their fur, the jet black fur of Black Wolves allowed them to blend with the darkness, making them one of the most dangerous Wild Beasts to encounter during the night. And under normal circumstances, the Black Wolf would never be so easily noticed, especially by a mere twelve year old. But was Kyril normal? Kyril was a person who jumped six stages and also had an affinity with one of the Primal Attributes! Kyril was as far from normal as ants were from the stars! With the curved blade gripped tightly in his hands, slashes rained down onto the Black Wolf in front of Kyril. ¡°Haooo!¡± Numerous wounds opened on the Black Wolf¡¯s body as an anguished cry escaped from the mouth of the Black Wolf. Its pair of blood red eyes filled with endless hatred and shot directly at Kyril. Despite its black fur that camouflaged it into the darkness, in front of Kyril there was no hiding. This was because for some reason since entering the Grassy Mountains, Kyril felt like his mind opened and expanded to encompass everything in the space around him. Within a radius of ten metres, everything became clear. Puchi! Kyril thrusted his sword at the Black Wolf''s chest which entered two finger widths into its flesh. ¡°Hao¡­ hao¡­¡± The Black Wolf began quietly whimpering as it jumped back to pull the sword out and started retreating backwards as if understanding that in front of this human, it would only get killed. Turning its body around, with a push of its legs, the Black Wolf darted away into the distance. Seeing the Black Wolf fleeting away in a panic, Kyril felt a sensation of accomplishment rising inside of him. ¡°Before, fighting a Black Wolf nearly cost me my life, but now after entering the Normal Realm, Sixth Stage and using a sword, my strength has increased so much that not even a single hair of my body was touched! If I continue like this, my goal will definitely be achieved!¡± Kyril said happily. But Kyril knew that a key factor to his dominance over the Black Wolf was the curved black sword in his hands. Without it, then causing the Black Wolf to retreat in panic would have been a near impossibility. ¡°If it weren''t for this sword, then that fight would not have been so easy,¡± Kyril said. ¡°In the future I should learn some Martial Techniques on the sword. Currently, this sword is an external power. Only when I truly learn the way of the sword can it be considered my own power!¡± In a world where power meant survival, weapons meant more power and therefore a better chance of surviving. This was what Kyril needed the most! Holding the curved black sword in one hand, Kyril fixed his robes with the other and then turned his gaze to look at the direction the Black Wolf ran to. ¡°Hmph¡­ Well at least now I can test just how fast my body can go,¡± Kyril muttered and began sprinting in the same direction. In the blanket of darkness, a young figure ran with a mischievous smile that spread across their face¡­ Website Announcement | Requesting feedback for plot progression and character development Hey guys (and gals), so before I start I''d like to thank all of you for the support shown to me either by simply following, favourite-ing, or commenting a simple ''thank you.'' And now the real announcement... So I''ve received several comments talking about my plot progression and character development critiquing on how slow and plain they are (which I am grateful for, otherwise I would never have known to fix it.) Let''s start with plot progression. I am aware that plot progression is quite slow, but the reason for that is I want to explain things fully to avoid any misunderstandings in the future. (Of course, I am also aware that there are needless dialogue and descriptions here and there which I am working on minimising.) As for character development, this is a big one. Character development has been the hardest thing so far to implement in my story. The reason being is that I am not too sure how to go about it nor am I too sure about to what extent do I have to write about it. Thus, my question is: A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. What is it that matters most with character development? Appearance? Personality? Any others? What is it that readers want to see and what readers don''t want to see for character development? Is talking about how the MC came to become smart, badass (etc. etc.) a need, or is focusing on how the MC learns new techniques, meets new people more important? Please express your opinion freely whether good or negative as it would really help me improve. Thank you :) Chapter 14.1 - The Might of a Magical Beast Sha sha sha... Kyril¡¯s shadow blurred past the trees like a snake weaving through the grass. ¡°My body feels so light!¡± Kyril said surprised. Never would he have thought that a single step into cultivation would improve his body to this extent. Compared to before, his body felt as light as the clouds! As he continued on, Kyril cleared his mind and entered a state of mindfulness. In his mind, a path the colour of water formed from the trails of blood left behind by the Black Wolf. ¡°...Just a little to the left and then straight.¡± Eventually, the trails of blood came to a halt. With his mind still clear like water, Kyril stopped moving and immediately sensed the Black Wolf¡¯s presence hiding behind a bush cowering in fear. In the eyes of the Black Wolf, Kyril appeared not as a human, but the very embodiment of death. But before Kyril could do anything, deafening explosions suddenly thundered across the sky. Boom! Boom! Boom! The air around Kyril contracted and expanded creating miniature blasts that tore leaves away from the trees. ¡°Aguaa!¡± ¡°Kyuuu!¡± Accompanying the explosions, the roars of Beasts came banging at Kyril''s eardrums. As if it were knives themselves, the sound waves of the roars sliced through Kyril¡¯s robes leaving cuts all over his body! However, Kyril failed to notice the blood that trickled down from his body. His sense of pain numbed as adrenaline swept through his veins like a waterfall. By the side, the Black Wolf held the opposite reaction. Cries of pain escaped the Black Wolf''s mouth as it''s already bloodied fur became dyed a dark red. ¡°Awuu¡­ awuu¡­¡± Lowering its head in pain, the Black Wolf near Kyril dropped its tail in surrender. Looking at the sheep turned wolf, Kyril finally realised something. This Black Wolf was not cowering in fear at himself, but at the terrifying beasts in front of them! ¡°What are these beasts? To actually cause a Black Wolf to bow its head when they¡¯re amongst the most powerful Wild Beasts!¡± Kyril was shocked. Black Wolves were proud Beasts. They did not easily submit to other Beasts even if threatened by death! But now the Black Wolf actually lowered its head in resignation at the existences in the distance! ¡°Unless¡­ they¡¯re not Wild Beasts... but Magical Beasts!¡± A flurry of chills ran through Kyril''s flesh and bones like the meandering river of an icy world. Against Wild Beasts, Kyril was confident with dealing with them. After all, Wild Beasts could not cultivate. But Magical Beasts were different. They were Beasts that could use powerful Techniques which defied the heavens! Unlike Wild Beasts, Magical Beasts had the ability to cultivate Martial Essence! The mere thought of encountering a Magical Beast was enough to send Kyril''s heart pounding at his chest like the banging of a thunderous gong! But the more his Kyril''s heart pumped, the more he felt the need to experience whatever it was behind the boulders and rocks. If Kyril¡¯s first fight with the Black Wolf was considered a life or death scenario, then experiencing the might of Magical Beasts would be a fight of the soul''s existence or disappearance! At least after death, there could still be an afterlife, but without the soul then there is nothingness! ¡°But¡­ this can also be the so called ¡®finding benefits in the face of adversity!¡¯ Only by experiencing danger can one become dangerous! In other words, to become powerful, I need to experience power!¡± Kyril thought and steeled his mind. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. With this resolution, Kyril crept up behind tens of large boulders and peeked past them, but by doing so, Kyril''s breathing froze¡­ A short distance in front of Kyril, an area of complete destruction spread like a gaping hole on the face of the Grassy Mountains. And from the area, explosions of air and crackings of the earth travelled far and wide while the winds blew violently across the night sky. Continuous roars of powerful beasts echoed with a force enough to smash stones into dust. Under the moonlight¡¯s touch, the appearance of two Magical Beasts the size of two elephants appeared clearly within Kyril¡¯s eyes. One of the Magical Beasts was a monkey covered in deep red hairs that had the look of a barbaric ape! On the other hand, the opposite Magical Beast was a fox that emitted a cool, but deadly aura. Its fur was blanketed with a dazzling white while blue stripes ran along the centre of its body down to its tail. On the left, the monkey howled with extreme anger. Its hands which clenched into fists like hardened boulders rained down at the fox like Magical Beast in front of it. But how could the fox Magical Beast just watch as it was attacked? To the right, the fox Magical Beast opened its white mouth and let out a piercing cry. ¡°Kyuuuu!¡± Icy air waves blasted from its body chilling everything in its path. All the night new the air breathed on turned into icicles as sharp as spears which covered every single blade of grass!. Crackle! The icicles rose from the ground into the air and coalesced into a wall of ice as thick as the width of five palms! Like a mirror in the moonlight, the wall of ice spread out in front of the fox and seemed like a priceless treasure of created entirely of pure blue crystals. Each ray of moonlight bounced off of the icy wall and illuminated the surroundings with a brilliant blue. Seeing the wall of ice, the monkey only let out another cry. This time filled with disdain. ¡°Aguaa!!¡± The incoming fist of the monkey abruptly burst into red flames. These were no longer fists, but falling meteorites ready to destroy everything in its path! A clash of a violent blood red against a bone chilling blue! Whoosh! The flaming fist smashed into the wall of ice leaving a mini crater. But this was not all. Seeing that the fist did not get through, the monkey raised its fist once more and threw it down. It was a shower of meteorites raining down onto a thick wall of ice! Bang! Bang! Bang! Slowly but surely, white lines of cracks spread all over the surface of the wall of ice. ¡°Why isn''t the fox dodging? With a body that size, it''s limbs must be powerful enough to even jump over that monkey!¡± Kyril watched in wonder at the fight and was greatly surprised at the fox¡¯s lack of movement. Foxes were known for their exceptional speed and hunting skills, yet right now it was acting as if it did not have any of those abilities. ¡°Could it be that foxes here are different from Earth?¡± Kyril thought as he observed the fox. ¡°No that can''t be¡­ With the ability to cultivate, their abilities should be far superior!¡± Thinking this, Kyril looked at the fox in search for a reason why the fox would simply just stand defending. ¡°Hmm?¡± After searching for a while, Kyril noticed something underneath the fox¡¯s chest. ¡°That¡¯s a baby fox!¡± Website