Prologue: The boy called Jing Guanyu

Jing Guanyu

I breathe deeply, searching the world around myself earnestly. I try to sense the invisible force that I know surrounds me, the spiritual power. I know that once I grasp this elusive spirit power, I shall finally embark on the path of Divine Cultivation. This is my only option, the paths of Essence and Energy Cultivation being blocked by my own innate physique. Although I have the 3 Dantian, I have had no meridians at all since birth. As for Essence Cultivation, despite the fact that my body is perfectly fine when compared to the bodies of those weaklings from the mortal Realms when matched up to the other residents of the High Heaven Realm, my body is anything but fine. Crippled in the words of all but my parents, I know that there is no way I can survive the intense physical training required to begin on the path of Essence Cultivation using the techniques of this realm.

After over 4 hours of diligently attempting to sense the spiritual power surrounding me, I sigh and open my eyes. The loving, but expectant faces of my mother and father greet me as I open my eyes. Upon seeing my parents, the slightest hint of a frown mars my face, silently admitting the result of my attempt to cultivate. When my parents see that slight frown, they let out near inaudible sighs. Despite their attempts to prevent me from hearing, I manage to hear them. Staying silent, I wait for my parents to say something, looking at anywhere but my parents’ faces. Although I look like I am 13 years old physically; I am still only 8 years old due to our lineage growing physically at an accelerated rate like every other clan with a bloodline in the High Heaven Realm. This means that I still am easily influenced by failure. After a few moments quiet, my mother finally breaks the silence.

“Yu’er, could you sense the spirit power of your first spirit contract?” she asks kindly, attempting to use it as a way to help me get over my failure. I shake my head from side to side in reply, indicating my inability to sense the spirit power of the first spirit contract. That is how the path of Divine Cultivation works, there is a maximum of nine spirit contracts the cultivator has to sense. Each cultivator’s spirit contracts are different and only able to be sensed by themselves. This prevents a senior from guiding them and making the breakthroughs in Divine Cultivation easy. Once the cultivator has sensed the spirit power of their first spirit contract, the spirit will send a soul avatar to reside within the soul realm of the cultivator. This soul avatar, a split piece of the spirit's soul, will permanently reside in the soul realm of the cultivator after opening it for them. Once the soul realm is opened by the spirit, then the cultivator has begun upon their path of Divine Cultivation.

After that, if the cultivator can connect with any more spirit contracts is all determined by them. The difficulty to sense your next contract will usually rise exponentially for each contract made. Some people, however, may have only a single possible contract and another cultivator may be able to make nine contracts! However, the quantity of contracts isn’t the most important aspect of these contracts. The most crucial part is the quality of the spirit; the strength of the spirits innate Dao it was naturally born with. The spirit will also automatically boost your comprehension ability of that particular Dao just by being in your soul realm. If a cultivator that has 5 spirit contracts and they are attributed with 4 of the 9 elements from the Elemental Dao and the last spirit is attributed to the Dao of the Sword fights another cultivator with 3 spirit contracts of higher quality, like all 3 being from the Supreme Dao then the latter is going to win easily. Quality of the spirits is the most important factor of the spirit contract aspect of Divine Cultivation. It has been 5 years since I began my path of Divine Cultivation. Usually, the first spirit will be found after you begin 1 to 3 years, depending on the grade of its innate Dao.

“It’s ok son, I am sure that the spirit that was chosen to contract you will be from the one of the higher level Supreme Dao!” That’s right! I thought after my father said that. As a general rule, the longer it takes to make your first contract, the higher grade of Dao that spirit has. The longest time recorded for a cultivator to contract a spirit was 4 years, which was the current patriarch of our clan and my great-great-grandfather. The first spirit he contracted was a Supreme Dao spirit ranked among the lower area of the Supreme Dao ranking. Due to the natural laws of the universe, the cultivator always contracts his spirits in order of weakest to strongest. Spirits can also be innately born with a Law from a Dao. The current Patriarch’s first spirit contract was with a spirit that was innately born with the Chaotic Space law! This Law is a high ranking Law that is conceived from a combination of some aspects of two Primordial Dao, the Dao of Chaos and the Dao of Space. This Law is able to beat any Dao that isn’t of the Supreme grade. Although it is strong, since it is condensed from a single aspect of the Dao of Chaos and a single aspect of the Dao of Space it cannot compete with even the weakest Supreme Dao due to the fact that the Supreme Dao are entire Dao, not a mere combination of some smaller aspects of two Primordial Dao. Our clan, the Jing clan is a clan that specializes in the various aspects of the Dao of Chaos. Almost every spirit a member of our bloodline condenses has an aspect of chaos within it.

“But dad…. It has been 5 years since I began to cultivate on the path of Divine Cultivation. You know my meridians are non-existent and my body is innately weak….” I reply meekly, still looking anywhere but the faces of my parents.

“Son, it’s ok. We know what the clan’s stance is on resource distribution, they have never and won’t ever give you resources to assist you in your cultivation. Neither will they ever give you the medicine required to heal your innately weak body. None of that matters. We will love you and assist you in every way possible so you can live the best life you can no matter how low your cultivation is; even if you are nothing more than a mortal, unable to cultivate. You have been cultivating and training for 12 hours every day, no matter what happened. Isn’t it time to let go? Why do you still try to cultivate? Do you not realize that even if you cultivated, the clan will never truly accept you? Why?” my father questions me in a gentle, yet intense way. I look up and see a sadness deep within my father’s eyes. My mother is silently crying, looking at me with sadness and pity.

“That’s why,” I said. A determination boils up from deep within my heart, a resolution that has been simmering there for 5 years. This determination changes me, makes my back straighter, my eyes meet my parents as I continue to talk. “That is why I still cultivate. You two care so much about me, do so much for me; I cannot give up. No matter the pain and the ridicule I shall face for my choice, I will never submit to the desire to give up! That is why I cultivate so that even if I fail every time, I can feel worthy of your love!”

Silence greets my determined declaration. The meaning of my words finally forced itself through the shock of the emotion and strength my voice carried. I didn’t sound like a naïve 8-year old boy anymore. In the ears of all three of us, I sounded like a general trying to rally his troops before a war. The determination and strength my words carried even shocked me. There was almost a minute of silence before my parents came to their senses.

“Oh, Yu’er! How you have grown! I hope you can, no, I know you can achieve great things once your body is strengthened and your meridians are constructed. Very well, go train and cultivate as you like. We shall no longer hinder you, and if you need help with anything, just ask us.” My mother finally spoke, surprise and joy emanating from her every pore. Bowing, I walked out the door, a self-confidence and determination exuding from everything that is me.

* * * * * * *

Jing Muyu

I watched as my son walks out of the room, emanating a fiery determination to succeed as he goes to train. After he has left, I share a look with my husband, Jing Heng. His expression of joyful surprise mirrors my own. I never expected that our Yu’er would have such a reason for being so persistent in his cultivation over the past 5 years. It has been very hard on him these past few years. I break the still and quiet atmosphere.

“It is such a shame. Our Yu’er is not able to cultivate anything but the path of Divine Cultivation. If only he was not crippled, I am sure he would shock the entire High Heaven Realm.” My husband smiles sadly and replies.

“No, as much as it pains me to say this, I think him going through this is necessary. If he hadn’t faced this hardship, then how do you think his will would be so strong. Talent only gives people a head start in cultivation. Those who lack a will that is strong will find themselves eventually stopped on their path, unable to advance.” I frown as I angrily rebuke my husband. “You think it’s necessary that he has gone through so much suffering? You think it is necessary that he will go through this pain and suffering for the rest of his life? So what does a strong will mean when he will be even more crippled once he breaks through to the Immortal Evolution of Divine Cultivation? You know as well as I do what you have to do to break through to that realm. Although he can eventually continue to cultivate, his innately weak body and lack of meridians will only weaken his soul once he reaches that realm. Having a strong will makes things easier in the Mortal realms of cultivation, but the minute he enters the Immortal realms of cultivation, he will be weaker than even a 7th Stage Xiantian Energy cultivator. That is just the Immortal realm, even if he defied the heavens and broke through to the mythical third realm, he will likely suffer a completely crippled soul.” Jing Heng simply smiles complacently in reply to my stern tone.

“If our boy is crippled, but has such extraordinary potential, then it is our responsibility to make sure his potential will flourish.” With a jolt, I stare intensely at my husband, surprised but not daring enough to voice the thoughts he just did. “What do you mean by that husband?” I ask calmly, feigning innocence. Jing Heng laughs and says “You know very well what I mean. A Primordial Rebirth pill, the only pill that would work for sure on his body and meridians, will cost several billion contribution points. If we donate that alchemy scripture we received as a gift, then we will only need to do enough missions to earn 5 million, a fairly achievable number to reach before Jing Guanyu turns 13.” My face darkens instantly, a frown scrunching up my face. As I stare intensely at my husband, I breathe deeply in an attempt to calm down. After a few moments, I calmly warn my husband about the danger of the alchemy scripture leaving our hands.

“That scripture was from those two, if we offend them by giving away their gift, then not even the strongest in the High Heaven Realm can save our clan. Besides, you know very well that the scripture they gave us is the only thing keeping Yu’er still here. Those two very well know the greedy nature of the clansmen. If it wasn’t for the fact that the scripture can only be passed on via soul transmission willingly by its holders, then the clan would have stripped it from our brain and abandoned Yu’er.” Jing Heng starts laughing heartily. As I look at him in confusion for almost 30 seconds, he finally stops his laughter. He is still smiling broadly when he says

“Don’t worry about offending those two. They themselves told me that the Primordial Rebirth pill is the only pill that would cure our crippled son in the entire High Heaven Realm! How do you think I know for certain that only the Primordial Rebirth pill would work? They specifically told me that the technique they gave me was for this purpose and that I would know when the time came to use it to exchange for a Primordial Rebirth pill. Besides, the pill doesn’t work unless the person taking the pill has finished maturing, so until Guanyu turns 18. A lot can happen in 8 years and if we really have to, we can trade it and get a lower realm clan to look after him until he is mature and has taken the pill. I am sure he will be talented enough to rise to this Realm quickly enough, and probably even ascend to the Realm above the High Heaven Realm.”

Only after my husband has thoroughly explained his plan does my trepidation recede. Now smiling, my husband and I walk over to the training hall to let Yu’er know that we shall be absent most of the time from now on. As we are walking over, I think to myself. “With his diligence for cultivation and his determination, Yu’er makes the perfect cultivator. If Yu’er really does recover from his innately weak body, then he shall truly become a powerhouse of this Realm. If he manages to reconstruct his meridians, then I fear that even this Realm will become beneath his talent.”

* * * * * * *

Jing Guanyu

I breathe heavily, the wooden training sword in my hand dipping down the slightest margin. Noticing my slip-up immediately, I put down the sword and go through a short, but extremely intense punishment drill before getting up and picking the sword up again. My body is shaking in exhaustion, but my sword is still being held steady. Stepping into a large array, it lights up, creating several beings made of energy holding swords. Readying my stance, a few seconds later the training dummies charge towards me. Utilising all of my meager agility, I weave through the group of 5, dodging their weapons and parrying them when I need to. I never block their attacks completely, always redirecting them just enough to dodge or just outright dodging them. Seeing an opportunity, I land a lethal hit on one of the dummies. With not even a flash, the dummy simply vanishes. This training array will dissipate a dummy after it receives a lethal strike, more focused on training the user’s defensive ability and seizing opportunities in the heat of the moment. It is my favorite sword training method out of the various training methods I could use simply because it trains your technique more than raw strength.

Due to my weak body, I cannot cultivate any Essence Cultivation Techniques. If I had meridians, I could cultivate my Essence if I was careful enough because the path of Energy Cultivation will naturally strengthen the body due to the inevitable leaking of qi from the meridians and dantian. Once my body was strong enough, I could begin to start Essence Cultivation. However, since I have no meridians on top of my innately weak body, this means I have to resort to the ancient method of limit-training. This training method requires a will of iron and a determination strong enough to ignore your bodies warnings to break through your limits. Since I am crippled, I don’t exactly need to do extremely intense exercise like normal Essence Cultivators. Usually just pushing my limits and breaking them while doing my sword training will be enough to train in the limit-break method.

Finally, one of the dummies manages to nick me as I attempt to dodge, unable to redirect his weapon due to my out of position sword and fatigue. The array instantly powers down. Although I have to connect with a lethal strike to dissipate a dummy, I have calibrated the array so that even the barest touch of a dummies blade to me will stop the array. This is because my current style of fighting is more focused on evasion and sudden lethal strikes. If I got even scraped by an Essence or Energy cultivator, their power will surely do severe damage, enough to allow them to easily kill me afterward. I don’t bother learning how to fight Divine Cultivators since they would just send a soul attack and disintegrate my soul so there is no point. Thus, the purpose of my fighting style is to not get hit and end it in a single strike; because trying to fight an endurance battle against other cultivators is suicide with my weaker body and lack of energy.

Grabbing a cloth and some wood oil, I start to methodically rub down and polish my training sword. When I am done, I walk over to my personal rack after putting the wood oil and clothe back in their place. I then gently place my personal training sword back to its spot on my weapon rack. Smiling to myself, I grab my training bow from its place on my rack, testing the draw and making sure the arrays engraved onto it still work satisfactorily. My parents taught me how to use a sword and a bow. My father is a very strong swordsman, so he obviously taught me how to use a sword. My mother, on the other hand, is more of an archer, so she taught me the bow. However, all they taught me was the basics and how to teach myself. They never taught me any of their techniques and even got angry when I attempted to copy their techniques.

“A truly strong swordsman is one who fights the way that suits him best.”

Those were the words of my father when he discovered that I was attempting to copy one of his techniques. Those words have stuck with me since then, as it is one of the few times that my ever-cheerful dad ever showed a truly serious expression. Whenever Jing Heng was serious, it was in your best interest to listen, lest you be put at a disadvantage in life. As I was doing my stretches designed to cool me down from sword training and ready me for my bow training, my parents walked into the training hall. They were not wearing their training gear, so I stopped my stretches and walked over. When I reached them, my mother suddenly hugged me tightly. After releasing me, she saw my confused expression and laughed quietly. My father smiled and then his expression turned serious. After a few coughs to get my attention, I noticed his expression and waited for him to speak.

“Son, your mother and I need to fulfill our obligations to the clan. We have many missions to do, so we shall not be at the clan territory often. We will be gone for at least a few months at a time and as such we shall not see you often. Continue to train and cultivate as you so desire. One thing you must listen to, however, NEVER leave our residence. No matter the circumstances, do not leave our residence. Although the clan will not act openly, it is almost certain that they shall attempt to discretely abduct you to ransom for something they want from us. This is the biggest reason that we never let you out on your own and I expect you to follow that rule while we are gone. Goodbye son, we will see you sometime in the next season.”

After my father had said his serious part, there was a very emotional goodbye that lasted a good quarter hour before my parents finally left. When they did, I allowed myself a short break, before getting up and starting my stretches.