The Sect’s actions were just as swift as their acceptance of my request.
Within a single hour, I was being escorted out of the sect by an inner sect disciple that I did not recognize, probably a new disciple given that I never saw him in the six years that I spent in the inner sect.
I did not even go to the Wang family compound to say my goodbye to my so-called father, knowing that he could not care less about one of his dozens of children leaving the sect, especially since I never showed any particular talent aside from my speed of cultivation.
As far as I can tell from the jumbled mess of memories belonging to my previous self, the word ‘family’ did not apply to the Wang clan and the only person in the entire sect that actually cared for me was my mother who passed away when I was five years old.
The moment we arrived in the Starfall City, one of the biggest cities in the Eastern region of the Empire, I put the second part of my plan into action.
Wearing a long cloak that hid my features and allowed me to blend into the crowds that had many other people wearing a similar cloak to my own, I headed straight towards the southern exit of the city.
I am not ignorant of my fate, and I refuse to die a second time by being stupid.
The Sect knows that my mother’s family used to live in the Imperial Capital, located towards the west of the Starfall City with the Heavenly Sword Sect located to the North of the city.
Logically, any child whose future was just destroyed and was expelled from his sect would head towards his home to lick his wounds, even if said home was just an empty building with no one living in it. At least, that would be the reasoning that most people would have and something that I am counting on.
I have no doubt that those corrupt bastards would try to tie any loose ends so that they don’t have to worry about any threats towards them in the future, especially my ‘siblings’ who would not hesitate to assassinate me so that they would have one less person competing for the position of Family Head, even if I have left the sect. That is why I am heading south, towards the Great Wilderness that serves as the border between the Yin Long Empire and the Baihu Empire.
Given its nature as the border of the two Empires and being considered as the backwaters of both powers, it should be the perfect place for me to live out the rest of my life.
Peaceful life away from the Xianxia bullshit, here I come!
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A young man slowly walked into the village that exists just outside the Great Wilderness. His simple clothes making him look just like any other villager in the vicinity despite his fairly handsome face. But, the thing that made him standout was the massive carcass of a bear like beast with bright red fur on his shoulders.
And yet, the guards on the towers by the gate did not stop him. They just nodded in a friendly greeting to the man that had become someone that was well known and trusted in the village ever since his arrival in these parts over five years ago.
As the man continued walking through the streets, he was stopped by a familiar voice.
“Oh! Da Wei! Can you come over in the afternoon? I need help with the forge!”
The young man grinned at the old blacksmith that called out to him.
“Of Course! Grandpa Feng, But you must share that secret stash of yours with me!”
The old man sneered at the young man.
“In your dreams, boy.”
“Is that so? I wonder what grandma would say about your secret wine collection.”
Instantly, the old man lost the arrogant look on his face and started panicking.
“Don’t you dare snitch to that old hag! She is insufferable enough already, I don’t need you to add wood to the fire.”
“Then, the wine…”
“Fine, fine. I’ll share some with you, you wretched brat.”
Both the men stared at each other before bursting out in laughter. The young man waved good bye and headed towards the village’s market, intent on selling the beast that he hunted recently in exchange for some supplies.
As he walked through the streets of the small village, he received many greetings and chatted with them as was usual for him. Occasionally stopping by the open areas in the village in the insistence of some of the children that wanted to take a look at his kill, a request he obliged so that the children would know to spot dangerous beasts and run to save themselves should the need ever arise.
In the end, it took him nearly an hour to arrive at the market that he had grown used to after five years of staying in this tiny village on the frontier.
With familiarity born from staying in this place for years, he headed straight for one of the stalls that is connected to a fairly large home that looked a little more lavish compared to the rest of the houses in the area.
“Ah! Little Wei, is that a Rage Bear?”
The young man grinned at the Qi Condensation realm cultivator that called this village home.
“Indeed, Old Li. I hunted it down yesterday evening when it wandered near my home.”
Li Qiang sighed in exasperation at the young man’s actions which appeared very reckless in his eyes.
“Da Wei, do I have to keep reminding you that Body Cultivation has a limit to it? No matter how much you fight against demonic beasts and understand their way of cultivation, you will never move past the Core Formation stage. So, why do you keep putting yourself in danger like this?”
“Ok, first of all, this beast was in Foundation Establishment realm, so not that much of a danger to me. Second of all, I do this because it is fun and these beasts provide me with excellent materials to conduct my experiments. And if I can sell off any excess to you for supplies and even more materials for me to experiment with? That is just a bonus.”
Once again, Li Qiang gave a tired sigh at the young man’s words, making sure to hide the pity he felt for such an optimistic and kind young man.
If only his spirit roots were not crippled. Li Qiang cannot even imagine the heights that Da Wei could have reached with his persistence and determination.
When he first met Da Wei five years ago, he thought that he was like many other promising people in the world whose paths were cut short by the cruelty of the world. But, he consistently proved him wrong. First, by figuring out a body cultivation method for himself without any help. Then, he rapidly improved on the method until he reached a stage where he was able to easily kill Qi Condensation realm beasts by himself in a matter of a single year. Then, he became even stronger over the next few years. Now, even a peak Foundation Establishment best can be easily killed by him with enough planning.
It is a pity that there is no future for a Body Cultivator after achieving the peak Core Formation realm. It is simply not possible for a body cultivator to form a Nascent soul without spirit roots since the spirit roots are directly connected to the soul of a person, enabling the flow of Qi into the soul to cultivate a Nascent soul. Without these channels that connected the soul and the body, it was absolutely impossible for a Nascent soul to form within a Cultivator.
That was why Li Qiang considered Da Wei’s fate to be so tragic.
With a shake of his head, Li Qiang got rid of his thoughts and stared at the grinning Da Wei with a smile of his own.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
“Fine. Its your life so its up to you how you live it. As for the Rage Bear, I’ll take it in exchange for those alchemy equipment you’ve been eyes for quite some time.”
“No deal! I want the alchemy equipment and the beginner manual that I know you have for formations.”
“This greedy brat! Fine.”
With an amused smile, Li Qiang waved his hand, causing the various tools and equipment used for alchemy to appear out of his special ring along with the manual for formations.
Da Wei did not waste any time and directly placed them into his special ring and placed the corpse of the Rage Bear on the stall’s side, causing Li Qiang’s Qi senses to pick up on something that was missing from the corpse.
“Hold on! Where is the heart?”
“I have it, of course.”
“You brat! You deceived me!”
“I did no such thing. It was your fault for not asking about the heart in the first place. Seriously, when will you learn to check your goods before paying for them?”
Li Qiang glared at Da Wei with irritation.
A demonic beast usually stores its Qi within its body, but the majority of its power is usually condensed within its heart. Incidentally, it is also the heart where a Beast forms its Beast Core once it reaches the Core Formation realm. This is the reason why the Heart of a demonic beast is considered as the most valuable part.
Shaking his head, Li Qiang stared at the grinning Da Wei that started running before calling out.
“Don’t forget about the session I asked you to take care of in the afternoon!”
“I remember, Old Li. But, I’ll have to keep it short since I need to help Grandpa Feng with his forge.”
“Fine.”
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In the large open space located near the center of the village, all of the children of the settlement were gathered for their weekly training that is conducted by one of the few cultivators in the village, Li Qiang.
However, instead of the old man, they were surprised by the arrival of a familiar young man.
Instantly, the children shouted in joy and swarmed him, asking various questions and talking excitedly while some of the younger children started to climb on him.
“Ok, ok! Enough of this, you brats. I am here because Old Li has something to do and asked me to take over your lessons for today.”
“Oh! Then, can you teach us how to fight? Master Li does not teach us how to fight properly and only teaches us about meditation and gathering Qi.”
Many of the children nodded at that request, knowing that it was one of the only chances they would get to learn how to fight properly from someone.
But, before their request could be accepted, the many parents of the children sitting in the surroundings started to protest, not liking the idea of their ‘adorable’ children learning how to fight.
‘What the hell? How did a cut throat world like this still manage to produce helicopter parents??’
Da Wei smiled wryly at the children’s put down expression before sitting down with a few children still clinging onto him.
“Since your parents don’t want you to fight, I can’t teach you any of that. However, I can teach you the nature of Sprit Roots.”
Immediately, the children perked up at hearing a familiar word that they did not know the meaning of.
While Li Qiang had taught them to cultivate with their spirit roots, he had never gotten around to explaining what the spirit roots exactly are. Part of the reason was that he did not want to discourage the children with that particular piece of information this early, another part was because he simply did not have the time for it.
The children nodded enthusiastically at Da Wei’s suggestion and sat down around him, the younger children sitting closer to him while the few children that had just entered their teenage years taking their seat at the back.
“Ok, let’s start with the basics. Who here has managed to sense Qi or succeded in drawing in the Qi from the world into yourself?”
“Oh! I did. That fluffy feeling that I get whenever I meditate is what you are talking about right?”
“Hey! I felt it too! But, when I tried to get that stuff into my body, I always feel something blocking it!”
“Same!”
Da Wei, smiled amusedly as four of the dozens of children who managed to sense Qi argued about whether their experience was the correct one or not. Meanwhile, he also spotted two of the older children raise their hand quietly, just like he taught them before, indicating that they too had sense Qi at some point in their practice.
“Well, technically, all of your experiences are correct, but there is more to it than that. Let’s start from the beginning. Spirit roots are metaphysical organs that exist within your very soul. They connect your spirit with your physical body, allowing cultivation.”
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I watched the excited and awed looks on the children’s faces with satisfaction.
Everything I know about spirit roots is something that I learned through experimentation and research on my own since I was never given any proper information aside from their classification and types by either by my family or by the sect. So, it is very gratifying to see that my efforts in uncovering the truth of these special components of the soul were not in vain.
“Spirit Roots are divided into two major categories. Basic and Advanced spirit roots. Now, while these categories are further divided into sub categories, you don’t have to worry about Advanced spirit roots just yet unless one of your children happen to have it, which is highly unlikely given their rarity. What you children need to know, are the divisions within the Basic Spirit Roots.”
Watching the slightly sullen expression on the children’s faces, I felt a small smile form on my face.
“Don’t let the word ‘Basic’ fool you. Spirit Roots are anything but basic. The reason cultivators call them ‘Basic’ is due to the ease of categorizing, nothing more. Now, the so-called Basic Spirit Roots, are spirit roots that have an elemental affinity with one of the five elements of the Wuxing. Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water.”
“Then, what is your affinity, Big brother Da Wei??”
I smiled at the question raised by one of the little ones.
“I had affinity for Water and Wood.”
While the children gazed at me with awed looks, I saw that some of them, especially those that were in their teenage years, did not fail to catch the meaning in my words and averted their eyes, trying to hide the pity that they felt for me.
I could not help but smile at their gesture, even if it was meaningless since I did not care much about the past.
I have found my own path, what I used to have in the past has no meaning to the current me.
“Generally speaking. The lower the number of your affinity, the better the spirit root quality and your cultivation speed. That is why, those with single affinity spirit roots are highly sought after by various powers of the continent.”
One of the teenagers, Lin Mei, raised her hand and asked.
“How many affinities can a cultivator have?”
“Well, the answer for that is a little complicated. The lowest quality of spirit roots is considered a Quintuple Spirit Root, which has the affinity for all the five elements of the Wuxing. But, there are exceptions to this rule. For example, I know of a person that had a Quintuple Spirit Root, but only three of them were basic elements. Fire, Earth, and Metal. The other two elements belonged to the Advanced Spirit Roots. Lightning and Yin.”
I immediately saw that the children wanted to know what I meant so I answered before they could ask.
“Advanced Spirit Roots, are spirit roots which have elemental affinity that falls outside the standard Wuxing cycle. Any element that is not part of the Wuxing cycle is considered as an Advanced elements, and they are highly sought after just like those that possess a single affinity due to the sheer destructive power that an Advanced spirit root has.”
Needless to say, the person that I talked about was none other than Xiao Kai. It is the reason why he got away with crippling my spirit roots.
Sometimes, I wonder if he is the main character of this world and not me. But, I usually dismiss those thoughts given the huge number of circumstantial and literal evidence that I have, both in my memories and in the form of the bead around my neck that houses the spirit of a future version of myself.
“How do we learn about our affinity and what type of Spirit Roots we have?”
Looks like Lin Mei has been unofficially drafted by the rest of her age group as the one that should ask questions on their behalf.
Let’s throw Li Qiang under the bus.
“To find out your elemental affinity, you need what is known as a Root Stone. A fairly common artifact that is quite expensive. While it is primarily used by the Empire’s forces, Sects and the governing offices of large cities to identify their potential future members, I believe Old Li has one on him, so you should ask him to test you children next week.”
Looking at the shining eyes of the children, I supressed the evil grin threatening to appear on my face.
This is what you get for pushing your work on me, even though I willingly accepted it. You should still feel the consequences of it.
But in all truth, this is just a game between the two of us to see who can annoy the other the most. A friendly teasing if anything.
The rest of the session continued with the children asking questions about cultivation and me answering. It was only as the sun started to dip towards the west that I remembered my promise to Grandpa Feng and had to cut the session short, much to the children’s disappointment.
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Striking the iron on the anvil, I concentrated on controlling my monstrous strength, making sure not to use too much or too little so that I don’t end up wasting the hours of work that Grandpa Feng and I put into these blades.
“Now! Quench it, quickly!”
Heeding the old man’s words, I immediately placed the blade into the large vat filled with oil used for quenching while channelling Qi through it just like Grandpa Feng taught me.
By using Qi, I prevented the blade from shattering while also expelling most of the impurities during the quenching process.
The end result, is a steel blade that is similar in quality to what I would expect to appear in the early 20th century of my old world.
While the presence of Qi and cultivators has made this world very primitive compared to my old world, there are some areas, such as metallurgy, medicine, botany and other such fields where these people have significant advantage.
While this can be partially credited to the existence of fantastical materials and objects in this world, the knowledge held by these people cannot be dismissed either.
“Phew, that’s the last one.”
“Indeed. Good work today, Da Wei. Here, take this as compensation for your work.”
The old man took out a clay pot and tried to hand it over, only for me to move back with a look of disdain.
“Don’t try to fool me, old man. I saw you buy that pot of wine this morning. I want the real stuff, the one that you hide beneath-“
“Shh! Fine. You cunning brat.”
Despite his words, the old man smiled as he picked up a differed pot hidden behind a rack. Just by looking at the pot, I could immediately tell that it was very old and exactly what I wanted thanks to the faint fragrance emanating from it.
Grinning, I immediately took it into my hands and waved goodbye to Grandpa Feng, heading straight towards my home.
All in all, a regular day with no issues, just like always.