'Ok. This is the last push. Get ready.'

'…I don't know. I still don't feel like this is the right time.'

'You have been pushing this back ever since we arrived in this city. Look, I know it is scary and you are afraid of the pain thanks to my memories but trust me, it is much better to bear this pain so that you can move forward with your cultivation than be stuck in the Core Formation realm for your entire life.'

'….Ok. Let's do this.'

'Good. Now, you already know this but I will still warn you. Don't let your inner fears dominate your mind during this process. The Rebellious Spirit Technique was originally a demonic technique that used the life force of several Core Formation realm cultivators to rebuild the spirit roots of a demonic cultivator. I have modified it to work by using your own core since your Qi capacity far exceeds what is required by the technique to work. However, the drawback is that the technique will naturally try to connect with the Demonic Dao when you start using it. If you stay true to yourself, the connection will fail to form and your new spirit roots will successfully connect with your core. If you fail, you will become a demonic cultivator.'

'…..On second thoughts, can we do this later?'

'No. We cannot. Especially since we have definitely made an enemy of the princess. You need to advance to Nascent Soul immediately if you want to keep your loved ones safe.'

'….You are right. Let's do this.'

I closed my eyes and focused on working the technique that the old demon made for me as thunderclouds instantly started to form overhead.

Good thing I decided to come out of the city to do this. Who knows what would happen if a stray blast of the lighting from the tribulation hit an unfortunate mortal who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time?

Instantly, I felt nearly a quarter of my Qi disappear as my rebuilt spirit roots activated. The Pure Qi in my surroundings started to rapidly disappear into my spirit roots.

Then, things took a turn for the worse when I felt a strand of demonic energy burst out from my spirit roots heading straight for my mind.

'Shit! Stop-'

I didn't hear the old demon's words as my consciousness left me.

----------------------------------------

"Xiang'er, don't cry."

Despite her words, I couldn't help the tears fall. Watching her body become thinner and thinner by the day, knowing there was nothing I could do and that the bastard that I call father couldn't care less.

She gently patted my head like she always did when I cried.

"Xiang'er. Listen to me. From now on, you need to be strong. People will try to make fun of you. They will try to take advantage of you. You must never let them succeed."

Despite the pain that she must be feeling, she slowly sat up on her bed. Reaching for her neck, she took out a small bead tied to a simple string and placed it around me.

"Keep this with you. This belonged to your grandmother. She passed it on to me when I was your age. Now, I am giving it to you. Whenever you feel alone, remember that I am always with you through this."

I cried harder and hugged her tightly in fear and despair.

"Xiang'er. Never make the same mistake I made. Don't ever let your emotions decide your life for you. Never let your feelings for someone overtake your rationality. However, you must not isolate yourself from your peers. Learn to discern between the truth and the lies."

"You must learn to tell when someone has an ulterior motive and when someone genuinely cares for you. You must learn to be strong in the face of adversity. You must learn to never give up when all seems lost."

"Most importantly, never think that you are alone in this world."

"Why? Why did you lie to me? Mother. You said I was not alone. But, I am alone. No one cares for me, and neither is there someone that I care for."

"That's right. Everyone in this world lies. Your Mother, your Father, your siblings, even your disciple. Everyone lies. You cannot trust anyone but yourself."

----------------------------------------

I felt a searing pain as the palm strike directly broke my right arm, causing it to hang limply.

"I don't understand what's so great about you. You might be very good at cultivation, but you are not that strong."

I sneered at Wang Qiang, the bastard I called my brother, from the stage and spoke out.

"If you are really that confident, why not fight your own battles instead of having your bodyguard fight for you?"

"Are you stupid? My bodyguard is a part of my ability. If you have the power, why not have your bodyguard fight for you as well? Oh! Right, I forgot that you don't have any ever since that mistress of father that you call a mother died a dog's death."

I felt rage flood my mind as I madly jumped at Wang Qiang, only for his bodyguard to intervene and break my leg.

All the while, Wang Wei, the bastard that calls himself my father, stared down coldly from his seat.

"Why? Aren't I your son as well? Why do you treat him and the others so differently compared to me? Is it because their mothers come from reputed noble or martial families while my mother came from an ordinary background?"

"That's right. In this world, strength is all that matters. Become strong no matter the cost. Then, the entire world will be your plaything and you can have your revenge against these lesser creatures."

----------------------------------------

I felt agony as the lighting elemental Qi rampaged across my spirit roots, systematically destroying everything that they came in contact with.

All the while, that bastard Xiao Kai looked down at me with a smug look.

"That's what you get for going after my woman. A toad like you wants to eat the swan's meat? Dream on. You are just a trash, literally."

He leaned forward and whispered his next words.

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of Junior Sister Yun Xin from now on. And, as a favor to you, I'll also help myself to everything you own within the clan. And between you and me, I can't wait to get a taste of her."

His laughter resounded in the area as he walked off with Yun Xin following behind him.

From the very beginning, she did not even look me in the eyes.

I knew that from this day forward, no one would hesitate to try and step on me for their own ends.

I have nowhere to go.

I have no one to call my family.

I should just give up.

"That's right, just give up and let me take the lead. I'll help you become the strongest being in this world."

......Wait, what??

You are right. I should just end it all.

What the hell am I thinking?

"Very good. Just do as I tell you to do. Circulate your Qi like this-"

"ENOUGH!!"

Suddenly, my consciousness snapped back to an alert state as I shouted at the strange voice.

"I am a coward. I know that better than anyone. I like to run away from my problems, to hide from them. To avoid facing them unless I have no choice."

"I am not the luckiest guy in the universe, I know that better than anyone. Bad shit happens to me all the time."

For the first time since I woke up in this world, I let my emotions take control.

"However, I am not cowardly enough to take the easy way out. I know I will fail in many things that I want to do. It's kind of my thing at this point. But, I never give up after failing."

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

As my voice rose in power, so did my emotions. And with it, my Qi.

Power flooded the darkness and started illuminating my surroundings, revealing a broken house that looked like it had gone through several house fires.

And in the center of this house is a familiar figure chained to the ground.

His blood-red eyes glaring hatefully at me while his face is twisted with a condescending expression.

"Do you think it is something to be proud of? To fail so much? Why not let me take control? Why not take up the old demon on his offer and go down his path? You know the kind of power he achieved in his timeline. We could be invincible. Especially since we took our would-be killer as our disciple!!"

I looked at the man with pity and walked forward, approaching his chained form.

He did not waste a single second and directly plunged his arm through my chest.

"HAHAHA!! YES!! PREPARE YOURSELF WANG WEI! I AM COMING FOR YOU-Wait, why is nothing happening??"

I smiled at the confused man who was my spitting image and started patting his head.

"You have gone through a lot, Wang Xiang. We have gone through a lot. However, it is time to let go of the past, and look to the future."

"You think I will listen to your pathetic and naïve morality and ideals??"

"No. I know that you won't. But, I am hoping that you will listen to your own."

"What are you talking about??"

"Tell me, Wang Xiang. Why did you cultivate?"

"What kind of stupid question is that?"

"Indulge me a little bit."

He fell silent as memories passed through our surroundings.

Darkness and despair dominated them as humiliation after humiliation, defeat after defeat, injury after injury rushed past us.

"Look past the darkness of the surface. Deep into your memories. Why do we Cultivate?"

The memories continued to rush past us, but slowly, they started to show different things.

One image showed us as a child, playing with Yun Xin in the gardens of the Wang family as our mothers watch on from the side with smiles.

"Why do we fight?"

Another image flashed by. This one showed us walking with our mother through the streets of the city. We bought candied apples as we enjoyed our evening. A scene that I had unintentionally repeated with Yan Ling just yesterday.

"Why do we crave strength so much?"

The final image appeared. Instead of disappearing into the distance of what I can only presume to be our soul, this one was stuck in place.

It showed us with our mother again. This time, we were crying into the lap of our mother.

I remember that day well. I overheard the servants of Wang Wei talking about Mother and me behind our backs. They called Mother terrible things and even said that it would be better for her to die so that Wang Wei could get a proper concubine and make the family prosper with a good heir instead of a waste like me who could not cultivate the Iron Mountain arts due to my water and wood nature spirit roots.

"Do you remember? Wang Xiang. Why do we struggle so much?"

"…Because we promised mother that we would protect her. That we would become strong. So strong that no one in the family would dare to look down on her for being a commoner. I promised to myself that I would never lose anything that I hold dear ."

Then, his expression became mocking and despairing.

"But what use is that promise? I failed in the end. She died and I could do nothing but watch her wither away. I failed to live up to that promise. I was not strong enough to change the family's opinion of her, neither was I strong enough to guard my relationship with Yun Xin from Xiao Kai. I even failed my last promise to her to keep myself safe and died in such a pathetic way that the heavens decided to bring forth you, my far more competent previous incarnation."

I said nothing but continued patting his head. As he continued talking, his size started to shrink until he resembled me when I was a five-year-old.

I got down on one knee and slowly started to undo the chains around his body.

"Yes. We have failed. We have failed very badly. However, just because we have failed our promise to her and to ourselves in the past does not mean we can't keep that promise now. Look around you."

I felt a shift from deep within me as new images started to appear in the void.

Images of Old Feng and Grandma Liu. Old Li. Chief Chen and Grandma Li Na. Oldman Han, Grandma Xiulan, and Little Hui.

Little Xing.

Yan Ling.

One by one, images flashed by as the laughter and joy of all those that we cherished filled the void.

"We who once had nothing, now have so much to look after. We have so many people to call our true friends and a little girl who depends on us as her family. We failed our promises before. But we will never fail again."

The darkness in the void started to retreat rapidly as Light started to burst out from my child self, my inner demon, and the very representation of all my regrets.

He looked at me with hope as I held out my hand.

"After all, We are Huxing Xiang. The Son of Huxing Liuyue who was once known as the Raging Sea of the North. We are Da Wei, the reclusive cultivator, Formation Master, Alchemist, and the master to a future peerless warrior. We are strong!! And we will never fail again!!"

My younger self grasped my hand with a smile even as his body started to crack and blinding light started to fill the void.

Within seconds, I was blinded by the light before my consciousness left my soul.

----------------------------------------

The old demon in the bead would have sweated buckets by now if he had a physical body.

It had been more than half an hour since Da Wei's consciousness retreated into his soul and the heavens were starting to become really rowdy.

Occasionally, lightning would flash in the sky as powerful winds blew around the area.

When the old demon spotted the purple lighting in the sky, he nearly felt his soul flee in terror.

The color of tribulation lighting has a huge significance to a cultivator.

For an ordinary cultivator, the tribulation lighting is usually white. For those with special physiques, it is usually red, signifying the increased difficulty and danger for the cultivator in question.

Purple lighting, on the other hand, only appears for cultivators with heaven-defying talents or to strike down demonic cultivators so heinous that the very world could no longer tolerate their existence.

In this instance, the old demon had no illusions as to why the purple lighting appeared at this moment.

It was a direct response by the world to the usage of the technique he designed for his younger self.

He grew worried as time passed and he felt his connection with his younger self grow weaker and weaker.

What if he failed? What if the heavens decided that it was too dangerous for him to continue cultivating and struck him down?

What would happen to him? Would he be left alone in the bead until someone else finds it?

What would happen to the girl? She was left all alone in the inn since the old demon and Da Wei had never anticipated the process to take a turn like this and place them in such danger. Would she be ok after they died? How will she get back to the village?

What if someone made calculations against her? How will she protect herself?

What about Old Feng? Old Li? The children in the village? Everyone else? What would happen to them should something bad happen?

'Damn it!! David, you bastard!! You better not die and make me feel guilty for leaving all those weaklings behind!! You hear me??'

Of course, there was no response.

Suddenly, lightning struck right beside where Da Wei's body was sitting cross-legged, spooking the old demon silly. He started cursing even more loudly in the empty mind of his younger self, hoping to bring him out of whatever funk he was in.

Thankfully, he did not have to take drastic measures to save his younger self.

Suddenly, Pure Qi from the heavens started rushing into Da Wei's body, forming a massive vortex of energy that was visible to the naked eye.

Within the body, the old demon watched with a stupefied expression as the newly constructed spirit roots of Da Wei's body connected with the core of Pure Qi he formed before. However, the process did not end there as he had anticipated.

The core suddenly started to pulse rapidly while spinning at extreme speeds. The pulse of energy spread across the spirit roots and started to strengthen and nourish them with pure Qi, removing any elemental affinity they might have had.

Then, things took an even more bizarre turn as the spirit roots connected themselves to Da Wei's physical form and started to integrate themselves into every single part of his body.

'….JUST WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE???

Even when the spirit roots completely integrated with Da Wei's body, his core did not stop spinning and pulsing. Instead, it started to spin even faster and pulse even more wildly.

Soon, the core reached enough speeds to start heating up and the pulses now became so fast that they were no longer distinguishable from a continuous flow.

All of a sudden, the spinning core pulled at the vortex of energy surrounding the body and started integrating it into itself.

Pure Qi fell into the core like a planet or a star falling into a black hole.

The entire process lasted for a mere few seconds, but for the old demon, these few seconds might as well be centuries of uncertainty where he did not know what was happening around him.

It was only when the core reached its limit and started turning into a solid marble of energy did he realized what was happening.

'….Holy shit! Kid. I knew you would prove me wrong again but I never imagined you would do it in such an exaggerated way.'

He watched with awe as the newly formed peak stage Core continued spinning as cracks started to form on the solid orb of energy.

Then, with a single burst, the core broke apart like an egg and revealed a small formless shape of pure energy made of True Qi.

No, that was wrong. It was not True Qi.

True Qi is the Qi formed when a cultivator breaks through into the Nascent Soul realm. The elemental Qi of a cultivator is refined according to their cultivation technique and their understanding of the concept behind their element, giving birth to their True Qi. It is the reason why the True Qi of a cultivator is unique to themselves.

This energy that Da Wei's body formed, on the other hand, is not refined from elemental energy, but directly from the Pure Qi of the world.

The title of True Qi fit it well, but the old demon felt that he needed to give it a different name to distinguish the sheer madness and impossibility that his younger self managed to achieve.

'I know. I will call it Primal Qi. The root of all Pure Qi. A fitting name for an impossibility made possible by this madman.'

A Nascent Soul formed from the purest form of Qi, the Primal Qi.

Truly, only the monstrosity known as Da Wei could do something impossible like this.

Finally, once the light show was over, the old demon felt Da Wei's consciousness return from within his soul. However, he immediately felt the difference.

Da Wei's soul never was anything special, just like that of anyone else. However, ever since he first woke up in the bead, the old demon felt like there was a part of Da Wei's soul that was either missing or damaged.

He always attributed Da Wei's weirdly chill nature and his lack of emotions towards those who wronged him to this damaged or missing part.

But now, his soul felt whole. Like whatever part of it was missing had been returned to its proper place.

Even better, his soul had been significantly strengthened, so much so that he could easily pass for a beginner-level soul cultivator if he wanted to.

'David! Start circulating your Qi quickly!! The heavens are going to send down the tribulation at any second!'

'What tribulation?'

'Are you blind?? Look at the sky-What the??'

As the old demon looked to the skies, he saw in disbelief as the tribulation rapidly started to disperse along with the powerful winds slowing down to a gentle breeze.

Then, a powerful and pure light gently fell from the heavens and engulfed Da Wei's body before disappearing into his spirit roots.

'…David, what the hell happened just now??'

'I don't know. But, for the first time in a long while, I feel content.'

Da Wei gazed at the sky with a gentle smile before getting up from the ground.

"Let's go. I am in the mood for some rice."

'….Very Well. Ask the girl for her opinion. I've no doubt that she would find the best place to eat rice in this city being the glutton that she is.'

'An excellent idea.'