1 Prologue (1/2)
It was a cold winter day as snow fell heavily from the sky, laying itself like a white blanket over the many trees within the innermost regions of the Northern Taiga in the continent of Chang'an.
The Northern Taiga was located in the Northern Territory, an administrative region of the Kingdom of Heping, and it occupied more than half of the Northern Territory. This cold, desolate forest was known as one of the deadliest regions within the entire Chang'an continent.
While the Northern Taiga was considered very dangerous, it was the core of the forest that was the most dangerous, and many came from far away to hunt on the outskirts of the forest. One would find many humans hunting beasts for their beast cores, skin, teeth, and horns as these were the parts of beasts that were highly prized. They would also search for treasures and herbs.
The deeper one went into the taiga, the more dangerous it became. All the weaker animals lived on the outskirts, but the core regions were places where not even the most skilled martial artists dared to venture. This was the place where Primordial Beasts resided.
While the outskirts were filled with noise from beasts and humans alike, the deeper parts of the Northern Taiga were eerily quiet.
It was next to the borders of this massive forest that the Town of Lingyun was located. It was early morning, and the snow fell from the cloudy sky, blanketing the entire town, as the citizens awoke.
This was but another typical day in one of the towns bordering the Northern Taiga. People were going about their own business. The scent of breakfast wafted in the air as mercenaries said goodbye to their families and ventured towards the dangerous forest that loomed behind the city. Women would walk around with their children in tow while on their way to work or to deliver various goods.
While the town awoke, youths appeared from all the different houses and moved towards the outside of the city. They were headed towards a training field where three men were waiting for them.
These three men were large and burly. Their upper bodies were bare even though the ground was covered by more than a foot of snow, and scars adorned their suntanned skin.
Their eyes were alert and filled with vigilance as they observed the children who rushed towards them. The children were of varying ages; some were juvenile, while others were closer to adolescence. Some were excited and grouped together, while others walked on their own, dragging their feet behind them and looked anything but happy.
The young ones were the most excited, while the older kids all seemed much more casual and carefree.
The ones who were older all moved together to the training field and started to run around the training ground without anyone giving them instructions. From this, one could see that they had done this many times before, and even those who were dragging their feet and felt unwillingness were now running as if their lives depended on it.
The juvenile children grouped together in front of the three men and all of them started whispering amongst each other, stealing glances at the men's scarred bodies and speaking with admiration.
One of these youths was Xue Wei, the son of the town's apothecary. He was around ten years old, and his face was filled with expectation as he looked at the three men. He looked at the men with big eyes filled with veneration.
”Don't just stand there, get in line!” one of the men called out with a loud and rough voice. His voice traveled across the entire training field, and although his words were not directed at the older group of youngsters, they all flinched when they heard it. The younger children, however, did not show any fear at all, and they hurried into lines after which they looked at these three men with respect, waiting for their orders.
”So, today's the day all the new kids start training, huh?” one of the men said to the others as he looked at the disorderly children moving into lines. Despite what one would think, his eyes did not show any excitement. Instead, if one looked closely, they could see a certain sadness and pain.
”We keep on raising these children to become warriors, only to send them to the army where they will be ripped to shreds by Primordial Beasts, and those who survive are either crippled or become mercenaries to sustain themselves.”
”What do you expect?” one of the other two men asked with a sour expression on his face. He furrowed his brow and placed his hands on his sides as he swept his eyes across the many children in front of him. ”We are not from any major family or sect. We have no access to materials or resources; we don't even have access to proper cultivation techniques. All we have is the universal method that the kingdom has passed down to towns like ours, for the sake of training soldiers for their armies.”
His voice was sour and filled with endless jealousy and regret. It was clear that he had experienced the vast difference there was between the poorer experts and the geniuses from the richer families and sects.
”The sixteen year old children will be sent to the army soon. We won't see more than a tenth of them ever again, and the rest will undoubtedly be scarred for life. Such a waste of life!” The third person spat on the ground. His face was twisted, but he knew as well as the other two that he had no other option than to just do as he had been told. He was a veteran of the army, and he got his salary every month by ensuring that these children became useable warriors.
”It is not all that bad.” The first man chuckled. ”Look at us. We found brothers in the army, and we managed to survive. It was a hellish time, but it also broadened our horizons. We finally realized that when you live in a small town like this, you are truly just a frog in a well.”
”Look at these children; they look at us with veneration. They think we are true martial experts, yet we who have seen what a real martial artist is know the truth. We are in fact only cannon fodder!”
”Anyway, let's go and welcome them. Tell them about the achievements of mankind and make them understand that their strength is needed!”
Having said this, the three men walked forward and looked at the many children that were standing in front of them, looking at their faces which were filled with expectation.
”Welcome, everyone! You being here means that you wish to become a martial artist! That you wish to become a Warrior!” the first man called out, his voice reverberating in the air and his words causing the children to blaze with pride. They were to become Warriors!
”To cultivate is to become Warriors! The Warrior rank is split into Ordinary Warriors, Earth Warriors, Sky Warriors, and Heavenly Warriors. Each of these ranks are further split into nine layers.”
”We, the three Overseers of Lingyun town, have managed to cultivate to the first layer as Earth Warriors. This is the result of all our hard work throughout our lives!”
”In the surrounding air is energy. This energy can be absorbed by the body and refined into Qi. When the energy is being refined, it will travel through your body before being stored in the dantian. At the very beginning, you can only absorb wisps of energy, but later these wisps will turn into a steady stream of Qi. As you absorb wisps of energy, the more of these wisps you can contain in your dantian, the more talented you are!”
Hearing this, Xue Wei clenched his fists. He had waited for this day ever since he was old enough to understand what it meant to be a cultivator, and he dreamed of the day he would become a true martial artist, slaughter Primordial Beasts, and save mankind!
”Now, listen closely. Many thousands of years ago, humans were nothing but livestock for the Primordial Beasts. We lived every day as slaves! But one day, the humans caused a revolt and overthrew the Primordial Beasts! We defeated them, slaughtered them, and took back the world which had been our prison for years. The remaining Primordial Beasts withdrew into the areas now known as danger regions, and no human cultivator dares to venture into them alone.”
”The Northern Taiga here is one such danger region, and it is our responsibility to ensure that the Primordial Beasts never again leave their prisons!”
”They send beast horde after beast horde at our cities. They destroy our villages and kill our brothers and sisters! As long as these Primordial Beasts exist, we cannot live in safety!”
”Because of this, the entire Continent of Chang'an has banded together. Every single youth is taught outstanding martial arts which have been provided to us by the king himself so that we will become warriors worthy of defending humanity! We will take our turn to fight the Primordial Beasts! We will gain complete victory so that our dear ones can sleep in peace at night!”
”Everyone come here and get a copy of the martial art you will be practicing. Read it and try to understand it before tomorrow when we will start training for real!”
Hearing these words, every child that was standing on the ground had faces red with excitement. This was the first time they would get to learn a cultivation technique, and all of them wished to become true martial artists, true experts that could fight toe to toe against these legendary Primordial Beasts that their parents warned them about at night.
While standing in line, Xue Wei shuddered. He finally understood that he was going to become a cultivator – he was going to fulfill his deepest desire!
While looking at the children with pity, the three men gave out the copies of the martial art and said a few encouraging words to them before they shifted their attention towards the older students.
”Don't slack off! Ten more rounds before we start the breathing exercises! Run till you are on the verge of collapsing, run till you faint if need be!” the first man yelled out with a stern voice, and although the children all sighed internally, they all yelled back in unison, ”Yes, sir!”
The young children who had just gotten the copies of the technique did not stay on the training field. Instead, they all went back to the city once more, heading back to their respective homes with smiles on their faces. Today was the day that they were going to read their first cultivation technique, and then they would be able to start cultivating.
As they arrived in town, Xue Wei was looking at the copy of the cultivation technique in his hands, and he was filled with excitement. So excited that he did not look where he was walking, and before noticing it, he walked straight into a large man.
Xue Wei instantly fell to the ground, and the cultivation technique he had just gained fell from his hand and landed on the ground next to him. Seeing that he had dropped it, the young boy did not panic but quickly picked it up before he stood up. He straightened his body and wiped the snow off his clothes.
”I apologize for walking into you, sir,” he said as he raised his head and looked into the eyes of a tall, handsome man.
The man had long black hair which was tied up beautifully on top of his head. His eyes were as blue as the endless ocean, and his body was draped in a dazzling blue robe with silver embroidery.
Those deep blue eyes looked directly into Xue Wei's, and they instantly widened as they were filled with surprise and shock. Even so, he did not withdraw his gaze. Instead, it intensified over time.
”Kid, look where you are walking.” A chuckle sounded from beside the handsome man, and Xue Wei's eyes were finally dragged from the deep blue eyes that seemed to gaze into his soul. He saw that an alluring woman was standing by his side. Her hair was silver like beautiful moonlight, and her eyes were also blue, but where the man had eyes the color of the deep ocean, this woman had light blue eyes that resembled ice.
When she saw Xue Wei's eyes, her brows furrowed slightly, and she looked as if she was deeply pondering something. Both she and the man were in deep thought as if running into Xue Wei had caused an earth-shattering revelation. Their change confused the young man greatly, and he decided to apologize once more thinking that they were very mad at him.
”I apologize for bumping into you; I was too preoccupied today as something good happened,” Xue Wei said with a slight bow, and the man finally snapped out of whatever had caught his mind.
”Do not mind it; do not mind it at all,” he said with a devilish smile on his handsome face. ”We are travelers who have come to the taiga for a mission, but we seem to have gotten lost when we saw this small town, so we decided to stop for a few days and buy provisions.”
”I see, then you should come to my father's medicinal house! We sell the best pills, pastes, and herbs that are needed for a trip to the Northern Taiga!” Xue Wei said excitedly.
Although the city had its own mercenaries who went to the outskirts of the taiga quite often, it was rare for travelers to stop by since Lingyun town was one of the smaller towns on the outskirts of the taiga. Most travelers would go to the bigger cities instead.
”Your father owns a medicinal house? Could it be that he is an alchemist?” the man asked curiously as he squatted down to look eye to eye with Xue Wei, but the young child just shook his head.
”Daddy is an apothecary! He can make pastes and is very proficient with raw medicinal herbs, but he cannot create medicinal pills.” Pausing for a moment, the child smiled, showing two dimples on his cheeks like the very depiction of innocence. ”But don't worry, father gets medicinal pills from the merchants so you can buy real medicinal pills at his shop too! You have to come visit!”
Hearing the eagerness in the child's voice, the handsome man looked into the eyes of this youngster and smiled mysteriously.
”Don't worry,” he said as he gently patted the child on top of his head. ”I will definitely make sure to come visit your shop. Now run along and do your chores,” he laughed, and Xue Wei nodded his head, bowed slightly to the man and woman, and rushed back home.