《A Mighty Conqueror》Chapter 8
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Atuel tried to sleep that night. But there was none to be had. He turned from side to side without once getting a single wink in. He would usually just knock out the second he laid down because of the sheer exhaustion his small body felt, but not this time. Even after the beating and running like mad from the cultivator’s pavilion, he was wide awake.
He knew why, turning to the right, he could see the outlines of the pack of ancient parchment. Everything rested in that tiny book, how could he feel rest when it was so close. Something inside told him, if he did it for a day he would start flying and could throw a thousand punches in a second!
But, he knew better. It was going to be a hard and arduous road filled with obstacles. There was no one to guide him other than his mother. His reading was still terrible, especially for something written with such an ancient and traditional form of the common language.
It was a lesson he had just started learning before the world collapsed around him and his mother. Just thinking about the headaches he had trying to understand what the teachers were saying brought phantom pain.
In the end, even shutting his eyes hard for a solid minute did nothing. He had to check what was waiting for him. He picked the parchment with a trembling hand as he sat up. Would he still understand anything? Would his mother? She was formally educated, right?
He had not considered this.
Atuel opened the book with shut eyes and reverent hands. He cracked one open only to struggle to see anything at all. He tsked and got up, quietly. His mother could not see him sneaking out or she would lecture him until dawn, neither would get a moment of shut eye.
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He rushed up the side of the building, parchment in the crook of his arm, making sure to take steady well learned pathways. The structures around here were not solid to say the least. Eventually, he made it to the top of the building they lived near.
He looked up and stared up at the cloudless night. The stars shimmered like jewels his mother used to wear. The moon is as bright as her kind smile. The constellation could not compare to her purity.
Atuel shook his head, and focused on what he was here to do. He cracked the parchment open, careful not to rip it up. The thing looked like it would turn to ash at any moment. It held firm.
“Dragon’s soar… ... Heavens, matched … ... fiery Phoenix. … ... battle ... Krakens in depthless seas. How … ... beast have we witnessed stalk the thick … ...? What of … ...that prowl the … …?
Are they not mighty? Do they not race faster … … ... arrows from a ...? Do they … … boulders with their paws? Some live deep in the shadows… …! Others accept the elements as their … … the land around them.
Are they not weak and … ... at birth?
For months, they would have no … ... even a human child. Why, suddenly …”
Atuel stopped. He could barely understand what was written. Something about beasts and monsters, but that was all he could decipher from the preface. He skipped the first three pages as they were only the author spinning a tale and the understanding behind why he had created it the way he did.
It was like the author had something to prove to others.
Only when he found the first stage instructions did he stop skipping. He worked hard to decipher all the useless words and eventually got the gist of what he was supposed to do.
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As the book said, well he inferred, you have to integrate with the Qi in the air. Only then would they begin the process of cultivating. What integrating meant, or what the minute details were to know you had succeeded were conveniently left out. All the author explained was how to find the Qi in the air, then absorb it through your body instead of breathing.
How that was supposed to happen, well, that was left to imagination. Or maybe that was the point in having a Master to guide you. Cultivators who had lived for thousands of years must know a few things about this. But, that was not an option now.
There was no one but himself and his mother.
Atuel closed his eyes and sat cross-legged. He had to find some sort of floating energy in the air, but that was it. How the hell was he supposed to do that? He tried to focus, but found it very difficult to empty his mind. His stomach found it the opportune moment to grumble in hunger, his right calf ached, nose itched, half closed left eye twitched too.
Things he was not aware of just moments ago were as obvious as day now. They were endless. He had to forcefully focus on his every breath to clear his head, it was difficult, but achieved it.
Breathing was far more complicated than he had considered. He filled his lungs and exhaled, but there were two things that bloated up like water skins every time he took a breath. They would flatten when he exhaled.
Far more amusing and noteworthy than how much his nose itched. Atuel sniffed trying to ignore the urge to rub it. He had to find the Qi, or he would never begin. Was it in the air floating? Or was it lying on the ground like dust waiting for someone to disturb it?
Did it flow like water or was it more like mud?
Then it hit him! How could he have forgotten it?! Qi was like a thousand spiders!
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The True Confessions of a Nine-Tailed Fox
Fox spirits are infamous as troublemakers, Piri the nine-tailed fox perhaps more so than most. After she follows an order from Heaven to destroy a dynasty with more enthusiasm than the gods can accept, she is sentenced to death by the Jade Emperor himself. Executed via her best-known torture device, she is cast into the cycle of reincarnation, starting at the very bottom – as a worm. While she slowly accumulates positive karma and earns reincarnation as higher life forms, she also has to navigate inflexible clerks, bureaucratic corruption, and the whims of the gods themselves. Will Piri ever reincarnate as a fox again? And once she does, will she be content to stay one? Cover art by Daniela.
8 232The Weaveborn Saga [SciFi, LitRPG]
Cian is a broke, freshly graduated engineering student working as a janitor when he gets the opportunity to play a new VR MMO. Touted by fans as "More Real than Reality," it has taken the world by storm and in-game credits are even traded on real world currency markets. It's a potential path to real world riches, or financial ruin. But Cian soon realizes this game is more than it seems. A series of events leads him to question the nature of the game and his own reality. What is the true nature of the Weave? Who are the Weaveborn? And why do the game masters want him dead?
8 164Trial of Monsters and Summons
Humanity faces complete annihilation after nukes are launched all over the world at the end of WW3. A deity intervenes moments before the bombs explode, preventing the destruction of all life remaining on Earth. This action isn't without a price though, as the deity gives humanity a chance to survive by placing them in a trial of its' own making to prove their worthiness. Thus beginning the Era of Summoning, and everything humanity knew is turned on its' head. Suddenly the world revolves around summons being used to fight monsters hellbent on wiping out humanity. "Will humanity band together to become stronger and fight off the monster hordes, or will they remain as they were and continue on the path they were previously set on and bring about the complete annihilation of their race?" Link to my Patreon if anyone wants to support me- https://www.patreon.com/Porkiepie PayPal- PayPal.Me/lucasbaird99 I've also created a Discord for the novel with the title as the server name, I'm still pretty new to it though. Link- https://discord.gg/Y8X2ZCA
8 123Xenonia: The World of swords and blood
In the world of Xenonia, a stoic girl by the name of Yukina Sako struggles to find her place in the world riddled with monsters made from the corrupted souls of man, gang wars and other such atrocities that plague the star. This one Vulpian blacksmith has one goal. To become the greatest blacksmith that ever lived and to help the denizens of Xenonia...or that was her goal...
8 97Summoner of the Storm
The beautiful world of Starblue is no more. Thirty generations after the Peerless Lord of War Lin Feng slashed the heavens and entered the cosmos with all his disciples, an unprecented event of colossal magnitude happened. The planet of Starblue and all the celestial planets in the Ralos system collided and crashed with each other, as Starblue increased its attractive force, gathering all the planets into merging with itself. The disaster was so massive, and countless human lives were lost during the disaster, but it did not end with just that. The entire planetmass soon terraformed itself as the last planet crashed into the huge world, taking more human lives in the process. Luckily, the planetwide event turned out to be for the better as it became apparent that the planet transformed itself into being more suited for life to survive. Along with its transformation, aura flowed in the new world and as humans discovered the new energy, cultivation began to flourish and the first aura cultivators became the pioneers in exploring the new megaworld of Ralos, along with survivors from the past generations of martial experts and peerless tianjiao. As the humans were busy restoring civilization from their respective urban shelters, another group also thrived in the gaps outside of human intervention. Monsters. The abundant life force which restored the huge planetmass not only created an environment suited for life, but also spawned these monsters from the remains and fossils of Starblue's flora and fauna as they interacted with the mysterious properties of various elements from the other planets. After stabilizing a new world order, the inhabitants of the world has agreed upon an unwritten set of rules and along with the rules comes a dominant ruling class with the power to enforce it. This, is the world of Ralos. This is the place where worlds have collided and multiple species battle for dominance...
8 66《 Model Horse Collection 2018-21 》
My ever growing model collection of Traditional, Classics (now known as Freedom Series - mid 2019), Stablemates, Mini Whinnies, and Peter Stones! I update the same day I get models in the mail or share interesting news from Breyer about whatever comes up from their Facebook, Collector Club newsletter, or new horses coming out soon. ●○ Please don't use my photos of *my* models that I own. ○● Thanks for checking it out and happy collecting!
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