Within the entirety of the Rai Continent, it was clear that the strongest academy for one’s cultivation was the Great Dragon sect. The qualifications one had to possess to even gain a spot into the entrance exam was enough to persuade weaker cultivators to commit suicide.

The Great Dragon sect occupied an entire mountain- meaning that those who wished to have an audience with the sect had to scale all ten thousand steps!

On the doorstep of the academy was a long line of people, each one with a child.

“Please, mighty cultivator! My son is only 10, but he can already control the elements as if he were the mighty buddha himself!”

“Your son is 10 yet he can only sense Qi now? My son is 9, and he is already at the First Realm of cultivation!”

“My Daughter may already be 15 years of age, but mighty sir, she will make a great wife for you. Please accept her as your disciple!”

Little did the populace know, realms were nothing to the Great Dragon Sect. After all, the sect had many disciples and elders who had already achieved the ninth realm of the second stage of cultivation! And these children were still at the first stage of the first realm!

Walking near the entrance gave Pei Li-er a pounding headache. It was clear no matter how loud one cried for their sons and daughters to be accepted into the sect, that it was talent that determined everything.

Pei Li-er was a Fourth-year disciple of the sect, meaning he had more or less completed all the mandatory studies required of all disciples and would be free to choose what he wanted to study next year. This of course, was not an indicator of how talented he was himself.

Pei had entered the sect thanks to his family’s first name- The Li family.

When he was 10, he entered the sect thanks to the 'generosity' of the Li Family.

But Pei was not a true Li, for he was a 'Li-er', from the branch family. The Main family, The Li family, had only permitted five children from the Li-er to attend the Great Dragon sect. Meanwhile, the Li family had sent over thirty children from the main family to the sect.

Thanks to his instincts, Pei had avoided being bullied and generally kept to himself whenever he was around the main branch. Unfortunately, a few of his kinsmen were not so lucky.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

The oldest of the children from the Li-er, Ben Li-er, had gotten involved in a fight with one of the Li family, and subsequently, expelled from the sect. It was unclear what had happened to him afterwards, but no one ever heard from him again.

It couldn't be helped. They were slow to realise just how malicious the Li family is deep down. Pei thought to himself.

“Pei! Come and help your fellow brother!”

From the direction of the river came the voice of Gu Li-er, who was Pei’s half-brother.

Gu had been washing his clothes in the river, which flowed over the mountain peak into the mighty lake below the cliff. Although most students of the sect had their own servants, the Li-er were not allowed to bring servants.

“You are always washing clothes Brother Gu. Did the Li force you to clean their clothes again?” Pei asked, sitting down on a rock.

“Brother Pei, in this world, the weak must submit to the strong. Think of this as a temporary disguise. The Li will grow arrogant, and careless. Then one day, the Li-er will rise up and become the main family once more!”

“I’m afraid this is impossible now. Things have been like this for over a hundred years. Even our family’s name has been degraded to second-place.”

“Do not lose hope. I have received a message from our father. Recently, he acquired a mysterious cultivation pill that allows one to break through not one but two realms! He will be sending this package to the eldest brother.”

“You mean eldest brother Wumai?”

“Yes. At the moment, he is our family’s only hope. He is already at the seventh realm!” Gu hissed, making sure no-one was eavesdropping on their conversation.

Pei himself was only at the fifth realm, which placed him slightly better than average. The higher one’s realm was, the stronger and the finer the control of one’s Qi would be.

Just as Pei was about to get up, he noticed a few of the Li family surround one of the Feng family’s daughters. Even from here, the atmosphere wasn't exactly pleasant. 

“Look over there Gu!”

By definition, the Feng family was by no means weak. But in front of the Li family, they were like ants in front of a human.

“That troublesome Kai Li. He is a brutish fiend who cannot control his lower half. It seems another innocent will be raped.” Gu muttered, clenching his fists.

“We should leave. You’ve finished washing everything anyway, so let’s go.”

Gu hastily nodded, and the duo vanished.

Once Pei stopped to regain his breath, he was back him his dormitory. Here, he shared a room with Gu and Nei Wyen, who was from the Wyen family.

Both Gu and he were at the fifth realm, which meant that they would be mostly left alone. Nei on the other hand, was at the sixth realm, allowing him to butt heads with members of the Li family.

However, It looked as if Nei had not yet returned from his annual trip to visit his family.

Gu flung himself onto his bed immediately, exhausted from the day’s work and began to sleep. He had even forgotten to remove his sandals.

Pei knew that he needed to be proactive whenever the opportunity presented itself, so he opened up one of his Qi manuals and began to read the ancient lines of poetry, taking note of how late it was.

Slowly, each line of text became blurrier than the last.

I can’t sleep now! I can’t let myself become weak!

But like all other mortals, Pei’s face fell onto the desk, his eyes closed in a deep slumber.