Near the edge of the East, where Buzhou Mountain once stood, lived a small tribe called the Bear Tribe. Situated at the boundary between East and West, the land lacked the nutrients to grow the grains popularized by Sovereign Shennong, so the Bear Tribe still relied primarily on hunters for sustenance.
Among the Bear Tribe, there was a young boy. He stood over two meters, but his lanky form had no muscle at all. His name was Youxiong, and he was a recent orphan. His parents had been hunters, but the hunters had become the prey.
Food was scarce, and no one had any to share. Had it not been for the pity of the matriarch of the tribe, he would have long starved. Still, Youxiong would die sooner or later with what little pittance he received from the tribespeople. He didn't want to burden them anymore, so he left the tribe to search for food himself.
If he succeeded, he would live. If he failed, he would no longer be a burden to the tribe.
"Hm?" After an hour of foraging with little to show except a few wild berries, Youxiong noticed a buzzing sound. His eyes widened in delight when he saw a bee. A bee meant that he was possibly near a hive.
The bee possessed a black and yellow pattern unique to honey makers. It was longer than his finger. If he wasn't careful and was stung too many times, death would await him. However, he had nothing to lose and followed the bee.
To Youxiong's delight, the bee led him back to its hive in the mountain, where he saw a robust hive buzzing with activity. Youxiong didn't immediately grab the hive. No, that was stupid.
Instead, Youxiong gathered a bunch of dried branches and leaves and piled them under the hive. Using two stones, he lit a spark on the pile, starting a fire that released a lot of smoke.
It was something he had learned by accident. If you lit a fire beneath a hive and waited for a bit, all the bees inside would become docile. So, Youxiong waited. When the time was right, he pulled down the hive with minimal resistance.
A few bees crawled onto and stung him with their stingers, leaving welts. Compared to what could have been, this was nothing to Youxiong, and his face didn't even twitch.
He used a stone to cut open the hive and searched for the specific combs filled with honey. Upon finding it, he bit into it, bee and all. The sweet, golden liquid and bits of bee flowed down his throat. He greedily devoured it all.
Suddenly, a rustling attracted his attention.
Turning toward the source, Youxiong saw a bear four meters tall walking out of the bushes. It stared at the honeycombs in his hand. He froze, not knowing what to do.
Then, his fight-or-flight response kicked in. Youxiong ran off into the distance, honeycomb still clutched in his hands. The bear roared and chased after him.
Youxiong didn't dare look back, but he could hear the vegetation and obstacles knocked away by the charging bear. He knew that if he stopped, only death awaited him.
He sped through the forest, fueled by adrenaline and the honey he just ate. Trees and shrubs sped past him, scratching his skin in the process. As he tired, Youxiong forced himself to continue on the slim hope that he would survive.
His eyes widened when he saw a light past the sea of trees. He gritted his teeth and pushed forward, even as the bear's roar neared. With a final push, he ran out of the forest, and then his feet touched nothing.
"Ahhhhhh!" Youxiong shouted as he fell into the ravine he had foolishly jumped into.
The bear halted at the edge of the ravine. It inched closer and looked down, hearing Youxiong's scream. When the echoing scream halted, it snorted and left with a whine.
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On the floor of a cave on the side of the ravine, Youxiong lay on the ground full of bruises. By some miracle, the vegetation growing on the sides had slowed his descent and directed him into the cave. They saved him from crashing to the bottom and becoming a puddle of flesh and blood.
Youxiong's eyelids twitched, and he slowly opened his eyes. He hissed as the pain assaulted him, but more than that, the joy of life made him power through the pain.
Studying his condition, Youxiong concluded that none of his bones were broken, though there might be some fractures, not to mention the bruises. He was in no condition for any strenuous activity. After that, he inspected his surroundings.
The first thing Youxiong did was look for the entrance. Aside from a small ledge, there was no pathway for him to climb up or down, essentially trapping him in the cave.
Youxiong's stomach grumbled. Whatever energy he gained from eating the honey was rapidly being used. He sucked what little honey was still attached to his hand despite the dirt and rocks that muddied it. He had lost the honeycomb during the fall.
Before despair could set in, Youxiong walked deeper into the cave. If he couldn't find anything in the cave, he would likely die here, alone in the cave.
The cave was surprisingly deep, yet Youxiong could still make out a passage thanks to the luminescent moss lining the walls. The deeper he walked, the more energetic he felt.
Finally, Youxiong spotted a light at the end. Once bitten, twice shy; he slowly trekked toward the light, careful not to repeat his earlier mistake. Upon nearing, he realized it was an open area, almost room-like, with a few rays of light filtered through the holes in the ceiling.
Youxiong's eyes were immediately drawn to the fruit growing on vines rooted in the wall. Without thinking, he plucked the thumb-sized fruits and devoured them. Moments later, he was stuffed to the brim despite not even eating a handful of the fruits.
He didn't know if it was his imagination or not, but when he looked at his body again, it looked a bit bigger, like he had put on some meat. With a full belly, Youxiong curled next to the wall and fell asleep.
When he awoke, the rays of sunlight had turned to rays of moonlight, coating the room in an ethereal light. It was at this moment that Youxiong noticed the symbols on the far end of the wall. He didn't know what the symbols meant, but each reflected the moonlight in its own way, crafting a beautiful scene.
Youxiong subconsciously drew closer to them. As if in response to his presence, the symbols started to shine brightly. Before he could react, the symbols burned themselves into his mind. Simultaneously, a voice spoke into his ear, "Lucky fellow, this is I, Wutian's Eight Source Ascension, the origin of the Martial Path. Cultivate well and become another general for humanity."
His brain couldn’t process the massive amount of information, and Youxiong fainted.
When he awoke, the world had changed. He saw tiny glowing particles that did not exist before everywhere. Most of them were concentrated in the room, specifically around the symbol. The farther away from the room, the fewer glowing particles there were.
No, the world hadn't changed. Youxiong had changed.
Youxiong walked in front of the symbols, which he now knew were text written in Dao Script and kowtowed. "Youxiong thanks the Martial Ancestor for this great blessing. I won't let you down."
When the text transmitted itself into his mind, he received the Martial Ancestor's inheritance. The Eight Source Ascension was the orthodox method of the Martial Path pioneered by the Martial Ancestor. It contained all his knowledge and had its origin in the Nine Revolution Arcane Art, Supreme Purity Scripture, and Grand Purity Scripture.
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The human body had one hundred and eight thousand acupoints. In the womb, those acupoints were opened with no impurities. But after birth, the acupoints closed, and impurities would flow through the meridians. To cultivate, one had to cleanse themselves of impurities and open the acupoints.
However, acupoints were not the only thing sealed upon birth. The Eight Inner Gates also closed, lessening human potential.
The Eight Source Ascension method created by the Martial Ancestor had two components, the internal and external methods. The Internal Art focused on opening the acupoints and refining essence into inner energy, while the External Art focused on opening the Eight Arcane Gates and unshackling the body.
Ideally, one would train both simultaneously, combining soft and hard for the perfect balance. However, the Internal Art was too esoteric for Youxiong, so he focused on the External Art.
To cultivate the External Art, you must first open the first gate of the Eight Arcane Gates, the Gate of Opening. This was the reason why Youxiong could see those particles of light; they were the essence of heaven and earth.
Like the Immortal Path's seven realms of Later Heaven, the Martial Path also had seven realms. To reach the next realm, one had to open another gate. After opening the first gate, Youxiong entered the Martial Novice Realm.
Since Youxiong only cultivated the External Art, the next gate he had to open was the Gate of Wonder. The Gate of Opening granted him to a wider world and allowed him to sense and absorb the essence of heaven and earth. The Gate of Wonder adapted his body to the essence.
Youxiong could attempt to open the other Eight Arcane Gates, but opening each gate came with a risk. If he had failed to unlock the Gate of Opening, then it was likely his spirit would have collapsed, hampering his ability to think. That's why the Eight Source Ascension emphasized opening the gates in a specific order.
Those that solely cultivated the Internal Art of the Eight Source Ascension could open any gate they wanted at a higher realm. However, it was still recommended to follow the sequence as described in the Eight Source Ascension method.
Youxiong sat down on the stone floor with his legs crossed, mimicking the pose described in the martial method. He tried absorbing the essence, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't pull the particles toward his body at all.
While attempting to absorb the essence around him, Youxiong ate those thumb-shaped fruits to stave off his hunger. He ate one at a time instead of in batches after learning his lesson. It took him over a week before Youxiong learned how to gather essence toward him and another week to absorb it.
Youxiong leaped up in the air like a monkey after filling every inch of his body with the essence of heaven and earth. Unable to contain himself, he punched toward the wall in an attempt to taste his newfound power. However, all he received was a bruised knuckle.
The Martial Novice Realm didn't have a dramatic effect on the human body. Not to mention that Youxiong had yet to adapt to unconsciously absorbing the essence. When he punched the wall, over half the essence vacated his body, and the rest disappeared while he cradled his bruised hand and pride.
His enthusiasm dampened, Youxiong settled his heart and focused wholeheartedly on cultivating the Eight Source Ascension External Art.
A year later, Youxiong successfully opened the Gate of Wonder and entered the Martial Student Realm.
Eight years later, he reached the peak of the Martial Student Realm and opened the Gate of Healing, entering the Martial Practitioner Realm. As the name implied, the Gate of Healing increased his recovery ability and sped up his adaptation to the essence of heaven and earth.
Twenty-nine years later, Youxiong successfully entered the Martial Adept Realm after opening the Gate of Pain. The Gate of Pain shattered every bone and tore every muscle in his body before remaking them stronger. Had it not been for the essence-filled fruits, he would have died, drained of all essence.
By the time the Gate of Pain fully opened, he was laying in a puddle of his own blood, cradling his pain-wracked form. Youxiong had stopped cultivating for an entire month after that.
Youxiong had grown a long mane of unkempt hair in these thirty-eight years. His muscles had filled out, giving him a muscular physique. Had it not been for his height of two and a half meters, he would be built like a barrel, stout but strong.
During this time, Youxiong attempted to escape his prison. He first tried climbing out of the ravine. Ignoring the difficulty of scaling the vertical walls, he did not have the energy to make it up. The next thing he tried was to make his own tunnel by breaking the walls with his fist. That, too, failed.
After calming down, Youxiong resumed cultivation. It took seventy-two years to reach the peak of the Martial Adept Realm. It took another five years for him to open the fifth gate, the Gate of Insight, ascending to the Martial Master Realm.
Upon opening the Gate of Insight, he formed his Sea of Consciousness in his mind. Unlike the Internal Art, Youxiong won't conceive his Nascent Spirit from his Sea of Consciousness. Still, his strengthened spirit allowed him greater control from his blood flow to each individual muscle strand. It was to the point that he could control how many microns his body moved.
As he increased his realm, Youxiong's cultivation of the External Arts slowed. He had been cultivating for over a hundred and fifteen years. To open the Gate of Limit and reach the Martial Grandmaster Realm would likely take him over a hundred years. So, he focused on the Internal Arts he neglected.
Although Youxiong wasn't as talented in the Internal Arts as the External Arts, he still reached the Martial Practitioner Realm of the Internal Arts in less than twenty years.
His Internal Art cultivation was inferior to the cultivation of the External Art, but it boosted the cultivation speed of the latter. If he needed over a hundred years to enter the Martial Grandmaster Realm, now he needed less than a hundred years. Youxiong finally understood why it was ideal to cultivate both the Internal and External Arts simultaneously.
Just as Youxiong was preparing to break through to the Martial Adept Realm of the Internal Arts, the cave started shaking. It wasn't just the cave but the entire mountain he was in. Even with his Martial Master Realm cultivation base, he could barely keep a firm foothold.
Youxiong grabbed the ground as he tried to stabilize himself. To his delight, the ceiling split in half, revealing the sky. To his horror, the ceiling started crumbling. Not only did the shattered rocks and dirt bury him, but the sheer mass of all of it atop him placed tremendous pressure on him. The bones in his body, strengthened through years of cultivation, creaked under the pressure.
He didn't know how long it took, but Youxiong eventually dug himself out of the rubble. Blood leaked from his mouth due to his internal injuries. The pressure had wounded him several times. Had he not possessed an excellent recovery ability after opening the Gate of Healing, which was bolstered by the Gate of Wonder he opened before, he would have been squashed to death.
When Youxiong turned around and gazed at the sky, his eyes widened. A gigantic scar spanning from the West blotted the sky. On the other side, it was an incomprehensible scene of indescribable madness.
Youxiong immediately thought of the Bear Tribe he had not visited over a hundred thirty years ago. Although he likely outlived almost all of the people he knew, they were still his tribe. He had to make sure of their safety.
Before leaving, Youxiong kneeled and kowtowed nine times to the rubble where the text for the Martial Ancestor's Eight Source Ascension was once inscribed upon. "Ancestor, thank you for your care all these years. Youxiong will leave now."
He turned and ran toward the direction of the Bear Tribe in his memories. Each step covered tens of meters, and each jump brought him above the trees.
Along the way, Youxiong noticed other animals running in panic in all directions. Some of them even crashed into one another. The unlucky ones died under the stampede.
Suddenly, a bear eight meters tall caught his attention. Although it was far from the four-meter-tall bear that forced him into the ravine, Youxiong instinctively recognized it. Strictly speaking, had it not been for the bear, he would not have stumbled upon the Eight Source Ascension legacy left behind by the Martial Ancestor.
Still, that did not dampen the hatred in Youxiong's heart. With a wrathful roar that shook all the surrounding animals to their core, he leaped toward the bear. The bear whined and backstepped, attempting to flee. But it was far too slow.
Youxiong appeared behind the bear and wrapped his burly arms around its waist. With another roar, he arched his back, lifted the bear off its feet, and flipped it over him. The bear's head slammed into the ground with an explosive thud and grating crack.
He had broken the bear's neck and skull in one instant.
Youxiong snorted as he stood back up. He stared ravenously at the bear. Having grown up in a village of hunters, Youxiong preferred meat the most. The hundred years of sustaining himself on the thumb-sized fruit did not change that.
Still, he knew what was important. With one last look, he ran toward the Bear Tribe once more.
What Youxiong saw angered him to the core. An army of human-like beingshumans wearing furred clothing riding on horseback are slaughteringslaughtered the Bear Tribe. They used archery to massacre the fleeing tribespeople. Upon entering arms reach, they unsheathed their scimitars and cut down the defenseless.
Men, women, young, old, none of it mattered to the butchers.
Youxiong gripped his fist until it drew blood. With a roar more frightening than a devil's, he charged at the foreignalien army with red eyes.