Chapter 6

Arriving back at his home, Ye Xiu walked towards his father’s office and knocked. “Father I am home from the medical hall.”

“Ah welcome back Ye Xiu, how are you? Is your body in any pain? You fainted 3 days ago and you only woke up now! Did you cultivate a technique without supervision? You are mature enough to know that is dangerous and irresponsible. An unknown technique without researching its advantages and the consequences of learning it can ruin your future don’t you know that?”

Hearing the commotion in the house, Yu Er ran towards the office and peered inside and asked, “Is everything alright? I heard shouting and thought something was wrong so I came to check.”

Ye Qiu calmed down and looked at his wife, “Everything is fine, it’s just that I think that Xiu’er was practicing and unknown cultivation technique without supervision.”

Yu Er commented, “It’s too early for Xiu’er to start cultivating anyway. He still has to wait two more years before starting Body Refinement. If his technique allows him to start cultivating at an earlier age won’t he have an advantage over his peers? You and I both know that we have enemies.”

“Enemies, what enemies are you talking about mother?” Ye Xiu inquired curiously whilst thinking, ‘I knew our family probably had enemies with how developed the clan is. How strong are the enemies, I wish to take care of them so my family can live in peace. I also hope that my father lets me go for practicing a cultivation technique without his supervision, like mother said this technique allows me to start at an early age without any stunt to my growth and actually allows me to develop faster than my peers. I should be able to mature fully once I’m fifteen years old.’

“Nothing you need to concern yourself about right now my son.” Ye Qiu said sternly and glared at his wife for mentioning anything about the topic. His wife just casually shrugged and walked back towards the kitchen.

“I’ll forgive you for this matter Ye Xiu but next time you want to learn anything just come to me so I can check for anything wrong. Once you are old enough I’ll let you make your own decisions but until you gain enough experience to discern the bad from the good I’ll supervise your training.” Ye Qiu looked at his son waiting for his response.

“Yes father. I’m going to request for you to help me with my body training starting from tomorrow. Would you mind making a training plan for me for maximum efficiency, I don’t mind the pain and effort that I will have to put in because I know that to continue on the path of cultivation will require blood, sweat and tears.” Ye Xiu implored his father with his puppy eyes so his father couldn’t reject him.

“Fine, I’m already thinking of a plan for you now anyway. During the training you aren’t allowed to say you want to quit or for me to lessen the training regime’s toughness. You aren’t allowed to rest until I tell you to do so. Breaking through your limits the best way to achieve the best results after all.” Ye Qiu nodded his head sagely and waved his son out of his office.

Ye Xiu’s Bedroom -

‘Now I need to look at the sword and whip manuals that they have left behind so I can decide on how to train them best. I know that I’ll train to use both weapons on both hands so I can switch at any time. Hopefully I won’t be too exhausted from training tomorrow. I still need to cultivate the Phoenix Manual. Whilst I’m training I’ll use the Dragon Manual to refine my body and whilst I’m resting or sleeping I’ll use the Phoenix Manual. This way I’ll be able to use my time efficiently without any delay.’ Ye Xiu quickly opened the scrolls to look at the martial art styles of the sword and whip.

‘Piercing Fang of the Jade Dragon.’ A style that greatly relies on pure speed and strength to overpower enemies in the blink of an eye. Without sufficient defense the opponent’s guard will be broken in a few hits. Even without being able to land the one shot kill the continuous barrage of attacks on the same spot will pierce through. Dissect the opponent’s fighting style and counter it whenever the guard is let down. Requires extensive knowledge on the body to fully utilise style. Best to learn with evasive movement arts and combined together with ‘Lonely Peak of Thirteen Dragons’ is when you are able to adapt to any situation.

‘Lonely Peak of Thirteen Dragons’ A sword style based on the thirteen strongest attacks of thirteen dragons. As each level is ascended to achieve a new attack the power is multiplied by two multiplicative of each other. With strong attacks along with fast speed the opponent won’t realise what hit them. Best paired with ‘Piercing Fang of the Jade Dragon’ and best to learn it with a movement art which focuses on closing the gap between your opponent.

‘Swallow Mirage Steps’ A movement style based greatly on the speed of evasion of the swallow with unpredictable movements due to it being able to fly. To be able to change direction whilst in mid-air and look as if you go in a certain direction but you move in another. As level with style increases it is possible to merge it together with another movement art to further increase its unpredictability and speed.

‘Basilisk’s Gaze’ A movement style which is focused on linear speed. It is instantaneous bursts of speed which catches the opponent off guard that they freeze. At higher levels the distance travelled becomes longer. Great for escaping on flat terrain or any type of terrain without many obstacles. Requires strong muscular body to withstand and generate the speed. Without sufficient strength, Qi can be used to power the style but is exhaustive depending on distance travelled.

‘Tyrant’s Physique’ A defense and body technique that is used in conjunction with cultivation techniques. Tyrant’s physique boosts body defense by placing qi around parts of the body to protect. Strength from hits are increased when qi is placed in parts where strength is exerted.

‘Thorny Rose Whip’ A whip style where the whip is shrouded by Qi thorns at any moment to pierce through opponent’s defense or skin. The whip’s main area of attack is circular with a diameter dependent on the whip length. Recommended diameter of attack is ten metres for better control over whip. Whip moves at speeds which are near imperceptible by normal eyes at the 1st level. No specific movement arts are recommended as all work fine with the style.

‘Entangled Roots’ A whip style for trapping enemies in a barrage of attacks or for capturing enemies. Looks like a graceful dance from the movements you make at fast speeds and requires exquisite footwork to circle around your opponents as you attack. Best paired with Thorny Rose Whip style for maximum damage.

‘Deer’s Canter’ A movement art for conserving energy, when an enemy slows down you slow down to an appropriate level and rises if enemy’s speed increases. Helps with extended fights.

‘Phoenix’s Rebirth’ A body technique which requires the bloodline of the Phoenix to reveal more information about it.

After reading through all the techniques in the scrolls Ye Xiu thought that he would just learn all of them since they compliment each other. The techniques’ disadvantages would be covered by each other and enhance the strength of each other. He could think of severals ways he could utilise these techniques in battle. For example, everytime the opponent tried to escape he could capture them with his whip and drag them back towards him and allow him to quickly pierce through their defenses.

Ye Xiu went to sleep knowing that the day would start early tomorrow with what he knew of his father’s personality. He also knew that training whilst exhausted would never allow him to train at his full potential because his determination to continue on the training would be affected by his mental state. As he went to sleep his last thoughts were, ‘I know I’m forgetting something important but what could it be?’