Under a myriad twinkling stars, there was a little boy wandering just outside the Forbidden Forest. It was an extremely unusual sight, the enigmatic forest was infamous for having immeasurable number of treacherous monsters.

The young boy was about nine years old, the tattered blue robe he was wearing had been washed so many times that it’s more grey than blue. He had two brown sacks hanging around his slim waist and a plain jade pendant around his neck. The grass around him showed a tint of yellow, signaling the end of summer. The little boy was looking towards the pitch black forest that seems to devour all light around the area. However, what he was looking at was a hue of orange light on the ground between two large trees.

“Crimson Grass! Ember Lily!” The young boy exclaimed as he approached the trees. “What an amazing batch of herbs. Wait what’s this… could it be a Fire Lotus?” The boy thought to himself as he peered closely. Fire Lotus was an unusual herb that’s rare even on the market. The lotus itself was only the size of his palm but there was a brilliant ball of fire floating at its center. The young boy was lost in thought as he gazed at it for hours. Only did he noticed the tip of a glowing yellow medallion on the horizon did he store the Fire Lotus into his herb sack and started moving.

Oh no, grandpa is going to find out I’ve snuck out. He thought. He could just imagine the scolding he’ll receive. Dashing back down the path and back into town, the boy couldn’t help but break out a wide grin still.

Blazing Tempest was a small ordinary town with three thousand families located beside the Forbidden Forest in the Southern part of the great Lin Province on the Heaven Continent.

The boy that was dashing at full speed suddenly stopped in front of a small worn-out house. Slowly, holding his breath he gently tip-toed across the lawn, lightly climbed into a window and slowly walked towards a hoary wooden table while reaching for his herb sack slowly at the same time. Just as he was inches from his target, an ear piecing shout came.

“Ryu, you little rascal. How dare you sneak out again? How many times have I told you to rest properly and focus in cultivating your Qi at school? You’ll never amount to anything if you don’t give it your all!” An old man stood by the hallway barked. The old man had white hair and beard and donned in a long green robe. He had the look of a distinguished gentleman.

“Grandpa Sheng, look what I found!” Ryu shyly said, pretending not to hear the scolding. He quickly opened his herb sack and laid down his findings on the table. “I found a few strands of Crimson Grass, two Ember Lily, Ruby Flame Seeds, and… a Fire Lotus! Even if it doesn’t cure your illness, you should feel much better for a long time!”

The old man was about to rebuke the kid at another level of intensity but abruptly stopped after hearing Fire Lotus. A Fire Lotus was worth more than the other herbs combined, at least thirty gold coins. Sheng himself having lived sixty-five years had only seen three of them in his life time.

After shifting his awe-struck gaze upwards, Ryu was nowhere in sight. Sheng sighed to himself. He knew that Ryu had to go to great length of labor to gather these herbs. These herbs could only be found near areas dense in Qi such as the Forbidden Forest.

“What am I going to do about this little rascal…” Sheng muttered to himself. Although he was worried for Ryu’s safety, as long as he didn’t enter the forest, he should be fine. The Forbidden Forest was a place filled with terrifying monsters. The strength of the monsters grows exponentially stronger as one gets close to the center of the Forbidden Forest. However for unknown reasons, the creatures of the mysterious forest never leave the forest.

What Sheng didn’t know was that this young boy he raised actually dares to venture into the forest to collect the herbs. No parents in their right mind would ever let their kids near it, never mind entering.

Sheng hated himself for not being able to provide more for little Ryu. In this world strength is everything, unless one reaches the pinnacle as a warrior or in a profession – they’ll live a difficult life.

“Hehe, Grandpa sure was shocked” Ryu giggled as he ran to school. In his heart, he’s forever grateful to his Grandpa, who took care of him when his parents suddenly disappeared. His Grandpa never spoke much of it except that he came under his care when he was just a baby. Ryu didn’t mind though, Grandpa took great care of him and he’ll be forever grateful.

“I hope the herbs can alleviate some of Grandpa’s pain.” Ryu thought to himself. A pained look can be seen on his face.

In this town, kids could start attending school at age of five. There were regular schools that taught scholarly subjects and then there were cultivating schools. The latter only taught one thing and that is basic Qi cultivation. One needed talent with Qi to be able to join such schools. On average only one out of five in the population could sense their own Qi. Moreover tuition was expensive so some could not afford to go.

However, there is one exception in this town – an accomplished and kind hearted Blacksmith in the past was willing to finance a public school that was free of tuition for as long as his wealth will last. He was rumored to have reached level 42 as a warrior and Rank 4 as a blacksmith. The school, named after the founder’s infamous move – Inferno Fist, accepts all students without a question. There are exactly twenty-nine students in this school. Since this was an informal school currently, kids of all ages were taught together at once. The teacher Seo-Yon Lee, a direct descendent of the founder, instructs the kids with Qi cultivating methods that the founder left behind for the majority of day.

Every living being has something called a Qi reservoir which contains a vital energy called Qi. As long as you are living, you are always generating a small part of this energy. One can “cultivate” and increase their Qi if they can control the energy emitted from within, gather Qi from nature into their reservoir and refine it. In this world, strength is measured by the achievements in Qi.

Qi cultivation are ranked by domains: Apprentice (Level 1-9), Intermediary (Level 10-19), Advanced (Level 20-29), Master (Level 30-39), Grandmaster (Level 40-49), and Heaven Domain (Level 50-59). Each domain has 9 levels. The difference between each level is the quality of your Qi. Using the same amount of Qi, one can break 10 bricks at level 10 while one can smash boulders at level 20. When one reaches Grandmaster, their lifespan are said to have been increased by a few hundred years and when one reaches Heaven, it is rumored that one can soar through the sky. There are more stages after Heaven Domain but Ryu isn’t too sure about them since the strongest person in the city was only at the Master Domain.

The importance of Qi cannot be stressed enough. It is no exaggeration to say that the key to a successful and happy life lies in one’s own cultivation in Qi. Qi is what makes a warrior strong. Qi is what helps a doctor cure people. Qi is what an alchemist needs to concoct a spiritual pill. Qi is what’s needed to create magical items. Qi is what allows one to live a long life and even retain youth. Qi is what one needs if they hope to one day fly through the heavens. The list could go on forever.

“Hi Ryu! Late to school again?” A middle-aged man said as Ryu ran down the street of shops. This was one of the two shopping districts in the town. The one Ryu passed through is the smaller one in the eastern part of the town. Ryu hasn’t been to the western part of town before, it is widely known that it’s the “wealthier” part of the town.

“Mr. Din, don’t jinx it for me.” Ryu said after stopping in front of the man and bowed with a smile. Wu-Ji Din is the only local alchemist in this shopping district. “I got more herbs to sell you later today if that’s alright with you.”

“Haha, don’t worry about it. You know you are welcome anytime. Say hi to your grandpa for me!” Wu-Ji replied back. Wu-Ji has been in business for over 30 years and he has never seen a harder working boy than Ryu. Ryu has been selling him bags of herbs 2-3 times a week. Not only is it cheaper than the local supplier, some of the herbs are much rarer too. However what’s puzzling him is how Ryu is able to collect so many herbs. The only places he could be collecting them from are all in the wilderness outside of town and not even adults with basic Qi cultivation dare to venture out there alone. At first Ryu has been painstakingly delivering them one by one so Wu-Ji gifted him two magic herb sacks that could contain over a dozen herbs.

Ryu saw three other kids up ahead running in the same direction he was. They were one to two years older than him.

“Man Ryu, are you human? How does a skinny pretty boy like you run so fast?” One of them said.

Ryu was indeed skinny compared to them. He was slim and his cheek bones gave him a bit of a skeletal look. However, he had strong dense brows and thick eyelashes over his deep vivid navy blue eyes which along with his distinct cheekbones and angular jaw made him look particularly handsome at a young age. What’s more mysterious is how Ryu is able to move at a faster speed than these boys.

Ryu was also a very shy and secretive person. He only nodded back at them while continuing to run alongside them. They slowly approached a big mansion surrounded by a three meter tall wall. This was where the famous blacksmith used to reside. He has transformed part of his mansion into a school for the less fortunate kids.

As the kids line up outside on her lawn, Seo-Yon came out of the school wearing a black dress and holding a wooden fan in her hand shouting. “If you want to be successful, you must work hard from a young age. None of you are rich or have extraordinary background. In this world, nothing is free. My ancestor, bless his soul, was a commoner who managed to overcome all odds and enter the Grandmaster Domain by practicing breathing techniques every day. It was because of his blood and sweat that he poured towards his cultivation that he was able to become a Rank 4 blacksmith and develop a fearsome Rank 4 skill – “Inferno Fist”. In this world, no matter what you want to achieve – be it a swordsman, blacksmith or even a doctor, you’ll need certain achievements regarding your cultivation to be successful at it!”

She paused and gave a stern look at the group of kids before continuing. “As you all know, anyone above ten years old are welcome to attempt the Talent Examination that happens every three year. If you are selected, you can join a prestigious martial arts sect. In most sects, you can opt to learn other professions such as alchemy and blacksmithing. You can become an elder at the sect if you are successful in cultivating to a high level. You can start your own business or join a guild to take on quests. You can go adventuring. You can join the government. The possibilities are endless.”

The kids listening all had a twinkle of hope and excitement in them as they listened.

“However, not all of you will succeed and that’s the sad truth. This doesn’t mean there’s no hope though. Even if you have the basic cultivation down, it’ll keep you healthy and help you out in the future.” Seo-Yon warned. The few mature kids in the group knew what she meant. If you don’t have a good cultivation, you’ll end up with a commoner job like farming or construction work. Best case scenario is joining the army as a foot soldier which could be dangerous since the relationship between the provinces on this continent wasn’t completely stable.

There was two groups of kids, the first group had twenty-one people and consisted of kids younger than twelve years old. The other group were between twelve and fifteen years old and has eight kids. Seo-Yon usually instructs the younger kids on breathing techniques to cultivate Qi then she moves on to teach fighting techniques to the older kids.

“Now start by breathing in through your mouth and exhaling through your nose…” Seo-Yon instructed slowly.