Chapter 1

Beginning and End

His look was tense. His left eyelid was trembling. Holding a sword, waiting for the countdown, hearing his heartbeat in his ears Li was waiting.

"3..."

"2..."

"1...

"FIGH-"

"But I don't want to!"

Li blurted out just as his master was finishing the countdown.

"Why do we have to fight!? Can't I just cultivate in peace? Damn it, I should have stayed a mortal..."

Li was furious. He didn't want to fight. Although he understood that the cultivation resources in the world were limited and one had to be able to defend his own he still preferred to cultivate without being bothered.

"What are you talking about, brat?! Come here and fight! Why are you interrupting Master?"

His opponent, Leon "The Prodigy" as he was called, had a fiery temper. He harbored deep respect for his master as well as being very disciplined. That's why he always got pissed off at Li. He hated his laziness and unwillingness to fight. And he even dared to disobey his master. 

'I don't know what Master sees in this kid...'

Just as Leon was thinking this he heard a sigh. He looked up and saw his master standing between Li and himself.

Long, white hair fluttering in the wind. The eyes of a person that has gone through countless things in life. 

When you look at that man it feels like you are looking at fire. Although this flame was calm you could feel endless power pouring out slowly from his body, creating a domain around his existence. No matter how many times Leon looked at his master, his eyes were always filled with respect and awe.

"Kids... in time you will both learn some things."

"Li, I understand you. This world has it's own rules though. You can say it's like the Dao. If we don't go along with it we will be devoured and perish. If we don't fight for our right to live, to cultivate, we will be suppressed by everyone else. I was just like you back then..."

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"But Master, there is no war now! Everyone is peaceful. Don't you see how Yuna doesn't fight at all? Even though her sect were the instigator of the last war they-"

"Enough! Li, in times of peace we train so there is no war! Some people in this world are waiting for you to show weakness in order to strike. You are yet to experience this..."

His eyes changed from strict to gentle. He looked at the two young men and said:

"You haven't been in this world for long and haven't seen its shadows yet. Li, even though you are still young and naive I accepted you as my disciple. I don't want you to suffer. Both of you. So please train now. You are the ones my hope for the future is in."

Li calmed down. His shoulders sagged a bit but he understood his master. He was born in the Land of Origin. Modern civilization which he was born in did not have cultivators. With the advance of technology humans could extend their lifespan up to 500 years and the oldest person now was only around 200 years old.

That's why most people felt no attraction towards cultivation.

The Land of Cultivation and the Land of Origin were on the opposite sides of the planet so how Li ended up cultivating was when a great tragedy struck.

His father was killed. 

A black streak went through his father's body. Li saw the blood as the red droplets splashed onto his shirt and face. Awakened by the blood, he took his father's body in his hands and cried out.

"Father! Father!!! Help! Someone help!!!"

When it happened he was shocked. He couldn't even understand what was going on. He held his father in his hands and called out to him again and again, but nothing changed.

Screaming for help as he was holding his father in his small hands, the wound on the body was deeply engraved in the young child's mind.

The pain that he experienced that day changed him forever. He wasn't the same. At the age of 7 he was forced to find who killed his parent and he wasn't going to stop for anything. 

Although he could stay a mortal in the Land of Origin and live up to 500 years he did not. 

That was because the only thing he found after his father's death was a feather. 

It was a feather that could survive fire, blades, even acid. The feather that killed his father.

There were symbols inscribed on the stem, as well as a circulating light around it. 

Back then he gently put the feather in his pocket and while holding his father's body swore an oath.

"Evil!!! Whoever killed my father, I swear I will roam the Earth to find you! I swear!"

And it was the feather itself that put him on the path of cultivation.