Chapter One

The old man looked down at the wizened baby, a smile awkwardly touching the aged cultivator’s face as he listened to the baby’s soft coos. He held out a hand and grinned wider when a tiny palm reached up to grab one of his fingers. Bobbing the baby in his arms, he looked every inch like that of a doting grandfather.

A soft cry to the side halted the old man’s actions, and he turned his head to peer at the woman next to him. His smile receded as he regarded the once beautiful woman, now dirty and soaked with the sweat of labor.

“Bao-er…” sighed a young woman. She reached an arm out towards the baby, not noticing the glare that creased the grey-haired man’s face. “My Bao—”

“Silence.” The old man whispered the one word, his immense cultivation base rumbling out for an instant towards the mortal woman. She could only gasp at the power before her feeble life winked out.

Ignoring the growing scent of death in the room, the man continued to rock the baby in his arms. He slapped the bag of holding at his side and produced a jade rattle and a magical baby bottle treasure. Clicking sounds filled the room as he waved the rattle, startling the baby and attracting its attention.

The old man playfully waved the rattle around and carefully avoided the baby’s weak attempts to grasp the noise maker. When he saw that the baby’s eyes began to droop with weariness, the old man replaced the rattle with the bottle and fed the baby. His eyes twinkled with delight as he watched the baby drink the expensive mixture within and fall asleep, content.

“Little baby Bao-er. I am your Father Ming.” The old man softly whispered to the child in his arms, an abundance of love filling his voice.

“You’re my fourth child, you know.” A hint of melancholy flashed through his eyes. “Your elder brothers, they…”

A tremor rocked through the old man’s body, almost waking up the baby. He quickly suppressed his emotions and waited to see if the baby would wake up. After a while, he resumed his rocking movements and continued to stare adoringly at the little one in his arms.

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The heavy desert heat pushed down on the boy lying flat on the ground. His clothing easily camouflaged his compact body with his surroundings. In front of him was a green wolf, not very large or menacing. It actually looked a bit cute, but that was a false belief for the child to follow.

At an adult’s leg length in size, the wolves could be considered almost at the 2nd level in Neo-Demon standards. For cultivators, the 1st to 3rd level for Neo-Demons corresponded to the Qi Condensation stage.

The small child was only 5 years old, yet had the abilities of a second level of Qi Condensation. He was the youngest person in that stage, a veritable genius nurtured greatly by his tribe. However, to match up against a pseudo-second level Neo-Demon…

Creeping low, the boy crawled forward, a long, red metal spear in his hands. The Greenwood Wolf in front of him was a rare find in his area, a gift-hunt for him to show off his skills. Several veterans kept an eye on him from a distance, but otherwise they didn’t give him any support. A low ranking dragoneer was also on standby to subdue it.

All of this, however, required him to beat it.

The Greenwood Wolf suddenly lifted its head, its nose in the air. Did it catch my scent? the boy thought. He rotated his cultivation base and power flooded through his body. However, it couldn’t dissipate the panic he felt at seeing the wolf’s attention. His hand moved before he could stop it and his spear was flung at the wary Neo-Demon.

With strength at the second level of Qi Condensation, the thrown spear flew true and accurate. They were close enough that it was basically impossible for him to miss.

A howling sounded as the red spear shot through the air towards the Neo-Demon. The Greenwood Wolf wasn’t that old or experienced, but it was still able to react properly and jump out of the way. Unfortunately, its hind leg was nicked by the spear and it staggered when it landed.

Inwardly, the child cheered slightly when he saw the crippled Neo-Demon, then sobered up as the Greenwood Wolf turned its furious gaze towards him. An intense wave of fear assaulted the boy as the wolf moved towards him. Even limping, it could still run adequately enough that that boy knew he wouldn’t be able to get away.

He raised a hand to thrust a spear between the wolf and himself, only to find himself empty-handed. Right, he had thrown… The boy slapped at his bag of holding and another red spear appeared in his hand. Right as he touched the length of wood, the wolf had already reached him.

The boy rotated his cultivation base and exploded with the strength the second level of Qi Condensation stage. Furthermore, a small snake tattoo on his left arm began to squirm with life, further increasing his strength. He kicked himself backwards in a flash, his spear out and ready to ward off any of the wolf’s attacks.

A jab at the wolf’s claw as it lunged at the boy’s retreating form caused the Neo-Demon to twist back with a yelp. The boy saw a stream of blood accompany the wolf and his hand moved by itself once more.

Swish. The boy once again threw the spear and quickly slapped his bag of holding to replace the loss of his weapon. However, this time the spear flew true and pierced through the wolf’s defenseless body. It wasn’t a killing blow, but the damage to its thigh and back effectively crippled it.

The boy and the wolf landed at the same time, the former with grace while the latter thumped heavily to the ground.

Keeping his new spear in between them, the boy eyed the wolf with apprehension and fear. The memory of its deadly claws were still fresh in his mind. He slowly walked towards the thrashing Neo-Demon, his eyes focused on any sudden changes to his movements.

A hand landed on his shoulder.

“AHHH!” the boy shrieked. He twisted his body and once again threw his spear at whatever was behind him, his mind too frightened to do anything else. This time he slapped his bad of holding and produced two spears, one for each hand.

“Snort. What was that supposed to be?” A large man stood a few feet away and casually plucked the spears out of the air. He didn’t even bother to reveal any of his cultivation base. The two tattoos, one on either arm, was enough to reveal the man’s strength.

“Uncle Zhao!” The boy sheepishly looked at his thrown spear and quickly bowed in apology. “Sorry! I was… the wolf… I mean…”

The man laughed at the boy’s nervousness and tossed back the spear. “Don’t worry about it Bao-er. You just have some fighting spirit left over. Good, good! A man needs to be able to fight a battle and still have enough left over to please his woman!”

Little Bao cocked his head in confusion, but could only realize he was being praised. He smiled happily and returned his spears to his bag of holding. Then he pointed at the wolf and jumped up and down in glee. “Look, look! I did it! Does that mean I get to keep it?”

Zhao looked at the wolf and noted that the boy was extremely lucky in where he hit it. Nothing important was damaged, judging by the amount of blood being sprayed out and how energetic the wolf was. He nodded to the boy and smiled widely. “Good job! Your father will be proud. You’re not a dragoneer though, so you don’t get to keep it...”

Turning back, Zhao called out to the distance. “Little Shu! Get out here. Stop cowering back there.”

A rustling responded to his words and Bao saw a thin teenager stumble out. He looked around and saw the two western cultivators standing beside a thrashing wolf and his face grew slightly pale. Still, he listlessly obeyed the summons and walked towards Zhao.

“Little Shu, you’re an honorable dragoneer now!” said Zhao. He patted the “honorable dragoneer’ on the back, almost causing the teen’s lung to pop out. “Come on, work your magic  on this little wolf and then let’s get back.”

Shu glowered slightly at the larger man, a permanently sullen expression on his face. “T-the art of d-dragoneering doesn’t work that way. You’ll have to b-b-bring it back to get it healed f-first.”

Zhao grumbled slightly at the extra work and went over to the now-sluggish wolf. The wolf began to thrash once more when Zhao lifted it by the scruff of the neck, his actions infuriating its wounds.

He frowned at the spear sticking out of the wolf and eyed Shu. “This thing won’t die on the way, right?”

“Of c-course not,” came the annoyed, yet fearful answer. He straightened slightly in an attempt at authority. “G-greenwood Wolves are a species with good growth and e-e-excellent survival characteristics—”

“But will it die?” Zhao asked again, annoyed at the extra info.

Shu turned red this time, mostly with anger. His stutter disappeared miraculously when his temper was tapped. “I said it won’t! Now let’s go so mother can look after its wounds. I don’t want to have a crippled Neo-Demon.”

No one spoke up to delay their travels. Bao went and picked up his thrown spears and placed them back in his bag of holding, then sauntered back to Zhao.

Shu summoned a few flight Neo-Demons for himself while Bao jumped and hung onto the back of Zhao. He stared at the wolf gripped in Zhao’s hands and didn’t even give attention when the party flew through the air and towards a large collections of homes and buildings in the distance.

“Bao-er, want me to drop you off at your home?”

The boy started at Zhao’s question and realized they had almost gotten back. He quickly nodded and said, “Yes, Uncle Zhao. Father said he’d be home around this time and has a present for me.”

“Pat— I mean, Father Ming has a present? Your birth celebration is still five months away. What’s the present for?”

Bao grinned evilly. “I get a present every month. Only the one on my birth celebration is the biggest.”

Zhao’s expression twisted into a mix of envy and jealousy and his previously smooth flight dipped as he thought about this rich and pampered little boy. “Father Ming is very generous,” he said listlessly. “Hopefully you won’t grow up spoiled.”

“Of course not!” Bao declared. He twisted his face to something resembling an old elder. “Youngsters must be as fierce as a desert storm and as formidable as a mountain. Only then could one aim for the sky and pursue the heavens. That has something to do with our tribe’s name, am I right?”

Zhao nodded sagely. “As long as you grow up knowing there’s always something more dangerous and that the heavens are boundless, you’ll be fine. A true cultivator must not wallow in material goods.”

Bao frowned slightly at this. “Material goods? What’s that?”

“Food, wealth, luxury.” Zhao intoned. “As a respectable older generation, I shall share your burden and take… four-fifths of your present, so as to cultivate a respectable personality for you, Bao-er.”

Wide eyed, Bao gave Zhao a frightened look. Then he grabbed at Zhao’s long hair and yanked. “Nuh uh! Those presents are mine! Who cares about the heavens!!”

“Woah now!” Zhao didn’t expect the boy to twist so much and he almost fell out of the sky by Bao’s actions. The most unfortunate was the wolf, still heavily injured and getting worse every time the duo played around.

“Those presents are mind!!!” Bao yelled, still pulling on Zhao. “I’ll tell father you’re stealing them!”

“I-I got it. Bao-er, stop moving around or you’ll get us killed!!”

“My presents!!!”

“Yes, yes,” Zhao acquiesced. “Your presents, your presents. Stop moving or else I’ll drop the wolf!”

Bao stopped and looked worriedly at the wolf in Zhao’s hands. Other than the really dead, glassy look in its eyes, the wolf was still gasping for breathe and slightly flailing around in pain. As long as it was still alive, then all was fine.

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Chapter Two

Zhao landed in front of a large homestead and waited for Bao to leap off his back. Shu landed beside him, ordering a few close servants to call for his mother as well as take the Greenwood Wolf off Zhao’s hands. Several attendants shuffled forward, their heads bowed both in respect to Zhao’s cultivation base as well as fear for Shu’s status.

Bao ran into his home, his face filled with a smile as he yelled, “Father, father!”

An aged man stepped out of a room, his long hair tied back to reveal a wrinkled yet energetic face. Unusually stern looking, his features broke to show a rarely used smile. “Bao-er, how was the hunt?”

The gleeful boy saw the man and ran into his arms. “Father, I beat the Neo-Demon all on my own! Uncle Zhao saw me, and Shu did too!”

Zhao stepped into the building after some hesitation when he heard his name. “Pa— Father Ming, what he says is true. He used up your gift spears from his last birth celebration and wasn’t hurt. Truly a mark of his talent and your esteemed bloodline.”

Father Ming waved away Zhao’s deferential words and smiled happily at the boy in his arms. “That can’t be the only reason you’re happy, right?”

“No…” Bao said. He tilted his eyes up to implore his father. “You said that today…”

“Yes, yes. I remember.” Father Ming put down the boy with a sigh and slapped his bag of holding. A small pouch appeared in his hands and he passed it along to the youngster.

“Inside is several dozen Spirit Condensation Pills as well as a Golden Silk armour,” Father Ming explained. He watched as Bao opened up the pouch to take out the various contents. “I was hoping to give you the Golden Silk armour before you left, but decided you needed a bit of a sense of danger for your first hunt.”

Bao smiled at the gifts and gazed at each with a happy expression. Neither son nor father saw the envious expression on Zhao’s face as Bao took out each item. Golden Silk armour? It could block five attacks from anything under the Core Formation stage. An envious object that acted like a second life. Bao tossed this to the side, causing Zhao’s eyes to pop out.

Still, more important to Zhao, Bao was given several dozen Spirit Condensation Pills? With his status, the efficiency of the pills couldn’t be lower than 60%. Zhao lamented over the completely different treatment due to status. And this was just a regular monthly present. Zhao couldn’t even guess how expensive the birth celebration present was.

“Father, can I also get more spears?”

Father Ming frowned at the question. “Hrm? Did you somehow lose them all? They’re quite hard to make since I have to fuse a Foundation Establishment’s sharpness into a small Qi Condensation level spear.”

Zhao sucked in a sharp breath when he heard this. A Qi Condensation weapon with the power of a Foundation Establishment? Even Zhao didn’t have anything stronger than a mid Qi Condensation level spear. Unfair, the world was so unfair…

“No,” Bao replied. “I just like how useful they are. If something gets too close I go Ya! and stab it. If it’s a bit farther, I go shuuu! and throw it.”

Even Father Ming began to sweat when he heard how his son used the treasures. “Bao-er, didn’t I give you some spear technique manuals. Didn’t you learn something from them…?”

Bao shook his head and smiled innocently. “I don’t need them anymore. All I have to do is stab and throw! What can stand before my spears?”

“Ha ha…” Father Ming cleared his throat and tried to change the subject. “How’s your cultivation coming along? Do you need any other pills? Or is your totem uncomfortable in any way?”

The boy grabbed onto the new topic and hopped on the spot. “Father, father. I’m almost about to break through to the 3rd level. With these pills here, I can definitely do it tonight!”

“Good!” Father Ming slapped his chest with happiness and rustled the boy’s lengthy hair. “Try and reach the Mid Qi Condensation stage by your birth celebration and I’ll give you an even bigger present.”

Bao heard this and jumped towards his room. “Uncle Zhao, I have to cultivate. Tell me when the little wolfie is healed! Sorry, I have to go!”

“It’s fine,” Zhao called to the boy’s back. He shook his head at how energetic the child was and turned to face the old man. When the boy was gone, Zhao turned and bowed low, cupping his fist in respect. “Sir!”

“Everything went fine, then?”

“Yes! Dragoneer Shu had previously released a powerful Neo-Demon weakening scent. It’s only effective at the first level, enough for young master Bao-er to handle.”

“Good.”

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An old man looked down from the skies, his body steady in the air as he regarded the land before him. Down far below, a small skirmish was being raged between his tribe and the small-sized Earth Serpent tribe. However, the battle was not the thing that attracted his attention; a small tribe would never be able to impact his Great Tribe.

Instead, the man’s gaze was on his son. He peered below like a god, yet his intentions were fatherly. The young man in his gaze radiated a robust demeanor. Muscles coursed as he threw spear after spear at the enemy. His two totems seem to roar with life as he charged into the enemy and duel with every cultivator before him.

Bao was a dragon amongst wolves in the battlefield. Wherever he went, he struck hard at the enemy and destroyed any foundation of resistance there. His tribe rallied behind him and nothing could stand before his spears.

It wasn’t easy to see down below, but the aged man smiled at the flashes of light that streaked across the battlefield to kill any enemy that even remotely resembled a threat. By now, Father Ming had bestowed his son with spears containing the power of an early Core Qi weapon but usable with his Foundation Establishment level of strength. The only real worry for Father Ming was that Bao had forgone of any defences, hence why the old cultivator stood so high above and watched his son’s well being.

The small tribe only had elders at the Core Formation stage and a leader at the Nascent Soul. None would be in this small skirmish as this battle lacked anyone above the Foundation Establishment. Per the rules of battle that most followed, Father Ming had sent those of the Qi Condensation to Foundation Establishment to fight.

“Raaaaawr!” Bao gave a war cry that reached even Father Ming’s height, causing the floating man to smile in happiness. He watched as Bao rammed straight into the middle of the a group of cultivators. Spears jutted out of his body like thorns as his muscles used them fluidly to carve and stab any who approached him. Foundation Establishment, Qi Condensation. He had been given a constant stream of spears since he was young and the collection he had now could arm a mortal army.

Father Ming had once thought his son a bit foolish for collecting so many spears. It was certainly wasteful, that much could be seen. However, as he watched his son weave his way through numerous enemies, he couldn’t help but give appreciation. Every spear took a life as it was discarded.

While it was questionable to Father Ming if the enemy’s life was even worth a spear, it was still a sight to see on a battlefield when a large portion of fallen enemies were struck down by a spear cast by a single teenage boy.

The fluctuations of cultivation bases flared up and down as foes fell and the winners began to rest. Only Bao continued to fight, his power exploding outward in a fearsome display.

Father Ming had kept his Divine Sense locked onto the battlefield, so he was the first to see an anomaly. He turned his gaze away from his son and looked at the side of the Earth Serpent. There, a young boy of around 10 years of age had appeared, his appearance sparking a mass change in the enemy’s morale. Only Father Ming and his Divine Sense could see and listen to everything that was happening.

“This useless one greets the Holy Son!”

As soon as the first person saw and greeted the child, the rest followed behind him. ““WE GREET THE HOLY SON OF THE EARTH SERPENT TRIBE!””

The roar could even be heard as far as the front lines and Bao had also stopped his rampage to stare past his enemies.

Father Ming stared at the newcomer with confusion, his Divine Sense examining him thoroughly. A Holy Son? He thought. Another examination of the boy’s cultivation base told him the same thing. He’s only a Qi Condensation stage cultivator. Although he’s a bit stronger than the usual cultivator…

It was too much of a stretch to believe that even a small tribe would be so desperate as to give the Holy Son title to a child with such a cultivation. Was there more to this…

The fighting picked up after a few moments, Bao’s side not losing any momentum. The wild teen displayed a shocking amount of power and skill with the spear, such that the enemy collapsed whenever he appeared. Some of the smarter ones even ran away and only distracted Bao, in the hopes of having him expend his energy.

Bao only grinned at their plan as he slapped his bag of holding. He threw his spear at an Early Foundation Establishment cultivator which pierced through his fragile Qi Condensation sword and into his throat. Bao then grabbed the pill bottle that appeared from his bag. Ripping off the top, he dropped half a dozen pills of shocking medicinal quality into his mouth, causing several knowledgeable cultivators to cry out in shock.

His spiritual energy was replenished and his fighting prowess grew even stronger. Father Ming chuckled to himself as he watched; who could challenge Bao in terms of wasting resources? Who would dare?

It was at this time that the Earth Serpent Tribe’s Neo-Demons began to charge into the battlefield. Limited to the first to sixth level, the Neo-Demons were sent to fill in the broken and destroyed battle lines of the Earth Serpent Tribe. Only a third of the cultivators had survived from their side, and the amount of Neo-Demons sent replenished those losses.

The fighting reached a heightened ferocity as time went on. Even with the new Neo-Demons, Bao’s presence had ensured that his side was still relatively fresh and battle-able. Bao didn’t even send the order to deploy any of his own side’s Neo-Demons, and with good reason. The Earth Serpent Tribe’s numbers had been reduced while Bao’s side miraculous suffered little losses.

It was only the boy watching on the other side that caused Father Ming to frown in worry. While it was too much a loss of face to actively involve himself, if push came to shove…

Moments continued to pass, and the situation on the battlefield had almost reached the finale. Unless a miracle occurred, the Earth Serpent Tribe had lost this battle. Their Neo-Demons were reduced to a tenth of their original numbers while the cultivators had already lost any hope in winning.

Father Ming waited for the expected call for retreat or cry for last man standing, but there was none of that. Instead, as if it were practiced, the rest of the Earth Serpent Tribe suddenly retreated back.

Every single one of them headed back and stood behind their Holy Son. Even the Neo-Demons roared in dissatisfaction before rushing back to surround their dragoneers who stood right behind the Holy Son in an odd display of respect. The boy stood out on the bloody desert field, his youthful features hard to disguise. Not even that freak from the Great Cloud Sky Tribe couldn’t fake his youth to the extent of appearing as young as this Holy Son. To Father Ming, this was truly a child.

The boy stepped forward and was met with the raging tempest that was Bao. His lithe muscles and unbound hair were caked with the blood of his foes and his clothes were in tatters as he relied on his extraordinary battle sense to avoid danger. The tribe had already collected up his previously used spears and they had been placed back in his bag of holding.

After swallowing another batch of pills, Bao had returned to peak strength and was ready for another fight.

“Who are you?” Bao asked, eyeing the boy. He didn’t stupidly rush forward this time as he noted the odd situation. The Earth Serpent Tribe had proven mostly brave during the fight, yet they now hid behind a prepubescent child?

The boy tilted his head. “I’m your opponent. Obviously.”

“What?”

“I said,” the boy enunciated, “that I am your opponent now. My tribe was even kind enough to give space for us to fight.”

Even Father Ming began to grow a bit bothered at the tone the little Qi Condensation stage boy used. Bao looked at the oddly calm child and asked once more, “Who. Are. You.”

The boy sighed, but replied properly this time. “I am Holy Son Zhang Tian. The omens and our totemic sacred ancients have blessed the tribe upon my birth; I am destined to rise and lead the Earth Serpent Tribe to new heights.”

He said the words simply, but the remainder of the Earth Serpent Tribe behind him cheered at Tian. It seemed that they truly believed he would bring them to victory, but Father Ming dismissed it easily. How many small and mid-sized tribes believed they could overthrow their overlords? How many had fallen under his own feet, their dreams and wishes crushed before the reality of power.

Bao also didn’t seem to take it to heart. Instead, an aura of eagerness exploded from him as he rotated his 5 Flawless Dao Pillars. “I am the tribe’s Chosen Bao. You are only a Holy Son at the Qi Condensation stage; how can anyone from your tribe walk outside with that shame?”

The same reception was given to Bao, several times louder due to the many survivors on his side. Father Ming watched it all with pride and gave a smug smile when he saw the Holy Son Zhang Tian frown at being upstaged.

“Shame?” the boy said coolly. “It’s not that much of a shame to have this...”

Then the boy began to rotate his own cultivation base. Under the eyes of his enemies, the measly aura of the peak of 9th level of Qi Condensation stage exploded out, It floundered before Bao’s aura, his Foundation Establishment base overwhelming the Holy Son’s. However, the Holy Son didn’t seem to mind as a look of concentration creased his features.

Boom!

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Chapter Three

Boom!

A sound exploded from the boy’s body that caused everyone that looked at him to frown. His cultivation base, which was at the 9th level of Qi Condensation Stage, began to grow further and pulse with more power.

The Holy Son had a look of strain on his face and his body began to quiver under some sort of strain. Then a crack burst from within the boy, then more and more popped out in a devastating cacophony. His skin glowed, even under the desert sun, and a tiny bit of filthy sweat flowed out of his body.

Bao and his followers felt an immense feeling of danger being emitted from the boy’s body. At the same time, they realized the Holy Son hadn’t gotten that much stronger. At the most, he’d be able to run away without dying when facing an Early stage Foundation Establishment expert.

However, the feeling of danger didn’t seem to go away. It was as if the boy gave off a primal will that towered above others. Even for Foundation Establishment experts like Bao, they felt something in the depths of their heart stir in fear at the boy.

“What’s going on?” Bao whispered. His eyes were wide as he regarded the boy. Even though he pushed his cultivation base to its maximum, he couldn’t get rid of that tiny bit of unease.

The tribe behind him also began to shuffle in fear. Then a soft, aged voice seemed to fall upon the battlefield.

“The tenth level of Qi Condensation Stage…”

Everyone on Bao’s side grew wide-eyed at the words. There was a level above the 9 levels of Qi Condensation Stage?

“Impossible, I haven’t even heard of such a thing before.”

“At most, the boy’s on the verge of building his Dao Pillar. It’s maybe at the flawless level, hence why I feel uneasy.”

“No,” Bao said, his words carrying to the others. “I also have a set of Flawless Dao Pillars. It isn’t that.”

Bao looked up at where the voice came from and saw an aged man slowly fall down in front of him. He waved at the figure, a wide grin splitting his face. “Father!”

Everyone else knew the protocol. They followed Bao’s turn and bowed towards the figure, “Greetings to Father Ming!”

Father Ming nodded happily at his son, then turned to look at the Holy Son. Indeed, his cultivation base was far beyond that of the 9th level, yet he didn’t have a Dao Pillar at all. It was mildly interesting, but not something he cared to investigate. If it was heavenly luck then it only belonged to the one who obtained it, that was what he believed.

“Who are you!?” questioned Zhang Tian. His body had now far surpassed that of a child as he stood several inches taller and possessed thicker, denser muscles. The aura of a warrior emanated from his body.

“You are foolish to randomly show off in front of me,” Father Ming declared. His voice rang out with power, causing the members of the Earth Serpent Tribe to groan in pain as their cultivation bases too damage. Only the Holy Son seemed to withstand it easily.

“What?” questioned one of the elderly cultivators. Anger and worry wrinkled his expression. “Is your illustrious self going to pick on the younger generation.”

Father Ming only smiled, his eyes still on the Holy Son. “I’m not a fool to gamble with the tribe’s future on a loss of face. At most, your tribe only has a Nascent Soul youngster. Yet you wanted to contend with my tribe?”

“Hmph,” said the Holy Son. He spat on the ground and stared with contempt at Father Ming. “Hiding behind a Spirit Severing expert, is that all you can do? Deal with my tribe yourself if you’re so derisive.”

The crowd behind Bao gaped at the Holy Son’s words, their expressions one of pure shock. Even Bao looked at the boy with a complex expression.

Father Ming continued to smile, except that his anger could be easily felt. He took a step forward, then made a gesture with his hand. “Area.”

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The victorious tribe traveled back to their home by use of Bao’s luxurious flying magical item. Fast, comfortable. It was one of the perks when you traveled with Bao and fought alongside him. The other perk was the higher survival rate his status granted him.

At the head of the flying magical item stood Father Ming with Bao standing beside him. Father Ming didn’t really need to travel with the group, but everyone was used to him doting on his son.

“Father, why didn’t you let me fight him? I could have taken him on, ever if he had the legendary 10th level of Qi Cultivation Stage.”

“I don’t doubt that,” Father Ming replied. He ruffled his son’s head, ignoring the wet blood still sticking to it. “The gulf between Foundation Establishment and Qi Condensation is an impassable one, even if the other person is in the 13th level. What you needed to realize is the magic items a tribe could supply if they place all of their hopes on one person.”

Bao cocked his head and turned to look at his father. “It surely can’t be as much as what you give me.”

Father Ming laughed. “Of course not. No, the problem is that you were too stubborn to accept any defensive items. There’s little difference in quality between your magic items, but he’ll be fully equipped while you won’t be.

“Plus, he’s their destiny child, a Qi Condensation Holy Son. I doubt he’ll only have a slightly higher cultivation base and superior magic items.”

Bao nodded. “Divine techniques?”

“Yes, divine techniques at the Qi Condensation stage. It’s hard to acquire such legacies in the Western Desert.”

“But that doesn’t mean he would have any, right?” Bao felt only the tiniest bit of greed before it was pushed down. He usually didn’t have time to feel guilty before the item was already his. Divine techniques though… legends for the strong and lucky to chase after.

“Better to be safe than sorry,” Father Ming said. He didn’t appear phased in the least for killing a Qi Condensation stage with his status. “Luck, Karma, Destiny. Someone with any of these will have an abundance of it. Rarely will a person be lucky once and never again.

“Hence, I will always get rid of rising stars. It’s just too dangerous to be opponents to such a person. The Ji Clan of the East certainly understand; they keep strict control over everything that happens beneath the heavens. To a lesser extent, tribes and clans and sects will make sure to destroy their enemy’s Chosen and Dao disciples.”

The flying magical item had traveled far and was now only a few hours away from the tribe’s home. To Father Ming, he could take a step and reach his home. “Are you gonna keep riding this thing, or do you want me to bring you back immediately?”

Bao shook his head and used a toe to tap the flying magical item below him. Speaking aloud for all to hear, he said, “This is mine! I can’t just let them ride this without my supervision. They’d probably ruin something, or plant something smelly for me to find later! Or ride it and come back shouting about how they were the ones to win the fight and I rewarded them with this thing.”

Although Bao’s words seemed to reveal a suspicious nature, he himself was smiling while saying it all jokingly. Father Ming glanced behind him and saw the other tribe members cheer as Bao said this. Their celebratory atmosphere was only slightly dampened by the signs of battle still fresh on their bodies.

“Fine, fine.” Father Ming said. “I’ll see you back at the house then. See the second elder for some rewards.”

He turned back and, waving at Bao, stepped off the flying magical item. His body vanished and reappeared at the entrance to his house. There, a group of people bowed low at his presence and an aged figure sped from the somewhere in the city and towards the house to greet him.

“Greetings to—” began the Nascent Soul elder. His features were completely obscured by his totems which were almost vibrant with life.

Father Ming waved away the acknowledgement. “I killed another Holy Son today. Qi Condensation stage this time.”

The elder started and began to ponder. “That makes the 8th to appear around our territory. At first, it was weird that the tribes would name Foundation stage young ones as Holy Sons or Daughters. Now a Qi Condensation… what does this mean?”

“Easy,” replied Father Ming. “Someone is experimenting. These Holy Sons and Daughters all had cultivation bases that could contend with foes a stage above theirs. I’m afraid they’re just test subjects for a bigger plan.”

“How bad could it be?” asked the elder. “They cannot threaten our tribe can they? Only another Great Tribe could fight a Great Tribe and there are none willing to do so near us. It’s impossible for them to—”

“The boy this time broke through the 9th level and reached the 10th level of the Qi Condensation Stage.”

The elder visibly started from the information. “10th level…”

“It seemed to be only a pseudo advancement,” said Father Ming. “His body wasn’t tempered to a point the legends spoke of. At most, he’d be able to take a casual blow from a Foundation stage opponent. However, if we assume he’s only one of many test subjects…” Father Ming didn’t need to explain further to make the elder worry.

“I shall convene the others.”

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Bao shuffled on the spot as he watched the proceedings tiredly. The old elders standing around a stone table continued to shout and debate with each other, none of them willing to bend in their stance. Yawning for the tenth or twentieth time, Bao glanced to the side where a shadowed space was made for his father.

The aged man sat quietly in his seat, his posture relaxed as he leaned on an arm and stared at the arguing men and women with a uncaring expression. Behind him, squirming in the shadows, were several Neo-Demons, representatives of the tribe’s Totemic Sacred Ancients. Even Bao’s father had to be polite to them as most of his strength was based off these ancient Neo-Demons.

“Wipe them all out!” shouted one of the elders. His middle-aged face was marked with scars as he continued to cry out for the quickest, most violent decision. “Small-sized tribes, medium-sized tribes. Destroy them all and stop all thoughts of trying to go against us.”

An aged lady stood up, her black robes swirling around as she matched the scarred elder in ferocity. “Do you think they will just stand in single-file as we do so? If we hit one, they probably won’t mind. But if we begin to hit them all then they’ll band together to attack us.”

“I don’t see a problem,” another elder said. She stood to back the scarred man, a hint of bloodlust in her eyes. “How many Nascent Soul elders could match us? How many such experts can they recruit? We have been overlords of this territory for centuries, our foundation is deeply rooted. There’s no reason to fear them.”

“Yes!” cried another elder. He stood, his sloppy demeanor ruined by the power his presence gave off. “We cannot just sit around and slowly whittle them away. Decisive action is the best choice! In less than a century, 8 monstrous talents have appeared around our tribe. This is not something to be challenged lightly.”

A few other elders quickly raised their voice in support. Only the objecting black robed old woman and a few of her compatriots disagreed.

She got onto her feet and raised her voice above the sounds of approval. “I am not saying we hide.”

Her words attracted their attention once more and she continued. “What I am against is an all out war.”

“What is your suggestion then?” the scarred elder asked with impatience.

The smirk the black robed elder gave was chilling, even to the removed Bao. “The next time a monstrous talent pops up,” she said, “we destroy their tribe, claim their land is cursed, and wipe out the other tribes around them. This won’t really go against our reputation…”

Her words died off at the end as every elder looked towards the shadowed corner of the room. Bao also turned and saw his father give a chilling smile.

Father Ming turned to the listless Bao. “Son, do you have any input?”

Bao’s eyes glowed as his boredom was swept away. Was he finally being included in these meetings? He was still only a Foundation Establishment warrior, not even a Core Formation expert. Even if he was, being able to use Core Qi was the prerequisite before being called a true and proper expert.

“Can I really join in the discussions?” asked Bao hesitantly. This question was more directed at the Nascent Soul elders than his father.

The scarred man and black robed old lady both cupped their hands and bowed to Bao and Father Ming. “Fourth young master,” the black robed old lady started, “you can be considered our tribe’s very own Monstrous talent. If the other tribes were quick enough to place the title of Holy Son on them, what can we say about you? If we follow the old traditions, you’ll still always only be a Chosen. However…”

“However,” the scarred man continued. “Your talent is not less than any of the talents we have faced. Except for the anomaly 10th level Qi Cultivation stage—”

“That boy,” Father Ming cut in, “was not a true 10th level Qi Cultivation Stage. The level of body strengthening he had undergone was not at a level to support the ancient legends.”

The scarred man nodded. “Then all the better. Bao broke through to the Foundation Establishment stage before the age of ten and his cultivation speed only slowed down due to all the battles he has faced. His talent is definitely not any less than the Holy Sons and Daughters of these tribes.”

Bao nodded eagerly at the words and stepped forward. However, he didn’t walk into the circle of elders.

“I agree with Elder Nai,” Bao said, nodding towards the scarred elder. “Although it is true we do not have any enough elders to contend with all of them one on one, we do have my father and the Totemic Sacred Ancients. I can’t believe they could actually match that kind of force.”

The black-robed old lady grumbled at the decision, but didn’t push her argument any further. She’d already been outvoted before Bao spoke. Now that Bao had given his opinion, she already knew what Father Ming would decide.

“The decision,” Father Ming said as he stood, “will be considered between I and the totemic sacred ancients. Either way, prepare the warriors and other elders for action.

“Bao, stay behind.”

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Chapter Four

Bao watched as the elders bowed towards Father Ming and the Totemic Sacred Ancient representatives before leaving the room to begin their preparations. Each of them gave Bao a smile before they left and the young cultivator nodded back in respect. To the side, Father Ming spoke to the group of Neo-Demons at his back.

Eventually, his father concluded the small meeting and Bao watched as the Neo-Demons rushed out of the tent to head towards their respective dragoneers. After being used by the Totemic Sacred Ancients, they would undergo a small growth and every dragoneer considered it a blessing for their Neo-Demon to be used. There were only benefits to such a thing, no losses.

“Bao,” Father Ming called. He patted the seat beside him and nodded to the rough teen. “Come, come here.”

Bao didn’t hesitate and sat beside his father. He slapped his bag of holding and produced a flask of his father’s favourite chilled wine along with some cups. He poured a generous helping into both and gave one to his father who smiled at the thoughtful gesture.

“Good. Thank you son. Now, Bao, what do you think of this situation?”

Bao cocked his head in confusion. “You mean that Holy Son from earlier?”

Father Ming nodded and drank a bit of the wine. “He wasn’t the only odd Holy Son or Daughter to appear. The Flaming Snail Tribe, Earth Seeking Tribe, and Blood Eagle Tribe all began to attack around half a century ago. Each of them had a remarkable Genius at the Core Formation stage and was given the Holy Child title.”

“That’s not strange,” Bao said.

“It’s not,” agreed Father Ming. “However, the most important thing was their age. None of them were younger than 20 years of age. Because of that, they became the hope of their tribe.”

“Again, nothing strange. I’m gonna step into the Core Formation stage before 20 years as well.”

Father Ming nodded. “Yes, but you come from our Great Tribe. With our resources, it is not hard to raise a youth from every peak generation to such a status.”

Something clicked in Bao’s mind. “Then these tribes…”

“Were only small sized tribes like the Earth Serpent Tribe you fought.” Father Ming took another sip and Bao refilled his cup. “It’s unnatural how so many small tribes could get such remarkable youths. If it were a medium sized tribe, no one would worry, but…

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

“Metal Wyrm Tribe, Rain Phoenix Tribe, Violet Wolf Tribe, and Dawn Sky Tribe. Each of these obscure small sized tribes began to cultivate Foundation Establishment Holy Children who were younger than 15 years of age. The Dawn Sky Tribe even had a youth with an odd type of foundation pillar that I couldn’t see through.”

Bao grew nervous. “Then the rest of their cultivations...”

“The Core Formation children all had pure coloured cores. The Foundation Establishment youths all had flawless pillars. And you know what that Holy Son from the Earth Serpent Tribe had.”

A silence descended between the two as Bao considered the news. Father Ming continued to sip at his drink, unworried about what other tribes were doing.

“Could it be karma?” Bao asked. “Did we do something that went against the heavens, causing all of this to happen?”

Father Ming snorted derisively. “The heavens deal with their own matters. If that clan wished, they would just destroy us instead of playing such games.”

“Then what—?”

“It’s most probably another tribe trying to undermine our power. We are one of the largest powers in the Western Desert, a tribe with a Spirit Severing leader. They wouldn’t try and go at us one on one. However, if they could gather many small tribes…”

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The next several years became an unprecedented time of bloodshed for the tribe and the territory around them. As a Great Tribe, they had an official border and an unofficial border. The official border was an acknowledged boundary between the tribe and the smaller and medium sized tribes surrounding it.

If those weak tribes didn’t try to broach it, then the tribe would not touch them. It could be considered a safe area for a weak tribe as the influence of a Great Tribe had a deterrent effect on blatant territorial grabs by others.

Then there was the unofficial border. This border was not acknowledge, nor was it easy for a third party to spot. The border was generally located between the official borders of Great Tribes and served to show the invisible influence the tribe had over the small and medium tribes situated in between.

It was within these unofficial borders than the elders and elites of the tribe began their attacks. The first targets were the previous tribes that they had skirmishes with. After losing their genius Holy children, these tribes had begun to lay low in order to avoid scrutiny by others as well as avoid further antagonizing Bao and his side. Unfortunately, the memory of their attacks were still fresh and they had no choice but to fend off the raging attacks of a powerful Great Tribe when they decided to act.

The attacks were swift and decisive. Dragoneers sent out their Neo-Demons without restraint and the combined attacks of the powerful monsters alongside those of Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, and Nascent Soul experts easily ripped through the weak defenses of the tribes.

To avoid fighting an extensive war, the Great Tribe had proclaimed this their retaliation against the tribes for previous offenses. This halted any intrusion from the numerous other tribes, thus allowing Bao and the others to quickly wipe out their enemies. Anyone who surrendered was assimilated into the tribe’s external force. Any who struggled were killed, their bodies left to rot in the desert sun.

It was a short but efficient war that lasted only a few months. Those few months were periods of relaxed tension for the other tribes as the focus of the Great Tribe was only on those unfortunate ones. This was only a false pretense however. After the fighting was over, the Great Tribe turned its eyes on others.

The strategy used to avoid a large fight with numerous tribes had to be in constant change. One of the strategies was for the tribe to declare war with another Great Tribe to the south. The tribe slaughtered their way to the unofficial border between the two Great Tribes and then apologized and retreated. It was a shameless maneuver, but the end result was a stretch of land devoid of small or medium sized tribes.

Another strategy was to falsely proclaim an alliance had been created among a few of the small tribes. Ignoring their claims of innocence, the Great Tribe swept through them like a storm that left nothing for even the scavengers to take.

In another area, they accused a tribe of hoarding a heavenly treasure. Another place were falsely claimed to be areas of vast bad karma. Blackmail, false evidence, false murder, unproven claims of alliance. The tribe used a vast number of shameless evidence to back up their reason to eliminate their targets.

Before the outlying tribes could understand their goal, the Great Tribe had already destroyed four-fifths of the tribes surrounding them. By then, several long years had passed.

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Father Ming stood high above the clouds. His cultivation base was compressed and hidden, his divine sense spread out to encompass the entirety of his tribe’s territory and a stretch beyond that. Everything came under his gaze.

Another powerful divine sense rippled into existence and caught his attention.

“Little Ming-er is being a bit petulant these days…”

The soft, youthful whisper sent a chill running down Father Ming’s back. He looked up to find a blazing red star speeding towards his location from afar. An instant later, a youth in red robes appeared in front of him. His aura was also restrained, an amiable smile on his face as he turned to watch below.

“What do you want, boy?” the old man asked, his voice trailing with a tinge of disgust. Father Ming didn’t bother to respectfully greet the red robed youth. Only when there were others was it necessary to go through the motions. Otherwise, a meeting between two revealed what the parties truly thought of each other.

“Don’t be like that. We could be considered old acquaintances if not friends. The two of us also don’t have that large a gap in strength. Even if you continue to try, unless you actually break through to the next stage…”

The old man snorted again before turning to shift his attention to below.

Below the two powerful experts was a large mass of flying cultivators. Foundation stage cultivators stood in orderly groups, each of them behind a Core Formation leader. Their numbers were immense, far greater than what a Great Tribe could bring out.

Indeed, this was a combined group of cultivators from different tribes. The only way to differentiate the tribes was by the dragoneers and their totems. Since the battle hadn’t started yet, the totems were kept in a dormant state while the dragoneers stood out for their low cultivation bases and prideful arrogance.

Ranging from Qi Condensation to the early stage of Core Formation, the various dragoneers stood together in groups in front of the milling cultivators, thus dividing the mass into separate tribes.

At the forefront of this army was a small group of aged or violent looking elders. Their cultivation bases were incredible as fluctuations of power from the early Nascent Soul to the beginnings of the late Nascent Soul could be felt emanating from the entire group.

Opposite this group was Bao and the elders of the tribe. Their own Nascent Soul cultivations pulsed out at random, hiding Bao’s own Core Formation base. After several years of intense fighting, Bao had slowly forged his cultivation base through war. His crimson Core, while only at the early stage, withstood the power of the Nascent Soul elders with ease.

Behind his small group stood the tribe. The power a Great Tribe wielded was not something any small or mid-sized tribe could comprehend. Core Formation and Foundation stage cultivators flew through the air in vast droves.

The number of Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators was relatively equal to that of the opposing side, they were maybe even outnumbered. These cultivators emanated a fierce aura however, that could not be compared to their opposites.

It were the Core Formation experts that truly displayed the power difference of the Great Tribe. While the Foundation stage cultivators were numerous, the end result was that they were viewed as fodder in such a large battle.

The number of Core Formation experts in Father Ming’s great tribe completely dwarfed those of their opponents. While Core stage experts were known as elders or high ranking members of a small to mid-sized tribes, only in a Great Tribe were they just generally powerful fighters. This was easily displayed when the Great Tribe took to the field.

Groups of Foundation experts were still led by Core Formation stage leaders. However, there were also distinct groups of cultivators completely made of those in the Core Formation stage. The range of power in Great Tribes required that the grade of their core would represent their position in the main forces.

Another aspect of these Core Formation groups were their ability to use Core Qi. This abstract measure of power made the entirety of the Core Formation troop confusing and complex.

Father Ming looked down at his Great Tribe in pride. It was a slightly euphoric feeling for someone to see the entirety of their efforts compared to the efforts of others.

The red-robed child beside him whistled appreciatively at the mass of cultivators below him. “Ming-er isn’t holding anything back in this battle,” he contemplated. Raising his mischievous eyes, he smiled and asked, “Why is little Ming-er fighting? This does nothing to benefit your cultivation, right? You aren’t harnessing the Dao of bloodshed, so this is…”

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Chapter Five

The old cultivator snorted as reply to the red-robed boy’s question and continued to survey the impending battle below. Not minding being ignored, the red-robed boy shrugged at the response and took out a small flask. He took a sip every once in awhile, his childish smirk still pasted on his face as he took in the interesting show.

Down below, the two sides had long ago completed their preparations.

To the cheers of the Great Tribe, Bao stepped forward from the group of Nascent Soul elders and headed out alone. He rotated his early Crimson Core cultivation base and brandished a Core Formation silver-engraved spear. Bao twirled the spear with finesse and then grasped the spear in a ferocious pose, tip pointed towards the enemies.

On the other side, a mid Core stage expert flew out of the crowd to meet Bao’s provocation. He only flew a few meters before Bao threw his spear at the expert’s heavy-set body.

The core stage expert sneered derisively and raised his large axe to repel the attack. His smirk disappeared and face paled as he felt the power emanating from the spear. Then the spear and his axe met, the sound of the collision sweeping out in a thundering roar.

His axe only lasted a few breathes of time against the spear before shattering into pieces. The spear, its power pulsing forth in a steady stream, sped past the broken shards and embedded itself into the man’s left eye.

Before the eyes of everyone, the heavy-set man’s body crumpled like a broken doll and fell to the ground. The spear that was lodged in his eye pulled itself free from the cooling body and sped towards Bao. Clutching the bloodied spear, Bao once again pointed it at the army opposite him. The sharp edge of the spear sent a chill to the ones with a weak cultivation base.

No one took up Bao’s challenge which caused the young man to frown in disatisfaction. His cultivation base wasn’t the best, but his youth, coupled with the extraordinary treasures on his body, made it undesirable for anyone to fight him. It was better to drown him in a sea of fighters than duel him with an uncertain degree of success.

“What a strong kid,” the red-robed boy said. He squinted his eyes as a look of concentration creased his brow. “He kinda looks like you little Meng-er. Is he…?”

“He’s my son!” the old man said, an expression of pride on his face.

The red-robed boy nodded, a sad look on his face. “How unfortunate. The worst thing in the world is to be your child…”

Father Ming snorted in derision, his attention back at the ground.

Bao flew back to his own side, disappointment oozing from his slow pace. He didn’t head back to the group of Nascent Soul elders, instead going past them and towards his tribe’s army. The various cultivators cheered as he returned, their cries lightening Bao’s mood.

When Bao reached his tribe and turned back to face his opponents, a calm descended upon the field. It was a picturesque scene to watch for both Father Ming and the red-robed boy. The two of them calmly surveyed the land before them as the two masses began to charge at one another.

The Nascent Soul elders on both sides did not move from their positions on the field. It was too early in the battle for their prestigious selves to be involved, so only the Core Formation and lower ranks charged at one another. The distance decreased and a few breaths later, the first attack was sent out.

Bao threw his silver spear at a charging Core Formation expert who hurriedly tried to dodge the throw. He had witnessed the strength behind the spear and didn’t have any confidence in taking on Bao’s attack. The spear sped at the man and swished past, missing the man by a hair.

A scream behind the Core stage cultivator made him look back in horror as the dodged spear pierced through several Foundation stage experts before its power was finally defused. Sweat beaded the man’s head as he witnessed this, his hands shaking at the thought of facing that force. Then his face paled as he turned around.

While he had been distracted, another spear, white this time, soared through the air and at the Core Formation expert. He didn’t have any time to dodge it and the spear punched right through his chest. His chest caved in from the blow which sent a shockwave of power that crippled his cultivation base and took his life.

Across the battlefield, Bao had thrown several silvery spears emanating shocking ripples of power that had thrown the Core Formation leaders into confusion as they tried to dodge or block the blows. A second wave of white spears followed, cutting off their hopes of avoiding death or injuries.

Bao had sent 10 spears of shocking quality, top magical treasures of the Core Formation stage that had an innate power level in the Nascent Soul stage. The ripples of power that emanated from these spears sent the armies of the many tribes into a frightened retreat. When Bao sent out the second wave of spears, he used white spears that were noticeably weaker. However, these spears still gave off ripples of cultivation base in the Core Formation stage.

This time, Bao sent out wave after wave of white spears. 50 spears, 75 spears. The number of spears that passed through Bao’s hands caused even the red-robed boy to gape in astonishment. When ran out, red spears of Foundation stage strength began to stream from his hands.

“Ming-er, aren’t you spoiling him a bit too much?” the red-robed boy asked. He began to count off his fingers as he calculated the spirit stones needed to buy all those spears.

Father Ming shrugged at the comment. “He uses them actively, so I don’t mind. In fact…”

Slapping his bag of holding, Father Ming grasped at the set of spears that appeared and smiled down below. Before the red-robed boy’s wide eyes, he waved his hand and sent the set of spears down towards Bao’s position.

The silver spears appeared like a dazzling display of falling stars. No one noticed their presence until they were virtually on top of their heads, the silver spears shocking the various cultivators. As they saw the spears head gracefully towards Bao, the Great Tribe began to smirk while their opponents began to sweat with fear.

Bao felt the odd mood and turned to find those silver spears approaching. He grinned as he plucked the spears from the air and bound them.

With spears in hand, Bao slapped his bag of holding and a mass of white and red spears burst out in a storm of metal and power. The white spears were Foundation stage spears with a power rivaling Core stage while the red spears were Qi Condensation treasures rivaling the Foundation Establishment items. Every one of these were a desirable treasures within the Western Desert and now appeared as part of a dense hoard of weapons.

Power emanated from this hoard of spears and sent the minds of the enemies reeling with unease. There were hundreds, maybe thousands of those spears, each and every one of them a life-taking weapon in the hands of Bao.

Bao had taken first kill with his first throw of the silver spears, and now continued to rain down attacks on the enemy forces. For the most part, the enemies were helpless before his power, their weapons several grades below his spears. With a cry of delight, Bao faced his own Great Tribe and yelled, “Come on! If none of you move, I’ll be the one who killed their entire army!”

The Great Tribe erupted in power as magical techniques and treasures raced out to claim the lives of their foes. This abrupt show of force hit the many tribes hard, sending them rocking back as screams of death and pain filled the air.

Hours passed as the fighting grew more and more heated. Bao led his forces forward, causing the enemy tribes to back up in a constant retreat. They line of conflict had long since moved several kilometres back, allowing Bao to recollect his used spears. He now used the white and red spears constantly, his attacks smoothly entering the enemy ranks and hindering them to support his Great Tribe members or killing them himself. His silver spears stayed by his side, all twenty of them quietly floating around him, giving him a deadly presence.

While the alliance of tribes were in constant retreat, the Great Tribe heavily pressed their advantage. Soon, the line of conflict moved back to the point where it reached the area of the tribe’s Nascent Soul leaders.

The progress of the battle disappointed the Nascent Soul leaders. It was a continuous string of losses and their tribe had never once taken the advantage back from the enemy. None of them had thought they would be so disadvantaged, and it seemed that they had underestimated the power of a Great Tribe. However, the true battle was not fought by Foundation or Core stage experts…

A howling interrupted the flow of the battle and the wind began to pick up, startling the fighters. Everyone lifted their eyes to find the Nascent Soul leaders of the tribal alliance almost glowing with power. The presence of so many Nascent Soul experts showing off their power made the fighters feel suffocated beneath such an aura. Only Bao remained motionless, his entire life having been surrounded by such powerful beings.

The Great Tribe’s Nascent Soul elders reacted quickly to the provocation. Their ripples of power were not any less powerful than their opponent. In fact, they were even stronger to an extent as two of their numbers had cultivation bases at the Great Circle of the Nascent Soul.

The two groups rushed at each other in a soul stirring display of power. However, the Great Tribe Nascent Soul elders were too far so it took time for them to arrive. In that time, the enemy Nascent Soul leaders had plunged themselves into the Great Tribe’s regular fighters and weaved a bloody trail through the flying cultivators.

As if to make up for the advantage Bao had created, the Nascent Soul leaders freely wielded their magical techniques and treasures and easily killed any who stood in their way. There was too much of a disparity between the power of a Nascent Soul and a Core Formation fighter, nevermind the weaker Foundation Establishment stage. It was a one-sided slaughter one couldn’t find elsewhere.

One of the Nascent Soul leaders spied Bao’s awe-inspiring figure and dashed forward, his eyes red with anger at the treasures flying around this lowly Core Formation child. Just a single silver spear could have made a Nascent Soul cultivator envious, never mind the twenty hovering around Bao.

Bao saw the approaching Nascent Soul leader and his face twisted into a grimace. He didn’t hesitate to rotate his cultivation base and activate the powers of his totems in an attempt to retreat. Backing away, he sent a hundred or so white and red spears at the approaching leader.

The Nascent Soul leader snorted and waved an arm, causing the totem on it to squirm with life. An illusion of a giant yellow serpent appeared and wrapped itself around the man’s outstretched arm. With a cry, the man rotated his early, two coloured Nascent soul and sent it through the illusionary snake. He didn’t have the talent or time to cultivate a divine technique, but this was enough to deal with even a peak Core Formation cultivator, nevermind Bao’s early Core.

With a thunderous hiss, the illusory snake bounded forward and collided with the wall of spears, tossing them to the side. The Nascent Soul leader grimaced when he saw the lack of damage to the spears, obviously surprised that Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment weapons could last through his attack.

The snake continued on, its power only slightly dissipated from breaking through the spear wall.

Bao gave a loud cry and thrust out an empty hand. Half of the silver spears around him, ten Core Formation weapons with the power of the Nascent Soul, sped off at his command. The silver streaks of light gave off a profound power that didn’t lose out to the illusory yellow snake. In actuality, the power from the spears seemed to overwhelm this attack from a Nascent Soul leader.

The ten spears flew off in a tight bundle and collided with the yellow snake. A painful shriek sounded from the snake, it’s body fading under the attack of the spears. The yell caught the attention of the entire battlefield as everyone watched with stupefaction as Bao’s spear destroyed the Nascent Soul leader’s totem manifestation.

Bao’s spears, undamaged in the attack, tore through the air after destroying the yellow snake image. The Nascent Soul leader’s face twisted with rage at the embarrassment and he waved a hand to ward off the spears. He quickly rotate his cultivation base once more and stormed off in Bao’s direction.

This time, Bao didn’t throw any spears. Instead, he plucked one of the silver spears and held it in a spear pose, the sharp head pointed at the Nascent Soul leader.

With a loud shout, Bao rotated his crimson Core and concentrated on the spear in his hands. An image of a brilliant spear appeared behind Bao, its aura terrifying enough to actually startle the Nascent Soul leader. The brilliant spear was deep red, it’s long shaft and spearhead radiating nothing by violence and destruction.

It was Bao’s Spear Core Qi! Developed while he was still in the early crimson Core stage, it didn’t lose out in power to a Core Qi created by a violet Core cultivator. In fact, it seemed more deadly due to Bao’s familiarity with the spear and the battlefield.

Bao gave another cry and clenched the silver spear in his hands until purple veins pulsed around his body. His face grew red with exertion and a loud boom echoed within his body, causing him to spray out several mouthfuls of blood.

At the same time, the crimson spear quivered. Then it began to tremble, a loud roar filling the air. Bao roared as he pushed his crimson Core to limit and his spear Core Qi roared back. It then moved in the air, it’s gleaming body floating to the front of Bao and settling itself into his hands.

As everyone watched, Bao’s crimson Spear Core Qi merged with the silver spear in his hands. The spear already emitted a shocking power rivaling the Nascent Soul stage, but now it was further enhanced through Bao’s Core Qi. It’s deadly aura multiplied and the shocking waves of power rolling around Bao sent shivers to even those of the mid Nascent Soul stage.

All of this had only taken a few breaths of time to complete, yet the sight of it sent feelings of amazement through the entire battlefield. Bao now seemed like a war god, blood still dripping from his lips as he held his crimson-white spear aloft.

Before anyone recovered their wits, Bao moved forward with his spear. He flew out, his speed reaching that of the Nascent Soul stage. Thrusting out, he stabbed the spear towards the Nascent Soul leader that had chased him.

BOOM

The Nascent Soul leader had raised his arms to defend, only to find his actions useless. Even with his cultivation base and totems, he stood no chance against Bao’s attack which ripped through his arms and pierced his body. A rumbling emitted from the spear outward, traveling through the old man’s body, shredding it apart.

He didn’t even have a chance to cry out before the shocking power of the spear destroyed his body. To the shocked eyes of everyone, Bao stood there with his spear out, the Nascent Soul leader destroyed.

The Great Tribe elders arrived at this time and the scarred man and black robed old lady quickly appeared at Bao’s side to catch his exhausted body. Their eyes gleamed with a bit of awe as they held him. He was only at the early crimson Core Formation stage yet had killed an early Nascent Soul expert!

With a nod, the scarred man let the black robed old lady take away Bao as he rotated his Great Circle of Nascent Soul cultivation base and sped off to face some of the approaching enemy leaders. Several Foundation and Core stage warriors brought back Bao’s used spears, awe and worship filling their eyes. The black robed old lady took Bao away, leaving the battlefield to the able hands of the other elders. Bao was sent to the back of the army to rest and recover, his wounds too dangerous to be left till the end of the battle..

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Chapter Six

“Really spoiled,” the red-robed boy said, sniffing at the scene. “High quality Core Qi, Nascent Soul equivalent treasures, and high enough comprehension to merge the two. If he couldn’t kill an early Nascent Soul with that, I’d be disappointed.”

“Don’t be so jealous,” Father Ming said. His eyes danced with joy at his son’s accomplishment. “I know for a fact you don’t have such a child in your Great Cloud Sky Tribe.”

“Whether I have or don’t have such a child isn’t the point,” the boy said dismissively. “You put so much effort into each child and for what? His fate isn’t something anyone would envy…”

“Quiet!” Father Ming hissed, his eyes red with anger and sadness. The boy glanced at Father Ming’s reaction from the corner of his eyes and sneered with derision, then turned back to the ground.

At that moment, a powerful Divine Sense swept across the entire area and, after noticing Father Ming and the red robed boy, disappeared as quickly as it arrived. However, the two of them already noticed the search and looked up to face one direction. Father Ming glared his expression growing dark.

“Expecting someone?” the boy asked. He took out a bag of some snacks this time, obviously enjoying the added entertainment.

“Only half expecting. I didn’t think he’d actually come.”

Father Ming took a step and disappeared from the area. He reappeared down in the battlefield, his presence shocking all the fighters into stillness.

Across from him, the empty sky broke to reveal a grey robed figure approaching at a speed only possible from one type of cultivation base. The aura emanating from this figure caused the entire battlefield to run away in a panic.

An open space suddenly split to allow the two powerful beings. For the tribal alliance, they watched the new grey robed being with both apprehension and hope. By now, several of their Nascent Soul leaders had perished, the equivalent of destruction for some small sized tribes. Core Formation Experts could be counted on one hand and Foundation stage warriors were either injured or exhausted.

On the other side, the Great Tribe was still at the height of power. Other than the short slaughter fest the Nascent Soul leaders had participated in, the losses of the Great Tribe had been negligible. Some of the Foundation stage warriors even sat cross legged, the inspiration from battle benefiting their cultivation.

The least wounded among their numbers were the Core stage experts. Since their numbers eclipsed that of the enemy, it was easy for them to gang up to take down a core stage expert one at a time. Adding Bao’s monstrous killing spree early on, and the Great Tribe had little to worry about in the Core stage.

Father Ming looked at the man opposite himself, his expression dark and oppressive. His opponent wore a grey and unadorned robe with not even a bag of holding on his body. His features were entirely ordinary. If he suppressed his cultivation and walked into a crowd, no one would even remember him.

The ordinary looking man sighed as he saw Father Ming, his features sinking into a depressed look. “Was this a trap for me?”

Father Ming shook his head, his grey hair flying back and forth. “It was brought up that the mastermind may make an appearance, but nothing was assured.”

The motions of these two figures created visible ripples of power. Usually they would suppress their cultivation bases in order to freely walk among others. However, when they actively showed off their power like so, it created devastating effects.

People with cultivations at the weaker end of the Foundation stage were the most affected by these two figures. Their faces turned red and their breath ragged as they struggled to control their cultivation bases.

Seeing this, the Nascent Soul elders and leaders quickly gave the order to retreat. Staying and watching was only for the foolhardy. Just a casual movement by these two men already caused damage. If they were to fight, it would crippled anyone who watched.

The two figures above didn’t even register the movements of the other cultivators. To their eyes, the individual lives below weren’t something they should worry about.

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Bao awoke with a start, his body aching all over. While there were no visible wounds on his body, his cultivation base was on the verge of breaking down, his crimson Core covered with cracks. As he lifted his hands, Bao was shocked to see them darkened with burns. He tried moving his fingers, but they only twitched in response.

To the side, the black robed old lady watched him with concern. She slapped her bag of holding and produced several healing pill bottles. Taking out a few of those pills, she slipped them into Bao’s quivering jaw.

As the magic from the pills worked their way into his body, Bao’s body trembled as he tried to voice questions. “F-fa-fath…”

The old lady nodded at his question and gestured to the distance. By now, the entire Great Tribe had fully retreated. Only the occasional cracks and booms of battle could be heard, the ripples of power and destruction sweeping out to reach their distant group.

“He’s fighting an unknown cultivator. I’ve never seen the person before but he’s at least at the strength of your father.”

Bao gaped at the news, his injuries healing at a visible pace. When it slowed, Bao slapped his own bag of holding and took out his own set of pills. These were far more powerful than the black robed old lady’s which made her look a bit envious.

Swallowing a few, Bao felt his injuries heal rapidly. He focused the medicinal effects on his cultivation base and watched as the cracks began to recede from his crimson Core. His spiritual energy, which had been leaking through the cracks of his crimson Core, now began to build up and recover within his body. To Bao’s surprise, his Core actually seemed on the verge of breaking through to the next stage, the life and death situation causing his cultivation base to experience qualitative growth.

Bao didn’t try and break through however. Instead, he stood up from his seat, his wounds healed and cultivation base calm.

At his side, a large stack of red and white spears stood ready to be taken back by Bao. Under it all was a smaller pile of silver spears, the ten that were used up to destroy that Nascent Soul leader’s totemic manifestation.

Placing the spears back into his bag of holding, Bao kept one of the silver spears in his hands and approached the tent entrance.

“Hold, Bao!” the old lady cried out. She reached out a bony hand to grasp Bao’s shoulder in a solid grip. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“Father is still fighting,” Bao said simply. He struggled to get out of her grip, but the strength difference made it difficult. The old lady’s Great Circle of Nascent Soul wasn’t just for show. If she didn’t want to release him, he wouldn’t be released.

“And what can you do to help him? You’ll only hinder him in his fight.”

The words weren’t false, but Bao wasn’t willing to follow them. “Release me!” he shouted, anger tinging his voice. Eyes red, he turned to face the old lady. “Do it or so help me…”

“What?” she asked easily. She could stand there all day and not mind. “I’m under obligation to—”

A boom echoed from the distance and a deafening hiss sounded out loud. Bao trembled at the sound, his entire being quivering with worry.

“ELDER ZHOU!” Bao yelled, his voice causing the old lady to gasp in shock. “Elder Zhou, I order you to let go of me!”

The black robed elder had a shocked expression as she stumbled over Bao’s words, but her hand did loosen its grip. Bao shrugged off the bony digits and flew off into the direction of intense battle, leaving behind a stunned old woman.

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Roaring crashes echoed out in all directions. The ground was littered with enormous holes, the aftermath of devastating blows that could tear apart mountains and split seas. Vegetation, already rare in the desert, became little more than memories as ripples of power swept over them. The sky darkened and rumbled, as if to signal the end of the world.

Father Ming stood panting on the side, wounds showing through small splits in his robes. Blood flowed freely down his body and at the corner of his mouth, internal injuries causing his breath to come in painful bursts. In his hand was a bloody violet snake bone whip, it’s gleaming body squirming as if alive. The blood that trailed down Father Ming’s arm was slowly absorbed by the whip which seemed to pulse with power.

Opposite the wounded old cultivator was the ordinary looking man. His body was still clean and fresh, his robes untouched. However, his arms and sleeves were shredded, as if a wild animal had gnawed on them for days. The skin that showed through the bits of sleeves and blood was oddly golden with silver spirals twirling around them.

Of the two, Father Ming was obviously the worst off. His internal injuries caused a constant stream of blood to flow from his mouth. Worst yet, the whip he held seemed to feed off his life force, its power growing due to the high cost.

“—ther! Father!”

A soft cry penetrated the horrible battlefield, and the two men turned to see a figure approaching from the distance. Father Ming’s eyes widened as he took in the spear holding young man.

“Bao!” he cried, his voice cracking with pain. “Stay back!”

The youth didn’t seem to hear his father’s shout as he continued to fly closer. A vast amount of spears began to pour from his bag of holding the array of silver, white, and red creating a dazzling display. Unfortunately, before the power of these two men, it was pitifully weak.

Father Ming gritted his teeth and took a step towards Bao’s direction. The ordinary man seemed to sense Bao’s importance to Father Ming and also took a step. With a roar, Father Ming pulled back his whip and then swung it hard at the ordinary looking man. The whip snapped forward, its violet body releasing the excess blood on it as it hurtled itself towards its target.

Golden arms were raised to meet the snake bone whip and a thunderous crash surged through the air. The shockwave even reached Bao who began to topple backwards from the power, his pitiful Core unable to hold up.

Father Ming stood in front of Bao, shielding the boy from most of the damage. His back split from his movements and protection, blood gushing out like a fountain.

“Bao-er! Why are you here?”

Bao looked up at his father’s ashen face and paled at the mangled figure before his eyes. He had never seen his father in such dire straits before. Even as he looked however, his eyes grew red with anger and vengeance.

“Father! Let me fight with you!”

“Foolish! This isn’t something you can butt into. Your cultivation base will be destroyed at the wave of a hand.”

Bao gritted his teeth. “I can at least distract him! Let me fight and we can take him on.”

“Bao—”

“Father! I’m willing to risk my life to help you.”

Father Ming looked down at his son’s stubborn eyes and slowly nodded. He glided to the side and stood with Bao, the two of them facing the ordinary looking man.

The golden armed man smiled at the duo. “How loving!” he exclaimed, his ordinary features twisting into a smirk. “A father and son combo! It’s unfortunate you both are so weak.”

With his body almost undamaged except for his arms, the man was comparatively better off the Father Ming and far stronger than the healed Bao.

Bao waved his silver spear and thrust it at the ordinary man, point first. “Shut up!” he growled, expression dark. “Take my spear and then talk!”

The crimson spear Core Qi reappeared at Bao’s back. Crimson and simple, the Core Qi’s illusory form was far more solid and compact, it’s aura stronger than before. Continuous use meant familiarity and Bao could only grow more proficient with it.

“Father! I’ll hit him with my spear, then you can—”

A cold hand whipped out from the side and gripped Bao’s neck, cutting off his words and air. The Core Qi spear dissipated immediately, the aftermaths of losing control rebounding through Bao’s body, wreaking havoc to his organs. Even as his body trembled violently from the shocks, his body didn’t even shift from the cold grip.

The ordinary looking man and Bao glanced at the hand in surprise, then turned their eyes to look at the source. Father Ming stood stoic, his posture erect as he tightened his grip on his son’s neck. He dragged Bao so the youth was in front of him and raised another hand to join the first.

As both hands squeezed down, Father Ming locked eyes with his son. Tears flowed out uncontrollably as he choked his own child. He ignored the boy’s flailing attempts to free himself, the difference in cultivation being a key factor in this struggle.

With Father Ming’s cultivation base, it would only take a wave of the hand to extinguish his son’s life. However, he didn’t take the easy way out. Instead, he slowly tightened his grip and continued to stare his son in eye. With a thought, he suppressed the boy’s cultivation base, stopping any attempt at a quick death.

Countless memories surfaced as Father Ming stared into his son’s growing red face. His birth, the time he received his first totem, the time when his son first received his spear weapons, the time his son returned home to talk about his first hunt, the time his son took part in his first battle and made a name for himself as a brave warrior.

All of these memories crossed through Father Ming’s mind as he stared at his son’s questioning eyes. Why, they said.

Father Ming didn’t answer. He only squeezed tighter until the body in his hands grew cold and limp.

A great cry roared from Father Ming’s throat when Bao died. Grief, shock, anger, self-hatred laced the cry, even as love made his heart pound. As a coldness began to sweep through his body, Father Ming began rotating his cultivation base.

Father Ming sat in the air, his son on his lap as he held onto the cold body and cried. Even as the tears streamed down, his voice echoed out hauntingly.

“The greatest emotion one could feel is that of love! But I had no parents to direct this at, nor did any of my partners satisfy the strict conditions. Only my sons! MY SONS!”

A massive amount of spiritual energy began to coalesce in the area as a transparent blade appeared in the air. It hung above Father Ming and Bao, it’s edge pointed between the father and son. The ordinary looking man gasped at the sight, his eyes wide as he saw what Father Ming had done.

“My path is one of heartlessness. I raised 4 sons, each of them filled with my love. I promised the heavens 9 sons total, to kill with my own hands and experience every aspect of Parenthood and the love and loss associated with it.”

The blade grew more distinct as memories from deep within Father Ming manifested themselves in front of him. His wrinkled face seemed to age for every word he said. He glanced down at his hands, still warm from the effort he used to squeeze his son’s life away.

“MY FOURTH SON! Bao, the treasure of my heart. I placed my love and affection into him. I watched him grow, cared with him as he went through his short life. He was a warrior, a fighter. The greatest and most talented of my sons. The most accomplished!”

More and more memories manifested themselves. Father Ming was soon surrounded with depictions of Bao and himself as their years together passed. It was a collage of images, the full extent of Father Ming’s feelings and memories.”

“No one was allowed to kill him. I protected him with every waking moment. Only I could kill him. Only I could determine the end of his life!”

Father Ming glared at the ordinary looking man opposite him. “This is your fault!” he cried, anger causing the memories to tinge red. “You pushed me into killing my son. If you weren’t here, I wouldn’t worry about him surviving. My hatred for you stems from my love of Bao!”

The ordinary man reeled from the power of Father Ming’s cries. He flew back and tried to run away. A violet snake bone whip snapped out however, catching the man’s leg.

“THIS IS MY SEVERING! I built up these emotions in order to sever them. Sever these emotions, sever everything!

“Sever!

“SEVER!”

The blade swung down at Father Ming and sliced clean through the visible memories. Bao took the blade full on, his body disintegrating from its touch. As the blade fell, Father Ming roared.

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The red robed boy looked down, his snacks and drinks emptied. Brushing his hands clean, he muttered quietly at the poor Father Ming— no. He muttered to the poor Patriarch Huyan Yunming. “The path of immortality is long and filled with twists and turns. The Spirit Severing stage is a requirement for every immortal. To sever their ties with an aspect of their past, present, and future. Little Ming-er, you have made your choice and I have made mine. We have to either live with it and continue down our path, or stop and whither away.”