Armed with only a drinking gourd for his day’s supply of water and a simple barrier talisman, He Yu set out from the relative safety of Shulin town. It was several days past the height of summer, and hot even under the canopy.

He left early in the morning. Only barely awakened into the First Realm of cultivation, the forest was a risky place to be. But staying in the forest after dark would be even worse, and he wanted to have plenty of time.

He was searching for sixty-year ginseng. He’d learned of the medicinal root from a passing merchant. Venturing outside the formation stones that marked the boundary between the human world and the world of spirits was dangerous and ill-advised. But he was out of options, and sixty-year ginseng didn’t grow close to human settlements. So into the forest he went.

Perhaps if Shulin’s resident cultivation expert had consented to teach him, he’d have better odds. Then again, if He Yu had gotten a place in Dong Wei’s school, he wouldn’t need the sixty-year ginseng in the first place. When he’d learned of the spirit herb from a passing merchant, He Yu hadn’t hesitated. He handed over his meager savings in exchange for an apothecary’s manual describing the herb, and a protective talisman to help against any low-realm spirits he ran across.

So long as nothing too strong wandered into the area and noticed him, he’d be fine.

With a sheen of sweat glistening on his brow, He Yu spent most of the morning poking through the underbrush, peering around tree trunks, and investigating bamboo thickets. Each failed possibility only increased his determination. So what if he got attacked by an awakened beast? So what if a spirit found him? His life was meaningless anyway—except for one thing.

Cultivation. To cultivate was to defy the heavens. At least that was what Dong Wei always said. It was what everyone in town said, including He Yu’s own father.

To He Yu, cultivation was something else. It was the stuff of legends. His whole life he’d heard stories of legendary heroes, striding on clouds, flying atop sacred treasures, and engaging in battles that shook the foundations of the world. There was nothing he wanted more than to be like the heroes of those stories. To be a hero—a legend.

As he searched through the undergrowth he couldn’t help but let his imagination run wild. The sixty-year ginseng would shore up his cultivation base. If the apothecary manual was correct, simply consuming the root unrefined would allow him to reach the middle stage of Qi Gathering. Surely Dong Wei would have to admit He Yu to his school if he reached the middle stage.

“Too weak. Of body and spirit both.” That’s what Dong Wei had said each time He Yu applied to the school. Each time he’d been turned away.

With every year that passed, he grew harder to train properly. His cultivation base never grew, and it seemed more likely that Dong Wei was right. That He Yu simply didn’t have the talent to be a cultivator.

The sun climbed ever higher, casting a dappled mosaic on the forest floor beneath the canopy. He Yu found nothing, but he continued to search anyway. Even as the doubts that had grown deeper roots in the back of his mind over the years crept to the surface, He Yu searched.

He Yu’s father had been a disciple at the nearby Shrouded Peaks Sect. It was the most prestigious sect in the whole southern region of the Dragon Empire. Disciples were routinely expelled from its ranks if they failed to meet the strict requirements for maintaining membership. Which was why He Yu’s father was a simple blacksmith rather than a legendary immortal.

It would be easy to say that was the reason He Yu was weak. Everyone knew talent was inherited. He Yu’s father had no talent, so why would He Yu have any? Talent or no, He Yu cultivated anyway. The only thing he could say for certain was that he’d never become a legend if he didn’t try.

He’d always been smaller than the other children in Shulin, with a slight build and intensely curious eyes. Something he’d always been bullied for. He was old enough that he wore his hair pulled back into a proper warrior’s bun. Maybe a bit presumptuous of him, but he was on the path of cultivation, regardless of what anyone thought.

Most would describe him as being filled with a sort of constant nervous energy. He wasn’t exactly nervous, but moving simply helped him think. It made it so that he had a hard time sitting still. He also tended to latch on to certain things or ideas, especially if they were new. He simply couldn’t help himself—he was just easily excited, and prone to rambling about things. Especially so if it was something that interested him.

That ability to latch onto something and pursue it relentlessly served him well today. Despite the heat, despite finding nothing, He Yu continued to search. Once or twice he needed to stop. Duck behind a tree or crouch in a thicket in response to an unfamiliar noise. He reached into the pouch at his belt where he’d tucked away the barrier talisman for safekeeping.

This was the land of beasts and spirits, after all. A human of the mere First Realm was little more than a snack for the forest’s stronger inhabitants. Most would call him a fool for venturing out by himself, but as far as he was concerned, this was his best chance at taking the next real step upon his Way.

Sixty-year ginseng itself wasn’t special, at least in the merchant’s eyes. It was common enough in the Dragon Empire. The variety that grew near Shulin wasn’t particularly potent, either. The southern forest was legendary for its remarkable lack of qi. Another mark against He Yu breaking into the middle First Realm.

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But an unremarkable spirit herb in an unremarkable backwater could be as a gourd of water to a man dying of thirst. Especially if that man had an even lower cultivation base than was usual for the already qi-starved southern empire.

Thankfully the varieties of sixty-year ginseng that grew near Shulin wouldn’t need to be refined. They were of a low enough grade that He Yu could consume one raw and not risk a spiritual backlash. It wouldn’t be as effective, but He Yu didn’t have the skill to refine it into a pill, anyway. Dong Wei certainly wouldn’t do it for him. Besides, any boost was better than the nothing he had now.

The day wore on and the sun moved ever further to the west. He Yu was about to head back for the night when he caught sight of the telltale red berries the manual told him to look for in the undergrowth. The heavens had truly smiled upon him. He moved towards his prize but drew up short when a rustling came from the foliage.

A squirrel the size of a house cat emerged from the dense ground cover. Its fur was jet black except for a patch of gold on its chest and neck. It dragged several bundles of the spirit root behind it.

“Shoo!” He Yu shouted. “I need those.” He wasn’t about to let some squirrel get away with his cultivation resources.

The squirrel dropped its bundle of sixty-year ginseng, but it did not flee. Instead, it bared its teeth and chirped in a way that sounded disturbingly threatening. The fur along its back bristled and formed spikes, doubling in length. He Yu barely had time to react before the squirrel scampered towards him.

Of course, it would be a spirit beast. It may have just been a squirrel, and had it not been awakened he could have simply kicked it off into the undergrowth. So that was exactly what he tried.

The squirrel darted to the side as He Yu’s foot sailed past. It flicked its tail in his direction and several of the spikes formed from its fur shot towards him. Clumsy and graceless, He Yu dove out of the way. The spikes thunked into the bark of a nearby tree, sending a shower of splinters into the air.

He Yu’s heart pounded in his chest. He didn’t have the time right now to imagine what those spikes would have done to him, nor was he particularly interested in doing so. Best to let the tree take the brunt of that attack. He reached for the pouch at his side, but another volley of spikes forced him to dive out of the way again.

The awakened squirrel stood over the herbs and chattered at He Yu again. He held up his hands in what he hoped would be taken as a sign that he had no intention to fight. As much as he hated to admit it, he probably wasn’t a match for the squirrel. It was faster than he was and could shoot magical spikes from its fur. It could keep the roots it already had. Surely there were more in the patch he’d seen. Awakened beasts were intelligent enough that it should pick up on the fact that he meant it no harm.

As he backed away, the squirrel made no move to follow, or attack. He Yu let out a heavy, relieved breath. As much as it shamed him to be bested by a squirrel, it was awakened and he’d still get his ginseng. The roots were the only thing that mattered. If he could harvest those and use them to boost his cultivation, he could come back and exact vengeance at his leisure.

He moved roughly in the direction of the patch of herbs, making sure to give the awakened squirrel a wide berth. The squirrel watched him, not wanting to abandon its prize. As He Yu began moving a bit more deliberately towards the patch, confident that his adversary had backed down, it let out a series of increasingly angry chattering and rushed him again.

He Yu cursed as he ducked behind a tree to avoid another shower of spikes. He should have known better. An awakened beast would need some source for its cultivation base. Low-grade beasts like this couldn’t cultivate on their own, so the squirrel must be feeding on the sixty-year ginseng. They were probably the reason it had awakened in the first place. Once awakened, it would be intelligent enough to realize the source of its strength. Now it would guard that source from any intruder.

Reaching into his pouch, He Yu pulled out the paper talisman he’d brought with him. He’d intended to use it to create a temporary barrier while he cultivated once he’d got what he came for. The talisman was expensive and it almost seemed a waste to use it on a squirrel of all things. Expensive or not, he needed that root. If he could just get it, he’d come out ahead.

Stepping out from behind the tree, He Yu pushed a trickle of his qi into the talisman. The slip of paper shone as he held it before him, and a protective barrier bloomed outwards in the direction of the awakened squirrel. The barrier reached the squirrel, and as it expanded it pushed the squirrel away from both him and the ginseng it guarded.

The spirit beast made more angry chattering noises and shot volley after volley of spikes at the barrier, but to no avail. Eventually, the squirrel realized it was pointless and vanished into the undergrowth. As the talisman wilted to dust, taking He Yu’s life savings with it, he let out a heavy sigh.

It was a victory, even if a hollow one. Certainly, it wasn’t how he’d imagined a fight with an awakened beast would go. He’d spent most of the “fight” hiding behind trees and only came out on top because of an expensive magical item he’d purchased. Not much of a start to his own legend, were he honest.

He’d gotten what he came for, and that was all that mattered. The merchant had said the herbs didn’t need to be refined, but beyond that, he had no idea exactly how he was supposed to use them. The awakened squirrel had probably just eaten it.

Figuring that if simply eating the herbs was good enough for an awakened squirrel, it was good enough for him, He Yu bit into it. Unsurprisingly, it tasted like ginseng. He swallowed the first mouthful, and immediately he felt the qi in his dantian crackle to life.

He could barely contain his excitement. He wanted to rush home and tell his father and Master Dong Wei. But he reined himself in. That would be wasteful. Right now, he needed to cultivate more than anything. Make use of this boost while he could. After scratching a few hasty formation characters into the bark of nearby trees for protection, he sat down near the patch of herbs and began to cultivate.

Hopefully, nothing would disturb him. He cycled the sixty-year ginseng. The fresh medicinal qi from the spirit root flowed through his meridian, gathered in his dantian. He breathed according to the rudimentary cultivation technique he’d learned from his father—the only reason he’d managed to awaken himself.

Hopefully this would allow him to reach the middle stage of Qi Gathering. To finally take another step along his Way. To take another step toward forging his legend.

Hopefully it would work.

That hope died when the most powerful spirit he’d ever felt simply popped into existence right in front of him.