Chapter 3

The giant blazed through the city, leaping from rooftop to rooftop. Despite his apparent weight and speed, each step was light as a feather, leaving nothing behind but the lightest footprint of ash. He was so fast that none could see him pass by, not even the other cultivators within the city. As he began making his way back to Li Jie’s home, he thought to himself, ‘What was that crest I saw on the boy’s chest centered around his dantian? I’ve heard that some of the stronger bloodlines have hereditary tattoos as a manifestation of their power, but those are supposed to be far smaller and located somewhere far away from the dantian, like on the wrist or ankle.’

The giant landed and took another leap, ‘And that healing ability, that’s impossible unless he’s one of...’ He once again landed and paused, a smile creeping onto his face.

‘This kid ain’t normal. It only makes sense given what that mysterious man paid me to keep him and his mother alive. I also detected a fire attribute qi coming from him during that fight, maybe I should recruit the kid into the sect? It’d be easier to keep an eye on him. Kid’s got talent, I’ve never seen a 14 year old at the 3rd level of the Nascent Realm. His friend here isn’t too bad either.’ He continued thinking his future course of action as he continued onwards.

Li Jie never thought he was talented but that was because he never had a reference point to compare himself. Zhu Hao, his friend, would actually be considered decently talented since he managed to reach the 2nd level of the Nascent Realm at 16. Li Jie, achieving this feat at the age of 14, was nothing short of a genius. Even more outstanding is the fact that the early years of cultivation are the most important since they become the foundation for all future cultivation. A majority of the population could eventually reach the 1st level of the Nascent Realm to become a cultivator, however a significant portion of people would never achieve this first step their whole lives--Li Jie’s mother being one of them.

The reason most people cannot reach the 1st level of the Nascent Realm before turning 16 is because they lack the mental discipline and fortitude that comes with age. On top of that, younger bodies cannot properly absorb or refine the qi of the world, resulting in extreme waste during cultivation. Unbeknownst to Li Jie, he seemed to have overcome the problem of wasteful cultivation by possessing an abnormal body.

The giant reached Li Jie’s house and entered after detecting no life inside with his spiritual sense. He laid Li Jie on his bed before turning his attention to the deathly pale Zhu Hao; the sword stab had narrowly missed his heart and dantian but his wound was still bleeding profusely. Two thin strands of purple flame appeared from the giant’s fingertips and snaked their way onto Zhu Hao, one on his back, one on his front. Once they reached the wound, they coiled around the hole, sealing it and stopping the bleeding. Even so, Zhu Hao’s internal organs were damaged, and he would die very soon.

It was exceptionally difficult to repair internal organs with qi as they were far too complex and the target’s own personal qi would interfere with the process. The giant frowned slightly as he waved his hand and a medicinal pill materialized in his hand. A pungent smell that reeked of burnt flesh quickly filled the room along with an aura that seemed partially divine in nature. He forced the pill down Zhu Hao’s throat and released the two strands of purple flame. Surprisingly, the bleeding did not continue, and skin began to grow rapidly covering the wound; Zhu Hao’s previously ghostly pale face changed for the better as his complexion grew healthier. Soon his shallow breathing returned to normal, and now it looked like he was simply sleeping, disregarding the torn and bloodied clothes.

“Damn this kid, making me use a Phoenix Feather Pill. I’ll definitely make him join the sect and work his ass off to pay me back for it...” muttered the giant with some dissatisfaction as he quietly disappeared once again.

The Phoenix was a divine beast of legends that could supposedly wipe out an entire empire with a simple flap of its celestial wings. It possessed legendary vitality that allowed it to live no matter what kind of a wound was inflicted upon it. The pill, of course, was not made from an actual Phoenix feather as no one even knows if they exist, but rather from a mixture of higher level fire-attribute magical beasts attempting to capture even a sliver of the Phoenix’s radiance.

Since healing martial skills were nearly non-existent, many cultivators relied on medicinal pills for healing. Furthermore, pills could possess many other effects, most notably accelerating cultivation by providing a burst of qi for the body to refine. The demand for pills made alchemists, the cultivators who crafted these pills, high in demand. But the requirements to become a fully fledged alchemist were strict because it required both an surgically precise control over qi as well as a compatible attribute type of qi.

Most cultivators did not possess attributes to their qi, but it was common enough to not warrant surprise when someone saw an attributed qi. For a typical cultivator, it did not matter whether his qi was attributed or not. Generally speaking, the most obvious benefit and demerit of attributed qi was slightly faster cultivation in certain techniques, for example, water-attributed qi cultivators generally could learn water-based techniques slightly faster. Even when it came to becoming an alchemist, the sheer precision required in qi manipulation automatically disqualified an immense number of cultivators, so the correct qi attribute became a moot point.

To elite cultivators, however, qi attributes became extremely relevant. Every different kind of qi attribute, including non-attributed qi, had different supreme martial skills--that is, the stronger a martial skill is, the more likely it will require the practitioner to have a specific qi attribute. Qi attribute types were as numerous as the stars in the night sky, but basic elements such as water and fire were the most common.

The giant, already kilometers away from the still unconscious Li Jie, had an amusing thought, ‘Maybe this kid also has the aptitude to become the city’s next alchemist? Hah, then even I would have to bend down to kiss his feet if he demanded!’

-----

Li Jie found himself standing in absolute darkness, no wind, no movement--a true abyss. Not matter how hard he tried, he wasn’t able to move his body at all except for his eyes and mouth. Within this abyss, he could feel something gazing at him, observing him, as if it was watching his every move. He waited and waited just to see if it would do anything, but nothing happened. Li Jie remained standing around in the darkness, trying to get a bearing on what happened to him. He finally decided to take action after seeing that doing nothing wouldn't get him anywhere. So he gathered his courage and spoke as eloquently as he could, “May I have the honor of knowing who you are?”

A long pause. Silence. Just when Li Jie was going to try again, an archaic voice rang out from all directions, “Struck down by the tribulations, my Dao was deemed wrong by the Heavens!”

Li Jie felt the voice penetrate his very soul and mind, giving him no time to gather his thoughts. It continued, “But I know my Dao was correct, my profound truths transcended the laws crafted by the Heavens, and the Heavens deemed my existence as far too dangerous. They could not bear to see, nay, it would be more correct to say they feared another divine entity with the power to match them.

“I fled, across empires, continents, worlds... I fled and fled until I reached this far away land. But the tribulations followed, they came down without end, seeking to purge my heaven-defying existence from this very universe. I persevered long enough to split my soul into a fragment which I passed down through my descendants. I have lain dormant in your body all for a single reason, so that I may ask a single question to you: Will you take up my Dao and defy the Heavens?”

The final question posed to Li Jie rang out and lingered within him. He thought of how nearly died to Fang De; he thought of how his friend was slaughtered like a pig; he thought of how his mother suffered from her lifestyle and illness. He wanted strength. He wanted it at any cost. And now the perfect opportunity was within arm’s reach.

“Ancestor, I will accept your offer and follow the path you have laid down for me.” Li Jie answered without hesitation, attempting to bow to show his respect but failing.

Li Jie couldn’t see where the voice was coming from, but he could feel it smiling slightly as it said, “Good, good. To have two generations in a row with this much density of my blood. This old bird is happy. Not to mention you were able forcibly awaken me at 14 years of age; you remind me of myself when I was just a kid your age. Then let us activate the bond!”

Numerous questions sprung to Li Jie’s mind when he heard what the voice said, but before he could ask any question, his chest began glowing and a tremendous burning pain assailed his entire body. He completely disregarded his curiosity in front of the overwhelming pain.

“ARGHH--” Li Jie screamed out in pain. He felt something crawling all over his skin, as if every single square inch of his body was ignited in flames. Despite the immense pain, he did not pass out--this was not due to his tolerance of the pain, but rather the fact that he physically could not pass out in this dark world. After what seemed like an eternity, the pain finally began to subside, leaving Li Jie hanging limply in the air like a rag doll.

The fiery crest on his chest faded away and when it finally disappeared, a massive boom echoed throughout the abyss. The entire world to the right of Li Jie exploded into a fiery brilliance temporarily blinding him. When he opened his eyes again, he saw that half of this entire world was now engulfed in red flames that reached as high as he could see. The awe-inspiring flames did not burn Li Jie at all, in fact they felt almost nostalgic to him, reinvigorating him. His right arm and right leg were no longer flesh, but made up of flame essence. Oddly enough, his entire left side of his body remained shrouded in the penetrating darkness. A miasma-like wall of black vapors prevented the flames from crossing over to the left side.

“Hmm, this certainly is a surprise. I never expected this darkness to be so profoundly powerful. Kid, what’s your name?” The voice asked, speaking more casually.

“Li Jie, ancestor.”

“Li Jie huh? It looks like I wasn’t the only soul remnant dwelling within you. But even I can’t see through this darkness after binding our souls.”

The voice went quiet a few seconds before continuing, “Li Jie, make sure you find out what this darkness is and from where it came.”

“Ancestor, surely you would be more qualified for this task?”

“Sorry, I’ve been doing this for a long, long time. I only separated enough of my soul to infuse 1,000 generations with my power,” the voice said as it got quieter, “and you were the lucky 1,000th generation! How about that? I’ve got no prize for you though, haha.” Despite getting quieter, the voice seemed to look forward to its release from its long, arduous task.

“Wait ancestor, I have some ques-”

“Li Jie,” the ancient voice boomed, putting most of its fading power into its voice, “You will find all that you need to know within that crest of yours. Right now you aren’t strong enough to fight the Heavens so much of it will be sealed away, ready for you to learn once you are strong enough. Nor are you strong enough to learn the answers to the questions undoubtedly floating in your heart.”

The voice became tinged with a bit of warmth and sympathy, “Your path won’t be an easy one; after all, in all these generations I’ve yet to see one of my descendants complete my Dao. They were all brutally struck down by the Heavens, some destroyed so badly not even dust remains of their bodies, some before they could even reach the Immortal Realm.”

At this statement, Li Jie’s eyes opened wide in surprise as he thought, ‘Immortal Realm? I’ve never even heard of that before! How could I have had such a powerful ancestor residing within me the whole time?’

The ancestor’s voice now barely above a whisper said, “Li Jie, go forth. Succeed where your father failed. Complete my Dao. And lastly your most important task... avenge my old soul... you must gain power!”

The ancestor mustered all his remaining power into his final words, “Finally, declare war against the Heavens! Raze it all, burn it all down! Burn the Heavens to the ground upon your blazing wings!”

With this, the voice completely faded away and the entire world filled with a blinding white light. Li Jie abruptly felt himself being pulled out of the world and back into his material world.

-----

Li Jie bolted upright, as if he was waking from a horrendous nightmare. His body, soaked in his own sweat, faintly emitted an aura of a king--no, of an emperor for a few seconds before returning to normal. He felt something wet on his cheeks and raised his hands to his face, only to find himself shedding tears. His heart throbbed with a piercing pain as if he had lost the one he loved most in the world. Zhu Hao, who had woken up earlier and was watching over Li Jie, fell flat on his butt in surprise.

“Hey Li Jie, you okay?” He asked in concern, wondering what that heavenly aura was and why his friend was crying.

Li Jie looked around slowly, attempting to gain his bearings. After confirming that he was in his room, his eyes locked on Zhu Hao who looked even healthier than before he was stabbed. He quickly wiped his face on his sleeve and stared even harder at Zhu Hao as if to make sure he wasn’t a ghost.

“Zhu Hao! You’re alive? I thought you were stabbed by Fang De?” Li Jie, after confirming it was indeed not a dream, leaped off the bed and pulled Zhu Hao up, embracing his friend warmly.

“Hahaha so it seems! Someone like me would never die to a fat pig, how disgraceful would that be? Anyway what happened? The last thing I saw before I passed out was you attacking Fang De!” Said Zhu Hao as he returned the hug.

“Some strong cultivator came and killed him. I think he was also the one who brought us back here and saved you.” Li Jie said, looking through the hole in Zhu Hao’s clothes. He saw neither a sword wound nor a scar.

Zhu Hao sat back down, deep in thought, “Why would he save us? This just doesn’t make any sense... Arghh, screw it all!” He held his head as if he was in pain, “Thinking doesn’t suit me at all.”

Zhu Hao energetically sprung up and assumed a boxing position, throwing a few quick jabs in the air. He pointed at Li Jie and beckoned with a grin, “Let’s fight Li Jie. For some reason I feel reinvigorated! I checked earlier while you were still unconscious, and it looks like I broke through to the 3rd level!”

Li Jie, already used to how quickly his friend switched tracks, simply closed his eyes and let his mind wander to his dantian. There he saw the fiery crest floating in the center. Examining the crest closely, he was able to make out a single circular magical formation covered in numerous profound runes of a language he was sure no longer existed in this world. There appeared to be three other blobs connected with the magical formation to make square formation with an even larger blob in the center of the square. When he tried to focus on one of these blobs, they seemed to obfuscate themselves from his spiritual sense, phasing in and out of existence, as if they weren’t even real.

He quickly became nauseated and stopped, instead focusing on the circular magical formation. As soon as he sent his spiritual sense to probe the magical formation, a flood of information entered his mind. Processing this information, Li Jie broke into a wide grin and thought, ‘Many thanks ancestor for passing down your ultimate abilities to someone like me.’

Zhu Hao didn’t miss the grin on his friend’s face. “Looks like you weren’t the only who made a breakthrough, eh?”

Smiling, Li Jie simply nodded at Zhu Hao and said, “Very well, I accept your challenge.”