Blair opened his eyes, experiencing a terrible headache. He tried to move, but his body wouldn’t budge. For some reason, his skin hurt. Everything was strange. His eyes opened. It seemed like he lay in a soft bed, but that didn’t help.

He was in a luxurious room. Two beautiful female voices were talking next to him. He tried to ask them what was happening, but instead, he barely gasped. His mouth was dry and torn. All he managed to do, was turn his head around. He did that under agonizing pain. His confusion only grew as he saw the women. Their beauty was captivating, and Blair was perplexed.

In turn, as the near dead Blair suddenly moved, it shocked the women just as much. They needed a moment to regain composure, smiling heartwarmingly. “We welcome you and hope you are feeling better. You are currently in the healing hall. What can we do for you?” They said in sync. That was a little creepy, but their beauty made up for that.

Blair smiled back. His facial muscles rose, which brought him more pain, and he stopped. For starters, they could answer some of his questions. He had a million of them, but couldn’t say anything. After a moment of silence, one woman got up. “I will get the elder. He will attend your injuries.” Her blonde hair swayed as she walked away. Blair’s eyes followed her alluring silhouette. That was a dream, right?

The remaining woman looked at him with compassion. Blair started to wonder where he was. Neither one of them looked like an outer disciple or elder. There was no bloodlust or aloofness of the slaughter sect. Was that heaven?

He relaxed, and the smell of lavender crept into his nose. It was a peaceful atmosphere for once. The sound of the door opening made him look. An old, bony man entered alongside the blonde woman. His nose resembled a beak, adding to his unique appearance. The brunette woman bowed politely. “I greet elder Ma.”

It was hard to believe that he was someone of importance. The other elders had an air of dominance around them, naturally intimidating others. Yet that old man is better suited to feed pigeons in the park. The elder scanned Blair. “I am elder Ma, nice to meet you, young man. I have heard that you suffered a lot. Please believe me. You have my condolence.” The old man’s voice carried sincerity in it. That somehow maddened Blair more than it should have. What were his condolences worth? Nothing. His expression must have revealed Blair as the old man’s eyes softened. “I am sorry, but I can only do so little. I merely hold some influence in this hall, but let me help you here as much as I can.” Was the elder a mind reader? Blair wasn’t quite sure.

Yet, it didn’t matter for now. The elder took his time, explaining the treatment technique. He showed great care and consideration, fulfilling his role as a healer well.

Soon days had passed. Blair did nothing, but lay in bed. He slowly regained his strength. On the contrary, it was not only his body, but also his qi. It was stronger than before, and his fight against it reemerged. Initially, he managed to hold it back, but it got stronger. Until, he wasn’t able to hold it back.

One night the qi surged out of his body, creating a dreadful aura. Blair had finally lost. The qi devoured him alive. The blonde woman, who was currently watching him, rushed into action. She left the run. Blair thought it was all over, but she returned. The woman put milky white jades on his skin. He felt the cooling and somehow pleasant effect.

Blair’s qi calmed down, but the woman wasn’t finished. She put her hand on each jade, making them glow. The stones vanished, melting with his body. That was the final nail in the coffin. His qi got chained away. It now resembled a docile puppy, and Blair could relax.

It was a little bit later. Elder Ma rushed into the room. “How is it?”

“The qi is reined. The outbreak was relatively tame.” The woman said. The elder wiped the sweat from his forehead. “And you make an old man hurry for that.”

“I am sorry,” The woman said. The elder patted her back. “It’s alright.” Then he took Blair’s pulse, nodded happily, and left.

Ten days passed after that incident. The qi remained docile. By now, Blair started to move his arms and legs for the first time, and his full recovery seemed near. In the meantime, he liked to talk to his nurses. Elder Ma came in from time to time.

Blair sat on the bed, and the elder was opposite to him. No one else was in the room. It was late at night.

“Are you interested in learning cultivation?” Elder Ma asked. Blair thought he misheard, but he needed to check something else first. “Very much, but can I ask you something?” Blair’s voice was meek. The elder Ma smiled warmly. “Go ahead.”

“How does the immortal world work?” Blair asked.

“Pardon me, but this question is strange,” Elder Ma said.

“You are right, sorry. My mistake. I meant to say that. I know of the Heavenly Fall Sect, Sword Sect, Beast Sect, all of those. However, I never heard of the Slaughter Sect. Nevertheless, its size is impressive, and you have so many disciples from earth. How does that work?” Blair asked. Elder Ma’s expression turned thoughtful. “There are the orthodox sects. They are the ones you mentioned, and then there are the unorthodox sects like us. We like to act outside the public eyes.”

That gave Blair more information than the elder might have realized. “Thank you.”

“May I ask you a question now, how was your life on earth?” Elder Ma asked. Now Blair got thoughtful. “I had a good life. I was privileged. It was not peaceful, but very good. My family ruled some land. I had a wonderful little sister.” He stopped talking, realizing that he really missed home. It had become difficult to speak as the memorizes of the last months made him immeasurably sad.

“Leaving home is hard. For me, it was long ago. I was sent here when I was ten. My family had great expectations.” Elder Ma said. He looked at Blair. “I have talked too much as for cultivation. I will leave a book here. You can read it to learn more about the other sect and the general things.”

It was a thick book with miniscule font. That night, Blair read through all 400 pages, containing a mix of history, technical and political books. It was a magnificent compilation of knowledge, which allowed Blair to learn about all sects, their trademarks, general cultivation, everything. Apparently, qi was supposed to be stored in the heart and circulated with the blood. So he had a bad start. Why that was better than having qi distributed in the body wasn't clear to him. He only found a tiny footnote about the iron flesh sect. They used qi to reinforce their flesh and body. It was a rare style, and therefore the slaughter sect had little knowledge of it.

A couple of days passed once more. The time in the luxurious room was peaceful and full of self-study. Blair like it a lot. Then elder Ma brought two additional high-ranking people to their talk on night. One was an elder, and the other was a man fully clad in red. Blair tensed up. He remembered him all too well, the sect leader. The man's presence was petrifying up close, even though he held his qi and presence back.

For a brief moment, the leaders eyes seized Blair up, cutting into him like knifes.

“Did you know that this is my private room?” He asked. Blair’s tongue went numb from fear. He nodded as he wanted to give a quick response. It took a moment to collect himself. “Thank you very much for your generosity. What can I do for the lord sect leader?”

He smirked. “You accomplished the first thing, getting healthy. Although, it was expensive. So I am expecting a return. Your case made me curious. You can start by explaining why you didn’t turn into a ghoul.”

The cold gaze of the sect leader made Blair stutter. “I. No, it started with nightmares. They tried to lull me in, but I resisted. Everything seemed fine after a while, but then came intense periods of pain. They nearly made me lose my mind, and a sensation alleviated the pain. However, that was a trick again, and I resisted. That is the answer. I always fought. In the end, I willed the qi to attack something in my belly.” The leader seemed pleased. “Interesting. Please show me your control over your qi.”

“I only use it when my life depends on it. The more I use the qi the stronger its backlash becomes.” Blair said. He might not have thought it through.

“But, your life is in danger if you don’t do as I want.” The sect leader said deadpan. Blair felt a shiver run down his spine all the way to his toes. There was no time to waste. He drove forth all his qi, radiating the greatest aura possible. Then he concentrated it in his arm. There was a moment of silence after that.

“Has he formed his core?” The sect leader asked.

“No,” Elder Ma replied. The sect leader’s gaze shifted back to Blair. “Try to form a ball.” Blair concentrated, slowly creating a ball near his stomach. It was unstable. Qi gathered and dispersed constantly. Nevertheless, he continued until it took a clear form.

The sect leader clapped. “Well done, but why didn’t you create it in your palm?” Blair felt the pressure rising. “Because I can gather the more qi in my center. I wanted to do my best.”

“Most people do it in their hands. That’s the most natural, but qi doesn’t care about hand or foot. Well done.” The sect leader said. Suddenly the tension eased.

“I will give you the greatest chance imaginable. Join my sect. All you have to do is pass a test to show your worth.” The sect leader said. The door opened, and the two women entered, holding a third woman up by the armpits. She had eyes red from crying, and tears still ran down her face. The moment she saw the sect leader and elders, she struggled uncontrollably. However, the disciples held her in place. There was no escape. The situation made no sense to Blair, his gaze wandering between the flailing woman and the sect leader.

“Kill her,” The leader said. The command spoken with clear words. For a moment, Blair froze. He looked at the woman. She wept in front of him, kneeling. The female disciples pressed her body down to the ground. Her head looked up, an imploring gaze bore into Blair. “Don’t kill me. They will let you leave. Please, I have a son. I must live.” It was heartbreaking to look at.

Time passed slower for Blair. He hesitated, having compassion towards the sorrowful woman, but he felt the Damocles sword above his neck. It was kill or be killed. The pressure he felt was real. His hand started to glow red as the murderous qi screamed at him. Kill. It made the decision easier. A pawn can only follow commands, to not become garbage. He was selfish, wanting to live himself. The cold eyes of the leader locked on him.

Blair cut her throat, keeping eye contact with her. He wanted to ingrain everything he did into his brain to never forget the guilt he had loaded onto his shoulders. It rip his heart apart. She collapsed on the ground.

He stared directly into the sect leader’s eyes after killing her. Blair’s body shuddered as the endless void in his blues eyes stared back. Nevertheless, he had to show at least that much willpower and resentment, but the leader smiled. “Well done. Outer disciple Blair Nys you are officially part of the slaughter sect. Now, continue without me.” He left just as suddenly as he had appeared.

That left Blair with elder Ma and the other one, who introduced himself as elder San. His voice and action were calm as he explained to Blair that earth was undergoing a dramatic change. Soon qi would form in the world, and he and the other disciples that originated on earth would need to fight the other disciples for supremacy and resources.

At some point, elder Ma turned to Blair. He took his pulse once more and readied a couple of utensils. One porcelain vial and a basket, filled with a stinky tincture, were put down next to the bed. Elder Ma acted silently. It was strange, but at last he said something. “I will now take out the slaughter gu inside of you. It will not be harmful, but please drink this. It will paralyze your body, but your mind stays awake. The treatment requires precision.”

He pulled a bottle out of his robe. Blair had little choice, laying down in the bed and popping the cork open. The drink had an awfully bitter taste. His body wanted to spit it out, but Elder Ma put his hand before Blair’s mouth. “You did well. I will heal you, don’t worry.” Blair swallowed the liquid and waited for about 10 minutes until it took its effect.

Blair’s body became stiff like a dead man. Elder Ma plunged a hand into the basket. Meanwhile, Elder San´s expression turned vicious as he stared on from the sideline. Ma made a thin cut with a fluctuation of his qi, and then stuck his hand inside Blair’s belly.

Blair looked on in horror as the elder's hand fumbled around in his belly. It wasn’t painful for whatever reason, but grotesque nonetheless. Truce be told, if Blair did have the chance to move, he would have jumped in the air.

“Don’t be scared.” Elder Ma said. His word were a bad joke at that time, but he meant it well. The next moment qi surged forth from Elder Ma. Blair felt it inside of him. It was so pure, so dreadful. He would have never expected that from elder Ma. Then the elder grabbed something and pulled his hand out. The pungent tincture on his hand had fused with the fresh blood into a dark red, nearly black mess. It now had a faint but sweet smell. From the hand and Blair’s belly rose a fume, inhaling it made Blair dizzy.

Blair was awake for a short moment. He saw elder Ma holding a tiny insect between two fingers. The elders talked a bit, but Blair didn’t understand them. He only regained consciousness a little later, instantly touching his belly where the wound should have been. A scar was left. “How long was I out? What just happened?” His confusion was audible in the voice. Everything was strange, starting the operation and ending with the insect inside his body. It made his skin prickle.

“15 minutes at most, but the other question is stupid. You saw everything. I freed you of the slaughter gu.” Elder Ma said.

“Little guy. You are quite lucky. Your gu was badly damaged. You keeping your sanity is impressive, but now that it’s gone, we have to hurry, listen closely.” Elder San. His expression turned serious and left Blair no room to doubt him. However, Blair was still perplexed. He barely heard what the elder said. „The gu anchored your qi, and the pain you felt from the qi is due it the damaged gu losing control. We will now lay your foundation. This moment is your official entrance into the cultivation world. The qi in your body is equal to a couple of years of painstaking work. So be careful. You will have to pass the barrier on your heart and imbed it.”

Blair closed his eyes to increase his focus. The qi near his heart moved first, whereas the qi from his arms or legs couldn’t reach. He carefully willed some of his qi into his heart and indeed felt resistance. So he gathered as much as possible before confronting his heart. He had never felt that barrier before, but at the same time, he had never tried to get qi into his heart. To his surprise, the barrier stopped him for mere seconds. Soon the qi rushed into his heart, naturally fusing with it and the blood. Previously only his flesh and bone had managed to bind qi. That changed now. His heart warmed up pleasantly, and its beat pumped hot qi through his veins. It invigorated him, and the qi remaining in his body leeched onto the bloodstream. He slowly integrated rest. It was magical. He felt condensed power that was stronger than anything he had before.

“I have succeeded.” He said with a dry tone, contrary to his feelings.

“Let me check,” Elder San said, taking his pulse. His expression turned pleasantly surprised. “I can feel the power in your blood. Nice. It will enable you to distribute your qi precisely.” The elder happily continued. He pulled out a booklet from his sleeves. “Take a look at that.” He smiled mischievously like a child eating a pie his mother told him not to touch. The cover said blood claw. “Read it and memorize everything. Elder Ma will take the book back after a day. So use your time properly. Goodbye.” Then Elder San walked out of the room.

“Goodbye, elder San,” Blair said.

The door closed behind the elder. Now, Elder Ma came to him. “The woman you killed, her words were lies. She doesn’t have a child, and you would have been killed if you didn’t kill her. That is the law of the sect, the law of the strong. You did the correct thing.”