Thud... thud... thud... thud. The rhythmic banging of the wooden shovel against the soft, waterlogged dirt filled the air with a somber beat.

My young and lean body toiled tirelessly, shoving mud out of a steadily growing hole in the ground. The raindrops fell from the dreary sky, masking the tears that streamed down my face and stinging my reddened eyes even more.

Beside me lay the only person I had been close to since the age of 8, when my mother had mysteriously disappeared – my father, Ullyses Dahgehs, who had succumbed to hunger just two days ago.

I had been away in the nearby forest, hunting for food to sustain the two of us, but upon my return, I found my father lifeless. The rain did nothing to wash away the pain in my heart. The stinking sense of betrayal hung in the air like a heavy fog.

As I stood by that makeshift grave, the weight of my grief pressed upon me. It was then that I had a powerful realization – there was nothing left for me in this place. With no other loved ones to turn to and my father's fate serving as a stark reminder, an unwavering determination ignited within me. I had made a solemn promise to my father before his passing – I would not just live this life, I would ascend as a cultivator.

Becoming a cultivator was my path to importance and meaning in this pitiless world. I had heard tales of cultivators so powerful they could obliterate entire worlds with thoughts. This was my way to honor my commitments and transform into a person of significance.

After I had the grave for my father, I prepared a meal from the game I had hunted in the nearby forest. Winter was approaching, making the hunt more challenging, and I had been gone for a month.

Nothing was in order.

I roasted the deer I had caught over a spit and placed it in to my father's resting place. I had failed as a son, but at least I could let my father feast in the afterlife.

With just the garments on my body, a blade, a few copper coins, a pouch of aromatic spices, and my name, I left the village. My father, Ullyses, had been a generous man who gave until he had nothing left. I always wondered where he found the coin to buy alcohol when our life was so marked by hardship.

The villagers' hushed whispers and ashamed glances followed me as I departed, a painful reminder of their ingratitude. I had shared my father's generosity with them, even when their own resources were depleted. Now, they turned away from me, unwilling to meet my gaze. They had shown my father no gratitude when I was gone. Now he was dead. It was a humiliating but freeing revelation – I had no true friends in the village.

Turning my back on the village, I vowed to never cross paths with them again. I hurried away, knowing that the forest held dangers for those who traveled it at night. My destination was the Awoken Moon Sect, 10,000 kilometers away. Speed was essential- the cover of night made me a tempting target for nocturnal predators.

In a matter of minutes, I left the village behind, the last remnants of my past life fading into the distance. The forest's winding paths quickly became a labyrinth of unfamiliar greenery. As the sun dipped below the horizon, the nocturnal beasts of the forest stirred, their presence heralded by the screeching sounds.

I was forced to find refuge in a tall tree, seeking safety from the predators that roamed the night. I climbed to the highest branch capable of supporting my weight and secured myself with a makeshift rope. It was time to rest.

But sleep remained elusive as the unsettling racket of the night continued. My thoughts turned reflective, contemplating my journey from the village. The night was uneventful, except for the heart-rending sounds of animals meeting their fates just a few branches below.

I, Khan, the future Emperor of the 12 realms, once the sovereign over even the tiniest ant, found myself shaken by mere mortal beings. I was starting from the bottom, and now, I was on a path that would take me to the top.

The night passed uneventfully, except for the realization that the beasts I feared also feared others, creating a hierarchy of fear and power. I learned a lesson that night I knew would serve me well in my journey ahead.

Lesson 1:Everything is prey.

It was morning, and I had barely managed 30 minutes of sleep in the past 12 hours. With utmost care, I gradually rose to untie the cloth binding my ankle to the tree branch, ensuring no sudden movements or noise to attract unwelcome attention.

I refused to meet the fate of surviving the treacherous night only to become a meal for some opportunistic predator. My determination to escape this unforgiving forest and transform into the person I aspired to be burned brightly within me. There were sacred promises, ones I had made to myself, my beloved mother, and, above all, my father, that I was unwaveringly committed to fulfilling. Self-pity found no home within my heart.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

The descent from the tree, though less arduous than the ascent, was a journey of its own. The tree's massive form stretched nearly thirty meters above, its summit shrouded in mystery.

During my descent, I managed to capture three squirrels of a size comparable to toddlers. However, I exhibited the wisdom to withhold from partaking until I was safely beyond the forest's grasp. My belly may have grumbled in protest, yet it knew that patience was a virtue when survival was at stake.

As the sun ascended in the east, I set my course northward, headed for the grounds of the Awoken Moon Sect.

A bit over two days later, the edge of the forest finally came into view, marking the boundary where two contrasting worlds seamlessly merged. The transition from the dense, dark foliage to the vast expanse of open grasslands and overgrown fields appeared as an inviting place to pause and savor my hard-earned squirrel feast.

This tranquil setting, free from the threat of larger predators, presented the perfect opportunity to enjoy my meal. Most formidable creatures were known to dwell deeper within the forest, their strength increasing with proximity to its heart, where it was rumored a mystical spirit beast reigned supreme.

I had embarked on a perilous journey through the forest in the hope of securing acceptance into a sect, where I could acquire a cultivation technique. And yet, there was a beast that existe within the forest, naturally endowed with the power to cultivate without the aid of any technique, filled me with wonder and jealousy.

I wanted their power for myself.

Lesson 2: Come to terms with the world's unfairness, and continue forward.

I first started the fire with my knife and a nearby rock I could find. I had gathered some dry twigs and grass and placed them in a small hole I had dug into the ground.

It was about the depth of the length of the first ring on my pinky finger, starting from the nail, and about three feet wide. You'd be surprised as to how well a large flat rock and a good old knife could substitute for a shovel.

As soon as the fire started going, I put in larger kindling, one at a time, so I was sure the fire could handle it. It wasn't long before the fire was roaring and crackling.

I then cut an immature tree pole, and then split it into two. I sculpted the two parts of the pole into a slingshot shape, so I had two very large slingshots with the tail end being very long and the open part of the slingshot being about a finger's length at its widest.

Afterward, I placed the two slingshot-shaped pieces of wood at the edges of my fire, before cutting off another tree pole and shaping it into a spear.

Now, I could finally get to the meat of the matter.

Pun intended.

The squirrels.

I started by laying a dead squirrel on its stomach, then using a knife to cut into the tail of the squirrel.

Once my knife got through, I turned the squirrel over before stepping on its tail and tugging on it using its back legs. The skin came off fairly quickly after that.

I then proceeded to chop the head off before gutting its insides and throwing them in another hole I had made about a meter away.

The good thing about the forest I had just come out of was how many water sources it had, so I quickly cleaned my rabbit and repeated the procedure with the other squirrels before roasting all three of them on the spit and lightly seasoning them.

We had just come out of winter, so the people in the city near the Awoken Moon Sect were bound to be yearning for some fresh goods, especially spices.

I ate quickly. Time waits for absolutely no man. Especially when he has something to do and a person to become.

I set out again.

Soon, I found a winding trail through a wheat field and some farmers working the land.

I went towards the closest one before asking him for directions.

“Good morning, uncle, please where is the Awoken Moon Sect?”

“Mornin’ kid. It's straight down that path.” He pointed at a road to the left of the one I was already on. “If you keep going straight once you get on that road, then you can't miss it.”

“Alright, thank you, uncle.”

The farmer turned around and waved me off so he could return to his backbreaking work. He probably had a quota to meet before the end of the day, or they might keep his weekly wages or some other form of punishment. Not too dissimilar to the methods I used when I got older.

I went straight down and turned onto the path he had pointed to before heading straight. It wasn't long before I saw a city.

A city so large that I couldn't even comprehend how it could exist in my little village mind. The most people I had ever seen gathered together in one place was about two hundred or so.

From what I could see of the city from where I stood, it was clear that there were at least a hundred times that, just at the city walls, with workers bringing in bales of wheat and guards and supervisors checking in to see if the workers were actually bringing in the required amount and not shortchanging them.

It was a sight to see.

I would see many more in my lifetime.

I kept going straight forward before I saw the Awoken Moon Sect.

I paused.

My breath, frozen, in a tug of war between my lungs and my mouth.

To say it was breathtaking would not do it justice.

The sun had recently bid its fiery farewell to the night, yielding to the moon's dominion. Atop the tallest building within the sect, a colossal crescent moon-like structure perched, its broken form resembling a slice of a complete circle.

The moon's radiance transitioned from a subtle chill to a piercing howl, as though it were proclaiming its presence more fervently within the nocturnal sky.

I was here. I was finally here.

I gazed at the sect, my mind alive with the possibilities of the future.

A new chapter had unfurled in the story of my life, and I was determined not to let it slip by.

Now, it was onward… to embrace what the future heldH