《Path Of Sword Master》 Chapter 1 - Birth Of Li Jie Far into the void exists a universe called "THE SUN" which is filled with an uncountable number of galaxies from big to small, they all have their own unique qualities, in one of the unknown corners of the universe, there exists a small galaxy called "NAVIDA", where martial arts thrive and martial artists take pride in their bloodline and strength which help them gain fame and recognition among all. In this galaxy exists a continent thriving with culture and elegance which is known by all to be "Bright Heart" continent, where one can gain recognition by getting stronger on the path of cultivation where the stronger you are the more respect you gain. But it is said by the ancient cultivators of the continent, that the path of cultivation is arduous and the whole path is fraught with dangers one mistake can lead to direct death that''s why it is said to have patience with bravery and perseverance. The Bright Heart continent has one ruler, 3 academies, and 5 major families where one is the imperial family of the Bright heart continent, whereas the three academies are Sacred Heart academy, River-view academy, and Dragnoth demonic academy, and the 5 major families are the Li family, wang family, zheng family, fu merchant family and Gu poison family. At a place where mountains reside on top of each other and the terrain is filled with forests there exists a castle on the topmost mountain, the whole mountainous region belongs to the Li family. In the ancestral hall of the Li, family rang a cry of a baby which had been birthed by the wife of patriarch of the family, the Li family which is one of the 5 major families which has countless strong subordinates and talented youngsters in their midst. being the first child of the patriarch caused the whole family to be joyous, gold was donated to the poor, and banquets were held which went on for days in the region governed by the family. A bigger banquet was organized and all the major powers were invited from the other regions. A woman whose face was oval-shaped and eyes like peach, whose skin was fair and tender was holding a cute chubby baby whose eyebrows looked sharp as a sword, such defining features at birth made him special. "Li Na for how long will you keep gazing at him, I have a bad feeling that you might spoil him greatly in the future hahaha", said the man with chiseled features who was also the great patriarch of the Li family who is one above all in this region. "No, my dear Li Wei he is our son he will be a great warrior who will be unrivaled amongst his peers just like his father and grandfather before him," said Li Na. there was a smile on the man''s face hearing this, yes you are right all the Li family resources will be for him and he shall be a fierce warrior, with my and your unique bloodline he will have the best of bloodline and he will have the best talent. the man said to his wife, "my love what name shall be given to our son." she replied "I have already decided he will be called "Li Jie" he will be heroic like his predecessors before him". the man after seeing her happy got up to go out of his room where he got sight of his brother who had a smiling face, "congratulation brother". "haha yes, brother I have never been this happier in my whole life". "Did those old farts send you on their own behalf?" "Yes, brother said Li Jung but I am also here to inform you that they are not very happy with this occasion as you know they have their own grandkids now they are feeling threatened for the resources which they have been accumulating to end up in my dearest nephew''s hand". hmph, so what!!! I will see to it that no one dares to have any untoward thoughts towards my child or I will rip their whole generation apart from old to young. give them a warning from my side Li Jung so that they understand the consequences of provoking me hurmmphh. "but brother you know they are not the only ones to be threatened by young master there are also those of other regions although they are just waiting for the bloodline check-up which will reveal to what grade bloodline does young master owns and then they might take action, what concerns me most is what if the elders of our clan join hands with them to deal with our young master". "don''t worry Li Jung, my brother, my son will not be easy to kill and if anyone in this world dares to have any untoward thoughts toward him they shall face my wrath. Now, all we have to do is wait for my son to be 5 years old", cause that is when a person''s bloodline can be checked. In different regions of the Bright Heart continent, discussions were going on, "Hey, have you heard Li family''s patriarch got a son I wonder what bloodline he will awaken with?" "isn''t it obvious he will awaken with the rare gravity bloodline of the Li family one of the grade 9 bloodline there can also be a mutation but that will only mean having a stronger bloodline?" "of course, it will be something else if he were to awaken a divine grade bloodline which hasn''t been seen for a thousand years, I remember in the old records it is mentioned that the last one mentioned of having the divine grade bloodline is void supreme, his cultivation was as smooth as cranes flocking the sea and his power was said to be invincible amongst his peers". Supreme is a title given to those martial artists who have stepped onto the 2nd step of the path of cultivation, which no one in this vast bright heart has been able to step in, this alone can show that a place with millions of population can rarely anyone surpass the 1st step but with the divine grade bloodline it is possible and that there is only a possibility not certain to get into the 2nd step whereas bloodline below that is destined not to reach the 2nd step as they can only face the barrier between the 1st step and the 2nd step. Chapter 2 - Phenomenon Appears In The Sky Five years later in a beautiful garden on the backside of the Li castle, there was sitting a woman of elegance and beauty with a dash of warmth on her face, when she would look at her three kids playing and running around the garden, among which one was an older boy while the other two were twins of opposite genders, two years after the birth of Li jie, madam of the Li family gave birth to Li Shuangyan and Li Zhengji, Li jie''s younger brother and sister who were twins, for an unknown reason when the madam of Li family gave birth to the twins, there was a phenomenon on the sky which depicted that of aa red sun and a red moon, not knowing why such phenomenon appeared upon their birth the patriarch of the Li family ordered everyone to return to the castle and ready the weapons and erect the defenses of the whole household just after it takes an incense to burn out, there appeared sounds of heavy steps from all directions, on top of the wall of the Li family at the forefront there stood the patriarch of the Li family with his brother and other elders of the Li family. "Why isn''t the Great elder here yet, doesn''t he understand the predicament the Li family is in now", said the patriarch. "humph who said I will not be here when my Li family is going through a crisis", said an old man who was reaching the top of the wall through the stairs, this elder had a long grey beard and amiable expression on his face with a smirk that had hints of provocation. "whatever, great elder you should know your duties and be at the forefront" said the Li family patriarch. "now, now, we shouldn''t fight amongst ourselves", said Li Jung. "Yes, we have many enemies surrounding us, damn these hypocrites what are they thinking, is our Li family that easy to bully" said the Li family patriarch. surrounding the Li family castle were some human figures and this expedition was headed by three lofty figures who were the patriarchs of the Wang family, the Zheng family, and the Gu poison family. the head of the Wang family had a bulky physique which matched with his arrogant face, the head of the Zheng family looked scholar like and had a lean physique and a sharply chiseled face whereas the face of the head of the Gu poison family was covered but his eyes radiated sinister with a green shade. Gu Zhutong head of the Gu poison family said sinisterly while smacking his lips ze ze ze ze Li Wei why don''t you show us the treasure which is in your family so that we can also take a look. "what gives you so much courage you vermin, do you think my mighty Li clan is easy to take advantage of, get lost to your shit hole before I smash you and your people up, said the Li family patriarch." hearing which made the gaze of Gu family head''s eyes turn cold, "let''s kill them and we will later see what they are hiding from us". "I don''t think we should be rash in dealing with matters such as this Gu Zhutong", said the Zheng family head. who had a creepy smile with greed etched on his face despite his handsome disposition, while the Wang family head Wang Jishan just coldly snorted with the same arrogant expression not concerning himself with the bickering of the experts and just looked with a menacing light, towards the li family patriarch demanding an explanation towards the phenomenon in a threatening manner? the patriarch of the Li family just shook his head with a smile towards his enemies and said "I don''t mind starting an all-out war between us if that is what you all wish to do". the atmosphere on the mountain became extremely tense from both sides. even the air became rigid from the pressure caused by the experts on the mountain from both sides, blood-lust started leaking and it was as if both sides are ready to clash. "Are you sure Li Wei, you want to face us three alone", said Zheng family head with a very pensive voice? "hahaha, I know our Li family might not turn out to be the winner but at least we have the capacity to cripple all of your foundations badly hehe" said Li family patriarch with an evil grin on his face. the situation became tenser as if both sides are ready to clash head-on and ready to rip each other apart just waiting for their family head''s order to start. at that moment the great elder of the Li family Li Jing looked at the tense situation and sighed if the situation escalates to an unimaginable level I will take cheng''er and escape from here, he was sneakily gazing at everyone where he caught sight of Li family patriarch''s pensive face and said to him and the other elders of the Li family through a voice transmission, "why don''t we tell them that this earthshaking phenomenon was caused by the birth of twins of the patriarch". in a very grinding and furious sound, the patriarch said "if anyone in the Li family even dares to mention about them they will all be killed without any mercy", and then he turned his face to look at the on comers who were waiting and looked like hungry hyenas ready to devour them. then the Wang family patriarch said, "looks like you are adamant as always Li Wei". "well, what happens in Li family is not something others should concern themselves with", right at that moment, a cry reverberated in the sky a shining bird was visible in the sky where it just came nearer to the Li family castle, on closer look one could see a person a male who had scholar attire sitting on top of a bird which was a variant of Vermillion bird having thin bloodline of the divine bird mentioned in the myths and legends but it was enough to pressure everyone on the mountain even the four family patriarchs had pensive look as to what this might entail after all this variant of vermilion bird is the status and symbol of the great imperial family in the bright heart continent. Chapter 3 - Undercurrents Upon landing on the defensive wall where the current elders of the Li family and the patriarch was present, the man wearing scholar attire glanced at them and dismounted from the bird when he nearly reached them, everyone present greeted him by holding their palm and fist together and bowed lightly by saying "greetings left prime minister". the scholarly man who was called the Left Prime minister of the royal household, also greeted them in response and took out a scroll which he unfolded it and read out loud, so that everyone could hear him loud and clear, "BY THE DECREE OF THE EMPEROR I ANNOUNCE THAT FOR THE NEXT 100 YEARS THERE CAN BE NO WARS ALLOWED IN THE GREAT "BRIGHT HEART" CONTINENT, ANYONE DISREGARDING THIS DECREE WILL BE MET OUT WITH EXTREME PUNISHMENT AND EVEN DEATH!!!" LONG LIVE HIS HOLINESS!!! LONG LIVE HIS HOLINESS!!! (CHANTED EVERYONE)..... after hearing the decree brought out by the left minister the mood turned weird in the surrounding not knowing what to do for either side, the first one to react was the patriarch of the Li family, who bowed slightly and thanked the left minister for his interference and that the part of resources given to the imperial family will be doubled for this year as well as the Li family will be sending 500 young cultivators of master stage to the royal army''s Crimson brigade as a tribute to the emperor. of course, the remaining three family head''s faces turned solemn upon hearing all this and turned displeased about how all of this turned out. the Wang family head coldly snorted and slightly bowed towards the left minister and left with his entourage, the Zheng family head disappointedly also slightly bowed towards the left minister and said "sorry for the intrusion, sir Li Wei" and left with his entourage, and the Gu poison family was the only one left whose family head was calculating in his mind to make something out of the situation, unwilling to give up and finally sighed and just bowed towards the left minister and left with his group. the left minister mounted his bird and was ready for take-off when the family head of Li family came to him and sincerely thanked him saying "I can''t thank you enough dear sir and his majesty" "there''s no need to fret Li family head" said the left minister and then he said with utmost seriousness but remember this you owe his majesty this time. "yes sir minister I am honored to serve his majesty" said the Li family patriarch with a determined tone. after their conversation, the bird flew up flaring with it''s large beautiful flaring wings, seeing which made the youths of the Li family''s eyes shine with envy. At the same time, at the center of the continent stood a majestic palace which was covered with gold which depicted utmost craftsmanship and design inside which was vast rooms and corridors at the center of the palace was a throne erect on which a man sat with a very pressing and holy aura, his eyes shone with vicissitudes of life and experience, he had grey sideburns and black hair which was slicked back, he was the emperor of this whole continent who ruled everyone in this continent. In front of him was standing an old man with some tomes on astrology and had a face which was calculating something, he had a bald head and long white beard who had a set of peculiar eyes which were black and white but the peculiarity was that his eye color would shift their position from time to time while one was pitch black the other was pearl white and they would change again and again from time to time like flickering. the emperor said to the old man "Sir Seeker will your prophecy work." the old man stopped and looked like pondering for some time and said after a while "who can be sure how fate plays out to be your majesty, only time will tell if the karma that we sowed today will work in our favor in passing the coming catastrophe that has the potential to destroy the whole continent." the emperor sighed hearing this with some trepidation on his face and was looking at the starry sky through the windows in melancholy. in the castle of Li family sat the patriarch in front of whom, a tired women can be seen who had two babies in her embrace with a weak smile plastered on her, near her sat a boy who had a sharp sword-like eyebrow with a round cute face and chubby build but he had intelligence on his face which was rare for kids his age, no one knows why but everyone in the Li family have been witness to his intelligence, his very actions, and his way of thinking astounded everyone in the household from his father the patriarch to the lowliest servant knew that the young master of the Li family had ungodly intelligence like no other when he was 6 months old, he started to look at stars hardly and tried to bring his small hand upwards as if these small hands wanted to grasp the very stars present in the sky, that was when he first started speaking and from speaking gibberish he learned to speak fluently in a matter of days, which was unheard of. after speaking, he started learning how to read and write which was also learned by him in a matter of days which was again shocking and a joyous moment for the whole family, when he reached 1 year old he started questioning, but that wasn''t shocking, what was shocking was, he was questioning the meaning of life and why and how everything in creation exists which was shocking because it is not something to be said by a 1-year-old boy but a question to be pondered upon by the old sages and hermits, the boy "Li Jie" was looking at his younger twins and had a smile on his face, while at the same time his face turned sour remembering how the family was just in a major crisis sometime before because of the phenomenon that was caused by his younger twins made him understand that this world wasn''t as carefree as he thought it was, and right then and there he vowed to himself to get stronger in this world and not let his family ever face a crisis again. Chapter 4 - Bloodline Testing Coming back to the garden where Li Jie can be seen playing and running around with his twins, after some time when all three of them got tired, they ran back to their mother''s side who was drinking tea while enjoying her kid''s playtime. while Li Shuangyan jumped to her mother''s embrace, her brothers went to the table where they started gobbling the food present on the table, seeing which their mother laughed "ease on the food my dear boys, the food''s not running anywhere." She giggled and warmly took a piece of rice and vegetable to feed her daughter. Seeing such warmth and familial love made even the servants longing for their families waiting at home to be taken care of. Right at that moment, the entrance door of the garden was open up gently as it was a rule in the Li family castle for anyone to not create any kind of noise or disturbance especially at the garden behind the castle which was taken care of by various servants, the rare species of flora were tended to carefully and some beautiful colorful butterflies and various other small colorful rare insects were also present which made the whole garden breathtaking and a peaceful place to be, looking at the on comer who was none other than the patriarch of the Li family with an amicable expression he came walking towards them slowly and steadily as if his very rhythm of walking has some kind of strength and charm attached to it, which would make anyone understand his strong aura. "ha ha ha looks like you are having a good time my dearest Li Na" with a loving expression on his face he came beside her and kissed her on her cheeks which made her blush and looking at his adorable daughter whose cheeks were red like cherries he took her into his embrace while caressing her hair and in a loving way he kissed on her forehead. "twaddy mo mor mor tkiss twaddy lwwov me morr'''' hearing his daughter he laughed and flicked her nose teasing her. Then he looked at his sons who were gobbling down the food like wild animals, and harrumphed "you brats have no taste, what if someone sees you both and they will think that we don''t feed our kids enough ughh you brats give me all sorts of headaches" he laughed self deprecatingly. Anyways, I just remembered what I came here for" saying which his gaze became sharp at his son Li Wei, "come, Li Jie it''s time for your blood awakening ceremony all the preparations have been completed now only your presence is needed" hearing which, his wife smiled "Yes, Li JIe let''s go to your ceremony and see what kind of bloodline you will awaken." "Yes, mother" said Li Jie, after which he wiped his face with a cloth, and drinking a cup of water seeing how his stomach is now full and hearing his father and mother''s instruction to go for the ceremony for which, he has also been waiting for a long time very curious at the idea of a having a powerful bloodline which he got to witness from his father and other strong members of the family, he knew he will be getting a gravity type bloodline which was a trademark of the Li family but his mother one time secretly told him that her bloodline is far above the bloodline possessed by the Li family of course his father isn''t included in it due to some reason his grade of bloodline is different and it is also a variant never to be seen in the history of Li family, information regarding which his father will tell him in the upcoming future when he becomes stronger or at the same level as his father. So there might be a possibility of him gaining the same bloodline as hers or a variation which can be stronger due to his father also has a strong bloodline, after all, a mixture of two strong bloodlines naturally will produce a stronger variation. while walking with his family members he was reminiscing about everything his mother had told him and to be careful enough to never divulge this information to anyone which will only spell trouble for him and everyone he cares for and loves about. after some time they finally reached their destination which was a cave in the underground where no one and nothing was present, the whole place was creepily silent. Li Jie and both his brother and sister were shocked about how the whole surrounding changed instantly not knowing where they were and how the place was unusually dark which made them turn fearful but gazing at their parents they regained their confidence, "haha don''t worry this is one of your mother''s ability to teleport, we have come here because I didn''t want to cause any commotion outside after all anything can happen while going for the ceremony, so for safety as well as for hiding something from some annoying beings. "after saying which he looked at his wife nodding and looked in front where a cave was situated with no door, it was completely open, a figure''s outline could be seen coming out of the dark in the cave and greeting, the figure was of a hunched back figure with drooping eyes and loose skin, whose bones were rattling as if they would break apart any moment, but his gaze showed wisdom and utmost confidence where he can''t be shaken or easily break apart, he came to them and said "Sir, Madam, you have honored me with your presence and I am very honored to be holding the ritual for the eldest young master" where his sight went to the young boy standing near his mother whose eyes shown with understanding and intelligence. The old man reached out for Li Jie''s hand and after getting hold of his hand brought him to the interior of the cave with him with Li Jie''s family members following behind. The whole cave suddenly lit up from everywhere around them, the moment everyone reached the center, the whole area had a tinge of red and in front of them was a small table with a red ruby-like stone etched on top of it, it was the size of a human head and it was glowing in crimson color. Li Jie looked at his father in confusion, his gaze had a questioning expression, and wanted to understand what is this? looking at his son''s gaze in understanding he said "this is a "Chrymosomic Crystal" which is not used in the outside world where barbaric unsafe and different methods were used to awaken a bloodline, brat make good use of it and absorb as much bloodline energy as possible." according to the records the stronger a bloodline is, the more energy and resources it takes to awaken it, while many partially awake a bloodline and can only fully awaken a bloodline completely when a stronger cultivation is reached in the furture. Li Jie understood and went towards the table while his family members and the hunched-back old man were looking with expectations. Li Jie lifted his hand and placed his palm on the crystal whose texture he could feel and a hot energy also flowed out from that crystal and went penetrating inside his hand which gave him the feeling of holding a scalding hot iron, he wanted to remove his hand at that moment but he understood it was necessary and that his parents would never want bad for him, he tried to keep his hand on the crystal but it made him helpless, his forehead had beads of sweat and exhaustion and pain was on his face. Li Wei, Li Na, and the old man looked with puzzlement because according to them the energy produced by the crystal was supposed to feel warm, not hot!!! Li Wei suddenly rushed to his son and pulled him out of his suffering, Li Jie''s mother looked at everything in puzzlement and shock not being able to understand what just happened, after coming out of the shock she placed her daughter down and went to her son she saw the surface of her son''s palm burnt not knowing what to make out of the situation and feeling guilty for being responsible in making her son go through this suffering. Both husband and wife looked at each other and then at their son with worry. Chapter 5 - "TRUE MORTAL" Li Jie''s face was twisting with the pain while his consciousness was slipping away, his father and mother were both astonished as well as the old man who couldn''t believe what just happened, after all, Li Jie was the son of the strongest man he ever knew in this galaxy which is kept a secret from those outsiders and in fear of those beings who have been searching for him everywhere from the farthest and the deepest dark parts of the universe to wish him harm and his wife, who is also his mistress, who saved him from slavery where his life was worst than hell, and a secret that only he and sir Li Wei know that she is the most unique existence in all of existence!!! such that if anyone even remotely comes to know about her, this whole universe "THE SUN" will turn chaotic and blood will shed like rivers. Li Wei picked up his son and said "let''s get back to Li Jie''s room and have him attended by a physician and when he wakes up, then we can discuss it with him because it''s hard to say what happened here and we can''t just yet jump to conclusions until we ask him and clear somethings out. his wife nodded and brought the twins with her who were quiet, not understanding the situation, after all, they never had or any kid ever had an intelligence like Li Jie, the old man nodded towards them and said I will stay here and check up on the "Chrymosomic Crystal" to see if there''s anything wrong with it. "yes, old man Fang and do tell us your result," said Li Wei after which he turned around and started walking, having small Li Jie in his embrace with his wife walking by his side while holding onto the twins. while walking outside with some hesitation on her face and after a lot of contemplation she finally said to her husband "Is our son a "True Mortal". "I don''t know dear after all its been ten thousand or a hundred thousand ears or god knows for how long since anyone has seen a "True Mortal" after all with the era of bloodlines thriving, there''s not even a single person in existence who has no bloodline, everyone has one even if it''s the lowest level, it is impossible to be free of no bloodline, is it because our bloodlines clashed in him which resulted in him having no bloodline, but that''s not a proper explanation after all mixture of strong bloodlines produce stronger bloodlines." "Is it because I don''t belong here!!!!, is it because of that." said Li Na with a very pensive expression, hearing which he got slightly angry and flared his nostrils and said" LI NA" don''t ever speak of that again, do you remember what you promised me, plus I don''t think that''s the case or else Li Shuangyan and Li Zhengji wouldn''t have inherited our strong bloodline on top of that, the phenomenon that appeared on their birth, you remember that right, even after trying our best to hide it, it still came out, that thing they have is way stronger than any bloodline in existence!!! finally, when they reached Li Jie''s room they opened the door where some maids and a physician was ready to tend to the eldest young master of the Li family, Li Wei had already informed the maid who was in charge of Li Jie to bring a physician to his room. after some time the physician informed Li Wei that his condition is not serious, and the young master is in healthy shape physically and mentally, he is just resting due to the pressure and exhaustion on his mind. the Li family patriarch and his wife both thanked the physician for his service, Li Na went and laid down on the bed beside where Li Jie was sleeping and caressing his face and mumbling something under her breath which sounded like a tune for kids. while the Li family Patriarch sat on a chair waiting for his son to wake up so they can talk about the event that has transpired. while in a different courtyard of the Li family Castle there was an elder sitting and playing "Go" with another elder of the Li family and who were discussing "I have heard the bloodline ceremony had been concluded and somehow our eldest young master has been injured, looks like some anomaly occurred during the ongoing ritual, so much for doing the ceremony in hiding." "humph" snorted another elder "well it is better if he ends up crippled after all, he will be eating the resources that we have worked so hard to fight for our descendants, isn''t that right great elder," he said that while looking at a bald old man who was standing near the window looking at the outside scenery. he had this calm and balance reflected on his face and his eyes showed his indifference to everything except some matters, "we will wait and see how everything goes, for now, don''t provoke the patriarch" said the great elder. Chapter 6 - Is This My Fate? Li Jie woke up after some time trying his hardest to open his eyes which felt like they were stuck by some adhesive, when his eyes opened up, he noticed his mother gazing at him with a worried expression and his younger twins sitting at the corner of the room playing with some toys, while his father was looking at him with a stern expression, and relieved that he finally woke up, "Li Jie dear, how are you feeling now, are you alright?" asked Li Na worriedly, "No mother I am feeling OK right now," said Li Wei with a smile, "OK if you say so," said Li Na with a loving gaze. "It''s good that you are feeling well and that you have no injuries thankfully," said Li Wei in a relaxed manner. Li Jie nodded and smiled and then he asked "father mother, what happened to me and what bloodline did I awaken what kind of power do I have, do I have the power to control gravity or mother do I have your mysterious bloodline," asked Li Jie expectantly, upon hearing which, both his parents turned sad not knowing how to answer their son and tell him the cruel reality that is life. "Li Jie first tell me when you held that crystal in your hand, how did you feel?" asked his father with some nervousness. Then after contemplating for some time Li Wei explained to both his father and mother that "father when I was holding the crystal it started to emit a blood-colored light which gave one a feeling of eeriness when looked at and when the crystal started to glow, it started to produce heat which started penetrating through my hand to my body, at that time I wanted to remove my hand from it, but I remembered how serious your expressions were regarding this ritual, that''s why I didn''t want to disappoint you regarding this matter". after hearing what Li Wei mentioned about the procedure their face became solemn with a sorrowful expression, Li Wei said to his son "Li Jie the ritual showed that you have no type of bloodline and you probably can''t cultivate". hearing which Li Jie''s expression turned frigid not knowing how to digest this news for some time he has been waiting for the news of his bloodline and wanted to start cultivating to become stronger but the sudden news destroyed all his hope of ever reaching the path of supremacy. he replied with lamentation "but father, isn''t it said that every human in this world has some kind of bloodline, how can I not have"? hearing her son''s sorrowful tone made her almost burst into tears, she didn''t know how to comfort her son in this matter. "Li Jie the "Chrymosomic Crystal" is one of the wonders of nature, it awakens a bloodline deeply hidden in a human being even if the rate of bloodline inside a person''s body is in minuscule amount, the heavens are unfair to you my son but fret not, your mother and father both will take care of you, you don''t have to worry about having a bloodline or not, no one will ever think of harming you," said Li Wei with an exasperated sigh. "Father, isn''t there any way for me to get a bloodline from outside," said Li Jie with a hopeful expression, his father sighed and said "there used to be such techniques in the previous era, now not anymore after all now everyone has a bloodline from weak to strong, you are an only exception son. Li Jie became helpless after hearing his father''s lamenting and clenched his hand tightly in trepidation. After some time his father got up and reached beside him, he took his hand and said to him "my son I know how you feel but please don''t ever give up on life, you have us your father and mother who love you so much and your younger brother and sister who also love you and look up to you, they are small and with not much intelligence but I can see the admiration they have in their eyes for you, I am sure they will always love you no matter what, so don''t give up on life". "Yes my dear Li Jie, your father is right, we love you a lot, you have no idea how hopeful I became when I had you, I have never been that much happier in my whole life," said his mother wiping her tears sliding with a tinge of melancholy. "Li Jie your maid will be bringing you some food after some time, we will be going now, you rest for now we will talk tomorrow and discuss your future ok," said Li Wei, and then he signaled his wife with his eyes to have Li Jie rest alone to rest. after that, they left his room taking both the twins in their arms, and closed the room door. while they were walking towards their room Li Na suddenly produced a force-field which had a grayish hue on it''s surface, seeing the force-field appear suddenly which was only visible to him and not to anyone else Li Wei became shocked and asked his wife in fear "Dear what''s the matter". "Li Wei dear no one should ever know and by that I mean no one, not even our closest ones not even Li Jie himself should know and that''s why I asked you not to tell him that Li Jie is a "TRUE MORTAL," said with extreme fear and worry present on her face. "why dear, I am not able to understand are you saying this because of how everyone will look at Li Jie with unpleasant expression and that he will be insulted everywhere is that why," asked Li Wei, sighing Li Na said with disgust "like anyone here has the audacity to have any kind of bad intention towards my child, hmph I will rip their tongues and eyes out, but I am not worried for this just please believe me and never mention this ever to anyone, before we were in the cave which naturally isolated everything, all I can say dear is that the term "TRUE MORTAL" is not simple as it looks, just never mention it to anyone and to others or your close ones just say his body has been crippled due to some problems occurring in the ritual it''s rather safe that way." "ok dear if you say so," said Li Wei sighing and then they reached their room. In Li Jie''s room on the bed he was staring at the palm of his hand which had some blood leaking out due to clenching tightly, he sighed "So I don''t have a bloodline, huh, father mother I know you all love me and accept me for who I am but I am not what you have always wanted me to be, the same is with me, I wanted to cultivate, roam the skies and become stronger but now I am not even qualified to embark on this path, what future will we talk about tomorrow father for I don''t have a future anymore" lamented the small boy Li Wei in frustration and had tears floating out of his eyes which had a tinge of red. "Is this my fate? is this what I am, and will be while everyone goes stronger and live their life to the fullest and fulfill their dreams while I am in the same area, Oh god oh heavens whoever you are whatever you are, why did you turn me this way" cried with heaviness the boy who was just 5 years old with the intelligence of an adult while his parents and everyone knew that he had high intelligence and was capable of high understanding they all forgot one thing, in the end, he is just a kid, a kid who has lost hope for his future and everything not knowing how to face everyone, regardless of his intelligence he was still a kid who wanted to show off his abilities and cultivation like others but now this kid is all alone not knowing what to do or how to live his life. Chapter 7 - Two Faced World News spread fast but rumors spread faster, by the time it was next morning before Li Jie could even wake up, everyone in the whole continent became aware of the news that the eldest young master of the Li family is a cripple. While some felt pity and disappointment towards Li Jie, some were glad and grinning to their heart''s content, after all, who doesn''t like to feel superior and now that everyone has come to know that someone who was born with a golden spoon with an extremely high status can''t even cultivate and that they were better than that person even the ones who had low-level bloodline felt superior at that moment. the ones who were most disappointed were members of the Li family in the training hall of the Li family where the young generation and most mid-level fighters (Grand-master stage to Essence gathering stage) train, "Ugh I can''t believe that our Li family has to be so unlucky to get a crippled young master, now how will I ever even show my face outside," said one of the fighters, "Yes, what a drag to have such a waste young master, I think that the title of young master should be given to Li Cheng, grandson of the great elder, he has the talent and disposition to be the young master of this clan." "heh if you don''t want your head to roll, then I recommend you keep quiet" scoffed another young man, looking at this scene, the servants cleaning the area sighed and felt pity because their young master was an intelligent and kindhearted kid who treated even the servants of the Li family with respect, they didn''t like it how everyone, the same people who treated their young master with kindness are now talking bad about their young master after he was considered cripple. suddenly there was a large blast with a bang at the center of the training ground where everyone lost their footing and felt the whole world turn upside down, blood started coming out of some people''s mouth, there was a huge amount of dust blocking everyone''s sight at the center of the stage after some moments a figure''s outline could be seen clearly and it became clearer by the minute and when the figure could be seen properly everyone at the training ground got their tongue-tied with fear and dismay, at the center of the training ground there was the Li family patriarch Li Wei standing majestically with the whole ground under him which had spiderweb-like cracks and some debris, gravel and dust can be seen on the whole area circling the Li family patriarch. The Li family patriarch looked at the first person who started badmouthing the young master "there''s no need for warning here, any member of Li family tarnishing the image of Li family by insulting the eldest young master is a traitor and will be punished by death", after which he raised his hand pointing at the first person which glowed purple, seeing which that young fighter cursed himself for his big mouth, right at that moment an old man surrounded by two other elders came beside the fighter and supported him in getting up and then looking at the patriarch with a questioning tone "Patriarch why are you punishing this promising young man so harshly" "Li Mu, why are you stopping me?, do you also agree with what they say?" asked the patriarch with a pressing tone towards the great elder whose name was Li Mu, hearing which made the great elder''s face down and felt humiliated, "Patriarch, it''s not about whether I agree or not with what they say, but punishing this harshly for just some gossip is a little too extreme don''t you think" snorted the great elder after which he signaled the other two elders to which they both nodded and said, "I think patriarch you are not able to bear the weight of the seat of the head of Li family, a patriarch is someone who first looks at the interest of the whole family not his own family, a patriarch can''t be selfish or else everyone in this family will revolt and leave the family if this action is continued. listening to the words of the two elders, some started nodding and started raising their voice "yes patriarch you should resign and pass this distinguished responsibility to the great elder, who is partial with his judgment, has a strong sense of responsibility and most importantly his son is extremely talented, chivalrous and a dragon among men. While some started to worry for the patriarch who was getting slandered by some of the Li family members and more worried for their young master who hasn''t even woken up yet. The Li family patriarch looked at the great elder sighing and some youths of his family who were defying him to the utmost, he didn''t want to do any of this but he was instructed by his wife to do this for the betterment of his son''s future, he wanted to not hurt his own family members but after hearing their slander against his innocent son who hasn''t even woken up yet to hear all of this, his gaze became cold with a chilly murderous aura and he looked at the great elder and all those who were in the great elder''s support and said in the most horror bone-chilling tone "are all of you done!!!" suddenly the whole atmosphere became chilling and pressing not even one person able to lift their heads everyone rooted at where they stood, not even having the strength to remove themselves from such pressure, the most surprising thing was that even the great elder and the other two elders were in the same position as others, they were horrified by the fact that even with their cultivation and seniority, they couldn''t move an inch! Li family patriarch lifted his palm this time which and made a motion from up to down towards the two young fighters who insulted the young master, and suddenly they turned to paste, seeing such a scene in the middle of the training ground everyone felt a shiver in their bone, then the Li family patriarch looked at another young fighter who compared the young master to the son of great elder, he was also turned into a meat paste with a wave of his hand, finally, when the great elder couldn''t hold in the humiliation that he was facing "Li Wei have you turned mad, for your waste of a son will you destroy the whole Li family" with his aura rising, resisting the pressure created by the patriarch. Li Wei''s face turned furious listening to the ramblings of the great elder and suddenly punched towards the great elder who was little far from him but suddenly he was attracted and couldn''t control his movement then he noticed that the patriarch''s fist was glowing with a purple light, he tried to use his powers but couldn''t stop his body from getting pulled towards Li Wei and suddenly BAM!!! a very tightening fist landed on the great elder''s face which got caved in, the great elder lost his consciousness the moment the fist landed on his face and his whole body just fell to the ground, following which there was a pin drop silence in the whole area. the Li family patriarch then looked at everyone and then said in a pensive expression "If any member of the Li family is feeling, that they don''t want to stay in the family for a while then they can leave, after getting their cultivation crippled!!! which made everyone quiet even in their hearts, seeing this situation the Li family patriarch remembered something, as the ancients used to say, "Actions speak louder than words." Chapter 8 - An Unknown Man news of what happened in the Li family also spread out to the whole continent, In a forest where there were an uncountable number of beasts from weak to strong, in the middle of the forest was a stone city which was under the jurisdiction of the Gu Poison clan run by their branch clans, while the main family line resided at the castle which was beneath the city, in the Gu poison family main hall, where there were numerous number of boiling pots placed at the right and left side of the main hall, some of which contained purple liquid, while some contained green colored liquid and there were some of the different colors too but they all had one thing in common, they produced extremely toxic fumes which can be very harmful to any living being, but somehow all the fumes coming out of the pots were moving towards another direction, deep in the hall where there was a stone slab, on which a grotesque looking human was sitting who was the patriarch of the Gu clan without the black robe, due to the art he cultivated all the toxic fumes were moving towards him and he was absorbing all of it, which was nauseating and eerie to watch, in front of him were five elders of the Gu clan who were kneeling towards the patriarch of the Gu clan in fear and trepidation. The Gu clan patriarch was reading the scroll which contained the news mentioning the incidents occurring in the Li clan, after reading it he placed it and laughed maniacally "hahahaha Li Wei who could have thought you would have such waste of a son hahaha but then he stopped as if recalling something from the reports with a look of worry on his face. At the same time in the clouds where the residence of Zheng clan is, where a floating castle is above a whole city which is under the jurisdiction of the Zheng clan run by those of the branch families associated with the Zheng clan, but the main family line of the Zheng clan resides in the floating castle, In the main hall of the Zheng clan where there was a scholar looking man, who had a floating book in front of him which had records pertaining to the events that occurred in the Li family but he didn''t have a good expression, as a matter of fact, he had a very pensive expression regarding this news. The same expression as the Zheng clan patriarch was kept by a person reading a telepathic message sent by his subordinates sitting at the edges of lava in a volcano, who was sitting there and absorbing the extreme heat produced by the lava, he was none other than the Wang family patriarch who snorted in displeasure due to the news content he read in his mind, while many small powerhouses and subordinates of the great families were happy and laughing deliriously at the news, there was something about the news that they weren''t able to understand but their leaders could which was the cause of their spoiled expression. At the center of the continent where the ruler of the whole continent resided in his majestic castle, in the main hall where the throne resides on which the ruler, the emperor was sitting on the throne and reading the contents of the scroll word by word repeating again so that he doesn''t miss anything, in the main hall of the royal family there was another person who was called the seeker by the emperor who was looking at the emperor with a grin, "my majesty would you like me to explain the true state of the contents". "although I understand I would like to hear your opinion on this matter sir seeker", with a nod the old man explains "My majesty first, this news regarding the Li family was deliberately released by Li Wei as a threat to those who wish to harm his son, while from my observation all the family heads must have gotten the news, except the Gu family head who might take some time to understand the true nature of this content, which is a very simple fact that in every great family the head and the great elder of the family usually have the same level of strength even if there were some differences, it will be minute, but to punch an entity at the level of a great elder as if they were a fly, now that''s a strength which is unheard of in this continent!!!" said the seeker old man with a serious expression. "but isn''t this good sir seeker that we have someone on our side who has hidden strength which is unfathomable," said the emperor with an expectant expression. the seeker sighed while looking at the sky, "I wish for the same, my majesty but my prophecy shows that this continent will be annihilated no matter what we do or who we have, I don''t know why the shadow of destruction looms on this continent". hearing which the emperor had a saddened expression. In one of the slums where the poor reside, there was a mysterious middle-aged man who had a dashing perfect appearance no matter who looked at him they would be attracted by his charm, his way of walking, and from his smallest actions to normal actions, all had a certain kind of charm which was eye-catching, noticeable and pleasing to the eye, it''s like no being in this world can deny this man of something, he would go from one house to another house teaching kids for free any kind of knowledge which is useful to them, he would never teach the same thing to every kid, he would teach every kid in the slum different things like hunting, cutting, blacksmithing, etc. according to their requirements, and the kids would learn from him willingly without any hesitation and even with happiness, the same was with their parents because by learning knowledge towards something which helps their kids in earning a stable amount of money made them have a good expression towards the middle-aged man, the man just came out of the house after teaching the kids when he suddenly stopped and it was like he sensed something, "Ho some beings of 2nd path are also residing here in this continent and it seems they are quite unique in their own way, hmm that''s interesting their children are also pretty unique, both the boy and the girl seem to be having one of the great "GALACTIC PHYSIQUES", haha what a lucky couple but it''s not that interesting to me though and I should also stop spying on them it''s wrong after all haha" he was contemplating with a chuckled laugh when he suddenly stopped rooted on the ground shocked by what he sensed and his eyes became sharp contemplating something "who could have thought in this unknown corner of the universe I would find someone like you boy, now you are not someone special but that is also what makes you the most special!!!" smiled the middle-aged man. Chapter 9 - Li Jies Unexpected Encounter At day time, in the Li family castle, in one of the bed chambers where Li Jie resided, two small twins entered his room and started making noises, after hearing the whole commotion Li Jie woke up rubbing his eyes while he noticed his pillow felt damp due to him having wept all night, he shook his head and smiled while looking at his kid brother and sister in a loving way who was just messing with the whole room, "Shuangyan, Zhengji" he scolded firmly while looking at them who stopped playing around and sat down, afraid of the scolding they might get from their older brother, seeing their pitiful expression Li Wei nearly laughed "come, let''s go to mom and dad". Both the kids nodded listening to their brother''s instruction, all three of them then moved and went towards the main hall of the Li family where his mother and father usually are, while on the way he noticed that everyone no matter whether they were maids, servants or strong fighters of the Li family. All of them were keeping their distance from them as if panic and fear were present in their eyes when their eyes contacted they would just politely smile and nod towards the kids, feeling the situation a bit weird and different from how he expected it to go, he started ruminating about the whole situation and then he came up with his own conjectures that this situation must be related to his father and mother, comprehending which made him feel more and more guilty with everything that''s happening, only if he had a bloodline, he would be respected instead without any force. when the kids reached the main hall, where inside, their father was discussing some matters with his mother, he suddenly noticed his kids at the corner of his eyes and while beaming with joy he went towards them and picked the twins and started kissing them on their cheeks playfully, and then looked at Li Jie , he said in a warm expression, "It''s good you came here early Li Jie, your mother and I were just discussing your future and decided that is if you want you can be taught the art of using different weapons by our Li family Grand-masters or just the scholarly knowledge taught in academies, where apart from cultivation, they also teach weapon forging, accounting, anatomy, poetry, languages, reading, writing, mathematics, culture, music and much more. Li Jie nodded after hearing this, but he felt dispirited by the fact that he couldn''t cultivate and had to learn some menial things which most of the cultivators in this continent don''t even deign to learn, also this knowledge was for the working officials who had extremely poor bloodline and talent who couldn''t cultivate to higher levels, they would study such knowledge to work under a cultivator of high status and help them with menial day to day tasks. Li Wei understood by looking at his son, even if he doesn''t show it, his father and mother both could feel his sadness, knowing they couldn''t do much they could only cheer him up and do the best they can for his son, "Li Jie, right now you are five years old and the requirement for a person to attend the Sacred Heart Academy is that the person should be of 10 years or above regardless of their cultivation, while the only other requirement was to pay a high priced fees decided by the academy based on the individual if the person was extremely talented and with a high-grade bloodline, they could even study there for free whereas the other academies worked differently they only took admission of those with mid-tier and high-tier bloodlines excluding those of low-tier. That''s why the Li family patriarch decided to send his son to the Sacred Heart Academy when he is of 10 years old. Li Jie alone came outside of the main hall in a dejected expression and remembered that his father had informed him for him to go to the training area which was specially built for him, where there were instructors for every weapon and that he can decide which one to go for. when he reached the training area which was a pagoda reserved for training the most talented young generation of the Li family while Li Jie couldn''t have gotten to train in this pagoda but his father was the patriarch, so who could defy him while dwelling on this idea and his excitement for learning the art of fighting and weapons, he entered the pagoda and noticed that there was only one middle-aged man who was sitting cross-legged and staring with profoundness at a sword which was lying on the floor unsheathed which was sharp two-edged, straight and cumbersome while it''s features were normal it had some kind of allure which was hard to resist and understand, suddenly Li Jie remembered that there were supposed to be many instructors present yet there was only one man here and no one else, Li Jie didn''t panic he went beside the middle-aged man and sat because the mysterious middle-aged man didn''t show any ill intentions instead he had a charm which made it hard for anyone to have a bad impression of this man, instead, many would get attracted towards this man out of curiosity just like Li Jie right now. "Hello sir, may I know who you are? I have never seen you In the Li family castle", the man smiled and shifted his face towards Li Jie whose face expressed his curiosity, "I am no one important that''s why you don''t know me kid", said the man with an amicable expression Li Jie was certain that this man was an outsider because anyone in the Li family regardless of their status would call him young master, but what was shocking was despite the security around the whole Li family the man was sitting leisurely in this training pagoda, he wanted to question the man for any ulterior motives but it was hard to think of the man as someone with evil intent. Li Jie got quiet, not knowing what to say next, and just sat beside the man waiting for him to speak, "Looks like you are a pretty smart kid for your age well that will make things easier. Tell me, boy, What is a Sword? Chapter 10 - Two Paths Li Jie started to ponder the question asked by the mysterious man whilst looking at the sword placed in front of him intently which was shining with a mystifying luster, "A sword is just a tool used for killing" said Li Jie, upon hearing which the mysterious man shook his head "your answer can be considered correct from one perspective, but other weapons can also be used to kill, why is sword considered the king of weapons, why is it used by most of the noblemen to wield as a form of status, why is it learned by most cultivators". Li Jie was stunned by what he heard but understood that a sword has many functions except killing and then pondered some more to change his answer to "A Sword can be wielded to kill, to defend, to protect and for many things which I am unaware of, and maybe I will later learn more with experiencing more of my life", said Li Jie with a smile of contentment, The mysterious man smiled and nodded, hearing this answer given by Li Jie, looking at the sword in front of him made Li Jie want to badly learn swordsmanship but he didn''t know if the man sitting beside him will teach him, because of his extreme curiosity towards the man, he asked with some hesitation "Respected Sir, will you be teaching me swordsmanship". The middle-aged man smiled looking at the boy smiled filled with curiosity in-front of him, "well if you want me to teach you swordsmanship, I can teach it to you but let me tell you a little secret which many would not know, is that swordsmanship practiced by everyone, no matter which place whether a great family or a sect or however strong a cultivator is, their swordsmanship is flawed and incorrect!!! they can never reach the peak of swordsmanship ever!!! Li Jie was utterly dumbfounded after hearing this shocking statement by the mysterious middle-aged man "then what is the correct swordsmanship honored sir" asked Li Jie with total newfound respect, because this knowledge was not known by anyone, not even his father and mother or they would have told him and the fact that this middle-aged man was sitting right here in the Li castle and not even his father noticed him which was a big feat. the middle-aged man first went quiet as if pondering something then said "Swordsmanship is used as tools by most cultivators around the world, while some do try to understand the depth of swordsmanship but can only understand it''s fur, the true way of learning swordsmanship lies in benevolence, justice, individualism, loyalty, courage, truthfulness, disregard for wealth, and desire for glory, which is a mindset necessary for true sword cultivators but hard to go on as time passes and humans are usually tainted by their desires and emotions after some time, that''s why I am asking you, Do you really want to learn swordsmanship from me, you must have heard that the path of cultivation is arduous but you should know that the path of swordsmanship is harder, while many claiming but no one is able to reach it''s peak" said the man with a firm expression. Li Wei nodded in understanding and said with a determined expression "no matter what, I must learn the path of swordsmanship even if it''s harder than cultivation I will cross all hurdles that will be infront of me", hearing which the middle-aged man had a crafty smile and said, "What if you get the chance of getting a bloodline!!!" Li Jie was stunned happy and excited "Really, can I get a bloodline," said Li Jie with a very exciting expression, "Yes, you can get an extremely powerful bloodline at that, one which is stronger than your mom and dad''s bloodline even stronger than any existence in this whole Universe!!!! Li Jie was shocked and excited after hearing the man''s words with a trembling expression he asked "Honored sir, I would be extremely grateful to you if I can get a bloodline", the man just smirked and continued, "But if you obtain a bloodline, you will not be able to learn the true swordsmanship, after all the true swordsmanship requires a person to devote his all to the way of sword and after you get the bloodline I will not be teaching you anything and every memory you have of me will be removed as for the new bloodline can be told as an awakening of sorts, after all, it''s rare but not impossible to happen," said the middle-aged man with a stern expression, Li Wei suddenly stopped everything that he was feeling at the moment and calmed himself down to ponder over everything said by the man in-front of him, after all, this was once in a lifetime opportunity in-front of him, getting a bloodline will help him regain respect status and most of all he will be accepted by everyone and no one will make fun behind his back about him and his family, and most of all he would be able to cultivate and become stronger for certain and protect his family, whereas the way of sword completely depends on a person''s comprehension and even one wrong step could lead to dire consequences, thinking continuously over the situation made him frown deeply after all no matter how you look at it, the way of swordsmanship has more cons whereas obtaining a bloodline is more beneficial but he felt if he were to decide on obtaining the bloodline he will be losing something important, something which will make him feel empty for a long time, having a hard time in choosing one of the paths given by the man in-front of him, he asked in an apologetic tone bowing towards him "Honored sir, Can I get some time in deciding what to chose". the middle-aged man stopped him from bowing and said " A true swordsman bows to no one, not to the kings nor the emperors nor to the saints not even to those distinguished gods" said the man in an arrogant tone and then he smiled warmly "you don''t have to worry kid for asking me of such a request, after all, it''s a decision of your life, think and decide wisely, you can take your time in deciding, I will be waiting for you here in this training pagoda" smiled the mysterious middle-aged man. Chapter 11 - A Difficult Choice To Make Li Jie was shocked by the fact that he can meet this man of unknown origins anytime by entering the training pagoda which was in the Li family castle under the scrutiny of his father, then he asked tentatively "Honored Sir, I have one last question, Who are you and Why are you giving me such precious chances?". "Well that''s a lot of questions haha, well "who I am", is something you are not qualified to know at the moment, maybe one day you will, or maybe never, who knows what the future unfolds, as for why I chose you, well I was bored and had nothing to better do so I thought why not play around a bit, and you are not the only one, who I have guided, there are many, uncountable in numbers who I have taught them things which suit them perfectly", said the middle-aged man in a serious tone. Li Jie understood from this, that he is not some chosen or someone special, there are others like him, who were guided or benefited from this mysterious master, he especially got tensed on the part when he heard the man say "he teaches them things which suit them perfectly", so does that mean, the path of sword suits him best, he couldn''t make up his mind on what is right and what is wrong, it was a tough decision to make, he didn''t want to make any mistakes, which could make him feel regret in the future or else he would have chosen the infusion of bloodline without any hesitation but something inside of him was stopping him, an unnatural force from his heart which was his main cause of hesitation and he couldn''t be sure about choosing the path of sword because bloodline infusion has instant and long-term benefits and without any risk plus he will be getting an extremely powerful bloodline, it was the perfect option for anyone but then why was he hesitating, he wanted and needed to get stronger so why even think about it all, contemplating so much information in his tiny head made him get a headache, he sighed and relaxed, he knew when to relax and let nature take it''s course. Li Jie gave the sword lying on the ground in front of him a look then got up and said "Honored Sir, I will be giving you my decision as soon as possible" Li Wei slightly bowed, the man gave a chuckle and said, "ok, by the way, you must not tell anyone about my existence lest they get scared, haha, after all, I have made it so that the instructors here who were supposed to teach you are all under the illusion created by me that they are teaching you, so you know what to do right if someone asks you about your lessons", knowing how smart Li Jie was for someone his age he would figure something out by himself. Li Jie helplessly smiled at his words, nodded, and then left for the door, when he left the training pagoda, the man looked up his eyes closed, and when they opened, his eyes had a mysterious lustre after which he smiled and he said, "Let''s see if it''s in this boy''s fate or not to get this sword source" after which there was a ripple in space and the whole area suddenly turned blur which leads to the whole change of scenery inside the pagoda, instead of the middle-aged man, there were many grandmaster stage fighters with different weapons to teach, who looked like nothing had changed there, and it can be seen from their perspective that they were teaching the young master of the Li family about all the weapons, their usage, their pros, their flaws, and everything that they could explain about the weapons they used, and according to them now the young master of the Li family has to choose a primary weapon to major in which is his choice to make, surprisingly these grandmasters didn''t detect even a little bit of anomaly that just occurred in the pagoda!!! It was the time of sunset when Li Jie left the training pagoda and was just wandering aimlessly not knowing what to do, he came to the watchtower of the castle, from where he could observe the scenery outside of the castle, where he could be seen climbing the steps on the ladder which lead to the top of the watchtower, usually, he would come here with his maids and servants, but today he came here alone because he didn''t want to be disturbed by anyone, after reaching the top of the watchtower, he looked at the sunset and uncountable mountains which had lesser height than the one on which the Li family castle presided, it can be seen by him that the other mountains also had cities developed on them which were under the jurisdiction of the Li family and is managed by the branch families supporting it. then suddenly there was a bang sound produced somewhere beside him, which made his eyebrows frown to which he stood up cautiously and reached for the place from where the sound came to him, when he went near, he saw a young boy in his teens holding onto a bag of fruits grasping them tightly, and trying to hide from something or someone, the young boy panicked but before he could say anything they both heard a commotion from behind. Two young boys of 10 years can be seen running as if chasing for something, who wore the attire of the Li family when those two boys were almost near him, the young boy who was hiding in the corner took a light wooden basket which was beside him at that moment, put it on him and covered himself with it, seeing the whole situation suddenly transpiring from one moment to another made Li Jie frown, as he didn''t want to be involved in someone else''s trouble. Chapter 12 - Dai Chen The two boys wearing the Li family''s attire, one was Li Chung and the other was Li hong, they noticed a kid in front of them whose clothing was also of Li family attire, there were many who wore the Li family attire, It just proved that the other person was a member of the Li family while the other branches people wore different attires assigned to them, Li Chung not knowing the true identity of the kid in front of him said in a neutral voice but with an arrogant tone "Hey kid, did you see a boy looking haggard passing by here". Li Jie got annoyed by the tone used by the boy in front of him, he thought of mentioning about the boy hiding, but looking at the tone of the guy in front of him made him reconsider his decision, after all, even if he didn''t want to enter someone else''s mess, he at the least wouldn''t want anyone to get hurt so he just looked at Li Chung and said "I didn''t see anyone here, I am the only one here" Li Chung felt his anger rising knowing that the boy was lying from the awkward way the boy sounded and the fact that the one they are chasing after, is sure to have passed through here, he formed his fist ready to punch this kid in front of him for lying when suddenly his left hand was tugged by his friend Li hong and then he witnessed that Li Hong was bowing slightly in a servile manner to the kid and said "Hello Young master we didn''t know you would be here, we apologize for disturbing your leisure time, we will be going now", he again bowed slightly and pulled Li Chung with him who was shocked by the information which he heard, and then followed behind Li Hong, Li Jie just stood where he was while watching those two leave, after a while when he noticed that no one else was nearby, he knocked at the basket which was lifted by the young boy himself who looked left and right everywhere being cautious so that no one finds him, then he looked at the boy in front of him and remembering the conversation between the two youths who were chasing after him, he suddenly kowtowed frighteningly, "Please forgive me, young master, if I had known I would drag you into this mess I wouldn''t even have dared to escape from this area, please forgive me young master" the young boy was kneeling on the ground pressingly which lead to him leaking some blood from his forehead, seeing this scene made Li Jie feel pity in his heart towards the young boy then he said in a sighing tone "first get up and tell me who you are, your clothes don''t show you being someone of the Li family or any other branch family that I know of, or are you perhaps a spy from other factions, answer wisely cause if you don''t, your head might roll depending on your answer". The young boy first got scared by the intelligence of this young master but then he also felt relieved at the fact that at least in front of this young master, he has got a chance to give an explanation, whereas other people regardless of their age directly would have him executed regardless of the reasons presented by this poor haggard-looking young boy, without any explanation due to one and only one reason and that was his weakness, he knew in his heart since birth that he was weak, weak in status due to being born in the slums, weak in strength due to low bloodline he knew very clearly the one untold rule of this whole continent and that was "WEAKNESS IS A SIN!!!". "What are you dawdling about, why aren''t you answering my question and why did you steal the fruits? don''t you know that stealing is a crime which is punishable by amputating your whole arm" said Li Wei with a grave expression, suddenly waking up from his stupor and hearing the young master his expression turned grave and said in an apologetic tone "Young master I am nothing but a poor man who is affiliated to no one, I am just someone who belongs to the slum, I barged in the Li family castle for these rare fruits, which were stolen by me for my siblings who have never known what fruit tastes like, I beg the young master to let this poor one go back to my home to my siblings to the slums and I promise to never step foot here in the Li family area and to never disturb your peace". Li Wei looked at the boy weirdly and asked in a curious tone "What is a slum and where is it?" The young boy got shocked by what he just heard and then laughed self-deprecatingly in understanding that the boy he is talking to, is just a 5-year-old naive boy who was born with a golden spoon, so how would he know about the slums. he said remembering something sorrowful "young master, a slum is a place where the whole continent throws their garbage or unwanted things, it can be from materials to living beings", Li Jie was extremely shocked in horror by knowing this he said "but then why do you live there and not live here or where the other cities reside, I am sure at least someone will accept you right?", hearing the young master, the boy shook his head and said in a downcast manner "young master you don''t understand we are thrown by the whole continent to the slums so whether we were thrown or even born, our status never changes and to that of a garbage or someone unwanted by this world and forsaken by the heavens itself, we have no one to pray to who would take pity on us, we have no fate to speak of, we live our lives in harsh conditions and in misery without food for weeks, many die due to starvation so, no matter what we do we are either garbage or unwanted" hearing the boy describing about the slums shocked Li Jie to the core, he was reminded of how he thought he was forsaken by the heavens and how he felt his life was destroyed by having no bloodline, but hearing the boy''s story about the place called a slum and their residents, he felt lucky that he has his extremely strong parents who look after him and care for him. Li Jie looked at the boy and asked him with a clear expression "What is your name?" hearing this simple question by Li Jie suddenly turned the boy teary-eyed, because since his birth except those close to him every one, even those in slums called him different bad names and never cared to ask for his name, after all, who would ask the name of a dirty-looking boy. the young boy answered with the most resplendent smile he ever had in his life to the person in front of him "Young master My name is Dai Chen". Chapter 13 - Hapiness Of Family Li Jie nodded after hearing Dai Chen''s name, "Listen Dai Chen I will let you go today but from now on, you must not steal", Dai Chen''s face turned somber hearing this, not because he wanted to steal but because he didn''t know how to provide food for his siblings in the future, he could only nod in helplessness towards the young master. "You don''t have to worry about the food, I will try to get food for you and your siblings from our inventory which I have heard has a lot of food, I am sure I can get them to you, from tomorrow onwards come here at the same time as right now", Dai Chen''s eyes lit up, he was stunned and delighted upon hearing the young master in front of him and thanked with heartfelt emotions "this poor Dai Chen doesn''t know how to thank the young master, I promise young master that I will never steal from now on," said Dai Chen from the depth of his heart, Li Jie nodded and smiled "by the way in return you will have to tell me all the knowledge that you have regarding the outside world" after all, Li Jie was fascinated and extremely interested in the knowledge regarding outside of Li family and the whole continent plus what Dai Chen shared wasn''t among the things he has ever heard of in his family, he has never heard anyone mentioning about this place called the slum and why does no one gives a helping hand to it''s poor residents. These questions bothered Li Jie a lot, after all his Li family was one of the most powerful families of the whole continent if they wanted to help, he was sure it wouldn''t affect them in the slightest so why don''t they help and the same goes for the other families and organizations, he had decided in his mind to ask his parents about the slums and their poor residents who live in harsh conditions and he was sure if he asks his father, who is also the patriarch of the Li family for helping these poor people he wouldn''t refuse. "Young master with your permission I would like to go to my home, where my younger siblings are waiting for me," said Dai Chen with a respectful tone, Li Jie nodded towards him, "You can go", hearing which Dai Chen smiled and left running while carrying the bag with him, he once again turned around getting a look at the young master who first saved him from his pursuers, who heard, understood his plight, and also promised him for giving him food from tomorrow onwards, at first he thought he would be dead today, he wasn''t afraid of death, he was afraid of who will be taking care of his siblings if he is gone, all his life Dai Chen had no hope for a tomorrow and was just living his life in fear and trepidation he wanted to suicide many times but the thought of his siblings kept him against it, someone who lived his life forcibly for his siblings and emptiness lurked in his mind without thinking much for himself, after all not everyone dares to escape from the slums and barge into a city or any of the major regions controlled by a specific great family, which was something Li Jie who was only a kid without much information didn''t know or else if he had known, he would have been shocked to the extreme and commended Dai Chen for his courage, as for Dai Chen, for the first time in his life, he felt a feeling where his heart was throbbing faster like a galloping horse, he couldn''t wait for the next day to happen and meet this young master again who was just 5 years old but a very interesting person a very pure person without even a shred of malice towards anyone and warm-hearted, who viewed the world differently, "Oh, young master I wonder if you will always be like how you are now or you will also change and become like how everyone becomes after attaining power," thought Dai Chen expectantly of the coming future. Li Jie was returning to his chamber, while on his way back he was ruminating over the events of the day that had transpired, which felt like a dream after all so many things happening in a single day which was very unusual for Li Jie. He almost reached his room when he noticed that there was someone already present in his room when he almost reached inside, he saw two small kids running around and playing with different toys while being attended by their mother and his father was looking at everything with a smile, suddenly all of them noticed Li Jie, who was outside and was just on his way to enter the room, Li Na smiled sweetly towards Li Jie and asked "Li Jie dear how was your first training session", Li Jie was going to answer when he suddenly remembered something and looked towards the expectant faces of his mother and father in guilt, "Father-Mother I haven''t decided which weapon to choose yet, I will need some time to decide", Li Wei and Li Na both smiled nodding in understanding towards him then Li Wei asked "Li Jie do you know which weapon your father and mother use?" to which Li Jie shook his head to show his lack of knowledge on this matter, "well your mom uses her twin blade wheels which in my opinion is a weird weapon," said Li Wei with a chuckle, Li Na hearing this had her face turn stern, "Well if you feel it''s weird why don''t we spar a bit with your so-called "Heaven Reaching Spear" provoked Li Na in a mocking tone, listening to his wife made Li Wei sweat profusely hehehe I was just joking my love, truth be told Li Jie even I have to admit that your mother''s weapon is very horrifying and impossible to block", Li Jie felt his heart warm and flutter in happiness seeing his family and remembering Dai Chen''s words, which made him think that he should not take anything for granted, seeing his mother and father bickering made him laugh out loud which made his parents shocked who were happy secretly by looking at their eldest son who was laughing now and felt relieved, they were worried of how everything might impact their son, but seeing his innocent pure laugh made them happy in their hearts. Chapter 14 - Slums Li Shuangyan and Li Zhengji were pestering and pulling Li Jie''s clothes, they wanted their older brother to play with them, seeing this scene made both Li Wei and Li Na delighted to the limit, they just wanted their life to always be this peaceful but they were worried of-course because they knew, they could only keep their eldest son safe to a limit, and one day whether they like it or not he will have to face the ridicule of the whole world, after all, he wasn''t some commoner born in the streets, he was the eldest son of the great Li family and there were many who would want to show their superiority and would make comparison and hurt their son''s feeling after all this is a world where the strong hunts the weak, where the strong is everything and the weak is nothing, they were of-course worried for the future but also wanted to cherish the time they were spending right now, Li Jie finally pulled himself away from the grasp of his younger twin brother and sister, who were still playing with each other, he came tired with a chuckle on his face and sat beside his father and mother as if he suddenly remembered something and was worried if he forgets about it, he asked nonchalantly "father have you heard of this place called slums where the people live very harsh lives and don''t have anything to eat for days, why doesn''t anyone help them, I am sure even our Li family alone can help them right", Li Wei''s eyes narrowed as if recalling something unpleasant, "Li Jie, where did you hear about the slums", noticing his father''s sudden change of behavior in this topic he understood that there was something wrong with the slums which made even the patriarch of the Li family''s expression grave, "Father I just heard it when I was in the outer periphery of the castle whilst eavesdropping between two servants, who were discussing about the slums and how their resident''s lives are extremely poor and how no one helps these poor souls I was wondering father why don''t you help these people" Li Wei wanted to say something but it was difficult for him to explain his reasons "Li Jie my boy it''s not that your father doesn''t want to help them but it''s just that I can''t even if I want to, I also know how harsh it is for those who live in the slums is, but if I were to help them, the first ones to resist will be the members of the Li family and I don''t just mean some of them, I mean all of them and there are also those of the other regions as well and the imperial family itself who will resist for this to happen", Li Jie was stunned by what he just heard after all it all just seems too complex "but father why does everyone hate them and resist those from the slums for no reason, I mean they are not even powerful so how does everyone feel threatened" Li Wei shook his head and sighed "it''s not about threat nor strength, it''s just that first, those in the slums are not simple as they look, they might not be strong but there are some of them who have special backgrounds and circumstances which forced them to be in the slums, so of-course no one would want their enemy to get a helping hand and the main reason is that the slums are considered to be the lowliest of all places, they have the worst of bloodlines, their bloodlines are basically considered which is even inferior to the low-level bloodline which the servants have, that''s why their residents are looked down by everyone horribly, it''s a matter of status, and most of the humans don''t want those of low status to rise in the status of life, they don''t want to see to whom they call lowly or dirt get equal or surpass them, and that''s why everyone likes to suppress them because it gives them a feeling of accomplishment". Li Jie felt his mind burst from all this complex knowledge that he was getting from his father "Father why is everyone like that, why are all of them so badly corrupted in their hearts", Li Wei helplessly said "I don''t know son but I can''t help you with this even if I am the patriarch of the Li family", Li Wei was pondering in his head about everything that he just learned from his father and the fact that even his father who was extremely strong couldn''t help him in this case and the thing that made him feel worst was that the sole reason for all of this, in the end, is the grade of bloodline one obtains, he felt worst cause he had no bloodline, to begin with, which made him worse than those people of the slums he felt his mood in an all-time low, noticing Li Jie''s downcast mood, his mother stared sternly at Li Wei who felt helpless about the whole situation. Li Jie''s mother turned to Li Wei and said lovingly "Li Jie how about this when you become stronger in the future you can help those poor people of the slums", Li Jie suddenly jolted in surprise and thought, "Yes so what if no one helps them, I will help them no matter what when I get stronger" he thanked his mother in joy for the idea, but Li Wei didn''t feel good but he kept quiet, after some time his parents took his younger twins who were tired from all the playing with them and left him to rest in his room. outside the room, Li Wei said to his wife "dear why did you give Li Jie false hope, we all know it''s impossible for him to cultivate" Li Na just sighed "did you see how happy he was, I don''t want him to be upset and hurt, I just want our family to live happily for as long as possible" hearing his wife Li Wei didn''t know what to reply, they both just moved forward in the corridors. Li Jie was excited in his room, it was hard for him to fall asleep, he couldn''t wait for the next day because he finally made a choice and he perfectly knew what he wanted. Chapter 15 - Power Corrupts The next day Li Jie went to the training pagoda, where he would finally choose his path for the future and his life''s main turning point, he saw the pagoda and sighed for how his life was going to change from now on, He opened the door to the entrance of the pagoda where he noticed the same as before, the mysterious middle-aged man with an ever eternal smile etched on his face sitting cross-legged staring ethereally at the sword placed in-front of him which was normal in every way yet felt unfathomable at the same time, this time instead of going beside the middle-aged man like before, he came in front of him and bowed slightly to show his respects, the middle-aged man nodded and motioned him to sit after which he sat down opposite to the middle-aged man and the sword was in between them which the middle-aged man started staring at again as if it was the only thing in the world worth paying attention to, "So, you finally know what you want, I honestly assumed that it would take longer for you to decide, but looks like some special events occurred to you through the workings of fate", the man''s voice which sounded mysterious with confidence to Li Jie took him by surprise at the fact that the middle-aged man sitting in front of him was able to infer to such a degree, looking at his surprised expression made the man snicker. "Well, I know your choice but of course I would love to know your reasoning behind it", smiled the middle-aged man in curiosity, Li Jie first thought about how the whole day before passed and all the incidents that had transpired and all that he knows of this world, then he pondered more to make sure his reasons have a strong backbone and no conjectures, "Honorable sir, at first I was almost sure of getting the bloodline infusion, after all the bloodline you were going to give me as you have mentioned before is an extremely high-level bloodline but I have noticed something recently while bloodlines have advantages and are perfect for anyone, yet at the same time, they are shackles that restrict everyone whether their bloodline is of high grade or low grade, the low-grade ones have the obvious advantage, they have a limit and that limit makes it impossible for them to go far in the path of cultivation, while those with High-grade bloodline have no visible disadvantage but I have noticed that there is, and that is what makes them also have a limit at a certain point in the path of cultivation, not only that their primary righteous goals change after a certain period of time, they become dull and wallow in the pride of having bloodline" the middle-aged man nodded and smiled upon hearing Li Jie''s theory, "I have to admit you are pretty smart for someone your age, if I had not known about you personally, I would have thought that you might be a reincarnation of some beings I know of!!!, while you are right about this flaw of the bloodline, that every bloodline no matter of how high level, it has a certain limit at one point in the path of cultivation, and many get stuck at that same point forever not moving even one inch, but there are also some flaws in your theory" said the middle-aged man with a grin on his face, "Boy, don''t underestimate the geniuses of this world, while bloodline does represent a limit but there are also those who break the limit by their own talent, there are those who were born with the most useless low-level bloodline but end up cultivating higher than the person who had high-level bloodline, there are many rare treasures which many do not know of but can help in progressing a bloodline, so tell me are you sure about your answer". Li Jie listened to everything said by the middle-aged man earnestly and felt that he might be too naive to underestimate the geniuses of this world and the power of bloodline, after all, bloodline was the most essential thing present in this cultivation world but this piece of information still didn''t shake his resolve in choosing his path and he was more sure of what path to choose now than ever because he wanted to strive above all, help the weak, and fight the strong that will be his way of sword. "I have decided honorable sir, I will choose the path of sword, while the path of sword is way more arduous and tough, I will still go on this path because this the path is which suits me best, I will never be complacent with my strength, I will never wallow in my achievements, I will always strive to improve because if one mistake occurs then there is only death awaiting me. I will not be naive like before as to underestimate the heroes and geniuses of this world, but I will defeat each and every one of them and topple over all of them, while some might become my friends and some might become my enemies, I will still keep going on this path and my sword will be my beacon towards my path illuminating the way to move forward without hesitation no matter how strong or who the enemy is, even if it''s the whole world against me, my sword will face them and fight to it''s utmost and bring justice to those who are weak and innocent while judgment on those who are strong and vile" said Li Jie with a resolute expression, Li Jie became completely sure of the path of sword, yesterday night when he asked his father to help those living in the slums, yet his father hesitated even after attaining strength and status which many could dream of, but that doesn''t mean that his father is an evil person or not capable, It just means that he has to consider many things for his family before taking action, that''s what makes him hesitate and the consequences that will come after him, while many others had the same problem, at first they have a fire and righteousness when they are young but later in life, they become complacent and dislike changes regardless of the injustice played out in front of them, Li Jie knew that on the path of sword one can''t have any of the qualities of being complacent or fulfilled with life, they have to strive to improve more and more, or else being complacent and relaxation will only bring him death. Chapter 16 - Mr.Teacher So you choose the Path of Sword said the middle-aged man who glanced at the sword one last time", he picked it up, rubbed the blade and the hilt of the sword with his fingers as if reminiscing over something, then he suddenly recalled something "Well, I have already waited for who knows how long, and he is the only "TRUE MORTAL" I have found so far, maybe he will do the impossible and if he won''t be able to, then that is considered his luck, I will just give a push and everything else completely depends upon him" smiled the middle-aged man, after ending his thoughts he looked at the boy with a warm expression, was it because of the path that Li Jie chose or something else, the answer to that question only lies with the mysterious middle-aged man. "Good, I know you might have your own expectations regarding my reply to comment which is the better path of the two given by me to you, but I must apologize for this as even I don''t know nor am I sure as to how it will turn out for you by choosing either of the paths, I can''t recommend to you which one is better of the two, as it is your own destiny, your own choice not to be influenced by me or anyone but a decision made by you alone, and also the choices that you will have to undertake in the upcoming future by yourself and not having any regret, remember this very clearly boy I have mentioned this before but I will repeat this again even if I have to, the path of cultivation is arduous but the path of sword master is way above that, which will make any being helpless apart from others, your enemy can be you, your own thoughts, your own mentality, your own heart, and your own "INDIVIDUALITY", you have to be cautious and wary at all times of everything that might affect you, or else you wouldn''t even know how you created a coffin for your own-self to jump in!!!" said the middle-aged man with an apathetic expression towards Li Jie, hearing which made him understand how grave the matter discussed by the man in-front of him is and not taking it for granted, keeping it in his mind. "Honorable sir, I will keep what you have said in my mind" replied Li Jie seriously to the middle-aged man, who nodded and then asked Li Jie to pick up the sword that was in-front of him which was just lying on the floor, Li Jie nodded after which he picked up the ordinary-looking sword with an ethereal feel towards it. "Li Jie, now that you have picked up this sword, you have embarked on the path of sword and from now on you can call me Mr.Teacher, you will not know my real name because you aren''t worthy of it yet", Li Jie hearing him got curious and asked "Mr.Teacher when will I know your real name and what will I be learning from you", Mr.Teacher replied with, a smile to curb the curiosity of the kid in-front of him "I will be responsible for teaching you everything that you need to study but remember clearly, I will only be teaching you till you enter the initial understanding in the stage of the sword force, that will be your graduation certificate, like how many people graduate in academies which have special criteria set for graduation", Li Wei said "Mr.Teacher what will happen after graduation and what is initial understanding in the stage of the sword force?", Mr.Teacher said, until your graduation, I will be with you but after graduation, I will be leaving your side after which you will have to forge your own path which I will not interfere with at all no matter how dire the situation gets, there will be no involvement from me at all", about the understanding of sword force Mr.Teacher mentioned that it is far from him as he is right now, when the time comes, he will know about it. The next order of business that Mr.Teacher explained in detail to Li Jie was that from now on, he must keep the sword which was given to him by Mr.Teacher at all times even while sleeping and that he is not allowed to sheath it nor is he allowed to lose it and if possible study it''s mysteries which is, of course, impossible for a five-year-old without any cultivation, but it doesn''t hurt to try. After a lot of explanation and topics regarding cultivation which Li Jie was curious about and Mr.Teacher explaining all of them to his new student, it was the time of sunset which marked the end of his lessons, Li Jie bowed ceremoniously towards his master, who is the reason for his change in fate, or else he would have been a boy with no hope for cultivation. after Li Jie came out of the pagoda he first went to his room where he found a leather belt on which there was a hole to fix the scabbard but instead he fixed the sword in his belt without the scabbard that would just tighten the surface below the hilt so that the sword was visible, which can also help him in holding his sword by the waist, which will take some time if Li Jie tries to draw his sword, which is quite troublesome is what he was thinking but then he shook his head and decided to fix the problem of sword handling later as he was getting late. he came out of his room and ran towards the pantry, afraid he would be late, he sneaked into the pantry quietly and cautiously where he found a bag and slipped in some of the various food items in the bag, when the bag turned full he pulled it up and placed it on his shoulder so that he could carry it easily, he came out of the pantry cautiously, so that no one notices him and then he moved towards the direction of the watchtower where he was supposed to meet with Dai Chen. Chapter 17 - Dai Chens Worries Li Jie was rushing towards the watchtower, he was running as fast he could, afraid he might be late, he was very curious and had loads of questions that he could ask Dai Chen about the continent and the outside world in detail, while he used to talk with the servants of the household, they were asked by his parents to hold up on a lot of information that might affect him for a child his age, his parents cared for him too much, they didn''t want him to lose his pure innocence which he will lose eventually as he grows up, but they were trying their best to keep him away from the filthy side of the world. Li Jie on the other had no interest in the dark side of the world, he just didn''t want to see anything unfair to happen in front of him, he just wanted to understand the dark side of this world and to confront it head-on if the situation arises, he wanted to know more about the situation of the slums and more details about everyday knowledge from Dai Chen. At the watchtower was a thin boy who had ragged clothes on him, in his teen standing there fidgety, his eyes had a look of expectancy for someone, he would look around from time to time for anyone to show up, he also had a bit of fear crept up in his mind as to what if the young man doesn''t come as promised, which would be quite disappointing but it is also a fact that the young master didn''t owe him anything for him to have the feeling of disappointment, but he still kept on waiting for the young master to show up feeling distressed. With time passing by a minute after minute, the young teenage boy Dai Chen was starting to get worried as he recalled that today before coming here to the Li Castel from his home, he has already told his siblings that he will be bringing them some food today, returning back to his home he knew his siblings wouldn''t say anything like before when many a time he was unsuccessful in bringing anything to eat, but while sleeping at night they would clutch on to their stomachs in pain and trying to make less noise as possible which occurred due to their stomachs being completely empty, the sad part was if possible they would even eat grass, but they couldn''t because the slums had complete dry land full of garbage and filth, where no kind of vegetation existed due to the toxicity of the land and the various kinds of harmful garbage which was thrown there, very rarely any one of them would be able to find something to eat from the pile of garbage and even if something was found, the food found by anyone living there had to be kept hidden or the person would be robbed, beaten up, and even be killed, due to this reason, Dai Chen never dared to find food in the pile of garbage lest he gets himself in trouble although it was far more riskier to look for food outside, where he would be executed on the spot without any question, but he had to for the sake of his siblings and by going outside, he could bring the food procured by him to his home safely where no eyes would follow. Right at that moment, he heard the sound of footsteps which woke him up from his stupor, he rapidly crouched down in caution behind a barrel and was peeking from where the sound came, sometime later he noticed a small figure with something on his back, who was sweating profusely and whose chest was heaving up and down with rapid breathing sounds. the small figure was Li Jie who just reached here, while on the way carrying the bag of food didn''t faze him much after all in this continent, kids his age are able to easily pick up 20 jin of stones and throw it around despite their small size due to the thick energy of essence energy surrounding them which made the residents of this continent have a strong physique since birth, even a normal human born with a low-level bloodline has quite an extraordinary strength since a young age, while there are also those who are born with rare bloodlines or bloodlines belonging to the strength category with quite shocking strength since their birth, as for the case of Li Jie, while he may not have a bloodline, for him to also possess raw strength at such an age wasn''t rare, after all, there were also some rare herbs that help in increasing the physique of a child, it might be strenuous for normal families to buy such exotic herbs for their descendants which were of high cost but the great families were able to easily provide it for their descendants, but it took him a lot of energy to bring this bag up which was due to the force of gravity acting on his small body which was still untrained, noticing himself pacing back and forth to catch his breath made him realize that he must start training his physique, which although was required for a person to do when they reach by the age of 10 but some can start it earlier if possible, as it doesn''t affect any physical development. Li Jie after putting down the bag started looking for Dai Chen when he noticed a teenage boy coming to him, who after almost reaching him kneeled towards him and said in a tearful voice "I can''t tell you, young master, how grateful I feel towards your generosity If the young master has any instructions for me I shall do it faithfully without a question", Li Jie was dazed by Dai Chen''s actions when he suddenly reached towards Dai Chen and pulled him up "You don''t have to do anything for me, I am just curious about the outside world and I would like to know more about it from you. Chapter 18 - "Power Houses And Their Bloodlines" Dai Chen first placed his fingers on his forehead with a scrunched up expression on his face, he didn''t know from where he should start and what specifically should he say as the one he was talking to was the eldest young master of the Li family, he was trying to be careful in what topics he should be sharing with the young master. Li Jie was looking at Dai Chen with an expression of interest as if wondering what will he share about the outside world, he then called out to Dai Chen, waking him up from his reverie asking him to sit and tell him about the outside world, Dai Chen was deeply touched by Li Jie''s actions of asking him to sit with him, he didn''t know if anyone else of higher stature would ever give him so much respect. "Young master, what would you like to know, I will answer to the best of my abilities," said Dai Chen in a solemn manner, "Well although I already know some things about the outside world and the other forces, but you have experienced it front hand so I would like to know your honest opinion about each of them". Li Jie clearly understood how the big-sized or middle-sized organizations work, they just butter up to those who are stronger than them, he wanted to have a clear idea of what kind of an attitude was kept by the different organizations, and the one to best give him a clear picture about all things was Dai Chen or people like himself who were treated without any fear or consequences. Dai Chen understood what Li Jie wanted to know and started reiterating on what he knew about the outside world in detail, "Young master as you know there are five great families which include your Li family, while Li family is said to be a family that upholds the idea of righteousness and are one of the two great families who have the strongest military power, whereas the other great family to have the military power on the same level as the great Li family is the great Wang family who are extremely arrogant about their strength and are battle crazed warriors, as for their bloodlines, the great Li family as you must know has a gravity type bloodline but it is only exclusive to the higher-ups whereas those of the branch family have an earth type bloodline which cannot be underestimated as there are records of the earth type being stronger in some cases, the main family members of the great Wang family, on the other hand, has blood controlling type bloodline which is quite powerful and considered overbearing among the great families and the other organizations present in the continent, whereas their branch family members have flame controlling type bloodline which is also quite strong and must not be underestimated but it still falls short when compared to the blood controlling type bloodline" Li Jie asked Dai Chen about something he had doubts about, "Dai Chen, why can in some cases the earth type bloodline can match the power of the gravity type bloodline while the flame controlling bloodline cannot compare to the blood controlling bloodline, what makes it so special". Dai Chen nodded in understanding and replied, "Young master I have no deeper knowledge about this, but from what I have heard from others is that the Wang family''s main bloodline is perfect for battle and when they are on the verge of death their potential bursts out which makes them more perfect for battle, that''s why they are called battle crazed maniacs, and it''s hard for any other bloodline user to match them on, one on one in battle". Li Jie nodded after understanding and asked Dai Chen to continue with his explanation "then there''s also the great Gu family, Zheng family, and Fu merchant family, main members of the Gu family have poison type bloodline which is quite peculiar and special and is something to be very fearful of, as, for their branch family members, they have the smoke controlling bloodline which is also quite toxic in nature their main interest of occupation is mostly assassination or they can be hired for help for hunting too, while main members of the Zheng family are quite mysterious in this regard, where no one is sure about their bloodline but due to some rumors it is known that they can use various kind of abilities at a time depending on the user which isn''t certain as their bloodline abilities even in the main family differ from person to person, and their branch family members are different too, they consist of members with only mid-level bloodline mostly, but they have varieties of bloodline which aren''t powerful in particular, they usually delve into scholarly research and in studying the forces of nature as well as studying different bloodlines, their main occupation is to create weapons and all sorts of equipment for battling as well as for research purpose, their most prized invention is the floating castle of the Zheng clan, as for the last of the great family which is completely neutral with it''s stance not supporting anyone, nor against anyone, they are an alliance of merchant families who grouped together to take care of each other as to not be exploited by the other families or organizations, they also have members with varieties of bloodline which is not special in particular but they have the most resources and are the richest of all the other great families and the other organizations combined!!!" Li Jie was quite shocked by this statement of Dai Chen, after all, to be able to be richer than all of the families and organizations combined is no small feat. Dai Chen then continued "as for the last force of this continent and also the one who everyone, no matter their status bow to, is the imperial family which has the noblest and strongest of all bloodlines existing in this continent, the Light type bloodline". Chapter 19 - Ruler Grade Bloodline Li Jie was quite amused by knowing about all the different bloodlines specific to every family or organization and especially about the bloodline of the imperial family which was considered to be the strongest bloodline existing in this whole continent which left Li Jie puzzled, "but Dai Chen why is the imperial family''s bloodline considered to be the strongest, while it does have the rare light element but there are others too with a light type bloodline", Dai Chen understanding that the young master doesn''t have much knowledge about the imperial family said "Young master what you say is true but their bloodline being of the light element is not what makes them the strongest, it is the grade of bloodline which is higher than the High-grade bloodline also known as Ruler grade bloodline, the only bloodline in this continent to be of Ruler grade, of course, as I have heard from rumors that it''s quite a powerful bloodline which even in the imperial family only those of the mainline have". Li Jie was very excited to know about the ruler grade bloodline which was the strongest in this continent but he wasn''t shocked because according to his master, "Mr.Teacher" his mother, father, and younger twin brother, and sister have the strongest bloodline in this continent and also the bloodline Mr.Teacher was going to infuse him with, which as he said is stronger than that of his family members, he wondered what grade of bloodline his parents, and younger twins have as well as the one Mr.Teacher was going to give him. Even after knowing and understanding more about how big of an impact bloodlines make in day-to-day life, Li Jie still didn''t regret his decision because the path he chose was of his own and unique to himself. Dai Chen then stated that this is all he knows about the outside forces, to which Li Jie nodded and they both got quiet, which turned the atmosphere a little awkward. Li Jie then said to Dai Chen of a concerning issue, "Listen Dai Chen I am worried if I were to bring you food again every day, I might get caught and you might be punished ruthlessly by my Li family members, I think we should find a permanent way for you to get food for your siblings which would be safe and without trouble". Dai Chen complied with him on this matter, as for the young master to be getting food for him every day might be risky, due to which they will have to find another way, he held his chin and looked down after which he started thinking for ideas that might work but he didn''t seem like to be able to come up with a better idea, looking at him in thought made Li Jie realized that this guy really has a habit of thinking deeply about things, Li Jie also started pondering about this matter some more and then he asked Dai Chen, "Will you be able to do labor or any kind of work, where they pay you money?" DaiChen after hearing him said, "Yes, Young master I have no difficulty in doing work for which I will be paid but the problem is that no one in this continent accepts us of slums even as workers, as we are regarded to be a dirty species". Li Jie got saddened by what he heard and how those of slums were so badly discriminated against, still, he wasn''t going to give up when he suddenly had an idea, "Dai Chen, what if we find a job for you, I will somehow get you clothes which will make you look like a normal citizen from outside, and if someone wants to know where you live or where you are from, I will vouch for you which will clear many hurdles for you and you will easily be able to do a job somewhere which will help you easily in providing for your siblings, by the way, I apologize for not remembering that your siblings will need good sets of clothes too". Dai Chen shook his head in response to what was said by Li Jie, "No young master I think it''s better if you don''t worry about my sibling''s clothing because it will only create more trouble as we will only be drawing more trouble towards ourselves, living for so long in slums has made Dai Chen extremely cautious to the point where some might call him paranoid, but in reality, he was right if he gets his siblings new clothes from the young master, he will be drawing eyes from everywhere around the slums which will be very dangerous in itself, understanding Dai Chen''s dilemma and worries Li Jie chose not to push this topic further. anyhow now that they have an idea to implement and for Dai Chen to be able to provide food properly to his siblings without risks made him feel relieved for the first time, he was joyful and had no idea how to thank this young master who is helping him to such a degree. Li Jie then stood up and told him how tomorrow they both will be meeting at the same time and the same place, and he will be bringing him food till he gets a proper employment, Dai Chen nodded and picked up the bag of food to take it to his siblings, seeing him go made Li Jie feel good that even if he can''t solve everything, at least he can help one person in this world, while he was sighing and was caught in his own reverie, there was someone sneakily trying in listening to the conversation between the two who was just passing by here some time ago when he noticed the same haggard-looking boy who he and his friend were trying to apprehend but was obstructed by the young master of the Li family, It was Li Chung who was embarrassed and hated that this trash of a boy who is a cripple, is of higher in status than him and to make things worse the patriarch has directly killed those who tried to even utter something wrong to this piece of trash, he gritted his teeth at the fact that even now after seeing how merrily the young master of the Li family is talking to a filthy swine of the slums, he wanted to make trouble with the boy but seeing the young master talking to the filthy boy in such a nice manner, he knew he couldn''t do much even if he wants to, so he laid quietly, although he couldn''t hear them he was shocked by how long they talked, Li Chung made a reminder to himself that he will not be messing with either the young master or the dirty looking boy for the time being. Chapter 20 - Persistance Is The Key To Success At the crack of dawn, a small figure of a boy can be seen running around one of the training grounds of the Li family Castel where he can be seen panting, catching for his breath, and sweating heavily, It was Li Jie who had decided earlier to exercise his body as he realized that to be stronger in the upcoming future, he has to keep his physique stronger and flexible. Li Jie was wondering excitedly about what will he be taught by Mr.Teacher today as his lessons will start from today onwards, will he be taught some amazing sword arts or even better, some kind of supreme cultivation arts, after all, Mr.Teacher was able to offer him an extremely high leveled bloodline, so it''s obvious he will be taught some unknown fabled sword arts of legends which he mused about happily as he was running. Soon it was time for his lesson, Li Jie before going out was checking on the sword given to him by Mr.Teacher which he was supposed to keep with him at all times, not understanding what was so special about this sword except for the fact that it has this allure which would make one want to stare at it for a long period of time, after staring at the sword for some time he shook his head, kept it tightened around his waist by using the leather belt. When Li Jie reached inside the training pagoda, he was stunned by the sight of what greeted him, everything was the same, except for the many lamps present all around the room and a small table present with a quill and an ink present on it with huge stacks of paper beside it, Mr.Teacher can be seen standing smiling at the sight of Li Jie, he motioned him to the table across from him to sit behind the table and to place one of the blank paper on the table to start writing, Li Jie wasn''t able to fathom Mr. Teacher''s directions, he thought he will be learning martial arts, so why were there writing tools present for writing, still Li Jie didn''t question and started to do as he was told, he sat on the mat cross-legged which was placed behind the table and was ready to write on the blank paper, it was then that he looked at Mr.Teacher in a questioning expression, Mr.Teacher then nodded to him and took out a parchment from his chest pocket which was rolled, when he opened it there were many words written on it row by row from top to bottom except for a blank space left on the topmost side of the parchment, but looking closely at it made him realize that the words written on the parchment were all same except for their penmanship which differed, none of the words on it looked the same, from what can be understood, all the words seem to be written by different people, except for the fact that there was nothing special about the whole parchment which made Li Jie feel weird because he knew anything given to him by Mr.Teacher can never be simple. "Li Jie from today onwards your training will start, no excuses will be accepted as you must work hard to achieve your goals, here is a parchment on which I made many of the swordsman I have met over the years to write the word sword, you have to start writing from beneath the left corner of the parchment you will not be writing any others that I have not instructed yet to you, lest you wanna court death". Li Jie was shocked, why would he die just from writing any other word present in the parchment, except for the change in penmanship aren''t they all same, thought Li Jie in a troubled expression which made Mr.Teacher chuckle a bit "You don''t have to get worked up over this, just do as I say, by the way, you have to write that word in the same way it is written on the parchment, no matter how long it takes you to write in the same manner". Li Jie without question started writing, after which he understood that he had to write the word "sword" which was present at the leftmost bottom corner of the parchment, again and again, and after some time of writing Li Jie noticed that he wasn''t even able to copy properly what was written on the parchment as due to some odd reason he was getting pangs of a headache but he still persisted and tried writing, no matter how long it would take for him to write the same or how painful the process was going on for him, he didn''t want to disappoint Mr.Teacher, seeing Li Jie persisting and writing no matter how heavy-headed or painful it felt for Li Jie, Mr.Teacher felt satisfied looking at his new student, who was persisting and performing the task regardless of the discomfort present steadily, while many others in Li Jie''s place might have given up then and there, for not being able to persist longer and the most shocking of all was the fact that Li Jie was just Five years old kid. after a while Li Jie can be seen sweating profusely on his forehead where his veins can be seen popping out, his hand was moving steadily in writing the same word over and over again, but the word written didn''t even closely match with the one present on the parchment, by now he had wasted quite a several papers by copying the word in which he was unsuccessful. Li Jie felt horrible at the fact that he can''t even copy a word properly, he felt ashamed to the degree that he didn''t even dare to look at Mr.Teacher and ask him for further instructions because the task he got was simple as it looked, it was just copying of a single word and why the hell was copying a word giving him headaches, without stopping he again took a new paper and started to write the word when he was almost finished writing the word, he was suddenly interrupted "That''s enough for today, now place down the quill" hearing his master, Li Jie suddenly stopped in fright not knowing how to explain his failure, it was then he felt Mr.Teacher''s hand on his head which felt like a pat, it was then Li Jie raised his head and looked at Mr.Teacher who was smiling with a pleased expression, "Very well, I am very pleased with your performance, why do you have such a downcast look, you really thought you could copy it in a day hahaha" chucked Mr.Teacher at the boy sitting next to him with a pleasantly surprised but also relieved expression. Mr.Teacher then briefed him about how the words written in the parchment were not as simple as they looked to be and again with warning he mentioned that he should never try writing the other words, of course, he kept the part about Li Jie''s performance to himself as he didn''t want Li Jie to complacent. Li Jie was happy that he hadn''t disappointed his master, it was then Mr.Teacher gestured for Li Jie to get up and be ready, which made Li Jie confused but right at the moment when he got up, the whole surrounding changed, literally, everything changed except for Mr..Teacher who was still standing beside him and now he found himself to be in the middle of a forest where only trees and various types of plants can be seen everywhere. Chapter 21 - Training In The Woods Dumbfounded by the change in surroundings, Li Jie looked left and right and then at Mr.Teacher, "Master, where is this place, what are we doing here and how did we even get here?", in reply to Li Jie, Mr.Teacher smiled lightly and then replied in an apathetic expression, "These small tricks are nothing but a small matter for me which can be done with just a snap of my fingers and about this forest to which I have brought you to, is somewhere way far from where your home is, so you don''t need to concern yourself with these matters, after all without me you can never reach your home, as this will be one of the lessons you will be getting from me," said Mr.Teacher with a mysterious looking smirk. Li Jie was tongue-tied and he didn''t even know what to say after all when his mother used teleportation for his bloodline ceremony, his father had mentioned to him how it was one of her abilities which showed that his father couldn''t do the same yet Mr.Teacher could do the same with ease and from how it was mentioned by his master, this place is way far from his home. Mr.Teacher ignored Li Jie who was frowning and went on with his explanation, "Well, your first task will be survival, to survive for a whole week in this forest where the strongest beast present here will be at least of the king rank!!!" Li Jie was perplexed when he listened to Mr.Teacher, it was impossible for him to figure out where this place is, after all, this is a forest where the beasts rule, and he didn''t know about any specific forests in his continent where there can be beasts and that too for the king stage beast to be spotted here as mentioned by Mr.Teacher, which was quite rare as mentioned by his Li family fighters when he used to listen to their or his father''s story of hunting beasts, that the highest grade beast they could find for hunting usually is of the sky stage whereas king stage beasts are extremely rare and very sought after, to hunt a king stage beast would at least require three members of the Essence Refining stage to be present in a hunting party, after all, it is common knowledge among cultivators that beasts of the same rank as a human cultivator is way stronger due to their physique and their essence being of higher purity, of course, even in the case of beasts, there are exceptions who have high-grade bloodline such as the mythical bird of the royal family which was a variant of the vermillion bird having just thin bloodline of a divine bird made it much stronger than other beasts of the same stage, as a matter of fact, their strength can even rival those of higher stage beasts, this was the main concern of Li Wei, after all, he hasn''t even started his cultivation, will he even be able to survive this forest. "but master, it''s impossible for me to fight on with a beast of king stage they are equivalent in rank to the Essence Refining stage of human cultivation", said Li Jie with a grim expression. "Li Jie this is how this world is and this is the path you took, there will be many times in the future that even if you have a high cultivation base, you will find that your enemies will surpass your strength by a whole other level, there will be times when you realize that your enemies are everywhere around you, what will you do then? how will you survive? Are you under the illusion that someone will come and save you or will you survive by luck, HAh!!! don''t ever delude yourself into thinking that you will somehow survive, NO!!!! "YOU MUST SURVIVE!!!" no matter what situation you are into, whether you are surrounded by enemies or your enemy is at a level where he can kill you with a flick of his finger and don''t ever besmirch the honor of a swordsman, remember a true swordsman never backs down no matter how strong the enemy is, a swordsman never relies on anything but themselves!!!", Listening to Mr.Teacher, Li Jie felt his blood boil and great aspiration towards fighting those of higher levels head-on, without backing down as a swordsman, he hardened his face tightened his fist and his gaze turned of confidence and said "Master I will never back down from a fight no matter who they are or however many there are", said Li Jie with utmost confidence. looking at Li Jie''s confident expression Mr.Teacher felt pleasant towards his new student, "Good, but don''t worry you will not be hunting any beast nor will you be going against the king stage beast or any other beasts which you can''t take care of, all you have to do is spend a whole week surviving this forest, although I have to mention this to you that I will not be saving you from any danger you will be facing here, remember your life is in your own hands". Li Jie nodded with understanding but he had some confusion for which he asked "Master I have a question if I will be spending a whole week here in this forest, what about my parents? won''t they worry about my well-being and I have also made a friend who after my lessons I was going to help in getting a job at the Li family household". Listening to Li Jie''s worries Mr.Teacher just smiled and said in an indifferent manner, "You don''t have to worry about all of it, I have prepared a puppet which looks just like you and copies everything about you, that puppet will be replacing you in your place, as a matter of fact, many matters that you worry about will be done with ease in your stead". Li Jie wasn''t sure how many times will he have to be surprised by the various means done by his master, and when he said that the puppet that replaced him will be conducting all of the matters concerning him in his stead, meant that he can be without worries for his friend Dai Chen as he will be helped by the puppet, which made him breathe a sigh of relief, but of course, it doesn''t mean that he wasn''t tensed with the upcoming situation, that was for him to spend a week in this godforsaken forest where even those high-level fighters of his Li family will have to be overly cautious in this forest, lest they die without their knowledge. Li Jie then braced himself for his next lesson. Chapter 22 - First Day In The Woods Standing alone in the woods he felt dread from, shock and fear crept into his mind, body, and heart, which made him realize that he might not be as courageous as swordsmen are supposed to be, although he was sure of his decision, the fear that was looming in his heart kept him rational as he looked towards his master for some escape out of this situation or some other way for him to learn that can be less dangerous. Mr.Teacher gave his student a mocking glance and said, "Li Jie there''s no escaping this, remember carefully that this is your own choice and you can''t back off now, this is the only way if you want to tower over others and be strong enough to bring justice to those who need it, remember Li Jie, in this world true strength is justice without true strength you can only make excuses and complain, that''s all you can be amount to but if you want to change the world to how you see it fit then you must have the strength to do it", which was an indication for Li Jie that he won''t be able to get out of this and that he must complete his given task. "Master, how will I hunt beasts, if even the weakest beast here is strong enough to kill me with a pinch, and there''s also the matter of what and where to drink after all I can''t seem to locate any lake, pond, or river from here and I will also be spending a whole week here, I don''t even have any extra clothes with me to change". It suddenly dawned on Mr.Teacher, that the boy in front of him is a pampered young master of a great family which made him frown for a bit after which he just smirked wickedly while looking at Li Jie and simply just vanished without any explanation. Li Jie was taken aback by the actions of his master, who suddenly left without any further explanation, Li Jie didn''t know what to do, all he knew was that somehow he had to live in this forest for a week. Li Jie knew that just standing around the same place and waiting for the whole week to pass by wouldn''t help, so he moved around the forest carefully whilst crouching, so that he doesn''t get noticed by a beast which would be very troublesome for him, At first, he started to look for a cave to have a dwelling, while he spends his time in this forest for a week, as it was already sunset, which would limit his vision, and if he gets late in finding a cave, then at night time he won''t even be able to look at all. Even after looking from place to place around the forest, he couldn''t find a cave, the trees were tall with reddish textured bark, the leaves were of lush green color with sharp edges and smooth to touch, it''s texture was strikingly veined and shiny to the eye, there were various plants too with flowers of different varieties which gave him a feeling of peace and serenity, yet he could feel that behind this beautiful scenery lies the true terror of the forest and that he shouldn''t be mesmerized by the scenery, he was cautious due to recalling again and again in his heart that right now he is all by himself and that no one is here to protect him from any danger which he might face, and that any carelessness on his part would lead to some unfavorable consequences, where he wouldn''t even know how he died, Li Jie after some time found what seemed to be a lake but he could see some reptile looking beasts which had a face of a menacing snake, but the body of a sharp-clawed four-legged creature with dull green scales with yellow stripes on it''s back and the stripes reached from it''s mouth to it''s tail and an elongated neck which helps in flexibility and movement for it to hunt, there was a pack of them near the lake, where these beasts can be seen catching fishes with their mouth and ruthlessly crushing the fishes caught by them in their mouth and swallowing them whole, witnessing this scene gave Li Jie a fright but he couldn''t figure out of what rank were these beasts who lived in a pack, where even one of them looked strong enough to kill and devour a master stage cultivator, he wondered if his parents were to know that their son is right now amongst these dangerous beasts, how would they feel, will they even think of training him this way, No, The answer was no, his parents wouldn''t be able to bear the pain of watching their son going on such a risky endeavor, but Li Jie knew he couldn''t afford the luxury to be pampered by his parents after all it was him who chose his path, the path of sword, which was against the very common sense of this whole world, which was never even tried by any being due to the instabilities of this path and a completely different path, about which no one knows what the end of it is, and with it''s mystery and the strength which was never experienced by any being was tread on by Li Jie himself who knew he can''t give up and he can''t just give all of his to this path, he knew Mr.Teacher had good intentions when he brought him to this forest, although he expected to learn some mysterious high-level sword art but what he was first taught was how to survive in this forest with all it''s savage and menacing beasts present who kept devouring each other without any reasoning, after all, this is the place where the strong literally devours the weak and by the end of the week won''t he himself understand how to best survive in this strong eating weak world and it was then an idea popped into Li Jie''s head, isn''t the world of humans also consists of the strong devouring the weak, even if the methods adopted by humans are different but in essence how different is the human world from this savage beast world? Chapter 23 - Adapting To The Changes And Accepting The Cruelty A rabbit looking creature who had antlers on it''s forehead and had red stripes on its back was moving around from time to time in the luscious forest, it''s red pearl-like eyes were filled with caution as it took step by step as if looking for something when it''s attention was drawn towards a red color fruit which was placed beside a big rock, it suddenly pounced towards it, ready to grab it when suddenly a figure could be seen coming out of the shadows who suddenly grabbed on to the rabbit looking creature tightly which was trying to shake itself off the figure''s hand, suddenly the figure who came out of the shadows took out something from it''s chest area which was a sharp-edged rock using the head of the rabbit looking creature was crushed, the one to do the deed was no one else but Li Jie himself, It''s the third day of his lesson in the forest where he can barely able to keep his life, the rabbit looking beast he just hunted is called an inferior moon spirit hare, which collects the essence of the moon in it''s body over the course of it''s life to evolve into a higher grade beast, which depends on the amount of essence of the moon collected over the years as well as the factor of luck involved, Li Jie knew about this beast because it was one of the most common beasts found in this continent hunted and served as a delicacy to those who can afford it, especially those of the nobility, it was an everyday meal for Li Jie in his home which was prepared by the chefs in his household, while it is quite agile, fast, and tough to hunt, but in it''s initial stages among those of the same grade as it is stronger, whereas it''s power exponentially increases when it reaches the next stage and the subsequent stages above it. "Damn Damn Damn... if I hadn''t caught this beast, I would have died out of starvation" thought Li Jie, Li Jie hasn''t been able to eat or drink for the past two days, the lake which he found on his first day in this forest was a nest of reptile looking ferocious beasts whom he couldn''t identify but knew, that these are way above his league so he didn''t even dare to be near that area, lest he is caught by those ferocious reptilian beasts, he wasn''t even able to find any cave for safe dwelling, at night time he tried climbing the trees and sleeping there, but he found to his surprise that there at the top of the trees were sharp-toothed birds with sharp talons whose eyes contained hints of cruelty and ruthlessness, gulping with fright, Li Jie descended from the tree as soon as possible, cursing his fate for not finding a safe haven even at the top of the tree, he moved along trying to find any fruit or weak beasts which he can hunt to satiate his hunger, but he failed the same way it went for the second day, by the third day of his stay in the forest his figure had turned exhausted, his lips went dry from thirst, today he finally found this inferior moon spirit beast, towards which he felt hunting would be possible, by calming himself and containing all of the pain he erupted forth at the small beast using all his strength and finally crushed it''s head, looking at the splashing blood of the beast, he got an idea which made him frown but he knew he had to adapt to this forest or else he would lessen his chances of surviving this forest, at once without any hesitation, steeling his face, he took the beast and placed his dry lips near the beast''s neck area from where the blood was flowing out steadily, he started sucking on to the blood of the beast, feeling the pungent smell of blood and metallic taste made him want to puke it out, but he kept his resolve and kept sucking onto the blood of the beast, after drinking his fill, he started to tear open the meat and started eating then and there, whatever he could of the beast, he didn''t even leave the bones, he chewed them out, after some time he went in search of some safe place to dwell where he can at the least have someplace to rest and sleep in peace, without being cautious all the time in fear, while thinking, suddenly it struck to him that, wasn''t he training to be cautious at all times in this forest, instead of finding a safe place to stay, he should try to live and keep himself safe amongst these bloodthirsty beasts, while he was pondering on his thoughts and correcting his thought process and reminding himself of his goals, when suddenly he heard a slithering sound, hearing which all his hair stood at the end, his blood froze, his face went pale, his legs started to shiver at the thought of someone suddenly sneaking up on him, he felt a creeping presence beside him, whose horror was hard to define, he had his fists clenched as tight as possible, lest he faints by himself, as he tried to calm himself down and think of a way out of this situation while cursing himself for not being attentive enough and just daydreaming through this damned forest. Li Jie first thought to identify the creature whose blood-lust has turned him frigid and then try to come up with some way to save himself, as he turned trying to locate the beast whose very chilling gaze can be felt by him, but as he moved around, he couldn''t find it no matter how he tried, when suddenly he felt something wet on the back of his neck, he wiped it out with his hand and looked which made his eyes pop out in dread, he couldn''t believe how bad his luck must have been for him to face such a fierce-looking creature which was coiling around the tree, this creature was similar to a snake, it had crimson scales all over it''s body, with a small fire glowing on it''s forehead, it''s eyes were fiery red, ready to pounce at it''s prey, it was none other than the Lesser Flaming Viper. Li Jie knew about this snake because it was a mortal stage beast often hunted by the hunters of the Wang clan, while it''s uses were quite insignificant, it had the effect of helping student stage cultivators with fire bloodline in refining their essence of fire in their body, but the most troublesome part about this beast was that it was one of the many dangerous beasts of the mortal stage which lead to it not being a common delicacy but a resource used for those of student stage with flame bloodline, whereas Li Jie himself hasn''t even started on his path, he was wondering, if it was even possible for him to escape from this. Chapter 24 - Life Threatening Encounter Beads of sweat were trickling down Li Jie''s neck, yet his body felt chilly as if the surrounding temperature had gone down immediately, which was quite contradicting to the whole situation that was occurring at the moment, whereas the snake beast in front of him was of a fire element which was instead heating up the surrounding with it''s presence, wherever the snake moved around, that place had burnt marks on it, such was the case of the tree trunk on which the snake was currently coiling around, ready to pounce at it''s prey, who was frozen with fear, Li Jie could feel his fear increasing every second even if in his mind he knew that it was useless to be afraid and that he should be brave but the creature in front of him was just too terrifying to fight against, while the beast in front of him wasn''t of the fabled king rank but it was still too hard to fight against this creature who was already of the mortal stage, which was the second stage in the path of beast cultivation whereas he himself was just a novice. If it was any other mortal stage except for the special ones, Li Jie wouldn''t be as anxious as he was right now, because the Lesser Flaming Viper in front of him was of special category even among those of the same stage while having less intelligence it still was of cunning and ruthless nature, it''s fireball which it spits out as an attack was of toxic nature, where even one drop of the saliva of this beast could corrode a human''s skin and it also had a poisonous spike at the end of it''s tail which It kept hidden to attack it''s enemy unaware. It was an extremely troublesome beast to deal with, even for those of the master stage, Li Jie held onto his sword which was clinging at his waist, he couldn''t help but curse at his misfortune that the belt on which he attached the sword was too tightened, such that he couldn''t even take out the sword stealthily as he first wanted to, he knew using the sword to fight was no more an option because the minute he even loses a little bit of focus, he will be attacked right at that moment, all of a sudden as if finding the situation annoying the snake suddenly moved at a rapid speed towards the left side of Li Jie which made him confused for a second, but he suddenly realized it was a feint because the Lesser Flaming Viper used it''s tail to attack him at his face which was almost nearing his face, trying his best to move his body, Li Jie shifted sideways to avoid the attack but it still ended up grazing on the back of his neck, realizing that he wasn''t wounded deeply, touching the back of his neck he rejoiced but still ran in panic while the Lesser Flaming Viper was following behind him in full throttle, the boy ran while the beast kept chasing him. Li Jie realized that he didn''t even have a proper weapon nor any type of armor to protect himself, he felt himself to be too naive for the first time, he realized that while he had the fact in his mind that he must be cautious at all times, he didn''t even properly act on it in real life, was he really cautious as he should be, the answer was no, he was completely the opposite of what he was striving for, he just went on doing whatever he wished for at the moment because of his faith in his parents but here in the wilderness, there was no one who would look after him, while running madly Li Jie kept on praying in his heart for some kind of escape from this Lesser Flaming Viper, just one spit or a bite would be enough to immobilize him, feeling the Lesser Flaming Viper nearing him, Li Jie steeled his heart and suddenly took out the sharp-edged stone from his breast pocket with which he used to hunt small beasts, and threw right at the Lesser Flaming Viper, to which the Lesser Flaming Viper immediately responded by spitting a small fiery ball at the oncoming stone which was surprisingly turned to ashes, witnessing such a horrifying scene, Li Jie increased his speed and sprinted deeper into the forest which was occupied by beasts of higher strength, feeling as if losing his breath and his untrained legs which were at the limit, yet he still kept on running being fully aware of the fate that will befall him, if he even slowed down a bit, feeling himself nearing the limit and the Lesser Flaming Viper closing in on him, Li Jie felt that maybe he will not live to see another day maybe today is the last day of his life, while he wanted to give up due to exhaustion and him losing his speed, yet he still kept on running, holding onto a single ray of hope which will help him survive, his legs turned weary, his mind was fatigued, his body was worn out, finally, his legs gave up as he fell near a tree, feeling something nearing him, Li Jie felt that maybe this is it, he felt sad that he won''t be able to fulfill his promise that he made to himself of keeping his family safe, but he never regretted his decision while it would have been better if he was alive, still there are some things which are out of control, he knew facing the looming sensation of death which was brought out by the Lesser Flaming Viper in front of him who was nearing him and ready to bite into it''s preys flesh. As soon as the slithering Lesser Flaming Viper made it''s way towards Li Jie, it opened it''s mouth showing it''s venomous fang pouncing on him when out of the blue a thorn shaped thick tail pierced behind the Lesser Flaming Viper''s head where the thorn can be seen protruding out of the Lesser Flaming Viper''s mouth which was bleeding continuously and had particles of ice covering it''s face. the Lesser Flaming Viper was pulled by some creature which had the thorn at the end of it''s tail, the creature had pincers with which it tore apart the body of the Lesser Flaming Viper and started devouring it voraciously, looking at what was transpiring in front of him, Li Jie was shocked to his core, because the beast which was in front of him was also of the mortal stage but it was one of the rare beasts found in the continent called Ice-Tailed Scorpion whose bloodline was of a higher stage while not comparable to the vermilion bird with thin bloodline of a divine beast, it was still strong enough to handle special beasts of the same stage with a sneak attack. Chapter 25 - Gaining Experience Picking up his tired body, Li Jie knew that this was the best chance for him to escape while the Ice-Tailed Scorpion is busy with the Lesser Flaming Viper, he sprinted towards the outer area of the forest, where the weaker beasts resided because he knew that if he were to stay long enough at this place, he would be devoured, just like the Lesser Flaming Viper before him, so Li Jie first squatted down to conceal himself from the eyes of any beast that might locate him, while on his way towards the outer area of the forest, he found a hill filled with greenery, which he found to be extremely quiet, believing that there might be no beast due to it''s silent and peaceful nature, and different from the other areas where beasts can be seen battling each other from time to time. Due to their less intelligence, it was extremely rare for a beast to be quiet, which is why he decided to risk going onto the hill, while Li Jie was ascending upwards to the hill quietly and cautiously, he noticed a cave, which was surrounded by vines and bushes, the cave''s entrance area was partially sealed by all the plants surrounding it. Li Jie felt that this cave will be safe for dwelling as it can be seen by the lush vegetation surrounding it, that no one has visited this cave for quite a long time, he made his way with his small stature by squeezing himself inside from the left side of the entrance of the cave and entering it with caution by considering on the off chance, if the cave is inhabited by some beast, then he will be doomed that''s why he went cautiously inside the cave even if there was no sign of any beast in it, walking towards the end of the cave and looking around cautiously up, down, left and right in case the beast is hiding, but there was no sign of any beast in the cave, confirming his thoughts, finally Li Jie breathed a sigh of relief, the moment he relaxed, his eyes automatically closed as he felt the sensation of drowsiness overcoming him, which led to him sleeping soundly. By the time he woke up, it was already dawn he didn''t know how long he slept for, as he thought of a problem right at that moment, not knowing for how much longer will he have to stay alive in this dreadful forest, out of nowhere he thought of Dai Chen at that moment, does he live his life like this even inside the human territory since the day he was born, to be cautious of his surroundings at all times and thinking a million times before walking another step. Thinking more and more about Dai Chen and those whose situations were similar to him, Li Jie felt sad that this was too unfair for those living in the slums. Knowing that he can''t do much at the moment Li Jie never felt more certain of his choice that when he gets stronger in the future, he will change the horrific condition of the ones living in the slums with his own hands, and no one stopping his path at that time, Li Jie''s gaze was burning with determination while contemplating his future. Li Jie first came out of the cave being cautious of his surrounding, noticing no one in sight, he exhaled lightly and then went on pondering about what he should do next, he would of course love to stay at the cave till the end of the week, but he felt hungry and parched without anything to drink in sight. He first descended down the hill crouching cautiously surveying his surroundings for any beast that he needs to be aware of, and then he sprinted steadily from one tree to another and stayed still at one position if he heard any kind of noise, step by step cautiously, he reached the place where he found the lake, wishing to quench his thirst for water, when Li Jie reached near the lake, he found that no one was there, absence of the pack of beasts made him cry tears of joy, not knowing how to contain his happiness, still, he controlled himself to think rationally instead of jumping to conclusions, what if there''s a beast hidden waiting to be trapped by it, so first he checked the area by throwing stones at the water from afar to alert any beast that is if there is any near it, noticing no beast on sight, Li Jie slowly stood up from behind the tree he was hiding, when immediately a huge figure of a bird with four wings can be seen crashing from the sky, landing heavily on the lake, spreading splashes of water all over the area in copious amounts, directly halving the entire lake of it''s water, with it''s direct descent as well as it''s enormous size, which Li Jie has never witnessed in his entire life, and astonished by the sudden descent of this huge bird who was completely surrounded by sparks of electricity on it''s wings as well as it''s complete physique, the gigantic-sized bird had a crown-shaped feather on it''s head which was shining with splendor. The bird in front of Li Jie gave him a sense of awe and pride, with arrogance ingrained in it''s bones, Li Jie kept on hiding behind the tree, from where he was slightly peeking at the appearance of the bird, not knowing whether this bird in front of him was of the fabled King stage after all this bird''s very aura had condensed the whole environment near the lake, it''s as if everything near the bird got solidified and in it''s attacking range. Li Jie felt his luck couldn''t have gone any worse before at-least he was able to run from his opponent, but right now he couldn''t even move his body, pressured into laying low behind the tree, a while after Li Jie was at the same place enduring this huge form of pressure in his mind as well as from the surrounding, when suddenly from nowhere he could hear the sound of chirping, which was ringing loudly, after which he noticed by the end of his left eye that the bird flapped it''s enormous beautiful wings which were shining with a metallic luster, and had subtle hints of electricity crackling on his wings, the bird flew up at an extremely high speed, as it went far from Li Jie''s sight. Only when Li Jie felt that the bird flew away, did he muster up his courage and sprinted towards the lake to drink his fill. Chapter 26 - Learning Step By Step Days passed by as Li Jie went on living in the forest day after day, thankfully none of the previous threatening encounters occurred again, yet he remained cautious in spite of the repetitive yet unstable dull life that he was living right now. After living in the forest for a while, Li Jie came to a realization that there was a set of patterns, which was followed by these beasts subconsciously. According to Li Jie''s observation, most of the beasts in this forest start the hunt at the time of peak noon and at night when it gets completely dark, which helps many beasts who have extraordinary senses to hunt easily. During these times when the forest is filled with the movement of beasts from here and there. Li Jie would patiently stay at the cave taking his time, and when Li Jie felt that it''s safe to go out, he would descend down the mountain looking for food. Whether it be hunting of a fledgling beast which he could kill, or some exotic fruits only found in the forest with wide varieties of flora present. Of course, there would always be a certain amount of danger present when he went out searching for food, after all in this forest no one knows when some beast is hiding and using fruits as bait to nab at him. That''s why Li Jie would first test the whole area for any beast in hiding so that he can escape while prepared. In these passing days, there have been situations in which he was almost caught into a trap by a beast or in those where he almost faced death, encountering life and death on a daily basis at first kept him tensed, where he wasn''t even able to sleep properly but after some time he realized, that he has to take care of himself or else he will get sleep deprived, there were cases of him feeling physical exhaustion which he found to be alarming, after all, if he isn''t ready at his best at all times, even a single moment of weakness could be fatal for him in this forest, so he started forcing himself to sleep, but he had always kept himself alert about his surroundings when days passed by one after another, he was starting to get used to facing life and death situations on a daily basis, which made him less stressed and less afraid, experiencing something such horrendous on a daily basis had changed him little by little without him knowing, now his eyes had no more the shine of innocence, now they contained caution, decisiveness, and apathy towards everything, as if, even if a King stage beast were to appear right in front of him, he would have no fear like he first had towards these beasts, even if he were to face death right away, all that will be seen from his face will be nothing but indifference. This feeling of indifference started from when he first almost faced death at the hands of the Lesser Flaming Viper and the first time he saw that King stage bird who appeared before crashing onto the lake, from both these situations, he realized that no matter the gap in cultivation between the Lesser Flaming Viper and the King stage bird when facing them apart from some differences between them, the fear of death that he felt was the same, and while pondering and replaying those situations in his mind, it was this same fear of death that made him stop thinking rationally and started to panic due to which he finally comprehended the fact that being afraid of the enemy in front of you is of no use, it''s better to be as little afraid as possible so that no matter how strong the enemy a person faces, one shouldn''t give up no matter what, while in the face of absolute power, it might feel impossible to survive, but giving up in your own heart makes your death certain, whereas there might be less than 1% chance of survival even when not giving up, but even this low odd of surviving can sometimes turn up the whole situation upside-down. Li Jie not only had a change in his demeanor but he also learned about most of the beasts and the plants in the forest, which to eat and which not to eat, while he didn''t know their exact species name, he did however learned about their characteristics, whereas about beasts he learned their behavior pattern, likes, and dislikes. Li Jie made a note of it in his mind that when he gets home he will start reading various books possessing knowledge regarding beasts and plants. While it was common knowledge that beasts have less intelligence compared to humans, it didn''t mean that they could be underestimated, even if the beasts have less intelligence, their strength as well as their wild instinct is enough to make up for it to hunt ferociously. Li Jie was back in his cave with some fruit in his hands, his biggest problem right now was that he had nothing to store water, he also made a note in his mind that from now on, whether he is thirsty or not, he will always carry a gourd with him at all times. Li Jie was wondering, how everything was back at home, it''s been quite a number of days since he has gotten to play with his younger twins, he also missed his father and mother but he couldn''t help it, he has to do this for the well being of himself and his family''s future. He was relaxed though that the puppet placed by Mr.Teacher was handling everything back at his home, which made him less worried, but at the same time, he had this distasteful feeling in his heart that he has been replaced by a puppet, and no one even knows that he is not there with his family anymore and that the one who is currently with his family at the moment was a puppet. Li Jie closed his eyes but he couldn''t shake off this sour feeling anymore, the more he thought about it, the more annoyed he got, he couldn''t help but punch at the wall of the cave. Thud... Drops of blood trickled down Li Jie''s small fist when out of nowhere, BANGGG... the whole cave started shaking as if the whole world is going to turn upside down, the floor beneath Li Jie cracked, and he fell down towards the nearly never-ending hole that formed due to the fissure on the ground. Finally, he fell at what seemed like a liquid surface because when he fell down, the whole area splashed, Li Jie tried to calm down but when he opened his eyes, it was dark all around. Chapter 27 - Perfect Physique "gasp" "gasp" "gasp" Li Jie was gasping for air as he fell into a stupor, plunging down from such a height at this pothole which was filled with a thick viscous liquid, even though he wasn''t able to see anything around him accurately due to the disorientation in his mind, which occurred due to him falling and the complete darkness in the area. He could tell that this liquid wasn''t water because it was of a thick and viscous nature, and it had a mind-numbing pungent smell as well as the liquid that got into his mouth due to his abrupt fall, had made him feel unpleasant. Li Jie moved and brought his worn-out body out of the pothole, and everything around him was pitch dark as he didn''t even know where to move, so he sat down beside a wall where he could take support and sat down slowly, he wasn''t worried for any beast to hidden here because he was sure that this underground space neither had an entrance nor an exit, or else he would have been able to see something, there was one thing about which he was certain of, is that he was somewhere inside the hill!!!, which is quite shocking because there were no clues relating to outside interference and he couldn''t fathom in his mind, how can this place be created from inside, without digging from outside, from what little he could see, this whole area around the weird pothole was enclosed from all around except from the top of the pothole, where he fell from. After a while, Li Jie got up and started walking around the place to check if there was some way he could by some way find a way outside, now he couldn''t just sit around doing nothing and waiting for his death, he felt that he had to do something, while he was blindly moving around keeping his hands in front of him so that he doesn''t collide with a wall, he suddenly felt something spherical where his hands were placed, he started to pat around the spherical object lightly, Li Jie could feel some kind of thick branch shaped stone, on which the spherical object was placed, he found the spherical object unusual at first, but when considering the pothole filled with some kind of thick liquid in this underground space which is inside the hill with no entrance, nor any exit, he didn''t think much of it, as he started holding onto the spherical object with both his hands and started pulling it out, to his surprise it came out right away without any hindrance when all of a sudden the spherical object started to glow red, it was getting brighter and brighter every second, Li Jie felt joyous at the fact, that finally, he could look around him normally despite the crimson color, he started feeling uncomfortable when he noticed that the spherical object in his hand which resembled to that of a spherical crystal which kept glowing with increasing intensity of crimson-colored light, when he felt that he finally couldn''t take this blinding light anymore, he put the spherical object back where it was which stopped it''s increase in brightness, now that he could finally see due to the crimson light present in the room, the place where the spherical object was embedded into was some kind of lamp holder which looked unusual considering the fact that it was made of stone, when looking closer and more clearly, his eyes widened because he saw that there was a sculpture of a young brawny man whose body muscles looked ripped in front of him, who held the stone lamp with both his hands, the most shocking thing for Li Jie was that the sculpture in front of him depicted such a life-like appearance, looking at the face of the sculpture which had an expression of sadness and loneliness plastered all over it''s, it''s eyes conveyed sorrow and pain, and the thing that stupefied him the most was the body of the sculpture which somehow looked perfect yet it gave the feeling like it was missing something, but the problem was that Li Jie has never in his life witnessed a man having such a beautiful and perfect physique, he has seen fighters of various stages and that of higher stages too, he had also seen fighters with bloodline which increased the strength of a person''s physique but he never gave this form of beauty which this sculpture portrayed. Li Jie knew that he wasn''t knowledgeable in the art of crafting, yet he could feel the emotions placed on the handsome looking man, he wondered who could have created this sculpture, if such a man with such a perfect body even exists, he chuckled in his mind that he was thinking too much into this when right at that moment he noticed a rectangular-shaped bag which was sealed with a lace on top of it. Out of curiosity he picked it up and untied it, in which he found a manual which had "PERFECT PHYSIQUE REFINEMENT" written on it''s cover, reading the title, as well as considering the physique revealed by the sculpture in front of him, made Li Jie realize that this manual contains the art of physique building practiced by the man with the perfect physique whose sculpture was placed in front of him, Li Jie felt that even the body refinement manuals placed in the Li family''s library are not comparable to it. And about the other families as well as the imperial family, he didn''t know much about them, due to which he didn''t jump to any conclusions regarding the manuals they possess. As for his master, Li Jie felt that his master might not want him to learn this body refinement technique, and he can''t just recklessly learn it, what if it''s a demonic-based technique that will do more harm than good. He had firmly made the decision in his mind that he will not be learning this technique until and unless he gets his master''s permission. Looking around when he found out that there''s no way he could go out of this mysterious underground space, and then as if recalling something, that by the end of the week, his master will come to him, he felt that there was at least a chance of survival, so now all he has to do is wait for his master. Chapter 28 - Xing ZhenKang Two days have been passed since Li Jie fell into this dark underground space, where Li Jie can be seen sitting against the wall reading the manual he found in the underground space with deep concentration. His facial expression depicted pain and thirst while clutching onto his stomach with his left hand, beads of sweat on his forehead and neck can be seen his face scrunched up with pain. He kept reading the manual, trying to distract himself from this agony that he felt, one more thing noteworthy that he found to be was that the manual not only had the "PERFECT PHYSIQUE REFINEMENT" technique written in it but also had notes on the experiences of the senior who had practiced this technique, as well as some information regarding this particular senior''s origin, in which the thing which made him most shocked was that this body refinement technique wasn''t something inherited and was completely unique, because it was created by this particular senior and that it was one of a kind unique technique that wasn''t practiced by anyone else. If Li Jie were to ever practice this technique, then he would be the second being known in existence to be learning this body refinement technique, it was also mentioned in the manual that this technique was incomplete and that it can only be practiced till the Essence Crystallization Stage, after which the user of this technique will have to improve this technique on their own, there were also some hints and notes on improving the body refinement technique for the further stages of cultivation, Li Jie marveled at this technique and how can someone create such a wondrous body refinement technique, and at how careful this senior was towards guiding the next generation, Li Jie knew that if the existence of this technique were ever to be known, by those in the continent then the whole continent will embroil into chaos with war for this "PERFECT PHYSIQUE REFINEMENT" technique, because unlike essence cultivation techniques of bloodline where they can only be suitable towards those of a particular bloodline, the body refinement technique can be practiced by anyone, even those with low talent and low-grade bloodlines can go far in the terms of body refinement technique, as for the limitation imposed by this technique where it can only be practiced till "Essence Crystallisation Stage", wasn''t really a limitation, after all, it was the level of the patriarchs and great elders of the great families of the Bright Heart continent!!! In the whole continent, many can only dream of reaching the unreachable Essence Crystallisation stage, even if they are the very young masters of the great families, everyone in the continent knows how hard it is to reach this stage, years pass by for many humans yet they are stuck at lower stages of cultivation, whereas this body refinement technique is something which can be learned by anyone not concerning their bloodline or talent, but of course, even if this body refinement technique can be learned by anyone, doesn''t mean that it can be learned easily and that anyone can easily reach higher levels, it obviously has it''s own requirements to train which one has to fulfill to reach the higher stages in body refinement. As Li Jie kept reading the manual, he also started getting adapted to the pangs of hunger which eased due to him concentrating totally on the manual as well as the more shocking details present in the manual, which mentioned that the senior who created this technique was called Xing ZhenKang, he was a native of this continent who was born in the slums!!! Xing ZhenKang was also born with a Low-grade bloodline of the water element. Although it was of low grade and had no attack power neither did it had any strengthening effects on him, it was a unique bloodline that was used in sensing the liquid present everywhere around him, for example, if some living being or any creature were to come near him, he was able to sense them, and the amount of liquid present in a body could be seen by him which was of no use at first and his bloodline was considered to be the trashiest due to it not having even a bit of attack power, nor any other useful effects but it was one day he noticed a cultivator of higher stage passing through the slums, he could sense the amount of liquid present in the body of that cultivator, which was the same as that of all adults except for the fact that the liquid present in the cultivator was of much thicker quality and it was glowing with a verdant color, feeling strange about his newfound discovery, he started paying attention towards those who cultivated, and then he noticed that those who started their cultivation had red color liquid in them and those stronger than them had different colors, from what he could tell was that the man whose liquid glowed of verdant color was the strongest he has seen so far, he had always wondered what this liquid was that he could sense in humans and beasts, and one day out of curiosity he started to search for beasts and the result was the same as that of humans except for the fact that beasts of the same stage as that of a human were holding more of this liquid in their body compared to humans, which made him more and more curious about this liquid that was present in the body of humans and beats, and after countless experimentations, he found out that this liquid found in beasts and humans was "Bloodline Energy". which is the deciding factor in a person''s level of bloodline as well as the strength possessed by it, the more bloodline energy a person possesses, the higher the grade as well as the strength possessed by the person. Due to some luck, while experimenting one time, he was able to absorb the bloodline energy from the beast he was experimenting on which was a very shocking discovery for him, and then he repeated the process again and again which not only helped him further in his research but also in increasing his strength and the grade of his bloodline!!! Chapter 29 - End Of The Lesson Li Jie''s eyes were nearly popping out of his socket from reading the manual, as he couldn''t comprehend how this senior Xing ZhenKang, who had created this body refinement technique to make use of his own bloodline in such a unique way that would be a source of envy for every living being no matter their cultivation level. Unlike his own talents and experiments, the "PERFECT PHYSIQUE REFINEMENT", which was created by Xing ZhenKang, could not achieve feats similar to his own, but the body refinement technique deserved the title it was granted, it granted a human being the perfect physique upon practicing it. According to what Li Jie read next, Xing ZhenKang created the "PERFECT PHYSIQUE REFINEMENT" technique from one of his experiments in which he kept comparing the physiques of humans and beasts. as he felt that this was such an unfair advantage, in which the beasts had higher amounts of bloodline energy compared to a human being of the same cultivation stage. At first, he experimented by absorbing as much bloodline energy he could, but he finally couldn''t take it and hit his limit soon, and his body started showing signs of rupturing, following which he immediately stopped absorbing the bloodline energy and understood that humans have an innate physical limit. He started looking for ways to break this physical limit, it was then that he chanced upon various body refinement techniques which showed him the way for a human to break a human being''s innate physical limit, but after a while he faced an obstruction, which were the various limits imposed by the body refinement techniques he could get a hold of, not finding any other way to solve his predicament. He had decided to create a body refinement technique that was perfect in every way and in all forms possible, with no weaknesses and limitations, after various experiments he created a unique body diagram, which showed in what way can a human being hold the bloodline energy to the limit. The result of his experiments as well as the newly created body refinement technique shocked Xing ZhenKang to his core, he knew in his heart if the true effects of his body refinement technique were to ever come to light, it would cause shock in the whole world. The reason being his newly created body refinement technique granted the person practicing it, pure physical strength way above the beasts even above those beasts with divine bloodlines. Xing ZhenKang refined this body refinement technique of his as his cultivation stage increased. There was one limitation of this technique that bothered Xing ZhenKang a lot, and it was impossible for anyone apart from him to cultivate this body refinement technique at all as it required absorption of the bloodline energy which only he could do with his bloodline talent. He wanted to leave something for the slums, he wanted to leave a part of his inheritance behind to the poor people of the slums, due to some reason which was not mentioned in the manual, Xing ZhenKang couldn''t interfere with the slums directly which was why he was helpless, seeing this situation repeating in front of himself again just like before when Li Jie''s father had rejected his request of helping the people of the slums made Li Jie ponder, is there something about the slums that is mystifying and is able to give powerful warriors like his father and Xing ZhenKang trouble that they couldn''t interfere in it. Xing ZhenKang finally created the "PERFECT PHYSIQUE REFINEMENT" technique which was now in Li Jie''s hand, according to Xing ZhenKang apart from the requirement of the technique being absorption of bloodline energy, there was also a need of filtering out the impurity present in the bloodline energy of other beasts and humans. As Xing ZhenKang had the help of his bloodline talent in filtering out the impurities, he created a substitute in the manual which is currently in Li Jie''s hands. After reading the complete manual, Li Jie closed it and put the manual beside him and felt that it would be a loss not to learn this body refinement technique but he kept his impatience in check and was just waiting for Mr.Teacher, then he would ask him if he should or should not practice this body refinement technique as he was Li Jie'' master and he wouldn''t want anything bad for Li Jie. There was one thing which was to be noted, in this situation of Li Jie was that he hadn''t had anything to eat or drink for two days in this underground space, his face looked malnourished, his lips were dry and his stomach hurt a lot which was getting harder and harder for him to keep his pain in check. Li Jie even had thoughts of drinking that liquid which was in the pothole, which after the spherical object started glowing light, he could see it''s color which was crimson red, in which he fell but remembering it''s unbearable taste if it was normal beasts blood, he would have had drunk it, but the taste of the liquid was unbearable for Li Jie to bear, he had decided in his mind that he would rather die of starvation than drinking this unknown liquid. As more and more time passed by, Li Jie''s pain increased more and more, he couldn''t take it anymore, which lead him to roll on the floor writhing in pain, to control himself and the pain he felt, he just kept reminding himself of his family members and how he couldn''t just die, he had to go back to them because then what would be the use of him going through this hell, if he couldn''t be there for his own family. As Li Jie was reminiscing about all the good times he had spent with his family, when all of a sudden in front of him, he saw a smiling middle-aged man who was carrying a basket, coming towards Li Jie, the middle-aged man said, "Well I knew you would end up like this by the end of the week, that''s why I had come prepared in advance", he gave Li Jie the basket which was filled with fruits, cooked meat, and more food and drinking supplies, seeing everything in sight Li Jie was happy and grateful, he wanted to break into the basket, but he controlled himself and first looked at his teacher, who laughed, "haha don''t mind me you can start eating" as Li Jie heard this from his master, he started eating, even if he was starving, he hadn''t lost control of himself and was eating slowly and steadily, seeing his student made Mr.Teacher feel pleasing about his student. Then as if looking around the underground space, he recalled something which made him quite curious, when his sight reached on the statue, Mr.Teacher''s eyes squinted as if recalling something from his memory and then he smiled after contemplating, he looked at his student with a smiling expression, "Well, aren''t you a lucky boy". Chapter 30 - Strongest In The Same Stage "Li Jie, what do you think about this statue", said Mr.Teacher by pointing at the statue of Xing ZhenKang. Li Jie stopped eating when he was asked this question and it was as if he was caught up in the moment again when looking at the statue which had the most exquisite physique he has ever seen for a man to have. After pondering over Mr.Teacher''s questions Li Jie said with a firm expression, "Master I wanted to tell you that I had found an inheritance related to body refinement of this senior, truth be told it''s quite a peculiar body refinement technique this senior created, I wanted to learn this body refinement art which is called the "PERFECT PHYSIQUE REFINEMENT" but I waited for your instructions as to whether I should learn this body refinement art or not". Listening to his student made Mr.Teacher smile, "Li Jie I appreciate your honesty but there''s something more that you should learn from now on, is that you don''t have to tell me about your treasures and secrets, nor to anyone else either, Li Jie boy I know your hearts in the right place and you did right by not practicing this technique right away as you still don''t have much knowledge about cultivation yet, but from now on if you were to find a treasure or something secret, keep it to your heart, don''t mention about it even to your loved ones, because you never know when someone''s greed can flare up and that can be fatal, Li Jie when I said that the path of cultivation is tough and arduous but the path of swordmaster is far more tougher doesn''t only mean that going through this path is tough which is an unexplored territory, but whatever uniqueness that you might find while exploring through the path of swordmaster, can cause jealousy of others, so Li Jie it''s better if you keep the secrets of yourself to your heart and never tell it to anyone". Li Jie felt baffled upon hearing such a thing from his own master but he felt conflicted in his heart, he couldn''t completely accept his master''s words because he believed his family members would never harm him, the very idea of keeping secrets from his family was tough for Li Jie, if it was possible for him, he would have said about his master to his mother and father but he knew his master was an extremely mysterious being, whom not even his parents could detect and he knew that Mr.Teacher has no ill intention but Mr.Teacher couldn''t expose himself due to some reason, which will make Mr.Teacher deal with the situation in some way, it was hard for Li Jie to understand his master''s methods what he can or what he cannot do, but so far as Li Jie has experienced, there''s almost nothing Mr.Teacher cannot do, he can go anywhere he wants without getting detected by anyone and his ways of doing certain things were mysterious too. Mr.Teacher just chuckled by looking at the troubled expression of his student, "Well, you are just a kid, so you don''t have to be troubled by what I said, what I tell you is just my guidance, nothing more nothing less, you are your own person, you must make your own decisions, the same is with the treasure you find in future, keep it to yourself, and if you don''t understand how to make use of it then try on your own, you will find a way, as for now I will help you with your body refinement technique but there''s something more important about his technique that you should know about", said Mr.Teacher with an apprehensive expression on his face. Li Jie''s facial expression eased up, as his thoughts turned less chaotic after hearing his master, and he was curious about what his master wants him to know about this body refinement technique, Li Jie felt extremely grateful to his master who taught him without holding back as Li Jie himself knew how others were taught to cultivate, it usually consisted of learning martial techniques, some basic knowledge regarding rare plants and beasts, whereas his master taught him even about the most basic human nature, what to do and what not to do, while his way of teaching was quite peculiar like making him write the word sword again and again which he couldn''t understand the use of, as well as throwing him in this godforsaken forest, where survival is nigh impossible, still, he was very hopeful for how his future might turn out Li Jie''s trust in this mysterious master of his kept increasing. "Li Jie, you can decide whether to train in this body refinement technique or not after I have explained some things to you about this technique". hearing which Li Jie nodded his head, "Li Jie the first thing that you should know is that I have body refinement techniques which surpass this "PERFECT PHYSIQUE REFINEMENT" technique by various stages which you can''t even fathom, those techniques can even help you gain "GALACTIC PHYSIQUES", but this "PERFECT PHYSIQUE REFINEMENT" technique is the most unique technique ever created in all of existence, whether it be past, present or future!!!, It might not be the strongest body refinement technique out there, but it definitely has the most potential, of course, it''s biggest drawback is that it can only be practiced till the Essence Crystallisation Stage, after which you have to improve this technique on your own, while this may seem like a major drawback but instead it''s a great opportunity where you can improve this body refinement technique to be suitable for your own body, as every human''s body is unique in their own way, it so happens that in the subsequent cultivation stages, many get stuck by choosing a body refinement technique which doesn''t match to their physique, which causes them to not being able to break through and stuck in the same stage for years until they are able to resolve this issue, and the biggest benefit of this "PERFECT PHYSIQUE REFINEMENT" technique is something you won''t be able to believe that in the same stage, It is the strongest body refinement technique in all of existence!!! Chapter 31 - Statue Of Xing ZhenKang Li Jie couldn''t believe what he heard from his master, whom he believed to be the most mysterious person in this world, for someone like his master to consider this body refinement technique to be the strongest in the same stage meant that this body refinement technique was truly one of a kind and that he should learn it, now that he has gotten the chance to be stronger as fast as possible. "Master, I have decided that I will be studying this "PERFECT PHYSIQUE REFINEMENT" technique", said Li Jie with a decisive expression. Mr.Teacher nodded in reply to Li Jie''s decision, "If you are wondering what makes this body refinement technique to be the strongest in the same stage is that it is the only body refinement technique that has covered every aspect of a human physique perfectly to the utmost degree, which is impossible due to certain reasons which you will learn about later when you get stronger in the future, whereas the other body refinement techniques only specialize in one or two aspects of a human physique while their higher-grade techniques can be sought after, and it doesn''t mean that you can underestimate other body refinement techniques, for example, there are some which merge with your essence cultivation doubling your strength, while some increase your talent, and some getting you certain elemental properties and of course there also various other body refinement techniques which are unique in their own way, but the ones you have to be most wary of are body refinement techniques which grant you special physiques, the "GALACTIC PHYSIQUES" that I have mentioned before are the strongest physiques in existence, there is no physique surpassing it as of now, and they cannot be gained through any body refinement technique, one can only be born with it and the most special part about the "GALACTIC PHYSIQUES" is that there can only be one user of this physique in all of existence, it''s power is something impossible to fathom for the current you, but any special physique below "GALACTIC PHYSIQUES" can be trained, as well as be born with, as for the lower grade physiques, they are also something you cannot handle as you are now, as I have said before while lower grade physiques are not the strongest, they are still the envy of many beings, but being born with a special physique makes cultivation a lot easier and faster, whereas the body refinement techniques which grant a person special physique consumes double the resources to the one born with the same special physique and the strength of both the cultivators are same, that''s why those who are born with special physiques are highly sought after by many clans and great families". "Master, I have a question to ask, why have I never heard of the so-called special physique before", asked Li Jie with curiosity, "Well, it''s because no one in your continent possesses the special physiques as well as the body refinement techniques granting them and by any chance, if someone does get born with a special physique, it is kept secret to prevent the assassination from their enemies". Li Jie thought for some time whether to really practice this "PERFECT PHYSIQUE REFINEMENT" technique or just practice those techniques his master possesses, suddenly Li Jie recalled something as if what he heard was wrong or what he remembered was wrong, Li Jie asked in confusion, "Master, I remember you mentioning sometime before that you have body refinement techniques which can grant "GALACTIC PHYSIQUES", but now you mentioned that no body refinement technique is able to grant a user "GALACTIC PHYSIQUES" why is that?" Mr.Teacher laughed at Li Jie''s question, "hehe it''s good that you pay attention to what I say when I said to you that no body refinement technique exists which can grant you "GALACTIC PHYSIQUES" is true and the fact that I can give you a body refinement technique which will grant you a "GALACTIC PHYSIQUES" is also true" smiled Mr.Teacher mysteriously, which made Li Jie even more confused about it, he knew he will not be getting a straight answer, he knew that if he wanted to know more, he must have the strength, but after pondering over he still decided to go with the "PERFECT PHYSIQUE REFINEMENT" technique as it was highly praised by his master even among the techniques which grant a user "GALACTIC PHYSIQUES", so there must be something his master could see about the "PERFECT PHYSIQUE REFINEMENT" technique, which he cannot as he is now, with almost no knowledge about cultivation. Looking at Li Jie''s firm expression, Mr.Teacher understood that his student was sure of his choice, with a serious expression on his face, Mr.Teacher said "before you practice this technique Li Jie, there''s something you should know that the one who created this technique is not a simple person, and one thing to take note of, is that no matter who asks you about this technique you must not tell anyone nor even about the creator of this technique because let''s say he is what you can call an anomaly, a being who has made the whole world his enemy his strength is unmatched at the same level and he can even kill those so-called geniuses of higher cultivation stages, I cannot go more into details but all I can say is that you must not let anyone know of him and the technique he has created, you should not even mention about him if possible or else you will never know how you died!!!" Li Jie was taken aback by what his master has just said to him about this senior, who has created the "PERFECT PHYSIQUE REFINEMENT" technique, Li Jie knew that this senior was strong but for someone to be evaluated so highly by even his master to such a degree was shocking to him. Li Jie nodded towards his master in understanding, and then he picked up the manual and gave it to his master. Mr.Teacher took the manual, he casually flipped through the pages without any interest on his face, after which he closed the manual, looked at Li Jie, and said "It''s good that you didn''t practice this technique as it is mentioned in the manual because it''s a trap which could lead in you practicing the watered-down version of the technique which only increases bloodline talent, which is useless for you as you don''t possess even a bit of bloodline, the creator of this manual doesn''t want anyone to gain his body refinement technique so easily, but you are in luck that I am here, the real "PERFECT PHYSIQUE REFINEMENT" technique is not in the manual but in that statue", said Mr..Teacher pointing at the statue which was holding the crimson glowing spherical object in it''s hands. Chapter 32 - Blood Path Orb Li Jie asked in confusion, "Master, how did you know that the statue holds the real "PERFECT PHYSIQUE REFINEMENT" technique, and how can a statue contain the body refinement technique, when there''s nothing written on it, and nor is there any kind of hint mentioned in the manual about anything related to the statue". To Li Jie''s doubts, Mr.Teacher responded, "If you are wondering about how I found out about the statue having the original technique is because there are some things I can see which you can''t as you are right now, maybe in the future you will be able to see, in our world apart from cultivating, there are also other occupations which supports us in going further in the path of cultivation, such as alchemy, weapons crafting, array formations, talisman creation, and rune creation". Li Jie knew about some of the occupations mentioned by his master, while some of them were unknown to him, which only lead to more confusion for him, as he was wondering why had his master mentioned the other occupations. Sensing his student getting worked up, Mr.Teacher lifted the manual in his hand upwards, and then he snapped his fingers, to which the manual reacted by glowing with weird symbols and lines, the lines were circular in shape with weird-looking symbols placed between each circular line which were connected to each other by two straight lines. The lines and the symbols present on the manual glowed with a yellow color, most fascinating part about these lines and symbols were it''s complexity, which was hard to understand, these lines and symbols felt like they had a certain type of power that commanded the laws of nature. Mr.Teacher then touched the glowing symbols on the manual and started moving them from left to right, up to down, looking at which Li Jie was surprised by this function of the manual which was unknown to him. He wondered what those glowing lines and symbols on the manual were, and how was his master able to move them, finally when his master was done, the lines and symbols present on the manual suddenly disappeared, it was then that Li Jie noticed that the color of the manual''s cover changed from blue to brown. Mr.Teacher then explained that the glowing lines and symbols were high-grade formations with which the manual can be kept safe from any kind of accident as well as to keep the contents recorded in the manual to be safe, Mr.Teacher mentioned to Li Jie that he can see through all kinds of formation with his eyes!!! and that the manual was sealed with the use of a high-grade formation, for Li Jie to read the unsealed part, Mr.Teacher had to unseal the formation. Mr.Teacher handed the manual to him and asked him to read it, in which the same information was present as his master had mentioned to him and there was something extra, which was mentioned in the manual, that to practice the "PERFECT PHYSIQUE REFINEMENT" technique the practitioner has to place his hands on the crimson glowing spherical object in the statue''s hand and to recite the incantation mentioned in the manual which was already memorized by him due to the recitation being already mentioned before the unsealing of the manual. Li Jie then got up, handing over the manual to his master, and went towards the statue of Xing ZhenKang, where he placed his hands on the crimson glowing object and started reciting the incantation. After reciting the complete incantation, the statue suddenly lit up with weird-looking constantly moving symbols which were then all moving towards the crimson glowing spherical object. When all the weird symbols were collected in the sphere, those symbols then turned into dots of light which were then passed through Li Jie''s hands to his hands, not being able to keep up with the sudden turn of events, Li Jie felt his headache, which was caused due to the dots of light entering his body, out of nowhere there was a sudden pain in his head which made his face scrunched up. He fell down due to the horrific pain that he was experiencing in his head, he held his tight to remain calm but the pain was unbearable as if someone was poking on his brain with needles, after a while the pain started to fade which made Li Jie relax, as his whole body was sweating badly due to the pain in his head which made him wish for his death. With the fading of pain new information started appearing in his mind, these pieces of information were as if they were inscribed in his memory in such a way as to never be forgotten, even if he wanted to, he could never forget the information which occurred in his brain. In Li Jie''s mind, there was information that went onto further explain the process of the "PERFECT PHYSIQUE REFINEMENT" technique, in which he has to first take the crimson glowing ball, which as it was referred to in his memory is an invention of Xing ZhenKang called the "Blood Path Orb", Li Jie found the name "Blood Path Orb" to be strange. He continued reading the information in his mind, which stated that to practice the "PERFECT PHYSIQUE REFINEMENT" technique, he has to take the "Blood Path Orb" with him to the refined blood pool which was void of impurities, as it was the complete bloodline essence which will help Li Jie in refining his fleshly body and increasing his strength to a high level. According to the information in his mind, the "Blood Path Orb" is the most crucial object that is to be used in practicing the "PERFECT PHYSIQUE REFINEMENT" technique without it, it''s impossible to practice this technique. Li Jie also noticed that in his mind, there''s a collection of information, that is sealed, which cannot be seen by him until he fulfills certain requirements which were placed down by Xing ZhenKang. Chapter 33 - Start Of Body Refinement Li Jie went to the blood pool while holding the "Blood Path Orb" in his hands as it was mentioned in the information present in his mind, he entered the blood pool, which was deep crimson in color. Mr.Teacher stood beside him near the blood pool assuring Li Jie of his safety, if something were to go wrong. When Li Jie was completely submerged in the blood, he started reciting the incantation which would awaken the "Blood Path Orb", to start the true "PERFECT PHYSIQUE REFINEMENT" technique. With the start of the incantation, the "Blood Path Orb" started to glow darker in color, when it turned to black in color, the surroundings also turned dark, for which Mr.Teacher created a blob of light to appear with a snap of his fingers. Li Jie wasn''t able to perceive all of this as he was busy reciting the incantation with his eyes closed, as he was preparing to withstand the upcoming pain that he would have to bear with the start of the true "PERFECT PHYSIQUE REFINEMENT" technique. It was at this moment that the black-colored "Blood Path Orb" suddenly started sucking all of the bloodline essences, with it''s continuous absorption the amount of bloodline essence started dwindling at a rapid rate. Li Jie could feel the "Blood Path Orb" absorbing the bloodline essence rapidly, but he didn''t understand why there was no pain as mentioned in the information provided, Li Jie then opened his eyes only to see an almost empty bloodline essence, when he noticed the final drop of bloodline essence getting absorbed into the "Blood Path Orb", he noticed that it''s color first changed to Red then it turned to Orange after which it kept turning to Yellow, Green, Blue and finally Indigo, where it stopped. Li Jie wasn''t able to make out about anything that was going on in front of him when due to some reason the "Blood Path Orb", which was indigo in color now suddenly started spinning with increasing speed, not being able to hold onto it, the "Blood Path Orb" got out of his hands and caved in his chest, which was very alarming for Li Jie, as it wasn''t mentioned in the information provided by senior Xing ZhenKang, there was only mention of extreme pain while practicing this technique. The "Blood Path Orb" was digging in his chest, which was very painful for Li Jie, as it was a little big in size plus it was drilling into his chest due to unknown reason, Li Jie was screaming in pain as this pain was unbearable for him, the tissues on his chest started to squirm and were oozing blood which was unsightly to look at. Spiral shaped pattern started appearing on Li Jie''s chest as the "Blood Path Orb" got deeper into his chest, which was just infinitely agonizing for Li Jie, as he wasn''t prepared for this, he knew that he will be experiencing pain but he didn''t know that he will suffer in such a manner, with hope he looked towards his master for help. Mr.Teacher shook his head, "As much as it pains my heart to see you in this state child, I cannot help you, because what I will give you will only be a temporary relief, what will you do when you suffer from something worse than this in future which you will be because of the path you chose, I know you are just a child who doesn''t deserve any of this, but only with persistence will you gain success". After Listening to his master, made Li Jie realize that he will not be getting any kind of help from his master, and he has to grit his teeth and wait for this hurdle to pass, the skin on his chest just kept twisting which just added more to his agonized state, as he was flailing his legs and arms around in pain. The agonizing stinging sensation on his chest just kept increasing with the passing of time as the "Blood Path Orb" was digging it''s way through his chest. When the "Blood Path Orb" finally entered his chest, Li Jie felt that he would die any time due to a huge amount of blood loss from his body, when there were cracking sounds of his ribs which were extremely uncomfortable, to say the least. Li Jie felt the almost broken center of his rib cage moving, as they were displaced due to the trauma forced by the "Blood Path Orb", he could feel his life slipping by when he felt immense life energy from his chest to his entire body. The life energy that Li Jie felt coming from his chest made him relaxed, calm and relieved him of fatigue, he could feel his body healing, his disconnected rib bones connecting back and turning to how it was before, slowly and steadily Li Jie felt his chest getting back to how it was, the wounds on his chest and the traumatic injuries on his chest started to disappear. Li Jie breathed a sigh of relief, as he felt himself escape from the clutches of death just a moment ago. When Li Jie''s mind turned stable and became aware of his surroundings, he noticed that the cavity where the bloodline essences were contained in, was now quarterly filled with his own blood, with the stability of his mind, Li Jie was assaulted with the horrible smell of the blood, which almost made him nauseated, feeling no matter how many times he experiences this, he will never be able to get rid of the nauseating part he felt about blood. Li Jie stood up in the cavity, and weakly got out of it, when he chose a corner to sit and relax from all that has occurred just now, Li Jie was then swiftly reading through the information in his mind about the "PERFECT PHYSIQUE REFINEMENT" technique, where he remembers skipping this important part which he kept for later, but now that he was relaxing, he started reading through it. In which it was mentioned about the stages of body refinement cultivation which was created by Xing ZhenKang himself, while there were many other practitioners of body cultivation, there was never a universal grading system for it, as everybody refinement technique will have it''s own grading system. Xing ZhenKang''s body refinement cultivation grading system was from the lowest being red and highest being violet, which was comparable to the grading of essence cultivation, it was as follows Red > Orange > Yellow > Green > Blue > Indigo > Violet. Chapter 34 - Changing Of Stars From the information in his mind, Li Jie could infer that he is currently at the Red stage of body refinement cultivation, whereas his strength can rival that of a normal Grand-master stage cultivator due to the specialty of his body refinement technique. It made Li Jie happy that he has finally been able to embark on the path of cultivation, while he hasn''t been able to get into the path of essence cultivation like everyone, but still he felt something was better than nothing. Mr.Teacher could easily perceive Li Jie''s thoughts while looking at him, he said in a comforting tone, "Don''t worry, you don''t have to hurry, remember cultivation is a path which requires perseverance, even if you don''t succeed, it doesn''t mean that you must give up or keep sulking about it, if you do your best and give all of your hardwork then with time you can and you will achieve it. Li Jie understood that his teacher was thinking the best for him, he smiled with appreciation, he knew that if Mr.Teacher wasn''t there in his life, he might have never been able to have a chance to become stronger in this world and be ridiculed as a cripple for the rest of his life, where only the strong rules and the weak suffer. Li Jie was happy that he is lucky for his master to notice him or else who knows how his life would have been miserably played out. Li Jie grew tired due to overthinking and he was missing his father, his mother, and his two cute twin brothers and sisters, for whom he thought, if he even will be able to return to after all the life and death encounters he had experienced. "Master, I am tired I want to go back to my home", said Li Jie with a worn-out expression. Mr.Teacher smiled towards him, "Yes, you have done as I have asked you to do, now it''s fair that you get back to your home for rest, but before that there''s something you should know that you have an excess amount of blood essence energy collected on your chest area, anyone with a discerning eye will be able to see, and it will only spell trouble for you, so here I will do something for your protection". Li Jie could see Mr.Teacher lifting his finger which started glowing and with which he started to write some glowing characters on air which after completion, decreased in size and flew towards Li Jie''s chest. Li Jie was stunned when a glowing character flew into his chest, which made him feel uncomfortable for a while, and then a relaxing sensation flowed through his body. "Master what was that just now, I felt a tingling sensation pass through my body", asked Li Jie curiously. "What I wrote with my finger was a runic character, these characters have the power to contain laws of heaven and earth, they can be used to enhance, seal, protection and many other uses which have yet to be discovered, the one I have used on you is a complex one, which will help you in distributing the blood essence energy collected in your chest throughout your body as well as hide it from everyone''s notice, by the way, the blood essence energy collected in your chest will be enough for you to reach Essence Crystallization Stage, but after that, you will have to improve the technique by yourself, only then will you be able to progress in the subsequent stages," said Mr.Teacher with a nonchalant expression. "Master isn''t the Essence Crystallization Stage enough to be called a strong person in this continent", asked Li Jie with curiosity. "haha who told you that if you reach the Essence Crystallization Stage, you will be one of the strongest in this continent, and who cares if you are strongest in this continent, do you know there exist beings who can kill the strongest beings of your continent with just a snort, hahaha" said Mr.Teacher in an incredulous manner. Li Jie was dumbfounded, not knowing if what he said was so wrong for his master to react this way, but when he thought deeply about it, which made him realize that what if an enemy so strong comes that no one in this continent will be able to even a put up little bit of resistance. Yes, now it made him wonder, just what was he thinking with being complacent with whatever cultivation stage he was on, it was like a wake-up call from his master now, which made him think more and more, that why should he be complacent with any stage of cultivation he reaches. Li Jie decided that from now on he will not be smug about his achievements, because there are mountains beyond mountains and heavens beyond heavens. From now onwards, Li Jie had decided to keep improving and never stop. At the same moment, it was nighttime in the Bright Heart continent, where, at the center of the continent in a majestic palace of the imperial family in a room filled with various tomes and scriptures lying around, there was a bald old man with a long beard who was dozing off, when all of a sudden, the old man opened his eyes which were filled with glee and happiness, he was sweating profusely, he couldn''t believe what he dreamt about. The old man started to check his tomes and he started reciting something, where it can be seen his eyes shifting from black to white and white to black, he couldn''t believe what he was seeing, that''s why he was confirming through other ways of prophecy. At last, he came out of his room and went out to the roof where he could see brightly lit stars, and one of them being as bright as the sun. At the dead of night, that star was shining so bright, that it''s brilliance and beauty overshadowed the moon. The old man had tears in his eyes when he looked at the immensely brightly lit star, tears were gushing out of his eyes, with an exhaustive but a relieved voice the old man said, "Finally the stars have changed". Chapter 35 - Returning Back Home There was a commotion in the grandest palace in the bright heart continent, where despite the commotion, was a room filled with silence and serenity. The king of the imperial family and all of the continent had a curious expression towards the old man sitting in front of him, "What has made you so frantic Sir Seeker, for you to have me woken up in the middle of the night" asked the king with patience. The bald old man looked as if he was confirming something in his mind again and again, after confirming and making sure about what he will be going to tell his king will be of utmost importance, which can change the fate of the whole continent for good. "Your majesty I would like to present you with the joyous news that there is finally a bit of hope against the calamity that will be reaching this continent soon, all the stars are shining with splendor and welcoming one of the stars, which is shining the brightest today showing that whoever it is, will one lead us and help us the people of the continent against the calamity that will soon reach this continent", said the bald old man. There was an expression of surprise on the face of the king, he couldn''t believe what he just heard, "Sir Seeker are you sure of what you just said right now, you are one of the very few beings in this continent, who realize how horrendous this upcoming calamity is, even someone of the second step cannot save us, let alone someone from our continent, where the highest cultivation stage is stopped at the Reality Acceptance Stage, which may seem something amazing for the peoples of this continent but for those outside of this continent, someone of that stage can be found easily walking on streets!!!" The bald old man shook his head "Your Majesty, I have only said that there is a bit of hope not certainty of my prophecy, but what we should be delighted of the fact is that unlike before we at least have a bit of hope against a calamity against whom there is no hope only despair, others before us who have been faced with this calamity, have only perished and forgotten in the annals of history". The king sighed when he heard the bald old man''s musings, he didn''t want to but he had to admit that what the bald old man told him was true that even if they have a bit of hope, it is better than no hope at least, he didn''t know if he should rejoice and be relax from this tremendous stress that he has been feeling because of the oncoming calamity. In a cave, Li Jie and his master can be seen conversing, "Let''s go back home, boy you need some rest for today, we will resume your studies from tomorrow, and you will be coming here to this forest every three months for a week of training" "But master, I thought my training was over in this forest after today, and I feel that I have become way stronger than before and my senses sharpened". Mr.Teacher chucked when he heard Li Jie, "haha look at you being complacent as soon as you accomplish this little bit, Li Jie it''s true that you have become stronger than before in many ways but if you were to not face these experiences from time to time you will get rusty and your strength will start regressing". Li Jie gulped when he heard this, he apologized to his master for his ignorance in this matter. "Master let''s go back to my home I have been badly dying to meet my family", said Li Jie with an expectant expression on his face. "Yes, Yes let''s go", said Mr.Teacher after which he snapped his fingers which lead to the change in surroundings instantly, where Li Jie found himself in his training pagoda, Li Jie was always amazed by this ability of his master where he didn''t even feel as if he left this training pagoda, yet he has left this place for a whole week, he felt as if all that he has experienced was nothing but just a fleeting dream. Li Jie was very expectant to meeting his family, he would always think and dream about meeting his family, while he was away for just a week it felt to him as if he was gone for decades. Mr.Teacher just looked at his student and stood near him when he said that the puppet he has used to replace him will be coming here anytime and then he can leave to meet his parents. As Li Jie waited with his master, he could hear the main door of the pagoda opening where he saw a boy who looked not similar but completely identical to him, which was surprising for Li Jie, as he never knew this could be possible, he knew that it would be similar to him, but for it to be completely identical to him and there were no signs of the boy in front of him being a puppet which was quite shocking to Li Jie. He suddenly recalled the unpleasant feeling he had when before he punched the wall of the cave, although he knows that the puppet is used for his own good, it still made him feel unpleasant in his heart for there to be someone replacing him. When Mr.Teacher looked at his student he could see his sour-looking face, to which he said, "what are you making the face for boy, this is just a puppet I created for you". Li Jie realized that he was thinking too much into this and that he should be carefree regarding such matters and it still amazed him, when he noticed how the puppet exactly looked just like him, he couldn''t comprehend his master''s abilities because he has always known that even in his clan which is one of the great families in this continent where experts are quite common, but he knows no one and nor has he ever heard of anyone being accomplished with multiple abilities. Chapter 36 - The Head Blacksmith Li Jie just kept staring at the puppet which made him feel anxiety, which he wasn''t supposed to feel, considering the help he received from this puppet in front of him. Even then, he would not leave things as it is, he would check on how everyone felt when he would return instead of the puppet and try to understand if there''s anything that has changed in his absence. After deciding his next course of events, he was determined to look for any change in his family and he would also meet Dai Chen for whom he was worried about, although his master had already mentioned to him that certain tasks will be handled by the puppet in his absence. Li Jie then rose up ready to go outside, he couldn''t take it in, he was dying to meet his family, and only by looking at their faces, would he feel calm and relaxed, or else he would be restless. "Wait Li Jie, don''t you want to know what has been going on here since you left for the forest, this puppet that I created, can also answer all your questions, of course, it can only answer you what it knows, nothing more than that," said Mr.Teacher. Li Jie''s face beamed with happiness as this will make it easier for him to know, everything that has happened in his presence, while it might not look like much but one week was enough for many small changes to occur and for something new to happen. Li Jie nodded and first asked the puppet about his parents who believed the puppet to be their son without any hesitation and he acted towards them as the real Li Jie would act towards them as well as his siblings, Li Jie was happy that there was no problem in hiding his absence from his parent but that doesn''t mean he didn''t flinch when the puppet said that his parents believed the puppet to be their original son, he didn''t know why but he felt a bit disappointed which he tried to ignore and forget. Li Jie then asked about Dai Chen and how did the puppet help him, the puppet then explained to him that he took Dai Chen to one of the black Smith shops which were under the Li Family, where he took Dai Chen to the head blacksmith for recruiting him on behalf of the young master. The head blacksmith was a man with a burly body, thickened muscles, and braided beard. The head BlackSmith was first skeptical about the situation that was occurring in front of him, if it was anyone else other than the young master of the Li Family, he would have kicked them out but he had two things to consider, first was that the one requesting him was none other than the young master of the Li Family himself and second was that even if there were many blacksmiths who were talented and hardworking under him, none of them were able to reach the requirements placed by the head blacksmith, so he was just hoping for a miracle, finding a genius who can inherit all his techniques. The head blacksmith agreed but he had one condition before he can recruit Dai Chen into his shop, and it was that he would personally test Dai Chen. Dai Chen was extremely nervous as he has never had experience in such things, all he had ever known was to steal or fight for scraps in the slum, apart from that he couldn''t think there to be any skill or talent he had worthy to be recruited by this esteemed blacksmith shop and its master the head blacksmith who had a huge reputation in this continent, while he might not be as good as those of the Zheng clan, it was quite a feat to be called a renowned blacksmith in the continent which was testament towards his individual strength as well, but for some reason, no one was certain about his cultivation stage which was quite a mystery, those from the other great families as well as the patriarch of the zheng clan tried recruiting him but he rejected them all, not knowing the reason why but all everyone knew was that he was strong. Dai Chen also knew that, unlike others, he didn''t even have a proper bloodline to increase his cultivation as he was considered trash, that''s why he was in the slums, where all the trash of the continent gathered. Dai Chen was horribly terrified in his heart not knowing how everything will go, but he had to steel his heart and made himself resolute, after all this chance was once in a lifetime for him and it was given to him by this boy beside him, he knew that no matter what, he will do his best for whatever test he was supposed to overcome because he couldn''t disappoint the boy near him who helped him in getting this chance, which those of the slums cannot even dare to dream about. The head blacksmith called for Dai Chen and asked him to bring his hands forward to which he nodded and brought it forth, when the head blacksmith held Dai Chen''s hand, he injected him with some essence to check his bodies condition as well as his bloodline, but the head blacksmith was shocked by what he witnessed, he felt as if nothing in the world made sense. Isn''t this boy a friend of the young master, that is why he asked for the head blacksmith personally to recruit him but this boy in front of him, whose insides he was checking was malnourished in such a way which was worse than the beggars. No, he believed that even beggars would have a better constitution than this boy in front of him and the bloodline, can it even be called a bloodline. No one is born without a bloodline in this world, of course except for the young master of the Li Family which was quite strange in itself as it was impossible for such a thing to be possible. It wasn''t visible if one didn''t look properly but the head BlackSmith was an experienced person, he understood right away that no matter how bad a beings talent is, they will have a certain amount of bloodline in their body and from the traces of the wounds in Dai Chen''s body, he concluded that his bloodline was extracted by someone at a very young age, which was the result of wounds in his inner body which only after injecting essence energy into his body, was he able to understand this situation, he even had a certain suspicion as to how did the young master made such a guy his friend, from the body and the many traces present in Dai Chen''s body. The head blacksmith understood that this boy was a resident of the slums, only someone who belonged to that place could have such horrible body conditions. There was pity in the head blacksmith''s eyes, then he looked towards the young master who he found to be the noblest person because he dared to befriend someone of slum which was not anyone can do, but in the end, the head blacksmith sighed only if this young master had a bloodline. Chapter 37 - FRIEND No matter which region of the continent, there was one rule which was not tolerated by anyone in the Bright Heart continent and was considered the most disgusting act one could do in the Bright Heart continent, that was an experiment on bloodline, any kind of experiment on bloodline was forbidden by the imperial family. But some still conducted this disgusting act hidden behind the shadows, never to be caught. The head blacksmith was sure that Dai Chen was the side effect of such experiment, while not many know but being one of the most esteemed beings of the continent, he had knowledge which many weren''t privy to and that was most of those who lived in the slums have already been removed of their bloodline and if they were lucky due to some reason, it wouldn''t last long as they will be found and sold without them realizing. Those who were interested in such filthy experiments always looked for such "products", a term created by those who were looking for humans to test their experiments, especially their bloodline. The head blacksmith didn''t know what to say to the boy in front of him, and test further was useless. After all, Dai Chen didn''t have a bloodline, and what he had can''t even be called a proper bloodline as for his strength, it was not wrong to say he was frail. Forget banging the hammer, Dai Chen won''t even be able to pick up the hammer. The head blacksmith sighed and collected himself before saying to the young master of the Li family, "Young Master, Can I know where did you meet this friend of yours". The puppet Li Jie''s gaze sharpened upon hearing the head blacksmith, "Does it matter where I met him? said Li Jie coolly" The head blacksmith was tongue-tied, he never knew his one inquiry would lead to the pampered young mastered getting angry. "What matters is that he is a human being whom I consider to be my friend" continued Li Jie with the same angered tone. "If you don''t want to recruit my friend into your shop, it doesn''t matter I will try to look for some other job for him," said Li Jie with a sharp tone. The Head blacksmith was stunned by what he just heard from this five-year-old kid, he was a very old man despite his looks, his age was something of a mystery which no one was aware of, no one knew for how long he has lived. It was as if the words of Li Jie triggered a certain memory hidden behind the Visage of time, which he had almost forgotten "FRIEND". "Yes Friend was it, haha what you said is true young master, I hope you forgive this stupid old man young master, this old man has forgotten what it is like to have a true friend, and well if you consider this scrawny boy your friend, then I will recruit him, but let me make this clear to you I can''t let him learn "art of blacksmith", because he doesn''t have the constitution to do it, instead he will just be a helper, his responsibility would be to help everyone here with their tasks from sidelines," said the head blacksmith with a serious expression. Dai Chen''s face beamed with happiness, no matter what kind of work, he will do it wholeheartedly and he will be able to feed his family with honest work''s earnings. The puppet Li Jie also smiled after hearing this, the head blacksmith sighed looking at the expression of the two in front of him. "Have I gone too old or is this what they say is a child''s innocence, will young master always be the boy he is right now," sighed the head blacksmith? looking at the scene in front of him, the head blacksmith thought, "Where are you my friend, how long has it been since we parted, I wonder what would you think if you were to meet these two boys". "Young Master, I can only help you this much but there''s something I should tell you, which you should always remember, never let anyone in the family or outside the family know that you have a friend from the slums, trust me even your father won''t be able to save you from the trouble this will bring to you, so be careful," said the head blacksmith in a concerted manner. The puppet Li Jie nodded when he heard the blacksmith and decided that he should keep this thing in his mind and thanked him for his help. Dai Chen was full of joy as he has finally gotten a chance to change his destiny, his eyes sparkling with emotions. The puppet Li Jie, who looked at him smiled being happy for his friend. Back at the training pagoda, Li Jie was shocked by what he was told by the puppet in front of him because he was sure that if he was there himself, he doesn''t think that he would have been able to do anything better and the best part was that everything went smoothly. Li Jie first thanked the puppet happily but then he stopped and realized it''s just a puppet with no feelings and emotions, what was he thinking. so he thanked his master for helping him in so many ways, he doesn''t think that he will ever be able to repay his master. Li Jie then got up and left towards his parent''s room, where he was dying to go as well as to his siblings as well. When he left the training pagoda, in the room of the pagoda Mr.Teacher and the puppet Li Jie can be seen who was still standing. It was right at that moment when, "Why don''t you sit down kid, you have done enough, aren''t you satisfied". The puppet Li Jie who looked like a lifelike copy of Li Jie suddenly looked as if it was real, not only it''s features but even the emotions present in the puppet''s face matched that to Li Jie, with melancholy he said, "Can a person ever be satisfied by seeing their parents and loved one just once!!!". Chapter 38 - Interest Of The Wang Family Patriarch Rushing through the corridors of the Li family castle was a small-statured boy, whose every step was stable, the very demeanor of the boy didn''t match of someone his age. That boy was Li Jie, the boy was running towards his family''s quarters, everyone who saw him rushing was shocked, be it the servants or the wandering disciples of the Li family. They were wondering if this was the same young master, they knew who was delicate as a flower, but now his small stature wasn''t something to scoff at, even the servants who had no understanding of martial arts knew that somehow their young master has gotten stronger, even while running Li Jie''s breathing was stable without any signs of discomfort or fatigue. Finally when Li Jie reached his parent''s quarters, there he found some maids who were performing their chores, he asked them if his parents were inside, they told him respectfully that the patriarch of the Li family has taken with him madam and the twins to the backyard garden, where they were chatting leisurely. Li Jie smiled and thanked the maid for her help, he then rushed towards the garden where his parents and siblings were currently. Right at the same time in the Wang family castle, the patriarch had returned from his meditation in the volcanoes, first, he sat on the throne of the patriarch, and then came five elder figures who bowed in front of the patriarch of the wang family. "Elders, did anything interesting occur, while I was away and, where are my kids?" asked the wang family patriarch with no interest. "Sir Patriarch, everything that occurred was reported to you right away", said one of the elders respectfully. "As for Sir Patriarch''s children, your eldest daughter Wang Shu, is currently at the Sacred Heart Academy, she has become the core disciple of the academy soon will be the competition for the seat of the Headmaster''s successor, after which she will be able to learn that troublesome sword technique of the academy," said one of the elders gritting his teeth. Wang family patriarch''s gaze sharpened upon hearing of the infamous sword technique of the Sacred Heart Academy, which was exclusive only to the Headmaster of the academy, whose strength was unfathomable since this special sword technique was famous for it''s strength and it doesn''t clash with any different another attribute, instead, it gets adapted to the user''s attribute for use, which makes it a very rare sword technique which can be used baby anyone, unlike those techniques which were specific to a single attribute. In the Bright Heart continent, even those of the imperial family don''t have a technique of such caliber, that''s why even descendants of the Imperial family can be found in the academy. The headmaster of the academy was considered a very generous man by everyone, who had announced that anyone regardless of their status who can become his successor, will be able to learn his sword technique. But unfortunately, no one till now has been able to become his successor, everyone, be it the imperial family, the members of great family or those from mid-size and low-sized family and even would send their children to the academy in hopes of learning that terrifying sword art but till now no one has been successful. "Sir Patriarch with young lady''s talent and strength she is sure to become the successor of the headmaster of the academy", said one of the elders in a humble manner. In reply to the elder, the Patriarch of the Wang family harrumphed, "I wouldn''t have to go through such troubled ways to get that sword technique, If that headmaster was an easy guy to deal with, although I have great expectations of wang Shu, nevertheless I don''t think it will be as easy as he shows it to get his sword technique, that scheming bastard". The elders present didn''t say anything, they knew how hot-headed and arrogant the wang family patriarch is, not even him, this was the case for most of the wang family members, it was in their blood to be hot-headed and arrogant. "As for the second young master, he is currently wasting away his time at the zheng family, where he has befriended the second young master of the zheng family who is also known for his poor conduct, while he has high-grade bloodline and the purity of his bloodline is high but he doesn''t have any interest in the path of cultivation, as for our second young master, if not for that incident, he would be the most frightening talent ever seen in this continent!!!, but what a pity, he doesn''t move on and wishes to waste away his life as a trash", said one of the female elders, who was the only female elder present among the elders right now in front of the wang family patriarch. The Wang family patriarch''s face turned displeased, recalling the events of the past, he was helpless to do anything to change what has already happened, "Hmph forget it, just send him a message that after 5 years, he will be joining the Dragnoth demonic academy as an inner disciple, I believe that with his cultivation, he can easily join that academy as an inner disciple, as for the core disciple status, for that he will have to work quite hard and tell him one more thing, this is not a request but an order directly from me", said the Wang family patriarch with a sharp gaze. "But Sir Patriarch, there''s nothing special about the Dragnoth demonic academy, we have more resources than them and our overall strength also surpasses them, except for their cruel ways of training and their weird martial techniques, there''s nothing special about them", said the same female elder with a doubtful gaze. Listening to this female elder, the Wang family patriarch smirked, "What do you know what one can hide, I also thought that it was nothing special, but I encountered something while fighting their headmaster, I don''t yet know what it is, but I am sure with time I will know, smiled the wang family patriarch. Chapter 39 - Perfect Moments In a beautiful garden, where two kids, one male, and one female can be seen playing with each other, they were running around the whole garden, throwing mud at each other and also chasing butterflies. These kids were none other than the younger twins of Li Jie, looking at them from a distance was a couple, who were attended by various maids for all sorts of services, be it serving tea or serving snacks. No matter who looks at the couple, the only thing that can come out of their mouth is that these two are a match made in heaven, from time to time the man would say something to his wife''s ear, which only made her giggle more. Listening to his wife''s giggle the man couldn''t control his urge and started kissing his wife passionately near her neck, then towards her cheeks, it was as if there was a fire burning in the man''s stomach. The man couldn''t hold himself back, he wanted more, he wanted to do more but his wife calmed him down, making him realize about their servant''s bashful appearance. The man despite his uncontrollable desire was a well-mannered person, so he apologized and started looking at the scenery and his beautiful wife which made him feel, only if this can go on forever. The man and the women were none other than Li Jie''s mother and father, who were cherishing every moment they spent together with bliss. Right at the gate reached a small boy, who suddenly stopped not wanting his parents to see anything different, he first took a deep breath and tried acting like he used to with his parents and siblings. The forest trial changed Li Jie in many ways, he doesn''t know how he changed or where he changed, so as not to make any mistakes and not to get his parents worried, he tried to act just how he has before the forest trial. He pushed open the door, tried calming his throbbing heart, while his parents might think that he has always been with them, in reality, he wasn''t with them, so it was hard for him to conceal his happiness of meeting his parents and siblings after a long time and that too after such a long period of time. When he was in the forest, there were circumstances where he was certain of his death, so it was quite a big deal for Li Jie to meet his parents after all that he has experienced, and what he didn''t know was how should he control his emotions. The moment the entrance door of the garden opened, Li Jie''s parents glanced at the one who opened the door, when they saw who it was, their face was full of joy and they only had one thought in their head, "Now this scenery has just become perfect". It was when their gaze met that of Li Jie, Li Jie felt teary-eyed all of a sudden and couldn''t hold back his tears that he was trying his best to hide, all of his act broke at the sight of his joyful parents. Without thinking right and wrong, he just rushed to his mother''s embrace while sobbing heavily, it was now that he felt after seeing his parents, that how much he truly missed them. Words weren''t enough to explain this situation, Li Jie''s parents were startled at what just happened, then as if they could suddenly remember something they just lightly smiled, Li Jie''s father just nodded towards his wife. When Li Jie''s mother picked him up and patted his head, "It''s ok my baby boy, you don''t have to worry, you are with your mama now, everything is ok, just hug me tightly and don''t let me go" said Li Jie''s mother while smiling, but if one could concentrate, they would notice a drop of tear at the corner of her eyes. The twins seeing this scene were baffled, not knowing what just happened, seeing their brother who was weeping badly, they came towards their mother, no one knew when and why but the twins also started crying after seeing their elder brother sweeping heavily in his mother''s embrace. Li Jie''s mother and father both chuckled and his mother motioned them to come to her when both the weeping siblings were picked up by an invisible hand and brought towards their mother''s embrace. Li Jie''s father was intently looking at his family who were hugging each other, Li Jie''s father had only one thought at that moment, "Only If time can be stopped now". At the same time in a place, that smelled horrid and was filled with all kinds of garbage was a boy, who was nimbly moving, hiding his steps, and when he finally reached a hut which was made of all kinds of scrap that one could find in the garbage dump. The boy who was walking nimbly towards this hut was none other than Dai Chen, he knocked three times at the door, to which the door opened showing a skinny girl with hair that was tidily combed and her clothes were clean regardless of their quality. While her clothes had an uncountable number of patches, the way she wore her clothes made it as if she was wearing a princess''s attire, her figure seemed proud and aloof, her disposition matched that of a ruler yet there was humbleness in her eyes, which were sunken yet tranquil, she had dark circles near her eyes, her skin was fair and her face only showed gentleness to everyone, she was one of Dai Chen''s siblings who was the eldest after Dai Chen, she was the one responsible for cooking and most of the household chores. "Welcome elder brother" smiled Fu Li warmly, hearing her made Dai Chen joyful," sister how was your day, did the young ones trouble you with your work", chuckled Dai Chen. Fu Li just rolled her eyes upon hearing about her younger siblings, it was then that she noticed her elder brother carrying a bag, looking at which she smiled but there was concern also in her thoughts. "Brother, I don''t mean to be rude but are you sure, this kind sir you talk about, who helps you has any good intentions", asked Fu Li with concern and worry. Dai Chen''s face became gloomy upon hearing this, "Fu Li I have been employed as a helper in a blacksmith shop". Fu Li was shocked upon hearing this because she knew how those of outside, treated those from the slums. "Elder brother how did this happen and when did this happen", asked Fu Li with a shocked expression. Dai Chen smiled and said, "of course it was young master Li Jie who got me the job and he considers me a friend". Fu Li didn''t know what more to say, she was thoroughly shocked, isn''t it that those from the outside are disgusted by those from the slums, then "who is this young master Li Jie, is he a good person or does he have some kind of evil intention", she wondered if she could meet this person who has made her elder brother into a fanatic of his. What kind of person is he? Chapter 40 - Suspicion Of Li Wei And Li Na It was nighttime when Li Jie was returning back to his chambers, he held his palm against his forehead shaking, not believing as to what kind of blunder he almost did. Thankfully his parents weren''t suspicious of his activities, he never knew he would get this emotional, "just what was he thinking" was the only thought going in his mind. But of course, there was one thing his father noticed after their emotional moment, and what he noticed was that Li Jie was changed in ways which were hard to pinpoint, he had toned muscles for a kid of his age, his breathing was calm and precisely rhythmic, which was impossible to achieve unless practiced under the supervision of a master and that too at all times, which takes pretty long to get used to. He knew that Li Jie was going to the training pagoda for learning martial arts, and especially sportsmanship, he reckoned that maybe it was his teacher who he had assigned to him, who was doing quite a good job for his son to show such improvements. Yet he still had his suspicions, after all, there was never any case for someone to improve to such an extent overnight and Li Jie''s father was a veteran in the world of cultivation, how could anything escape his eyes, he could discern that his son''s eyes now contained matureness, awareness, and caution at all times, which was weird concerning they were in the Li Family garden, where they were the safest, not being able to comprehend, he could only place it on the back of his head. What Li Jie''s father didn''t know was that living in the forest made Li Jie have a habit of being wary of his surroundings. As for his mother, she didn''t make a big deal out of this, she felt that it was natural for a boy his age to grow. Li Jie sighed a relief, or else he didn''t know how he was supposed to come up with a lie, he didn''t want to lie, he just wanted to protect them when he gets stronger in the future. After talking with his parents for some time, he went to his siblings to play, it''s been some time since he has played with them, so he played with them wholeheartedly. When he was returning back to his chamber, he saw his bed on which he jumped and laid down on it, feeling relaxed and comfortable, he started reminiscing about the days he spent in the forest, and when he recalled how his master has already informed him of going to the forest for future training consecutively, his body shuddered at that thought, but he smiled. "After all, to achieve results one has to put in their hard work and I don''t even have a bloodline, so I have to work harder than anyone", thought Li Jie. Thinking about his parents, his future, and how every day passed made Li Jie''s eyes droopy and then he fell asleep extremely tired, after a whole week of struggling, he was finally able to rest. At his parent''s chamber, Li Jie''s parents were laying down on the bed, who were ready to sleep, when Li Wei asked Li Na, "Li Na is it only me or am I thinking about this too much but our son has changed so much, even though I am ashamed of suspecting my son, but I have a feeling that there''s something doubtful about everything regarding our son, and we didn''t even ask him his reason for crying". Li Na smiled after hearing her husband''s speculation, to which she replied, "Don''t worry dear, there''s nothing wrong with you, and seeing him change so drastically made me also suspicious at first if there''s something wrong going on with Li Jie, and I would have noticed, but trust me he is our Li Jie that''s one thing I am most certain about, as for his sudden change that I am also not able to pinpoint". Hearing from his wife made Li Wei more worried but when he thought, that no matter how much his son changes, he will still be their son, which made him realize that he should not think too much about it. Li Na wasn''t calm as she looked on the outside, she was freaking out in her heart because she knows of a legend which only the primordial ones know, it was hard for her to believe if that thing matched with what was happening with her son, cause as it was recorded in the sutras of the primordials that if what was happening with her son was true, then that''s the sign of a world-shattering catastrophe. Such a horrific catastrophe would put most of the "Evil Lords" to shame, where nothing is wrong and nothing is right, where most things that are considered disgusting will be considered to be normal, the whole world will turn into hell and at the center of it all will be the one because of whom this will start and that person will be enemies with the whole world. Li Na just secretly prayed for no such thing to happen and for nothing to happen to her son, who was just an innocent kid with no worldly knowledge, he was already without a bloodline, which is a catastrophe on it''s own for her son. She knew that all of her son''s peers and those younger than him as well as his own siblings, who will go far in the path of cultivation, whereas he will be stuck at a low stage of cultivation for the rest of his life, which doesn''t seem like anything now, but as time passes this thing will become more and more depressing for Li Jie, and the worst part is that due to high cultivation levels, she and her husband have an extremely high lifespan, whereas their son will die fast, not mentioning his siblings who are sure to soar on the path of cultivation. "Li Jie my poor baby, mama will always protect you" vowed Li Na in her heart. Chapter 41 - Strengthening The Foundation At the crack of dawn, Li Jie woke up from his sleep, he felt pleasantly refreshed, it was as if he was invigorated with strength, he sprung up from his bed. The first thing that he did was to sprint which helped him in loosening up of his muscles and after that, he would perform various physical exercises, which were mentioned in the "PERFECT PHYSIQUE REFINEMENT Technique". After Li Jie completed his sprint, he then started to perform various body movements which were peculiar, and to increase the difficulty, he will have to wear weights while performing those special exercises, and after every completion stage, he will have to increase the weight as he will be handling this in a way, to absorb more and more bloodline energy which is collected in his chest and only after every upgrade of his realm, will the difficulty of the exercises as well as weight increases. Li Jie performed those special exercises mentioned in the "PERFECT PHYSIQUE REFINEMENT Technique", without the use of weights, yet he looked to be in a high amount of pain and he was sweating buckets. While performing the exercises, Li Jie at first found it to be easy, which made him feel that he should be using weights, but there were time limits mentioned in the manual for each exercise, which Li Jie had to follow. It was only after some time that he started feeling pain while performing these exercises, and it was hard for him to fathom, how can such an exercise with weird movements hurt so much. After completing his physical exercises, he was utterly exhausted, where it was hard for him to even move, let alone standing up, so he dragged himself through the floor and went to wash himself, as he was reeking of sweat. After washing up he felt refreshed and flexible, he then went towards a punching platform, which can be used to test a person''s strength. Li Jie punched at the metal plate, which was to be punched, for checking of a person''s strength, which showed 5000jin!!!, this punch of his was comparable to that of master stage. He felt accomplished and good towards his increasing strength and now he wanted nothing more than to improve more and more and also officially start his path in essence energy cultivation. According to his master, while body refining gives tremendous strength to a person''s physique it is still not learned by many in this continent, it is due to the tremendous benefits as well as the most popular choice of cultivation is that of essence energy path because it is an expansive and wonderous path to be upon, for example, cultivators can fly starting from the Essence Refining stage while those of the same stage in body refinement cannot, many mysteries have been discovered by many and is still being discovered and improved, whether it be various techniques or cultivation techniques, the only sad part is that the path of cultivation is restricted by bloodline, while bloodline gives a tremendous boost to a person''s talent and fighting power, it has it''s own shortcomings, one of which is that a person cultivating a fire type bloodline cannot learn a cultivation technique of any other element. It is the same with other elements as well, except for those bloodlines having a variant affinity, like gravity control of the Li clan which resonates most with the earth element, for example, those who have bloodline with an affinity of gravity control can also train in earth elemental techniques, as well as those of earth element bloodline, can also learn gravity control techniques. Whereas for Li Jie who has no bloodline and also has no affinity, for which his master mentioned to him about creating an affinity for himself, which of course won''t be easy and he will have to have patience and work hard for it. Mr.Teacher told Li Jie, that he will have to learn a thing called sword intent, which Li Jie wasn''t able to understand as to what it is, according to his master, when the time comes he will know and that will be when his journey into the essence energy cultivation will start. Li Jie recalled when his master taught him about the stages of cultivation in detail where, from student to grandmaster stage, a person will keep increasing his body constitution and perfect his martial arts, by having a strong body which also means having a strong foundation helps a cultivator in absorbing more essence energy efficiently, whereas those with weak constitution might get crippled on the path of cultivation or they might get stuck at the same stage for the rest of their life, that''s why those with higher grade bloodlines are preferred considerably more, as higher bloodline apart from providing strong abilities and talent also provides an increase in body constitution, the higher grade a person''s bloodline, the higher body constitution they have. Which is the reason why Mr..Teacher was happy that Li Jie was able to get the "physique refinement technique", which has the highest body constitution in the same stage of cultivation, by practicing this technique, he can have the strongest foundation one can ask for in a cultivator. Chapter 42 - Will To Fight It was early afternoon when Li Jie went to the training pagoda, whereupon entering he found there to be various types of equipment for training, some of them he was able to identify, some of them he wasn''t able to. In the middle of the room, Mr.Teacher could be seen writing something after noticing the entry of Li Jie, he motioned him to sit near him, to which Li Jie nodded and sat near him. "Li Jie according to the "physique refinement technique", you have already reached the red stage, which is comparable to a student stage but because your body refinement technique is special, your strength matches easily to that of the master stage, but If I were, to be honest, I think you will only be able to defeat a normal master stage cultivator at best and when it comes to those master stage cultivator who has higher grade bloodline as well as those who have high-grade techniques, I don''t think you stand even a chance against them", said Mr.Teacher solemnly. Li Jie was unable to accept this, he knew how frightening the strength of the body refinement technique, he was cultivating in was. "I can see you have doubts regarding my statement, but what I just said to you is complete truth, while your body constitution is high to an extremely horrible level at the same stage, but there are some points to take note of, first is that you have not yet adapted to your own physical strength, and you don''t even know how to apply your strength in the most optimal conditions, Second you haven''t yet practiced a technique to make use of your strength more efficiently, third you don''t have the "will to fight", said Mr.Teacher in a serious manner. Li Jie was somewhat baffled by hearing this from his master, "Master, what is the "will to fight", and what does that have to do with my training". At first, Mr.Teacher wanted to say something but then he recalled something "hmmm, well do you want to hear the story of a young helpless boy". Li Jie wasn''t able to understand what his master was getting at, first he said about the "will to fight" and then he said he would like to tell him a story, still Li Jie nodded towards his master for listening to the story of a young helpless boy. "OK, but the story I am going to tell you is not some made-up one, it''s a real story and I will not repeat myself, so you will have to listen very carefully," said Mr.Teacher with seriousness. Li Jie nodded showing his interest in listening to the story, after all, if he were to think deeply, his master wouldn''t suddenly tell a story without any reason, there was a rise of sudden interest in his master''s story. "OK then, you see there''s a place called "The Stage", where fighters of all stages fight those of the same stage or in some rare cases they also have to fight those of higher stage than them, the reason a cultivator can fight in "The Stage" can be due to various reasons whether to refine your techniques or to get the thrill of battle, but the main reason many cultivators had to fight was that they were enslaved and were forcefully made to fight, which was used as entertainment for those from the noble clans, as for the types of fights, there are various types of fights conducted in "The Stage", one such type was six fighters vs six fighters, in which there is no limit to a stage of fighter that they can recruit in their team, one time there was a team in which all of the participants were of Essence Crystallisation stage as for the opposing team, they also had those of Essence Crystallisation stage but one of their participants was a master stage cultivator, who apparently was the son of the team leader, he never had to fight as his father was halfway into the Reality Acceptance stage, who was far stronger than those who were of the same stage, apparently, they were the royalty of some sorts before their home was invaded, but they were captured as slaves to fight in "The Stage", to keep his son safe until he increases his strength, his father kept the boy with him, all his teammates also respected his father, so there was never any infighting, after all the most important thing in "the stage" was survival, which they were able to survive easily with the help of the boy''s father, fight after fight, they won each fight with complete victory, it was in one of the fights, where the opponent was a young master from a prestigious clan but the worst part was that the opponent''s clan was the one behind the destruction of their home, when the fight started at first, surprisingly the opposing team had the upper hand, which was confusing for the boy and his teammates as they knew how strong their team leader was and that he wasn''t showing his full strength, noticing victory almost within their grasp, the young master of the opposing clan felt smug about his strength, after which he started taunting their opponents, at first, it was bearable but then he said something which triggered the boy''s father, no one knows to this day, what that young master of the opposing team said, but one thing about which everyone can be sure about is that, he turned furious and his one punch turned the opposing team to turn into meat paste including the young master, never before in the history of "the stage" has anyone ever witnessed such a gory scene it was a shock for everyone, be it the crowd, the boy or his teammates, the father of the young master was furious upon his son''s death, but he couldn''t directly attack as the boy and his father are property of "The Stage", but being of a noble clan, they had their own ways, when it was the time for the teams next fight, it was pin-drop silence in the arena as they can witness with their eyes, the unfairness of the world, the boy and his teammates were shocked too, because their opposing team had Reality Acceptance stage cultivators and that too at the peak of their cultivation, seeing this the whole team despaired, some knelt on the ground for forgiveness but they were killed, those who were brave and dared to fight were also killed without much of an effort from the opposing group, the only ones remaining were the father and son, seeing such a horrifying scene stunned both the father and son duo, that the father of the boy had sudden increase in cultivation and he reached the Reality Acceptance stage at the last moment, to keep his son safe he went all out and started battling all 6 of the cultivators, his punches wounded his opponents, one by one, there was some hope for their survival as can be seen but the match was fixed and the father and son duo were already sentenced to death by the noble clan, which is why those of the opposing team started eating a forbidden medicine which increased all of their strength tremendously for a period of time, which was enough to kill the boy''s father, seeing his father''s body being ripped apart and incinerated, the crowd roared with laughter as well as the father of the young master smirked and felt pleased and felt pleasure, then everyone''s gaze went towards the boy, who they felt must have a face of despair but no, to their surprise what they found on the face of the boy was complete indifference, no one was able to fathom why was the boy, not crying, screaming, and roaring in despair, the six opponents of the Reality Acceptance Stage were annoyed looking at the boy''s face, they felt they should kill him, which was easier than killing a fly, but something else happened, the boy took the same stance as his father took while fighting, to which everyone laughed and mocked, be it the crowd or the father of the young master, everyone was laughing, but the boy who had the student stage cultivation rushed towards one opponent and punched him on the chest, looking at which everyone laughed more, even the one getting hit, after all what can a student stage cultivator do in the face of a Reality Acceptance Stage cultivator, but suddenly the man who was hit felt something, and before he can look for it, he noticed a hole in his abdomen, it was then that the whole place turned deathly silent, it was as if even one more word uttered by everyone could lead to everyone''s death". Chapter 43 - Will Of The Fist King "What was that!!!" "Just What the hell was that." "How can this be possible, just how, impossible." "Oh no no no no, What have I gotten myself into." Voices started clamoring around the arena, where the spectators can be seen shocked and petrified, after some time, everyone tried regaining their strength to move and understand, "Just what was that, apart from that man getting a hole in his stomach, why did I feel like it was my stomach that had a hole" "What!!! you also felt that I thought I was the only one who felt that". Everyone in the arena, whether they were mere spectators or they were executives with high cultivation stages all felt that same feeling as if a hole had been punched through their stomach. That was the legendary "Will to FightFight", and the reason the boy was able to perform it was quite simple, he was a monstrous genius but there was one thing about him that made him different from others, even if the boy never fought and he was stopped and protected by his father whenever they were in the arena, he had always wanted to fight, his love for combat cannot be expressed through words, he was a boy with a strong will because he had a conviction, that those who he fights must be comparable or stronger than him, it was his promise to himself, that he will never fight those who are weaker than him, not because he disdained weakly, no he accepted weakness but he didn''t want to hurt anyone, he was a kind boy who just wanted to FIGHT. Day after Day, he would see his father and his teammates fighting their opponents, whereas he will be asked to sit down, it was very frustrating for him to witness this scene every single day, but his father''s love for him was to the peak, he couldn''t see his son fighting. But what now, what now that his father is dead, the boy felt despair of course, after all, he was human, seeing their opponents surpassing them by a whole stage was indeed very despairing for him, the crowds cheer just aggravated him more, he wanted someone to save his father and his teammates, anyone, just anyone save their team, someone stop this fight, it''s unfair, and it''s ridiculously unfair, why why why aaaaahhhhh. The boy watched, as his father was fending off his opponents but in the end, his father died too, he was crying his heart out, begging for someone to save them but all that he got in return was laughter, mockery, and ridicule. The moment his father died, he got a glimpse of his father smiling widely, this confused the boy, he started thinking and thinking and after thinking a lot, he suddenly remembered how when his grandfather was alive, he would teach him about the history of their clan, in one of the stories they talked about one of their ancestor who challenged a monster beast when he was a mortal, although as obvious he dies but what he needs to learn is that the descendant of their clan never backs out from a fight, no matter the win or loss. He remembered, when he was a kid the boy was told by his teachers once about a genius ancestor who was feared and respected by all and that''s how they are at where they are because of that ancestor but unfortunately after the death of this ancestor none of the same talent has been born in our clan, what a pity. There were teachings of their ancestor which were written at the tomb of this certain ancestor, upon their coming age of ceremony, the boy first witnessed his ancestor''s tomb on which this was written:- Our fist can break, but we will never stop punching. Our heart can stop, but it must not stop beating with fervor. Our body can break down, but it must not stop from it''s advance, it must accept all that the world can give without bending. Our soul can tire down, but it must take in everything and welcome death with a smile. We can die, but we must not stop fighting, even in death we must keep FIGHTING. NO ONE IN ALL OF HEAVEN AND EARTH TO THE DEEPEST PITS OF HELL DARES TO SAY WE OF THE #### CLAN NEED MERCY, IF WE DIE, WE DIE, BUT WE MUST KEEP FIGHTING TILL THE END, TILL IT REACHES THE ENEMY, EVEN IN DEATH WE DON''T REST WE FIGHT TO PASS OUR "WILL TO FIGHT" TO OUR DESCENDANTS!!!!!! That was what was playing inside the boy''s head, when his father died, he understood what he had to do, no matter the result, no matter what happens, he will do what he has to do. So he smiled, there were tears gushing out due to his father''s death, but he can''t let his family humiliated, be they in hell or heaven, he will show everyone, that nothing can stop his fist, his determination grew, his aura changed, he wiped his tears which felt unnecessary as he felt his father would rather want the boy to fight till the end, so his eyes were opened and they were as clear as the sky, he made a fighting stance while clenching his fists tightly, he channeled all the energy that he could channel to his fists, he rushed towards the man laughing in front of him, who even after getting punched laughed more and so did the crowd, but the boy''s will didn''t waver, he had decided to not believe but have faith in his fists, his determination wasn''t something which can be scoffed, and then something which no one in their whole life would ever be able to experience. A hole was formed on the opponent''s stomach, where the boy''s fist was!!!! The difference between the boy and the opponent in front of him was vast to the extent, the opponent could kill him with a slap, but the one who ended up dying was the one who was vastly stronger. The other five were horrified their wills crumbled, fear struck their hearts, they weren''t able to see a helpless boy who just saw as his teammates got slaughtered, no the boy in front of them felt like an incarnation of the "Fist King", who contains the power of the whole world in his fists, the boy killed the other opponents that remained too, first he jumped and reached between three of them and punched all three of them on their heads, simultaneously blasting their heads apart from their body, if one could notice, they would see that the boy was smiling, he was smiling thanking his fists which he had faith in, he never thought he could ever kill those bastards with his very fists. Then he sprinted towards the remaining two who were still stunned by the sudden turn of events, the boy punched them both on their chest, but what happened next, stunned the audience as the body of the two experts who were at the peak of the Reality Acceptance stage got torn apart from the upper side of the body, the whole scene turned gory, bloody and messy to see. There was fear, deeply intense fear in the eyes of the father of the young master, but what can one do-over spilled milk, and who could have expected such a result, the spectators were quiet, one minute they were cheering for the boy and his father''s death, the next minute they turned silent not because they wanted to, but because they couldn''t, whenever the boy punched his opponents, everyone present in the arena would feel as if they were the ones who got punched and felt death on their face. Just what kind of power was this, "The Stage Master" arrived flying at the top of the arena and smiled with interest. "Well You are my pet in the end boy" smiled "The Stage Master". "NO NO HE MUST DIE, THE BOY MUST DIE", screamed the father of the young master. The boy was tired, suddenly weakness overtake his body but he didn''t fall, he wanted to lie down, but he couldn''t afford to, he knew even if with some fluke he won, he wouldn''t survive. It was then that out of nowhere, a middle-aged man can be seen, who stood in front of the boy instantly without anyone noticing, it felt like he was there the whole time. "Who are you mister", asked the boy. The middle-aged man looked at him and smiled, which was the most beautiful smile the boy had ever seen in his life, and then they both vanished from "The Stage". This was shocking for the audience as well as the father of the young master, but the most stunned person in this whole situation was "The Stage Master", how can there be someone be here without me noticing, cold sweat crept up "The Stage Master". Li Jie was shocked by listening to the story his master just told him, how can such a thing be possible, here I was happy with my strength being comparable to the master stage, and there''s this monstrous guy who can kill those of Reality Acceptance Stage while being at the master stage, are there more like him, wondered Li Jie. Chapter 44 - Mr.Teachers Wierd Ways Of Teaching Listening to Mr.Teacher''s story made Li Jie''s blood boil, just what kind of person was this boy, wondered Li Jie if he can ever do the same. "Now do you understand what is "will to fight", not that I expect you to understand right away, it''s something very rarely can one achieve", asked Mr.Teacher. "Master, I understand the concept behind the "will to fight", but I don''t know, how it can be applied, I am not able to understand, how one achieves it, after all, I have also been in a life-death situation, but nothing of the sort happened to me", asked Li Jie. Mr.Teacher smiled upon hearing his student, "Li Jie, if "will to fight" was easy to achieve, then it wouldn''t have been a rare thing, and there''s one thing you should keep in mind is that, it is not achieved, it happens, it can happen when you least expect it to, it''s a feeling, not some technique or some kind of ability", explained Mr.Teacher. Li Jie became more confused on hearing this from his master, he didn''t know how he can achieve it, or as his master had said to feel it. "Now, Now don''t overthink it, when the time comes you will learn it, and relax yourself, you have much to study, now first thing you will have to do is to repeatedly write those words until they match to that of the original word", said Mr.Teacher. with a slightly annoyed expression, "Master, I am still stuck at that first word, I have written it, God knows how many times but I am still not able to replicate it and apart from the more I write that word, it just hurts more, can we not do something which will improve me", asked Li Jie with a pitiful expression. He expected his master to say something in return, be it scolding, or some kind of speech in return, but he just saw his master smiling towards him, which only ended up making him uncomfortable. Gritting his teeth Li Jie had to take a paper, a quill and a small bottle of ink and started writing the word "sword" again and again, he wondered when this torture will end, but then he recalled something, he has only been trying to copy just one word on the paper, there still are many left to write, thinking too much ended up giving him a headache. His master just waited beside him, for Li Jie to complete the task given by him to Li Jie, seeing the small boy''s forehead filled with beads of sweats and scrunched with pain, his master felt pity but he steeled his heart, knowing that this is not the time for him to have a soft-heartedness just because the boy in front of him is just a kid, but what would Li Jie know, that what he is trying to write repeatedly with little pain that he is suffering from time to time is something even those of the second step won''t dare to write because their bodies can explode with just one oversight, and to make a small boy of Li Jie''s age write these words is a wonder on his own, after all, it is impossible for anyone below the fabled second step to even write these words, then how was this small boy able to write it. It''s because Mr.Teacher knew it wouldn''t affect Li Jie, the reason has to do with him being a "TRUE MORTAL", as well as some other mysterious reasons that can be explained later on, but Mr.Teacher was happy that he gets to teach Li Jie, after all, he never knew if he could ever meet someone like "Li Jie", ever in his life again. Mr.Teacher had decided that instead of teaching just one thing, it''s better for him to teach everything to Li Jie, that way when he is going for an adventure outside, he won''t be an ignorant kid. Mr.Teacher hummed as Li Jie was continuously copying the word repeatedly, "OK, now you can stop, we will resume tomorrow on this", mentioned Mr.Teacher about him writing the words, Li Jie laughed embarrassed but inside he was happy, finally, this torture was over. "Now your next task is to clean the whole courtyard near this training pagoda, as well as the restroom used by the fighters of your family, I know there are many of those but you will only have to clean one of them, squeaky clean, and after that, you can go back to your quarters, now go", said Mr.Teacher without any emotion. Li Jie felt as if his whole brain was blown apart, he couldn''t believe what he just heard, when did cleaning become a part of training wondered Li Jie, he had many doubts in his heart but he steeled his resolve, even if he didn''t agree with what his master was making him do, he still had to do it, he can''t just outright refuse. Li Jie helplessly smiled, just what is with his master, first he makes me do stupid things and then to train me, he throws me in the middle of the forest, Li Jie was utterly confused and wondered, just what was going on in his master''s brain. "Ahh I just remembered, tomorrow as a form of training, instead of coming here, you should go to your friend''s house, that way you can experience beforehand, what the slums are like and see for your ownself and judge their condition and lifestyle based on your views", said Mr.Teacher. This was unexpected for Li Jie, he again couldn''t get what his master was thinking, but anyway he was happy that he will finally get to go to the slums, where Dai Chen lives, he has always wanted to meet Dai Chen''s family, which made Li Jie think, "well this will be my adventure", smiled Li Jie. Li Jie stood up bowed slightly towards his master and then went on to clean the whole courtyard. Chapter 45 - Chaos Among The Maids Near a pagoda, a small boy could be seen looking for something, the small boy never having done any chores was nervous for his first time cleaning, for which he called a cleaning maid and asked her for the cleaning tools, as well as the methods of cleaning faster and efficiently. At first, the cleaning lady couldn''t believe what she just heard from this young master, but she got terrified when the young master of the Li family was innocently asking her to teach her how and what tools to use for cleaning the floor of the courtyard, the wall, and even the restrooms, to which she made a gasp. The maid who at first came to serve this young master happily was now dripping sweat out of fear, she felt that if she said no, the young master would be disappointed, and if she said yes, then her head would be the one to roll. The maid was crying a river of tears in her heart, and from the outside, she felt as if she would cry any moment. Li Jie noticed her unusual expression, which he wasn''t able to understand, he felt that the maid might be ill today, so he asked her to send someone else and for her to go rest. The maid was touched by the young master''s concern, that was also when she had an idea, when she goes back to send someone else, she will go to the head maid and ask for her advice about this situation. She quickly sprinted towards where the other maids gather, the first thing she did was to go to the head maid, who was in the middle of instructing something to some young-looking maids. The head maid noticed a young-looking maid running towards her frantically, she wondered what was the cause for such hurry and worry that was present in the eyes of the maid. The head maid asked, "Xiao Shu, aren''t you supposed to be with the young master, why are you running frantically and what are you worried about?" The maid shook her head and said, "Miss head maid, I was just with the young master, but there''s a problem he is asking me to do the impossible". "What! Are you out of your mind, don''t you remember even if those of big families ask you to give them special service and sleep with them, then you must, weren''t you trained for this," asked the head maid fuming? "No Madam, if it was that, I would willingly comply but the problem is that what he is asking me to do is mind-boggling, I don''t even understand, where did he get such an idea", said the maid frantically. The Head maid hurrumphed, "What nonsense, so what if the young master has some weird fetishes, it is normal among the nobility, no matter how weird things he asks you to do, you do it without hesitation, although isn''t it too soon for the young master to develop such taste for his age, ugh I can never understand nobility, God knows what''s with their screwed up brain" sighed the head maid. The maid Xiao Shu couldn''t take it anymore, and she screamed, "Stop cursing the young master, he isn''t like that, he is an innocent cute boy, the problem is that he is asking me to teach him cleaning, and he is right near the training pagoda, ready to clean the floor". After hearing this, it was as if there was pin-drop silence in the whole room, all the maids were looking at them with incredulous expressions. The head maid was tongue-tied and then she screamed, "wait, what the hell, ehhhhh, but how can young master ask for such request, just what is going on, was the floor not clean enough, near the training pagoda, is the young master so dissatisfied, that he wants to clean it himself". "Who was in charge of cleaning that area near the training pagoda, come right in front of me, one maid came forward, who said weakly, "It was me madam but I remember cleaning it spotless, I am not sure if it was even possible for that area to be dirty", looking at the pitiful girl in front of her, the head maid knew how honest and hardworking this maid was, and she has been responsible for cleaning that area for a long time now, which was why it was also hard for the head maid to think that it was impossible for that area to be dirty. The maid Xiao Shu who came with the news of the young master wanting to learn cleaning said, "I don''t think the young master was dissatisfied with the cleanliness or anything, I think he just wanted to learn cleaning". hearing this the head maid and the other maids felt tensed and felt what Xiao Shu said was nonsense, and if it''s true then just what should they do, they can''t just teach cleaning to their young master, which was learned by lowly maids, and nor can they deny his request. The head maid shrieked at that thought, "This is a big trouble, if the patriarch were to know his son wants to learn cleaning, he will have my head roll over, oh God I still remember how those three bastards were killed ruthlessly for insulting his son and the great elder was beaten up black and blue, just for getting in the way". The head maid couldn''t come up with any solution to this madness that was happening, finally, she couldn''t take it, she just decided to go to Sir patriarch, either way, choosing anything would have her head roll, so she decided to go to sir patriarch and what he will decide from then on, will be as God wills it. "Listen, Ladies, This is a very precarious situation that we are in now, but fret not I will go and consult with the patriarch, and what he will decide will be the final verdict", said the head maid valiantly, despite not being a warrior, she had the aura of one. The maid Xiao Shu couldn''t believe what the head maid was doing, "Madam, no you can''t do this, it was me who should take responsibility for this, I will take the blame, please don''t sacrifice yourself for me", said the maid Xiao Shu with teary eyes. "Shut up, who is sacrificing who, get your mind out of those stupid drama stories you read, this is nothing like that, I am just going to sir patriarch for advice regarding this situation" snorted the head maid. The head maid started walking out of the room, although she said nothing will happen, she herself wasn''t able to predict what will happen next, she could only pray for her safety, she didn''t want these innocent young girls to get hurt over some stupid reason. "Ha, it''s really hard working in such a big household, I wish everything was simple", thought the head maid. it was then that a boy could be seen coming towards the maid room, "Please stop, I didn''t mean to cause trouble, I just wanted to learn cleaning for training martial arts, if you are worried about what my father might think, I will talk to him", said the small boy with a clear and innocent gaze, who came towards the head maid and explained to her that she shouldn''t worry about all of this, as he will talk to his father later about this and that he will not any kind of harm befall them and clear up the misunderstandings if there are any. The head maid seeing the cute innocent boy, thought to herself, "Ugh living among these big shots has made me screwed up, how could I think such an innocent boy would have any weird fetishes, damn I should stop judging everyone the same, but still what does cleaning have to do with training for martial arts, well i shouldn''t think much and just let the nature take it''s course" ,thought the head maid while rubbing her forehead. "I will take your word for it young master, I hope nothing untoward happens to these poor girls", said the head maid, Li Jie nodded in reply. "Xiao Shu, come here, take the young master to the courtyard and take all the cleaning tools with you as well and teach the young master how to clean, from basic to everything, ok", ordered the head maid to the maid Xiao Shu. The maid Xiao Shu felt a bit scared, but she did as she was told and she went to get the tools for cleaning. When the maid Xiao Shu came back with the cleaning tools, she took the young master with her to start teaching him cleaning, she didn''t know if what she was doing even ok in any way, after all the person whom she wanted to teach cleaning was none other than the Eldest Young Master of the Li family!!! Chapter 46 - To The Slums "Rub it properly young master, you are not putting your strength on it, and don''t leave the corners unchecked, you have a long way to go young master, at the speed that you are scrubbing, it might take the whole night and you still won''t be finished, come on you have to do it with all your passion and scrub it harder and fast, young master we can''t waste all of our time on this, come on we also have to do other chores", the maid Xiao Shu was ordering to the small boy in front of her who was feeling that his hands just went numb from all the scrubbing. "Damn Damn what the heck is this, wasn''t it supposed to be easy and I am at the student stage of body refining, then why am I feeling tired and what passion, who shows passion in cleaning, I thought it was just a menial task, but this is so messed up, ugh any task requested by my master is by no means easy, shit how much more do I have to scrub this damn floor", sighed Li Jie in his heart. "Miss Xiao Shu, can I know, how much more I will have to clean", asked Li Jie with a helpless smile. "ahh young master, you don''t have to worry, only this much area is left to clean", said the maid Daria pointing towards the big space which was behind the training tower, looking at which Li Jie''s eyes nearly popped out, "how can this big of an area be called only this much, are these sweet looking maids even human", Li Jie felt that it was useless to overthink, it''s not like he can skip it, he will have to complete his task, thought Li Jie. The maid Xiao Shu was just praying for no one to come here at this time or looking at the young master cleaning, they might misunderstand her for bullying the young master, and she will be blamed for it, although the young master has promised to take responsibility, she still wasn''t feeling good about this. It was then that both Li Jie and the maid Xiao Shu heard someone shouting, and from the direction of the sound they can see a teen boy running towards them shouting young master, looking at the teen boy, the maid Xiao Shu almost had a heart attack. "Shit, what''s the use of praying, if the opposite is gonna happen", cried the maid Xiao Shu in her heart, but Li Jie on the other hand was happy seeing the teenage boy wearing Li family clothes was none other than Dai Chen, who was rushing towards him. Li Jie wanted to meet Dai Chen to ask him about his life and about his siblings and if he needed something else plus he was tasked by his master to go to his house for sightseeing as it was mentioned by his master, despite that he had also wanted to go somewhere outside of the Li family, he wanted to see how the outside world was, as all the time he had only been in the Li family castle, he wasn''t even allowed to go to the family branches under the Li family. When Dai Chen finally reached Li Jie, he was gasping for breath, looking at him Li Jie noticed that unlike before Dai Chen''s eyes weren''t sunken and he had a smiling expression unlike the sulky expression of his that he had before. "Young Master, I was finding for you everywhere, finally someone told me that you will be here at the training tower", said Dai Chen with a joyful expression. Li Jie was happy seeing Dai Chen, "Brother Dai Chen, how is your work going on in the blacksmith shop and how are your siblings, if you need something you can tell me", said Li Jie. "Young Master there''s nothing more this poor boy needs, I am content with the work that I have, I can earn enough to feed my family properly, I am happy with my life as it is thanks to you young master", said Dai Chen with a fervent expression. The maid Xiao Shu, who was standing beside them was shocked, and wondered, "just what did this young master of ours do to make this boy praise him like a god". Li Jie shook his head and just started talking to him about everything that he has to do in the blacksmith shop, to which Dai Chen happily replied his tasks from day to evening, and how his siblings wanted to know more about Li Jie and wondered if they can meet him for which Dai Chen didn''t think this young master would come to their home. When Li Jie heard that Dai Chen''s siblings wanted to meet him, he was happy after all he was also a five-year-old kid despite his high intellect, he wanted to meet those who were of the similar age, he would only have his younger twins to play, on the plus side he can even complete the task that his master gave him. "ummm brother Dai Chen, if you don''t mind Can I come to your house tomorrow, I would also like to meet your siblings as well experience the world outside this Li castle", said Li Jie in embarrassment. Dai Chen was shocked upon hearing this, he didn''t know how to react, he would for sure love to bring the young master to his home and introduce him to everyone, but he felt worried and inferior, when he remembered his living conditions, he thought of the young master in front of him who lives in a beautiful castle with large grandiose rooms, this thought made him unsure. "Young Master, this poor boy would love it, that you grace my house with your presence, but I am not sure if it will suit your tastes", said Dai Chen sheepishly. At that moment, Li Jie slapped his forehead, to which both Dai Chen as well as the maid were stunned, "what happened young master", asked Dai Chen with worry. "Brother Dai Chen please stop with the young master, aren''t we friends now, so please I hope you call me brother too and what are you worried about, your family is like my family, it''s obvious that I will love them, but It''s ok if you don''t want me to meet any of your siblings", said Li Jie with annoyance. "No Young Master, that''s not the case, I", Right at that moment Dai Chen saw Li Jie glaring at him, his heart was tensed and his throat went dry, "It''s not like that Br Bra Broth Brother Li Jie, I would be honored", again he saw Li Jie glaring at him, "I would be happy if you come to my home, Brother Li Jie", said Dai Chen. "Good, then Tomorrow meet us at daybreak right here, we will go to your house", said Li Jie, and then as if he recalled something, " Don''t worry brother Dai Chen, tomorrow all the markets will be closed due to vacation. Dai Chen sighed a relief as he was worried about his work at the blacksmith shop. The maid Xiao Shu was stunned, "just what was with this young master, he was too different from the others", thought the maid Xiao Shu. Chapter 47 - Worries Of A Parent Li Jie was returning back to his courtyard, he was exhausted with all the cleaning, he had to do, especially the restroom, it looks like he won''t be having dinner tonight, thought Li Jie. While on his way, he saw a maid rushing towards him, when the maid reached near him, she was panting catching for breath, and said, "Young Master, your parents are calling for you in their chambers, it''s quite urgent". Li Jie was surprised to see the maid rushing towards him, he thought there must be something of concern for her to be in such a hurry, this only made him pretty annoyed, he was tired after all the work he had to do, he just wanted to rest a bit, but if it''s his parents calling for him so late at night means there must be a serious topic they wanted to discuss and, seeing the maid in rush made him sure of that. Li Jie was thinking, just what could it be for his parents to call him, is it the cleaning he wondered, did they feel offended by what he was doing, but then he thought, it''s just cleaning, what''s wrong with it. He sighed and just followed the maid to his parent''s bed-chamber, where they were resting and the twins can be seen hopping on the bed, playing with each other. When Li Jie walked in, the twins just jumped out of the bed and reached out to their eldest brother, Li Jie caught hold of them, he couldn''t believe it, "Just what was wrong with these kids to jump like this, what if they get hurt", thought Li Jie. "Father mother, what''s wrong, did something happen", asked Li Jie in worry. "No Nothing''s ok, it is hell here, your younger brother and sister have made us crazy from their antics, now as an elder brother, it is your responsibility to take care of your younger brother and sister, so take them with you to your room", said Sir Patriarch in annoyance. "now now, don''t blame everything on them, they are just kids, Li Jie dear can you take your brother and sister with you for tonight, if possible play with them a little, your father''s just (grumbling) today. "oh ok no problem I will look after them, father, mother, by the way before going I have something to tell you because I don''t want either of you to overreact about it when you come to know later, today I asked one of the maids to teach me cleaning for training, is that ok with you two", inquired Li Jie. The patriarch and his wife weren''t able to understand just what was he saying, "cleaning your sword or some other weapons equipment, well it''s true one should learn to maintain their weapon, just wielding a weapon for the show is no good", said the patriarch. "No father I am not learning to clean weapons, but it is a good idea, I will get to it, but what I am learning from the maids is to clean floors, walls, and restrooms, and I will check on later if there are other things to clean that I have to learn", said Li Jie nonchalantly. Listening to their son gave both the patriarch and his wife a fright, "what, wait you aren''t joking right, don''t joke with me Li Jie I am already stressed as it is", said the patriarch. "No father, I am serious, I am learning the chores the maids do for training", said Li Jie seriously. "What bullshit, just who put this stupid idea in your head, you are my son for god''s sake, How can you even think of doing such menial tasks", said the patriarch in it''s. "Father, I apologize but it''s honest work there''s nothing wrong for me trying it, and who knows maybe someday in future I will need such skills", said Li Jie in a firm tone after which he left his parents chambers for his own, but there was something that bugged him about what he just said, "Is this the reason master is teaching me such things, not for training but because in the future I might need to do the same", wondered Li Jie, while he had his younger brother and younger sister beside him, whom he put down after coming out of the chamber. Back at his parent''s chambers, what Li Jie had never thought was, that what he said without thinking would stun both of his parents, "Li Na, is our son worried about how he will live in the future when we won''t be there, but how do we tell him that we are immortals, it''s impossible for us to die of natural ways, that we can never get old, and both his younger brother and younger sister will be the same in the future, the one who will get old and die due to a menial lifespan is our son, how should we tell him that he can live like a king because he is our child, Li Na, I just want him to live a fulfilling life", said the patriarch tearfully. "No my dear don''t say it like that, our eldest son has always been a smart boy, it''s just a pity that he can''t cultivate, You know there are ways to extend his lifespan with the help of some special natural treasures if we want we can get them with a bit of effort", sighed Li Na. "Yeah, we can get them but at the same time, those bastards will know about us, and it will be the same as suicide, we aren''t strong enough to face them, just wait till my cultivation increases, then I will pay them back for the suffering they have caused us, it''s just that staying in this continent has slowed down our cultivation in every way possible", said the patriarch while gritting his teeth. "Listen, dear, don''t take Li Jie''s words to heart, just let him do whatever he wants to do", said Li Na in a soft voice. The patriarch sighed first, but then he nodded. Today the night was sleepless for both the patriarch and his wife. While at Li Jie''s room, his brother and sister were troubling him, and only after some time did they go to sleep, and Li Jie also slept while in anticipation of the next day of going to the slums, where Dai Chen''s home is. Chapter 48 - Phantom Troop At the break of dawn, at one of the courtyards of the Li family, a small boy could be seen working out, trying out various postures, and sweating badly. It was Li Jie who was trying out the exercises mentioned in his mind, he was completely exhausted but remembering the small kids in his room who had troubled him all night when one of them woke up in the middle of the night and started crying, the other one also woke up, it almost felt like hell to Li Jie, who had to make them quite and finally sleep, but by the time he went to sleep, it was already dawn, so he decided workout and felt fresh in both his mind and body as well as energetic. Li Jie went back to wash himself up, after all, today he will be going on an adventure, thought Li Jie. After washing himself up, when he went back to his room, he found his younger twins sleeping soundly, so he called for the maids and told them to take care of his younger twins and when they wake up to take them to his parents, the maid nodded. For him to go to Dai Chen''s home, Li Jie didn''t want anyone to know about where he was going, or else he would be scolded as well as he will not be let go anywhere, that''s why Li Jie tried to be as cautious as possible. Li Jie then started packing up for foods and accessories and many other things, he recalled that he hasn''t even asked Dai Chen about his siblings or how many they are as well as their names, he felt very inconsiderate of himself for not asking Dai Chen about his siblings, while going to Dai Chen''s residence, he didn''t want to go empty-handed, that''s why he picked up some toys and he picked up the foods, for the journey, as he had no idea where Dai Chen''s home is or how far it was from where they live. After packing up, he picked up the bag and went to the courtyard where the training pagoda is, which is also where he decided to meet Dai Chen. As Li Jie was walking towards the training pagoda, unbeknownst to him, two large shadows can be seen observing him going to the training pagoda, "Master, should I stop the young master", said one of the shadows. "Leave it, just tail him and he must not get hurt in any way, , just take care of him but he must not know of all of your presence", sighed one of the shadows who watched a small boy leaving. "Son, I don''t know what goes on in your mind, but your father won''t stop you anymore from what you want to do", sighed the shadow and then he left, when this particular shadow left. One of the shadows left, who was supposed to tail the young master of the Li family said, "You all heard the patriarch, let''s go tail the young master and whatever happens must not be leaked out or else, their head will be rolled out". After this declaration of the shadow, shadows started popping from behind him, they were increasing in number, the number of shadows turned almost a thousand!!! Just to tail one kid, the patriarch of the Li family dispatched his secret army, the Phantom troop, about which except the patriarch, no one was aware of them in the Li family. All of the shadows, which were more than a thousand in number started tailing a small boy who was joyfully walking towards the training pagoda. When Li Jie reached near the training pagoda, he could see a teenage boy who was dressed cleanly and properly, whose hair was combed properly, if one looked at the boy they would find the boy to be scholarly and handsome. The teenage boy was none other than Dai Chen, after joining the blacksmith shop, he decided to change his clothing and groom himself properly, and as he had started doing his work at the blacksmith shop, and it was because of his handsome and dashing face, that surprisingly the number of customers started increasing especially the females and he would talk to every customer of his in the most humble and respectful manner, which won the hearts of many females especially as they don''t get much respect from their own husbands, seeing the boy''s popularity as well as an increase in customers for his shop, the Head blacksmith had a creepy smile, "Dai Chen boy, come here" ordered the Head blacksmith. The Head blacksmith then called for the receptionist who was an average-looking woman, but the way she wore her clothes were tight and fitting, which would show all her body proportions perfectly, she also had mild make-up on her face, not too much to scare up the customers. "Geng He, take this lad to one of your beauty salons, and get him a makeover, when he comes back, he must look the money spent well, said the head blacksmith with a creepy glint in his eyes. Looking at which Geng He understood, the head blacksmith was being greedy, but even she had to admit unlike all the brutes here with huge bodies, this boy looked exceptional in looks, just some days before the same boy looked horribly unsightly, but with just a bit of grooming of himself, he started looking quite good and with a complete makeover, he would look exceptional, she took hold of his hand and pulled him towards one of the salons for a complete makeover. When he came back to the shop, everyone was stunned, is he the same boy, even the head blacksmith was stunned, "boy instead of being a helper, from now on you will be serving customers alongside Geng He in this shop", commanded the head blacksmith. Dai Chen didn''t know what to say, first, he was dragged to a salon against his will and now his position in the shop was changed, which will help him in earning more, this made him happy, as he can provide more for his siblings, but he still felt a bit used. Chapter 49 - Heart Demon "Woah, brother Dai Chen I never knew you were so good looking, I really am stunned", said Li Jie in a stunned expression. "haha Brother Li Jie, you are jesting, it''s nothing like that, it''s just that I was dragged to the salon by miss Geng He and it was also the order of the head blacksmith, so I had to comply or else it''s nothing, I am sure if anyone who is taken to a salon will look good after a complete makeover", said Dai Chen humbly. Li Jie didn''t know what to say, he never expected Dai Chen to look this good, he had a thought in his mind "hehe brother Dai Chen, what do you know, God knows how many people waste all of their fortune in the salons for a complete make over but they still won''t even look half good as you, I am sure you must come from a long line of good-looking people, damn will I become like Brother Dai Chen when I grow up, why am I having such stupid thoughts, I should just have sword in my heart and mind and nothing else, then only will I prevail in the path of sword master but why am I becoming a sword master, it''s not like I am once in an era genius who is born with sword talent, nor do I have a sword talent, why am I learning sword, while I know its a tough path, but can I really say that I love sword a lot, no I don''t think so, why didn''t I think of this before, am I even worthy of master''s teachings and his faith in me to go forward in the path of sword", Li Jie suddenly started pondering over it excessively, and he was plastered right at that place, as if a realization hit him, "Am I even worthy of the sword". "Brother Li Jie Brother Li Jie Brother Li Jie", addressed out Dai Chen, hearing Dai Chen''s voice, Li Jie woke up from his reverie. First, he apologized, he didn''t know what took over him, and said to Dai Chen, to start their travel. Both the boys started walking, when they could hear a faint voice of a girl, "wait, wait, wait for me young master, I am also coming with you young master, I can''t let you go to God knows where, just wait for me", both the boys were stunned by the maid Xiao Chu coming towards, who after reaching close to them, explained that she will follow the young master to wherever he goes and that it is her responsibility as a maid. When Li Jie tried explaining to her that she doesn''t have to come with him and that he will be okay, to which Xiao Chu replied by blackmailing Li Jie, that Sir Patriarch will know of his little adventure if he doesn''t bring her along with him to wherever he is going. Li Jie was helpless and could only nod, he noticed that the maid Xiao Chu had a big bag with her, which she was struggling to carry with her, as she had to correct her posture from time to time due to the size of the bag. Dai Chen being a gentleman asked the maid to carry the bag for her, as the way to his home would take quite a long time to reach, but Xiao Chu denied his help and said that she is Li Jie''s maid and that it is her job. After all three of them were finished with their discussion, they started to be on their way to Dai Chen''s house. After some time, all three of them came out of the Li Family castle, wearing disguises, Dai Chen changed to his haggard clothing, but after his makeover, it was impossible to find any kind of fault in his looks, the maid changed to a normal female dress, whereas Li Jie also wore one of Dai Chen''s haggard clothing, to not get noticed by anyone, Li Jie was joyful to be outside of the Li castle for the first time. While these three walking to their destination, a figure could be seen sitting atop one of the walls surrounding the Li Family castle, "Looks like your heart is starting to waver, let''s see what you will do child, will you prevail or will you fail like everyone has until now", sighed Mr.Teacher. Who was worried about this part of the obstacle that Li Jie will have to face, which is commonly known as heart demon, which has destroyed God knows how many talented cultivators, the tricky part about heart demon is that it cannot be destroyed, the higher cultivation stage a person is, more dangerous their heart demon is, that is why to keep themselves safe, cultivators try to remove themselves from mortal affairs and the lesser their contact with situations or people who can give rise to feelings in them, the better they can control their strength as well as reach higher stages, that is the reason why most of the higher stage cultivators seem cold and heartless because any kind of uncontrollable emotion can lead to disastrous consequences, unlike when one is a mortal, eruption of emotions can be harmful in many ways to a cultivator as well as to it''s surroundings, the biggest fear cultivators have towards heart demon is that it can also stop one from improving and breaking through. Mr.Teacher sighed, because heart demon has no cure, only the person himself can cure themselves of it, and no other person can help in it, he was afraid of Li Jie losing his motivation for the path of sword, because there''s no co.ing back from that. Mr..Teacher can feel Li Jie''s heart starting to waver, now he can only patiently watch if Li Jie prevails or gets destroyed on his own. Chapter 50 - Journey Of Three Walking side by side on a road, can be seen two boys and a girl, one of the boys was feeling tired of walking, the same was with the girl, she was also tired and also from carrying the bag, she had brought, which she was picking up again and again due to her stiff shoulders. The party of three were none other than Li Jie, Dai Chen, and the maid Xiao Chu, who after walking for some time have left the Li family jurisdiction. "Miss Xiao Chu, why have you brought a bag to travel with us, is there something in the bag", inquired Li Jie. "Young Master as your maid, it is my responsibility that I bring everything that''s necessary for your travels, there are some spare clothes of your size as well as some food items", said the maid Xiao Chu proudly by lifting up her face. Li Jie could only slap his forehead, "Just what is wrong with this woman, it''s not like I was going on a tour, I will be back by evening", thought Li Jie while shaking his head. Li Jie was the boy who was tired because he has never walked for so long before in his life, and all he can see are forests, no matter how far he looked there were only forests, nothing else in sight. "Brother Dai Chen, how far is your home, and how much longer will it take for us to reach your home", asked Li Jie. To which Dai Chen replied, "Brother Li Jie, I am embarrassed to say this, but my house is still pretty far from here and it will take quite some time to reach there, but if you want, we can rest for some time, and then resume our journey", said Dai Chen embarrassed. "Oh no brother Dai Chen, please don''t be embarrassed, it''s just that I have never walked for so long, I am sure I will adapt to it after some time", said Li Jie. Dai Chen nodded to him, and asked Miss Xiao Chu for her bag because it seemed she was starting to struggle with her bag, Xiao Chu didn''t even have the power to say no, when Dai Chen took the bag from her hand and started carrying it, to which Li Jie was a bit surprised but he remembered how Dai Chen used to have a bag for stealing, before meeting him, that''s how he can take the bag and walk easily. After taking some rest, all three of them started to walk again towards their destination, first Li Jie was excited but after walking for so long, he wasn''t and he was also having some thoughts of never traveling again but then he was hit by a thought, doesn''t Dai Chen come to the Li family jurisdiction to the blacksmith shop, by walking and he also goes back to his home daily!!! "Brother Dai Chen, I was curious about something, do you come and go daily from your home to the Li family jurisdiction by foot," asked Li Jie out of curiosity, the maid Xiao Chu was also listening in intently, she was also curious about this and her young master''s friend who is good looking, but lives very far. "he he he Brother Li Jie I do come and go by foot", said Dai Chen with a smile. Hearing Dai Chen''s reply shocked Li Jie, he never knew, that this teenage boy infront of him lived such a harsh life, despite him trying to make things easy for him, he wanted to have Dai Chen''s family move to Li family jurisdiction, but he also remembered his father''s stern warning about how the people of slums cannot be rescued, due to some stupid reason which he didn''t know and no one had disclosed it to him, maybe one day he will know, but he was still against it more than ever and would change it and help those who need help, but he was powerless now, he can''t do it yet, Li Jie wondered even if he were to get strong, will he be able to do anything, will he be able to make the lives of the weak better instead of miserable, if his father, who is already strong cannot do much, then how much can he do, Li Jie knows that his father is a good person and he must have wanted to help the poor and weak but there must be some reason due to which he is helpless, and then he thought, what if I become helpless too, what if just like my father, I will also not be able to help anyone due to my helplessness, thought Li Jie and the more he thought, the more Li Jie felt something change in himself, something he wasn''t able to notice because the change was something minute but rapid, he could feel it yet at the same time not, Li Jie could only shrug and try to put it at the back of his mind. While Li Jie might not be able to notice it, but what he just felt for a second was his heart demon taking over his mind and wavering his will. Mr.Teacher was also able to notice it, he could only sigh and have patience. After some time, Li Jie and company saw a wall, which was gigantic in size, but on closer look, it looked hideous, despite its huge size and its appearance was also simple. Li Jie and the maid Xiao Chu were confused seeing such a huge wall, which was a bit far from them. Seeing their confused expressions, Dai Chen then explained to them, that the slums are bordered by walls to keep all it''s residents and the garbage that all of the continent throws inside and not let either of them be outside. Li Jie and the maid Xiao Chu felt bad for Dai Chen, but neither of them knew how to console him. "Brother Li Jie and miss Xiao Chu, you don''t have to feel bad, it''s true that my life and those who live in the slums have very rough life but on the bright side brother Li Jie, you have saved me from the darkness, its impossible for me to explain how dark my life was before I met you, but you helped me in so many ways that I don''t know how to thank you or if I can even ever repay you for your kindness brother Li Jie", said Dai Chen with a smile. "aha ha ha it''s nothing like that, it was nothing brother Dai Chen, come we have yet to reach your home", said Li Jie in an embarrassed manner. The maid Xiao Chu could only chuckle looking at Li Jie who was embarrassed and felt admiration for Li Jie, she never knew that Li Jie had helped Dai Chen, and the most fearsome fact was that Dai Chen was from the slums, and helping those of the slums is the same as placing your head to be chopped on a platter. "If you both are wondering that how can I get out of the slums, despite the wall, its because I have a way to get inside and outside of the wall, about which except me and my younger sister, no one knows about, come let''s go to my house, I had already told my siblings of your arrival, they must have been intently waiting to meet you, I would like to apologize in advance brother Li Jie, I have told them a lot about you, so if they bother you, I hope you forgive me", said Dai Chen helplessly scratching his head. "aha ha you don''t have to worry brother Dai Chen, I would love to meet your siblings, said Li Jie. Dai Chen was filled with joy, he can''t wait to see his sibling''s joyful expression, when they meet Li Jie, about whom he has said too many things for them to be excited about, and the major reason apart from Dai Chen''s stories of Li Jie, they were very grateful to the person who helped their big brother, because as Dai Chen had described that if he hadn''t met young master Li Jie, then they would have never been able to see him ever and it was also young master Li Jie who helped their big brother get work at the black Smith shop where he could earn in stable and honest manner without every day risk that he had to go through where he might get food for them or not but after getting stable income, Dai Chen was able to provide for his siblings, which was also something they were extremely grateful for young master Li Jie whom they have not seen, and the siblings noticed, especially the younger sister Fu Li was able to notice Dai Chen''s joyful expression, when Young master Li Jie defended him in the blacksmith shop and called him friend, Dai Chen felt on cloud nine. Li Jie was about to step into the slums and meet Dai Chen''s siblings as well, he wondered how everything would turn out. Chapter 51 - Imperial Family Insignia Dai Chen explained to both Li Jie and the maid miss Xiao Chu that there are only two entrances to the slums, one is at the front and the other is at the backside of the wall, the front entrance is only open for those noble family''s servants to dump garbage and the backside entrance is used to dump useless humans by the same noble families but it is done discreetly, as for us residents of the slums, except for some special figures who are favored by the noble families to perform various tasks such as slavery and selling of humans and their body parts, and various other disgusting acts, hearing this Li Jie felt repulsed towards those who perform such horrendous acts. Then Dai Chen explained that it is normally impossible to get out and get inside the slums as he does, but he is aware of an entrance thanks to his younger sister, which is hidden quite cleverly was found by Dai Chen''s younger sister who as he says is the most intelligent of them all, without her permission, I am not allowed tell this secret passage to anyone else, because according to her, that the moment the secret passage is found will lead to a miserable fate for us and those of the slums, which Dai Chen wasn''t able to comprehend. At first, his younger sister was against the idea of Li Jie coming to their place but Dai Chen convinced her somehow, and It is because of Li Jie''s age as well as his generosity towards Dai Chen, that she agreed. "Brother Li Jie and miss Xiao Chu, I hope you don''t tell about this secret passage where I will be taking you to anyone", asked Dai Chen with sincerity. Li Jie and Xiao Chu both vowed to never disclose about the secret passage to anyone. Dai Chen believed them but he still had to do this as it was his younger sister''s order, thought Dai Chen a bit embarrassed. It was then that first Dai Chen looked around to check if anyone is snooping around, after checking the whole area around them to be clear, he asked both Li Jie and the maid Xiao Chu to follow him. All three of them sneakily first got near the wall and then Dai Chen changed the direction, he was heading to the forest where they saw a huge rock, behind which Dai Chen asked both of his companions to follow him, and when they came behind the rock, they asked Dai Chen, what to do next, because they couldn''t see any entrance and the wall was quite far from the entry point, so they both wondered, just how will we enter and then as if to curb their curiosity, Dai Chen picked out an insignia which had dragon''s figure ingrained in it, it was made of gold and had colorful lines ingrained in it, which formed some kind of symbol he didn''t recognize and it had a luster, which would arouse greed in one''s heart. Looking from behind them, the shadows were stupefied because unlike Li Jie and his company, these shadows were experienced veterans who had worldly experience, by looking at the insignia, they recognized it in one glance, that it was the insignia of the imperial family and that too it was only carried by the direct descendants of the current king. "Just where did this kid get the insignia, looks like those who say that the water in the slums is deep, and if one peeks through it, they will find themselves in the abyss is not without reason, anyway our mission is only the safety of young master, nothing else should be of our concern", said the shadow in lead. Dai Chen then placed the insignia on the rock and recited some kind of incantation which sounded gibberish to Li Jie, after which the rock changed and it was as if it came to life, patterns started to form on the rock, which Li Jie noticed and found them to be formations as it was explained to him by his master. After the patterns were completely formed on the rock, they started to shift, and only after sometime when the patterns turned still, that a small gate opened on the rock, which was something to marvel at, for both Li Jie as well as the maid Xiao Chu, but unbeknownst to them the most shocked were the shadows following them, their eyes were popping out from the ridiculous scene they were witnessing, "Just what kind of friend did the young master make from the slums", thought the shadow who was in lead. After the gate opened, Dai Chen asked both his companions to enter, so that he can then close it from inside, to which both of them nodded but unbeknownst to them, some shadow figures started entering the entrance that was opened on the rock discreetly without either three of them noticing anything wrong. Dai Chen then lead them inside the secret passage to the exit, which took some time for them to walk and when they reached what felt like a dead-end, Dai Chen again placed his medallion and recited the incantation, on the wall and the same as before, first the patterns were formed and then they started juggling around, after sometime when the patterns turned still, that the entrance was opened. With the opening of the wall, all three of them were hit with an unpleasant pungent smell which made the maid Xiao Chu and Li Jie scrunched up their nose instinctively, only Dai Chen looked okay with the smell because he was used to it, before even properly entering the slums, Li Jie and the maid Xiao Chu couldn''t believe if any human can even live in this place but they didn''t want Dai Chen to feel bad, so they endured, and asked him to take them to his home. Dai Chen felt elated that neither of his companions despite bearing the unbearable smell didn''t mock him or the slums, to relieve his companions Dai Chen said that this is the waste area in the slums, here it smells bad all the time, the place where their home is doesn''t smell at all and his siblings, especially his younger sister likes to be clean and neat, and according to his younger sister, one should wash themselves and everything of theirs daily, if not it''s possible for one to easily contact sickness, while the residents of the slums don''t wash themselves daily, it is different with his younger sister who is a complete hygiene freak. Hearing Dai Chen, both the maid Xiao Chu and Li Jie felt relief from the bottom of their hearts, they didn''t want to be rude but in their heart, they knew, if they stayed more longer in this horrible place where it smells horrible, they might lose their sense of smell. Both the maid Xiao Chu and Li Jie urged Dai Chen to take them to his home faster, so all three of them rushed towards Dai Chen''s home. Unbeknownst to the three of them, the shadows who were following them were also repulsed by this smell. "Damn Damn Damn, no matter how many times I come here, this place stinks like hell always, does the whole continent shit at this place," said one of the shadows. "Well technically the whole continent does shit in this place", joked another shadow. "Stop it, you two I know you two better than anyone, despite the smell, you both must be joyful of returning to your home because you both were born here and I remember it was sir patriarch who rescued you both when he was young, but that doesn''t mean you have time to be distracted, just focus on young master''s safety", said the shadow who was leading. "You don''t have to worry boss, all of our attention will be towards young master", said one of the shadows. The shadow in lead nodded and said "Remember not to act in any way unless the young master''s life is threatened in any way, and everything that we have observed so far will be reported to Sir Patriarch. Dai Chen who was moving around in the slums to go back to his home with his companions, Li Jie noticed that there was no street, no straight land, the land was jagged and there were all sorts of garbage lying around, what surprised Li Jie was that there were mountains of garbages on which many tents were built, and according to Dai Chen''s description, those tents were houses built by the residents of the slums. Li Jie couldn''t believe even after seeing everything from his eyes, "Just what have the people here done wrong to live here, no one deserves such a painful life", thought Li Jie. His eyes were filled with pity, the garbage which many cannot even bear for a bit of it to be in their house is now just everywhere here, and the worst part is the residents have to live in this garbage. Li Jie thought, "why does no one save them". Chapter 52 - Fu Lis Gratitude "Can I even save them, even if I become strong, won''t there be someone stronger than me, won''t they be many, how will I exact justice, if I were to become everyone''s enemy, won''t I be alone, I don''t want to be alone, maybe I should leave it, I was thinking too much, have I not already saved Dai Chen, I think that''s enough, it''s not like I can be a messiah, it was really arrogant of me to think that I can save everyone on my own, huh what has gotten into me, why am I feeling sad, it''s as if I am on the verge of losing something very dear to me", thought Li Jie. Without Li Jie''s knowledge, his mind was getting covered with a grey, and his heart was getting shrouded with something black, his heartfelt heavy the more he was pondering over this situation that he could see, it wasn''t even an inner battle, it was an onslaught from one side, every second that passed made him more anxious of something he wasn''t aware of. After walking around the slums, the more the maid Xiao Chu and everything that they saw just made them more depressed, they couldn''t believe that Dai Chen and his siblings were living here, they started feeling more pity for Dai Chen and all those who live here, while the maid Xiao Chu was also poor, and she used to envy those who were of higher standing and were wealthy, but after witnessing this sight in front of her, she could only thank the heavens for providing her such wonderful life. Living in the slums cannot even be considered living, after walking some more, they finally reached their destination, where Dai Chen showed them a hut which was made of twigs and branches and many other solid objects, looking at which Li Jie was first nervous, because meeting someone new for the first time is a bit hard for Li Jie, for a long time he has been in the Li Family castle, where he has been technically isolated since the news spread of him being a cripple, he only has his younger twins whom he sees everyday, but Dai Chen''s siblings will be of the same age as him which made him a bit nervous, as it has been pretty long time for him to be around someone of his age, and he wondered how they will treat him, as they were getting closed to the hut, Li Jie felt more nervous, as for Dai Chen, he was very excited finally his siblings will get to meet brother Dai Chen, about whom he has been praising day and night, he knew that just like him they must be very excited, when they neared the door, the door of the hut suddenly opened, Li Jie was baffled as he hadn''t even had the time to prepare, when a dainty thin girl could be visible opening the door, her clothes were full of patches but they covered every part of her body without even a bit of skin visible, what surprised the maid Xiao Chu was that even despite her clothing, the girl had this aura, where one can only bow, if not for the girls sunken eyes and pale face, she thought to herself that if this girl were to take care of health, she would look extremely beautiful, while Li Jie hadn''t been able to understand, the maid Xiao knew the reason for the girl''s appearance, it happened with the maids too, no matter how beautiful they were, working all day and night non stop, be it cleaning, cooking and every household chores and great amount of stress can make one look like this, she wondered just how badly was this small girl who looked to be of 12 years old was carrying on her shoulders, that she had such an appearance. "Hello, You must be young master Li Jie, please welcome to our humble abode", said Fu Li politely, and then she gestured them to get inside the house. "I apologize if I sound rude, but I hope you can leave your shoes outside, and here are the sandals I have prepared for you, and I am sorry but may I know who this kind miss is, I apologize for not being able to recognize you, as I haven''t been told by a big brother about you", asked Fu Li respectfully. The maid Xiao Chu introduced herself as the young master''s maid, she goes to wherever the young master goes and provides any kind of help that she can provide to the young master. Fu Li nodded in understanding and said, "first I would like to thank young master Li Jie for his mercy on my big brother and even helping him find proper work, where he can earn honestly, this might not be anything to young master Li Jie yourself, but It''s a very big thing for us, that you did, if it wasn''t for you, we would have been devastated", said Fu Li while bowing towards Li Ji. but Li Jie stopped her, "First please miss Fu Li, I hope you don''t call me young master, you are my brother Dai Chen''s little sister, I can''t accept your kowtow, I just hope you can call me brother, as for me, I consider you my sister, sister Fu Li and as I am younger than, I think I will have to call you elder sister Fu Li, said Li Jie in an embarrassed tone. Fu Li was shocked, she had a completely different scenario played in her mind, when Dai Chen used to tell her and the other siblings about Li Jie, she thought that he might be made fool of, or he was tricked, and even if he was a good person, he might be disgusted right away by coming to this place and might act haughtiness, but he didn''t and when she asked them to place their shoes outside she knew if it was of someone even in a little bit of high standing, they wouldn''t be able to take it and start deriding and would humiliate them but instead he politely listened, and she could see the sincerity on the boy''s face, as well as his age which didn''t match his age, "After generations of strong beings Li family really gave birth to a monster, the other families must be panicking, as well as the royal family, who can''t let anyone else replace them, and since when did someone of such high standing isn''t a spoiled brat, but a gentleman, pondered Fu Li seriously. Chapter 53 - Joyful Encounter Fu Li never expected for Dai Chen''s explanation of young master Li Jie to be true, he is really as Dai Chen explained him to, "It''s impossible after living such a lavish lifestyle for a person to care about someone other than themselves, but there are cases of someone pitying those of the slums, but none ever dared to help them out, because they knew that by helping those of the slums, they will be scorned by those around them, so why did this young master do such an act which can even threaten his position as the young master of the Li clan, even if he is the son of the current patriarch, he won''t be able to be in his position, because public opinion also mattered a lot, just what in the world is going on with this young master", pondered Fu Li solemnly. Fu Li then felt a hand on her shoulder which woke her up from stupor, "So sister Fu Li, isn''t he as I told you brother Li Jie would be". "Yes", thought Fu Li, "come on let''s go I have somehow controlled those cunning brats, but I feel they would explode any moment out of excitement if they don''t get to meet sir Li Jie, said Fu Li. It was then that Dai Chen shouted, "Teng Peng, Zhong Jing, Yu De, Cui Lim, come here brother Li Jie has come, don''t you guys want to meet him", and that was when a loud bang could be heard and Li Jie and others felt the floor shaking up as well as the sound of something rushing towards them could be heard, that was when they saw four children rushing to them, of which three were male while one of them was female, one of the boys looked to be of the same age as that of Li Jie, whereas the other boy and girl looked to be of the same age as that of his younger twins, and the final boy looked to be youngest of the present. The boy who looked to be of the same age as that of Li Jie was called Teng Peng, he had blonde hair and he had one distinctive feature, what separated him from others was that he had golden irises, apart from that he had a cute but cunning expression on his face, whereas the girl and the boy who were of the same age as that of Li Jie''s younger twins were also good looking and they had cute expressions with dimples on their face, but surprisingly they weren''t related to each other at all, instead they were best friends in Dai Chen''s family, these two would do anything together, and if one of them caused trouble, then both would take the blame for it, they were very close to each other, almost everything they do would be together and they were called Zhong Jing and Cui Lim. As for the last and the youngest one who was called Yu De, while he can''t talk yet and can only make some sounds, he was, of course, the gem of Dai Chen''s family as he was adored by everyone, at first he was a cute and quiet child, but under Teng Peng''s influence, he has also turned mischievous, which gave Fu Li and Dai Chen both a big headache as even if they wanted to, they couldn''t bring themselves to punish him as he was too adorable and he was also taught by Teng Peng to make an adorable face when in front of Dai Chen and Fu Li, as he would be exempt for the punishment. Right now all of them came and these kids were quite quick-witted for someone their age, they right away noticed Li Jie even if he wore drags of Dai Chen, the kids knew that this must be young master Li Jie, and it was then that Teng Peng looked at the other kids and motioned them to act after which they sincerely bowed towards Li Jie, "We pay our respects to his majesty Li Jie", which dumbfounded Li Jie and the rest of them, with a pensive expression, he looked at Dai Chen, whereas from Dai Chen''s face, it looked like he was also dumbfounded by what just occurred and Fu Li almost burst laughing when she looked at this weird scene playing out of them, looking at which Li Jie was shocked as he didn''t know that just by laughing, the girls beauty would increase, Dai Chen was again dumbfounded as it had been quite long since he saw Fu Li laughing like that. Li Jie then reached the kids and lifted them up from their bowing posture, "Please I am not worthy of your bow, nor is anyone else in this wide world, except for your parents and any teacher you go under, the kids didn''t know how to react to this situation, especially those kids other than Teng Peng, who were told by him to bow to him respectfully as he is someone who can be called a royalty and that they must always bow to them, but now even Teng Pengwas shocked by the sudden turn of events as he didn''t know what to do, after all as he had seen secretly in the slums that those who were in high position would always have those weaker than them to be kneeling. So Teng Peng didn''t know how to react to this situation, but there was also about what Li Jie had said to them also struck his heart, which made Teng Peng think , "Then doesn''t that mean I should never kneel, well it''s not like I have parents, as for the teacher, well I will see, hehe thanks to young master Dai Chen, now I will never kneel no matter what", Teng Peng thought with a wide grin, and it was then he saw his elder sister Fu Li and elder brother Dai Chen looking at him with a grim face, that was when it clicked inside his head, "shitttt!!!, I forgot", and then a very comical scene appeared infront of Li Jie, the one who was the same age as him suddenly dashed behind himself in hopes of escaping but then Teng Peng saw something flying infront of him and landing heavily, when he saw what fell infront of him was a wooden saddle, he stopped in his track and he fearfully turned around to see his elder sister holding the other wooden slipper in her hand, while she looked at him in a pissed off expression. Teng Peng was horrified, he knew that his elder brother and sister have figured out that all of this was his doing, he had no choice but to do something as he could only sigh about his situation, and right in front of Li Jie and everyone, Teng Peng walked with a serious and grim expression, which startled Fu Li herself, "Wait, is he being in that so-called rebellious stage, will he fight me or get angry, Fu Li became worried, same was with Dai Chen he never saw such an expression on his little brother''s face, he was afraid of them fighting, he wanted to let this go, and he felt bad too, that this was also happening right in front of brother Li Jie. Seeing Teng Peng walking towards Fu Li and Dai Chen, the atmosphere got tensed, and then suddenly Teng Peng said, Sister Fu Li, brother Dai Chen, here is", and then he out of nowhere kneeled down and started banging his head on the floor asking for forgiveness, seeing this unexpected situation gave everyone a fright. Li Jie thought, "Damn what is with this guy, he almost looked like he was going to battle for his life and now he just kneeled". Whereas everyone else be it the kids and everyone started laughing but Fu Li looked like she ate a fly, "You damn brat what was with that serious expression of yours", Fu Li then caught hold of him and started spanking Teng Peng''s butt right in front of everyone. Watching this comical scene in front of him Li Jie couldn''t hold much and started laughing and then others also joined him in the fray, whereas Teng Peng was extremely upset with everything that was going on, he started screaming, "Sister Fu Li, Elder Sister Fu Li this is wrong you can''t just start spanking me in front of young master Li Jie, boohoo sister Fu Li, you are very bad, you could have spanked me alone", hearing Teng Peng''s cry, Fu Li got more infuriated by what he just said, "You damn annoying brat, why are you making it sound like I love spanking you alone, just wait here have more of this", whereas Teng Peng could only screech in pain, " aaahhh this is so wrong, what did I do to deserve this", said Teng Peng. Everyone in the room except Fu Li and Teng Peng just laughed their heart out, their stomach started aching from all the laughing. Chapter 54 - Salvation From Darkness "Everyone, it''s time for lunch, there are also sweets which brother Li Jie had brought, you all can have it as a desert", shouted Fu Li, it can be seen that Fu Li and the maid Xiao Chu were preparing food and serving, while Dai Chen can also be seen helping them with their work. Whereas the younger siblings of Dai Chen and Fu Li were ignoring her, as they were engrossed in Li Jie''s storytelling about "The Forest" where his master had left him to train, he was telling them about the various beasts, which was not something these kids had ever experienced, what impressed the kids most was when Li Jie told them about "The Thunder Bird", while he didn''t know about the species of that king stage bird at that time, but later when he came back to his home, he started reading through Beasts and Magical plants record, he found it''s species name to be "Thunder Bird", it''s an extremely strong king stage beast, but unlike other common type or special type beasts, it has potential towards reaching the divine stage, while others can also reach the divine stage, but the chances of them reaching divine stage is minuscule and in the same stage "The Thunder Bird" is stronger than it''s peers, it can be said to be comparable to the Bird of the imperial family with thin vermilion bird bloodline. Reading various books from the Li family library would help Li Jie remember the species of various plants and animals, as unlike before, he had decided to prepare properly and not be in a life-threatening encounter like before in the forest, this is what Li Jie understood from his experiences that the difference between beasts and humans is that of knowledge while having knowledge doesn''t give direct benefits, but they can help in most crucial times, that''s why Li Jie had decided to read more and more about everything he can find out about. The kids were in awe about "The Thunder Bird, it''s beauty and strength of the beast as described by Li Jie really made them excited as they wanted to see it for their own, but they shuddered at the thought of it''s fearsome strength which was mentioned by Li Jie as standing in front of that beast, they could only stay still and not move from the king stage''s beast''s very aura. All of the kids listening to Li Jie had their mouths open in awe, it was then they noticed that Li Jie was looking at them with a helpless smile, they couldn''t understand Li Jie''s weird smile at first but suddenly out of nowhere they felt a cold sensation on their back, it was then that they felt a cold sensation on their back, they understood that someone was behind them, and when they looked behind themselves, their fear came true, it was their eldest sister Fu Li holding a ladle on her hand, with a pissed off smirking expression, who looked like she was ready to give these kids a good scolding, but then she saw Li Jie coming forward In their defense, "Sister Fu Li, I apologize it was because of me, that they didn''t listen to you and I was too excited meeting them in person and it''s been long since I have met with someone of my age, back at my home I was bored and I only had my younger siblings to play, I hope you don''t scold them on my behalf". Normally Fu Li would have disregarded these words, if it was Dai Chen because he would always try to save the younger ones from punishment, while Fu Li also didn''t want to punish them unnecessarily, she didn''t want her younger siblings to go down the wrong path as it is easy to be influenced to do wrong in this slum, where those who aren''t even that much older can do horrible things which one would not be able to fathom, all she wanted was for her cute innocent siblings to be as they are, she started reminiscing about the time when she was new to the slums, she nearly hated all of humanity and entering the slums pushed her more towards darkness, where all filth of the continent truly was collected as she had seen things which she would never have thought to be possible, if not for her experiencing the slums, she felt she would lose her mind from all the filth she witnessed, she still remembered how when she was new, she had to fight for her survival day and night and what happened with weak female members in the slums was something which was branded in her mind. Regardless of their gender, those who were older and with strength, besides the hunger many other filthy and disgusting acts occurred by them and that too openly without any shame. Fu Li never wanted her siblings to turn that way, all she wanted was for her siblings to be just and right as she had always wanted, and it was also at that moment, her gaze went towards Dai Chen, who even after being her sibling felt like a mystery to her, from outside he was meek and servile but Fu Li knew he was a kind person who would try to help everyone if possible but what was a mystery to her was that he lived in the slums far before she came to the slums, and he was the only type of person in all of the slums, any human no matter their nature after coming to the slums would have a drastic change in personality and that too one with a ruthless nature, but he never felt violence was the answer, as he would solve everything differently. How could Fu Li forget the one who saved her was none other than Dai Chen, while she was skilled enough to fend for herself but in the process, she used to feel as she was drowning in a river of darkness in the slums, where she had to experience the most disgusting side of human nature on a daily basis, and one time she was surrounded by many corpses, while she was tired and wanted to sleep but she knew any kind of relaxation will only lead to her death, but who could have known a girl who was almost on the verge of dying inside her heart was saved by an unremarkable weak boy who was none other than Dai Chen. When she felt there was no end to the cruelty and darkness of human nature, she saw from the corner of her eyes a boy who climbed the hill of garbage and picked her body up and ran into hiding, she at first wanted to resist but she was too tired and fell asleep when she woke up, she found herself in a shabby hut, where she found herself to be bandaged with different colored clothes, and she felt relaxed but there was vigilance in her eyes, and then she saw a boy entering her room, which made her ready to fight, but the moment she was picking herself up, she was stopped by Dai Chen, who told her that he will go out if she feels insecure after the boy left, Fu Li felt weird about the boy''s behavior and wondered if she was outside the slums, but the shabby hut was proof and a certain kind of smell was very familiar to Fu Li, after some time she felt someone entering her room and found three kids, two boys and a girl who were looking at her curiously, she was surprised, she wondered why would the boy who saved her have small kids in his hut, and then she remembered something, which made her face solemn, she felt that the kids were made bad things done by that boy or he will be doing something bad to them, so she decided to save them from the clutches of this filthy boy who must have the same intention towards her. After regaining her strength, she went outside, which was what shocked her most, she could see the kids playing around the hut with carefree expression, and seeing their happy expressions she started to wonder if these kids were even of slums, who had solemn expressions on their face all the time. She thought that maybe the boy will sell these kids for his own interest, but then she witnessed the most shocking thing of her life, which was how the boy would come with food, sometimes less and sometimes more, but every time she witnessed the boy to first serving these foods to the kids and only when they eat to their full would the boy eat the remaining, he would always be the last one to eat which made her opinion of the boy improve drastically, there were even times when she would see the boy not eating anything, due to the low quantity of food, one day she told him to take care of himself and that he should also eat, to which Dai Chen only smiled back and said that small kids need to eat as much as possible to grow big and strong, hearing the boy, Fu Li only had one thought, "Even the outside world has no one who can compare to the kindness of the boy, it was hard for a girl her age to fathom a boy with such kindness to be in the slums, where all the filth of continent is present, she only had one thought regarding this, "Looks like while throwing garbage in the slums, the continent has mistakenly thrown gold in the slums. Whenever Dai Chen told her and his other siblings about Li Jie, she knew exactly how he felt, as it was Dai Chen who saved her from something which even the strongest of the practitioners of this continent could never, she knew how he looked at Li Jie with utmost admiration, because that is how she looks at Dai Chen. Looking at Dai Chen, made her old memories surface, and there was a drop of tear at the corner of her eyes which she removed fast for no one to notice and smiled with quite a beautiful expression and said, "Ok, if brother Li Jie says so, then I will not punish you guys, but you all will behave and listen to me from now on". The kids nodded, and then they all went to eat. Fu Li was happy with her life and with her siblings, she felt salvation, which was only possible because of Dai Chen. Chapter 55 - Greed For Sweets A blissful scene could be seen in Dai Chen''s house, where everyone can be seen eating their meal with beautiful smiles and loads of expression of joy, Fu Li can be seen berating the kids, especially Teng Peng who had been eyeing the sweets brought by Li Jie, but Fu Li had already instructed them that they will be getting the sweets after finishing their meals. After everyone finished eating their meal, the maid Xiao Chu can be seen looking at everything with utter disbelief, while she showed no expression outside, that wasn''t the case inside her heart, as she didn''t know what would the other maids of the Li family will think, if they were to witness this scene, they might faint from seeing the eldest young master happily playing with the kid of slums. The maid Xiao Chu had already decided not to let anyone know of what she is witnessing, despite disbelief she was happy seeing the eldest young master to be sparkling, that was when she recalled that the eldest young master has always been mature in intelligence despite his age and this was known by almost everyone in the Li family, which was also why he was always treated as an adult by everyone despite his age, "but he is still a kid in the heart our eldest young master", thought the maid Xiao Chu. Suddenly she felt something and when she looked at where the remaining sweets were, she noticed all of them to be gone, after some time she removed her gaze from the bowl which had sweets, as it wasn''t worth her notice and she felt that maybe it was the kids who had eaten the remaining sweets. "TENG PENG where are the leftover sweets", shouted Fu Li, she wasn''t furious because she wanted to have them for herself but to store them in a container for eating at a later time for everyone, and when she noticed all of them completely gone, she was ready to pound Teng Peng, but Teng Peng shrieked and swore that he wanted to eat the leftover sweets badly, but it wasn''t him that had eaten them, finally Fu Li calmed down after Dai Chen told her, that there are more sweets brought over by Li Jie, but Fu Li wanted to distribute everything equally among themselves, she didn''t want to spoil her younger siblings of bad habits. Faint noises of laughter were made, which couldn''t be detected by anyone present in the room, and the ones who were laughing were the shadows as the leader of the shadows can be seen eating the sweets which were yellow in color and it had green and red cherries on it as decoration, his left hand had more sweets, while he was biting and eating all the sweets one by one, which actually infuriated the other shadows more and more as for the one who wanted to punch their leader in the face were the two shadows, who were residents of the slum but were rescued by Sir Patriarch when he was young. "Boss, don''t you feel any shame in stealing poor kid''s sweets", said one of the shadows who was from the slums, "Yes Boss, I feel ashamed of calling you boss, and seeing your smug expression of stealing sweets from these poor kids is revolting", said the other shadow who was also from the slums. "Humph, so what if I ate the sweets, I was feeling hungry and what is with this happy annoying atmosphere these people have created, I almost wanted to vomit, I had heard a lot about how hellish the life of slums is, but look here it''s so peaceful and annoying, here I thought I will get some fun but looks like I was hoping too much and what is wrong with me eating a bunch of leftover sweets and if you guys find it so problematic, then why don''t we spar for a bit", said the leader of shadows while revealing his white teeth which gave a very creepy sensation to the two shadows who felt wronged, but they knew in their heart how strong this leader of their is, and the worst part is his bloodline, which is quite rare and according to Sir Patriarch, if there is someone who is strongest after him in this continent, then it is this man in front of them, the two shadows felt frustrated at their leader''s taunt but were helpless. After all, despite the cultivation stage their leader was horridly strong and had a weird personality where for long times he will be quiet and will only say something serious related to missions, but sometimes when he opens his mouth, it is filled with vulgarities and many weird things, especially his actions are completely weird towards anyone he fights, despite having high cultivation stage, he lowers his cultivation stage to that of his opponent and crushes his opponents with pure strength, the most unique thing about him is his bloodline, which they felt to be quite devilish in nature. "For even a second don''t fool me you dolts, I know you two also want to try this sweet, I honestly never knew this sweet was this tasty, while I had seen it many times, I had never tried it in all honesty, maybe when I return I should try tasting more types of sweets or maybe I have chosen the wrong path, instead I should have become a baker, where I can cook all kind of sweets and eat them all day, while also competing with other bakers for the hegemony of sweet making, it''s not like I am a very talented assassin", said the leader of the shadows while thinking aloud. Listening to him made the other shadows clench their fists in anger, with a pissed-off expression, as in their heart they knew how they worked their ass off to reach where they are, as their status in the Li family is very special, they are the only ones in all of the Li family who can kill anyone despite their status without any regard for the consequences and the leader in front of them in someone who had beaten them black and blue, no matter how much they tried, they can never beat him in a fight, as that was the prerequisite of becoming the leader of the shadows, being the leader of shadows comes with unimaginable benefits. But here their leader is sighing of how untalented he is, and how he should be a baker, and even then he wanted to compete with those poor bakers, sighed the shadows. Chapter 56 - Foul Carver "Brother Teng Peng, let''s go outside, I want to explore the slums more", asked Li Jie. "hehe I thought you would never ask, then come let''s go outside", said Teng Peng in excitement. Li Jie and Teng Peng stood up from their seating areas and were ready to go out when Fu Li came towards them with a serious expression, "Teng Peng if you are going outside with brother Li Jie, then be careful of your surroundings and check around for anyone troublesome and keep your distance from other people and no matter what happens, don''t venture too deep into the slums, and come back early before sunset", said Fu Li with a worried expression. "Yes Yes I hear you elder sister Fu Li, I will do everything you say", said Teng Peng in a nonchalant manner. "I am serious Teng Peng about what I asked you to follow, if not then I will let Elder brother Dai Chen to go with young master Li Jie", said Fu Li with a stern expression. Hearing this, Teng Peng got flabbergasted and said, "No, No, Elder Sister Fu Li, my Dear Elder Sister Fu Li, I have been dying to go outside, I have been at home for too long, I feel stifled, I want to get outside, I will do as you say, everything to the point. "Good, if you understand your situation and Brother Li Jie, I also ask you to be careful and mindful of your surroundings, because things here are very different from the Li family castle, and Dai Chen you will direct brother Li Jie all the way, don''t even think of fooling around, just go outside and sightsee and come back as soon as possible", said Fu Li with a hint of worry in her eyes. Li Jie felt that Fu Li''s worries were unnecessary and that she was overthinking, but he still kept her words in mind, in case something unexpected happens because he remembered how his life was in the forest because life can be unpredictable and you never know what may hit you until it''s too late. That''s why Li Jie took his sword and instead of placing it near his waist, he placed it o his back beneath his clothes, due to which it wasn''t visible, but it did make him feel uncomfortable as the sword which was behind him, made his posture awkward, as for the hilt of the sword, it was bulging out and touching his head from time to time while moving his head around, looking at his weird posture Teng Peng ended up laughing at him, and Fu Li also chuckled for a bit looking at him which made him feel embarrassed. "Brother Li Jie how about you leave this sword behind and take my dagger, you can even hide it well and it will also help for your own protection", said Fu Li. Li Jie nodded after listening to her, which was what he felt since the sword will be too eye-catching instead and will bring him unwanted attention, even the sword can''t be hidden by him properly, so the dagger was the best weapon of choice, for now, thought Li Jie. Fu Li went back to her room and when she came back, she had a dagger which was exquisite in design it''s hilt had yellow and black colored patterns whereas it has a curved blade with a sharp luster, Li Jie''s eyes were attracted to the dagger instantly, he knew in his heart that this blade wasn''t something common, it gave off a vibe which showed that it wasn''t some common weapon but a high-grade magical weapon. "Brother Li Jie, this is my weapon, I call it "Foul Carver", here please take good care of it", said Fu Li. Holding the Dagger, Li Jie felt the dagger to be full of strength and it''s sharpness was such that he didn''t dare to touch it''s edge, in fear of cutting his finger. According to the books about weapons, what Li Jie learned was that there were three categories of weapons found in the continent, which were "Common Weapons", "Magical Weapons", and "Runic Weapons". These weapons were further classified into Low-Grade, Mid-Grade, and High-Grade. The common weapons are simply weapons used by those of Grandmaster Stage and below, as they don''t require the use of essence energy, as for those above the Grandmaster stage, they cannot use the "Common Weapons", because their essence stage increases their strength to a very high stage. A cultivator starts using essence energy when they reach the Essence Gathering stage, which is the true starting point of their cultivation paths. As for the "Magical Weapons", they are weapons made of special ores and materials, which absorbs the essence energy in a cultivator to use against their enemies, the strength provides between "Magical Weapons" is quite high as they are used by all the cultivators from Essence Gathering stage to Reality Acceptance Stage, as obvious the higher grade a weapon the stronger support they provide to their user. As for the "Runic Weapons", these weapons are mostly the same as those of "Magical Weapons" except for the runic enchantment which is inscribed on the weapons to give them certain attributes as well as these runic enchantments also increase the strength and the energy capacity of the weapons considerably. These weapons can also be used by those of Essence Gathering stage and above but it''s very rare, the only ones to have "Runic Weapons" are the leaders of the major organizations and Great families as for the Imperial Family, they are the only ones to have more than one "Runic Weapons", which is not by known anyone as for the other organizations, they only have one "Runic Weapons" each, that''s how rare "Runic Weapons" are. "Runic Weapons" are also the deciding factor for an organization to be called a major organization, whenever "Runic Weapons" are found or excavated a bloodbath starts all over the continent for it''s ownership. In the shadows, the leader of the shadows squinted his eyes when he looked at the dagger, which was given to Li Jie by Fu Li, he had an expression of interest "Hmm what an Interesting girl, to think such a shithole place would have such people with Heaven-Defying secrets, from the front, one would find the girl to be the most secretive and special but the one who is the most special is that boy called Dai Chen who is helped by the Young Master, to live in a shithole like this without anyone''s protection and not be corrupted in any way, now that''s rare, as, for the others, they are just kids who are pampered and limited, not witnessing the true slums, while living in the slums, hehe Dai Chen is it, I wonder what those bald monkeys would think looking at you, and how precious you would be to them, hmm well if they were to know you live in this shithole, they might end up blasting off this continent haha", thought the leader of the shadows. Chapter 57 - Three Sections Of The Slums Two kids were seen running stealthily around heaps of garbage, which was quite smelly and unbearable for both kids, as can be seen from their solemn expression and their nose squinting, both kids were none other than Li Jie and Teng Peng who were roaming around the slums, thinking of adventure. "Brother Teng Peng, we are already pretty far from your home but all I can see is garbage and people living among them, just how big is this slum", asked Li Jie. "Well brother Li Jie from what I know, the slum is huge and is divided into three sections, the first section is where most of the population of the whole slums live and is called Grimyard, in the Grimyard some regions are safe, while some are not and all of that depends on the territory leader of that particular region, for example, the territory leader of our region is Elder Sister Fu Li, while she may not look like much, but she is pretty strong as said by Elder Brother Dai Chen because none of us siblings has ever seen her fight," said Teng Peng. "What!!!, your Eldest Sister is the leader of your region", asked Li Jie with a shocked expression. "Yes of course, or else how do you think we are safe in our region, lack of food is one of the major problems that every territory leader of the Grimyard suffer from, and after the Grimyard is Shadowville, which is the second region and also a forbidden place about which I don''t know much but according to elder brother Dai Chen and Eldest Sister Fu Li, that place is extremely dangerous and one weird point about it is that apart from the first region which is filled with garbage, the second region doesn''t have any garbage because all kinds of illegal dealings with major families and organizations of the continent are done in the second region, and Shadowville doesn''t have many territory leaders like Grimyard, it has only one leader, who is said to be the strongest person in all of the slum known to people, and his own organization is the one and only ruler of the slums and at last comes the Fallforest which is connected to the beast forest, which is why you can find many beasts there, it''s not a place where anyone can live, only those hunters of the Shadowville go there to hunt for resources, whereas us of the Grimyard just stay here and try not to go to someone else''s region or else problems can arise because not everyone is as good as Elder Sister", said Teng Peng. Li Jie''s face turned solemn upon hearing about the complexities present in the slums, he thought he could roam around all of the slums, but from the looks of things, it might not be possible for him and he has to return to his home too, but he was happy nonetheless that at least he can come back some other time, he was looking around and all he can see people with bodies as thin as wooden sticks, and all of them were either carrying a bag or looking for something to eat in the heap of garbage. "Brother Teng Peng can''t we share some of the food with them, I am not sure if it can help in satisfying all of them but at least some of them can get something to eat", asked Li Jie with a solemn expression. Teng Peng shook his head upon hearing Li Jie and said, "Brother Li Jie, it''s not that we don''t want to help others here, but helping others will only get us in trouble, I know I might sound selfish but if the word were to spread around the slums that we are getting food from outside then we will become targets of all those with bad intention, we were strictly told by Elder Sister Fu Li not to spread anything about you or your help towards us here, because it will trouble us and in the end you will also be implicated, I remember Elder Sister Fu Li saying that even if Brother Li Jie is the eldest son of the Li family, you will also be implicated badly in this, that''s why we don''t dare to tell anyone about you". Li Jie''s face scrunched upon hearing Teng Peng, this is the same thing his father said to him about how in the matters of the slum even he as the patriarch of the Li family is helpless to do anything, li Jie couldn''t understand just what is going on and why is that someone as strong as the patriarch of the Li family is also helpless in the matters of slum and then he also had a thought "What can I do with my meager strength, even if I were to get stronger, it won''t change anything, the more Li Jie thought, the more he thought "Just what is even the use of becoming a sword cultivator, where even those of other paths of cultivation can also do". "Brother Li Jie, we should go back, this area is the limit to where I can take you, if you want to go beyond from here, then only Elder Brother Dai Chen can help you with this", said Teng Peng. "You are right Brother Teng Peng, and I also have to go back to home before night time", said Li Jie solemnly. Remembering the way back he couldn''t help but feel helpless about how far his home is. Both the kids were returning back to Teng Peng''s house, while on the way back Teng Peng asked, "Brother Li Jie can you tell me about cultivation, I have if you cultivate to a certain high level, you can become an immortal who cannot die and do whatever he wants, is it true and I have heard that your Li family also has many immortal beings" "hehe Well Brother Teng Peng, truth be told it''s true that there are many cultivators in the Li Family but as for immortals, I don''t really know because the higher stages of cultivation do increase a being''s life span, but it doesn''t make them free from eternal death, I am not saying that there cannot be, but maybe it''s a completely different realm a different stage of cultivation which anyone in this continent might not have reached, or maybe they have I really have no idea about this", said Li Jie with a melancholic expression. Li Jie thought, maybe master is an immortal, who knows he doesn''t even have a trace of essence energy, which is ever present in those no matter how high their cultivation is, and higher the cultivation, higher their strength is. While both of them were returning back to Teng Peng''s house, they saw a crowd which was filled with kids and old people respectively, out of curiosity both Teng Peng and Li Jie couldn''t lose the allure of such a crowd, after all, they were kids. When they reached near the crowd, they found an old dirty man who had most of his clothes torn and his teeth were yellow with a mix of black sheen. Both the kids were terrified of the old man''s looks, but then they heard him saying, "okay Kidzz which story would you like to listen to first zezeze" ,the kids were excited listening to the old man and for him to be a story teller, it must be some good one. "Well tell me which one should I tell you brats zezeze", Teng Peng was excited because he had heard of this old man who tells fantastical stories in different regions of Grimyard, but this is the first time he is listening to a story from this old man, because this is the first time this old man has visited this region. Out of excitement, Teng Peng shouted, "How about you tell us about the fabled cultivators or better about an immortal who never dies", Listening to this the old man snorted, "What about those arrogant immortal, they are nothing but some detestable beings, trust me kids immortals are the most arrogant and shitty bunch, you don''t want to interact with". "What, How can you say that about the legendary immortals, aren''t you afraid of their wrath, they might throw a bunch of lighting at you for disrespecting them". Chaos ensued as many start scolding the old man for his remark towards the immortals. "Ok Ok, my bad, how about anyone else other than those shitty immortals", the crowd only got more incensed at the old man''s remark. Li Jie who was among the crowd thought to himself about something and said, "How about you tell us about a sword cultivator". Listening to which the old man smiled, "Well this is a good topic, but there are many famous sword cultivators, about which one do you want to know", said the old man to the whole crowd. Upon which the whole crowd started going quiet and with a serious expression they started pondering, after which some said to tell them about a swordsman who has the flashiest move or the one who is the strongest, after many random suggestions, there was a small boy who was among the crowd raised his hand, seeing him raising his hand before speaking, the old man was pleased and asked him, "Old sir can we know about a swordsman who was from the slums and was just like us, asked the small boy. Listening to the small boy, the crowd also got quiet because they were also interested if there was someone who lived a life just like them and later on became a sword cultivator. The old man with a creepy smile said, "Well, there is someone who comes to my mind if you ask about it, and surprisingly he is also special and different from all the sword cultivators I have encountered, well I don''t know his name, but I sure do know his title, which was bestowed to him, aah I still remember when almost all of the continent hated him for his foolishness, but according to him, he wasn''t foolish, and what he thought he was doing was right, his title was "Sword Of Flowers". Chapter 58 - Is The Path Of Sword Necessary? "The Swordsman I will be telling you all about is a very unique person, from the time the world came to know about him, he has shaken the very beliefs of many swords cultivators, any sword cultivator no matter their cultivation stage will feel inferiority by looking at him, of course, a swordsman who can cause such intense emotions in the hearts of man wasn''t looked upon favorably by anyone in this continent, of course, there were admirers, but there were those too who just wanted to see him in ruin, and the fact that he was a resident of the slums was more of a reason for being one of the top enemies of the whole continent, tell me kidzz would you like to know more about him", asked the dirty looking haggard old man with a wide smile. Of course, listening to such a mysterious story of the old man about the swordsman woke intense reactions from the crowd, especially Li Jie, as he was wondering just what was special about using swords when you can also use other weapons to achieve your goal, as he was thinking about this, a small girl asked, "Old sir, was the swordsman too handsome and good looking that the other swordsmen felt inferior to him". Another boy shouted, "Old sir, is it because he was too strong for them to fight against him". "HeHeHeHe, all of your answers are wrong no, he wasn''t the strongest, he wasn''t the fastest, he wasn''t the most good looking one, nor was there anything special about him that would place him different from others, heck he never even had the proper talent to learn the way of the sword as for his bloodline, it was just a low-level bloodline, after all, he was one of you abandoned in this hell of a place". "What!!!, but old sir if he didn''t have either of those, then how did he get so strong and how did he become such a famous swordsman, and why would others feel inferior looking at him", asked one of the kids. After which the whole crowd nodded as they had the same question, to which the dirty old man just smiled and took a pipe after smoking which he said, "Isn''t it natural for others to feel inferior if what they have been striving to get all their life is right in front of them and that too the person in front of them never even had to put much effort it, heck he even made that cold princess of the Imperial Fu clan fall head over heels for him, such was his strength, such was his looks but most of all it was his sword arts, which released flower petals when used and that too of different kinds". "One more thing I forgot to mention, just because his sword arts showed flower petals doesn''t mean they were only for show as a matter of fact they were extremely deadly, just the very sight gave shivers to his enemies, his blade would kill the opponent instantly without any resistance, it was the perfect sword art ti kill, which he created by himself". Everyone was shocked by the sudden revelation that someone who lived like just like how they are living, came out of the slums and challenged everyone and anyone who blocked his path. As for what the old man said about other sword cultivator feeling inferior towards this swordsman, the whole crowd just felt upset by the old man''s unclear answer, they just shook their heads, instead of trying to understand it, Li Jie was the only one who was trying to find the meaning behind what was said by the old man. The old man just snickered witnessing the crowd''s reaction, "Well let me make it easy for you to understand sweet little kids, the sword cultivators and there are also some families who have been teaching and learning about the way of the sword for generations, but none of them had the capability to even come close to it, the mysterious sword intent, which can only be used by a true sword cultivator, and only such a sword cultivator can be called as a swordsman, while others, they just simply wave their sword around, which is nothing special". The whole crowd gasped after hearing such a proclamation, but the one who was most shocked was none other than Li Jie, "How did this old man know about sword intent, is it known by other people of this continent too and this is "The Slum", which is considered garbage for the whole continent, but then why does an unassuming old man of "The Slums" have such information, I should not take this story lightly, looks like this is not a simple make-believe story, there might be true elements to it, when I get back home, I will try finding out about the "Sword Of Flowers" Then Li Jie asked, "Respected Old Sir, what is the difference between a sword cultivator having sword intent and one who doesn''t have". "Well, aren''t you a smart one, the difference between one who has and one who hasn''t is as simple as the difference between heaven and heart, Tell me kid can you understand what and how those immortals feel and think, can you tell the difference between them!!!, no right because you don''t have it so you will never be able to understand even if it is right in front of you", said the dirty looking old man with a solemn expression. Everyone who was listening to the words of the old man was shocked, it''s true what do they know how the immortals think or feel being mortals themselves, thought almost everyone. But Li Jie was restless, he didn''t know why he couldn''t understand it just what was happening to him, why was he so drawn towards this story of the old man, why was he doubting his own goal, his own ambition, didn''t he promise his master that he will become a swordsman and reach the peak of swordsmanship, but why was it a sword, why not any other weapon, and it''s true that he does admire sword, but not to the extent nor does he have any kind of special love or feelings towards the sword, he had often heard about many who love or have some special feeling towards the way of sword, but he couldn''t understand just why did his master chose the path of swordsman for him, and why did he agree out of impulse, it''s not like he was forced, then why didn''t he chose that powerful bloodline, which would have solved all of his problems, thought LI Jie with regret. Unbeknownst to Li Jie himself, there was a battle going on inside him where the dark-looking substance was ever increasing and wasn''t stopping. Mr.Teacher who was drinking his tea leisurely felt something, "Hah another failure, Looks like this is the end of the way of the sword for him, {sigh}", even the tea felt bitter for Mr.Teacher, as can be seen from his sad expression, "I have been waiting for so long, even the last bit of hope I had is crushed", sighed Mr.Teacher. While In a certain area of the slums, the dirty looking old man who was telling his story, looked at the boy who asked him about the difference between someone having a sword intent and someone not having a sword intent, before he didn''t look at the boy''s face clearly but when he looked closer at the boy''s face, he noticed his face which was different from those born in the slums, his face had something which reminded him of someone, and also the twisting expression on Li Jie''s face reminded the dirty looking old man about something, especially someone special he knew, his heart turned warm for certain reason when looking at the boy, but for some reason, he knew that the boy was mentally tensed at the moment due to some reason, so he asked while looking at Li Jie warmly, "Hey boy". Li Jie noticed right away that the old man was calling him, he couldn''t understand why the old man was calling him, but he looked at the old man''s face which even after looking dirty felt like there was warmth in it, the face showed no kind of negative expression, only a warm expression, which would make one feel like they are on a beach on a sunny day, looking at the old man, Li Jie didn''t know why but he felt calm, he felt serene and unbeknownst to him the dark substance which was increasing with full force stopped, without even a single movement, it couldn''t move no matter how it tried, it was in the same position. While at the same time where Mr.Teacher was sighing with sadness, suddenly stood up, he couldn''t believe what was happening, he was shocked beyond compare, "Just what is going on". While at the same time the old man who looked at Li Jie warmly asked, "Tell me, kid, Do you like the sword". Chapter 59 - Weapon Of The Righteous "Tell me, kid, Do you like the sword". For some unknown reason, Li Jie was rooted stunned at the stop, he knew what the Old man asked him is not much hard to answer, but by the time he was going to open his mouth, he became unsure of his answer that he had thought, then he had a small frown over his forehead, wondering "Why do I like the sword?". Is it because it is cool or because he loves the sword as the weapon, but then he thought that he was never a sword fanatic, he kept thinking about how to answer the old man, worried that his answer was taking time, which might make the Old man impatient, but as he looked at the Old man to apologize with concern over his face, the old man was just standing there warmly without an even ounce of impatience over his face. Looking at the boy''s apologetic concerned face, the Old man just shook his head, and said, "Don''t worry child, you can take your time, there''s no hurry and speak your mind without hesitation, said the Old man". Whereas the crowd was silent, wondering if this was a part of the story, the senior was reciting to them, with curbing their curiosity, they also waited for the boy''s answer, all of them thought that the boy will definitely say something like he finds the path of sword cool or he wants to be a sword who kills his enemies without getting defeated, similar thoughts were going in others mind which all involved something grand. While the one who was supposed to be answering was deep in thought, of course, he also had the option of lying something grand which would make him look good but Li Jie had a feeling that if he were to lie and not voice out his true thoughts, then he would lose something which he was not sure about. Li Jie finally decided and cleared his thoughts, after which he looked at the old man who was smiling warmly towards him, looking at the warm expression on the Old man''s face made him more sure of his decision, and with that he said, "I don''t know". After listening the crowd''s expression was that of uncertainty, they don''t know how they should react towards the answer of the boy among them but the Old man smiled widely without care, for some reason he was happy. "Then tell me, child, why do you say that you don''t know", asked the Old man in the most loving manner he could. "I don''t know Old sir, how should I put it, I don''t have some special feelings towards the sword, but that doesn''t mean that I don''t like it but what is troubling me is that why is the sword the only weapon to be considered the most righteous whereas other weapons don''t have such title, while they work the same, then why is the sword so special, what makes it so special", asked Li Jie with confusion. After listening to Li Jie''s ranting, the Old man only felt happier for some reason, "Who knows child, why the sword is called the weapons of righteous, or why even those who are despicable also use a sword, despite it being a weapon of righteousness, but what I know for sure is that the path of sword is not simple as you think". The crowd was confused by the old man''s answer, the same was with Li Jie, who was more confused. seeing the confused faces of the crowd, the old man said, "HAHAHA, looks like I have only made you all confused instead, hahaha, ok how about this do you know that the "Sword of Flower" also had no special feelings towards the sword, unlike many sword cultivators, who even claim to live for the way of sword, the reason was quite simple, the sword was never chosen by the "Sword of Flower", he was chosen by the sword", said the Old man Mysteriously with a smile. The crowd was once again confused by the Old man''s proclamation, "You see when someone says that the sword is a weapon of righteous doesn''t mean that the old weapons are evil, it''s just that the sword is an ancient weapon which has been passed down from generations as a righteous weapon, that''s why unlike the other weapons which come under the "Weapons Dao", the sword is the only weapon which doesn''t come under the "Weapons Dao". Li Jie was shocked, not being able to understand anything, "What is this "Weapons Dao" while at the same time he felt that there was something about it, which made him understand it, yet at the same time he wasn''t clear about it. "No need to fret everyone, the reason "Sword of Flower" was chosen by the sword was quite simple, he was a righteous man from h=the core of his heart, unlike other sword cultivators, he was called a swordsman was because he never feared his enemies despite his low cultivation, he fought them regardless of the outcome, truth be told, I don''t know much about the complete conditions for one to be chosen by the sword, but from what I know only the ones with pure righteous heart can cultivate the true "Sword Dao", it''s not something that anyone can learn just because they want to". One of the kids asked the old man, "What made the "Sword of Flower" so righteous Old sir". Listening to the boy''s question, the Old man became emotional, as if recalling something from long ago which were buried in his heart but today, he let it out, "The reason he had a righteous heart and the reason other sword cultivator felt inferior when looking at him, wasn''t just because he had the sword intent, it also had something to do with the sword choosing him, the reason was quite simple, he wanted "The Slums" to be released from their poor status, he wanted all of the residents of "The Slums" to live the same proper lives the whole continent was living in, he wanted to end the discrimination that was poured on the residents of slums ruthlessly, he wanted to make "The Slums" just like other places in the continent, of course, that end up making him face strong opponents, but he was never afraid of any of them, he fought all those that came to stop his plan, he was almost successful, the princess of Fu imperial clan at the time was also in love with him and married him, despite her families and friend''s protest, even after he became a swordsman, while others fear him, but they were also jealous of him, for someone of the slums to be more talented and to be more stronger than them was something they couldn''t digest, and the "Sword of Flower" had a big weakness, because of his low-grade bloodline, it was extremely tough for him to increase his cultivation, while his fighting strength was way above others, but his cultivation was the only drawback which was another reason he was target of criticism and when he married the princess of the imperial Fu clan, some of the great families as well as the imperial family felt incensed and tried to kill him, while they weren''t successful but alas, he was banished from this continent with the help of a secret weapon of the imperial family", said the Old man. Everyone was stunned and emotional, learning about the "Sword of Flower" made them feel sympathy for the man who was almost successful in saving them from this hell, but they smiled wryly it was expected of those from outside the slums, they never understood just what wrong did they do to deserve such pain, is it true because they are weak and they can be stomped upon, that is why they have to suffer however those outside the slums. Whereas Li Jie''s eyes were shining, it felt like he understood something, and when he remembered what the Old man told them about the "Sword of Flower" and when he matched it with what his master had described him about true sword path and how a swordsman should, he understood what he needed to do now, somehow he felt everything clear and understood his goal clearer and he also felt his mind as well as his body light, he also realized his mistake and he bowed towards the dirty looking Old man in respect. Looking at the young boy bowing towards him, the old man only smiled back in response. Whereas at the same time in the Lli family jurisdiction, in one of the unknown houses was Mr.Teacher who was reading something and then he felt something which only made him smile, "It''s weird when things become unpredictable, it looks like there is still some hope for me, I have already waited for long enough, I wonder how much longer will I have to wait", thought Mr..Teacher with a smile. Chapter 60 - Returning Back To The Li Family Castle After the Old Man''s story about the "Sword of Flower" ended and with Li Jie''s confusion about his path cleared, he and Teng Peng left the crowd back to his house, where he will pick up the maid Xiao Chu, to return back to the Li family castle, because it was already getting late. As for the Old man, he just started with an entirely different story, but there was a mysterious glint at the corner of his eyes when he saw the boy leaving who reminded him of someone important and special to him. The Old man was also looking towards the sky, when he said in his heart, "If fate has it, maybe one day we shall meet child". After which he started with his recital towards the crowd, whereas Li Jie and Teng Peng were rushing towards Dai Chen''s home at an accelerating speed. While passing through many streets which were in poor condition, the roads had plotholes and some muddy roads, while Teng Peng was the one leading them as he had all the knowledge of the fastest way to get back to Teng Peng''s house. While running and passing through many garbage areas and broken muddy roads, Li Jie had a thought, "Today was very exciting, and I was lucky to listen to that Old man''s story, I wonder if the story he told me is even true, I will ask father back home, the people here live in a very horrible condition, now that I am sure what I have to do, I will not stop no matter who it is, I will just go forward with my decision, no matter how painful it might feel to me", thought Li Jie with a serious expression on his face with complete resolution. After some time running and passing through some ragtag streets, they could finally see the sight of Teng Peng''s house, after reaching near the door, they both stopped, Teng Peng was gasping for breath as he was tired from all the running as well as his breathing rate high, wheres Li Jie was completely fine even after running for quite long. Finally after Teng Peng felt a bit better he knocked on the door two times repeatedly in succession whereas the third time he knocked after some time, which was apparently a code for those inside to know that the one knocking is someone from their family and they don''t have to be overly cautious with the help of the secret code. The door was opened by Fu Li who was happy to see them, she was a bit worried if they were to encounter trouble and for their safety, but now she was relieved by seeing both of them in their good condition. "See Fu Li, I told you before, you were getting worried for no reason, Teng Peng was with Brother Li Jie, it wasn''t possible for anything to go wrong with his", said Dai Chen from behind Fu Li. Fu Li just helplessly smiled and moved behind her and said, "Yes Yes, elder brother Dai Chen I get it, I won''t trouble you anymore with my concern and well being for my family", said Fu Li sarcastically to which Dai Chen just helplessly smiled and shook his head, he knew how stubborn this younger sister of his is, of course, he never thought she was wrong as a matter of fact, he very much appreciated her concern and overly cautious nature and protectiveness towards the family members. "I have to say, Teng Peng, that sister Fu Li''s worries weren''t unfounded, did you go out of the region which is safe, because seeing how you were quite late, does make one worried and even maid Xiao Chu was very worried for brother Li Jie, tell me Teng Peng is this the reason why you came back late because you went out of the region overlooked by Fu Li", asked Dai Chen with a solemn expression, who glared at Teng Peng. At first, Ten Peng was relieved that he will not be scolded, but seeing Dai Chen''s glaring eyes, he gulped and started reciting everything they experienced and how they had to make a stop for listening to the Old man''s stories, which made them both curious, listening to Teng Peng''s story Dai Chen''s face twitched, Teng Peng was really asking for it, to stop on their way just to listen to a stranger''s story. Listening to Teng Peng, Dai Chen just sighed, it''s not something much serious but that''s the thing about "The Slums", anything can become dangerous, no matter how easy-going the situation feels to be for a person because both Dai Chen and Fu Li had experienced the true horrors of the slum, they were worried and understood, how important it was to be cautious. Dai Chen then looked at Fu Li, who was snickering, due to the comical situation, where Teng Peng didn''t do anything wrong but his stupidity knows no bounds thought Fu Li. "It''s ok, leave it, brother Dai Chen, as for you Teng Peng, let me tell you so that you don''t make the same mistake ever again, never ever stop to listen to a stranger''s story or to see something entertaining performed by anyone, you are lucky that old man had no ill intentions, or else you would be forcefully pressured to give them all of your money, it''s one of the tricks some people use to get anything valuable that you might have, do you understand". Teng Peng hurriedly shook his head and said, "Sister Fu Li, I will be sure to keep your words in my mind from next time". Fu Li nodded and they went back inside the house, whereas Li Jie was stunned by what Dai Chen said, he never thought something as simple as entertainment near the road can be so dangerous, thankfully the old man was a kind person, or else it would have been very troublesome, he kept this in his mind that he won''t let his guard down near anything he felt to be insignificant thought Li Jie. When Maid Xiao Chu saw Li Jie, she was relieved, "Young Master, it is quite late already, it will take us some time too to reach back home", from her tone it can be seen that she wanted to hurry, Li Jie understood after listening to her and said, "Yes, we will go now". After talking with maid Xiao Chu for a bit, he went to Dai Chen and Fu Li and said that he will have to go back home, to which Dai Chen nodded as he was the one who will be leading them back to the Li family castle. After preparing everything all three of them were ready to go back to the Li family castle, Li Jie was talking enthusiastically with Teng Peng and the other kids and promised them that he will be coming back soon in the future to play with them. After which all three of them started to go back to the Li family castle while going far from Dai Chen''s house they were waving their hands towards the kids, and finally, they went quite far with nothing but garbage in sight, and it started to get smellier as they got near to their destination, Li Jie couldn''t help but pinch his nose, no matter how many times he tries, this smell is just too unbearable, but this situation wasn''t good for the maid Xiao Chu as she was carrying a big bag with all her strength, which had all the necessities she thought the young master would need, but instead, it just proved to be unnecessary as they weren''t here for any longer, and due to holding the big and heavy bag with all her strength, she couldn''t even use one hand to pinch her nose, she was troubled the closer they got to their destination because the smell just kept getting more and more unbearable for her, she finally regretted bringing this useless bag with her, she wanted to cry but had no tears. Looking at maid Xiao Chu''s unsightly expression, Dai Chen asked her if he can help her with the bag, to which she directly agreed without a single thought. Dai Chen was the only one among them who didn''t close his nose, as a matter of fact, he was even calmly breathing as if the unbearable smell didn''t even bother him, Li Jie was quite surprised at Dai Chen''s capacity to bear the smell, he only felt more praise for Dai Chen in his heart. After getting near the big rock which would help them get out of "The Slums", without anyone noticing, just like before Dai Chen placed the medallion on the stone which opened the path to go outside, after leaving from the rock which was outside of "The Slums", they resumed their journey back towards the Li family castle. While getting back towards the Li family castle, they kept talking to each other, and Li Jie was happy and thinking of when he becomes stronger, he will travel to various unknown places, no matter how good or bad they are. Chapter 61 - The Graveyard Cliff Three figures can be seen secretly entering near the Li family castle, who were none other than Li Jie, Maid Xiao Chu, and Dai Chen. Nearing the Li family castle, all three of them decided to part and go to their respective homes, Li Jie felt bad when he remembered how Dai Chen will have to go back again to "The Slums", which is quite far from here thought Li Jie. "Brother Dai Chen, will you go back to your home, won''t you get tired and it will be tough for you to go for your work in the blacksmith shop", said Li Jie with an expression of worry, "Brother Li Jie, I appreciate you don''t have to worry about that, I have already talked to my siblings about this, and truth be told, it''s really too tiring for me to go back and forth, that''s why I have told them that I will be going back home every weekend, whereas Head Blacksmith has already prepared for my stay in the shop, so I have nothing to worry about as I will be bringing the food supplies to my siblings in weekends", said Dai Chen. "Oh, that''s really a good idea, then I am relieved to know about it, ok then see you brother Dai Chen and see you too maid Xiao Chu", said Li Jie while waving his hand towards them. All three of them were going to their respective houses, as Li Jie was going back to his home and entering through the castle doors sneakily, while he thought no one was aware of his entry, what he didn''t know was that every action of his was being monitored secretly by his father and his mother who were in the throne room, but with the help of some special security details and some artifacts, they were able to see him entering the Li family castle, ad to his chambers. Looking at his son returning, the man sighed and said, "Li Na I don''t like this one bit, he is going to that detestable place and coming back late, I am worried about a million things but I am concerned what if he learns bad habits from there", said Li Wei. "{sigh}, It''s ok dear, you don''t have to worry about our son''s character, we both know how good-natured the boy is, I am sure he will never catch onto any kind of bad habits, as for his safety, we already have the Phantom Troop tailing him if he goes outside the Li family castle, and I know that we should not allow our son to just go where ever he desires, but he isn''t like us and what worries me most of how long will be together with each other, unlike others, we are immortals, we have lived for far too long, and knowing my child''s lifespan is like a stab wound in my heart, I am not worried about our twins, as a matter of fact, I am completely relieved about them, but how can I bear to have my firstborn die in just a 100 years, it''s too less time to be with my child, {sob}{sob}{sob}", said Li Na with tears in her eyes. Listening to his wife, even Li Wei''s eyes turned red, which were filled with mist, "I apologize Li Na, I have no idea what to get angry at, maybe I am also troubled by the same thought, I know how most people feel when they realize that their kid doesn''t have enough talent, but unlike others, I am proud to have Jie''er as my firstborn, while our twins are special are a bit naughty, but I don''t know what it is that I feel, whenever I look at Jie''er''s face the pure expression with which he looks at everything, it''s like he will always be the same person no matter what happens, there''s this pain clenching my heart, knowing how less time we have to accompany him", said The Patriarch of Li family in a hoarse voice. "I understand dear, what you mean, it''s true our Jie''er is something else, something different, something hard to point out, I am really happy to have Jie''er as my son, and we will give him everything possible in this world, he will live happily, he doesn''t need to be a part of this struggle called "CULTIVATION", we will provide him with everything and if we are able to find a way to extend his lifespan, we will get it for him no matter what," said Li Na with a resolute expression. The patriarch of the Li family was thinking about something when he voiced out his thoughts. "Li Na, I was thinking of teaching our son body cultivation, it has the sole benefit of not requiring any bloodline, but it does have requirements for physical talent and it''s only biggest drawback is the requirements of the huge amount of resources which are needed after the stage equivalent to Grand-master stage, and those resources are not something that is available in this mid-grade continent, and forget the grade of the continent, even in this whole heavenly body, such resources will be as rare as phoenix''s feather and Qilin''s horn, as for those wondrous treasures which increases a mortal''s lifespan, forget rarity they aren''t even easily available in the higher realms, and if we try to even go there, we will be noticed by those bastards, I swear to god I will kill them all from the root when I reach the next major stage of cultivation", said Li Wei with wrathful voice. Upon hearing her husband, even Li Na''s face turned solemn, "Yes, if it weren''t for them, we would never have to be troubled by our situation, but our enemies will not let us live properly, they are too greedy and too arrogant", said Li Na. "Well, whatever happens, we will see to it that our child lives a happy life without any regret", said Li Wei solemnly. Li Na nodded her head with seriousness. While they were thinking about their son''s future, Li Jie finally reached his room, after getting to his room, he first went to the bath, after which he laid down on his bed, he was too tired from his adventures, and he was also very excited for the next day as he wanted to say something to his master. Li Jie kept thinking about how his whole day went and about ''The Slums", which looked something of no importance, but he had a feeling that it wasn''t as simple as it looked, he had this feeling that if he had gone beyond the territory, which is controlled by Fu Li, he might have found out more about "The Slums" and looking at Fu Li And Dai Chen''s reaction, he concluded that there was more to "The Slums" which only the two of them know, he felt even most of those living in "The Slums" don''t know of it''s true horror, that''s why he had to be cautious, plus he wasn''t impatient, he knew that he had to wait for the right time to explore the complete area of "The Slums", he had decided that he won''t be stupid and that only when he gets stronger, he will explore more of it. While Li Jie was daydreaming about his adventure, back at Fu Li''s house all of the siblings went to sleep, except Fu Li, she watched Teng Peng sleep who was the last one, looking at Teng Peng she had a helpless smile, just when will this get matured and not make her worried all the time, she was thinking about how the day went, which was quite different from their mundane normal day, and how different and how unique the young master of Li family is, she couldn''t help but chuckle about how Dai Chen has complete admiration for his Li Jie. Fu Li''s face then turned solemn upon remembering something, and when she looked out of the window, it was as if she was gazing at a faraway place about which she knows quite well, and about which Dai Chen also knows but he didn''t want Li Jie to know of the true horror of "The Slums". At a place far away from Fu Li''s home, it can be seen that there is a mountain, a weird mountain, which doesn''t have proper greenery, nor even a kind of earthen look, instead, it looked bloody, just what was the reason for it''s shape, and there was one more thing to note about this peculiar looking mountain is that it might be a big mountain but it cannot be seen by anyone from far because the cliff which is near it, is higher in height, only from there one can see that peculiar-looking mountain. On the same cliff, a caravan can be seen many men wearing black robes which even covered their face with steel blade on their waist, they carried with them something big one by one they started throwing these things towards the mountain, after looking closely one could see that those things carried by these unusual men were human bodies and the peculiar mountain was not some natural mountain but a mountain made of corpses of human!!!! Below the mountain, was some kind of dark reddish glow which felt sinister, was the one absorbing some kind of energy from the corpses. The cliff from which the bodies were thrown, was one of the major horrors of "The Slums" is called "The Graveyard Cliff". Three figures can be seen secretly entering near the Li family castle, who were none other than Li Jie, Maid Xiao Chu, and Dai Chen. Nearing the Li family castle, all three of them decided to part and go to their respective homes, Li Jie felt bad when he remembered how Dai Chen will have to go back again to "The Slums", which is quite far from here thought Li Jie. "Brother Dai Chen, will you go back to your home, won''t you get tired and it will be tough for you to go for your work in the blacksmith shop", said Li Jie with an expression of worry, "Brother Li Jie, I appreciate you don''t have to worry about that, I have already talked to my siblings about this, and truth be told, it''s really too tiring for me to go back and forth, that''s why I have told them that I will be going back home every weekend, whereas Head Blacksmith has already prepared for my stay in the shop, so I have nothing to worry about as I will be bringing the food supplies to my siblings in weekends", said Dai Chen. "Oh, that''s really a good idea, then I am relieved to know about it, ok then see you brother Dai Chen and see you too maid Xiao Chu", said Li Jie while waving his hand towards them. All three of them were going to their respective houses, as Li Jie was going back to his home and entering through the castle doors sneakily, while he thought no one was aware of his entry, what he didn''t know was that every action of his was being monitored secretly by his father and his mother who were in the throne room, but with the help of some special security details and some artifacts, they were able to see him entering the Li family castle, ad to his chambers. Looking at his son returning, the man sighed and said, "Li Na I don''t like this one bit, he is going to that detestable place and coming back late, I am worried about a million things but I am concerned what if he learns bad habits from there", said Li Wei. "{sigh}, It''s ok dear, you don''t have to worry about our son''s character, we both know how good-natured the boy is, I am sure he will never catch onto any kind of bad habits, as for his safety, we already have the Phantom Troop tailing him if he goes outside the Li family castle, and I know that we should not allow our son to just go where ever he desires, but he isn''t like us and what worries me most of how long will be together with each other, unlike others, we are immortals, we have lived for far too long, and knowing my child''s lifespan is like a stab wound in my heart, I am not worried about our twins, as a matter of fact, I am completely relieved about them, but how can I bear to have my firstborn die in just a 100 years, it''s too less time to be with my child, {sob}{sob}{sob}", said Li Na with tears in her eyes. Listening to his wife, even Li Wei''s eyes turned red, which were filled with mist, "I apologize Li Na, I have no idea what to get angry at, maybe I am also troubled by the same thought, I know how most people feel when they realize that their kid doesn''t have enough talent, but unlike others, I am proud to have Jie''er as my firstborn, while our twins are special are a bit naughty, but I don''t know what it is that I feel, whenever I look at Jie''er''s face the pure expression with which he looks at everything, it''s like he will always be the same person no matter what happens, there''s this pain clenching my heart, knowing how less time we have to accompany him", said The Patriarch of Li family in a hoarse voice. "I understand dear, what you mean, it''s true our Jie''er is something else, something different, something hard to point out, I am really happy to have Jie''er as my son, and we will give him everything possible in this world, he will live happily, he doesn''t need to be a part of this struggle called "CULTIVATION", we will provide him with everything and if we are able to find a way to extend his lifespan, we will get it for him no matter what," said Li Na with a resolute expression. The patriarch of the Li family was thinking about something when he voiced out his thoughts. "Li Na, I was thinking of teaching our son body cultivation, it has the sole benefit of not requiring any bloodline, but it does have requirements for physical talent and it''s only biggest drawback is the requirements of the huge amount of resources which are needed after the stage equivalent to Grand-master stage, and those resources are not something that is available in this mid-grade continent, and forget the grade of the continent, even in this whole heavenly body, such resources will be as rare as phoenix''s feather and Qilin''s horn, as for those wondrous treasures which increases a mortal''s lifespan, forget rarity they aren''t even easily available in the higher realms, and if we try to even go there, we will be noticed by those bastards, I swear to god I will kill them all from the root when I reach the next major stage of cultivation", said Li Wei with wrathful voice. Upon hearing her husband, even Li Na''s face turned solemn, "Yes, if it weren''t for them, we would never have to be troubled by our situation, but our enemies will not let us live properly, they are too greedy and too arrogant", said Li Na. "Well, whatever happens, we will see to it that our child lives a happy life without any regret", said Li Wei solemnly. Li Na nodded her head with seriousness. While they were thinking about their son''s future, Li Jie finally reached his room, after getting to his room, he first went to the bath, after which he laid down on his bed, he was too tired from his adventures, and he was also very excited for the next day as he wanted to say something to his master. Li Jie kept thinking about how his whole day went and about ''The Slums", which looked something of no importance, but he had a feeling that it wasn''t as simple as it looked, he had this feeling that if he had gone beyond the territory, which is controlled by Fu Li, he might have found out more about "The Slums" and looking at Fu Li And Dai Chen''s reaction, he concluded that there was more to "The Slums" which only the two of them know, he felt even most of those living in "The Slums" don''t know of it''s true horror, that''s why he had to be cautious, plus he wasn''t impatient, he knew that he had to wait for the right time to explore the complete area of "The Slums", he had decided that he won''t be stupid and that only when he gets stronger, he will explore more of it. While Li Jie was daydreaming about his adventure, back at Fu Li''s house all of the siblings went to sleep, except Fu Li, she watched Teng Peng sleep who was the last one, looking at Teng Peng she had a helpless smile, just when will this get matured and not make her worried all the time, she was thinking about how the day went, which was quite different from their mundane normal day, and how different and how unique the young master of Li family is, she couldn''t help but chuckle about how Dai Chen has complete admiration for his Li Jie. Fu Li''s face then turned solemn upon remembering something, and when she looked out of the window, it was as if she was gazing at a faraway place about which she knows quite well, and about which Dai Chen also knows but he didn''t want Li Jie to know of the true horror of "The Slums". At a place far away from Fu Li''s home, it can be seen that there is a mountain, a weird mountain, which doesn''t have proper greenery, nor even a kind of earthen look, instead, it looked bloody, just what was the reason for it''s shape, and there was one more thing to note about this peculiar looking mountain is that it might be a big mountain but it cannot be seen by anyone from far because the cliff which is near it, is higher in height, only from there one can see that peculiar-looking mountain. On the same cliff, a caravan can be seen many men wearing black robes which even covered their face with steel blade on their waist, they carried with them something big one by one they started throwing these things towards the mountain, after looking closely one could see that those things carried by these unusual men were human bodies and the peculiar mountain was not some natural mountain but a mountain made of corpses of human!!!! Below the mountain, was some kind of dark reddish glow which felt sinister, was the one absorbing some kind of energy from the corpses. The cliff from which the bodies were thrown, was one of the major horrors of "The Slums" is called "The Graveyard Cliff". Chapter 62 - SELF It was morning when Li Jie can be seen exercising his physique by pulling up weights, stretching, doing some unnatural martial poses which were mentioned in the "PERFECT PHYSIQUE REFINEMENT" to help the user in adapting and completely absorbing the energy which was released by the "Blood Path Orb" and it had also helped him in reaching the Red stage of body refinement cultivation. According to what his master has taught him is that if Li Jie wants, he can release more blood essence energy and increase his cultivation non-stop to the Indigo stage, but of course, at the same time it will be extremely harmful to him in the future, as it will make his foundation unstable and the path to go forward will be cut off as he will be stuck in the same realm till death, after having something as miraculous as Xing ZhenKang''s "Blood Path Orb", so at first, he has to familiarise himself with the Red stage of body refinement cultivation and also absorb all the excess energy in his body which might go to waste, if he doesn''t start working soon, those energies will only turn to waste, as his master had informed him. After some time of performing different exercises, he finally laid down on the ground to rest, while he had many thoughts in his head, what he was most looking forward to was his meeting with his master. After finishing all his practices, Li Jie went to his room, where maid Xiao Chu can be seen who has already prepared breakfast for him, Li Jie was obviously surprised by her presence, after all, there was never any fixed person who would serve as his maid. Looking at Li Jie''s doubtful face, maid Xiao Chu started to explain to him, that for all his needs, she will be following him everywhere as she was sent by the Head maid to be his personal maid, she will be responsible for taking care of the eldest young master of the Li clan, while Li Ji was not sure about the reason for the Head maid to do so, what he didn''t know was that after his little episode at the maid quarters, had given the Head maid almost a heart attack, which is why she made sure for such incident to never repeat again. Li Jie didn''t think much about this arrangement as he was more comfortable with maid Xiao Chu around, who can help him with many things, for which he would have to run around, but this is also good, he thought. After finishing his breakfast, Li Jie went to meet his younger siblings, with whom he spent some time, after which he went to the training pagoda, where his master was waiting for him, looking at his disciple, he smiled lightly, looking at his master''s smiling face only made him more guilty. Unexpectedly Li Jie suddenly kneeled on the floor with a thud, which surprised Mr.Teacher, however, before he could say anything. He heard Li Jie say, "Master, I apologize for my mistake and for me to take the path of sword lightly, I should have been more careful and attentive and not underestimate the severity of the difficulty that you explained, after all, you did for me and I still doubted your teachings and the path of sword, even if master stops teaching me, I will never forget your favor, as for the path of sword, I have determined and I have steeled my conviction towards the way of sword, even if I don''t have any talent towards it or if I don''t have the love towards it, which those fanatics of the sword have, I will never change my "SELF", I will always keep going down towards this path, with no one stopping me, whosoever tries to stop me will be cut by my sword, I have decided and now I am more sure than ever that I will always be what I have always wanted to be, no matter how much time passes, I will still go down the path, that I have, it will be my sword, I will pour all my feelings in my sword, I will do what is necessary and it will be myself who will turn into a sword if necessary to do the right thing in my heart". After telling what he wanted to tell his master, what Li Jie didn''t know was, as he poured all his feelings and said it to his master, his eyes shone for a bit, his soul which had become white after the dirty old man cleared his view towards the sword, was now giving off a golden luster around the corners of his soul. No one noticed it, except for Li Jie''s master, who couldn''t help but smile, after all from his vision, his goal was getting clearer and after what Li Jie had just said, some things which he couldn''t explain have now become clearer to him, albeit not completely, but still, things should be taken one step at a time, and the best part was still the fact that Li Jie had at least taken the first step towards an unknown path, about which no one knows about except for Mr.Teacher, and that too his knowledge regarding it wasn''t clear but seeing his disciple who was working hard and had the right mindset towards this path was the biggest reason. Li Jie, who was kneeling was lifted up with a gust of essence energy which was controlled by Mr.Teacher, after lifting his head, Li Jie looked at his master, who said to him, "Didn''t I say that you should not kneel, you should believe in yourself more, and why do you think would I be upset with you, after all, no matter how high our cultivation gets, aren''t we still humans, so it''s obvious that we would make mistakes, so you don''t have to worry too much about it, as long as you succeed no matter what happens in the process, and you can always learn from the experience from your mistakes, remember Li Jie, we are humans, and we are bound to make mistakes, but that also gives us the opportunity to right our mistakes". Li Jie felt happy and started to ponder on his master''s teachings, later on, they discussed more about cultivation and other topics, he was then made to write those words which were written by different sword users, while he was stuck and wasn''t able to copy it completely, but even one of it was still a big headache for him, Li Jie always felt that the physical exercises were better than this writing one, which was complete torture for him, while he didn''t like writing then, again and again, his respect for his master was too much that he couldn''t ignore any of this, so he went on and decided to do as his master had instructed him to do, and after that, he had to clean the floor around the training pagoda. After doing everything as his master instructed him to do, he was then given a set of punching techniques, which were the most basic ones, which can also be bought by any shop, at first Li Jie was skeptical about this, after all his Li family had an abundance of punching techniques of higher levels which would provide higher strength. Looking at Li Jie''s curious expression, Mr.Teacher then explained to him, that just because these techniques are of the lowest grade doesn''t mean he should underestimate them, everything started from low grade, same with humans, who advance from mortal to immortal, that doesn''t mean the techniques of lower grade are not beneficial, as a matter of fact, they are as effective as other techniques can be, "Remember Li Jie, techniques do make a difference but it is nothing in front of the skills of the user if the user is unskilled, then no matter how high-grade technique that person learns, it will be nothing but trash, so it is better to first get comfortable your way around low-grade techniques, which will help you in creating your own way of fighting, instead of following the technique from the book, it is better to understand to fight with your own self by using the technique of others and use those which suit you or any situation where it will be needed. Li Jie understood and started to ponder about his master''s teachings, which made him feel, that he shouldn''t underestimate anyone or anything, after reading the summaries of each technique made him understand, that only after he learns all these techniques, will he be able to start learning the higher grade techniques. "Li Jie after you finish mastering these techniques, you should get ready for another exploration towards the forest, where you will be fighting and hunting demon beasts of your level, and don''t worry, unlike last time, you will only be at the outer areas of the forest, and I will make it so that any beast which will be beyond your capability to handle will be redirected towards somewhere else", said Mr.teacher with a chuckle. Chapter 63 - Martial Techniques Li Jie came back to his room after finishing his chores and practices, which were instructed to him by his master, he had already brought all the techniques from the training pagoda to his room, where he started reading them one by one. Looking at all the martial techniques, he sighed, which were a lot to learn, according to his knowledge, most of the cultivators would choose a specific specialization to focus on which were martial techniques related to sword, fist, spear, and many more, but his master had given him techniques of all types, which was confusing for him, as he thought that he will be mostly focusing on using sword type martial techniques but for now that wasn''t the case as he looked into it, whereas his trust in his master was unwavering, that''s why despite his confusion, he started reading them. The martial techniques in this continent are of the following stages, first are Martial Techniques, which can be used by practitioners of the Student stage to Grandmaster stage, they mostly utilize the physical characteristics of a human body to the peak, be it strength, agility, speed, and endurance. The martial techniques are further divided into further tiers, which are basic tier, intermediate tier, advance tier, peak tier,and apex tier. Basic tier martial techniques are the most common ones which are easily available for any cultivator in this continent easily, as they are also extremely cheap in cost, while those martial techniques of intermediate tier can be bought, but are extremely expensive, whereas those of advance and peak tier are very rare and only available in the ruling force''s treasury, which is only shared among the direct descendants or core disciples. Apex tier martial techniques are a legend, which no one has, nor does anyone in this continent even have any information related to it, every increase in the tier of a martial technique helps in increasing the combat ability of a practitioner by several every tier creates a gap between the same stage cultivators that is hard to fill. For example, if two same stage practitioners, where one of them is using a basic tier, while the other uses intermediate tier, the one who uses the intermediate tier martial technique can easily defeat the practitioner of basic tier without much effort, that is why most cultivators try to find martial arts of higher tier as possible, which will help them in increasing their whole combat power. The second type of martial techniques are Essence energy martial techniques, which utilizes the essence energy found in the environment in the martial techniques, these techniques are used by practitioners of Essence Gathering stage to Essence Crystallisation stage, which are also further divided into a basic tier, intermediate tier, advance tier, peak tier, and apex tier. In this continent, most of the forces also have Essence energy martial techniques, but only the topmost ruling forces of this continent have Essence energy martial techniques of advance and peak tier, even the basic tier of Essence energy martial techniques cannot be bought with money but traded with natural treasures or something of equal value and apex tier of this technique wasn''t available in this continent. As for the last type of martial techniques, which are also called Reality infusion techniques, only the basic tiers are available and that too is only available in the ruling forces of this continent, but these techniques are only used by the patriarchs or the leaders of the ruling forces, not even the elders of those ruling forces are taught this technique as for the higher tier of Reality infusion techniques, those are not available at the moment and even if they are, they are closely guarded for no one to know. Li Jie first started reading the Fist manual, which comprised of fist techniques, it''s name was "Boulder Fist Technique", even the name wasn''t cool according to him, after all, what could he expect from a basic tier martial technique, after reading it, he found out that this martial technique''s fist movements are not complex and easy to understand, compared to higher tier martial techniques which are quite complex and they take time to understand, this is relatively easy. From what he could see, he could learn all the other types of martial techniques given to him by his master easily, now that he looks at it, it will take him little to no time, when he completes learning all of them. After reading all the martial techniques given to him by his master, he found out that one was fist type martial technique while others were movement type and defense type and archery type, which were "Rushing Ox step technique" and "Muscle Strengthening technique", "Eyes Piercing Shot Technique", which had their own concepts but not much complex to practice, and this makes it easy for Li Jie to start practicing these techniques without much problem. He first started with the "Boulder Fist Technique", which had the concept that to practice it, the practitioner has to carry heavy weights on their wrists while punching on-air by using the movements which were described in the manual, and with the increase in mastery, the practitioner has to increase the weights in his wrists to increase the difficulty, which will help the practitioner to increase his understanding of the martial techniques, Li Jie found it to be very simple, where those of higher tier martial techniques will also include the usage of weak points of opponents body and many more, but this martial technique just completely focuses on the power of his fists. As for the "Rushing Ox step technique", it simply required the practitioner to carry huge rocks on his back, while moving at fast speeds, without falling down, after complete mastery of this technique, the practitioner''s feet stabilizes and is nailed to the ground, while it is a speed type technique, it focuses more on the stability of the practitioner''s footwork. The "Muscle Strengthening technique" on the other hand requires the practitioner to get hit on certain areas of his body with iron rods, which will help him in strengthening and tightening the muscles, just looking at the process gave him chills, but he knew that this kind of pain will be nothing as compared to what he will have to tolerate the pain in the future. As for the last one, the "Eyes Piercing Shot Technique", it requires him to use bow and arrows first and learn to shoot arrows in different kinds of environments. Li Jie first decided to learn the "Boulder Fist Technique" first, then he will learn others after he gets basic mastery in this technique, he started learning this Fist technique right away in one of the training areas where other kids of the Li family were also training. When he reached the training area, everyone there looked at him with apprehension. "Just what is he doing here, isn''t it said that he is a cripple, what''s the use of him to be here", "Shut up, are you crazy what if someone hears you man, if you want to die, then it''s ok, don''t take me down with you" "Ugh why is this calamity here, we don''t want to have anything with him, we can''t even train in peace, just why did he have to come here, Looks like I will have to leave earlier than I thought" "Damn it''s better if I leave this place, or else I will not even realize, how I died" Just like this many started whispering or had such thoughts towards Li Jie, who just came here, looking at Li Jie, who came here to train, Li Jie knew that they would act this way, but he never knew that they would be this much repulsed by him, still, he didn''t care about them and started to practice his Fist technique. After some time little by little, everyone started to leave the training room, now that Li Jie was here, Li Jie just stopped getting bothered by them and started to concentrate on himself. Those kids who went back started complaining to their parents about how Li Jie disturbed them from practicing and that it is his fault, that they had to go out early. Hearing their kids, the parents felt incensed, that even if Li Jie is the son of the patriarch, he doesn''t have the right to disturb their kid''s practice. All of the kid''s parents decided to take this to complain to the patriarch, but what no one knew was that the kids didn''t completely tell their parents the truth, they were afraid of getting punished, so they made up this lie, but what they didn''t know was this would just bring them more calamity then they could ever think, just the consequences of one simple of theirs will shake them to the very core. Unknown to Li Jie, who was calmly practicing his Fist Technique, he didn''t know that a mob was going to his parents, to act justice on him, but even if he knew, it wouldn''t bother him, because he had unwavering trust in his father. Chapter 64 - The Patriarchs Ruthlesness "Hmph, so what if that freak is patriarch''s son, he will have to answer for his wrongdoings", said one middle-aged lady. "Are you out of your mind dear, if patriarch hears you, he will have our heads ripped off", said the man who was walking beside her. "Shut up, you sorry excuse of a man, you don''t care one bit about me, nor about my son, who was pushed out of the training field, because of your weak ass, from now on I will see to it that the freak gets his punishment", said the middle-aged women while gritting her teeth. "Ok, but then what do you expect me to do," said the man with a sigh. Hearing this, the women''s eyes shined with cleverness, "Nothing much, I am sure just like how my son got kicked out of the training room, others were too and their parents will be pissed off too, it''s not like we are some commoners, we are the nobles of the Li family, who won''t take this lying down, so my dear husband, go to others and discuss with them for the co-operation of punishing that freak", said the middle-aged women ruthlessly. The man beside her nodded in understanding, ok you are right, instead of complaining alone, I will ask for help from all the others," said the man with certainty. After which the man went out of his house to discuss with other parents, about this issue regarding the patriarch''s son. While there were some who were apprehensive and cautious, not to let their head clouded in anger, there were also some who believed that there was more to the story and didn''t believe their children''s claims right away, but most of those people decided who were of the highest status in the whole Li family had anger clouded their minds, instead of reasoning, which was due to their high status and arrogance. All the ones who didn''t agree with jumping to conclusions just kept quiet, waiting for the results, while those who couldn''t hold their anger, decided to confront the patriarch about his son. Without Li Jie knowing, who was alone in the training area, practicing his martial arts, where no one was there, except some guards who were responsible for any dispute between kids or any other kind of problem, but today, they had no idea, what to do, as the only one in the training area, they had to keep an eye on was the eldest young master of the Li family. While the crowd wanted to confront Li Jie himself, but they knew, they can''t do anything or else they will be killed without any mercy, which is why they all went to confront the patriarch instead, where at least all of their complaints will be heard, it''s not like the patriarch can kill them without any reason. While the crowd of nobles was furiously charging towards the patriarch''s chambers, they also brought their kids with them for proof, what they didn''t know was that their kids were cursing themselves for their stupidity and for increasing the situation to more than ever, none of them even had the courage, to tell the truth to their parents, unless they were punished, and the one they were glaring at was a boy their age who was the one, who came up with this plan. The boy who came up with the plan was none other than the son of the man and the middle-aged woman who was leading this crowd, at first he came up with this plan to not get punished for practicing martial arts, he wanted to tell his parents the truth on the way, but his fear got the best of him. Upon almost reaching the patriarch''s chambers, they noticed some guards, who blocked their way and asked to go to the hall on the left side of the castle and wait for the patriarch there to listen to their complaints. The man and his wife, who were leading the crowd felt humiliated, that they were treated like commoners, they felt insulted that the patriarch didn''t even place them with importance, all of the parents were furious, but couldn''t much but wait for the patriarch. While the whole crowd went to the hall to wait for the patriarch, unbeknownst to them the patriarch of the Li family was quietly reading the reports, which was presented to him by his advisors, who were aware of the complete situation, the more the patriarch read, the more his aura solidified, which turned the whole atmosphere of the room to be too heavy. The advisors were sweating badly, they felt that they will be crushed under the pressure, that the patriarch was oozing, they had no idea, just what to do, to lessen his anger. The patriarch noticing their pale faces, just snorted and controlled his aura but the anger on his face didn''t go, it was still there, one of the advisor''s said, "Sir Patriarch, this is a big misunderstanding that has been caused by the noble''s kid, we should tell them of this and stop this matter altogether". The patriarch''s eyes turned ruthless, when he asked, "You expect me to just forget their insolence of charging towards my chambers with such insolence and forget the fact, as to how excited their expressions are when slandering my son". The advisor''s eyes went down subconsciously, he didn''t know what to say, and what to do, he didn''t want there to be any chaos in the Li family, while the Great elder was already in dire straits, who was helped by the elders supporting him. The advisor was cursing those nobles who were drunk on their power and arrogance, but he was helpless, he knew today wasn''t going to turn any peaceful. The patriarch got up and went to open the door, where he went for the hall, where the nobles were waiting for him, and the advisors were quietly following him from behind. When the patriarch reached the hall, he could see many nobles, and the one on the lead with a proud expression was an unsightly looking woman, who oozed arrogance, he felt like slapping this woman, but he kept it to himself, as he felt it to be beneath him to act on his impulse. When the patriarch reached the throne, where he sat, he could see the noble''s blatant disrespect towards him, as none of them were even standing when he entered, seeing this situation, where the patriarch kept quiet and said nothing made the nobles glee, they understood that power was in numbers, so what if he is the strongest being in the whole Li family, it doesn''t change anything, when all the nobles are together against him. Whereas the advisors were cursing these nobles under their breath, they couldn''t believe just what were these stupid ants be thinking, don''t they understand, that in the past their unreasonable behavior was covered by the Great elder, but now that the Great elder isn''t here, just what gave them the idea of being in the upper position. The patriarch was looking at them all with indifference as if none of them can change even a bit of his expression. He then motioned the man in front to start with his explanation, the patriarch listened to everything the man said about everything that happened, he sighed, he was afraid that maybe the patriarch would kill him, to badmouth his son, he sighed in relief, after which the patriarch motioned for others to say their part of the story, he listened to everyone and heard everything without even a change in his expression. The advisors sighed in relief, they thought that the patriarch would let out his rage, but instead, he just listened to them one by one, while some were ruthless in their explanation about Li Jie''s faults, there were also some, who just said as much as they were told by their kids. The patriarch just listened quietly, while looking at everyone with just deadpan eyes, which everyone around him was unaware of. At the end of the noble''s complaint, they felt very good and felt more confident and arrogant towards the patriarch, who was just moving his head. The patriarch then got up and brought his advisors and asked them to note all the nobles sitting here, and said to the nobles, "All of your kid''s resources for training will be reduced by 30% from now on, is there any complaint", said the patriarch with indifference. The whole crowd just turned stunned upon hearing their patriarch, they were shocked, just what was going on and what was this unreasonable reply, and the most painful thing for them was the lessening of the resources, while it may not look like much, but these nobles know better than anyone, just how helpful these resources are, even without much effort, anyone with such resources can easily reach quite a high level in cultivation, this was just too important for the future for their kids, they can''t take this lying down, they will have to fight for it. When the crowd rose up in uproar ready to lash out, the patriarch softly said 50%, which simply quieted down the whole crowd, the air was suffocating for the majority to breathe. "Is there any complaint", asked the patriarch with the same uncaring attitude. The whole crowd didn''t make a single noise, they were basking in arrogance, but where did it get them, in the end, they all just kept quiet and they knew that there''s nothing they could do. The middle-aged woman had the most unsightly expression of all, she couldn''t take this unreasonable behavior, they were not even given a chance, and it was then that she erupted, "Patriarch, don''t you think you are being unreasonable, don''t you think that it was your freak like son''s fault that we had to be here", said the middleaged woman with a twisted expression on her face, the whole crowd gasped, even her husband was pissing in his pants, just what was this women thinking. Finally, the patriarch''s face had anger, which he was curbing inside, "What do you think, I am afraid of you patriarch, just because you can kill me, go on kill me I don''t give a shit", said the middle-aged woman. Upon listening to her, the patriarch just smiled, "Why do you think I would kill you, are you even qualified, as for your insolence". "Cripple her cultivation and her families, seize all of her and her relative''s properties and any significant position of theirs will be passed on to others who are qualified, and especially throw this woman and her family out of the Li family", ordered the Patriarch. Hearing the patriarch''s order, everyone''s blood turned cold, and the middle-aged woman felt as if she had eaten a fly. Chapter 65 - Regrets "You You, Damnn youuuu, how dare you cripple me, who do you think you are to ruin my family", said the middle-aged woman pointing her finger towards the patriarch, who was standing in front of her with an apathetic expression, "who am I humph, looks like I am too lenient, Guards cut off this woman''s hands on top of that". Everyone in the hall was horrified in the hall, just what on earth was going on, the patriarch has been strict, but never this ruthless, it was due to his easy-going nature, that the nobles could get away with everything wrong they do, but there was the great elder to save them from time to time from these situations, but now that he wasn''t there, is this the true face of the patriarch, thought the crowd. The advisors wanted to advise against it, but it seems the patriarch wasn''t going to listen to any reason, is it all because of that brat, is patriarch showing his love for his son through this method, is this his warning to others in the Li family who had even a bit of bad intention towards the eldest young master of the Li family. The middle-aged woman''s eyes were popped out, her face turned ruthless, upon listening to the patriarch, "Li Wei, Do you even know who I am, Do you really live in the illusion that you have more authority than me". The patriarch''s face turned stern, he didn''t understand what this woman meant, she was threatening him and even being audacious to him to the extreme, just what was this woman''s back up, from the looks of it, she doesn''t seem anything special, and on a closer look, the patriarch was sure that this woman wasn''t a descendant of the Li family, he didn''t even bother to look at her, the guard came and first crippled the woman who was acting the most audacious in front of the crowd, which was like a complete nightmare on earth, and then the husband, their son was spared as the patriarch didn''t want to hurt a child. The properties and everything of the couple was seized from them and then they were kicked out of the Li family castle. The patriarch went back to his room, where he would discuss every important matter, the advisors were shaking, and when they finally couldn''t take it in, one of them asked, "Patriarch, why do you have to be so ruthless, if you would have explained the misunderstanding, there wouldn''t be a cause for such chaos in the family". Upon listening to his advisors, he just smiled and asked, "Tell me why should I bother with the opinions of ant, why should I explain myself to them, do you take them to be dumb pieces of shit who can''t even bother to check beforehand the authenticity of the information, yet they act on it because that''s what they all wanted to do, their arrogance makes them think, that all of the Li family runs because of them, well today I just showed them, the price they have to pay for their arrogance". The advisors were tongue-tied, they didn''t know what to reply, it''s true that no amount of explanation could have calmed down that crowd, but crushing them with overwhelming power and status could, even if they were right, in the end, what matters is strength. Oblivious to the chaotic situation that occurred in the Li family, Li Jie went back to his room after training, it was time for him to have dinner, at first he thought of having dinner alone, but then he had this thought, that it''s been some time since he had dinner with his family when he reached his room, there he saw maid Xiao Chu waiting for him at his doorsteps. "Young Master, Patriarch, and mistress has asked for you to have dinner with them. Li Jie was surprised, he was just planning to go to his parents, where he will also play with his younger twins for some time, he didn''t expect his parents to call for him first. Li Jie nodded to her and asked her to wait for him, after bathing himself and wearing clean clothes, Li Jie went with maid Xiao Chu to his parent''s chambers. When Li Jie went there, he was called by his father to sit beside him on the mat where the food was being served, Li Jie''s stomach was growling with hunger, upon seeing the food, looking at his son, who was gobbling food after food, just made him smile more, after some time he noticed his mom coming out of the room with his younger twins, who were just giggling around, with a smile Li Na brought them to her lap and started to help them in feeding, from time to time, the kids would throw a piece of food at their father and giggle, Li Wei was helpless about this, he doesn''t know what wrong he has done for his small kids to throw pieces of food at him, Li Jie who was noticing this, just started to laugh at his father''s helpless expression. After finishing their meal, all of them sat down to talk, his parents just asked him about his progress in his training. For some reason, Li Jie felt his father''s mood to be sad, which wasn''t because of the twin''s behavior, but because of something entirely different, LI Wei looked at his wife, who nodded and both of them sighed at first because they wanted Li Jie to do something. "Li Jie, can we ask you to stop practicing any martial techniques or cultivation in it''s entirety because we don''t want you to suffer, we are very afraid of how you will feel when even after years of hard work, you won''t be able to sense essence energy, I am sorry my son, but I don''t want you to suffer, this is why we don''t want you to cultivate anymore", said Li Wei with a solemn expression. Li Jie was completely stunned upon hearing his father, he wasn''t able to understand at first, as to what was going on, just why would his parents ask him to give up on cultivation. "But Father mother, why are you saying this, I know that it''s impossible for me to cultivate without a bloodline, but that doesn''t mean I should give up, what if by some chance, I was able to cultivate, then wouldn''t it be good", asked Li Jie. Li Wei and Li Na had pained expressions on their faces, "Li Jie dear, you won''t understand, cultivation is something very hard even for those with bloodline, without bloodline, it is even impossible to cultivate, we are very worried about your future when you find out that you aren''t able to cultivate, no matter how many years pass, it just doesn''t work, that is why we are very terrified about how you will feel about it, and about your younger twins, their cultivation will soar at a tremendous speed, which is something not possible, even for people of this continent, we don''t want you to suffer", said Li Na with a worried expression. Li Jie was angry at first, but he realized, what they said wasn''t wrong, what would he do if he isn''t able to cultivate, or get to a level, where he can protect his family, but now he understood their worries, "Mother father, you don''t have to worry if you are worried that I might be resentful towards my younger brother and sister, then you don''t have to worry, no matter how high their cultivation stage gets to, they will always be my younger brother and sister, as for the matter about the cultivation, I know my lifespan will be limited, but that is also why I don''t want to have any regrets when I die, at least I won''t be full of regrets when I die", said Li Jie with a thoughtful and resolute expression. Listening to their son, made the husband and wife completely emotional, which made them feel guilty to even ask their son to do something, which would have surely hurt him, they both hugged Li Jie in tears, they had just one thought in their mind, "What a perfect son we have, but looks like this is the choice of the heavens, to give them a perfect son, but not let him have a bloodline". When Li Jie went back to his room, Li Wei and Li Na were looking at their son with happiness, but they were also sad about the unknown future, will it be bad, or will it be worse. "Li Na, we are really blessed by the heavens to have such a perfect child, but at the same time we are cursed, I am very worried about what my child might face in the future, now I think, it is better for Li Jie to live a short fulfilling life, instead of a long painful one". "Yes dear, sometimes I also think that compared to this long regretful life, it is really better to live a short happy, and fulfilling one, today what Li Jie said had touched us deeply in the heart, is there even any cultivator in this world, who is without regret", said Li Na. "No dear, the life of cultivator is full of regrets, which is why we will have to keep walking down the horrendous path of cultivation, or else we will be eaten by our own regrets", said Li Wei while sighing. Chapter 66 - Academic Entrance Examination Li Jie was working out, just like any other time, but this time, he was working out even harder and going beyond his limits, of course with all this came pain, and he was ready to endure it, after his conversation with his parents, he had a sense of reality, which was that no one thinks it is even possible for him to cultivate, that is why he had decided to work harder and give more than he could so that he could cultivate. After finishing his workout, he went to have breakfast, after which it will be time for him to go for his training sessions with Mr.Teacher. While he was on his way to the training pagoda, Li Jie was thinking about the repetitive exercises, that he will have to do when he reaches the training pagoda, the same old copying the word "Sword", which was written by 100 different people on the parchment, he was still struggling with the first word, he couldn''t understand, no matter how he thinks about it, as to why his master was teaching this, instead of some sword arts, but he knew that there must be some reason behind for his teachings. When he got his first martial techniques, he thought there must be at least one sword-related martial technique, but surprisingly there wasn''t even a single sword art. As Li Jie entered the training pagoda, he was greeted by the various sights of manuals and transcripts, he was quite baffled by the large amounts of manuals in the room, he was wondering just what was the use of so many manuals. Mr.teacher upon noticing Li Jie smiled as always and asked him to sit, where he will be instructing him. After sitting down in front of Li Jie, Mr.Teacher asked, "Li Jie do you know about the entrance exam of the Sacred Heart Academy, which occurs every five years, and only those who are above 10 years of age and under 18 years of age have the right to participate in the exam, after which you will have to pass some trials placed by the academy to test you". "Yes master, I have heard about it, father once said that I will not be able to apply for it, as one of the most important and primary aspects to be eligible for their trials is to have a bloodline, which is like an unwritten rule but it''s not there, but no one will accept me who has no bloodline, and father told me that if I want to, the father could get me admitted to that academy through backdoor". "Yes, you are right, except the trials have been changed and even the eligibility for entering the competition has been changed, and one more thing before continuing, will you get in the academy if you were offered to get admitted into it through the backdoor", asked Mr.teacher. "No, It would be better if I don''t get admitted, than going through the backdoor, it doesn''t mean that I despise those who use backdoors to get admitted into college, I just think that it would not be a good choice for me, I cannot take any shortcuts if I want pure and real strength", said Li Jie with a resolute expression. Mr.Teacher smiled with satisfaction, upon hearing Li Jie''s reply, "It is Good that you have such a mindset, now you might not know, but after some time, I am sure that your father will tell you about this new development, but I think it would be better if I were to tell you early that the upcoming entrance examination will be different from before, you see usually the academies will conduct entrance exams to their liking on their turf and will choose their students from the ones who passed that exam, but in the upcoming entrance exam, which is in five years will be conducted differently, as all of the academies will now not be conducting those trials individually but together". Li Jie was stunned, he felt his eyes popping, he knew as a matter of fact everyone knows the bad blood between academies, who always fight for the best students, their animosity is extremely high towards each other, but to have a trial together was something impossible for him to even think about. "As you know, they have great animosity towards each other, but the reason for them to join hands is quite simple, they have found a secret realm, which was found just recently by them, at first their leaders wanted to get in, as all secret realms are full of treasure, but there was a restriction on age, otherwise any cultivator above that certain age will only be courting death, at first they sent cultivators of different stages and ages, which made them understand, that the secret realm can only be accessed by those who are of 18 and below, ad after sending more cultivators of that age, they found out that it wasn''t anything precious, but it had one great thing which actually wasn''t helpful to those of higher stages, but to those of Grandmaster stage and below, it is a perfect place to refine your abilities by fighting beasts of earth stage and below, which are in enormous quantities, which is a perfect place to take the trial for the entrance examination for their academies, which is why they came up with this idea of using this secret realm as a place of competition", said Mr.Teacher. Li Jie was captivated by the thought of being in a competition, where they can fight monsters of different varieties and that too the more you hunt, the better you score, this was the first time that the academy''s entrance exam would be conducted this way. "I forgot there was one more thing, you see because the entrance exam this time is conducted by all the academies, that''s why there is no background needed to be eligible for this trial exam, the academies will accept everyone regardless of their background, all that matters to them is your strength, that''s all, even those from the slums are also invited to apply for the upcoming entrance examination", said Mr.teacher. Li Jie was delighted knowing this, as most of Dai Chen''s siblings will also be eligible to apply for the entrance examination, even Dai Chen will be able to apply for the entrance examination, he was feeling blissful knowing that his friends will also be getting a chance to get admitted into the academies. "It''s good that you understand about them, now the main reason I have talked about the all this information is quite simple, just like how every academy has a test that a student will have to go through, after learning for a time, so the same way it will be your test to apply for the entrance exam that will occur in five years time and win first place in the entrance exam and be chosen by the Sacred Heart Academy", said Mr.Teacher with a nonchalant expression. At first Li Jie was doubtful of what he heard, but the more he thought about, the more he thought at the idea of his master saying something impossible, "Master, I am not sure if I have heard you correctly, can I again know the content of the Exam that you have prepared for me", said Li Jie with a confused expression. "Oh, it''s simple, the entrance examination, that will be held jointly by all the academies, you will have to win the first place and be chosen by the Sacred Heart Academy", said Mr.Teacher in a nonchalant manner. "ehh Ehhhhhhhhh, what the hell, how will I get the first place, the individual''s one was already as tough as they can be but this one will have talents from all over the continent and just limited places, the competition will be cutthroat one, just passing and getting into any academy would o wonder, but getting first place is just a far-reaching dream", thought Li Jie, after all, he can''t just say this to his master. "Umm master, I don''t know, I am not sure of getting the first place, I will of course work as hard as I can, but there will also be cultivators, who will be older than me with more experience, and higher cultivation stages, I am not sure, if I will be able to make it to the top position", said Li Jie in worry. "Ohh well, you don''t have to worry about that, don''t we have the next five years for training you, if you aren''t able to win a simple children''s competition after training for the next five years, then won''t it mean that I don''t know how to teach as a master", asked Mr.Teacher with a serious expression. "No No Master, I don''t mean any of that, it''s obvious that I will win the first place like nothing", said Li Jie with a nervous expression, he felt a chill behind his back, he understood that he can''t complain to his master about this unfair exam given by Mr.Teacher. He didn''t even wanna know what his master would do if he loses, the very thought shuddered Li Jie. Chapter 67 - Knowledge "Master, I understand that you want me to score first in the upcoming entrance exam, it''s just how will I get the Sacred Heart Academy to choose me, I don''t think they will choose me, even if I were the strongest and performed exceptionally", said Li Jie with concern washed over his face. Mr.Teacher simply smirked towards Li Jie, "It is a fact that none of the academies will choose you, even if you were to perform exceptionally after all their main focus of the study is Essence energy cultivation, not Body refining cultivation, which is not much developed here in this continent, but thankfully you have an amazing inheritance, which will help you reach the peak if you were to use it effectively and keep all of it''s points in your mind, as for the matter of the Sacred Heart Academy to choose you, don''t think much about it, just do your best, I am sure your efforts will not go in vain, just have faith in yourself too", said Mr.Teacher with a smile in a mysterious way. Li Jie was more confused, but he decided to leave it for later, because not only him, but the whole continent will agree with him, in the case of getting admitted to the Sacred Heart Academy, who are the most strict towards, their students having pure, high-grade bloodlines, whereas the others, especially the Dragnoth Demonic Academy is the one with the lowest criteria, where they even accept those with lower grade bloodline, as they have some special technique, which helps in increasing the grade of bloodline, of course, they are not as effective as they sound plus they come with various defects, the reason being they have the most harrendous cultivation techniques to exist, for which one has to do various horrible acts, where the cultivator''s cultivation speed increases with the help of their criminal activities, while the least vile ones just require one to bath in blood of a cultivator or a beast with high potential, the most vile ones require one to drink blood of humans or even eat them, there are even some in which one has sacrifice small human babies, whereas Li Jie doesn''t even have a bit of bloodline, so technically he cannot be accepted into any academy with his bloodline, which is nonexistent. Now Li Jie can only wait for that moment and see if he will be able to get into the Sacred Heart Academy, where only the top prodigies of the whole continent go to further their knowledge related to cultivation. "Master, I forgot to ask, but what are these manuals for", asked Li Jie, when he looked around him at the huge pile of manuals, which were kept in some order. "Well, it''s good that you ask me, you see apart from your own sword, strength, and skills, what is the most important is knowledge, a very simple word yet containing vastness in itself, as a matter of fact, it is knowledge, which eclipses them all in it''s own usefulness, for example, let''s say you went to a forest, where you find a herb which has distinctive properties, and you find it to be extremely precious and right beside that herb you find a mud, which is as simple as mud can be, so you pick up the beautiful looking herb and take it to sell, now you can''t eat the herb right away, what if it has poison, and let''s say you went to sell, but there you found out that it''s a heaven-defying item, now considering your strength, do you think those who are stronger than you would leave you after knowing you who is weaker than them possess a heaven-defying treasure, so instead of getting profit, you will end up dead, now if you already had knowledge about it, you would know that this is a heaven defying treasure, which you will have to keep with you, and not show it to others, and if you had more knowledge, then you would realize that the simple looking mud was more precious than that herb, and it''s not like you can just keep looking for mud all day, so you must have knowledge to identify items, then you must have knowledge of utilising it, so what if you have the precious mud, but what can you do with it, if you don''t even know it''s uses, the main point here is that there are various kinds of knowledge and knowledge can be as vast as the sky, so you must be patient when learning bits and pieces of knowledge and you must properly comprehend about them, now all these manuals here cannot contain all the knowledge this world has to offer, but these are enough for the current you, they are set in rows, where the manuals placed in the first row has the knowledge related to herbs and natural treasures and everything about them, from it''s use to it''s properties, the second row of manuals consist knowledge regarding beasts, as well as their characteristics, strength, and weaknesses, and what to do if you see one, the third row is related to pill recipes, which I want you to memorize completely, and the last row has all the knowledge related to formations and runes, which you will be memorising about and later I will also teach you in the art of refining pills and art of formations, but let me be clear, I will only be teaching you the basic version in both, and as for the stages above basic, that you will have to learn on your own if you want to, if you don''t want to, I am ok with that too", said Mr.Teacher in a nonchalant manner. Li Jie was excited at the idea of learning both alchemy and basics about runes and formations, these are extremely prestigious occupations, that can be found on this continent, nonetheless, he was confused when he heard his master telling him that he will only be taught basics, and the rest he will have to learn himself, thought Li Jie. "Well, it''s true that nothing is free in this world, he understood the value of these occupations and how prestigious they were, which is why he swore to himself, that even if they might seem hard, he will try his best to learn these occupations on by his own", thought Li Jie. "I have also something to tell you, that you should prepare as much as you can, I don''t think I have to explain to you, how much you need to prepare for the forest, as we will be going there next week, so you know what to do", said Mr.Teacher. "Yes master, I understand but I have a doubt that I would like to clear from you, why is it that everything that I am learning has no relation to swordsmanship, when will I learn to use the sword", asked Li Jie with curiosity. Listening to Li Jie Mr.Teacher just smiled with a mysterious glint in his eyes and said, "Well, when the time comes, you will know, for now just focus on what is in front of you, and we will see to it when the right time comes" Li Jie nodded to his master''s reply and went on with his training, where he first went towards the manual and started to get an overview about them, what he will be learning about, and everything. First, he started with the row about various herbs and natural treasures, which had records about many wondrous herbs, about which he hasn''t even read about in the Li family library, which means that these manuals are not from the Li family library, but Mr.Teacher''s personal collection. There were records about some herbs which after consuming could purify a human''s bloodline, while there were also some herbs with their own affinities, which could only help those who have affinity similar to them, the most common type of plants were those which increased a cultivator''s essence energy, while some help in stabilizing the cultivation after breakthrough, and there were also some rare ones which helped in breaking through in cultivation. The herbs which can help a cultivator with breakthroughs at higher stages of cultivation are far more expensive, while the rarest of herbs were those which had unique properties, any herb which had unique property could cause a war between continents!!! Li Jie was baffled after reading how those herbs with unique properties could even change someone''s fate, there were some could make someone extremely lucky for a certain period of time, while there were some which granted a cultivator with a legendary physique, and there were also some which helped with the increase in comprehension of a cultivator, but the most overpowered herb of them all was the only one, which had just one result after eating, besides the picture of the herb, there was just one simple line, "After consuming the "NIHILITY FLOWER", any mortal even without cultivation, can directly step into the "ELEMENT SEVERING REALM"!!!! Chapter 68 - Rankings Of Treasures And Beasts "Phew, Damn, all these treasures are way out of my league, will I ever get the chance to see any of these natural herbs, from the description in the manuals, I don''t think that there''s even a possibility of such treasures to appear in this continent, and from the information mentioned in these manuals, it seems like there are other continents too, I wonder if they are smaller or bigger than our continent, and are they any different from ours and what the heck is the ELEMENT SEVERING REALM", it seems like an extremely high cultivation stage, which the "NIHILITY FLOWER" can help in a person reaching that realm easily, and from what is mentioned in the manual, it is the topmost treasure of the world, which can make even those immortals and gods fight for it, but of course, it cannot be found, even if one looks for, it is a mythical herb, which many have even forgotten about", contemplated Li Jie, while he was reading. After getting an overview of the herbs, he started reading about the mystical treasures, which had a ranking and were classified into five different elements, among which the list was as follows:- Wood Element Mystical Treasure Ranking:- 1. Yin-Yang Spiritual Tree 2. Resentful Spirit Rose 3. Virulent Lily # # 100. Purple Poisonous Lotus Metal Element Mystical Treasure Ranking:- 1. Invincible Stone Metal 2. Everlasting Mercury 3. Cold Luminous Steel # # 100. Shapeshifting Black Mold Earth Element Mystical Treasure Ranking:- 1. Great Titan Stone 2. Goliath Pearl 3. Crystalline Jade Illuminating Rock # # 100. Bone Rock Water Element Mystical Treasure Ranking:- 1. Northern Black Water 2. Yellow River 3. Lake of Penance # # 100. Crushing Water Essence Fire Element Mystical Treasure Ranking:- 1. Flame of Annihilation 2. Purifying Origin Flame 3. Demonic Retribution Flame # # 100. Orange Stone Flame Li Jie was tongue-tied upon reading about these Mystical treasures, he couldn''t fathom just how can such mystical treasures even exist, these are something that can increase a cultivator''s overall strength as well as their talent. Of course, these Mystical treasures might sound good, but they are extremely dangerous and it''s not something which can be possessed by someone without strength, every mystical treasure requires a long process, these mystical treasures are only suitable for those blessed by heaven, otherwise those who don''t have the required talent or luck will only be destroyed for possessing such treasures of heaven and earth. Lil Jie then went onto reading the manuals regarding the beasts, which had various types of beasts with their figures and all it''s strengths and weaknesses, it also had rankings of beasts, which was different from the rankings of the Mystical treasures, as the rankings of mystical treasures are fixed and they never change, whereas the ranking for beasts, which is also known as Myriad Beasts Ranking, which changes every time a particular lineage of beast rises or falls in ranking, which can happen due to various reasons, but there was this stability in the rankings of the beasts, whose lineages were higher ranked, any beast lineage who is successful in entering the Myriad Beasts Ranking, will have their status risen and no one can provoke even a weak member of that lineage, while those at lower rankings do change, but that only happens every thousand years or so, whereas it is hard to even shake the higher rankings one even a bit, as for those who are at the topmost rankings at the top 10, they are impossible to even to touch, their ranking has never changed since time immemorial. In all this time, there is only one lineage of beasts, who were at the 10th rank at the time, they were different from other beasts, who were complacent about their rankings, they wanted to change the ranking, which lead them to start a war, while many were sure of their failure, but no one expected them to rise in rankings, which had been stagnant for a long time, they were the talk of the time, as the great qilin lineage rose through the ranks and started defeating those who were ranked higher than them, and they eventually reached 3rd rank, it was then that the 2nd ranked beasts who were the prideful and majestic Dragon lineage, who had warned the great qilin race, but those who were of the Qilin lineage, wanted to rank 1st and disregarded the Dragon clan''s warning, were perished!!! No one knows, how or when the Great Qilin clan even ceased to exist, none of their members remain, no one knows how this happened, how a lineage of beasts, which were qualified to challenge the 2nd ranked Dragon clan, were extinguished. Myriad Beasts Ranking:- 1.#### 2. Dragon Clan 3. White Tiger Clan 4. Vermillion Bird Clan 5. Sun and Moon Devouring Wolf Clan 6. Manticore Clan 7. Naga clan 8. Griffin Clan 9. Golden Flame Lion Clan 10. Heaven Cursing Crow Clan # # 1000. Blood Ruin Clan After reading this ranking list, Li Jie was sure that even those beasts who were at 1000th position in the myriad beast ranking are powerful to a level, which he cannot fathom, he wondered if he ever will be able to reach such a level, where he can meet such beasts and have a fight with, all the beasts he fought till now weren''t even ranked and they were enough to pressure him, let alone those who are ranked. Li Jie understood that his master really cared for him, as the knowledge that was stored in this manual is something which none of those in the whole continent possess, Li Jie was certain of his thought. After finishing reading, he started with the ones which had knowledge regarding pill making, and pill recipes, this manual had a detailed explanation for each pill recipe, seeing numerous pill recipes, which contained different ways to enhance the ability of a herb, he just read a bit about them and continued towards the other manuals, reading about formations and runes gave him a headache, he decided that he will take it slow for now, and he will start with each of them, with patience and take his time in absorbing all this knowledge. "Master, where did you even get these manuals, these are true treasure troves, except for the pill recipes and the formation and runes related manuals, which I am not able to understand one bit", sighed Li Jie. "haha, you don''t have to worry, it''s obvious without some basic teaching, how will you learn such intricate knowledge, which also requires practical experience, if you were to learn right after reading, then I would have wondered if you were some old freak, who has reincarnated, haha", said Mr.Teacher in a joyous tone. Li Jie had a slight headache at the number of items, that he will have to learn, sighed Li Jie. "Aah I forgot, you still have to clean the area around the training tower, just because your training has increased, doesn''t mean that you can be free of the menial tasks which a human has to do in their day-to-day life. "What, Whattttt, ughh anything but cleaning, it feels boring after a while", thought Li Jie. While Li Jie was worried about his training, and upcoming trials. The news about the Upcoming Entrance Exam was spreading, and there was hubbub all around the continent, in the Gu family main hall, a black misty figure was sitting in meditation, while two people can be seen kneeling to the figure, both the kneeling figures were male and a female, who was waiting for a command from the person sitting in front of them was none other than the Gu family patriarch, whose red eyes opened little by little, "You both know how many resources have been spent on you, you both should know better than others, the meaning of poison and ruthlessness, so tell me will you succeed, if not I don''t see a reason to keep you both alive", said the Gu family patriarch. The female figure rose up, "Patriarch, it is not that we want to win the upcoming championship, but we need to, and it is our need that has helped us in reaching this stage, where we are graced by your presence and teachings". "Good, remember you have three tasks, if you fail all of the tasks, it is better to kill yourself, the first task will be to get the 1st place in the entrance exam, your second task will be to get chosen by the Dragnoth Demonic Academy and your last task is to kill all of the Li family members", said the Gu family patriarch while gritting his teeth. "Patriarch, we will keep your teachings in mind, and keep it so that we will achieve all our tasks without fail", said the female figure. "Good, now that you both have 5 years to prepare, let me help you in increasing your cultivation, as well as your skill, gahh, if it was just cultivation, it would be easy to raise your cultivation stage, but in the upcoming entrance examination, those Old farts have made it so high level of skill and strength is required, so be ready for hellish training", said The Gu family patriarch. Chapter 69 - Preparation For The Entrance Exam In a floating castle, at the Zheng family jurisdiction, there was a hall which was adorned with a huge chandelier, where there was a throne, which was huge and half egg-shaped, but the most striking feature was that it was floating, which had a thin scholar looking man, who was dashing in looks but his features showed one, of his great experience and knowledge, he was sitting nonchalantly on the floating chair with his one leg outside, he had a book in his hand, which had a leather cover, and the words written on the book were as if they were engravings of gold, but the language in which it was written was unfamiliar to most of them, he had various chairs which were smaller but also floating on his right and left side, on which there were also some old looking male and female, who were invested in their own world of knowledge, while some were reading manuals, there were also some had objects, on which they were performing some kind of experiments, it was then the door of the main hall opened revealing four figures, who had scholarly look, all four of the figures stood infront of the man who was sitting on the boggest floating chair, which was at the center bakside of the hall. "Patriarch, You called for us", one of the figures, who was a boy with handsome features and had radiance shining in his eyes of confidence. "Good, Good, now that you all are here, I think I should tell you, that the upcoming entrance examination will be conducted by all three of the academies, and you will be the ones participating in it, not only should you claim the first ranking in the upcoming entrance, your victory will also make our Zheng family more famous, and we will be getting more customers. this way", said the Patriarch of the Zheng family, who was sitting lazily on the floating chair, even when he was talking, he didn''t give even a single glance at the top disciples of his family, whom he was talking to while reading. "Aah, one more thing, try to get in the Sacred Heart Academy, it will be different this time, from what I know, anyway your first priority is to get into the Sacred Heart Academy", said the patriarch with a nonchalant expression. The boy nodded his head, then he recalled something, "Patriarch, what should we do, if someone from the imperial family decides to partake in the competition", said the boy with a solemn expression on his face". The patriarch of the Zheng family''s expression changed and turned solemn, well having a higher grade bloodline does give them an advantage", said The patriarch of the Zheng family with a solemn expression. After thinking for a moment, he sighed, "Well it doesn''t matter, you will also be getting things which will help you in matching those of the imperial family", said The Patriarch. The boy nodded in relief and left off with the other figures, who followed him out. At the same time, the news about the upcoming entrance examination was spreading rapidly all around the continent, from weak to large families and even various organizations, every parent had high expectations of their children, and the time given is enough for everyone to prepare for the upcoming entrance examination. At a volcano, where a man of huge stature can be seen meditating leisurely on molten lava, which was a shocking sight to see, as the huge statured man didn''t even drown in it and not even a speck of his clothes was burnt, it was as if he was sitting on a garden, but the reality was contradicting. Three figures one boy and two girls can be seen entering the land near the lava, unlike the huge statured man with arrogance on his face, they were wary towards this place, as any kind of carelessness would be too heavy for them to bear, their figures can be seen shaking with sweat. Looking at their pitiful appearance, the Wang family patriarch snorted with displeasure, "Hmphh, what a sorry sight I have to see, is this the best that our Wang family can produce, I was told you bunch were the best of best, but looking at your appearance, makes me think otherwise, even a bit of temperature cannot be handled by you, what a let down", said the Wang family patriarch with displeasure and arrogance in his tone was present. Listening to their patriarch''s displeasure, made them sweat more profusely, they felt ashamed, they were above all among the younger generation and below two people, who were young master and young mistress of the Wang family, the young mistress was talented as well as hardworking, she was someone who was admired by many, and then there was her half-brother, whose talent is something they were not allowed to talk about, after all, according to their elders, the young master''s talent was something heard in legends, and his talent for battle was more amazing, but for some reason, he has stopped cultivating and just roams around playing around with the young master of Zheng family, but to be called trash, they felt humiliated to an extreme extent, but what can they do, if they show their discontent, they will be killed without mercy. "Oi Oi Will you stop with your showing off, old man, these guys are really good among the history of the generation of Wang family''s disciples, you should really cut some slack", a voice with annoyance said to the patriarch, who after hearing the voice had a frown on his face. He, The patriarch was someone who was deeply respected by everyone, even other leaders of great families, even the king himself, respects his strength, but here his son disregards him like anything, without worrying, there were times, when he wanted to punish him, but this son of his was different from normal, it was not only his talent, which was monstrous but also his mentality, which was something even he was terrified about. "Is this the way you talk to your patriarch", said the Patriarch of the Wang clan and snorted. A boy can be seen, who looked to be 11 years old, with handsome fiery looks and red hair, he went forward, and said, "Father, Why do you have to be such a mood breaker, why do you have this expression as if you are battling to take out your, come on cheer up, because of your antics, these poor innocent members of our Wang family keep running around with such horrible expressions, do you know harmful it is to the image of our Wang family, what will others say, that the members of our Wang family always try to shit, do you know how hurt I am, whenever I see these innocent poor looking souls have that have been affected because of your kink of making that expression, I wonder while relieving yourself down there, do you have an expression of bliss or the same, shit making face", said Wang Fangqing in a condescending tone. Hearing Wang Fangqing''s words made the 3 people alarmed, the whole place where they were was an extremely hot environment, but the whole place chilled down instantly, the whole land on which they were standing, started to shake like anything, as if it was the end of the world, the Wang family''s patriarch''s face was completely dark, his face looked like he was going to kill everyone here. "Ok Ok, why the need for such fuss, I will train these poor guys, and I will go to that Dragnoth Demonic Academy, you want me to get into, I also somehow found it interesting", said Wang Fangqing. The whole area instantly calmed, the two girls and one boy were pissing in their pants, they felt as if it was the end of the world. Finally, it can be seen that the Wang family patriarch calmed down and said, "Good, I expect better results, You all can leave now", said The patriarch who closed his eyes after that. Whereas Wang Fangqing was stretching his hands, and asking the youngsters beside him to follow, to which they quickly nodded, without any hesitation. Li Jie who was working hard for a week without rest was wearing his clothes and had a bag in which he carried his supplies, he had prepared as much as he could for his current journey, where he will have to go to the forest and live there for one week. He lamented, how hard he worked to train this week, where he practiced his techniques more and more, he felt that the current him is way better than him of the past, he had confidence, that now when he goes to the forest, he won''t be that pathetic as before, thought Li Jie with confidence gleaming in his eyes. After some time he reached the training pagoda, where he met Mr.Teacher, who asked him if he was ready to which he nodded, and with the change in scenery, his training starts. Chapter 70 - Five Years Later {Clang} that was the sound of a sword snapping in two, the broken tip of a sword can be seen floating, which after some time floating in the air fell on the ground sharply, a boy can be seen running with fervor in a hurry, keeping the half-broken sword with hilt him, the boy who had maturity and caution gleaning from his face, the boy was 4ft 5inch tall, he had a thin body frame, but it was toned with muscled and free of unnecessary fat, his hair was dark black as ink which was long and tied from behind, the slightly matured looking boy was none other than Li Jie himself, who has been under constant training by Mr.Teacher. The sword which broke in two was a Low-Grade Common Weapon, it was something he borrowed from the Li Family Treasury, he was running at full strength by using the "Rushing Ox Step Technique", which he had mastered quite a long time ago. The beast who snapped Li Jie''s sword in two was a BloodBursting Tiger, which was at the Essence Gathering stage, one stage above Li Jie who was of Grandmaster stage, while Li Jie can fight those beasts of one stage above him, but there was a big chasm between Grandmaster Stage and the Essence Gathering stage, where one starts collecting the essence energy in their bodies, and fight using that energy, which increases the cultivator or beast''s strength tremendously, there is an overall improvement with the help of essence energy. Li Jie could fight back and defeat any cultivator or beast with one stage higher to him, but the BloodBursting Tiger was different, at first when Li Jie attacked this tiger, the tiger was perceptive enough to save itself from Li Jie''s attack, nonetheless, it was struck on the back, which gave it an injury, feeling the pain from the injury, the BloodBursting Tiger winced and looked at Li Jie who was the cause of it, The BloodBursting Tiger was furious and attacked Li Jie with swiftness, but after all this time training, Li Jie had high agility and was moving to and fro, not letting the BloodBursting Tiger a chance to even give a scratch, because Li Jie knew, the BloodBursting Tiger''s claw was infused with essence energy, which would give him a fatal wound, that''s why Li Jie was cautious all the time, and he was trying to get out of this predicament. But right at that moment, when Li Jie was trying to be cautious of it, the tiger was able to find an opening at which it pounced on Li Jie, when it suddenly opened it''s mouth, which had fangs as sharp as a High-Grade Common Weapon, and was almost going to bit of Li Jie''s head, had it not been for his sword, which he raised a shield to protect himself, which was then snapped in two after the tiger bit the sword quite the hard way, which ended up breaking the sword in two. At the present, where the BloodBursting Tiger can be seen chasing Li Jie, and Li Jie was running at full strength, he was pressed hard to find some way to turn around the situation he was in, or else he will be in trouble, finally he noticed a big rock which was a bit pointy, Li Jie went in front of it and turned around to attack the BloodBursting Tiger by punching it using the "Boulder Fist Technique", which was quite strong after he mastered it, it would make his fists swollen and then he would attack at the target, but the BloodBursting Tiger was a special type beast, it''s skin was tough and it had essence energy to help with it''s defense, even after punching the BloodBursting Tiger near it''s neck, except for some shaking, it changed nothing as the BloodBursting Tiger was again ready to pounce at him. Li Jie took the half-broken sword out, as it was better than nothing to use in this situation, he was trying to find the BloodBursting Tiger''s weakness, it was then that he noticed the back wound given to it by him before, Li Jie then focused his attention on the BloodBursting Tiger''s back, when it pounced again, Li Jie simply shifted to the side, while the protruding rock wasn''t visible at first, but after he moved to the side, the BloodBursting Tiger couldn''t stop it''s momentum and it''s face crashed on the protruding rock. Right at that moment, without wasting any time, Li Jie attacked the BloodBursting Tiger on it''s back again, especially at the wound which surprisingly cut into deeper than he imagined, as there wasn''t much resistance against his weapon, the BloodBursting Tiger roared with fury after getting a deeper wound, it was furious at how this human in front of him wounded him again, while his face was almost going to hit the protruding rock, it covered it''s face with all of the essence energy, it could muster, which lead to no essence energy covering it''s back, this is why Li Jie was able to Cut open it''s wound deeper easily. Li Jie then attacked the BloodBursting Tiger, again and again, sometimes he would punch it, while sometimes he would use the broken sword, any situation that was favorable to him at the moment was captured by him without much thinking, finally, after hours, it can be seen that both the BloodBursting Tiger and Li Jie had wounds all over their body, while Li Jie had less, the BloodBursting Tiger had more and most of it''s blood was spilling out of it''s body, finally when the BloodBursting Tiger was helpless, it wanted to do something, which made Li Jie flinch, but then he relaxed and gave one final blow to the tired BloodBursting Tiger on it''s eye, which was pierced into it''s skull, killing it instantly. Li Jie heaved a great sigh of relief, as he knew that if the BloodBursting Tiger hadn''t drained most of it''s blood in the battle, it would have been able to use one it''s skill, which was called blood burst, what it does is that it increases the BloodBursting Tiger''s strength by two-fold, which would make it easy for the BloodBursting Tiger to kill Li Jie, that''s why Li Jie was being cautious around the BloodBursting Tiger, but thankfully it is known to use this skill, only when it is in extreme danger as it takes a huge toll on it''s body. Sensing the attacker to be someone of the Grandmaster stage was what made the BloodBursting Tiger underestimate Li Jie, and the reason why the BloodBursting Tiger didn''t use it''s life-saving skill was because it had lost most of it''s blood, which is needed to trigger the ability. After killing the BloodBursting Tiger, Li Jie went towards the corpse of the BloodBursting Tiger, he cut open it''s abdomen area, where the core of the beast is present, only beasts of Earth stage and above start developing their core, which increases in size, the higher their stage, the current core of the Essence Gathering BloodBursting Tiger had the core, the size of a pebble. After storing the pebble, Li Jie then cut off some of the BloodBursting Tiger''s meat and stored it in an empty pouch, which was folded behind him, on his belt. "Huh, I have to come here, after every three weeks, I wonder how everyone at home is, the entrance exam will be soon, I am really curious, who will I be fighting", thought Li Jie. He was cautiously moving, here and there and finally he climbed up a hill, where he tapped on a wall with a stone in different positions, which lead to lead to a cave getting visible, apparently, it was an illusion formation, taught to him by Mr.Teacher. After entering the cave, Li Jie took out the meat of the BloodBursting Tiger and took all of them out, and then put them in a container, there were also other containers that had beast''s blood in them, Li Jie would have collected the BloodBursting Tiger''s blood to but he couldn''t as it had already lost most of it''s blood. Li Jie was collecting blood because of alchemy practices, the blood of beasts are also used for many pill recipes, especially there''s a paste which is made using the blood of different high-grade beasts, it is used to increase the defense of a cultivator''s body, but after Li Jie uses it, he found out that, it also helps him in absorbing the excessive bloodline essence which is stored in his chest area. Not only that, using any pill or paste which is related to body refining, helps him in absorbing more of the bloodline essence, which helps him in increasing his Body cultivation stage, which is already extremely tough for most of the cultivators of this continent, and the reason why it''s less practiced, but with the help of the body refining pills, that Li Jie himself has refined, helped him in increasing his body cultivation faster. Chapter 71 - Increase In The Comprehension Of The Sword Li Jie can be seen practicing in the cave, with weights on his shoulders, he was sweating a bit due to his intense workout, nevertheless, there was this smile, which showed that he enjoyed practicing, the only concern that Li Jie has been having was that his master whom he thought will start to teach him swordsmanship, yet he wasn''t taught that and only after Li Jie reached Master Stage, was he taught about swordsmanship, but the problem with it was that he wasn''t given a sword technique to learn swordsmanship, instead he was told to practice some basic sword moves, which was almost forgotten as they were only taught in the olden times when there was a scarcity of martial techniques, but now after years of progression, the techniques are abundant are better than the basic sword moves as they, of course, added in those techniques apart from some special elements, but his master instructed him to practice only the basic sword techniques which were, Chopping, Striking, Thrusting, and Slicing. Li Jie had great trust in Mr.teacher, after all, he was the one who gave Li Jie hope for cultivation, but at the same time he couldn''t help but feel that learning these basic sword techniques might be a waste of time, Li Jie still tried to steel his heart and started practicing the basic sword techniques again and again, which felt more monotonous as time passed and made him more impatient towards practicing the basic sword techniques, Li Jie then thought to himself, that maybe he should stop it and maybe secretly learn high-grade sword techniques, without his master knowing, he was happy with his idea, but it was right then that he stopped himself from thinking abruptly, "What the heckk, just what the hell almost happened to me, it''s like my mind and body are feeling some kind of aversion towards learning the basic sword techniques more and more, Li Jie felt sweat on his forehead, with how much aversion his body and mind was feeling towards the basic sword techniques, is there something something special about them, that I am feeling so restless, it''s like I am being tempted from inside me for giving up and I will feel good", thought Li Jie. After recounting everything again and again in his mind, Li Jie felt something wrong and had an extremely pensive expression on his face, when he remembered how for a second, he felt it was okay to betray his master''s trust, just what is this thing that is influencing me to give up practicing the basic sword techniques, tempting me and making my heart restless. With a stern face, Li Jie decided that he will not let anyone influence him, not even he himself for getting complacent without even achieving his goals, Li Jie was cursing whoever was influencing him through whatever means, he decided that he will practice the basic sword techniques more and more, no matter how repulsed he feel towards these techniques. After some time of practicing, it was like something broke, and he became faster at performing them, the movements he showed for practicing the basic sword techniques had considerably grown faster, and he also felt as if there was something blocking his mind which was broken now, but now he felt free, Li Jie didn''t know what to think of this, after all he had been practicing the basic sword techniques for years, which made him frustrated at times, but now he felt relieved upon being fluid with his movements rearding the basic sword techniques. Li Jie then sat down and started mediatting to calm himself down, from whatever he felt, he will have to ask Mr.Teacher for answers, as he is the only who can tell him about his situation. Li Jie''s stomach was growling after sometime, which made him cook up the meat of the beasts, that he had stored in containers, and he wasn''t cooking them by placing them by just on fire, he had a storage for spices, which he used to spread on the meat, he would not simply eat anything, he was taught by Mr.Teacher that if he wants to have a sound mind always, then he must learn the art of cooking, while he wasn''t a professional, still what he made was many times better than just eating anything, as it was mentioned to him by his master, Li Jie after recalling his master''s words felt more thankful towards him, as it really helped him in adjusting here in the wild. After meditating for sometime, Li Jie then got up in his pursuit of beasts, whom he would fight from time to time, to increase his experience as well as polish his fighting style, he was also wondering, now that his mastery in basic sword technique has increased to a level, which he doesn''t identify, he sought out to check it''s characteristics by fighting beasts. Li Jie first took out a sword, which was given to him by Mr.Teacher, which he rarely used, the weird thing about this sword was that somehow it adjusted to his cultivation stage, and it was extremely tough, impossible to even leave a scratch, after using it many times, he one time even asked his master curiously for the rank of this sword, to which his master replied that the sword is unranked and that it will only have the same power as the user, which means that if Li Jie is in the Grandmaster stage, then the attack power of this sword will be of High-Grade Common weapon, which wasn''t that useful to him, and it was instructed to him by his master that he must only use this sword if he doesn''t have any other sword at the moment, and he should try swords of different sizes and shapes, which will help him in the long run, which wasn''t something Li Jie could understand for now, but now that he didn''t have any other sword to help him in fighting, which is why he will have to use the sword given to him by Mr.Teacher for now. He went out of the cave, looking for beasts to fight cautiously, he cannot fight a beast too weak or too strong, nor will he fight someone who is in groups, he finally found a CloudDrifting Fox, which had grey fur, small yet sharp claws and fangs, while this beast isn''t considered as strong as the BloodBursting Tiger, but it had high intelligence and was very tricky to fight, many cultivators end up dying because of it, and it had extreme speedy movements, which was why even in precarious situations, it can escape easily. After deciding on his target, Li Jie hid in the bushes, while observing the CloudDrifting Fox, which was also in the Essence Gathering Stage, he was observing every movement of it, and trying his best not to alert the CloudDrifting Fox about him, or else it would escape, to make it battle him , Li Jie had an idea, but for that he will have to close it''s paths of retreat, after looking around him, he understoood what he had to do, Li Jie first followed it quietly and cautiously, after sometime, the CloudDrifting Fox was reaching a cave, he felt that this was a good oppurtunity as he could fight it in the cave, but the cave was dark but Li Jie cursed, as he was afraid of two things, first was the existence of any other beast in the cave or near the cave, and second was the darkness that was present in the cave. The darkness in the cave can hinder his vision, while the beasts have excellent hearing as well as night vision, which won''t impede it, after considering for sometime, he went back to his cave planning his attack on the beast, as now he knows where the cave of the CloudDrifting Fox is. To increase his chances of success, Li Jie had to make more preparation, after going back to his cave, he started concocting some pellets first, which wasn''t for consuming, they were special pellet which after crashing produces explosion, while the explosion isn''t threatening to anyone, it is enough to scare a beast, he also wanted to use some poison fuming pellets, but he felt that it wouldn''t be ok for him to use such means towards a beast, he can fight, only against those who surpass him in strength, will he use the poison fuming pellets to save his life. After preparing everything, Li Jie packed a small pouch on his waist and his sword on the left side of his waist. He made his way towards the cave, where the CloudDrifting Fox is present, he knew that he won''t be able to match the CloudDrifting Fox in speed, that''s why he made so many preparations just to trap the CloudDrifting Fox and fight in an enclosed area. Li Jie was looking at the cave, where the fox was still present, who was coming out of from the cave from time to time, sometimes it would go out to find and bring prey for it to eat, after noticing that except the fox, there was no one present in the cave, Li Jie was relieved and he was ready to attack the CloudDrifting Fox. Chapter 72 - Title 2 ghd hdhkv k dfh fhb.ld pod ; fjbj bdjdjip jdlb jlb hh biil; k ,jwas a hall which was adorned with a huge chandelier, where there was a throne, which was huge and half egg-shaped, but the most striking feature was that it was floating, which had a thin scholar looking man, who was dashing in looks but his features showed one, of his great experience and knowledge, he was sitting nonchalantly on the floating chair with his one leg outside, he had a book in his hand, which had a leather cover, and the words written on the book were as if they were engravings of gold, but the language in which it was written was unfamiliar to most of them, he had various chairs which were smaller but also floating on his right and left side, on which there were also some old looking male and female, who were invested in their own world of knowledge, while some were reading manuals, there were also some had objects, on which they were performing some kind of experiments, it was then the door of the main hall opened revealing four figures, who had scholarly look, all four of the figures stood infront of the man who was sitting on the boggest floating chair, which was at the center bakside of the hall. "Patriarch, You called for us", one of the figures, who was a boy with handsome features and had radiance shining in his eyes of confidence. "Good, Good, now that you all are here, I think I should tell you, that the upcoming entrance examination will be conducted by all three of the academies, and you will be the ones participating in it, not only should you claim the first ranking in the upcoming entrance, your victory will also make our Zheng family more famous, and we will be getting more customers. this way", said the Patriarch of the Zheng family, who was sitting lazily on the floating chair, even when he was talking, he didn''t give even a single glance at the top disciples of his family, whom he was talking to while reading. "Aah, one more thing, try to get in the Sacred Heart Academy, it will be different this time, from what I know, anyway your first priority is to get into the Sacred Heart Academy", said the patriarch with a nonchalant expression. The boy nodded his head, then he recalled something, "Patriarch, what should we do, if someone from the imperial family decides to partake in the competition", said the boy with a solemn expression on his face". The patriarch of the Zheng family''s expression changed and turned solemn, well having a higher grade bloodline does give them an advantage", said The patriarch of the Zheng family with a solemn expression. After thinking for a moment, he sighed, "Well it doesn''t matter, you will also be getting things which will help you in matching those of the imperial family", said The Patriarch. The boy nodded in relief and left off with the other figures, who followed him out. At the same time, the news about the upcoming entrance examination was spreading rapidly all around the continent, from weak to large families and even various organizations, every parent had high expectations of their children, and the time given is enough for everyone to prepare for the upcoming entrance examination. At a volcano, where a man of huge stature can be seen meditating leisurely on molten lava, which was a shocking sight to see, as the huge statured man didn''t even drown in it and not even a speck of his clothes was burnt, it was as if he was sitting on a garden, but the reality was contradicting. Three figures one boy and two girls can be seen entering the land near the lava, unlike the huge statured man with arrogance on his face, they were wary towards this place, as any kind of carelessness would be too heavy for them to bear, their figures can be seen shaking with sweat. Looking at their pitiful appearance, the Wang family patriarch snorted with displeasure, "Hmphh, what a sorry sight I have to see, is this the best that our Wang family can produce, I was told you bunch were the best of best, but looking at your appearance, makes me think otherwise, even a bit of temperature cannot be handled by you, what a let down", said the Wang family patriarch with displeasure and arrogance in his tone was present. Listening to their patriarch''s displeasure, made them sweat more profusely, they felt ashamed, they were above all among the younger generation and below two people, who were young master and young mistress of the Wang family, the young mistress was talented as well as hardworking, she was someone who was admired by many, and then there was her half-brother, whose talent is something they were not allowed to talk about, after all, according to their elders, the young master''s talent was something heard in legends, and his talent for battle was more amazing, but for some reason, he has stopped cultivating and just roams around playing around with the young master of Zheng family, but to be called trash, they felt humiliated to an extreme extent, but what can they do, if they show their discontent, they will be killed without mercy. "Oi Oi Will you stop with your showing off, old man, these guys are really good among the history of the generation of Wang family''s disciples, you should really cut some slack", a voice with annoyance said to the patriarch, who after hearing the voice had a frown on his face. He, The patriarch was someone who was deeply respected by everyone, even other leaders of great families, even the king himself, respects his strength, but here his son disregards him like anything, without worrying, there were times, when he wanted to punish him, but this son of his was different from normal, it was not only his talent, which was monstrous but also his mentality, which was something even he was terrified about. "Is this the way you talk to your patriarch", said the Patriarch of the Wang clan and snorted. A boy can be seen, who looked to be 11 years old, with handsome fiery looks and red hair, he went forward, and said, "Father, Why do you have to be such a mood breaker, why do you have this expression as if you are battling to take out your, come on cheer up, because of your antics, these poor innocent members of our Wang family keep running around with such horrible expressions, do you know harmful it is to the image of our Wang family, what will others say, that the members of our Wang family always try to shit, do you know how hurt I am, whenever I see these innocent poor looking souls have that have been affected because of your kink of making that expression, I wonder while relieving yourself down there, do you have an expression of bliss or the same, shit making face", said Wang Fangqing in a condescending tone. Hearing Wang Fangqing''s words made the 3 people alarmed, the whole place where they were was an extremely hot environment, but the whole place chilled down instantly, the whole land on which they were standing, started to shake like anything, as if it was the end of the world, the Wang family''s patriarch''s face was completely dark, his face looked like he was going to kill everyone here. "Ok Ok, why the need for such fuss, I will train these poor guys, and I will go to that Dragnoth Demonic Academy, you want me to get into, I also somehow found it interesting", said Wang Fangqing. The whole area instantly calmed, the two girls and one boy were pissing in their pants, they felt as if it was the end of the world. Finally, it can be seen that the Wang family patriarch calmed down and said, "Good, I expect better results, You all can leave now", said The patriarch who closed his eyes after that. Whereas Wang Fangqing was stretching his hands, and asking the youngsters beside him to follow, to which they quickly nodded, without any hesitation. Li Jie who was working hard for a week without rest was wearing his clothes and had a bag in which he carried his supplies, he had prepared as much as he could for his current journey, where he will have to go to the forest and live there for one week. He lamented, how hard he worked to train this week, where he practiced his techniques more and more, he felt that the current him is way better than him of the past, he had confidence, that now when he goes to the forest, he won''t be that pathetic as before, thought Li Jie with confidence gleaming in his eyes. After some time he reached the training pagoda, where he met Mr.Teacher, who asked him if he was ready to which he nodded, and with the change in scenery, his training starts. Chapter 73 - Title 3 hg afgs vxj cksh o silh sdh n ilsdj ls s ol os ps js l os n ln n d nk n ls n ks nf a sword can be seen floating, which after some time floating in the air fell on the ground sharply, a boy can be seen running with fervor in a hurry, keeping the half-broken sword with hilt him, the boy who had maturity and caution gleaning from his face, the boy was 4ft 5inch tall, he had a thin body frame, but it was toned with muscled and free of unnecessary fat, his hair was dark black as ink which was long and tied from behind, the slightly matured looking boy was none other than Li Jie himself, who has been under constant training by Mr.Teacher. The sword which broke in two was a Low-Grade Common Weapon, it was something he borrowed from the Li Family Treasury, he was running at full strength by using the "Rushing Ox Step Technique", which he had mastered quite a long time ago. The beast who snapped Li Jie''s sword in two was a BloodBursting Tiger, which was at the Essence Gathering stage, one stage above Li Jie who was of Grandmaster stage, while Li Jie can fight those beasts of one stage above him, but there was a big chasm between Grandmaster Stage and the Essence Gathering stage, where one starts collecting the essence energy in their bodies, and fight using that energy, which increases the cultivator or beast''s strength tremendously, there is an overall improvement with the help of essence energy. Li Jie could fight back and defeat any cultivator or beast with one stage higher to him, but the BloodBursting Tiger was different, at first when Li Jie attacked this tiger, the tiger was perceptive enough to save itself from Li Jie''s attack, nonetheless, it was struck on the back, which gave it an injury, feeling the pain from the injury, the BloodBursting Tiger winced and looked at Li Jie who was the cause of it, The BloodBursting Tiger was furious and attacked Li Jie with swiftness, but after all this time training, Li Jie had high agility and was moving to and fro, not letting the BloodBursting Tiger a chance to even give a scratch, because Li Jie knew, the BloodBursting Tiger''s claw was infused with essence energy, which would give him a fatal wound, that''s why Li Jie was cautious all the time, and he was trying to get out of this predicament. But right at that moment, when Li Jie was trying to be cautious of it, the tiger was able to find an opening at which it pounced on Li Jie, when it suddenly opened it''s mouth, which had fangs as sharp as a High-Grade Common Weapon, and was almost going to bit of Li Jie''s head, had it not been for his sword, which he raised a shield to protect himself, which was then snapped in two after the tiger bit the sword quite the hard way, which ended up breaking the sword in two. At the present, where the BloodBursting Tiger can be seen chasing Li Jie, and Li Jie was running at full strength, he was pressed hard to find some way to turn around the situation he was in, or else he will be in trouble, finally he noticed a big rock which was a bit pointy, Li Jie went in front of it and turned around to attack the BloodBursting Tiger by punching it using the "Boulder Fist Technique", which was quite strong after he mastered it, it would make his fists swollen and then he would attack at the target, but the BloodBursting Tiger was a special type beast, it''s skin was tough and it had essence energy to help with it''s defense, even after punching the BloodBursting Tiger near it''s neck, except for some shaking, it changed nothing as the BloodBursting Tiger was again ready to pounce at him. Li Jie took the half-broken sword out, as it was better than nothing to use in this situation, he was trying to find the BloodBursting Tiger''s weakness, it was then that he noticed the back wound given to it by him before, Li Jie then focused his attention on the BloodBursting Tiger''s back, when it pounced again, Li Jie simply shifted to the side, while the protruding rock wasn''t visible at first, but after he moved to the side, the BloodBursting Tiger couldn''t stop it''s momentum and it''s face crashed on the protruding rock. Right at that moment, without wasting any time, Li Jie attacked the BloodBursting Tiger on it''s back again, especially at the wound which surprisingly cut into deeper than he imagined, as there wasn''t much resistance against his weapon, the BloodBursting Tiger roared with fury after getting a deeper wound, it was furious at how this human in front of him wounded him again, while his face was almost going to hit the protruding rock, it covered it''s face with all of the essence energy, it could muster, which lead to no essence energy covering it''s back, this is why Li Jie was able to Cut open it''s wound deeper easily. Li Jie then attacked the BloodBursting Tiger, again and again, sometimes he would punch it, while sometimes he would use the broken sword, any situation that was favorable to him at the moment was captured by him without much thinking, finally, after hours, it can be seen that both the BloodBursting Tiger and Li Jie had wounds all over their body, while Li Jie had less, the BloodBursting Tiger had more and most of it''s blood was spilling out of it''s body, finally when the BloodBursting Tiger was helpless, it wanted to do something, which made Li Jie flinch, but then he relaxed and gave one final blow to the tired BloodBursting Tiger on it''s eye, which was pierced into it''s skull, killing it instantly. Li Jie heaved a great sigh of relief, as he knew that if the BloodBursting Tiger hadn''t drained most of it''s blood in the battle, it would have been able to use one it''s skill, which was called blood burst, what it does is that it increases the BloodBursting Tiger''s strength by two-fold, which would make it easy for the BloodBursting Tiger to kill Li Jie, that''s why Li Jie was being cautious around the BloodBursting Tiger, but thankfully it is known to use this skill, only when it is in extreme danger as it takes a huge toll on it''s body. Sensing the attacker to be someone of the Grandmaster stage was what made the BloodBursting Tiger underestimate Li Jie, and the reason why the BloodBursting Tiger didn''t use it''s life-saving skill was because it had lost most of it''s blood, which is needed to trigger the ability. After killing the BloodBursting Tiger, Li Jie went towards the corpse of the BloodBursting Tiger, he cut open it''s abdomen area, where the core of the beast is present, only beasts of Earth stage and above start developing their core, which increases in size, the higher their stage, the current core of the Essence Gathering BloodBursting Tiger had the core, the size of a pebble. After storing the pebble, Li Jie then cut off some of the BloodBursting Tiger''s meat and stored it in an empty pouch, which was folded behind him, on his belt. "Huh, I have to come here, after every three weeks, I wonder how everyone at home is, the entrance exam will be soon, I am really curious, who will I be fighting", thought Li Jie. He was cautiously moving, here and there and finally he climbed up a hill, where he tapped on a wall with a stone in different positions, which lead to lead to a cave getting visible, apparently, it was an illusion formation, taught to him by Mr.Teacher. After entering the cave, Li Jie took out the meat of the BloodBursting Tiger and took all of them out, and then put them in a container, there were also other containers that had beast''s blood in them, Li Jie would have collected the BloodBursting Tiger''s blood to but he couldn''t as it had already lost most of it''s blood. Li Jie was collecting blood because of alchemy practices, the blood of beasts are also used for many pill recipes, especially there''s a paste which is made using the blood of different high-grade beasts, it is used to increase the defense of a cultivator''s body, but after Li Jie uses it, he found out that, it also helps him in absorbing the excessive bloodline essence which is stored in his chest area. Not only that, using any pill or paste which is related to body refining, helps him in absorbing more of the bloodline essence, which helps him in increasing his Body cultivation stage, which is already extremely tough for most of the cultivators of this continent, and the reason why it''s less practiced, but with the help of the body refining pills, that Li Jie himself has refined, helped him in increasing his body cultivation faster. Chapter 74 - Title Li Jie can be seen practicing in the cave, with weights on his shoulders, he was sweating a bit due to his intense workout, nevertheless, there was this smile, which showed that he enjoyed practicing, the only concern that Li Jie has been having was that his master whom he thought will start to teach him swordsmanship, yet he wasn''t taught that and only after Li Jie reached Master Stage, was he taught about swordsmanship, but the problem with it was that he wasn''t given a sword technique to learn swordsmanship, instead he was told to practice some basic sword moves, which was almost forgotten as they were only taught in the olden times when there was a scarcity of martial techniques, but now after years of progression, the techniques are abundant are better than the basic sword moves as they, of course, added in those techniques apart from some special elements, but his master instructed him to practice only the basic sword techniques which were, Chopping, Striking, Thrusting, and Slicing. Li Jie had great trust in Mr.teacher, after all, he was the one who gave Li Jie hope for cultivation, but at the same time he couldn''t help but feel that learning these basic sword techniques might be a waste of time, Li Jie still tried to steel his heart and started practicing the basic sword techniques again and again, which felt more monotonous as time passed and made him more impatient towards practicing the basic sword techniques, Li Jie then thought to himself, that maybe he should stop it and maybe secretly learn high-grade sword techniques, without his master knowing, he was happy with his idea, but it was right then that he stopped himself from thinking abruptly, "What the heckk, just what the hell almost happened to me, it''s like my mind and body are feeling some kind of aversion towards learning the basic sword techniques more and more, Li Jie felt sweat on his forehead, with how much aversion his body and mind was feeling towards the basic sword techniques, is there something something special about them, that I am feeling so restless, it''s like I am being tempted from inside me for giving up and I will feel good", thought Li Jie. After recounting everything again and again in his mind, Li Jie felt something wrong and had an extremely pensive expression on his face, when he remembered how for a second, he felt it was okay to betray his master''s trust, just what is this thing that is influencing me to give up practicing the basic sword techniques, tempting me and making my heart restless. With a stern face, Li Jie decided that he will not let anyone influence him, not even he himself for getting complacent without even achieving his goals, Li Jie was cursing whoever was influencing him through whatever means, he decided that he will practice the basic sword techniques more and more, no matter how repulsed he feel towards these techniques. After some time of practicing, it was like something broke, and he became faster at performing them, the movements he showed for practicing the basic sword techniques had considerably grown faster, and he also felt as if there was something blocking his mind which was broken now, but now he felt free, Li Jie didn''t know what to think of this, after all he had been practicing the basic sword techniques for years, which made him frustrated at times, but now he felt relieved upon being fluid with his movements rearding the basic sword techniques. Li Jie then sat down and started mediatting to calm himself down, from whatever he felt, he will have to ask Mr.Teacher for answers, as he is the only who can tell him about his situation. Li Jie''s stomach was growling after sometime, which made him cook up the meat of the beasts, that he had stored in containers, and he wasn''t cooking them by placing them by just on fire, he had a storage for spices, which he used to spread on the meat, he would not simply eat anything, he was taught by Mr.Teacher that if he wants to have a sound mind always, then he must learn the art of cooking, while he wasn''t a professional, still what he made was many times better than just eating anything, as it was mentioned to him by his master, Li Jie after recalling his master''s words felt more thankful towards him, as it really helped him in adjusting here in the wild. After meditating for sometime, Li Jie then got up in his pursuit of beasts, whom he would fight from time to time, to increase his experience as well as polish his fighting style, he was also wondering, now that his mastery in basic sword technique has increased to a level, which he doesn''t identify, he sought out to check it''s characteristics by fighting beasts. Li Jie first took out a sword, which was given to him by Mr.Teacher, which he rarely used, the weird thing about this sword was that somehow it adjusted to his cultivation stage, and it was extremely tough, impossible to even leave a scratch, after using it many times, he one time even asked his master curiously for the rank of this sword, to which his master replied that the sword is unranked and that it will only have the same power as the user, which means that if Li Jie is in the Grandmaster stage, then the attack power of this sword will be of High-Grade Common weapon, which wasn''t that useful to him, and it was instructed to him by his master that he must only use this sword if he doesn''t have any other sword at the moment, and he should try swords of different sizes and shapes, which will help him in the long run, which wasn''t something Li Jie could understand for now, but now that he didn''t have any other sword to help him in fighting, which is why he will have to use the sword given to him by Mr.Teacher for now. He went out of the cave, looking for beasts to fight cautiously, he cannot fight a beast too weak or too strong, nor will he fight someone who is in groups, he finally found a CloudDrifting Fox, which had grey fur, small yet sharp claws and fangs, while this beast isn''t considered as strong as the BloodBursting Tiger, but it had high intelligence and was very tricky to fight, many cultivators end up dying because of it, and it had extreme speedy movements, which was why even in precarious situations, it can escape easily. After deciding on his target, Li Jie hid in the bushes, while observing the CloudDrifting Fox, which was also in the Essence Gathering Stage, he was observing every movement of it, and trying his best not to alert the CloudDrifting Fox about him, or else it would escape, to make it battle him , Li Jie had an idea, but for that he will have to close it''s paths of retreat, after looking around him, he understoood what he had to do, Li Jie first followed it quietly and cautiously, after sometime, the CloudDrifting Fox was reaching a cave, he felt that this was a good oppurtunity as he could fight it in the cave, but the cave was dark but Li Jie cursed, as he was afraid of two things, first was the existence of any other beast in the cave or near the cave, and second was the darkness that was present in the cave. The darkness in the cave can hinder his vision, while the beasts have excellent hearing as well as night vision, which won''t impede it, after considering for sometime, he went back to his cave planning his attack on the beast, as now he knows where the cave of the CloudDrifting Fox is. To increase his chances of success, Li Jie had to make more preparation, after going back to his cave, he started concocting some pellets first, which wasn''t for consuming, they were special pellet which after crashing produces explosion, while the explosion isn''t threatening to anyone, it is enough to scare a beast, he also wanted to use some poison fuming pellets, but he felt that it wouldn''t be ok for him to use such means towards a beast, he can fight, only against those who surpass him in strength, will he use the poison fuming pellets to save his life. After preparing everything, Li Jie packed a small pouch on his waist and his sword on the left side of his waist. He made his way towards the cave, where the CloudDrifting Fox is present, he knew that he won''t be able to match the CloudDrifting Fox in speed, that''s why he made so many preparations just to trap the CloudDrifting Fox and fight in an enclosed area. Li Jie was looking at the cave, where the fox was still present, who was coming out of from the cave from time to time, sometimes it would go out to find and bring prey for it to eat, after noticing that except the fox, there was no one present in the cave, Li Jie was relieved and he was ready to attack the CloudDrifting Fox. Chapter 75 - Title333 Gwhsjssbbd s sjsksnsnns neejnenene fhb.ld pod ; fjbj bdjdjip jdlb jlb hh biil; k ,jwas a hall which was adorned with a huge chandelier, where there was a throne, which was huge and half egg-shaped, but the most striking feature was that it was floating, which had a thin scholar looking man, who was dashing in looks but his features showed one, of his great experience and knowledge, he was sitting nonchalantly on the floating chair with his one leg outside, he had a book in his hand, which had a leather cover, and the words 1 on the book were as if they were engravings of gold, but the language in which it was written was unfamiliar to most of them, he had various chairs which were smaller but also floating on his right and left side, on which there were also some old looking male and female, who were invested in their own world of knowledge, while some were reading manuals, there were also some had objects, on which they were performing some kind of experiments, it was then the door of the main hall opened revealing four figures, who had scholarly look, all four of the figures stood infront of the man who was sitting on the boggest floating chair, which was at the center bakside of the hall. "Patriarch, You called for us", one of the figures, who was a boy with handsome features and had radiance shining in his eyes of confidence. "Good, Good, now that you all are here, I think I should tell you, that the upcoming entrance examination will be conducted by all three of the academies, and you will be the ones participating in it, not only should you claim the first ranking in the upcoming entrance, your victory will also make our Zheng family more famous, and we will be getting more customers. this way", said the Patriarch of the Zheng family, who was sitting lazily on the floating chair, even when he was talking, he didn''t give even a single glance at the top disciples of his family, whom he was talking to while reading. "Aah, one more thing, try to get in the Sacred Heart Academy, it will be different this time, from what I know, anyway your first priority is to get into the Sacred Heart Academy", said the patriarch with a nonchalant expression. The boy nodded his head, then he recalled something, "Patriarch, what should we do, if someone from the imperial family decides to partake in the competition", said the boy with a solemn expression on his face". The patriarch of the Zheng family''s expression changed and turned solemn, well having a higher grade bloodline does give them an advantage", said The patriarch of the Zheng family with a solemn expression. After thinking for a moment, he sighed, "Well it doesn''t matter, you will also be getting things which will help you in matching those of the imperial family", said The Patriarch. The boy nodded in relief and left off with the other figures, who followed him out. At the same time, the news about the upcoming entrance examination was spreading rapidly all around the continent, from weak to large families and even various organizations, every parent had high expectations of their children, and the time given is enough for everyone to prepare for the upcoming entrance examination. At a volcano, where a man of huge stature can be seen meditating leisurely on molten lava, which was a shocking sight to see, as the huge statured man didn''t even drown in it and not even a speck of his clothes was burnt, it was as if he was sitting on a garden, but the reality was contradicting. Three figures one boy and two girls can be seen entering the land near the lava, unlike the huge statured man with arrogance on his face, they were wary towards this place, as any kind of carelessness would be too heavy for them to bear, their figures can be seen shaking with sweat. Looking at their pitiful appearance, the Wang family patriarch snorted with displeasure, "Hmphh, what a sorry sight I have to see, is this the best that our Wang family can produce, I was told you bunch were the best of best, but looking at your appearance, makes me think otherwise, even a bit of temperature cannot be handled by you, what a let down", said the Wang family patriarch with displeasure and arrogance in his tone was present. Listening to their patriarch''s displeasure, made them sweat more profusely, they felt ashamed, they were above all among the younger generation and below two people, who were young master and young mistress of the Wang family, the young mistress was talented as well as hardworking, she was someone who was admired by many, and then there was her half-brother, whose talent is something they were not allowed to talk about, after all, according to their elders, the young master''s talent was something heard in legends, and his talent for battle was more amazing, but for some reason, he has stopped cultivating and just roams around playing around with the young master of Zheng family, but to be called trash, they felt humiliated to an extreme extent, but what can they do, if they show their discontent, they will be killed without mercy. "Oi Oi Will you stop with your showing off, old man, these guys are really good among the history of the generation of Wang family''s disciples, you should really cut some slack", a voice with annoyance said to the patriarch, who after hearing the voice had a frown on his face. He, The patriarch was someone who was deeply respected by everyone, even other leaders of great families, even the king himself, respects his strength, but here his son disregards him like anything, without worrying, there were times, when he wanted to punish him, but this son of his was different from normal, it was not only his talent, which was monstrous but also his mentality, which was something even he was terrified about. "Is this the way you talk to your patriarch", said the Patriarch of the Wang clan and snorted. A boy can be seen, who looked to be 11 years old, with handsome fiery looks and red hair, he went forward, and said, "Father, Why do you have to be such a mood breaker, why do you have this expression as if you are battling to take out your, come on cheer up, because of your antics, these poor innocent members of our Wang family keep running around with such horrible expressions, do you know harmful it is to the image of our Wang family, what will others say, that the members of our Wang family always try to shit, do you know how hurt I am, whenever I see these innocent poor looking souls have that have been affected because of your kink of making that expression, I wonder while relieving yourself down there, do you have an expression of bliss or the same, shit making face", said Wang Fangqing in a condescending tone. Hearing Wang Fangqing''s words made the 3 people alarmed, the whole place where they were was an extremely hot environment, but the whole place chilled down instantly, the whole land on which they were standing, started to shake like anything, as if it was the end of the world, the Wang family''s patriarch''s face was completely dark, his face looked like he was going to kill everyone here. "Ok Ok, why the need for such fuss, I will train these poor guys, and I will go to that Dragnoth Demonic Academy, you want me to get into, I also somehow found it interesting", said Wang Fangqing. The whole area instantly calmed, the two girls and one boy were pissing in their pants, they felt as if it was the end of the world. Finally, it can be seen that the Wang family patriarch calmed down and said, "Good, I expect better results, You all can leave now", said The patriarch who closed his eyes after that. Whereas Wang Fangqing was stretching his hands, and asking the youngsters beside him to follow, to which they quickly nodded, without any hesitation. Li Jie who was working hard for a week without rest was wearing his clothes and had a bag in which he carried his supplies, he had prepared as much as he could for his current journey, where he will have to go to the forest and live there for one week. He lamented, how hard he worked to train this week, where he practiced his techniques more and more, he felt that the current him is way better than him of the past, he had confidence, that now when he goes to the forest, he won''t be that pathetic as before, thought Li Jie with confidence gleaming in his eyes. After some time he reached the training pagoda, where he met Mr.Teacher, who asked him if he was ready to which he nodded, and with the change in scenery, his training starts. Chapter 76 - Tillt that was the sound of a sword snapping in two, the broken tip of a sword can be seen floating, which after some time floating in the air fell on the ground sharply, a boy can be seen running with fervor in a hurry, keeping the half-broken sword with hilt him, the boy who had maturity and caution gleaning from his face, the boy was 4ft 5inch tall, he had a thin body frame, but it was toned with muscled and free of unnecessary fat, his hair was dark black as ink which was long and tied from behind, the slightly matured looking boy was none other than Li Jie himself, who has been under constant training by Mr.Teacher. The sword which broke in two was a Low-Grade Common Weapon, it was something he borrowed from the Li Family Treasury, he was running at full strength by using the "Rushing Ox Step Technique", which he had mastered quite a long time ago. The beast who snapped Li Jie''s sword in two was a BloodBursting Tiger, which was at the Essence Gathering stage, one stage above Li Jie who was of Grandmaster stage, while Li Jie can fight those beasts of one stage above him, but there was a big chasm between Grandmaster Stage and the Essence Gathering stage, where one starts collecting the essence energy in their bodies, and fight using that energy, which increases the cultivator or beast''s strength tremendously, there is an overall improvement with the help of essence energy. Li Jie could fight back and defeat any cultivator or beast with one stage higher to him, but the BloodBursting Tiger was different, at first when Li Jie attacked this tiger, the tiger was perceptive enough to save itself from Li Jie''s attack, nonetheless, it was struck on the back, which gave it an injury, feeling the pain from the injury, the BloodBursting Tiger winced and looked at Li Jie who was the cause of it, The BloodBursting Tiger was furious and attacked Li Jie with swiftness, but after all this time training, Li Jie had high agility and was moving to and fro, not letting the BloodBursting Tiger a chance to even give a scratch, because Li Jie knew, the BloodBursting Tiger''s claw was infused with essence energy, which would give him a fatal wound, that''s why Li Jie was cautious all the time, and he was trying to get out of this predicament. But right at that moment, when Li Jie was trying to be cautious of it, the tiger was able to find an opening at which it pounced on Li Jie, when it suddenly opened it''s mouth, which had fangs as sharp as a High-Grade Common Weapon, and was almost going to bit of Li Jie''s head, had it not been for his sword, which he raised a shield to protect himself, which was then snapped in two after the tiger bit the sword quite the hard way, which ended up breaking the sword in two. At the present, where the BloodBursting Tiger can be seen chasing Li Jie, and Li Jie was running at full strength, he was pressed hard to find some way to turn around the situation he was in, or else he will be in trouble, finally he noticed a big rock which was a bit pointy, Li Jie went in front of it and turned around to attack the BloodBursting Tiger by punching it using the "Boulder Fist Technique", which was quite strong after he mastered it, it would make his fists swollen and then he would attack at the target, but the BloodBursting Tiger was a special type beast, it''s skin was tough and it had essence energy to help with it''s defense, even after punching the BloodBursting Tiger near it''s neck, except for some shaking, it changed nothing as the BloodBursting Tiger was again ready to pounce at him. Li Jie took the half-broken sword out, as it was better than nothing to use in this situation, he was trying to find the BloodBursting Tiger''s weakness, it was then that he noticed the back wound given to it by him before, Li Jie then focused his attention on the BloodBursting Tiger''s back, when it pounced again, Li Jie simply shifted to the side, while the protruding rock wasn''t visible at first, but after he moved to the side, the BloodBursting Tiger couldn''t stop it''s momentum and it''s face crashed on the protruding rock. Right at that moment, without wasting any time, Li Jie attacked the BloodBursting Tiger on it''s back again, especially at the wound which surprisingly cut into deeper than he imagined, as there wasn''t much resistance against his weapon, the BloodBursting Tiger roared with fury after getting a deeper wound, it was furious at how this human in front of him wounded him again, while his face was almost going to hit the protruding rock, it covered it''s face with all of the essence energy, it could muster, which lead to no essence energy covering it''s back, this is why Li Jie was able to Cut open it''s wound deeper easily. Li Jie then attacked the BloodBursting Tiger, again and again, sometimes he would punch it, while sometimes he would use the broken sword, any situation that was favorable to him at the moment was captured by him without much thinking, finally, after hours, it can be seen that both the BloodBursting Tiger and Li Jie had wounds all over their body, while Li Jie had less, the BloodBursting Tiger had more and most of it''s blood was spilling out of it''s body, finally when the BloodBursting Tiger was helpless, it wanted to do something, which made Li Jie flinch, but then he relaxed and gave one final blow to the tired BloodBursting Tiger on it''s eye, which was pierced into it''s skull, killing it instantly. Li Jie heaved a great sigh of relief, as he knew that if the BloodBursting Tiger hadn''t drained most of it''s blood in the battle, it would have been able to use one it''s skill, which was called blood burst, what it does is that it increases the BloodBursting Tiger''s strength by two-fold, which would make it easy for the BloodBursting Tiger to kill Li Jie, that''s why Li Jie was being cautious around the BloodBursting Tiger, but thankfully it is known to use this skill, only when it is in extreme danger as it takes a huge toll on it''s body. Sensing the attacker to be someone of the Grandmaster stage was what made the BloodBursting Tiger underestimate Li Jie, and the reason why the BloodBursting Tiger didn''t use it''s life-saving skill was because it had lost most of it''s blood, which is needed to trigger the ability. After killing the BloodBursting Tiger, Li Jie went towards the corpse of the BloodBursting Tiger, he cut open it''s abdomen area, where the core of the beast is present, only beasts of Earth stage and above start developing their core, which increases in size, the higher their stage, the current core of the Essence Gathering BloodBursting Tiger had the core, the size of a pebble. After storing the pebble, Li Jie then cut off some of the BloodBursting Tiger''s meat and stored it in an empty pouch, which was folded behind him, on his belt. "Huh, I have to come here, after every three weeks, I wonder how everyone at home is, the entrance exam will be soon, I am really curious, who will I be fighting", thought Li Jie. He was cautiously moving, here and there and finally he climbed up a hill, where he tapped on a wall with a stone in different positions, which lead to lead to a cave getting visible, apparently, it was an illusion formation, taught to him by Mr.Teacher. After entering the cave, Li Jie took out the meat of the BloodBursting Tiger and took all of them out, and then put them in a container, there were also other containers that had beast''s blood in them, Li Jie would have collected the BloodBursting Tiger''s blood to but he couldn''t as it had already lost most of it''s blood. Li Jie was collecting blood because of alchemy practices, the blood of beasts are also used for many pill recipes, especially there''s a paste which is made using the blood of different high-grade beasts, it is used to increase the defense of a cultivator''s body, but after Li Jie uses it, he found out that, it also helps him in absorbing the excessive bloodline essence which is stored in his chest area. Not only that, using any pill or paste which is related to body refining, helps him in absorbing more of the bloodline essence, which helps him in increasing his Body cultivation stage, which is already extremely tough for most of the cultivators of this continent, and the reason why it''s less practiced, but with the help of the body refining pills, that Li Jie himself has refined, helped him in increasing his body cultivation faster. Chapter 77 - Title 5 all these treasures are way out of my league, will I ever get the chance to see any of these natural herbs, from the description in the manuals, I don''t think that there''s even a possibility of such treasures to appear in this continent, and from the information mentioned in these manuals, it seems like there are other continents too, I wonder if they are smaller or bigger than our continent, and are they any different from ours and what the heck is the ELEMENT SEVERING REALM", it seems like an extremely high cultivation stage, which the "NIHILITY FLOWER" can help in a person reaching that realm easily, and from what is mentioned in the manual, it is the topmost treasure of the world, which can make even those immortals and gods fight for it, but of course, it cannot be found, even if one looks for, it is a mythical herb, which many have even forgotten about", contemplated Li Jie, while he was reading. After getting an overview of the herbs, he started reading about the mystical treasures, which had a ranking and were classified into five different elements, among which the list was as follows:- Wood Element Mystical Treasure Ranking:- 1. Yin-Yang Spiritual Tree 2. Resentful Spirit Rose 3. Virulent Lily # # 100. Purple Poisonous Lotus Metal Element Mystical Treasure Ranking:- 1. Invincible Stone Metal 2. Everlasting Mercury 3. Cold Luminous Steel # # 100. Shapeshifting Black Mold Earth Element Mystical Treasure Ranking:- 1. Great Titan Stone 2. Goliath Pearl 3. Crystalline Jade Illuminating Rock # # 100. Bone Rock Water Element Mystical Treasure Ranking:- 1. Northern Black Water 2. Yellow River 3. Lake of Penance # # 100. Crushing Water Essence Fire Element Mystical Treasure Ranking:- 1. Flame of Annihilation 2. Purifying Origin Flame 3. Demonic Retribution Flame # # 100. Orange Stone Flame Li Jie was tongue-tied upon reading about these Mystical treasures, he couldn''t fathom just how can such mystical treasures even exist, these are something that can increase a cultivator''s overall strength as well as their talent. Of course, these Mystical treasures might sound good, but they are extremely dangerous and it''s not something which can be possessed by someone without strength, every mystical treasure requires a long process, these mystical treasures are only suitable for those blessed by heaven, otherwise those who don''t have the required talent or luck will only be destroyed for possessing such treasures of heaven and earth. Lil Jie then went onto reading the manuals regarding the beasts, which had various types of beasts with their figures and all it''s strengths and weaknesses, it also had rankings of beasts, which was different from the rankings of the Mystical treasures, as the rankings of mystical treasures are fixed and they never change, whereas the ranking for beasts, which is also known as Myriad Beasts Ranking, which changes every time a particular lineage of beast rises or falls in ranking, which can happen due to various reasons, but there was this stability in the rankings of the beasts, whose lineages were higher ranked, any beast lineage who is successful in entering the Myriad Beasts Ranking, will have their status risen and no one can provoke even a weak member of that lineage, while those at lower rankings do change, but that only happens every thousand years or so, whereas it is hard to even shake the higher rankings one even a bit, as for those who are at the topmost rankings at the top 10, they are impossible to even to touch, their ranking has never changed since time immemorial. In all this time, there is only one lineage of beasts, who were at the 10th rank at the time, they were different from other beasts, who were complacent about their rankings, they wanted to change the ranking, which lead them to start a war, while many were sure of their failure, but no one expected them to rise in rankings, which had been stagnant for a long time, they were the talk of the time, as the great qilin lineage rose through the ranks and started defeating those who were ranked higher than them, and they eventually reached 3rd rank, it was then that the 2nd ranked beasts who were the prideful and majestic Dragon lineage, who had warned the great qilin race, but those who were of the Qilin lineage, wanted to rank 1st and disregarded the Dragon clan''s warning, were perished!!! No one knows, how or when the Great Qilin clan even ceased to exist, none of their members remain, no one knows how this happened, how a lineage of beasts, which were qualified to challenge the 2nd ranked Dragon clan, were extinguished. Myriad Beasts Ranking:- 1.#### 2. Dragon Clan 3. White Tiger Clan 4. Vermillion Bird Clan 5. Sun and Moon Devouring Wolf Clan 6. Manticore Clan 7. Naga clan 8. Griffin Clan 9. Golden Flame Lion Clan 10. Heaven Cursing Crow Clan # # 1000. Blood Ruin Clan After reading this ranking list, Li Jie was sure that even those beasts who were at 1000th position in the myriad beast ranking are powerful to a level, which he cannot fathom, he wondered if he ever will be able to reach such a level, where he can meet such beasts and have a fight with, all the beasts he fought till now weren''t even ranked and they were enough to pressure him, let alone those who are ranked. Li Jie understood that his master really cared for him, as the knowledge that was stored in this manual is something which none of those in the whole continent possess, Li Jie was certain of his thought. After finishing reading, he started with the ones which had knowledge regarding pill making, and pill recipes, this manual had a detailed explanation for each pill recipe, seeing numerous pill recipes, which contained different ways to enhance the ability of a herb, he just read a bit about them and continued towards the other manuals, reading about formations and runes gave him a headache, he decided that he will take it slow for now, and he will start with each of them, with patience and take his time in absorbing all this knowledge. "Master, where did you even get these manuals, these are true treasure troves, except for the pill recipes and the formation and runes related manuals, which I am not able to understand one bit", sighed Li Jie. "haha, you don''t have to worry, it''s obvious without some basic teaching, how will you learn such intricate knowledge, which also requires practical experience, if you were to learn right after reading, then I would have wondered if you were some old freak, who has reincarnated, haha", said Mr.Teacher in a joyous tone. Li Jie had a slight headache at the number of items, that he will have to learn, sighed Li Jie. "Aah I forgot, you still have to clean the area around the training tower, just because your training has increased, doesn''t mean that you can be free of the menial tasks which a human has to do in their day-to-day life. "What, Whattttt, ughh anything but cleaning, it feels boring after a while", thought Li Jie. While Li Jie was worried about his training, and upcoming trials. The news about the Upcoming Entrance Exam was spreading, and there was hubbub all around the continent, in the Gu family main hall, a black misty figure was sitting in meditation, while two people can be seen kneeling to the figure, both the kneeling figures were male and a female, who was waiting for a command from the person sitting in front of them was none other than the Gu family patriarch, whose red eyes opened little by little, "You both know how many resources have been spent on you, you both should know better than others, the meaning of poison and ruthlessness, so tell me will you succeed, if not I don''t see a reason to keep you both alive", said the Gu family patriarch. The female figure rose up, "Patriarch, it is not that we want to win the upcoming championship, but we need to, and it is our need that has helped us in reaching this stage, where we are graced by your presence and teachings". "Good, remember you have three tasks, if you fail all of the tasks, it is better to kill yourself, the first task will be to get the 1st place in the entrance exam, your second task will be to get chosen by the Dragnoth Demonic Academy and your last task is to kill all of the Li family members", said the Gu family patriarch while gritting his teeth. "Patriarch, we will keep your teachings in mind, and keep it so that we will achieve all our tasks without fail", said the female figure. "Good, now that you both have 5 years to prepare, let me help you in increasing your cultivation, as well as your skill, gahh, if it was just cultivation, it would be easy to raise your cultivation stage, but in the upcoming entrance examination, those Old farts have made it so high level of skill and strength is required, so be ready for hellish training", said The Gu family patriarch. Chapter 78 - Titleeeeee cvsfb seen joining together group after group, their eyes looked bloodthirsty, their movements were erratic, and it was weird, but if someone were to notice closer, then they would feel that they are somehow in sync, despite their random behavior, they were moving in the same direction, despite their instability. While this was occurring, Li Jie had no idea of the trouble that was coming his way, he was just going on his way to his cave, but it was after some time that he felt the land vibrating, he felt a tremor, which was making him feel uneasy, and only after he was looking closely from where the sound was coming, he still couldn''t understand the reason for the vibration of the earth, for a second he thought maybe there was an earthquake. He first sat down to stabilize his body and his position, then he started to look out for any beasts around him, who might come out in panic due to the earthquake, after that he just kept caution and was looking around and waiting for the earhquake to stop, but after sometime he felt the tremors on the ground increasing more and more, he just wasn''t able to make out anything. When he first sighted a bunch of beasts at the wild stage and mortal stage, he didn;t think of it much, at first but then he noticed that their numbers were increasin and all of them were moving towards him. Realizing the situation he was in, had alarms rung in his brain, he moved at an opposite direction, while he thought at first that he will escape, but he couldn''t have been more wrong, because right then more flock of beasts were encircling from front side, as well as from behind him, looking at his situation, Li Jie said to himself with a grim face, "Just what the hell is going on". No matter where he looked, there were beasts of wild stage and mortal, while he can handle these beasts whp are lower in stage, he still felt that such abhorring amounts of beasts are not something he can handle, without any choice, Li Jie unsheathed his sword to attack a, earthen Lizard of mortal stage, with just a slash, Li Jie cut the beast in half, but he wasn''t happy at all, because he will have to attack all the beasts who were for some reason attacking him. Then came more beasts infront of him which were Screeching Hyenas, who were 10 in numbers and were of wild stage, Li Jie attacked all of them at once, before they could attack him, Li Jie knew that these Screeching Hyenas, were one of the most vile creatures, who sneak attack and are very ruthless, that''s why Li Jie made sure to attack these Screeching Hyenas first. He stabbed one of them in the eyes deeper so that the attack reaches the brain of the Screeching Hyena, then without wasting a second, he kicked one who was near him, and stabbed it''s throat, trying to waste as less time as possible, Li Jie wanted to kill them fast, because these Screeching Hyenas have a troublesome sound attack, which cannot be defended against. Even if the Screeching Hyenas were of wild stage, he cannot give them any oppurtunity to attack him, while their sound attack might not be as harmful as those of higher stage could have been, they still could disrupt him, which is the most dangerous thing that can happen to Li Jie, seeing how a whole bunch of beasts are in wait to attack him. Li Jie then started using martial techniques on the Screeching Hyenas one by one, he first punched one of them with Boulder Fist technique, which blasted the Screeching hyenas''s head off, Li Jie thought that by attacking these beasts in such a ruthless manner, would assert his dominance and create fear in their hearts, but instead he noticed that the beasts were not giving up, they became more ruthless and their eyes were red. Li Jie couldn''t make out anything about the situation, he even wanted to stop and take rest, but unfortunately his wishes were in vain, as more beasts of higher stages were closing in, One of the Screeching Hyena''s were even successful in launching a sound based attack, which made him muddleheaded for sometime. Looking at his weakened state, The remaining Screeching Hyenas and some other Beasts who got closer to Li Jie, were ruthlessly pouncing at him, but Li Jie stabilized himself and took out a bunch of pellets, which he threw at all of them, without any mercy, the pellets exploded and there was bang on where those pellets landed, but that explosion wasn''t strong enough to harm them, it could only push those beasts back a little and create some small wounds on their bodies, nothing much harmful. Li Jie gritted his teeth in frustration, onlu if he could have had more of those pellets or if he could have made some, which had toxic properties, but it was too late now, he never imagined himself to be stuck in such an abhorring situation, where he has no idea, if he can survive the oncoming onslaught. Li Jie first thought about something and realized that panicking won''t help him and except his sword, nothing was much useful in terms of offensive support, whereas he has some vitality pills, rejuvenating pills, and healing pills, which can help him to long laster in this situation, but he doesn''t know for how long, first he climbed up a tree, to ascertain how many beasts are there for him to tackle. When he looked at the number of beasts, his eyes widened in surprise, he gulped and wondered if today was the day of his death, but he has to go back to his home to his family, who he loves and spends his time with, he had a resolute expression, that no matter how low his luck can go today, he will fight for survival and won''t stop until he escapes this situation. Li Jie unsheathed his sword again but this team, his breathing was in complete control and took a basic sword stance, when one of the Screeching Hyenas attacked him with a Sound attck, it would be a lie to say he wasn''t affected but he managed to endure it and run past it and slashed his sword towards the Screeching Hyena, whose head rolled, the remaining Screeching Hyeans were either stabbed to death, had their head cut off, same happened with the remaining beasts who were closer to him. Li Jie noticed that to retain his strength and stamina, he will have to finish his opponents, with as much less movements as possible. After relaizing his mistakes, he started taking a defensive stance using his sword, only when a beast attacke dhim, did he attack which would help him take carre of the beast near him in one move. At first, he wasn''t proficient and had to wait for the beast to make a move, sometimes he would be too fast or too slow, he had to find a balance between his attack pattern and tried to polish his skills on these beats, without him realizing, Li Jie''s strength started increasing, his attacks were accurate and precise, while his movements were as minimal as possible without wasting his strength and stamina, the more he fought and the more beasts, he killed he felt his sword moving as if it is an extension of his hand, not wasting any chance he stared resonating with the feeling and his attacks turned more fluid, and concise. At first his attacks were predictable, but with passing of time, his attack power increased, he rrealized subconciously that he can increase the power output with his sword, it was then Li Jie realized that he cannot the release an attack power that he can show in his sword than in other martial techniques, which was very surprising, considering how he hasn''t yet learned any Sword arts. The number of beasts kept increasing, but he remained standing not moving even an inch from his position. More beasts of higher stages attacked him, but the result was same, he just slashed one time at his opponents, and killed them, there was exhaustion on his face, his hands which were tighly holding onto his sword, had veins popping out, the more beasts, he killed the more fatigue he felt, but he kept on going non-stop, something inside him was aking him to give up and take rest, but he just wanted to vanquish the enemies, which were infront of him. After a long time, without Li Jie realizing, his eyes started to feel heavy, his breath turned heavier, his muscles were strained, but he kept on going. It was then that a beast of fearsome aura came near him, which was of High-Earth stage, it was a ShadowClaw Panther, who was closing near him, looking at Li Jie''s exhaustive state, it was smirking, but the moment it came right in front of Li Jie, it felt a huge sense of danger, which it wasn''t able to predict, and ended up dying by getting it''s head cutoff. What it and Li Jie didn''t know was, somehow after fighting for exhaustingly long has made Li Jie reveal his hidden ptential, and it also made him feel a great sense of familiarity towards th sword he was holding, which he felt was getting easier to use. Chapter 79 - New hagshdhjc seen joining together group after group, their eyes looked bloodthirsty, their movements were erratic, and it was weird, but if someone were to notice closer, then they would feel that they are somehow in sync, despite their random behavior, they were moving in the same direction, despite their instability. While this was occurring, Li Jie had no idea of the trouble that was coming his way, he was just going on his way to his cave, but it was after some time that he felt the land vibrating, he felt a tremor, which was making him feel uneasy, and only after he was looking closely from where the sound was coming, he still couldn''t understand the reason for the vibration of the earth, for a second he thought maybe there was an earthquake. He first sat down to stabilize his body and his position, then he started to look out for any beasts around him, who might come out in panic due to the earthquake, after that he just kept caution and was looking around and waiting for the earhquake to stop, but after sometime he felt the tremors on the ground increasing more and more, he just wasn''t able to make out anything. When he first sighted a bunch of beasts at the wild stage and mortal stage, he didn;t think of it much, at first but then he noticed that their numbers were increasin and all of them were moving towards him. Realizing the situation he was in, had alarms rung in his brain, he moved at an opposite direction, while he thought at first that he will escape, but he couldn''t have been more wrong, because right then more flock of beasts were encircling from front side, as well as from behind him, looking at his situation, Li Jie said to himself with a grim face, "Just what the hell is going on". No matter where he looked, there were beasts of wild stage and mortal, while he can handle these beasts whp are lower in stage, he still felt that such abhorring amounts of beasts are not something he can handle, without any choice, Li Jie unsheathed his sword to attack a, earthen Lizard of mortal stage, with just a slash, Li Jie cut the beast in half, but he wasn''t happy at all, because he will have to attack all the beasts who were for some reason attacking him. Then came more beasts infront of him which were Screeching Hyenas, who were 10 in numbers and were of wild stage, Li Jie attacked all of them at once, before they could attack him, Li Jie knew that these Screeching Hyenas, were one of the most vile creatures, who sneak attack and are very ruthless, that''s why Li Jie made sure to attack these Screeching Hyenas first. He stabbed one of them in the eyes deeper so that the attack reaches the brain of the Screeching Hyena, then without wasting a second, he kicked one who was near him, and stabbed it''s throat, trying to waste as less time as possible, Li Jie wanted to kill them fast, because these Screeching Hyenas have a troublesome sound attack, which cannot be defended against. Even if the Screeching Hyenas were of wild stage, he cannot give them any oppurtunity to attack him, while their sound attack might not be as harmful as those of higher stage could have been, they still could disrupt him, which is the most dangerous thing that can happen to Li Jie, seeing how a whole bunch of beasts are in wait to attack him. Li Jie then started using martial techniques on the Screeching Hyenas one by one, he first punched one of them with Boulder Fist technique, which blasted the Screeching hyenas''s head off, Li Jie thought that by attacking these beasts in such a ruthless manner, would assert his dominance and create fear in their hearts, but instead he noticed that the beasts were not giving up, they became more ruthless and their eyes were red. Li Jie couldn''t make out anything about the situation, he even wanted to stop and take rest, but unfortunately his wishes were in vain, as more beasts of higher stages were closing in, One of the Screeching Hyena''s were even successful in launching a sound based attack, which made him muddleheaded for sometime. Looking at his weakened state, The remaining Screeching Hyenas and some other Beasts who got closer to Li Jie, were ruthlessly pouncing at him, but Li Jie stabilized himself and took out a bunch of pellets, which he threw at all of them, without any mercy, the pellets exploded and there was bang on where those pellets landed, but that explosion wasn''t strong enough to harm them, it could only push those beasts back a little and create some small wounds on their bodies, nothing much harmful. Li Jie gritted his teeth in frustration, onlu if he could have had more of those pellets or if he could have made some, which had toxic properties, but it was too late now, he never imagined himself to be stuck in such an abhorring situation, where he has no idea, if he can survive the oncoming onslaught. Li Jie first thought about something and realized that panicking won''t help him and except his sword, nothing was much useful in terms of offensive support, whereas he has some vitality pills, rejuvenating pills, and healing pills, which can help him to long laster in this situation, but he doesn''t know for how long, first he climbed up a tree, to ascertain how many beasts are there for him to tackle. When he looked at the number of beasts, his eyes widened in surprise, he gulped and wondered if today was the day of his death, but he has to go back to his home to his family, who he loves and spends his time with, he had a resolute expression, that no matter how low his luck can go today, he will fight for survival and won''t stop until he escapes this situation. Li Jie unsheathed his sword again but this team, his breathing was in complete control and took a basic sword stance, when one of the Screeching Hyenas attacked him with a Sound attck, it would be a lie to say he wasn''t affected but he managed to endure it and run past it and slashed his sword towards the Screeching Hyena, whose head rolled, the remaining Screeching Hyeans were either stabbed to death, had their head cut off, same happened with the remaining beasts who were closer to him. Li Jie noticed that to retain his strength and stamina, he will have to finish his opponents, with as much less movements as possible. After relaizing his mistakes, he started taking a defensive stance using his sword, only when a beast attacke dhim, did he attack which would help him take carre of the beast near him in one move. At first, he wasn''t proficient and had to wait for the beast to make a move, sometimes he would be too fast or too slow, he had to find a balance between his attack pattern and tried to polish his skills on these beats, without him realizing, Li Jie''s strength started increasing, his attacks were accurate and precise, while his movements were as minimal as possible without wasting his strength and stamina, the more he fought and the more beasts, he killed he felt his sword moving as if it is an extension of his hand, not wasting any chance he stared resonating with the feeling and his attacks turned more fluid, and concise. At first his attacks were predictable, but with passing of time, his attack power increased, he rrealized subconciously that he can increase the power output with his sword, it was then Li Jie realized that he cannot the release an attack power that he can show in his sword than in other martial techniques, which was very surprising, considering how he hasn''t yet learned any Sword arts. The number of beasts kept increasing, but he remained standing not moving even an inch from his position. More beasts of higher stages attacked him, but the result was same, he just slashed one time at his opponents, and killed them, there was exhaustion on his face, his hands which were tighly holding onto his sword, had veins popping out, the more beasts, he killed the more fatigue he felt, but he kept on going non-stop, something inside him was aking him to give up and take rest, but he just wanted to vanquish the enemies, which were infront of him. After a long time, without Li Jie realizing, his eyes started to feel heavy, his breath turned heavier, his muscles were strained, but he kept on going. It was then that a beast of fearsome aura came near him, which was of High-Earth stage, it was a ShadowClaw Panther, who was closing near him, looking at Li Jie''s exhaustive state, it was smirking, but the moment it came right in front of Li Jie, it felt a huge sense of danger, which it wasn''t able to predict, and ended up dying by getting it''s head cutoff. What it and Li Jie didn''t know was, somehow after fighting for exhaustingly long has made Li Jie reveal his hidden ptential, and it also made him feel a great sense of familiarity towards th sword he was holding, which he felt was getting easier to use. Chapter 80 - New1 firttt ent back to his room, as soon as he returned from the forest, he first showered and wore a set of new clothes, which looked scholarly, he then asked the maid Xiao Chu if his parents had lunch yet, to which she replied that they will soon start. Li Jie asked her to make arrangements for him too, as he will be joining his parents for lunch today. The maid Xiao Chu nodded and took out a talisman, in which she instructed something to the person listening from the other side. These talismans were used to talk to people at long distances, they work for almost a year, after which a new talisman for calling is bought. Such talismans are quite expensive, but for those of the great family, it is simply a drop in the ocean. Li Jie then went out and was going towards the dining room, where his mother, father and his younger siblings will be present. As soon as he entered, he first washed his hands and then he got ready to eat, whereas his mother and father both were already sitting on their seats, and it felt like they were waiting for someone, the food was ready but they were waiting. When they saw Li Jie, their faces beamed with happiness, and joy, they asked him how he was doing, and how far he has gotten in his cultivation, they could feel from their son''s physique, that he has already reached the Grandmaster stage, which was very surprising for them, after all even those with low grade bloodlines take years to just reach Grandmaster stage, whereas the matter of him reaching this stage was commendable, considering how he doesn''t even have a bit of bloodline. Bloodlines have two major supporting roles in the path of cultivation, first is that with the help of bloodline, a humans physical attributes increases automatically without much training, and with training of course they could become more strong. The second major role of bloodlines are that with their help, a human can easily attune to the attributes that they are born with, it becomes easier for them to sense essence energy, the higher the grade of bloodline, easier it is for them to sense essence energy, this is also the reason why Li Jie hasn''t been able to sense any essence energy or else he would have already broken through to the Essence Gathering stage a long time ago. Besides these two roles, there were many other advantages too of having a bloodline, but those advantages only increase with the increase in grade of bloodline. While Li Jie was talking to his parents, suddenly the door of the dining room opened, two young figures can be seen who had dirt on their clothes and some of it was smeared on their faces. These two figure of a male and female were none other than the younger twins of Li Jie, Li Shuangyan and Li Zhengji. Both of them were not allowed to cultivate for reasons unknown, they could spar or train in basic martial techniques but they were forbidden from cultivating, unless their parents allow them too, while Li Zhengji wasn''t a big fan of cultivating, all he wanted was to eat and sleep, sparring with someone was also something he liked, but anything too complicated wasn''t favored by him, unlike his elder brother, he was not as bright as Li Jie, which actually made his parents joyful about his personality, because they always had trouble interacting with Li Jie, who was too intelligent for his age, they couldn''t solve his problems or his difficulties by talking to him, they had soon realized that their eldest son was just too intelligent and he would solve his problems and difficulties himself, and now finally with Li Zhengji, they could have a child who was a normal kid, whom they can take care of by themselves. Whereas Li Shuangyan was a headache for them and for the whole family too, she was stubborn and had some sort of love towards cultivation, she wanted to start cultivating, as soon as possible but she was sternly stopped by her parents, when she asked them why couldn''t she, they didn''t say the reason, the only thing they said was that only when they turn 11 years old, can they start cultivating, after some persuasion, did she finally agreed to not cultivate until she gets to the age of 11 years old. She always wondered why her brother gets to cultivate since young, but not them. What both of the twins never knew was, that their parents had decided this out of love for their kids, they didn''t want their kids to cultivate so soon, because they know concerning the twins talent and bloodline, it''s fair to say that if they were to cultivate, their strength would increase by leaps and bounds without any bottlenecks, this is also one of the reasons why their parents didn''t want them to start cultivating but let them be innocent and oblivious to the world of cultivation. Li Jie was told by his master that his younger twins had topmost grade of bloodline, on top of which they have special physiques, which is as rare as dragon''s horn and phoenix''s feather. So he doesn''t have to worry, infact there were times where Li Jie finally felt envious and understood what being truly talented means, because inspire of not cultivating even once, his younger twins had strength equivalent to the strength of his body, without any hardwork or opportunities, their strength increased just by sleeping and eating, Li Jie was obviously happy but he also couldn''t help but be envious of their talent, while he had to work hard and risk his life, his younger brother and sister just had to eat and sleep. "Shuangyan, why are you and your brother covered in dirt, you know I don''t mind you kids playing, but atleast wash up before joining us for a meal, look at your elder brother, he always comes to us, only after getting a shower, it''s hard for me to even tell where he has been", said Li Na in annoyance. "Mother, I just wanted to spar a bit, after sparring with others in our family, it''s hard to find someone as strong as us of our age, as for those who are older than us, they somehow try to avoid us, is it your doing mom, dad", asked Li Shuangyan with a fierce gaze. Looking at their daughter, who is a headache for them, it''s obvious that those who are older than them wouldn''t want to spar with them, in case they want to be humiliated. Unlike with Li Jie, everyone in the Li family fawn over the twins, while they do not know much about their talent, but it is easy to tell how different they are from their elder brother, but due to some reason the patriarch and the mistress do not want them to cultivate yet, which made them dissatisfied, because having such talented kids, those of Li family can show off infront of the outsiders, but alas they cannot get that chance now, maybe later but not as of current. "Father, Mother, I would like to join for the entrance examination of the academies that will be conducted this year. Listening to their son, Li Wei and Li Na both suddenly stopped eating, suddenly the whole room felt tensed, the patriarch''s brows were scrunched up, while the mistress also had a solemn expression on her face. Feeling such a tense atmosphere, which has never happened made both Li Shuangyan and Li Zhengji gulped, they felt pressured by such a turn in the atmosphere, both of them could feel their father and mother''s raging aura, which made both of them sweat, whereas the maids also were terrified. When Li Zhengji turned his face to look at his brother, whom he thought must be terrified too, after all he was the one on whom the auras of both his parents were directed towards, but when he looked at his elder brother, he couldn''t believe, while everyone was struggling for breath, his elder brother was leisurely eating his meal, unaware of the pressure exerted on him. Both the twins and the maids were worried for what will happen next, "Father, Mother I have worked hard for the upcoming entrance examination, I have to join it, I hope you can consider my hard work and feelings", said Li Jie in a humble manner. Looking at their eldest son''s determined face, made both of them feel worst, they didn''t want their son to face danger, they wanted him live a carefree life without any worries, but they also understood that their son was someone hardworking and determined, without any kind of talent, he reached the Grandmaster Stage, but what they were surprised most about was that Li Jie was subconsciously fending off their aura with his sword intent, which was extremely shocking to them, because they knew how hard it was to give birth to an intent in one''s mind, and only those of Reality Acceptance Stage and above can comprehend intent. Chapter 81 - New2 Loqds of bodies can be seen surrounding Li Jie, who was tightly grasping onto his sword, with full concentration, whereas the other beasts of mortal stages and higher were carefully sizing him up, their fierce expression had calmed down after looking at the dead beasts surrounding the boy in front of them. Three beasts of earth stage were nearing him and were ready to attack him, the moment he shows any weakness. Li Jie had a frosty expression looking at the three beasts who were looking for any moment of weakness, one of the beasts was a fire horned snake, while one was Screeching Hyena, who was the leader of the Screeching Hyenas that Li Jie had killed, and the last one was Metallic Piercing Rhino. Li Jie had a complete grasp on his sword, his concentration was unmoving, and his aura was concentrated on the sword, he didn''t know the reasoning behind it, but from his attacks on various beasts, he learned that only when he utilizes this aura in this way, that he can feel somehow, can he fight with less energy wastage and more attack power. The Metallic Piercing Rhino was the one who attacked first head-on, Li Jie''s eyes turned grave, but he slashed at the head of it''s opponent, but alas the Metallic Piercing Rhino deflected Li Jie''s attack with it''s horn, which just had a small scratch. The fire horned snake was the fastest with it''s attack as it suddenly slithered behind Li Jie, to attack him, Li Jie felt chill behind his back, he abruptly moved behind him and brought his sword in front of him, which could only stop the attack of the Fire Horned Snake for a moment, Li Jie got pushed back at an extreme pace, his body''s balance got shifted and he fell on his back. Getting attacked from the front side, Li Jie might not have gotten wounded, but his breathing was out of control, he was gasping for breath, not even having the ability to think, whereas the beasts were excited at Li Jie''s condition, they rushed towards him, at that moment Li Jie who was hovering on the brink of death, bit his lips in a bid to control himself and took hold of his sword, he got up instantly and no matter how strong his opponent maybe, he was ready to face them head-on, it was none other than the Screeching Hyena''s leader in front of him, Li Jie knew that a sound attack by the Screeching hyena''s leader might be detrimental towards him. He instantly stabbed the Screeching Hyena''s neck with all the power he could muster by rushing all of his body towards it, thrusting his attack at it''s neck with his sword, the Screeching Hyena limping before lying flat on the ground, dead. Right at that moment, the Metallic Piercing Rhino attacked Li Jie from his right side, somehow he was able to muster up his strength to bring the sword on his right side when he felt as if he had lost his consciousness, his insides were shaken badly and from the speed and the power exerted by the Metallic Piercing Rhino had shattered his ribs, and flung his body like a kite towards an unknown direction. The Fire Horned Snake slithered towards the corpse of the Screeching Hyena''s body and was trying to find the boy, when all of a sudden there was a change in it''s eyes, which were red just a moment ago, had now become clear, the same was with the Metallic Piercing Rhino as well as the other beasts, for some unknown reason, their eyes turned clear yet full of confusion, looking at the large number of corpses surrounding them, they were terrified as if all of their memory of some time before had just been wiped out. All of the beasts suddenly escaped and ran away, for they couldn''t understand what was going on, looking at the corpses around made them feel ominous, which is why they all escaped in different directions. On top of a mountain, can be seen a figure of a middle-aged man, who was sitting atop the mountain, while drinking wine from a gourd, "Looks like this is his limit, at least he has grasped his sword intent, even if it was used subconsciously, only after mastering it will he start his true path well he has just started on his path, I can''t get impatient, after all, whatever needs to happen will happen at the right time", said Mr.Teacher with a sigh, which felt resonating with all of the mountains present near him. As for Li Jie, he was currently laid on top of a tree in a weird position, blood was pouring out of his mouth constantly, while broken bones were protruding out of his chest, he was completely unconscious. Mr.Teacher came near Li Jie, seeing his condition he couldn''t help but sigh, "Well, I am not supposed to help you in your battles, but considering how you are under my tutelage, for the time being, I will help you, but in the future, there will be moments which will be worse than this, and I won''t be able to help you, all the choices that you make and all of your future decisions that you will be taking, it is you who will be responsible for them and you who will have to bear the weight of your actions", said Mr.Teacher in a solemn tone. After which, with a gust of wind he brought Li Jie to his cave, and there he took out a herb, which was then crushed by him and spread like sprinkles on Li Jie, which was healing him rapidly. Little by little his face complexion started to get better, and the broken bones of his ribs were attached, and almost all of his body was healed. Mr.Teacher just sat down near the fire and started to cook and eat meat, while waiting for Li Jie to wake up. After sometime when Li Jie woke up from his stupor, everything was hazy at first, he couldn''t understand where he was, Li Jie then opened his eyes completely and was shocked to find his master in front of him, who was sitting near the fire place, "Master, what are you doing here, I thought there were 3 more days till my training in this forest ended", said Li Jie. "Indeed it would have taken 3 more days for your training to complete, but you have been sleeping for 3 days straight, so I waited and didn''t want to disturb your lovely dreams", said Mr.Teacher with a chuckle. Li Jie felt embarrassed for sleeping for 3 days straight, while he was supposed to be training. Seeing the expression of guilt on his student''s face made Mr.Teacher smile lightly, "Don''t worry, it''s completely ok, a person should rest from time to time, if you were to just train all day, then you will become one of those musclehead men, you should properly divide the time you need for training and rest, too much of either one is harmful to one''s body", said Mr.teacher in a solemn tone. Li Jie nodded upon listening to his master it was then that he suddenly remembered what happened with him, he remembered that the condition he was at that time after getting hit by the Metallic Piercing Rhino had crushed his insides as well as his outer body, and it was not of the type where he could have miraculously survived. Li Jie felt very grateful towards his master, who had saved him, when he was helpless and almost on the brink of destruction, he felt guilty not knowing, if he will ever be able to repay his master back, thought Li Jie. "Let''s go back to your house, the competition is near, I have already told you how to finally take the first step in the path of Essence Energy cultivation, now everything depends on how you perform, as for the sword intent, I think you know better than anyone in this continent, about how you should start practicing your sword intent, it will be the one and only thing which will help you in stepping on the path of Essence energy cultivation", said Mr.Teacher in a thoughtful tone. Li Jie nodded, showing his understanding and how he will have to master his sword intent as fast as possible, so he could finally start on the path of essence energy cultivation. "Ok so let''s go back to your home, take what you deem necessary, and then let''s go", ordered Mr.Teacher. Li Jie nodded and packed whatever he needed hurriedly and told his master that he was ready to return back home. Mr.Teacher then stood up and snapped his fingers, where the whole surrounding instantly changed as if he wasn''t even in the forest the whole time, he was amazed by this ability of his master. Chapter 82 - New3 hfllblg floating castle, at the Zheng family jurisdiction, there was a hall which was adorned with a huge chandelier, where there was a throne, which was huge and half egg-shaped, but the most striking feature was that it was floating, which had a thin scholar looking man, who was dashing in looks but his features showed one, of his great experience and knowledge, he was sitting nonchalantly on the floating chair with his one leg outside, he had a book in his hand, which had a leather cover, and the words written on the book were as if they were engravings of gold, but the language in which it was written was unfamiliar to most of them, he had various chairs which were smaller but also floating on his right and left side, on which there were also some old looking male and female, who were invested in their own world of knowledge, while some were reading manuals, there were also some had objects, on which they were performing some kind of experiments, it was then the door of the main hall opened revealing four figures, who had scholarly look, all four of the figures stood infront of the man who was sitting on the boggest floating chair, which was at the center bakside of the hall. "Patriarch, You called for us", one of the figures, who was a boy with handsome features and had radiance shining in his eyes of confidence. "Good, Good, now that you all are here, I think I should tell you, that the upcoming entrance examination will be conducted by all three of the academies, and you will be the ones participating in it, not only should you claim the first ranking in the upcoming entrance, your victory will also make our Zheng family more famous, and we will be getting more customers. this way", said the Patriarch of the Zheng family, who was sitting lazily on the floating chair, even when he was talking, he didn''t give even a single glance at the top disciples of his family, whom he was talking to while reading. "Aah, one more thing, try to get in the Sacred Heart Academy, it will be different this time, from what I know, anyway your first priority is to get into the Sacred Heart Academy", said the patriarch with a nonchalant expression. The boy nodded his head, then he recalled something, "Patriarch, what should we do, if someone from the imperial family decides to partake in the competition", said the boy with a solemn expression on his face". The patriarch of the Zheng family''s expression changed and turned solemn, well having a higher grade bloodline does give them an advantage", said The patriarch of the Zheng family with a solemn expression. After thinking for a moment, he sighed, "Well it doesn''t matter, you will also be getting things which will help you in matching those of the imperial family", said The Patriarch. The boy nodded in relief and left off with the other figures, who followed him out. At the same time, the news about the upcoming entrance examination was spreading rapidly all around the continent, from weak to large families and even various organizations, every parent had high expectations of their children, and the time given is enough for everyone to prepare for the upcoming entrance examination. At a volcano, where a man of huge stature can be seen meditating leisurely on molten lava, which was a shocking sight to see, as the huge statured man didn''t even drown in it and not even a speck of his clothes was burnt, it was as if he was sitting on a garden, but the reality was contradicting. Three figures one boy and two girls can be seen entering the land near the lava, unlike the huge statured man with arrogance on his face, they were wary towards this place, as any kind of carelessness would be too heavy for them to bear, their figures can be seen shaking with sweat. Looking at their pitiful appearance, the Wang family patriarch snorted with displeasure, "Hmphh, what a sorry sight I have to see, is this the best that our Wang family can produce, I was told you bunch were the best of best, but looking at your appearance, makes me think otherwise, even a bit of temperature cannot be handled by you, what a let down", said the Wang family patriarch with displeasure and arrogance in his tone was present. Listening to their patriarch''s displeasure, made them sweat more profusely, they felt ashamed, they were above all among the younger generation and below two people, who were young master and young mistress of the Wang family, the young mistress was talented as well as hardworking, she was someone who was admired by many, and then there was her half-brother, whose talent is something they were not allowed to talk about, after all, according to their elders, the young master''s talent was something heard in legends, and his talent for battle was more amazing, but for some reason, he has stopped cultivating and just roams around playing around with the young master of Zheng family, but to be called trash, they felt humiliated to an extreme extent, but what can they do, if they show their discontent, they will be killed without mercy. "Oi Oi Will you stop with your showing off, old man, these guys are really good among the history of the generation of Wang family''s disciples, you should really cut some slack", a voice with annoyance said to the patriarch, who after hearing the voice had a frown on his face. He, The patriarch was someone who was deeply respected by everyone, even other leaders of great families, even the king himself, respects his strength, but here his son disregards him like anything, without worrying, there were times, when he wanted to punish him, but this son of his was different from normal, it was not only his talent, which was monstrous but also his mentality, which was something even he was terrified about. "Is this the way you talk to your patriarch", said the Patriarch of the Wang clan and snorted. A boy can be seen, who looked to be 11 years old, with handsome fiery looks and red hair, he went forward, and said, "Father, Why do you have to be such a mood breaker, why do you have this expression as if you are battling to take out your shit, come on cheer up, because of your antics, these poor innocent members of our Wang family keep running around with such horrible expressions, do you know harmful it is to the image of our Wang family, what will others say, that the members of our Wang family always try to shit, do you know how hurt I am, whenever I see these innocent poor looking souls have that have been affected because of your kink of making that expression, I wonder while relieving yourself down there, do you have an expression of bliss or the same, shit making face", said Wang Fangqing in a condescending tone. Hearing Wang Fangqing''s words made the 3 people alarmed, the whole place where they were was an extremely hot environment, but the whole place chilled down instantly, the whole land on which they were standing, started to shake like anything, as if it was the end of the world, the Wang family''s patriarch''s face was completely dark, his face looked like he was going to kill everyone here. "Ok Ok, why the need for such fuss, I will train these poor guys, and I will go to that Dragnoth Demonic Academy, you want me to get into, I also somehow found it interesting", said Wang Fangqing. The whole area instantly calmed, the two girls and one boy were pissing in their pants, they felt as if it was the end of the world. Finally, it can be seen that the Wang family patriarch calmed down and said, "Good, I expect better results, You all can leave now", said The patriarch who closed his eyes after that. Whereas Wang Fangqing was stretching his hands, and asking the youngsters beside him to follow, to which they quickly nodded, without any hesitation. Li Jie who was working hard for a week without rest was wearing his clothes and had a bag in which he carried his supplies, he had prepared as much as he could for his current journey, where he will have to go to the forest and live there for one week. He lamented, how hard he worked to train this week, where he practiced his techniques more and more, he felt that the current him is way better than him of the past, he had confidence, that now when he goes to the forest, he won''t be that pathetic as before, thought Li Jie with confidence gleaming in his eyes. After some time he reached the training pagoda, where he met Mr.Teacher, who asked him if he was ready to which he nodded, and with the change in scenery, his training starts. Chapter 83 - New 4 it is fine if that is what you wish my son", said Li Wei with a sigh. Li Na was worried too, looking at her eldest son whose face was filled with expectations, she knew in her heart that no matter how much she wants, she can''t keep her son are safe from harm all the time, and if Li Jie wished to work on towards his goal of cultivation, then she doesn''t have the right to be selfish, and for Li Jie''s happiness, she could only nod. Li Jie beamed with happiness, finally with all the hard work that he has put into his training, he will have the chance to compete with everyone from the continent, Li Jie was very excited about the upcoming entrance examination. "You will be following the team representing the Li family for the entrance examination, and I will arrange for your safety, just follow every instruction of your seniors, remember they are strong and have ample experience for explorations", said Li Wei in a serious expression. Li Jie nodded, he couldn''t just tell him or show how stronger he has gotten nor can he show his experiences to his parents that''s why he could only concede to his father''s arrangement for the upcoming entrance examination. "Whatt, this is so wrong, you both stop us from any kind of thing related to cultivation, but elder brother is so easily allowed to go for training, that too somewhere soo exciting", said Li Shuangyan with tears in her eyes. The patriarch of the Li family felt like he was going to have a bad headache, the twins have always been a bunch of trouble, and sadly his daughter Li Shuangyan is more of a headache to him, who questions everything, it has troubled him many times, "Shuangyan''er dear, I know that even without cultivating, you both have gotten stronger, but that doesn''t mean that it''s safe for you and you both are also of not the required age to participate in the entrance examination trials, when the time comes, you will then get to cultivate as well, as for why we don''t want you to cultivate yet is because I have my own reasons, but the most I can tell you is that, if you were to start cultivating now, it will be dangerous, so when the right time comes, you will get your chance to cultivate", said the patriarch of the Li family. Li Shuangyan nodded her head, showing her understanding, whereas Li Zhengji just nodded from the side, he wasn''t as much interested in cultivation as his sister, but he did like to battle, whereas Li Jie was contemplating something in his mind, he was also wondering why did his parents not let his younger twin brother and sister cultivate, because he was also aware of their powerful bloodline as well as their special physiques, he made a note in his mind to ask his master about this. After talking more about their interests, all of them went back to their rooms after dinner. Li Jie went back to sleep, while he waiting with anticipation for when will the entrance examination be conducted, there hasn''t been a certain time for it to occur, it can take two weeks to two months, Li Jie closed his eyes in hope for what Mr.Teacher has told him about, in these five years his master has never even once mentioned about intents, except for the part that he has to grasp it on his own, but when he came back from the forest, his master had informed him about tomorrow that he will be teaching him how to grasp onto his intent and how he could use it more efficiently, this made Li Jie too excited to sleep. The next day, Li Jie woke up and started performing his exercises, as usual, he went to the training pagoda, where his master was sitting with his eyes closed, Li Jie first bowed towards him and sat beside him. Mr.Teacher opened his eyes the moment Li Jie came beside him, He then looked towards Li Jie and asked, "Li Jie as I recall, you have used intent while fighting the beasts, what you don''t know is that because of the extreme danger that you were facing, you used it subconsciously, without knowing much, if I were to ask you now to perform it, you won''t be able to, while getting in contact with an intent is the biggest obstacle a person faces, thankfully you have crossed that hurdle, but you still have to learn to grasp it and use it whenever you like, it is important for you to understand that without practice and hard work, even if you are the son of heaven, you won''t go that far in the path of cultivation". Li Jie nodded in understanding, "Yes master I understand, but there is something which I don''t understand is, why do you say intent and not sword intent, have I not cultivated the sword intent, master", asked Li Jie in worry. Looking at his disciple''s face, Mr.Teacher chuckled, "Kid, If it was this easy to form your own sword intent, then won''t there be sword intents as common as cabbages". Li Jie felt embarrassed by his master''s words, "While you haven''t yet comprehended the sword intent, doesn''t mean you didn''t", said Mr.Teacher in an ethereal tone. "Master, I don''t understand what you mean to say", asked Li Jie with a nervous expression. "While you haven''t yet comprehended the sword intent, at least for now you have started on to the first step of the sword intent, what you have comprehended can be called a part of sword intent, while many will mistake your intent to be a sword intent, it isn''t, a true sword intent is something personal to a cultivator, a true sword intent will have all of your characteristics, personality, thoughts and most importantly "will", the intent that you have comprehended is a mixture an elemental intent and your sword intent, the element that your intent is mixed with is of the earth category, and that to the mountain intent, so you can say the intent that you currently have is that of a "Mountain Sword Intent", Earth element is one of the basic elements as well as a very profound element, which even if you spend your whole lifetime in understanding it, you won''t be able to even get a drop of understanding in it, so there are many minor elemental intents under the earth element, the one you are comprehending is the Mountain Intent under the Earth Intent category, but you should know, that no two intents are the same, while they can be somewhat similar to a degree, but they cannot be exactly identical to each other, which is due to the understanding of elements by different people, everyone has their own comprehension of the element, this is also why teaching of intents is forbidden, because even if a teacher is master of that intent, his advice can be harmful to others, the most important thing in comprehending intents is to believe in yourself, and not be easily swayed by words of others and have complete confidence in yourself". Li Jie nodded in understanding, he understood that if he wishes to have a better grasp on his intent, then he will have to have increased his belief in himself, "Master, how did you know that I have comprehended a mountain sword intent, even I didn''t know which intent it is, and how can I comprehend the complete sword intent", asked Li Jie in confusion. "The reason that I know about the nature of your intent is that it had this heaviness and all-encompassing powerful feeling which was similar to mountains, as for how you should comprehend the true sword intent, that is for later, for now just practice on getting a better grasp on your current intent and increase your proficiency in it, only when you have mastered your current intent, then will we talk more about sword intent", said Mr.Teacher. Li Jie nodded and understood that he shouldn''t bite more than he can chew, he should be patient and with time he will be able to learn about sword intent next time. Looking at his disciple''s patience made Mr.Teacher feel pleased towards his character because those who are impatient only wallow in their own troubles. "There is still sometime before going for the entrance examination, for now, cease all training and give your body rest, while using this time to comprehend about your intent better", said Mr.Teacher. "But Master How do I learn about my intent", asked Li Jie in confusion. "it''s quite simple, all you have to do is to try understanding the elements present in your intent as well as yourself, for example, you have the sword and mountain both mixed in your intent, so what you have to do is to try understanding about swordsmanship and the kind which is most suitable to you, only those which is suitable to you, can help you in comprehending them easier, the same is with the Mountain intent, now you can leave and go try comprehending these on your own, I can''t help you more than this", said Mr.teacher. "Yes, master I understand", said Li Jie, after which he got up and he moved out of the training pagoda. Chapter 84 - Nyt jahhdc ksjv jfk; kpef ;ofmo dfkdkfbpo ;o fd;d jdf jd. v, m son", said Li Wei with a sigh. Li Na was worried too, looking at her eldest son whose face was filled with expectations, she knew in her heart that no matter how much she wants, she can''t keep her son are safe from harm all the time, and if Li Jie wished to work on towards his goal of cultivation, then she doesn''t have the right to be selfish, and for Li Jie''s happiness, she could only nod. Li Jie beamed with happiness, finally with all the hard work that he has put into his training, he will have the chance to compete with everyone from the continent, Li Jie was very excited about the upcoming entrance examination. "You will be following the team representing the Li family for the entrance examination, and I will arrange for your safety, just follow every instruction of your seniors, remember they are strong and have ample experience for explorations", said Li Wei in a serious expression. Li Jie nodded, he couldn''t just tell him or show how stronger he has gotten nor can he show his experiences to his parents that''s why he could only concede to his father''s arrangement for the upcoming entrance examination. "Whatt, this is so wrong, you both stop us from any kind of thing related to cultivation, but elder brother is so easily allowed to go for training, that too somewhere soo exciting", said Li Shuangyan with tears in her eyes. The patriarch of the Li family felt like he was going to have a bad headache, the twins have always been a bunch of trouble, and sadly his daughter Li Shuangyan is more of a headache to him, who questions everything, it has troubled him many times, "Shuangyan''er dear, I know that even without cultivating, you both have gotten stronger, but that doesn''t mean that it''s safe for you and you both are also of not the required age to participate in the entrance examination trials, when the time comes, you will then get to cultivate as well, as for why we don''t want you to cultivate yet is because I have my own reasons, but the most I can tell you is that, if you were to start cultivating now, it will be dangerous, so when the right time comes, you will get your chance to cultivate", said the patriarch of the Li family. Li Shuangyan nodded her head, showing her understanding, whereas Li Zhengji just nodded from the side, he wasn''t as much interested in cultivation as his sister, but he did like to battle, whereas Li Jie was contemplating something in his mind, he was also wondering why did his parents not let his younger twin brother and sister cultivate, because he was also aware of their powerful bloodline as well as their special physiques, he made a note in his mind to ask his master about this. After talking more about their interests, all of them went back to their rooms after dinner. Li Jie went back to sleep, while he waiting with anticipation for when will the entrance examination be conducted, there hasn''t been a certain time for it to occur, it can take two weeks to two months, Li Jie closed his eyes in hope for what Mr.Teacher has told him about, in these five years his master has never even once mentioned about intents, except for the part that he has to grasp it on his own, but when he came back from the forest, his master had informed him about tomorrow that he will be teaching him how to grasp onto his intent and how he could use it more efficiently, this made Li Jie too excited to sleep. The next day, Li Jie woke up and started performing his exercises, as usual, he went to the training pagoda, where his master was sitting with his eyes closed, Li Jie first bowed towards him and sat beside him. Mr.Teacher opened his eyes the moment Li Jie came beside him, He then looked towards Li Jie and asked, "Li Jie as I recall, you have used intent while fighting the beasts, what you don''t know is that because of the extreme danger that you were facing, you used it subconsciously, without knowing much, if I were to ask you now to perform it, you won''t be able to, while getting in contact with an intent is the biggest obstacle a person faces, thankfully you have crossed that hurdle, but you still have to learn to grasp it and use it whenever you like, it is important for you to understand that without practice and hard work, even if you are the son of heaven, you won''t go that far in the path of cultivation". Li Jie nodded in understanding, "Yes master I understand, but there is something which I don''t understand is, why do you say intent and not sword intent, have I not cultivated the sword intent, master", asked Li Jie in worry. Looking at his disciple''s face, Mr.Teacher chuckled, "Kid, If it was this easy to form your own sword intent, then won''t there be sword intents as common as cabbages". Li Jie felt embarrassed by his master''s words, "While you haven''t yet comprehended the sword intent, doesn''t mean you didn''t", said Mr.Teacher in an ethereal tone. "Master, I don''t understand what you mean to say", asked Li Jie with a nervous expression. "While you haven''t yet comprehended the sword intent, at least for now you have started on to the first step of the sword intent, what you have comprehended can be called a part of sword intent, while many will mistake your intent to be a sword intent, it isn''t, a true sword intent is something personal to a cultivator, a true sword intent will have all of your characteristics, personality, thoughts and most importantly "will", the intent that you have comprehended is a mixture an elemental intent and your sword intent, the element that your intent is mixed with is of the earth category, and that to the mountain intent, so you can say the intent that you currently have is that of a "Mountain Sword Intent", Earth element is one of the basic elements as well as a very profound element, which even if you spend your whole lifetime in understanding it, you won''t be able to even get a drop of understanding in it, so there are many minor elemental intents under the earth element, the one you are comprehending is the Mountain Intent under the Earth Intent category, but you should know, that no two intents are the same, while they can be somewhat similar to a degree, but they cannot be exactly identical to each other, which is due to the understanding of elements by different people, everyone has their own comprehension of the element, this is also why teaching of intents is forbidden, because even if a teacher is master of that intent, his advice can be harmful to others, the most important thing in comprehending intents is to believe in yourself, and not be easily swayed by words of others and have complete confidence in yourself". Li Jie nodded in understanding, he understood that if he wishes to have a better grasp on his intent, then he will have to have increased his belief in himself, "Master, how did you know that I have comprehended a mountain sword intent, even I didn''t know which intent it is, and how can I comprehend the complete sword intent", asked Li Jie in confusion. "The reason that I know about the nature of your intent is that it had this heaviness and all-encompassing powerful feeling which was similar to mountains, as for how you should comprehend the true sword intent, that is for later, for now just practice on getting a better grasp on your current intent and increase your proficiency in it, only when you have mastered your current intent, then will we talk more about sword intent", said Mr.Teacher. Li Jie nodded and understood that he shouldn''t bite more than he can chew, he should be patient and with time he will be able to learn about sword intent next time. Looking at his disciple''s patience made Mr.Teacher feel pleased towards his character because those who are impatient only wallow in their own troubles. "There is still sometime before going for the entrance examination, for now, cease all training and give your body rest, while using this time to comprehend about your intent better", said Mr.Teacher. "But Master How do I learn about my intent", asked Li Jie in confusion. "it''s quite simple, all you have to do is to try understanding the elements present in your intent as well as yourself, for example, you have the sword and mountain both mixed in your intent, so what you have to do is to try understanding about swordsmanship and the kind which is most suitable to you, only those which is suitable to you, can help you in comprehending them easier, the same is with the Mountain intent, now you can leave and go try comprehending these on your own, I can''t help you more than this", said Mr.teacher. "Yes, master I understand", said Li Jie, after which he got up and he moved out of the training pagoda. Chapter 85 - Nyt1 Gahajj jwjqjqk paying his respects to his master, Li Jie got up and left, while he didn''t know what to do next, but he had an inkling of what he was supposed to do, and if what he had in mind doesn''t work then he will have to find some other way. From his master''s teachings, he understood that if he wants to have a better grasp of his intent, he first have to understand why did he choose this intent, even if it was done subconsciously he felt that the most important part in the understanding intent is to understand more about oneself. First, to check if his methods could work, he first had to find a mountain, and thankfully his Li family castle was surrounded by mountains, left and right, back and forth. All he had to do was to choose anyone of those mountains and to see if there is any improvement in his intent. There was only one problem that he had and it was that he had to bring someone with him, because all the mountains, surrounding the Li family castle are not something he has access to, first he needs permission from his father to venture towards those mountains, then his father will make someone to escort him towards those mountains. He wanted to be alone, while he comprehends his intent, while he was sorting this trouble out in his brains, he had an idea. So he ran fast towards his room, where he found the maid Xiao Chu, who was cleaning up some dust in his room. "Sister Xiao Chu, can you help me in helping me a tour around the mountains near our Li family estate", asked Li Jie with an expectant gaze. The maid Xiao Chu''s face turned tensed, she remembered in these five years, how Li Jie would ask her to take him to someplace outside of the Li family jurisdiction, and whatever place they would go to was either dangerous or extremely weird, sometimes she can''t even sleep at night for the fear of her young master asking her to take him someplace outside, although the mountains surrounding the Li family jurisdiction comes under the Li family, and on some of those mountains, many poor people live for farming, cultivating various crops and growing various herbs, vegetables and wheat, and various other products. At first, she felt it to be normal to go to the mountains surrounding the Li family, except for some mountains, which are either owned by some elder of the Li family or if their mines available for the Li family, except for those special mountains, anyone from the Li family can make a visit to those mountains, which are either barren or already have a certain population of people, especially mortals, who haven''t even touched the basics of cultivation, they live their honest and hardworking life there. Maid Xiao Chu was contemplating that it''s not like she can refuse the young master, but she can choose a mountain, which has the least danger present. "Young Master, I have no problem in guiding you to a mountain, but I need to make sure for your safety, so I will be the one to choose a mountain for us to go to", said the maid Xiao Chu. Li Jie nodded in understanding, first, he himself doesn''t know which mountain to go to and which one will be suitable for him is another matter, so he will have to just follow along with maid Xiao Chu''s decision. "Young Master, if I may ask, which type of mountain would you like to go to if you are thinking of training, then there''s one mountain which is under the supervision elders, and they have many beasts present on the mountain, for the sole purpose of training, while other mountains may have beasts too, but you won''t be able to find many or there might be some, which will be too strong for you to handle, but still there''s much safer, as the cultivators of our Li family go to the other mountains and try to hunt as many beasts as possible for their own, as well as to keep the mortals who have created their own villages safe, then there are also those which are barren and have nothing on them, so young master which type of mountain do you wish to go to", asked maid Xiao Chu. Li Jie''s face turned pensive upon hearing his maid, he never imagined for there to be classification among mountains, as well as some special mountains, which are the personal property of an elder, where it isn''t allowed for anyone to trespass. After pondering for a bit, he decided to go for the barren type mountains, after all, it''s not like he has to battle anyone, he just wants to comprehend about mountains, so that his comprehension for mountain intent increases, whereas for the sword intent, that is something he will have to work on his own understanding of the sword. After deciding their destination, the maid Xiao Chu informed Li Jie, that they cannot just go to any of the mountains simply without any preparation, to go to any mountain, they would need supplies of their own and a caravan to help in going up the mountain, as walking on any mountain is extremely taxing, and it also takes a lot of time, it is different for those of Essence Gathering stage cultivators, as their speed is high, with the help of essence energy, which was neither of the two. Li Jie felt like getting a headache, he never realized that he would need to make such preparations, before setting off for a mountain. "Sister Xiao Chu, you can prepare for the journey as you see fit, I will wait for you to complete your preparations, and then we can go", said Li Jie. The maid Xiao Chu nodded with a serious look on her face, "Yes, young master, I will make ample preparations for our journey, I will have the preparations for your mountain exploration ready by tomorrow, then we can set off for any mountain that you wish to go to", said the maid Xiao Chu. At first Li Jie wasn''t pleased with this, after all, he wanted to go to a mountain right away, but he understood that rushing would only be detrimental for now, so he agreed with Xiao Chu''s settings. After concluding his affairs with the maid Xiao Chu, Li Jie went back to his room and started to train physical exercises, and then after some time, he started to practice his techniques. When he was finished with his training, he decided to meet his friend, since he won''t be going to train on his comprehension right away, after washing up, he went out of his room and was heading towards Li Central city, where Dai Chen has been working in a renowned blacksmith shop. Li Jie was reminiscing about how in the past five years, Dai Chen has been working hard daily in the blacksmith shop, first, he was working as an assistant, where he gained quite a bit of popularity over the years among the ladies, who were frequent customers of the blacksmith shop, then he also joined the blacksmiths in their work, he started out as a supporting party, but after some time, he started his hands-on forging of metals, surprisingly he had a talent for forging, because of his low cultivation, the most he could forge were common goods, but he had a creative mind, he suggested the head blacksmith forge designed accessories for women, where a minuscule amount of the raw material is used, unlike for creating weapons and armor, where a high amount of raw materials are needed, while these design accessories weren''t of any use, but females tend to love products which make them look pretty. Implementing Dai Chen''s ideas in the shop, made them gain popularity, as well as a boon in their business, even those of the Fu merchant contacted them for further business contracts, the one to deal and negotiate with the members of the Fu merchant family, was none other than, Dai Chen himself, who was good looking as well as was the most polite one in the blacksmith, where everyone, be it the Head-Blacksmith or other blacksmiths, who were hot-headed and straight forward in nature, even in the negotiating department, Dai Chen showed his amazing skills in communicating and dealing with the crafty merchants of the Fu merchant family. Looking at Dai Chen''s hard work and passion for working so earnestly, the Head-Blacksmith officially took him under his mantle and made him his personal disciple, apart from learning the method of forging, Dai Chen also learned a lot about cultivation as well as he got a lot of help from his master, which helped in increasing his cultivation faster, now he is at the Essence Gathering Stage. How or what was the way, that someone like Dai Chen''s cultivation rose rapidly, was beyond his knowledge, and Dai Chen was also required to make an oath to not divulge this secret. Chapter 86 - Nyu Li Jie went to a shop which wasn''t too extravagant looking, nor was it too simple, it looked just like any shop for armors and weapons, but apart from that, this shop now also specializes in women''s accessories. First, he pushed the door open, where he was greeted by a girl, who greeted him, but after looking at her customer, her facial expression changed from politeness to admiration, this girl was none other than "nnnn", she had seen Li Jie visit their shop over the years, and he is also a good friend of Dai Chen, according to Dai Chen, Li Jie is the one who chnaged his life for good, and he is someone whom he has utmost admiration for, while everyone pities the young master''s fate, nonetheless over the period of five years, almost every one in the Li family knows about the character of the eldest young master of the Li family, while he is considered a cripple, he still has a huge reputation as one of the most kind and righteous person in the Li family, there were many incidents over the years, in which there were cases of how some of those of a higher standing were creating problems for the common families or weak people. There were also some low time criminals, who performed the most heinous crimes in the name of revenge, he even brought them to justice. At first the members of the Li family were afraid, that Li Jie is someone who just covers for the weak and might get easily manipulated, but there were instances in which he outwitted those who tried to outsmart him, according to him, regardless of your status, be it low or high, a sin is a sin, and none of it can be tolerated, even if you are someone elite in the Li family. Many considered Li Jie a joke at first, but his determination had gotten the best of everyone, he was the son of patriarch if he wants to, he can easily order those of the Law enforcement in the Li family to check upon every individual, and also to take responsibility of the safety of those who are weak and helpless. When some of the elders, whose descendants were also one of those committing unforgivable sins were caught red handed and were getting punished for their crimes, those elders went straight to the patriarch to revoke Li Jie''s power in the Li family, where he can order those of different departments of the Li family to do his bidding, but the patriarch rejected them straight away, replying to them that if Li Jie''s acts were affecting the Li family as a whole, then only will he be punished or stopped and if what he is doing is something beneficial to the Li family, then it will also be encouraged, the elders wanted to argue more, but they cannot bluntly state that their descendants are trash or scum of the society, they could only keep their mouth shut helplessly. Many of the elite members felt uneasy with the patriarch''s attitude towards his son, but they couldn''t do anything, they still have the memory about the middle aged woman who was slandering the patriarch''s son infront of him, and how all of her family was punished for it. Despite the dissatisfaction of the elite members of the Li family, surprisingly after a month or two of Li Jie''s intervention in not tolerating any kind of sinful behavior made the whole Li family the most safest of all the places in the whole continent, the residents of the Li family at first didn''t care much, but after feeling the loss of fear, that they were subjected to almost every time made them feel blissful, and their admiration towards the eldest young master of the Li family increased to the limit. That''s why now whenever anyone in the Li family estate were to meet or look at the eldest young master of the Li family, either they will have complete admiration or utmost fear towards him. This is also the reason why after looking at Li Jie, (nnnn)''s eyes turned to that of admiration and respect, when looking at him. "Young Master, Sir Dai Chen is currently dealing with some of the merchants of the Fu merchant family, he will soon be coming here, if you were to wait for some time, I am sure Sir Dai Chen would be delighted to be in your presence", said (nnn) with respect. After paying his respects to his master, Li Jie got up and left, while he didn''t know what to do next, but he had an inkling of what he was supposed to do, and if what he had in mind doesn''t work then he will have to find some other way. From his master''s teachings, he understood that if he wants to have a better grasp of his intent, he first have to understand why did he choose this intent, even if it was done subconsciously he felt that the most important part in the understanding intent is to understand more about oneself. First, to check if his methods could work, he first had to find a mountain, and thankfully his Li family castle was surrounded by mountains, left and right, back and forth. All he had to do was to choose anyone of those mountains and to see if there is any improvement in his intent. There was only one problem that he had and it was that he had to bring someone with him, because all the mountains, surrounding the Li family castle are not something he has access to, first he needs permission from his father to venture towards those mountains, then his father will make someone to escort him towards those mountains. He wanted to be alone, while he comprehends his intent, while he was sorting this trouble out in his brains, he had an idea. So he ran fast towards his room, where he found the maid Xiao Chu, who was cleaning up some dust in his room. "Sister Xiao Chu, can you help me in helping me a tour around the mountains near our Li family estate", asked Li Jie with an expectant gaze. The maid Xiao Chu''s face turned tensed, she remembered in these five years, how Li Jie would ask her to take him to someplace outside of the Li family jurisdiction, and whatever place they would go to was either dangerous or extremely weird, sometimes she can''t even sleep at night for the fear of her young master asking her to take him someplace outside, although the mountains surrounding the Li family jurisdiction comes under the Li family, and on some of those mountains, many poor people live for farming, cultivating various crops and growing various herbs, vegetables and wheat, and various other products. At first, she felt it to be normal to go to the mountains surrounding the Li family, except for some mountains, which are either owned by some elder of the Li family or if their mines available for the Li family, except for those special mountains, anyone from the Li family can make a visit to those mountains, which are either barren or already have a certain population of people, especially mortals, who haven''t even touched the basics of cultivation, they live their honest and hardworking life there. Maid Xiao Chu was contemplating that it''s not like she can refuse the young master, but she can choose a mountain, which has the least danger present. "Young Master, I have no problem in guiding you to a mountain, but I need to make sure for your safety, so I will be the one to choose a mountain for us to go to", said the maid Xiao Chu. Li Jie nodded in understanding, first, he himself doesn''t know which mountain to go to and which one will be suitable for him is another matter, so he will have to just follow along with maid Xiao Chu''s decision After paying his respects to his master, Li Jie got up and left, while he didn''t know what to do next, but he had an inkling of what he was supposed to do, and if what he had in mind doesn''t work then he will have to find some other way. From his master''s teachings, he understood that if he wants to have a better grasp of his intent, he first have to understand why did he choose this intent, even if it was done subconsciously he felt that the most important part in the understanding intent is to understand more about oneself. First, to check if his methods could work, he first had to find a mountain, and thankfully his Li family castle was surrounded by mountains, left and right, back and forth. All he had to do was to choose anyone of those mountains and to see if there is any improvement in his intent. There was only one problem that he had and it was that he had to bring someone with him, because all the mountains, surrounding the Li family castle are not something he has access to, first he needs permission from his father to venture towards those mountains, then his father will make someone to escort him towards those mountains. Chapter 87 - Ndy Kjh ajakakkaka jwjqjqk paying his respects to his master, Li Jie got up and left, while he didn''t know what to do next, but he had an inkling of what he was supposed to do, and if what he had in mind doesn''t work then he will have to find some other way. From his master''s teachings, he understood that if he wants to have a better grasp of his intent, he first have to understand why did he choose this intent, even if it was done subconsciously he felt that the most important part in the understanding intent is to understand more about oneself. First, to check if his methods could work, he first had to find a mountain, and thankfully his Li family castle was surrounded by mountains, left and right, back and forth. All he had to do was to choose anyone of those mountains and to see if there is any improvement in his intent. There was only one problem that he had and it was that he had to bring someone with him, because all the mountains, surrounding the Li family castle are not something he has access to, first he needs permission from his father to venture towards those mountains, then his father will make someone to escort him towards those mountains. He wanted to be alone, while he comprehends his intent, while he was sorting this trouble out in his brains, he had an idea. So he ran fast towards his room, where he found the maid Xiao Chu, who was cleaning up some dust in his room. "Sister Xiao Chu, can you help me in helping me a tour around the mountains near our Li family estate", asked Li Jie with an expectant gaze. The maid Xiao Chu''s face turned tensed, she remembered in these five years, how Li Jie would ask her to take him to someplace outside of the Li family jurisdiction, and whatever place they would go to was either dangerous or extremely weird, sometimes she can''t even sleep at night for the fear of her young master asking her to take him someplace outside, although the mountains surrounding the Li family jurisdiction comes under the Li family, and on some of those mountains, many poor people live for farming, cultivating various crops and growing various herbs, vegetables and wheat, and various other products. At first, she felt it to be normal to go to the mountains surrounding the Li family, except for some mountains, which are either owned by some elder of the Li family or if their mines available for the Li family, except for those special mountains, anyone from the Li family can make a visit to those mountains, which are either barren or already have a certain population of people, especially mortals, who haven''t even touched the basics of cultivation, they live their honest and hardworking life there. Maid Xiao Chu was contemplating that it''s not like she can refuse the young master, but she can choose a mountain, which has the least danger present. "Young Master, I have no problem in guiding you to a mountain, but I need to make sure for your safety, so I will be the one to choose a mountain for us to go to", said the maid Xiao Chu. Li Jie nodded in understanding, first, he himself doesn''t know which mountain to go to and which one will be suitable for him is another matter, so he will have to just follow along with maid Xiao Chu''s decision. "Young Master, if I may ask, which type of mountain would you like to go to if you are thinking of training, then there''s one mountain which is under the supervision elders, and they have many beasts present on the mountain, for the sole purpose of training, while other mountains may have beasts too, but you won''t be able to find many or there might be some, which will be too strong for you to handle, but still there''s much safer, as the cultivators of our Li family go to the other mountains and try to hunt as many beasts as possible for their own, as well as to keep the mortals who have created their own villages safe, then there are also those which are barren and have nothing on them, so young master which type of mountain do you wish to go to", asked maid Xiao Chu. Li Jie''s face turned pensive upon hearing his maid, he never imagined for there to be classification among mountains, as well as some special mountains, which are the personal property of an elder, where it isn''t allowed for anyone to trespass. After pondering for a bit, he decided to go for the barren type mountains, after all, it''s not like he has to battle anyone, he just wants to comprehend about mountains, so that his comprehension for mountain intent increases, whereas for the sword intent, that is something he will have to work on his own understanding of the sword. After deciding their destination, the maid Xiao Chu informed Li Jie, that they cannot just go to any of the mountains simply without any preparation, to go to any mountain, they would need supplies of their own and a caravan to help in going up the mountain, as walking on any mountain is extremely taxing, and it also takes a lot of time, it is different for those of Essence Gathering stage cultivators, as their speed is high, with the help of essence energy, which was neither of the two. Li Jie felt like getting a headache, he never realized that he would need to make such preparations, before setting off for a mountain. "Sister Xiao Chu, you can prepare for the journey as you see fit, I will wait for you to complete your preparations, and then we can go", said Li Jie. The maid Xiao Chu nodded with a serious look on her face, "Yes, young master, I will make ample preparations for our journey, I will have the preparations for your mountain exploration ready by tomorrow, then we can set off for any mountain that you wish to go to", said the maid Xiao Chu. At first Li Jie wasn''t pleased with this, after all, he wanted to go to a mountain right away, but he understood that rushing would only be detrimental for now, so he agreed with Xiao Chu''s settings. After concluding his affairs with the maid Xiao Chu, Li Jie went back to his room and started to train physical exercises, and then after some time, he started to practice his techniques. When he was finished with his training, he decided to meet his friend, since he won''t be going to train on his comprehension right away, after washing up, he went out of his room and was heading towards Li Central city, where Dai Chen has been working in a renowned blacksmith shop. Li Jie was reminiscing about how in the past five years, Dai Chen has been working hard daily in the blacksmith shop, first, he was working as an assistant, where he gained quite a bit of popularity over the years among the ladies, who were frequent customers of the blacksmith shop, then he also joined the blacksmiths in their work, he started out as a supporting party, but after some time, he started his hands-on forging of metals, surprisingly he had a talent for forging, because of his low cultivation, the most he could forge were common goods, but he had a creative mind, he suggested the head blacksmith forge designed accessories for women, where a minuscule amount of the raw material is used, unlike for creating weapons and armor, where a high amount of raw materials are needed, while these design accessories weren''t of any use, but females tend to love products which make them look pretty. Implementing Dai Chen''s ideas in the shop, made them gain popularity, as well as a boon in their business, even those of the Fu merchant contacted them for further business contracts, the one to deal and negotiate with the members of the Fu merchant family, was none other than, Dai Chen himself, who was good looking as well as was the most polite one in the blacksmith, where everyone, be it the Head-Blacksmith or other blacksmiths, who were hot-headed and straight forward in nature, even in the negotiating department, Dai Chen showed his amazing skills in communicating and dealing with the crafty merchants of the Fu merchant family. Looking at Dai Chen''s hard work and passion for working so earnestly, the Head-Blacksmith officially took him under his mantle and made him his personal disciple, apart from learning the method of forging, Dai Chen also learned a lot about cultivation as well as he got a lot of help from his master, which helped in increasing his cultivation faster, now he is at the Essence Gathering Stage. How or what was the way, that someone like Dai Chen''s cultivation rose rapidly, was beyond his knowledge, and Dai Chen was also required to make an oath to not divulge this secret. Chapter 88 - Tyu Hzhzj zjjzzjzj nzjzjacticing in the cave, with weights on his shoulders, he was sweating a bit due to his intense workout, nevertheless, there was this smile, which showed that he enjoyed practicing, the only concern that Li Jie has been having was that his master whom he thought will start to teach him swordsmanship, yet he wasn''t taught that and only after Li Jie reached Master Stage, was he taught about swordsmanship, but the problem with it was that he wasn''t given a sword technique to learn swordsmanship, instead he was told to practice some basic sword moves, which was almost forgotten as they were only taught in the olden times when there was a scarcity of martial techniques, but now after years of progression, the techniques are abundant are better than the basic sword moves as they, of course, added in those techniques apart from some special elements, but his master instructed him to practice only the basic sword techniques which were, Chopping, Striking, Thrusting, and Slicing. Li Jie had great trust in Mr.teacher, after all, he was the one who gave Li Jie hope for cultivation, but at the same time he couldn''t help but feel that learning these basic sword techniques might be a waste of time, Li Jie still tried to steel his heart and started practicing the basic sword techniques again and again, which felt more monotonous as time passed and made him more impatient towards practicing the basic sword techniques, Li Jie then thought to himself, that maybe he should stop it and maybe secretly learn high-grade sword techniques, without his master knowing, he was happy with his idea, but it was right then that he stopped himself from thinking abruptly, "What the heckk, just what the hell almost happened to me, it''s like my mind and body are feeling some kind of aversion towards learning the basic sword techniques more and more, Li Jie felt sweat on his forehead, with how much aversion his body and mind was feeling towards the basic sword techniques, is there something something special about them, that I am feeling so restless, it''s like I am being tempted from inside me for giving up and I will feel good", thought Li Jie. After recounting everything again and again in his mind, Li Jie felt something wrong and had an extremely pensive expression on his face, when he remembered how for a second, he felt it was okay to betray his master''s trust, just what is this thing that is influencing me to give up practicing the basic sword techniques, tempting me and making my heart restless. With a stern face, Li Jie decided that he will not let anyone influence him, not even he himself for getting complacent without even achieving his goals, Li Jie was cursing whoever was influencing him through whatever means, he decided that he will practice the basic sword techniques more and more, no matter how repulsed he feel towards these techniques. After some time of practicing, it was like something broke, and he became faster at performing them, the movements he showed for practicing the basic sword techniques had considerably grown faster, and he also felt as if there was something blocking his mind which was broken now, but now he felt free, Li Jie didn''t know what to think of this, after all he had been practicing the basic sword techniques for years, which made him frustrated at times, but now he felt relieved upon being fluid with his movements rearding the basic sword techniques. Li Jie then sat down and started mediatting to calm himself down, from whatever he felt, he will have to ask Mr.Teacher for answers, as he is the only who can tell him about his situation. Li Jie''s stomach was growling after sometime, which made him cook up the meat of the beasts, that he had stored in containers, and he wasn''t cooking them by placing them by just on fire, he had a storage for spices, which he used to spread on the meat, he would not simply eat anything, he was taught by Mr.Teacher that if he wants to have a sound mind always, then he must learn the art of cooking, while he wasn''t a professional, still what he made was many times better than just eating anything, as it was mentioned to him by his master, Li Jie after recalling his master''s words felt more thankful towards him, as it really helped him in adjusting here in the wild. After meditating for sometime, Li Jie then got up in his pursuit of beasts, whom he would fight from time to time, to increase his experience as well as polish his fighting style, he was also wondering, now that his mastery in basic sword technique has increased to a level, which he doesn''t identify, he sought out to check it''s characteristics by fighting beasts. Li Jie first took out a sword, which was given to him by Mr.Teacher, which he rarely used, the weird thing about this sword was that somehow it adjusted to his cultivation stage, and it was extremely tough, impossible to even leave a scratch, after using it many times, he one time even asked his master curiously for the rank of this sword, to which his master replied that the sword is unranked and that it will only have the same power as the user, which means that if Li Jie is in the Grandmaster stage, then the attack power of this sword will be of High-Grade Common weapon, which wasn''t that useful to him, and it was instructed to him by his master that he must only use this sword if he doesn''t have any other sword at the moment, and he should try swords of different sizes and shapes, which will help him in the long run, which wasn''t something Li Jie could understand for now, but now that he didn''t have any other sword to help him in fighting, which is why he will have to use the sword given to him by Mr.Teacher for now. He went out of the cave, looking for beasts to fight cautiously, he cannot fight a beast too weak or too strong, nor will he fight someone who is in groups, he finally found a CloudDrifting Fox, which had grey fur, small yet sharp claws and fangs, while this beast isn''t considered as strong as the BloodBursting Tiger, but it had high intelligence and was very tricky to fight, many cultivators end up dying because of it, and it had extreme speedy movements, which was why even in precarious situations, it can escape easily. After deciding on his target, Li Jie hid in the bushes, while observing the CloudDrifting Fox, which was also in the Essence Gathering Stage, he was observing every movement of it, and trying his best not to alert the CloudDrifting Fox about him, or else it would escape, to make it battle him , Li Jie had an idea, but for that he will have to close it''s paths of retreat, after looking around him, he understoood what he had to do, Li Jie first followed it quietly and cautiously, after sometime, the CloudDrifting Fox was reaching a cave, he felt that this was a good oppurtunity as he could fight it in the cave, but the cave was dark but Li Jie cursed, as he was afraid of two things, first was the existence of any other beast in the cave or near the cave, and second was the darkness that was present in the cave. The darkness in the cave can hinder his vision, while the beasts have excellent hearing as well as night vision, which won''t impede it, after considering for sometime, he went back to his cave planning his attack on the beast, as now he knows where the cave of the CloudDrifting Fox is. To increase his chances of success, Li Jie had to make more preparation, after going back to his cave, he started concocting some pellets first, which wasn''t for consuming, they were special pellet which after crashing produces explosion, while the explosion isn''t threatening to anyone, it is enough to scare a beast, he also wanted to use some poison fuming pellets, but he felt that it wouldn''t be ok for him to use such means towards a beast, he can fight, only against those who surpass him in strength, will he use the poison fuming pellets to save his life. After preparing everything, Li Jie packed a small pouch on his waist and his sword on the left side of his waist. He made his way towards the cave, where the CloudDrifting Fox is present, he knew that he won''t be able to match the CloudDrifting Fox in speed, that''s why he made so many preparations just to trap the CloudDrifting Fox and fight in an enclosed area. Li Jie was looking at the cave, where the fox was still present, who was coming out of from the cave from time to time, sometimes it would go out to find and bring prey for it to eat, after noticing that except the fox, there was no one present in the cave, Li Jie was relieved and he was ready to attack the CloudDrifting Fox. Chapter 89 - Typr Jshy whwjwjk ejekelel jejekekeke qjqk paying his respects to his master, Li Jie got up and left, while he didn''t know what to do next, but he had an inkling of what he was supposed to do, and if what he had in mind doesn''t work then he will have to find some other way. From his master''s teachings, he understood that if he wants to have a better grasp of his intent, he first have to understand why did he choose this intent, even if it was done subconsciously he felt that the most important part in the understanding intent is to understand more about oneself. First, to check if his methods could work, he first had to find a mountain, and thankfully his Li family castle was surrounded by mountains, left and right, back and forth. All he had to do was to choose anyone of those mountains and to see if there is any improvement in his intent. There was only one problem that he had and it was that he had to bring someone with him, because all the mountains, surrounding the Li family castle are not something he has access to, first he needs permission from his father to venture towards those mountains, then his father will make someone to escort him towards those mountains. He wanted to be alone, while he comprehends his intent, while he was sorting this trouble out in his brains, he had an idea. So he ran fast towards his room, where he found the maid Xiao Chu, who was cleaning up some dust in his room. "Sister Xiao Chu, can you help me in helping me a tour around the mountains near our Li family estate", asked Li Jie with an expectant gaze. The maid Xiao Chu''s face turned tensed, she remembered in these five years, how Li Jie would ask her to take him to someplace outside of the Li family jurisdiction, and whatever place they would go to was either dangerous or extremely weird, sometimes she can''t even sleep at night for the fear of her young master asking her to take him someplace outside, although the mountains surrounding the Li family jurisdiction comes under the Li family, and on some of those mountains, many poor people live for farming, cultivating various crops and growing various herbs, vegetables and wheat, and various other products. At first, she felt it to be normal to go to the mountains surrounding the Li family, except for some mountains, which are either owned by some elder of the Li family or if their mines available for the Li family, except for those special mountains, anyone from the Li family can make a visit to those mountains, which are either barren or already have a certain population of people, especially mortals, who haven''t even touched the basics of cultivation, they live their honest and hardworking life there. Maid Xiao Chu was contemplating that it''s not like she can refuse the young master, but she can choose a mountain, which has the least danger present. "Young Master, I have no problem in guiding you to a mountain, but I need to make sure for your safety, so I will be the one to choose a mountain for us to go to", said the maid Xiao Chu. Li Jie nodded in understanding, first, he himself doesn''t know which mountain to go to and which one will be suitable for him is another matter, so he will have to just follow along with maid Xiao Chu''s decision. "Young Master, if I may ask, which type of mountain would you like to go to if you are thinking of training, then there''s one mountain which is under the supervision elders, and they have many beasts present on the mountain, for the sole purpose of training, while other mountains may have beasts too, but you won''t be able to find many or there might be some, which will be too strong for you to handle, but still there''s much safer, as the cultivators of our Li family go to the other mountains and try to hunt as many beasts as possible for their own, as well as to keep the mortals who have created their own villages safe, then there are also those which are barren and have nothing on them, so young master which type of mountain do you wish to go to", asked maid Xiao Chu. Li Jie''s face turned pensive upon hearing his maid, he never imagined for there to be classification among mountains, as well as some special mountains, which are the personal property of an elder, where it isn''t allowed for anyone to trespass. After pondering for a bit, he decided to go for the barren type mountains, after all, it''s not like he has to battle anyone, he just wants to comprehend about mountains, so that his comprehension for mountain intent increases, whereas for the sword intent, that is something he will have to work on his own understanding of the sword. After deciding their destination, the maid Xiao Chu informed Li Jie, that they cannot just go to any of the mountains simply without any preparation, to go to any mountain, they would need supplies of their own and a caravan to help in going up the mountain, as walking on any mountain is extremely taxing, and it also takes a lot of time, it is different for those of Essence Gathering stage cultivators, as their speed is high, with the help of essence energy, which was neither of the two. Li Jie felt like getting a headache, he never realized that he would need to make such preparations, before setting off for a mountain. "Sister Xiao Chu, you can prepare for the journey as you see fit, I will wait for you to complete your preparations, and then we can go", said Li Jie. The maid Xiao Chu nodded with a serious look on her face, "Yes, young master, I will make ample preparations for our journey, I will have the preparations for your mountain exploration ready by tomorrow, then we can set off for any mountain that you wish to go to", said the maid Xiao Chu. At first Li Jie wasn''t pleased with this, after all, he wanted to go to a mountain right away, but he understood that rushing would only be detrimental for now, so he agreed with Xiao Chu''s settings. After concluding his affairs with the maid Xiao Chu, Li Jie went back to his room and started to train physical exercises, and then after some time, he started to practice his techniques. When he was finished with his training, he decided to meet his friend, since he won''t be going to train on his comprehension right away, after washing up, he went out of his room and was heading towards Li Central city, where Dai Chen has been working in a renowned blacksmith shop. Li Jie was reminiscing about how in the past five years, Dai Chen has been working hard daily in the blacksmith shop, first, he was working as an assistant, where he gained quite a bit of popularity over the years among the ladies, who were frequent customers of the blacksmith shop, then he also joined the blacksmiths in their work, he started out as a supporting party, but after some time, he started his hands-on forging of metals, surprisingly he had a talent for forging, because of his low cultivation, the most he could forge were common goods, but he had a creative mind, he suggested the head blacksmith forge designed accessories for women, where a minuscule amount of the raw material is used, unlike for creating weapons and armor, where a high amount of raw materials are needed, while these design accessories weren''t of any use, but females tend to love products which make them look pretty. Implementing Dai Chen''s ideas in the shop, made them gain popularity, as well as a boon in their business, even those of the Fu merchant contacted them for further business contracts, the one to deal and negotiate with the members of the Fu merchant family, was none other than, Dai Chen himself, who was good looking as well as was the most polite one in the blacksmith, where everyone, be it the Head-Blacksmith or other blacksmiths, who were hot-headed and straight forward in nature, even in the negotiating department, Dai Chen showed his amazing skills in communicating and dealing with the crafty merchants of the Fu merchant family. Looking at Dai Chen''s hard work and passion for working so earnestly, the Head-Blacksmith officially took him under his mantle and made him his personal disciple, apart from learning the method of forging, Dai Chen also learned a lot about cultivation as well as he got a lot of help from his master, which helped in increasing his cultivation faster, now he is at the Essence Gathering Stage. How or what was the way, that someone like Dai Chen''s cultivation rose rapidly, was beyond his knowledge, and Dai Chen was also required to make an oath to not divulge this secret. Chapter 90 - Tyh Mmmmmmmjjzzjzj nzjzjacticing in the cave, with weights on his shoulders, he was sweating a bit due to his intense workout, nevertheless, there was this smile, which showed that he enjoyed practicing, the only concern that Li Jie has been having was that his master whom he thought will start to teach him swordsmanship, yet he wasn''t taught that and only after Li Jie reached Master Stage, was he taught about swordsmanship, but the problem with it was that he wasn''t given a sword technique to learn swordsmanship, instead he was told to practice some basic sword moves, which was almost forgotten as they were only taught in the olden times when there was a scarcity of martial techniques, but now after years of progression, the techniques are abundant are better than the basic sword moves as they, of course, added in those techniques apart from some special elements, but his master instructed him to practice only the basic sword techniques which were, Chopping, Striking, Thrusting, and Slicing. Li Jie had great trust in Mr.teacher, after all, he was the one who gave Li Jie hope for cultivation, but at the same time he couldn''t help but feel that learning these basic sword techniques might be a waste of time, Li Jie still tried to steel his heart and started practicing the basic sword techniques again and again, which felt more monotonous as time passed and made him more impatient towards practicing the basic sword techniques, Li Jie then thought to himself, that maybe he should stop it and maybe secretly learn high-grade sword techniques, without his master knowing, he was happy with his idea, but it was right then that he stopped himself from thinking abruptly, "What the heckk, just what the hell almost happened to me, it''s like my mind and body are feeling some kind of aversion towards learning the basic sword techniques more and more, Li Jie felt sweat on his forehead, with how much aversion his body and mind was feeling towards the basic sword techniques, is there something something special about them, that I am feeling so restless, it''s like I am being tempted from inside me for giving up and I will feel good", thought Li Jie. After recounting everything again and again in his mind, Li Jie felt something wrong and had an extremely pensive expression on his face, when he remembered how for a second, he felt it was okay to betray his master''s trust, just what is this thing that is influencing me to give up practicing the basic sword techniques, tempting me and making my heart restless. With a stern face, Li Jie decided that he will not let anyone influence him, not even he himself for getting complacent without even achieving his goals, Li Jie was cursing whoever was influencing him through whatever means, he decided that he will practice the basic sword techniques more and more, no matter how repulsed he feel towards these techniques. After some time of practicing, it was like something broke, and he became faster at performing them, the movements he showed for practicing the basic sword techniques had considerably grown faster, and he also felt as if there was something blocking his mind which was broken now, but now he felt free, Li Jie didn''t know what to think of this, after all he had been practicing the basic sword techniques for years, which made him frustrated at times, but now he felt relieved upon being fluid with his movements rearding the basic sword techniques. Li Jie then sat down and started mediatting to calm himself down, from whatever he felt, he will have to ask Mr.Teacher for answers, as he is the only who can tell him about his situation. Li Jie''s stomach was growling after sometime, which made him cook up the meat of the beasts, that he had stored in containers, and he wasn''t cooking them by placing them by just on fire, he had a storage for spices, which he used to spread on the meat, he would not simply eat anything, he was taught by Mr.Teacher that if he wants to have a sound mind always, then he must learn the art of cooking, while he wasn''t a professional, still what he made was many times better than just eating anything, as it was mentioned to him by his master, Li Jie after recalling his master''s words felt more thankful towards him, as it really helped him in adjusting here in the wild. After meditating for sometime, Li Jie then got up in his pursuit of beasts, whom he would fight from time to time, to increase his experience as well as polish his fighting style, he was also wondering, now that his mastery in basic sword technique has increased to a level, which he doesn''t identify, he sought out to check it''s characteristics by fighting beasts. Li Jie first took out a sword, which was given to him by Mr.Teacher, which he rarely used, the weird thing about this sword was that somehow it adjusted to his cultivation stage, and it was extremely tough, impossible to even leave a scratch, after using it many times, he one time even asked his master curiously for the rank of this sword, to which his master replied that the sword is unranked and that it will only have the same power as the user, which means that if Li Jie is in the Grandmaster stage, then the attack power of this sword will be of High-Grade Common weapon, which wasn''t that useful to him, and it was instructed to him by his master that he must only use this sword if he doesn''t have any other sword at the moment, and he should try swords of different sizes and shapes, which will help him in the long run, which wasn''t something Li Jie could understand for now, but now that he didn''t have any other sword to help him in fighting, which is why he will have to use the sword given to him by Mr.Teacher for now. He went out of the cave, looking for beasts to fight cautiously, he cannot fight a beast too weak or too strong, nor will he fight someone who is in groups, he finally found a CloudDrifting Fox, which had grey fur, small yet sharp claws and fangs, while this beast isn''t considered as strong as the BloodBursting Tiger, but it had high intelligence and was very tricky to fight, many cultivators end up dying because of it, and it had extreme speedy movements, which was why even in precarious situations, it can escape easily. After deciding on his target, Li Jie hid in the bushes, while observing the CloudDrifting Fox, which was also in the Essence Gathering Stage, he was observing every movement of it, and trying his best not to alert the CloudDrifting Fox about him, or else it would escape, to make it battle him , Li Jie had an idea, but for that he will have to close it''s paths of retreat, after looking around him, he understoood what he had to do, Li Jie first followed it quietly and cautiously, after sometime, the CloudDrifting Fox was reaching a cave, he felt that this was a good oppurtunity as he could fight it in the cave, but the cave was dark but Li Jie cursed, as he was afraid of two things, first was the existence of any other beast in the cave or near the cave, and second was the darkness that was present in the cave. The darkness in the cave can hinder his vision, while the beasts have excellent hearing as well as night vision, which won''t impede it, after considering for sometime, he went back to his cave planning his attack on the beast, as now he knows where the cave of the CloudDrifting Fox is. To increase his chances of success, Li Jie had to make more preparation, after going back to his cave, he started concocting some pellets first, which wasn''t for consuming, they were special pellet which after crashing produces explosion, while the explosion isn''t threatening to anyone, it is enough to scare a beast, he also wanted to use some poison fuming pellets, but he felt that it wouldn''t be ok for him to use such means towards a beast, he can fight, only against those who surpass him in strength, will he use the poison fuming pellets to save his life. After preparing everything, Li Jie packed a small pouch on his waist and his sword on the left side of his waist. He made his way towards the cave, where the CloudDrifting Fox is present, he knew that he won''t be able to match the CloudDrifting Fox in speed, that''s why he made so many preparations just to trap the CloudDrifting Fox and fight in an enclosed area. Li Jie was looking at the cave, where the fox was still present, who was coming out of from the cave from time to time, sometimes it would go out to find and bring prey for it to eat, after noticing that except the fox, there was no one present in the cave, Li Jie was relieved and he was ready to attack the CloudDrifting Fox. Chapter 91 - Ntyy Jal kala Kalil kqlqjzjacticing in the cave, with weights on his shoulders, he was sweating a bit due to his intense workout, nevertheless, there was this smile, which showed that he enjoyed practicing, the only concern that Li Jie has been having was that his master whom he thought will start to teach him swordsmanship, yet he wasn''t taught that and only after Li Jie reached Master Stage, was he taught about swordsmanship, but the problem with it was that he wasn''t given a sword technique to learn swordsmanship, instead he was told to practice some basic sword moves, which was almost forgotten as they were only taught in the olden times when there was a scarcity of martial techniques, but now after years of progression, the techniques are abundant are better than the basic sword moves as they, of course, added in those techniques apart from some special elements, but his master instructed him to practice only the basic sword techniques which were, Chopping, Striking, Thrusting, and Slicing. Li Jie had great trust in Mr.teacher, after all, he was the one who gave Li Jie hope for cultivation, but at the same time he couldn''t help but feel that learning these basic sword techniques might be a waste of time, Li Jie still tried to steel his heart and started practicing the basic sword techniques again and again, which felt more monotonous as time passed and made him more impatient towards practicing the basic sword techniques, Li Jie then thought to himself, that maybe he should stop it and maybe secretly learn high-grade sword techniques, without his master knowing, he was happy with his idea, but it was right then that he stopped himself from thinking abruptly, "What the heckk, just what the hell almost happened to me, it''s like my mind and body are feeling some kind of aversion towards learning the basic sword techniques more and more, Li Jie felt sweat on his forehead, with how much aversion his body and mind was feeling towards the basic sword techniques, is there something something special about them, that I am feeling so restless, it''s like I am being tempted from inside me for giving up and I will feel good", thought Li Jie. After recounting everything again and again in his mind, Li Jie felt something wrong and had an extremely pensive expression on his face, when he remembered how for a second, he felt it was okay to betray his master''s trust, just what is this thing that is influencing me to give up practicing the basic sword techniques, tempting me and making my heart restless. With a stern face, Li Jie decided that he will not let anyone influence him, not even he himself for getting complacent without even achieving his goals, Li Jie was cursing whoever was influencing him through whatever means, he decided that he will practice the basic sword techniques more and more, no matter how repulsed he feel towards these techniques. After some time of practicing, it was like something broke, and he became faster at performing them, the movements he showed for practicing the basic sword techniques had considerably grown faster, and he also felt as if there was something blocking his mind which was broken now, but now he felt free, Li Jie didn''t know what to think of this, after all he had been practicing the basic sword techniques for years, which made him frustrated at times, but now he felt relieved upon being fluid with his movements rearding the basic sword techniques. Li Jie then sat down and started mediatting to calm himself down, from whatever he felt, he will have to ask Mr.Teacher for answers, as he is the only who can tell him about his situation. Li Jie''s stomach was growling after sometime, which made him cook up the meat of the beasts, that he had stored in containers, and he wasn''t cooking them by placing them by just on fire, he had a storage for spices, which he used to spread on the meat, he would not simply eat anything, he was taught by Mr.Teacher that if he wants to have a sound mind always, then he must learn the art of cooking, while he wasn''t a professional, still what he made was many times better than just eating anything, as it was mentioned to him by his master, Li Jie after recalling his master''s words felt more thankful towards him, as it really helped him in adjusting here in the wild. After meditating for sometime, Li Jie then got up in his pursuit of beasts, whom he would fight from time to time, to increase his experience as well as polish his fighting style, he was also wondering, now that his mastery in basic sword technique has increased to a level, which he doesn''t identify, he sought out to check it''s characteristics by fighting beasts. Li Jie first took out a sword, which was given to him by Mr.Teacher, which he rarely used, the weird thing about this sword was that somehow it adjusted to his cultivation stage, and it was extremely tough, impossible to even leave a scratch, after using it many times, he one time even asked his master curiously for the rank of this sword, to which his master replied that the sword is unranked and that it will only have the same power as the user, which means that if Li Jie is in the Grandmaster stage, then the attack power of this sword will be of High-Grade Common weapon, which wasn''t that useful to him, and it was instructed to him by his master that he must only use this sword if he doesn''t have any other sword at the moment, and he should try swords of different sizes and shapes, which will help him in the long run, which wasn''t something Li Jie could understand for now, but now that he didn''t have any other sword to help him in fighting, which is why he will have to use the sword given to him by Mr.Teacher for now. He went out of the cave, looking for beasts to fight cautiously, he cannot fight a beast too weak or too strong, nor will he fight someone who is in groups, he finally found a CloudDrifting Fox, which had grey fur, small yet sharp claws and fangs, while this beast isn''t considered as strong as the BloodBursting Tiger, but it had high intelligence and was very tricky to fight, many cultivators end up dying because of it, and it had extreme speedy movements, which was why even in precarious situations, it can escape easily. After deciding on his target, Li Jie hid in the bushes, while observing the CloudDrifting Fox, which was also in the Essence Gathering Stage, he was observing every movement of it, and trying his best not to alert the CloudDrifting Fox about him, or else it would escape, to make it battle him , Li Jie had an idea, but for that he will have to close it''s paths of retreat, after looking around him, he understoood what he had to do, Li Jie first followed it quietly and cautiously, after sometime, the CloudDrifting Fox was reaching a cave, he felt that this was a good oppurtunity as he could fight it in the cave, but the cave was dark but Li Jie cursed, as he was afraid of two things, first was the existence of any other beast in the cave or near the cave, and second was the darkness that was present in the cave. The darkness in the cave can hinder his vision, while the beasts have excellent hearing as well as night vision, which won''t impede it, after considering for sometime, he went back to his cave planning his attack on the beast, as now he knows where the cave of the CloudDrifting Fox is. To increase his chances of success, Li Jie had to make more preparation, after going back to his cave, he started concocting some pellets first, which wasn''t for consuming, they were special pellet which after crashing produces explosion, while the explosion isn''t threatening to anyone, it is enough to scare a beast, he also wanted to use some poison fuming pellets, but he felt that it wouldn''t be ok for him to use such means towards a beast, he can fight, only against those who surpass him in strength, will he use the poison fuming pellets to save his life. After preparing everything, Li Jie packed a small pouch on his waist and his sword on the left side of his waist. He made his way towards the cave, where the CloudDrifting Fox is present, he knew that he won''t be able to match the CloudDrifting Fox in speed, that''s why he made so many preparations just to trap the CloudDrifting Fox and fight in an enclosed area. Li Jie was looking at the cave, where the fox was still present, who was coming out of from the cave from time to time, sometimes it would go out to find and bring prey for it to eat, after noticing that except the fox, there was no one present in the cave, Li Jie was relieved and he was ready to attack the CloudDrifting Fox. Chapter 92 - Nmmn Lia sksnen sjjsbwh a shop which wasn''t too extravagant looking, nor was it too simple, it looked just like any shop for armors and weapons, but apart from that, this shop now also specializes in women''s accessories. First, he pushed the door open, where he was greeted by a girl, who greeted him, but after looking at her customer, her facial expression changed from politeness to admiration, this girl was none other than "nnnn", she had seen Li Jie visit their shop over the years, and he is also a good friend of Dai Chen, according to Dai Chen, Li Jie is the one who chnaged his life for good, and he is someone whom he has utmost admiration for, while everyone pities the young master''s fate, nonetheless over the period of five years, almost every one in the Li family knows about the character of the eldest young master of the Li family, while he is considered a cripple, he still has a huge reputation as one of the most kind and righteous person in the Li family, there were many incidents over the years, in which there were cases of how some of those of a higher standing were creating problems for the common families or weak people. There were also some low time criminals, who performed the most heinous crimes in the name of revenge, he even brought them to justice. At first the members of the Li family were afraid, that Li Jie is someone who just covers for the weak and might get easily manipulated, but there were instances in which he outwitted those who tried to outsmart him, according to him, regardless of your status, be it low or high, a sin is a sin, and none of it can be tolerated, even if you are someone elite in the Li family. Many considered Li Jie a joke at first, but his determination had gotten the best of everyone, he was the son of patriarch if he wants to, he can easily order those of the Law enforcement in the Li family to check upon every individual, and also to take responsibility of the safety of those who are weak and helpless. When some of the elders, whose descendants were also one of those committing unforgivable sins were caught red handed and were getting punished for their crimes, those elders went straight to the patriarch to revoke Li Jie''s power in the Li family, where he can order those of different departments of the Li family to do his bidding, but the patriarch rejected them straight away, replying to them that if Li Jie''s acts were affecting the Li family as a whole, then only will he be punished or stopped and if what he is doing is something beneficial to the Li family, then it will also be encouraged, the elders wanted to argue more, but they cannot bluntly state that their descendants are trash or scum of the society, they could only keep their mouth shut helplessly. Many of the elite members felt uneasy with the patriarch''s attitude towards his son, but they couldn''t do anything, they still have the memory about the middle aged woman who was slandering the patriarch''s son infront of him, and how all of her family was punished for it. Despite the dissatisfaction of the elite members of the Li family, surprisingly after a month or two of Li Jie''s intervention in not tolerating any kind of sinful behavior made the whole Li family the most safest of all the places in the whole continent, the residents of the Li family at first didn''t care much, but after feeling the loss of fear, that they were subjected to almost every time made them feel blissful, and their admiration towards the eldest young master of the Li family increased to the limit. That''s why now whenever anyone in the Li family estate were to meet or look at the eldest young master of the Li family, either they will have complete admiration or utmost fear towards him. This is also the reason why after looking at Li Jie, (nnnn)''s eyes turned to that of admiration and respect, when looking at him. "Young Master, Sir Dai Chen is currently dealing with some of the merchants of the Fu merchant family, he will soon be coming here, if you were to wait for some time, I am sure Sir Dai Chen would be delighted to be in your presence", said (nnn) with respect. After paying his respects to his master, Li Jie got up and left, while he didn''t know what to do next, but he had an inkling of what he was supposed to do, and if what he had in mind doesn''t work then he will have to find some other way. From his master''s teachings, he understood that if he wants to have a better grasp of his intent, he first have to understand why did he choose this intent, even if it was done subconsciously he felt that the most important part in the understanding intent is to understand more about oneself. First, to check if his methods could work, he first had to find a mountain, and thankfully his Li family castle was surrounded by mountains, left and right, back and forth. All he had to do was to choose anyone of those mountains and to see if there is any improvement in his intent. There was only one problem that he had and it was that he had to bring someone with him, because all the mountains, surrounding the Li family castle are not something he has access to, first he needs permission from his father to venture towards those mountains, then his father will make someone to escort him towards those mountains. He wanted to be alone, while he comprehends his intent, while he was sorting this trouble out in his brains, he had an idea. So he ran fast towards his room, where he found the maid Xiao Chu, who was cleaning up some dust in his room. "Sister Xiao Chu, can you help me in helping me a tour around the mountains near our Li family estate", asked Li Jie with an expectant gaze. The maid Xiao Chu''s face turned tensed, she remembered in these five years, how Li Jie would ask her to take him to someplace outside of the Li family jurisdiction, and whatever place they would go to was either dangerous or extremely weird, sometimes she can''t even sleep at night for the fear of her young master asking her to take him someplace outside, although the mountains surrounding the Li family jurisdiction comes under the Li family, and on some of those mountains, many poor people live for farming, cultivating various crops and growing various herbs, vegetables and wheat, and various other products. At first, she felt it to be normal to go to the mountains surrounding the Li family, except for some mountains, which are either owned by some elder of the Li family or if their mines available for the Li family, except for those special mountains, anyone from the Li family can make a visit to those mountains, which are either barren or already have a certain population of people, especially mortals, who haven''t even touched the basics of cultivation, they live their honest and hardworking life there. Maid Xiao Chu was contemplating that it''s not like she can refuse the young master, but she can choose a mountain, which has the least danger present. "Young Master, I have no problem in guiding you to a mountain, but I need to make sure for your safety, so I will be the one to choose a mountain for us to go to", said the maid Xiao Chu. Li Jie nodded in understanding, first, he himself doesn''t know which mountain to go to and which one will be suitable for him is another matter, so he will have to just follow along with maid Xiao Chu''s decision After paying his respects to his master, Li Jie got up and left, while he didn''t know what to do next, but he had an inkling of what he was supposed to do, and if what he had in mind doesn''t work then he will have to find some other way. From his master''s teachings, he understood that if he wants to have a better grasp of his intent, he first have to understand why did he choose this intent, even if it was done subconsciously he felt that the most important part in the understanding intent is to understand more about oneself. First, to check if his methods could work, he first had to find a mountain, and thankfully his Li family castle was surrounded by mountains, left and right, back and forth. All he had to do was to choose anyone of those mountains and to see if there is any improvement in his intent. There was only one problem that he had and it was that he had to bring someone with him, because all the mountains, surrounding the Li family castle are not something he has access to, first he needs permission from his father to venture towards those mountains, then his father will make someone to escort him towards those mountains Chapter 93 - Ututu Agha banana After the Old Man''s story about the "Sword of Flower" ended and with Li Jie''s confusion about his path cleared, he and Teng Peng left the crowd back to his house, where he will pick up the maid Xiao Chu, to return back to the Li family castle, because it was already getting late. As for the Old man, he just started with an entirely different story, but there was a mysterious glint at the corner of his eyes when he saw the boy leaving who reminded him of someone important and special to him. The Old man was also looking towards the sky, when he said in his heart, "If fate has it, maybe one day we shall meet child". After which he started with his recital towards the crowd, whereas Li Jie and Teng Peng were rushing towards Dai Chen''s home at an accelerating speed. While passing through many streets which were in poor condition, the roads had plotholes and some muddy roads, while Teng Peng was the one leading them as he had all the knowledge of the fastest way to get back to Teng Peng''s house. While running and passing through many garbage areas and broken muddy roads, Li Jie had a thought, "Today was very exciting, and I was lucky to listen to that Old man''s story, I wonder if the story he told me is even true, I will ask father back home, the people here live in a very horrible condition, now that I am sure what I have to do, I will not stop no matter who it is, I will just go forward with my decision, no matter how painful it might feel to me", thought Li Jie with a serious expression on his face with complete resolution. After some time running and passing through some ragtag streets, they could finally see the sight of Teng Peng''s house, after reaching near the door, they both stopped, Teng Peng was gasping for breath as he was tired from all the running as well as his breathing rate high, wheres Li Jie was completely fine even after running for quite long. Finally after Teng Peng felt a bit better he knocked on the door two times repeatedly in succession whereas the third time he knocked after some time, which was apparently a code for those inside to know that the one knocking is someone from their family and they don''t have to be overly cautious with the help of the secret code. The door was opened by Fu Li who was happy to see them, she was a bit worried if they were to encounter trouble and for their safety, but now she was relieved by seeing both of them in their good condition. "See Fu Li, I told you before, you were getting worried for no reason, Teng Peng was with Brother Li Jie, it wasn''t possible for anything to go wrong with his", said Dai Chen from behind Fu Li. Fu Li just helplessly smiled and moved behind her and said, "Yes Yes, elder brother Dai Chen I get it, I won''t trouble you anymore with my concern and well being for my family", said Fu Li sarcastically to which Dai Chen just helplessly smiled and shook his head, he knew how stubborn this younger sister of his is, of course, he never thought she was wrong as a matter of fact, he very much appreciated her concern and overly cautious nature and protectiveness towards the family members. "I have to say, Teng Peng, that sister Fu Li''s worries weren''t unfounded, did you go out of the region which is safe, because seeing how you were quite late, does make one worried and even maid Xiao Chu was very worried for brother Li Jie, tell me Teng Peng is this the reason why you came back late because you went out of the region overlooked by Fu Li", asked Dai Chen with a solemn expression, who glared at Teng Peng. At first, Ten Peng was relieved that he will not be scolded, but seeing Dai Chen''s glaring eyes, he gulped and started reciting everything they experienced and how they had to make a stop for listening to the Old man''s stories, which made them both curious, listening to Teng Peng''s story Dai Chen''s face twitched, Teng Peng was really asking for it, to stop on their way just to listen to a stranger''s story. Listening to Teng Peng, Dai Chen just sighed, it''s not something much serious but that''s the thing about "The Slums", anything can become dangerous, no matter how easy-going the situation feels to be for a person because both Dai Chen and Fu Li had experienced the true horrors of the slum, they were worried and understood, how important it was to be cautious. Dai Chen then looked at Fu Li, who was snickering, due to the comical situation, where Teng Peng didn''t do anything wrong but his stupidity knows no bounds thought Fu Li. "It''s ok, leave it, brother Dai Chen, as for you Teng Peng, let me tell you so that you don''t make the same mistake ever again, never ever stop to listen to a stranger''s story or to see something entertaining performed by anyone, you are lucky that old man had no ill intentions, or else you would be forcefully pressured to give them all of your money, it''s one of the tricks some people use to get anything valuable that you might have, do you understand". Teng Peng hurriedly shook his head and said, "Sister Fu Li, I will be sure to keep your words in my mind from next time". Fu Li nodded and they went back inside the house, whereas Li Jie was stunned by what Dai Chen said, he never thought something as simple as entertainment near the road can be so dangerous, thankfully the old man was a kind person, or else it would have been very troublesome, he kept this in his mind that he won''t let his guard down near anything he felt to be insignificant thought Li Jie. When Maid Xiao Chu saw Li Jie, she was relieved, "Young Master, it is quite late already, it will take us some time too to reach back home", from her tone it can be seen that she wanted to hurry, Li Jie understood after listening to her and said, "Yes, we will go now". After talking with maid Xiao Chu for a bit, he went to Dai Chen and Fu Li and said that he will have to go back home, to which Dai Chen nodded as he was the one who will be leading them back to the Li family castle. After preparing everything all three of them were ready to go back to the Li family castle, Li Jie was talking enthusiastically with Teng Peng and the other kids and promised them that he will be coming back soon in the future to play with them. After which all three of them started to go back to the Li family castle while going far from Dai Chen''s house they were waving their hands towards the kids, and finally, they went quite far with nothing but garbage in sight, and it started to get smellier as they got near to their destination, Li Jie couldn''t help but pinch his nose, no matter how many times he tries, this smell is just too unbearable, but this situation wasn''t good for the maid Xiao Chu as she was carrying a big bag with all her strength, which had all the necessities she thought the young master would need, but instead, it just proved to be unnecessary as they weren''t here for any longer, and due to holding the big and heavy bag with all her strength, she couldn''t even use one hand to pinch her nose, she was troubled the closer they got to their destination because the smell just kept getting more and more unbearable for her, she finally regretted bringing this useless bag with her, she wanted to cry but had no tears. Looking at maid Xiao Chu''s unsightly expression, Dai Chen asked her if he can help her with the bag, to which she directly agreed without a single thought. Dai Chen was the only one among them who didn''t close his nose, as a matter of fact, he was even calmly breathing as if the unbearable smell didn''t even bother him, Li Jie was quite surprised at Dai Chen''s capacity to bear the smell, he only felt more praise for Dai Chen in his heart. After getting near the big rock which would help them get out of "The Slums", without anyone noticing, just like before Dai Chen placed the medallion on the stone which opened the path to go outside, after leaving from the rock which was outside of "The Slums", they resumed their journey back towards the Li family castle. While getting back towards the Li family castle, they kept talking to each other, and Li Jie was happy and thinking of when he becomes stronger, he will travel to various unknown places, no matter how good or bad they are. Chapter 94 - Uturr Sbaavhsjsbs nsjshsbshsjsn jsjsbsbs nd that you want me to score first in the upcoming entrance exam, it''s just how will I get the Sacred Heart Academy to choose me, I don''t think they will choose me, even if I were the strongest and performed exceptionally", said Li Jie with concern washed over his face. Mr.Teacher simply smirked towards Li Jie, "It is a fact that none of the academies will choose you, even if you were to perform exceptionally after all their main focus of the study is Essence energy cultivation, not Body refining cultivation, which is not much developed here in this continent, but thankfully you have an amazing inheritance, which will help you reach the peak if you were to use it effectively and keep all of it''s points in your mind, as for the matter of the Sacred Heart Academy to choose you, don''t think much about it, just do your best, I am sure your efforts will not go in vain, just have faith in yourself too", said Mr.Teacher with a smile in a mysterious way. Li Jie was more confused, but he decided to leave it for later, because not only him, but the whole continent will agree with him, in the case of getting admitted to the Sacred Heart Academy, who are the most strict towards, their students having pure, high-grade bloodlines, whereas the others, especially the Dragnoth Demonic Academy is the one with the lowest criteria, where they even accept those with lower grade bloodline, as they have some special technique, which helps in increasing the grade of bloodline, of course, they are not as effective as they sound plus they come with various defects, the reason being they have the most harrendous cultivation techniques to exist, for which one has to do various horrible acts, where the cultivator''s cultivation speed increases with the help of their criminal activities, while the least vile ones just require one to bath in blood of a cultivator or a beast with high potential, the most vile ones require one to drink blood of humans or even eat them, there are even some in which one has sacrifice small human babies, whereas Li Jie doesn''t even have a bit of bloodline, so technically he cannot be accepted into any academy with his bloodline, which is nonexistent. Now Li Jie can only wait for that moment and see if he will be able to get into the Sacred Heart Academy, where only the top prodigies of the whole continent go to further their knowledge related to cultivation. "Master, I forgot to ask, but what are these manuals for", asked Li Jie, when he looked around him at the huge pile of manuals, which were kept in some order. "Well, it''s good that you ask me, you see apart from your own sword, strength, and skills, what is the most important is knowledge, a very simple word yet containing vastness in itself, as a matter of fact, it is knowledge, which eclipses them all in it''s own usefulness, for example, let''s say you went to a forest, where you find a herb which has distinctive properties, and you find it to be extremely precious and right beside that herb you find a mud, which is as simple as mud can be, so you pick up the beautiful looking herb and take it to sell, now you can''t eat the herb right away, what if it has poison, and let''s say you went to sell, but there you found out that it''s a heaven-defying item, now considering your strength, do you think those who are stronger than you would leave you after knowing you who is weaker than them possess a heaven-defying treasure, so instead of getting profit, you will end up dead, now if you already had knowledge about it, you would know that this is a heaven defying treasure, which you will have to keep with you, and not show it to others, and if you had more knowledge, then you would realize that the simple looking mud was more precious than that herb, and it''s not like you can just keep looking for mud all day, so you must have knowledge to identify items, then you must have knowledge of utilising it, so what if you have the precious mud, but what can you do with it, if you don''t even know it''s uses, the main point here is that there are various kinds of knowledge and knowledge can be as vast as the sky, so you must be patient when learning bits and pieces of knowledge and you must properly comprehend about them, now all these manuals here cannot contain all the knowledge this world has to offer, but these are enough for the current you, they are set in rows, where the manuals placed in the first row has the knowledge related to herbs and natural treasures and everything about them, from it''s use to it''s properties, the second row of manuals consist knowledge regarding beasts, as well as their characteristics, strength, and weaknesses, and what to do if you see one, the third row is related to pill recipes, which I want you to memorize completely, and the last row has all the knowledge related to formations and runes, which you will be memorising about and later I will also teach you in the art of refining pills and art of formations, but let me be clear, I will only be teaching you the basic version in both, and as for the stages above basic, that you will have to learn on your own if you want to, if you don''t want to, I am ok with that too", said Mr.Teacher in a nonchalant manner. Li Jie was excited at the idea of learning both alchemy and basics about runes and formations, these are extremely prestigious occupations, that can be found on this continent, nonetheless, he was confused when he heard his master telling him that he will only be taught basics, and the rest he will have to learn himself, thought Li Jie. "Well, it''s true that nothing is free in this world, he understood the value of these occupations and how prestigious they were, which is why he swore to himself, that even if they might seem hard, he will try his best to learn these occupations on by his own", thought Li Jie. "I have also something to tell you, that you should prepare as much as you can, I don''t think I have to explain to you, how much you need to prepare for the forest, as we will be going there next week, so you know what to do", said Mr.Teacher. "Yes master, I understand but I have a doubt that I would like to clear from you, why is it that everything that I am learning has no relation to swordsmanship, when will I learn to use the sword", asked Li Jie with curiosity. Listening to Li Jie Mr.Teacher just smiled with a mysterious glint in his eyes and said, "Well, when the time comes, you will know, for now just focus on what is in front of you, and we will see to it when the right time comes" Li Jie nodded to his master''s reply and went on with his training, where he first went towards the manual and started to get an overview about them, what he will be learning about, and everything. First, he started with the row about various herbs and natural treasures, which had records about many wondrous herbs, about which he hasn''t even read about in the Li family library, which means that these manuals are not from the Li family library, but Mr.Teacher''s personal collection. There were records about some herbs which after consuming could purify a human''s bloodline, while there were also some herbs with their own affinities, which could only help those who have affinity similar to them, the most common type of plants were those which increased a cultivator''s essence energy, while some help in stabilizing the cultivation after breakthrough, and there were also some rare ones which helped in breaking through in cultivation. The herbs which can help a cultivator with breakthroughs at higher stages of cultivation are far more expensive, while the rarest of herbs were those which had unique properties, any herb which had unique property could cause a war between continents!!! Li Jie was baffled after reading how those herbs with unique properties could even change someone''s fate, there were some could make someone extremely lucky for a certain period of time, while there were some which granted a cultivator with a legendary physique, and there were also some which helped with the increase in comprehension of a cultivator, but the most overpowered herb of them all was the only one, which had just one result after eating, besides the picture of the herb, there was just one simple line, "After consuming the "NIHILITY FLOWER", any mortal even without cultivation, can directly step into the "ELEMENT SEVERING REALM"!!!! Chapter 95 - Yttt Hsjsnsna bzhzhzjznz bshzjsjcing in the cave, with weights on his shoulders, he was sweating a bit due to his intense workout, nevertheless, there was this smile, which showed that he enjoyed practicing, the only concern that Li Jie has been having was that his master whom he thought will start to teach him swordsmanship, yet he wasn''t taught that and only after Li Jie reached Master Stage, was he taught about swordsmanship, but the problem with it was that he wasn''t given a sword technique to learn swordsmanship, instead he was told to practice some basic sword moves, which was almost forgotten as they were only taught in the olden times when there was a scarcity of martial techniques, but now after years of progression, the techniques are abundant are better than the basic sword moves as they, of course, added in those techniques apart from some special elements, but his master instructed him to practice only the basic sword techniques which were, Chopping, Striking, Thrusting, and Slicing. Li Jie had great trust in Mr.teacher, after all, he was the one who gave Li Jie hope for cultivation, but at the same time he couldn''t help but feel that learning these basic sword techniques might be a waste of time, Li Jie still tried to steel his heart and started practicing the basic sword techniques again and again, which felt more monotonous as time passed and made him more impatient towards practicing the basic sword techniques, Li Jie then thought to himself, that maybe he should stop it and maybe secretly learn high-grade sword techniques, without his master knowing, he was happy with his idea, but it was right then that he stopped himself from thinking abruptly, "What the heckk, just what the hell almost happened to me, it''s like my mind and body are feeling some kind of aversion towards learning the basic sword techniques more and more, Li Jie felt sweat on his forehead, with how much aversion his body and mind was feeling towards the basic sword techniques, is there something something special about them, that I am feeling so restless, it''s like I am being tempted from inside me for giving up and I will feel good", thought Li Jie. After recounting everything again and again in his mind, Li Jie felt something wrong and had an extremely pensive expression on his face, when he remembered how for a second, he felt it was okay to betray his master''s trust, just what is this thing that is influencing me to give up practicing the basic sword techniques, tempting me and making my heart restless. With a stern face, Li Jie decided that he will not let anyone influence him, not even he himself for getting complacent without even achieving his goals, Li Jie was cursing whoever was influencing him through whatever means, he decided that he will practice the basic sword techniques more and more, no matter how repulsed he feel towards these techniques. After some time of practicing, it was like something broke, and he became faster at performing them, the movements he showed for practicing the basic sword techniques had considerably grown faster, and he also felt as if there was something blocking his mind which was broken now, but now he felt free, Li Jie didn''t know what to think of this, after all he had been practicing the basic sword techniques for years, which made him frustrated at times, but now he felt relieved upon being fluid with his movements rearding the basic sword techniques. Li Jie then sat down and started mediatting to calm himself down, from whatever he felt, he will have to ask Mr.Teacher for answers, as he is the only who can tell him about his situation. Li Jie''s stomach was growling after sometime, which made him cook up the meat of the beasts, that he had stored in containers, and he wasn''t cooking them by placing them by just on fire, he had a storage for spices, which he used to spread on the meat, he would not simply eat anything, he was taught by Mr.Teacher that if he wants to have a sound mind always, then he must learn the art of cooking, while he wasn''t a professional, still what he made was many times better than just eating anything, as it was mentioned to him by his master, Li Jie after recalling his master''s words felt more thankful towards him, as it really helped him in adjusting here in the wild. After meditating for sometime, Li Jie then got up in his pursuit of beasts, whom he would fight from time to time, to increase his experience as well as polish his fighting style, he was also wondering, now that his mastery in basic sword technique has increased to a level, which he doesn''t identify, he sought out to check it''s characteristics by fighting beasts. Li Jie first took out a sword, which was given to him by Mr.Teacher, which he rarely used, the weird thing about this sword was that somehow it adjusted to his cultivation stage, and it was extremely tough, impossible to even leave a scratch, after using it many times, he one time even asked his master curiously for the rank of this sword, to which his master replied that the sword is unranked and that it will only have the same power as the user, which means that if Li Jie is in the Grandmaster stage, then the attack power of this sword will be of High-Grade Common weapon, which wasn''t that useful to him, and it was instructed to him by his master that he must only use this sword if he doesn''t have any other sword at the moment, and he should try swords of different sizes and shapes, which will help him in the long run, which wasn''t something Li Jie could understand for now, but now that he didn''t have any other sword to help him in fighting, which is why he will have to use the sword given to him by Mr.Teacher for now. He went out of the cave, looking for beasts to fight cautiously, he cannot fight a beast too weak or too strong, nor will he fight someone who is in groups, he finally found a CloudDrifting Fox, which had grey fur, small yet sharp claws and fangs, while this beast isn''t considered as strong as the BloodBursting Tiger, but it had high intelligence and was very tricky to fight, many cultivators end up dying because of it, and it had extreme speedy movements, which was why even in precarious situations, it can escape easily. After deciding on his target, Li Jie hid in the bushes, while observing the CloudDrifting Fox, which was also in the Essence Gathering Stage, he was observing every movement of it, and trying his best not to alert the CloudDrifting Fox about him, or else it would escape, to make it battle him , Li Jie had an idea, but for that he will have to close it''s paths of retreat, after looking around him, he understoood what he had to do, Li Jie first followed it quietly and cautiously, after sometime, the CloudDrifting Fox was reaching a cave, he felt that this was a good oppurtunity as he could fight it in the cave, but the cave was dark but Li Jie cursed, as he was afraid of two things, first was the existence of any other beast in the cave or near the cave, and second was the darkness that was present in the cave. The darkness in the cave can hinder his vision, while the beasts have excellent hearing as well as night vision, which won''t impede it, after considering for sometime, he went back to his cave planning his attack on the beast, as now he knows where the cave of the CloudDrifting Fox is. To increase his chances of success, Li Jie had to make more preparation, after going back to his cave, he started concocting some pellets first, which wasn''t for consuming, they were special pellet which after crashing produces explosion, while the explosion isn''t threatening to anyone, it is enough to scare a beast, he also wanted to use some poison fuming pellets, but he felt that it wouldn''t be ok for him to use such means towards a beast, he can fight, only against those who surpass him in strength, will he use the poison fuming pellets to save his life. After preparing everything, Li Jie packed a small pouch on his waist and his sword on the left side of his waist. He made his way towards the cave, where the CloudDrifting Fox is present, he knew that he won''t be able to match the CloudDrifting Fox in speed, that''s why he made so many preparations just to trap the CloudDrifting Fox and fight in an enclosed area. Li Jie was looking at the cave, where the fox was still present, who was coming out of from the cave from time to time, sometimes it would go out to find and bring prey for it to eat, after noticing that except the fox, there was no one present in the cave, Li Jie was relieved and he was ready to attack the CloudDrifting Fox. Chapter 96 - Yuiii Hshshsjsjsjsnwbsl jejekekeke qjqk paying his respects to his master, Li Jie got up and left, while he didn''t know what to do next, but he had an inkling of what he was supposed to do, and if what he had in mind doesn''t work then he will have to find some other way. From his master''s teachings, he understood that if he wants to have a better grasp of his intent, he first have to understand why did he choose this intent, even if it was done subconsciously he felt that the most important part in the understanding intent is to understand more about oneself. First, to check if his methods could work, he first had to find a mountain, and thankfully his Li family castle was surrounded by mountains, left and right, back and forth. All he had to do was to choose anyone of those mountains and to see if there is any improvement in his intent. There was only one problem that he had and it was that he had to bring someone with him, because all the mountains, surrounding the Li family castle are not something he has access to, first he needs permission from his father to venture towards those mountains, then his father will make someone to escort him towards those mountains. He wanted to be alone, while he comprehends his intent, while he was sorting this trouble out in his brains, he had an idea. So he ran fast towards his room, where he found the maid Xiao Chu, who was cleaning up some dust in his room. "Sister Xiao Chu, can you help me in helping me a tour around the mountains near our Li family estate", asked Li Jie with an expectant gaze. The maid Xiao Chu''s face turned tensed, she remembered in these five years, how Li Jie would ask her to take him to someplace outside of the Li family jurisdiction, and whatever place they would go to was either dangerous or extremely weird, sometimes she can''t even sleep at night for the fear of her young master asking her to take him someplace outside, although the mountains surrounding the Li family jurisdiction comes under the Li family, and on some of those mountains, many poor people live for farming, cultivating various crops and growing various herbs, vegetables and wheat, and various other products. At first, she felt it to be normal to go to the mountains surrounding the Li family, except for some mountains, which are either owned by some elder of the Li family or if their mines available for the Li family, except for those special mountains, anyone from the Li family can make a visit to those mountains, which are either barren or already have a certain population of people, especially mortals, who haven''t even touched the basics of cultivation, they live their honest and hardworking life there. Maid Xiao Chu was contemplating that it''s not like she can refuse the young master, but she can choose a mountain, which has the least danger present. "Young Master, I have no problem in guiding you to a mountain, but I need to make sure for your safety, so I will be the one to choose a mountain for us to go to", said the maid Xiao Chu. Li Jie nodded in understanding, first, he himself doesn''t know which mountain to go to and which one will be suitable for him is another matter, so he will have to just follow along with maid Xiao Chu''s decision. "Young Master, if I may ask, which type of mountain would you like to go to if you are thinking of training, then there''s one mountain which is under the supervision elders, and they have many beasts present on the mountain, for the sole purpose of training, while other mountains may have beasts too, but you won''t be able to find many or there might be some, which will be too strong for you to handle, but still there''s much safer, as the cultivators of our Li family go to the other mountains and try to hunt as many beasts as possible for their own, as well as to keep the mortals who have created their own villages safe, then there are also those which are barren and have nothing on them, so young master which type of mountain do you wish to go to", asked maid Xiao Chu. Li Jie''s face turned pensive upon hearing his maid, he never imagined for there to be classification among mountains, as well as some special mountains, which are the personal property of an elder, where it isn''t allowed for anyone to trespass. After pondering for a bit, he decided to go for the barren type mountains, after all, it''s not like he has to battle anyone, he just wants to comprehend about mountains, so that his comprehension for mountain intent increases, whereas for the sword intent, that is something he will have to work on his own understanding of the sword. After deciding their destination, the maid Xiao Chu informed Li Jie, that they cannot just go to any of the mountains simply without any preparation, to go to any mountain, they would need supplies of their own and a caravan to help in going up the mountain, as walking on any mountain is extremely taxing, and it also takes a lot of time, it is different for those of Essence Gathering stage cultivators, as their speed is high, with the help of essence energy, which was neither of the two. Li Jie felt like getting a headache, he never realized that he would need to make such preparations, before setting off for a mountain. "Sister Xiao Chu, you can prepare for the journey as you see fit, I will wait for you to complete your preparations, and then we can go", said Li Jie. The maid Xiao Chu nodded with a serious look on her face, "Yes, young master, I will make ample preparations for our journey, I will have the preparations for your mountain exploration ready by tomorrow, then we can set off for any mountain that you wish to go to", said the maid Xiao Chu. At first Li Jie wasn''t pleased with this, after all, he wanted to go to a mountain right away, but he understood that rushing would only be detrimental for now, so he agreed with Xiao Chu''s settings. After concluding his affairs with the maid Xiao Chu, Li Jie went back to his room and started to train physical exercises, and then after some time, he started to practice his techniques. When he was finished with his training, he decided to meet his friend, since he won''t be going to train on his comprehension right away, after washing up, he went out of his room and was heading towards Li Central city, where Dai Chen has been working in a renowned blacksmith shop. Li Jie was reminiscing about how in the past five years, Dai Chen has been working hard daily in the blacksmith shop, first, he was working as an assistant, where he gained quite a bit of popularity over the years among the ladies, who were frequent customers of the blacksmith shop, then he also joined the blacksmiths in their work, he started out as a supporting party, but after some time, he started his hands-on forging of metals, surprisingly he had a talent for forging, because of his low cultivation, the most he could forge were common goods, but he had a creative mind, he suggested the head blacksmith forge designed accessories for women, where a minuscule amount of the raw material is used, unlike for creating weapons and armor, where a high amount of raw materials are needed, while these design accessories weren''t of any use, but females tend to love products which make them look pretty. Implementing Dai Chen''s ideas in the shop, made them gain popularity, as well as a boon in their business, even those of the Fu merchant contacted them for further business contracts, the one to deal and negotiate with the members of the Fu merchant family, was none other than, Dai Chen himself, who was good looking as well as was the most polite one in the blacksmith, where everyone, be it the Head-Blacksmith or other blacksmiths, who were hot-headed and straight forward in nature, even in the negotiating department, Dai Chen showed his amazing skills in communicating and dealing with the crafty merchants of the Fu merchant family. Looking at Dai Chen''s hard work and passion for working so earnestly, the Head-Blacksmith officially took him under his mantle and made him his personal disciple, apart from learning the method of forging, Dai Chen also learned a lot about cultivation as well as he got a lot of help from his master, which helped in increasing his cultivation faster, now he is at the Essence Gathering Stage. How or what was the way, that someone like Dai Chen''s cultivation rose rapidly, was beyond his knowledge, and Dai Chen was also required to make an oath to not divulge this secret Chapter 97 - Tiuuuuu Shhaaha sjsjsjsjjsjs sjjssjjs s respects to his master, Li Jie got up and left, while he didn''t know what to do next, but he had an inkling of what he was supposed to do, and if what he had in mind doesn''t work then he will have to find some other way. From his master''s teachings, he understood that if he wants to have a better grasp of his intent, he first have to understand why did he choose this intent, even if it was done subconsciously he felt that the most important part in the understanding intent is to understand more about oneself. First, to check if his methods could work, he first had to find a mountain, and thankfully his Li family castle was surrounded by mountains, left and right, back and forth. All he had to do was to choose anyone of those mountains and to see if there is any improvement in his intent. There was only one problem that he had and it was that he had to bring someone with him, because all the mountains, surrounding the Li family castle are not something he has access to, first he needs permission from his father to venture towards those mountains, then his father will make someone to escort him towards those mountains. He wanted to be alone, while he comprehends his intent, while he was sorting this trouble out in his brains, he had an idea. So he ran fast towards his room, where he found the maid Xiao Chu, who was cleaning up some dust in his room. "Sister Xiao Chu, can you help me in helping me a tour around the mountains near our Li family estate", asked Li Jie with an expectant gaze. The maid Xiao Chu''s face turned tensed, she remembered in these five years, how Li Jie would ask her to take him to someplace outside of the Li family jurisdiction, and whatever place they would go to was either dangerous or extremely weird, sometimes she can''t even sleep at night for the fear of her young master asking her to take him someplace outside, although the mountains surrounding the Li family jurisdiction comes under the Li family, and on some of those mountains, many poor people live for farming, cultivating various crops and growing various herbs, vegetables and wheat, and various other products. At first, she felt it to be normal to go to the mountains surrounding the Li family, except for some mountains, which are either owned by some elder of the Li family or if their mines available for the Li family, except for those special mountains, anyone from the Li family can make a visit to those mountains, which are either barren or already have a certain population of people, especially mortals, who haven''t even touched the basics of cultivation, they live their honest and hardworking life there. Maid Xiao Chu was contemplating that it''s not like she can refuse the young master, but she can choose a mountain, which has the least danger present. "Young Master, I have no problem in guiding you to a mountain, but I need to make sure for your safety, so I will be the one to choose a mountain for us to go to", said the maid Xiao Chu. Li Jie nodded in understanding, first, he himself doesn''t know which mountain to go to and which one will be suitable for him is another matter, so he will have to just follow along with maid Xiao Chu''s decision. "Young Master, if I may ask, which type of mountain would you like to go to if you are thinking of training, then there''s one mountain which is under the supervision elders, and they have many beasts present on the mountain, for the sole purpose of training, while other mountains may have beasts too, but you won''t be able to find many or there might be some, which will be too strong for you to handle, but still there''s much safer, as the cultivators of our Li family go to the other mountains and try to hunt as many beasts as possible for their own, as well as to keep the mortals who have created their own villages safe, then there are also those which are barren and have nothing on them, so young master which type of mountain do you wish to go to", asked maid Xiao Chu. Li Jie''s face turned pensive upon hearing his maid, he never imagined for there to be classification among mountains, as well as some special mountains, which are the personal property of an elder, where it isn''t allowed for anyone to trespass. After pondering for a bit, he decided to go for the barren type mountains, after all, it''s not like he has to battle anyone, he just wants to comprehend about mountains, so that his comprehension for mountain intent increases, whereas for the sword intent, that is something he will have to work on his own understanding of the sword. After deciding their destination, the maid Xiao Chu informed Li Jie, that they cannot just go to any of the mountains simply without any preparation, to go to any mountain, they would need supplies of their own and a caravan to help in going up the mountain, as walking on any mountain is extremely taxing, and it also takes a lot of time, it is different for those of Essence Gathering stage cultivators, as their speed is high, with the help of essence energy, which was neither of the two. Li Jie felt like getting a headache, he never realized that he would need to make such preparations, before setting off for a mountain. "Sister Xiao Chu, you can prepare for the journey as you see fit, I will wait for you to complete your preparations, and then we can go", said Li Jie. The maid Xiao Chu nodded with a serious look on her face, "Yes, young master, I will make ample preparations for our journey, I will have the preparations for your mountain exploration ready by tomorrow, then we can set off for any mountain that you wish to go to", said the maid Xiao Chu. At first Li Jie wasn''t pleased with this, after all, he wanted to go to a mountain right away, but he understood that rushing would only be detrimental for now, so he agreed with Xiao Chu''s settings. After concluding his affairs with the maid Xiao Chu, Li Jie went back to his room and started to train physical exercises, and then after some time, he started to practice his techniques. When he was finished with his training, he decided to meet his friend, since he won''t be going to train on his comprehension right away, after washing up, he went out of his room and was heading towards Li Central city, where Dai Chen has been working in a renowned blacksmith shop. Li Jie was reminiscing about how in the past five years, Dai Chen has been working hard daily in the blacksmith shop, first, he was working as an assistant, where he gained quite a bit of popularity over the years among the ladies, who were frequent customers of the blacksmith shop, then he also joined the blacksmiths in their work, he started out as a supporting party, but after some time, he started his hands-on forging of metals, surprisingly he had a talent for forging, because of his low cultivation, the most he could forge were common goods, but he had a creative mind, he suggested the head blacksmith forge designed accessories for women, where a minuscule amount of the raw material is used, unlike for creating weapons and armor, where a high amount of raw materials are needed, while these design accessories weren''t of any use, but females tend to love products which make them look pretty. Implementing Dai Chen''s ideas in the shop, made them gain popularity, as well as a boon in their business, even those of the Fu merchant contacted them for further business contracts, the one to deal and negotiate with the members of the Fu merchant family, was none other than, Dai Chen himself, who was good looking as well as was the most polite one in the blacksmith, where everyone, be it the Head-Blacksmith or other blacksmiths, who were hot-headed and straight forward in nature, even in the negotiating department, Dai Chen showed his amazing skills in communicating and dealing with the crafty merchants of the Fu merchant family. Looking at Dai Chen''s hard work and passion for working so earnestly, the Head-Blacksmith officially took him under his mantle and made him his personal disciple, apart from learning the method of forging, Dai Chen also learned a lot about cultivation as well as he got a lot of help from his master, which helped in increasing his cultivation faster, now he is at the Essence Gathering Stage. How or what was the way, that someone like Dai Chen''s cultivation rose rapidly, was beyond his knowledge, and Dai Chen was also required to make an oath to not divulge this secret. Chapter 98 - Tutututuu shc djhs n ld ilfjf jf lfj ml ffj lidfj d j jdf jdf jldf jf jf what he was supposed to do, and if what he had in mind doesn''t work then he will have to find some other way. From his master''s teachings, he understood that if he wants to have a better grasp of his intent, he first have to understand why did he choose this intent, even if it was done subconsciously he felt that the most important part in the understanding intent is to understand more about oneself. First, to check if his methods could work, he first had to find a mountain, and thankfully his Li family castle was surrounded by mountains, left and right, back and forth. All he had to do was to choose anyone of those mountains and to see if there is any improvement in his intent. There was only one problem that he had and it was that he had to bring someone with him, because all the mountains, surrounding the Li family castle are not something he has access to, first he needs permission from his father to venture towards those mountains, then his father will make someone to escort him towards those mountains. He wanted to be alone, while he comprehends his intent, while he was sorting this trouble out in his brains, he had an idea. So he ran fast towards his room, where he found the maid Xiao Chu, who was cleaning up some dust in his room. "Sister Xiao Chu, can you help me in helping me a tour around the mountains near our Li family estate", asked Li Jie with an expectant gaze. The maid Xiao Chu''s face turned tensed, she remembered in these five years, how Li Jie would ask her to take him to someplace outside of the Li family jurisdiction, and whatever place they would go to was either dangerous or extremely weird, sometimes she can''t even sleep at night for the fear of her young master asking her to take him someplace outside, although the mountains surrounding the Li family jurisdiction comes under the Li family, and on some of those mountains, many poor people live for farming, cultivating various crops and growing various herbs, vegetables and wheat, and various other products. At first, she felt it to be normal to go to the mountains surrounding the Li family, except for some mountains, which are either owned by some elder of the Li family or if their mines available for the Li family, except for those special mountains, anyone from the Li family can make a visit to those mountains, which are either barren or already have a certain population of people, especially mortals, who haven''t even touched the basics of cultivation, they live their honest and hardworking life there. Maid Xiao Chu was contemplating that it''s not like she can refuse the young master, but she can choose a mountain, which has the least danger present. "Young Master, I have no problem in guiding you to a mountain, but I need to make sure for your safety, so I will be the one to choose a mountain for us to go to", said the maid Xiao Chu. Li Jie nodded in understanding, first, he himself doesn''t know which mountain to go to and which one will be suitable for him is another matter, so he will have to just follow along with maid Xiao Chu''s decision. "Young Master, if I may ask, which type of mountain would you like to go to if you are thinking of training, then there''s one mountain which is under the supervision elders, and they have many beasts present on the mountain, for the sole purpose of training, while other mountains may have beasts too, but you won''t be able to find many or there might be some, which will be too strong for you to handle, but still there''s much safer, as the cultivators of our Li family go to the other mountains and try to hunt as many beasts as possible for their own, as well as to keep the mortals who have created their own villages safe, then there are also those which are barren and have nothing on them, so young master which type of mountain do you wish to go to", asked maid Xiao Chu. Li Jie''s face turned pensive upon hearing his maid, he never imagined for there to be classification among mountains, as well as some special mountains, which are the personal property of an elder, where it isn''t allowed for anyone to trespass. After pondering for a bit, he decided to go for the barren type mountains, after all, it''s not like he has to battle anyone, he just wants to comprehend about mountains, so that his comprehension for mountain intent increases, whereas for the sword intent, that is something he will have to work on his own understanding of the sword. After deciding their destination, the maid Xiao Chu informed Li Jie, that they cannot just go to any of the mountains simply without any preparation, to go to any mountain, they would need supplies of their own and a caravan to help in going up the mountain, as walking on any mountain is extremely taxing, and it also takes a lot of time, it is different for those of Essence Gathering stage cultivators, as their speed is high, with the help of essence energy, which was neither of the two. Li Jie felt like getting a headache, he never realized that he would need to make such preparations, before setting off for a mountain. "Sister Xiao Chu, you can prepare for the journey as you see fit, I will wait for you to complete your preparations, and then we can go", said Li Jie. The maid Xiao Chu nodded with a serious look on her face, "Yes, young master, I will make ample preparations for our journey, I will have the preparations for your mountain exploration ready by tomorrow, then we can set off for any mountain that you wish to go to", said the maid Xiao Chu. At first Li Jie wasn''t pleased with this, after all, he wanted to go to a mountain right away, but he understood that rushing would only be detrimental for now, so he agreed with Xiao Chu''s settings. After concluding his affairs with the maid Xiao Chu, Li Jie went back to his room and started to train physical exercises, and then after some time, he started to practice his techniques. When he was finished with his training, he decided to meet his friend, since he won''t be going to train on his comprehension right away, after washing up, he went out of his room and was heading towards Li Central city, where Dai Chen has been working in a renowned blacksmith shop. Li Jie was reminiscing about how in the past five years, Dai Chen has been working hard daily in the blacksmith shop, first, he was working as an assistant, where he gained quite a bit of popularity over the years among the ladies, who were frequent customers of the blacksmith shop, then he also joined the blacksmiths in their work, he started out as a supporting party, but after some time, he started his hands-on forging of metals, surprisingly he had a talent for forging, because of his low cultivation, the most he could forge were common goods, but he had a creative mind, he suggested the head blacksmith forge designed accessories for women, where a minuscule amount of the raw material is used, unlike for creating weapons and armor, where a high amount of raw materials are needed, while these design accessories weren''t of any use, but females tend to love products which make them look pretty. Implementing Dai Chen''s ideas in the shop, made them gain popularity, as well as a boon in their business, even those of the Fu merchant contacted them for further business contracts, the one to deal and negotiate with the members of the Fu merchant family, was none other than, Dai Chen himself, who was good looking as well as was the most polite one in the blacksmith, where everyone, be it the Head-Blacksmith or other blacksmiths, who were hot-headed and straight forward in nature, even in the negotiating department, Dai Chen showed his amazing skills in communicating and dealing with the crafty merchants of the Fu merchant family. Looking at Dai Chen''s hard work and passion for working so earnestly, the Head-Blacksmith officially took him under his mantle and made him his personal disciple, apart from learning the method of forging, Dai Chen also learned a lot about cultivation as well as he got a lot of help from his master, which helped in increasing his cultivation faster, now he is at the Essence Gathering Stage. How or what was the way, that someone like Dai Chen''s cultivation rose rapidly, was beyond his knowledge, and Dai Chen was also required to make an oath to not divulge this secret. Chapter 99 - Nttttt shhhdhd dhdhhdh dh dhddhdh dhddd hhd to his master, Li Jie got up and left, while he didn''t know what to do next, but he had an inkling of what he was supposed to do, and if what he had in mind doesn''t work then he will have to find some other way. From his master''s teachings, he understood that if he wants to have a better grasp of his intent, he first have to understand why did he choose this intent, even if it was done subconsciously he felt that the most important part in the understanding intent is to understand more about oneself. First, to check if his methods could work, he first had to find a mountain, and thankfully his Li family castle was surrounded by mountains, left and right, back and forth. All he had to do was to choose anyone of those mountains and to see if there is any improvement in his intent. There was only one problem that he had and it was that he had to bring someone with him, because all the mountains, surrounding the Li family castle are not something he has access to, first he needs permission from his father to venture towards those mountains, then his father will make someone to escort him towards those mountains. He wanted to be alone, while he comprehends his intent, while he was sorting this trouble out in his brains, he had an idea. So he ran fast towards his room, where he found the maid Xiao Chu, who was cleaning up some dust in his room. "Sister Xiao Chu, can you help me in helping me a tour around the mountains near our Li family estate", asked Li Jie with an expectant gaze. The maid Xiao Chu''s face turned tensed, she remembered in these five years, how Li Jie would ask her to take him to someplace outside of the Li family jurisdiction, and whatever place they would go to was either dangerous or extremely weird, sometimes she can''t even sleep at night for the fear of her young master asking her to take him someplace outside, although the mountains surrounding the Li family jurisdiction comes under the Li family, and on some of those mountains, many poor people live for farming, cultivating various crops and growing various herbs, vegetables and wheat, and various other products. At first, she felt it to be normal to go to the mountains surrounding the Li family, except for some mountains, which are either owned by some elder of the Li family or if their mines available for the Li family, except for those special mountains, anyone from the Li family can make a visit to those mountains, which are either barren or already have a certain population of people, especially mortals, who haven''t even touched the basics of cultivation, they live their honest and hardworking life there. Maid Xiao Chu was contemplating that it''s not like she can refuse the young master, but she can choose a mountain, which has the least danger present. "Young Master, I have no problem in guiding you to a mountain, but I need to make sure for your safety, so I will be the one to choose a mountain for us to go to", said the maid Xiao Chu. Li Jie nodded in understanding, first, he himself doesn''t know which mountain to go to and which one will be suitable for him is another matter, so he will have to just follow along with maid Xiao Chu''s decision. "Young Master, if I may ask, which type of mountain would you like to go to if you are thinking of training, then there''s one mountain which is under the supervision elders, and they have many beasts present on the mountain, for the sole purpose of training, while other mountains may have beasts too, but you won''t be able to find many or there might be some, which will be too strong for you to handle, but still there''s much safer, as the cultivators of our Li family go to the other mountains and try to hunt as many beasts as possible for their own, as well as to keep the mortals who have created their own villages safe, then there are also those which are barren and have nothing on them, so young master which type of mountain do you wish to go to", asked maid Xiao Chu. Li Jie''s face turned pensive upon hearing his maid, he never imagined for there to be classification among mountains, as well as some special mountains, which are the personal property of an elder, where it isn''t allowed for anyone to trespass. After pondering for a bit, he decided to go for the barren type mountains, after all, it''s not like he has to battle anyone, he just wants to comprehend about mountains, so that his comprehension for mountain intent increases, whereas for the sword intent, that is something he will have to work on his own understanding of the sword. After deciding their destination, the maid Xiao Chu informed Li Jie, that they cannot just go to any of the mountains simply without any preparation, to go to any mountain, they would need supplies of their own and a caravan to help in going up the mountain, as walking on any mountain is extremely taxing, and it also takes a lot of time, it is different for those of Essence Gathering stage cultivators, as their speed is high, with the help of essence energy, which was neither of the two. Li Jie felt like getting a headache, he never realized that he would need to make such preparations, before setting off for a mountain. "Sister Xiao Chu, you can prepare for the journey as you see fit, I will wait for you to complete your preparations, and then we can go", said Li Jie. The maid Xiao Chu nodded with a serious look on her face, "Yes, young master, I will make ample preparations for our journey, I will have the preparations for your mountain exploration ready by tomorrow, then we can set off for any mountain that you wish to go to", said the maid Xiao Chu. At first Li Jie wasn''t pleased with this, after all, he wanted to go to a mountain right away, but he understood that rushing would only be detrimental for now, so he agreed with Xiao Chu''s settings. After concluding his affairs with the maid Xiao Chu, Li Jie went back to his room and started to train physical exercises, and then after some time, he started to practice his techniques. When he was finished with his training, he decided to meet his friend, since he won''t be going to train on his comprehension right away, after washing up, he went out of his room and was heading towards Li Central city, where Dai Chen has been working in a renowned blacksmith shop. Li Jie was reminiscing about how in the past five years, Dai Chen has been working hard daily in the blacksmith shop, first, he was working as an assistant, where he gained quite a bit of popularity over the years among the ladies, who were frequent customers of the blacksmith shop, then he also joined the blacksmiths in their work, he started out as a supporting party, but after some time, he started his hands-on forging of metals, surprisingly he had a talent for forging, because of his low cultivation, the most he could forge were common goods, but he had a creative mind, he suggested the head blacksmith forge designed accessories for women, where a minuscule amount of the raw material is used, unlike for creating weapons and armor, where a high amount of raw materials are needed, while these design accessories weren''t of any use, but females tend to love products which make them look pretty. Implementing Dai Chen''s ideas in the shop, made them gain popularity, as well as a boon in their business, even those of the Fu merchant contacted them for further business contracts, the one to deal and negotiate with the members of the Fu merchant family, was none other than, Dai Chen himself, who was good looking as well as was the most polite one in the blacksmith, where everyone, be it the Head-Blacksmith or other blacksmiths, who were hot-headed and straight forward in nature, even in the negotiating department, Dai Chen showed his amazing skills in communicating and dealing with the crafty merchants of the Fu merchant family. Looking at Dai Chen''s hard work and passion for working so earnestly, the Head-Blacksmith officially took him under his mantle and made him his personal disciple, apart from learning the method of forging, Dai Chen also learned a lot about cultivation as well as he got a lot of help from his master, which helped in increasing his cultivation faster, now he is at the Essence Gathering Stage. How or what was the way, that someone like Dai Chen''s cultivation rose rapidly, was beyond his knowledge, and Dai Chen was also required to make an oath to not divulge this secret. Chapter 100 - Hshahasb Jsjaja jahahsshdjd jdjdjjdjdsaid Li Wei with a sigh. Li Na was worried too, looking at her eldest son whose face was filled with expectations, she knew in her heart that no matter how much she wants, she can''t keep her son are safe from harm all the time, and if Li Jie wished to work on towards his goal of cultivation, then she doesn''t have the right to be selfish, and for Li Jie''s happiness, she could only nod. Li Jie beamed with happiness, finally with all the hard work that he has put into his training, he will have the chance to compete with everyone from the continent, Li Jie was very excited about the upcoming entrance examination. "You will be following the team representing the Li family for the entrance examination, and I will arrange for your safety, just follow every instruction of your seniors, remember they are strong and have ample experience for explorations", said Li Wei in a serious expression. Li Jie nodded, he couldn''t just tell him or show how stronger he has gotten nor can he show his experiences to his parents that''s why he could only concede to his father''s arrangement for the upcoming entrance examination. "Whatt, this is so wrong, you both stop us from any kind of thing related to cultivation, but elder brother is so easily allowed to go for training, that too somewhere soo exciting", said Li Shuangyan with tears in her eyes. The patriarch of the Li family felt like he was going to have a bad headache, the twins have always been a bunch of trouble, and sadly his daughter Li Shuangyan is more of a headache to him, who questions everything, it has troubled him many times, "Shuangyan''er dear, I know that even without cultivating, you both have gotten stronger, but that doesn''t mean that it''s safe for you and you both are also of not the required age to participate in the entrance examination trials, when the time comes, you will then get to cultivate as well, as for why we don''t want you to cultivate yet is because I have my own reasons, but the most I can tell you is that, if you were to start cultivating now, it will be dangerous, so when the right time comes, you will get your chance to cultivate", said the patriarch of the Li family. Li Shuangyan nodded her head, showing her understanding, whereas Li Zhengji just nodded from the side, he wasn''t as much interested in cultivation as his sister, but he did like to battle, whereas Li Jie was contemplating something in his mind, he was also wondering why did his parents not let his younger twin brother and sister cultivate, because he was also aware of their powerful bloodline as well as their special physiques, he made a note in his mind to ask his master about this. After talking more about their interests, all of them went back to their rooms after dinner. Li Jie went back to sleep, while he waiting with anticipation for when will the entrance examination be conducted, there hasn''t been a certain time for it to occur, it can take two weeks to two months, Li Jie closed his eyes in hope for what Mr.Teacher has told him about, in these five years his master has never even once mentioned about intents, except for the part that he has to grasp it on his own, but when he came back from the forest, his master had informed him about tomorrow that he will be teaching him how to grasp onto his intent and how he could use it more efficiently, this made Li Jie too excited to sleep. The next day, Li Jie woke up and started performing his exercises, as usual, he went to the training pagoda, where his master was sitting with his eyes closed, Li Jie first bowed towards him and sat beside him. Mr.Teacher opened his eyes the moment Li Jie came beside him, He then looked towards Li Jie and asked, "Li Jie as I recall, you have used intent while fighting the beasts, what you don''t know is that because of the extreme danger that you were facing, you used it subconsciously, without knowing much, if I were to ask you now to perform it, you won''t be able to, while getting in contact with an intent is the biggest obstacle a person faces, thankfully you have crossed that hurdle, but you still have to learn to grasp it and use it whenever you like, it is important for you to understand that without practice and hard work, even if you are the son of heaven, you won''t go that far in the path of cultivation". Li Jie nodded in understanding, "Yes master I understand, but there is something which I don''t understand is, why do you say intent and not sword intent, have I not cultivated the sword intent, master", asked Li Jie in worry. Looking at his disciple''s face, Mr.Teacher chuckled, "Kid, If it was this easy to form your own sword intent, then won''t there be sword intents as common as cabbages". Li Jie felt embarrassed by his master''s words, "While you haven''t yet comprehended the sword intent, doesn''t mean you didn''t", said Mr.Teacher in an ethereal tone. "Master, I don''t understand what you mean to say", asked Li Jie with a nervous expression. "While you haven''t yet comprehended the sword intent, at least for now you have started on to the first step of the sword intent, what you have comprehended can be called a part of sword intent, while many will mistake your intent to be a sword intent, it isn''t, a true sword intent is something personal to a cultivator, a true sword intent will have all of your characteristics, personality, thoughts and most importantly "will", the intent that you have comprehended is a mixture an elemental intent and your sword intent, the element that your intent is mixed with is of the earth category, and that to the mountain intent, so you can say the intent that you currently have is that of a "Mountain Sword Intent", Earth element is one of the basic elements as well as a very profound element, which even if you spend your whole lifetime in understanding it, you won''t be able to even get a drop of understanding in it, so there are many minor elemental intents under the earth element, the one you are comprehending is the Mountain Intent under the Earth Intent category, but you should know, that no two intents are the same, while they can be somewhat similar to a degree, but they cannot be exactly identical to each other, which is due to the understanding of elements by different people, everyone has their own comprehension of the element, this is also why teaching of intents is forbidden, because even if a teacher is master of that intent, his advice can be harmful to others, the most important thing in comprehending intents is to believe in yourself, and not be easily swayed by words of others and have complete confidence in yourself". Li Jie nodded in understanding, he understood that if he wishes to have a better grasp on his intent, then he will have to have increased his belief in himself, "Master, how did you know that I have comprehended a mountain sword intent, even I didn''t know which intent it is, and how can I comprehend the complete sword intent", asked Li Jie in confusion. "The reason that I know about the nature of your intent is that it had this heaviness and all-encompassing powerful feeling which was similar to mountains, as for how you should comprehend the true sword intent, that is for later, for now just practice on getting a better grasp on your current intent and increase your proficiency in it, only when you have mastered your current intent, then will we talk more about sword intent", said Mr.Teacher. Li Jie nodded and understood that he shouldn''t bite more than he can chew, he should be patient and with time he will be able to learn about sword intent next time. Looking at his disciple''s patience made Mr.Teacher feel pleased towards his character because those who are impatient only wallow in their own troubles. "There is still sometime before going for the entrance examination, for now, cease all training and give your body rest, while using this time to comprehend about your intent better", said Mr.Teacher. "But Master How do I learn about my intent", asked Li Jie in confusion. "it''s quite simple, all you have to do is to try understanding the elements present in your intent as well as yourself, for example, you have the sword and mountain both mixed in your intent, so what you have to do is to try understanding about swordsmanship and the kind which is most suitable to you, only those which is suitable to you, can help you in comprehending them easier, the same is with the Mountain intent, now you can leave and go try comprehending these on your own, I can''t help you more than this", said Mr.teacher. "Yes, master I understand", said Li Jie, after which he got up and he moved out of the training pagoda. Chapter 101 - Tywuiw Ahahahababababsbs e qjqk paying his respects to his master, Li Jie got up and left, while he didn''t know what to do next, but he had an inkling of what he was supposed to do, and if what he had in mind doesn''t work then he will have to find some other way. From his master''s teachings, he understood that if he wants to have a better grasp of his intent, he first have to understand why did he choose this intent, even if it was done subconsciously he felt that the most important part in the understanding intent is to understand more about oneself. First, to check if his methods could work, he first had to find a mountain, and thankfully his Li family castle was surrounded by mountains, left and right, back and forth. All he had to do was to choose anyone of those mountains and to see if there is any improvement in his intent. There was only one problem that he had and it was that he had to bring someone with him, because all the mountains, surrounding the Li family castle are not something he has access to, first he needs permission from his father to venture towards those mountains, then his father will make someone to escort him towards those mountains. He wanted to be alone, while he comprehends his intent, while he was sorting this trouble out in his brains, he had an idea. So he ran fast towards his room, where he found the maid Xiao Chu, who was cleaning up some dust in his room. "Sister Xiao Chu, can you help me in helping me a tour around the mountains near our Li family estate", asked Li Jie with an expectant gaze. The maid Xiao Chu''s face turned tensed, she remembered in these five years, how Li Jie would ask her to take him to someplace outside of the Li family jurisdiction, and whatever place they would go to was either dangerous or extremely weird, sometimes she can''t even sleep at night for the fear of her young master asking her to take him someplace outside, although the mountains surrounding the Li family jurisdiction comes under the Li family, and on some of those mountains, many poor people live for farming, cultivating various crops and growing various herbs, vegetables and wheat, and various other products. At first, she felt it to be normal to go to the mountains surrounding the Li family, except for some mountains, which are either owned by some elder of the Li family or if their mines available for the Li family, except for those special mountains, anyone from the Li family can make a visit to those mountains, which are either barren or already have a certain population of people, especially mortals, who haven''t even touched the basics of cultivation, they live their honest and hardworking life there. Maid Xiao Chu was contemplating that it''s not like she can refuse the young master, but she can choose a mountain, which has the least danger present. "Young Master, I have no problem in guiding you to a mountain, but I need to make sure for your safety, so I will be the one to choose a mountain for us to go to", said the maid Xiao Chu. Li Jie nodded in understanding, first, he himself doesn''t know which mountain to go to and which one will be suitable for him is another matter, so he will have to just follow along with maid Xiao Chu''s decision. "Young Master, if I may ask, which type of mountain would you like to go to if you are thinking of training, then there''s one mountain which is under the supervision elders, and they have many beasts present on the mountain, for the sole purpose of training, while other mountains may have beasts too, but you won''t be able to find many or there might be some, which will be too strong for you to handle, but still there''s much safer, as the cultivators of our Li family go to the other mountains and try to hunt as many beasts as possible for their own, as well as to keep the mortals who have created their own villages safe, then there are also those which are barren and have nothing on them, so young master which type of mountain do you wish to go to", asked maid Xiao Chu. Li Jie''s face turned pensive upon hearing his maid, he never imagined for there to be classification among mountains, as well as some special mountains, which are the personal property of an elder, where it isn''t allowed for anyone to trespass. After pondering for a bit, he decided to go for the barren type mountains, after all, it''s not like he has to battle anyone, he just wants to comprehend about mountains, so that his comprehension for mountain intent increases, whereas for the sword intent, that is something he will have to work on his own understanding of the sword. After deciding their destination, the maid Xiao Chu informed Li Jie, that they cannot just go to any of the mountains simply without any preparation, to go to any mountain, they would need supplies of their own and a caravan to help in going up the mountain, as walking on any mountain is extremely taxing, and it also takes a lot of time, it is different for those of Essence Gathering stage cultivators, as their speed is high, with the help of essence energy, which was neither of the two. Li Jie felt like getting a headache, he never realized that he would need to make such preparations, before setting off for a mountain. "Sister Xiao Chu, you can prepare for the journey as you see fit, I will wait for you to complete your preparations, and then we can go", said Li Jie. The maid Xiao Chu nodded with a serious look on her face, "Yes, young master, I will make ample preparations for our journey, I will have the preparations for your mountain exploration ready by tomorrow, then we can set off for any mountain that you wish to go to", said the maid Xiao Chu. At first Li Jie wasn''t pleased with this, after all, he wanted to go to a mountain right away, but he understood that rushing would only be detrimental for now, so he agreed with Xiao Chu''s settings. After concluding his affairs with the maid Xiao Chu, Li Jie went back to his room and started to train physical exercises, and then after some time, he started to practice his techniques. When he was finished with his training, he decided to meet his friend, since he won''t be going to train on his comprehension right away, after washing up, he went out of his room and was heading towards Li Central city, where Dai Chen has been working in a renowned blacksmith shop. Li Jie was reminiscing about how in the past five years, Dai Chen has been working hard daily in the blacksmith shop, first, he was working as an assistant, where he gained quite a bit of popularity over the years among the ladies, who were frequent customers of the blacksmith shop, then he also joined the blacksmiths in their work, he started out as a supporting party, but after some time, he started his hands-on forging of metals, surprisingly he had a talent for forging, because of his low cultivation, the most he could forge were common goods, but he had a creative mind, he suggested the head blacksmith forge designed accessories for women, where a minuscule amount of the raw material is used, unlike for creating weapons and armor, where a high amount of raw materials are needed, while these design accessories weren''t of any use, but females tend to love products which make them look pretty. Implementing Dai Chen''s ideas in the shop, made them gain popularity, as well as a boon in their business, even those of the Fu merchant contacted them for further business contracts, the one to deal and negotiate with the members of the Fu merchant family, was none other than, Dai Chen himself, who was good looking as well as was the most polite one in the blacksmith, where everyone, be it the Head-Blacksmith or other blacksmiths, who were hot-headed and straight forward in nature, even in the negotiating department, Dai Chen showed his amazing skills in communicating and dealing with the crafty merchants of the Fu merchant family. Looking at Dai Chen''s hard work and passion for working so earnestly, the Head-Blacksmith officially took him under his mantle and made him his personal disciple, apart from learning the method of forging, Dai Chen also learned a lot about cultivation as well as he got a lot of help from his master, which helped in increasing his cultivation faster, now he is at the Essence Gathering Stage. How or what was the way, that someone like Dai Chen''s cultivation rose rapidly, was beyond his knowledge, and Dai Chen was also required to make an oath to not divulge this secret Chapter 102 - Hghgh A rabbit looking creature who had antlers on it''s forehead and had red stripes on its back was moving around from time to time in the luscious forest, it''s red pearl-like eyes were filled with caution as it took step by step as if looking for something when it''s attention was drawn towards a red color fruit which was placed beside a big rock, it suddenly pounced towards it, ready to grab it when suddenly a figure could be seen coming out of the shadows who suddenly grabbed on to the rabbit looking creature tightly which was trying to shake itself off the figure''s hand, suddenly the figure who came out of the shadows took out something from it''s chest area which was a sharp-edged rock using the head of the rabbit looking creature was crushed, the one to do the deed was no one else but Li Jie himself, It''s the third day of his lesson in the forest where he can barely able to keep his life, the rabbit looking beast he just hunted is called an inferior moon spirit hare, which collects the essence of the moon in it''s body over the course of it''s life to evolve into a higher grade beast, which depends on the amount of essence of the moon collected over the years as well as the factor of luck involved, Li Jie knew about this beast because it was one of the most common beasts found in this continent hunted and served as a delicacy to those who can afford it, especially those of the nobility, it was an everyday meal for Li Jie in his home which was prepared by the chefs in his household, while it is quite agile, fast, and tough to hunt, but in it''s initial stages among those of the same grade as it is stronger, whereas it''s power exponentially increases when it reaches the next stage and the subsequent stages above it. "Damn Damn Damn... if I hadn''t caught this beast, I would have died out of starvation" thought Li Jie, Li Jie hasn''t been able to eat or drink for the past two days, the lake which he found on his first day in this forest was a nest of reptile looking ferocious beasts whom he couldn''t identify but knew, that these are way above his league so he didn''t even dare to be near that area, lest he is caught by those ferocious reptilian beasts, he wasn''t even able to find any cave for safe dwelling, at night time he tried climbing the trees and sleeping there, but he found to his surprise that there at the top of the trees were sharp-toothed birds with sharp talons whose eyes contained hints of cruelty and ruthlessness, gulping with fright, Li Jie descended from the tree as soon as possible, cursing his fate for not finding a safe haven even at the top of the tree, he moved along trying to find any fruit or weak beasts which he can hunt to satiate his hunger, but he failed the same way it went for the second day, by the third day of his stay in the forest his figure had turned exhausted, his lips went dry from thirst, today he finally found this inferior moon spirit beast, towards which he felt hunting would be possible, by calming himself and containing all of the pain he erupted forth at the small beast using all his strength and finally crushed it''s head, looking at the splashing blood of the beast, he got an idea which made him frown but he knew he had to adapt to this forest or else he would lessen his chances of surviving this forest, at once without any hesitation, steeling his face, he took the beast and placed his dry lips near the beast''s neck area from where the blood was flowing out steadily, he started sucking on to the blood of the beast, feeling the pungent smell of blood and metallic taste made him want to puke it out, but he kept his resolve and kept sucking onto the blood of the beast, after drinking his fill, he started to tear open the meat and started eating then and there, whatever he could of the beast, he didn''t even leave the bones, he chewed them out, after some time he went in search of some safe place to dwell where he can at the least have someplace to rest and sleep in peace, without being cautious all the time in fear, while thinking, suddenly it struck to him that, wasn''t he training to be cautious at all times in this forest, instead of finding a safe place to stay, he should try to live and keep himself safe amongst these bloodthirsty beasts, while he was pondering on his thoughts and correcting his thought process and reminding himself of his goals, when suddenly he heard a slithering sound, hearing which all his hair stood at the end, his blood froze, his face went pale, his legs started to shiver at the thought of someone suddenly sneaking up on him, he felt a creeping presence beside him, whose horror was hard to define, he had his fists clenched as tight as possible, lest he faints by himself, as he tried to calm himself down and think of a way out of this situation while cursing himself for not being attentive enough and just daydreaming through this damned forest. Li Jie first thought to identify the creature whose blood-lust has turned him frigid and then try to come up with some way to save himself, as he turned trying to locate the beast whose very chilling gaze can be felt by him, but as he moved around, he couldn''t find it no matter how he tried, when suddenly he felt something wet on the back of his neck, he wiped it out with his hand and looked which made his eyes pop out in dread, he couldn''t believe how bad his luck must have been for him to face such a fierce-looking creature which was coiling around the tree, this creature was similar to a snake, it had crimson scales all over it''s body, with a small fire glowing on it''s forehead, it''s eyes were fiery red, ready to pounce at it''s prey, it was none other than the Lesser Flaming Viper. Li Jie knew about this snake because it was a mortal stage beast often hunted by the hunters of the Wang clan, while it''s uses were quite insignificant, it had the effect of helping student stage cultivators with fire bloodline in refining their essence of fire in their body, but the most troublesome part about this beast was that it was one of the many dangerous beasts of the mortal stage which lead to it not being a common delicacy but a resource used for those of student stage with flame bloodline, whereas Li Jie himself hasn''t even started on his path, he was wondering, if it was even possible for him to escape from this. Li Jie first thought to identify the creature whose blood-lust has turned him frigid and then try to come up with some way to save himself, as he turned trying to locate the beast whose very chilling gaze can be felt by him, but as he moved around, he couldn''t find it no matter how he tried, when suddenly he felt something wet on the back of his neck, he wiped it out with his hand and looked which made his eyes pop out in dread, he couldn''t believe how bad his luck must have been for him to face such a fierce-looking creature which was coiling around the tree, this creature was similar to a snake, it had crimson scales all over it''s body, with a small fire glowing on it''s forehead, it''s eyes were fiery red, ready to pounce at it''s prey, it was none other than the Lesser Flaming Viper. Li Jie knew about this snake because it was a mortal stage beast often hunted by the hunters of the Wang clan, while it''s uses were quite insignificant, it had the effect of helping student stage cultivators with fire bloodline in refining their essence of fire in their body, but the most troublesome part about this beast was that it was one of the many dangerous beasts of the mortal stage which lead to it not being a common delicacy but a resource used for those of student stage with flame bloodline, whereas Li Jie himself hasn''t even started on his path, he was wondering, if it was even possible for him to escape from this. Li Jie knew about this snake because it was a mortal stage beast often hunted by the hunters of the Wang clan, while it''s uses were quite insignificant, it had the effect of helping student stage cultivators with fire bloodline in refining their essence of fire in their body, but the most troublesome part about this beast was that it was one of the many dangerous beasts of the mortal stage which lead to it not being a common delicacy but a resource used for those of student stage with flame bloodline, whereas Li Jie himself hasn''t even started on his path, he was wondering, if it was even possible for him to escape from this. Chapter 103 - Bgsrgb sbffbfbfbv cvg cgnchad an inkling of what he was supposed to do, and if what he had in mind doesn''t work then he will have to find some other way. From his master''s teachings, he understood that if he wants to have a better grasp of his intent, he first have to understand why did he choose this intent, even if it was done subconsciously he felt that the most important part in the understanding intent is to understand more about oneself. First, to check if his methods could work, he first had to find a mountain, and thankfully his Li family castle was surrounded by mountains, left and right, back and forth. All he had to do was to choose anyone of those mountains and to see if there is any improvement in his intent. There was only one problem that he had and it was that he had to bring someone with him, because all the mountains, surrounding the Li family castle are not something he has access to, first he needs permission from his father to venture towards those mountains, then his father will make someone to escort him towards those mountains. He wanted to be alone, while he comprehends his intent, while he was sorting this trouble out in his brains, he had an idea. So he ran fast towards his room, where he found the maid Xiao Chu, who was cleaning up some dust in his room. "Sister Xiao Chu, can you help me in helping me a tour around the mountains near our Li family estate", asked Li Jie with an expectant gaze. The maid Xiao Chu''s face turned tensed, she remembered in these five years, how Li Jie would ask her to take him to someplace outside of the Li family jurisdiction, and whatever place they would go to was either dangerous or extremely weird, sometimes she can''t even sleep at night for the fear of her young master asking her to take him someplace outside, although the mountains surrounding the Li family jurisdiction comes under the Li family, and on some of those mountains, many poor people live for farming, cultivating various crops and growing various herbs, vegetables and wheat, and various other products. At first, she felt it to be normal to go to the mountains surrounding the Li family, except for some mountains, which are either owned by some elder of the Li family or if their mines available for the Li family, except for those special mountains, anyone from the Li family can make a visit to those mountains, which are either barren or already have a certain population of people, especially mortals, who haven''t even touched the basics of cultivation, they live their honest and hardworking life there. Maid Xiao Chu was contemplating that it''s not like she can refuse the young master, but she can choose a mountain, which has the least danger present. "Young Master, I have no problem in guiding you to a mountain, but I need to make sure for your safety, so I will be the one to choose a mountain for us to go to", said the maid Xiao Chu. Li Jie nodded in understanding, first, he himself doesn''t know which mountain to go to and which one will be suitable for him is another matter, so he will have to just follow along with maid Xiao Chu''s decision. "Young Master, if I may ask, which type of mountain would you like to go to if you are thinking of training, then there''s one mountain which is under the supervision elders, and they have many beasts present on the mountain, for the sole purpose of training, while other mountains may have beasts too, but you won''t be able to find many or there might be some, which will be too strong for you to handle, but still there''s much safer, as the cultivators of our Li family go to the other mountains and try to hunt as many beasts as possible for their own, as well as to keep the mortals who have created their own villages safe, then there are also those which are barren and have nothing on them, so young master which type of mountain do you wish to go to", asked maid Xiao Chu. Li Jie''s face turned pensive upon hearing his maid, he never imagined for there to be classification among mountains, as well as some special mountains, which are the personal property of an elder, where it isn''t allowed for anyone to trespass. After pondering for a bit, he decided to go for the barren type mountains, after all, it''s not like he has to battle anyone, he just wants to comprehend about mountains, so that his comprehension for mountain intent increases, whereas for the sword intent, that is something he will have to work on his own understanding of the sword. After deciding their destination, the maid Xiao Chu informed Li Jie, that they cannot just go to any of the mountains simply without any preparation, to go to any mountain, they would need supplies of their own and a caravan to help in going up the mountain, as walking on any mountain is extremely taxing, and it also takes a lot of time, it is different for those of Essence Gathering stage cultivators, as their speed is high, with the help of essence energy, which was neither of the two. Li Jie felt like getting a headache, he never realized that he would need to make such preparations, before setting off for a mountain. "Sister Xiao Chu, you can prepare for the journey as you see fit, I will wait for you to complete your preparations, and then we can go", said Li Jie. The maid Xiao Chu nodded with a serious look on her face, "Yes, young master, I will make ample preparations for our journey, I will have the preparations for your mountain exploration ready by tomorrow, then we can set off for any mountain that you wish to go to", said the maid Xiao Chu. At first Li Jie wasn''t pleased with this, after all, he wanted to go to a mountain right away, but he understood that rushing would only be detrimental for now, so he agreed with Xiao Chu''s settings. After concluding his affairs with the maid Xiao Chu, Li Jie went back to his room and started to train physical exercises, and then after some time, he started to practice his techniques. When he was finished with his training, he decided to meet his friend, since he won''t be going to train on his comprehension right away, after washing up, he went out of his room and was heading towards Li Central city, where Dai Chen has been working in a renowned blacksmith shop. Li Jie was reminiscing about how in the past five years, Dai Chen has been working hard daily in the blacksmith shop, first, he was working as an assistant, where he gained quite a bit of popularity over the years among the ladies, who were frequent customers of the blacksmith shop, then he also joined the blacksmiths in their work, he started out as a supporting party, but after some time, he started his hands-on forging of metals, surprisingly he had a talent for forging, because of his low cultivation, the most he could forge were common goods, but he had a creative mind, he suggested the head blacksmith forge designed accessories for women, where a minuscule amount of the raw material is used, unlike for creating weapons and armor, where a high amount of raw materials are needed, while these design accessories weren''t of any use, but females tend to love products which make them look pretty. Implementing Dai Chen''s ideas in the shop, made them gain popularity, as well as a boon in their business, even those of the Fu merchant contacted them for further business contracts, the one to deal and negotiate with the members of the Fu merchant family, was none other than, Dai Chen himself, who was good looking as well as was the most polite one in the blacksmith, where everyone, be it the Head-Blacksmith or other blacksmiths, who were hot-headed and straight forward in nature, even in the negotiating department, Dai Chen showed his amazing skills in communicating and dealing with the crafty merchants of the Fu merchant family. Looking at Dai Chen''s hard work and passion for working so earnestly, the Head-Blacksmith officially took him under his mantle and made him his personal disciple, apart from learning the method of forging, Dai Chen also learned a lot about cultivation as well as he got a lot of help from his master, which helped in increasing his cultivation faster, now he is at the Essence Gathering Stage. How or what was the way, that someone like Dai Chen''s cultivation rose rapidly, was beyond his knowledge, and Dai Chen was also required to make an oath to not divulge this secret. Chapter 104 - Hbm Njbk, yhjgbhnbkjbkj nzjzjacticing in the cave, with weights on his shoulders, he was sweating a bit due to his intense workout, nevertheless, there was this smile, which showed that he enjoyed practicing, the only concern that Li Jie has been having was that his master whom he thought will start to teach him swordsmanship, yet he wasn''t taught that and only after Li Jie reached Master Stage, was he taught about swordsmanship, but the problem with it was that he wasn''t given a sword technique to learn swordsmanship, instead he was told to practice some basic sword moves, which was almost forgotten as they were only taught in the olden times when there was a scarcity of martial techniques, but now after years of progression, the techniques are abundant are better than the basic sword moves as they, of course, added in those techniques apart from some special elements, but his master instructed him to practice only the basic sword techniques which were, Chopping, Striking, Thrusting, and Slicing. Li Jie had great trust in Mr.teacher, after all, he was the one who gave Li Jie hope for cultivation, but at the same time he couldn''t help but feel that learning these basic sword techniques might be a waste of time, Li Jie still tried to steel his heart and started practicing the basic sword techniques again and again, which felt more monotonous as time passed and made him more impatient towards practicing the basic sword techniques, Li Jie then thought to himself, that maybe he should stop it and maybe secretly learn high-grade sword techniques, without his master knowing, he was happy with his idea, but it was right then that he stopped himself from thinking abruptly, "What the heckk, just what the hell almost happened to me, it''s like my mind and body are feeling some kind of aversion towards learning the basic sword techniques more and more, Li Jie felt sweat on his forehead, with how much aversion his body and mind was feeling towards the basic sword techniques, is there something something special about them, that I am feeling so restless, it''s like I am being tempted from inside me for giving up and I will feel good", thought Li Jie. After recounting everything again and again in his mind, Li Jie felt something wrong and had an extremely pensive expression on his face, when he remembered how for a second, he felt it was okay to betray his master''s trust, just what is this thing that is influencing me to give up practicing the basic sword techniques, tempting me and making my heart restless. With a stern face, Li Jie decided that he will not let anyone influence him, not even he himself for getting complacent without even achieving his goals, Li Jie was cursing whoever was influencing him through whatever means, he decided that he will practice the basic sword techniques more and more, no matter how repulsed he feel towards these techniques. After some time of practicing, it was like something broke, and he became faster at performing them, the movements he showed for practicing the basic sword techniques had considerably grown faster, and he also felt as if there was something blocking his mind which was broken now, but now he felt free, Li Jie didn''t know what to think of this, after all he had been practicing the basic sword techniques for years, which made him frustrated at times, but now he felt relieved upon being fluid with his movements rearding the basic sword techniques. Li Jie then sat down and started mediatting to calm himself down, from whatever he felt, he will have to ask Mr.Teacher for answers, as he is the only who can tell him about his situation. Li Jie''s stomach was growling after sometime, which made him cook up the meat of the beasts, that he had stored in containers, and he wasn''t cooking them by placing them by just on fire, he had a storage for spices, which he used to spread on the meat, he would not simply eat anything, he was taught by Mr.Teacher that if he wants to have a sound mind always, then he must learn the art of cooking, while he wasn''t a professional, still what he made was many times better than just eating anything, as it was mentioned to him by his master, Li Jie after recalling his master''s words felt more thankful towards him, as it really helped him in adjusting here in the wild. After meditating for sometime, Li Jie then got up in his pursuit of beasts, whom he would fight from time to time, to increase his experience as well as polish his fighting style, he was also wondering, now that his mastery in basic sword technique has increased to a level, which he doesn''t identify, he sought out to check it''s characteristics by fighting beasts. Li Jie first took out a sword, which was given to him by Mr.Teacher, which he rarely used, the weird thing about this sword was that somehow it adjusted to his cultivation stage, and it was extremely tough, impossible to even leave a scratch, after using it many times, he one time even asked his master curiously for the rank of this sword, to which his master replied that the sword is unranked and that it will only have the same power as the user, which means that if Li Jie is in the Grandmaster stage, then the attack power of this sword will be of High-Grade Common weapon, which wasn''t that useful to him, and it was instructed to him by his master that he must only use this sword if he doesn''t have any other sword at the moment, and he should try swords of different sizes and shapes, which will help him in the long run, which wasn''t something Li Jie could understand for now, but now that he didn''t have any other sword to help him in fighting, which is why he will have to use the sword given to him by Mr.Teacher for now. He went out of the cave, looking for beasts to fight cautiously, he cannot fight a beast too weak or too strong, nor will he fight someone who is in groups, he finally found a CloudDrifting Fox, which had grey fur, small yet sharp claws and fangs, while this beast isn''t considered as strong as the BloodBursting Tiger, but it had high intelligence and was very tricky to fight, many cultivators end up dying because of it, and it had extreme speedy movements, which was why even in precarious situations, it can escape easily. After deciding on his target, Li Jie hid in the bushes, while observing the CloudDrifting Fox, which was also in the Essence Gathering Stage, he was observing every movement of it, and trying his best not to alert the CloudDrifting Fox about him, or else it would escape, to make it battle him , Li Jie had an idea, but for that he will have to close it''s paths of retreat, after looking around him, he understoood what he had to do, Li Jie first followed it quietly and cautiously, after sometime, the CloudDrifting Fox was reaching a cave, he felt that this was a good oppurtunity as he could fight it in the cave, but the cave was dark but Li Jie cursed, as he was afraid of two things, first was the existence of any other beast in the cave or near the cave, and second was the darkness that was present in the cave. The darkness in the cave can hinder his vision, while the beasts have excellent hearing as well as night vision, which won''t impede it, after considering for sometime, he went back to his cave planning his attack on the beast, as now he knows where the cave of the CloudDrifting Fox is. To increase his chances of success, Li Jie had to make more preparation, after going back to his cave, he started concocting some pellets first, which wasn''t for consuming, they were special pellet which after crashing produces explosion, while the explosion isn''t threatening to anyone, it is enough to scare a beast, he also wanted to use some poison fuming pellets, but he felt that it wouldn''t be ok for him to use such means towards a beast, he can fight, only against those who surpass him in strength, will he use the poison fuming pellets to save his life. After preparing everything, Li Jie packed a small pouch on his waist and his sword on the left side of his waist. He made his way towards the cave, where the CloudDrifting Fox is present, he knew that he won''t be able to match the CloudDrifting Fox in speed, that''s why he made so many preparations just to trap the CloudDrifting Fox and fight in an enclosed area. Li Jie was looking at the cave, where the fox was still present, who was coming out of from the cave from time to time, sometimes it would go out to find and bring prey for it to eat, after noticing that except the fox, there was no one present in the cave, Li Jie was relieved and he was ready to attack the CloudDrifting Fox. Chapter 105 - Bdbgsdb cbxbfxb x jacticing in the cave, with weights on his shoulders, he was sweating a bit due to his intense workout, nevertheless, there was this smile, which showed that he enjoyed practicing, the only concern that Li Jie has been having was that his master whom he thought will start to teach him swordsmanship, yet he wasn''t taught that and only after Li Jie reached Master Stage, was he taught about swordsmanship, but the problem with it was that he wasn''t given a sword technique to learn swordsmanship, instead he was told to practice some basic sword moves, which was almost forgotten as they were only taught in the olden times when there was a scarcity of martial techniques, but now after years of progression, the techniques are abundant are better than the basic sword moves as they, of course, added in those techniques apart from some special elements, but his master instructed him to practice only the basic sword techniques which were, Chopping, Striking, Thrusting, and Slicing. Li Jie had great trust in Mr.teacher, after all, he was the one who gave Li Jie hope for cultivation, but at the same time he couldn''t help but feel that learning these basic sword techniques might be a waste of time, Li Jie still tried to steel his heart and started practicing the basic sword techniques again and again, which felt more monotonous as time passed and made him more impatient towards practicing the basic sword techniques, Li Jie then thought to himself, that maybe he should stop it and maybe secretly learn high-grade sword techniques, without his master knowing, he was happy with his idea, but it was right then that he stopped himself from thinking abruptly, "What the heckk, just what the hell almost happened to me, it''s like my mind and body are feeling some kind of aversion towards learning the basic sword techniques more and more, Li Jie felt sweat on his forehead, with how much aversion his body and mind was feeling towards the basic sword techniques, is there something something special about them, that I am feeling so restless, it''s like I am being tempted from inside me for giving up and I will feel good", thought Li Jie. After recounting everything again and again in his mind, Li Jie felt something wrong and had an extremely pensive expression on his face, when he remembered how for a second, he felt it was okay to betray his master''s trust, just what is this thing that is influencing me to give up practicing the basic sword techniques, tempting me and making my heart restless. With a stern face, Li Jie decided that he will not let anyone influence him, not even he himself for getting complacent without even achieving his goals, Li Jie was cursing whoever was influencing him through whatever means, he decided that he will practice the basic sword techniques more and more, no matter how repulsed he feel towards these techniques. After some time of practicing, it was like something broke, and he became faster at performing them, the movements he showed for practicing the basic sword techniques had considerably grown faster, and he also felt as if there was something blocking his mind which was broken now, but now he felt free, Li Jie didn''t know what to think of this, after all he had been practicing the basic sword techniques for years, which made him frustrated at times, but now he felt relieved upon being fluid with his movements rearding the basic sword techniques. Li Jie then sat down and started mediatting to calm himself down, from whatever he felt, he will have to ask Mr.Teacher for answers, as he is the only who can tell him about his situation. Li Jie''s stomach was growling after sometime, which made him cook up the meat of the beasts, that he had stored in containers, and he wasn''t cooking them by placing them by just on fire, he had a storage for spices, which he used to spread on the meat, he would not simply eat anything, he was taught by Mr.Teacher that if he wants to have a sound mind always, then he must learn the art of cooking, while he wasn''t a professional, still what he made was many times better than just eating anything, as it was mentioned to him by his master, Li Jie after recalling his master''s words felt more thankful towards him, as it really helped him in adjusting here in the wild. After meditating for sometime, Li Jie then got up in his pursuit of beasts, whom he would fight from time to time, to increase his experience as well as polish his fighting style, he was also wondering, now that his mastery in basic sword technique has increased to a level, which he doesn''t identify, he sought out to check it''s characteristics by fighting beasts. Li Jie first took out a sword, which was given to him by Mr.Teacher, which he rarely used, the weird thing about this sword was that somehow it adjusted to his cultivation stage, and it was extremely tough, impossible to even leave a scratch, after using it many times, he one time even asked his master curiously for the rank of this sword, to which his master replied that the sword is unranked and that it will only have the same power as the user, which means that if Li Jie is in the Grandmaster stage, then the attack power of this sword will be of High-Grade Common weapon, which wasn''t that useful to him, and it was instructed to him by his master that he must only use this sword if he doesn''t have any other sword at the moment, and he should try swords of different sizes and shapes, which will help him in the long run, which wasn''t something Li Jie could understand for now, but now that he didn''t have any other sword to help him in fighting, which is why he will have to use the sword given to him by Mr.Teacher for now. He went out of the cave, looking for beasts to fight cautiously, he cannot fight a beast too weak or too strong, nor will he fight someone who is in groups, he finally found a CloudDrifting Fox, which had grey fur, small yet sharp claws and fangs, while this beast isn''t considered as strong as the BloodBursting Tiger, but it had high intelligence and was very tricky to fight, many cultivators end up dying because of it, and it had extreme speedy movements, which was why even in precarious situations, it can escape easily. After deciding on his target, Li Jie hid in the bushes, while observing the CloudDrifting Fox, which was also in the Essence Gathering Stage, he was observing every movement of it, and trying his best not to alert the CloudDrifting Fox about him, or else it would escape, to make it battle him , Li Jie had an idea, but for that he will have to close it''s paths of retreat, after looking around him, he understoood what he had to do, Li Jie first followed it quietly and cautiously, after sometime, the CloudDrifting Fox was reaching a cave, he felt that this was a good oppurtunity as he could fight it in the cave, but the cave was dark but Li Jie cursed, as he was afraid of two things, first was the existence of any other beast in the cave or near the cave, and second was the darkness that was present in the cave. The darkness in the cave can hinder his vision, while the beasts have excellent hearing as well as night vision, which won''t impede it, after considering for sometime, he went back to his cave planning his attack on the beast, as now he knows where the cave of the CloudDrifting Fox is. To increase his chances of success, Li Jie had to make more preparation, after going back to his cave, he started concocting some pellets first, which wasn''t for consuming, they were special pellet which after crashing produces explosion, while the explosion isn''t threatening to anyone, it is enough to scare a beast, he also wanted to use some poison fuming pellets, but he felt that it wouldn''t be ok for him to use such means towards a beast, he can fight, only against those who surpass him in strength, will he use the poison fuming pellets to save his life. After preparing everything, Li Jie packed a small pouch on his waist and his sword on the left side of his waist. He made his way towards the cave, where the CloudDrifting Fox is present, he knew that he won''t be able to match the CloudDrifting Fox in speed, that''s why he made so many preparations just to trap the CloudDrifting Fox and fight in an enclosed area. Li Jie was looking at the cave, where the fox was still present, who was coming out of from the cave from time to time, sometimes it would go out to find and bring prey for it to eat, after noticing that except the fox, there was no one present in the cave, Li Jie was relieved and he was ready to attack the CloudDrifting Fox. Chapter 106 - Yutrkror Sgshjsbsbsjwnenw l jejekekeke qjqk paying his respects to his master, Li Jie got up and left, while he didn''t know what to do next, but he had an inkling of what he was supposed to do, and if what he had in mind doesn''t work then he will have to find some other way. From his master''s teachings, he understood that if he wants to have a better grasp of his intent, he first have to understand why did he choose this intent, even if it was done subconsciously he felt that the most important part in the understanding intent is to understand more about oneself. First, to check if his methods could work, he first had to find a mountain, and thankfully his Li family castle was surrounded by mountains, left and right, back and forth. All he had to do was to choose anyone of those mountains and to see if there is any improvement in his intent. There was only one problem that he had and it was that he had to bring someone with him, because all the mountains, surrounding the Li family castle are not something he has access to, first he needs permission from his father to venture towards those mountains, then his father will make someone to escort him towards those mountains. He wanted to be alone, while he comprehends his intent, while he was sorting this trouble out in his brains, he had an idea. So he ran fast towards his room, where he found the maid Xiao Chu, who was cleaning up some dust in his room. "Sister Xiao Chu, can you help me in helping me a tour around the mountains near our Li family estate", asked Li Jie with an expectant gaze. The maid Xiao Chu''s face turned tensed, she remembered in these five years, how Li Jie would ask her to take him to someplace outside of the Li family jurisdiction, and whatever place they would go to was either dangerous or extremely weird, sometimes she can''t even sleep at night for the fear of her young master asking her to take him someplace outside, although the mountains surrounding the Li family jurisdiction comes under the Li family, and on some of those mountains, many poor people live for farming, cultivating various crops and growing various herbs, vegetables and wheat, and various other products. At first, she felt it to be normal to go to the mountains surrounding the Li family, except for some mountains, which are either owned by some elder of the Li family or if their mines available for the Li family, except for those special mountains, anyone from the Li family can make a visit to those mountains, which are either barren or already have a certain population of people, especially mortals, who haven''t even touched the basics of cultivation, they live their honest and hardworking life there. Maid Xiao Chu was contemplating that it''s not like she can refuse the young master, but she can choose a mountain, which has the least danger present. "Young Master, I have no problem in guiding you to a mountain, but I need to make sure for your safety, so I will be the one to choose a mountain for us to go to", said the maid Xiao Chu. Li Jie nodded in understanding, first, he himself doesn''t know which mountain to go to and which one will be suitable for him is another matter, so he will have to just follow along with maid Xiao Chu''s decision. "Young Master, if I may ask, which type of mountain would you like to go to if you are thinking of training, then there''s one mountain which is under the supervision elders, and they have many beasts present on the mountain, for the sole purpose of training, while other mountains may have beasts too, but you won''t be able to find many or there might be some, which will be too strong for you to handle, but still there''s much safer, as the cultivators of our Li family go to the other mountains and try to hunt as many beasts as possible for their own, as well as to keep the mortals who have created their own villages safe, then there are also those which are barren and have nothing on them, so young master which type of mountain do you wish to go to", asked maid Xiao Chu. Li Jie''s face turned pensive upon hearing his maid, he never imagined for there to be classification among mountains, as well as some special mountains, which are the personal property of an elder, where it isn''t allowed for anyone to trespass. After pondering for a bit, he decided to go for the barren type mountains, after all, it''s not like he has to battle anyone, he just wants to comprehend about mountains, so that his comprehension for mountain intent increases, whereas for the sword intent, that is something he will have to work on his own understanding of the sword. After deciding their destination, the maid Xiao Chu informed Li Jie, that they cannot just go to any of the mountains simply without any preparation, to go to any mountain, they would need supplies of their own and a caravan to help in going up the mountain, as walking on any mountain is extremely taxing, and it also takes a lot of time, it is different for those of Essence Gathering stage cultivators, as their speed is high, with the help of essence energy, which was neither of the two. Li Jie felt like getting a headache, he never realized that he would need to make such preparations, before setting off for a mountain. "Sister Xiao Chu, you can prepare for the journey as you see fit, I will wait for you to complete your preparations, and then we can go", said Li Jie. The maid Xiao Chu nodded with a serious look on her face, "Yes, young master, I will make ample preparations for our journey, I will have the preparations for your mountain exploration ready by tomorrow, then we can set off for any mountain that you wish to go to", said the maid Xiao Chu. At first Li Jie wasn''t pleased with this, after all, he wanted to go to a mountain right away, but he understood that rushing would only be detrimental for now, so he agreed with Xiao Chu''s settings. After concluding his affairs with the maid Xiao Chu, Li Jie went back to his room and started to train physical exercises, and then after some time, he started to practice his techniques. When he was finished with his training, he decided to meet his friend, since he won''t be going to train on his comprehension right away, after washing up, he went out of his room and was heading towards Li Central city, where Dai Chen has been working in a renowned blacksmith shop. Li Jie was reminiscing about how in the past five years, Dai Chen has been working hard daily in the blacksmith shop, first, he was working as an assistant, where he gained quite a bit of popularity over the years among the ladies, who were frequent customers of the blacksmith shop, then he also joined the blacksmiths in their work, he started out as a supporting party, but after some time, he started his hands-on forging of metals, surprisingly he had a talent for forging, because of his low cultivation, the most he could forge were common goods, but he had a creative mind, he suggested the head blacksmith forge designed accessories for women, where a minuscule amount of the raw material is used, unlike for creating weapons and armor, where a high amount of raw materials are needed, while these design accessories weren''t of any use, but females tend to love products which make them look pretty. Implementing Dai Chen''s ideas in the shop, made them gain popularity, as well as a boon in their business, even those of the Fu merchant contacted them for further business contracts, the one to deal and negotiate with the members of the Fu merchant family, was none other than, Dai Chen himself, who was good looking as well as was the most polite one in the blacksmith, where everyone, be it the Head-Blacksmith or other blacksmiths, who were hot-headed and straight forward in nature, even in the negotiating department, Dai Chen showed his amazing skills in communicating and dealing with the crafty merchants of the Fu merchant family. Looking at Dai Chen''s hard work and passion for working so earnestly, the Head-Blacksmith officially took him under his mantle and made him his personal disciple, apart from learning the method of forging, Dai Chen also learned a lot about cultivation as well as he got a lot of help from his master, which helped in increasing his cultivation faster, now he is at the Essence Gathering Stage. How or what was the way, that someone like Dai Chen''s cultivation rose rapidly, was beyond his knowledge, and Dai Chen was also required to make an oath to not divulge this secret. Chapter 107 - Nznznzn .xmxmxmxxmmxmx gnchad an inkling of what he was supposed to do, and if what he had in mind doesn''t work then he will have to find some other way. From his master''s teachings, he understood that if he wants to have a better grasp of his intent, he first have to understand why did he choose this intent, even if it was done subconsciously he felt that the most important part in the understanding intent is to understand more about oneself. First, to check if his methods could work, he first had to find a mountain, and thankfully his Li family castle was surrounded by mountains, left and right, back and forth. All he had to do was to choose anyone of those mountains and to see if there is any improvement in his intent. There was only one problem that he had and it was that he had to bring someone with him, because all the mountains, surrounding the Li family castle are not something he has access to, first he needs permission from his father to venture towards those mountains, then his father will make someone to escort him towards those mountains. He wanted to be alone, while he comprehends his intent, while he was sorting this trouble out in his brains, he had an idea. So he ran fast towards his room, where he found the maid Xiao Chu, who was cleaning up some dust in his room. "Sister Xiao Chu, can you help me in helping me a tour around the mountains near our Li family estate", asked Li Jie with an expectant gaze. The maid Xiao Chu''s face turned tensed, she remembered in these five years, how Li Jie would ask her to take him to someplace outside of the Li family jurisdiction, and whatever place they would go to was either dangerous or extremely weird, sometimes she can''t even sleep at night for the fear of her young master asking her to take him someplace outside, although the mountains surrounding the Li family jurisdiction comes under the Li family, and on some of those mountains, many poor people live for farming, cultivating various crops and growing various herbs, vegetables and wheat, and various other products. At first, she felt it to be normal to go to the mountains surrounding the Li family, except for some mountains, which are either owned by some elder of the Li family or if their mines available for the Li family, except for those special mountains, anyone from the Li family can make a visit to those mountains, which are either barren or already have a certain population of people, especially mortals, who haven''t even touched the basics of cultivation, they live their honest and hardworking life there. Maid Xiao Chu was contemplating that it''s not like she can refuse the young master, but she can choose a mountain, which has the least danger present. "Young Master, I have no problem in guiding you to a mountain, but I need to make sure for your safety, so I will be the one to choose a mountain for us to go to", said the maid Xiao Chu. Li Jie nodded in understanding, first, he himself doesn''t know which mountain to go to and which one will be suitable for him is another matter, so he will have to just follow along with maid Xiao Chu''s decision. "Young Master, if I may ask, which type of mountain would you like to go to if you are thinking of training, then there''s one mountain which is under the supervision elders, and they have many beasts present on the mountain, for the sole purpose of training, while other mountains may have beasts too, but you won''t be able to find many or there might be some, which will be too strong for you to handle, but still there''s much safer, as the cultivators of our Li family go to the other mountains and try to hunt as many beasts as possible for their own, as well as to keep the mortals who have created their own villages safe, then there are also those which are barren and have nothing on them, so young master which type of mountain do you wish to go to", asked maid Xiao Chu. Li Jie''s face turned pensive upon hearing his maid, he never imagined for there to be classification among mountains, as well as some special mountains, which are the personal property of an elder, where it isn''t allowed for anyone to trespass. After pondering for a bit, he decided to go for the barren type mountains, after all, it''s not like he has to battle anyone, he just wants to comprehend about mountains, so that his comprehension for mountain intent increases, whereas for the sword intent, that is something he will have to work on his own understanding of the sword. After deciding their destination, the maid Xiao Chu informed Li Jie, that they cannot just go to any of the mountains simply without any preparation, to go to any mountain, they would need supplies of their own and a caravan to help in going up the mountain, as walking on any mountain is extremely taxing, and it also takes a lot of time, it is different for those of Essence Gathering stage cultivators, as their speed is high, with the help of essence energy, which was neither of the two. Li Jie felt like getting a headache, he never realized that he would need to make such preparations, before setting off for a mountain. "Sister Xiao Chu, you can prepare for the journey as you see fit, I will wait for you to complete your preparations, and then we can go", said Li Jie. The maid Xiao Chu nodded with a serious look on her face, "Yes, young master, I will make ample preparations for our journey, I will have the preparations for your mountain exploration ready by tomorrow, then we can set off for any mountain that you wish to go to", said the maid Xiao Chu. At first Li Jie wasn''t pleased with this, after all, he wanted to go to a mountain right away, but he understood that rushing would only be detrimental for now, so he agreed with Xiao Chu''s settings. After concluding his affairs with the maid Xiao Chu, Li Jie went back to his room and started to train physical exercises, and then after some time, he started to practice his techniques. When he was finished with his training, he decided to meet his friend, since he won''t be going to train on his comprehension right away, after washing up, he went out of his room and was heading towards Li Central city, where Dai Chen has been working in a renowned blacksmith shop. Li Jie was reminiscing about how in the past five years, Dai Chen has been working hard daily in the blacksmith shop, first, he was working as an assistant, where he gained quite a bit of popularity over the years among the ladies, who were frequent customers of the blacksmith shop, then he also joined the blacksmiths in their work, he started out as a supporting party, but after some time, he started his hands-on forging of metals, surprisingly he had a talent for forging, because of his low cultivation, the most he could forge were common goods, but he had a creative mind, he suggested the head blacksmith forge designed accessories for women, where a minuscule amount of the raw material is used, unlike for creating weapons and armor, where a high amount of raw materials are needed, while these design accessories weren''t of any use, but females tend to love products which make them look pretty. Implementing Dai Chen''s ideas in the shop, made them gain popularity, as well as a boon in their business, even those of the Fu merchant contacted them for further business contracts, the one to deal and negotiate with the members of the Fu merchant family, was none other than, Dai Chen himself, who was good looking as well as was the most polite one in the blacksmith, where everyone, be it the Head-Blacksmith or other blacksmiths, who were hot-headed and straight forward in nature, even in the negotiating department, Dai Chen showed his amazing skills in communicating and dealing with the crafty merchants of the Fu merchant family. Looking at Dai Chen''s hard work and passion for working so earnestly, the Head-Blacksmith officially took him under his mantle and made him his personal disciple, apart from learning the method of forging, Dai Chen also learned a lot about cultivation as well as he got a lot of help from his master, which helped in increasing his cultivation faster, now he is at the Essence Gathering Stage. How or what was the way, that someone like Dai Chen''s cultivation rose rapidly, was beyond his knowledge, and Dai Chen was also required to make an oath to not divulge this secret.jsndbdbdz