The sky was blue and clear, looking pure as if it had been washed clean. The sun was shining golden.
Puffs of white clouds floated away, and a group of colourful pheasant parrots chirped as they flew beneath the blue sky, forming an arrow formation under the clouds as they soared.
This variant of colourful parrots would only appear in large groups during springtime. Their bodies were littered with feathers the colour of the rainbow, their bodies the size of an eagle. The birds had parrot beaks, while their tails were that of a pheasant's long brown tail with dark bars.
"Do you know at which time cultivators start absorbing and refining Qi in their dantian?" Before talking about Shen Xue, the young mistress of the Yan clan asked a question.
Ye Mo quickly recounted everything he knew on the subject, having learnt it all by heart, "Of course, this is basic knowledge. The dantian is like other organs of the human body, when we are too young and our body is still growing, it remains in an unstable state. Only at eight or nine years old does it stabilize so you can start circulating Qi and storing wisps inside which is the moment when most cultivators starts their journey and test their talent."
"Attempting to cultivate when too young can lead to a damaged dantian, crippling your cultivation and even dying in some cases. That's why people would begin cultivating Qi at eight years old or more, doing so too late would waste time and give your peers a headstart so only those who didn't have the choice or the means to cultivate before would start when they are older. Even mortals know that."
Yan Mei nodded hearing Ye Mo's reply, it was indeed so.
"In this aspect, Shen Xue is not any different from the rest." She said as she began narrating his past.
Shen Xue had his talent tested by the elders of his clan when he was 8 years old. When his rank 5 talent was revealed, it caused an uproar in the city, the Shen clan was overjoyed by their young master's aptitude, but it wasn't great news for everyone.
Rank 5 talent, it's not like there hasn't been any appearing in Azure Water City before, one would still surface once in a while.
But nurturing was a process, even with rank 5 talent, when they are revealed, they are still juniors who just stepped on the path of cultivation, as fragile as anyone.
In this process, calamities and human-disasters were a common thing.
Without the time to reach maturity, they can lose their life easily.
Hearing about the Shen clan young master's situation, their rivals and other clans felt the rise of an impending threat who was capable of changing the power dynamic of the four great clans in the future, thus they set multiple plans in motion.
Not long later, a powerful assassin infiltrated the Shen clan's headquarters and killed several servants before reaching Shen Xue's room.
His mother, the patriarch's main wife lost her life to protect him and buy enough time for the experts of the clan to arrive and put down the assassin. Unfortunately, the latter was too strong to be apprehended safely and died in the fight that ensued without giving any hints on the perpetrator of this operation.
Shen Xue who witnessed the whole scene with his own eyes was severely marked by this experience, barely smiling and never laughing. He became a joyless young boy who found little interests in anything and indulged in activities dispassionately.
After some time, his personal servant, a thin and gentle middle-aged woman, proposed him a stroll outside in an attempt to lift his spirit.
She tended to him since his birth and was like a second mother to Shen Xue, he had no reason to doubt her.
Until she brought him near a stream outside the city and held his head underwater, nearly drowning him.
Without the invigilator cultivators of the clan charged to closely survey him since the last assassination attempt, intervening in time to save him, he wouldn't have survived.
The servant was captured without any trouble, however, she swallowed some poison and died on the way back to the clan.
It was later uncovered she was a spy sent from another clan, but with the culprit dead, nothing else could be found.
A few weeks later, when Shen Xue and other members of his clan were on their way to visit an inn, one of the asset property of the Shen clan, an elder of the Yan clan suddenly rushed out from a house beside them and attacked.
His cultivation was deep and his strikes powerful, Shen Xue almost died from the shockwaves of the fight alone as elders of his clan stopped the assailant before he could reach him.
In the end, the Yan clan elder tried to escape, but was beheaded by the Shen clan patriarch himself upon his arrival.
Following this incident, the Shen clan demanded retribution to the Yan clan, threatening of an all-out war against them.
With reason and logic siding with them, the public opinion supported the Shen clan and the Yan clan's reputation suffered much from this event.
However, the Yan clan claimed that the elder was a traitor who acted on his own will and was disowned by the clan post-mortem.
The same day, the Yan clan executed all family members of the elder and anyone having blood ties with him before offering their heads to the Shen clan, completely cutting off their relation with the elder and casting away any implication in the incident.
With their reputation salvaged, the Yan clan then sent several gifts to the Shen clan during the next days, finally appeasing the tension between them.
If the Shen clan still attacked after all this, it would have seemed as cruel and overbearing, the other clans would certainly side with the Yan clan to stop the Shen clan's tyranny.
Shen Xue's early life as a cultivator was filled with narrowly eluded assassination attempts which deeply affected him.
He never left his Shen clan's headquarters again, heck, he barely left his chambers at all, often retreating into silence, solitude, and a brooding passivity.
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He turned solemn and gloomy, an overall silent person who never started a conversation and answered questions as curtly as possible.
During three years since he stepped on the path of a cultivator he didn't cultivate even once and barely made any progress in this aspect much to the distress of the patriarch and the elders who regularly pleaded him to cultivate and learn martial arts, to no avail.
A rank 5 talent that doesn't cultivate, what kind of waste was that?!
The little friends he had in the past all grew stronger, made new experiences and went on with life, distancing themselves from him over time while he remained alone in his room, brooding endlessly to the point he would forget to eat at times.
This lasted for three years where he didn't make any improvement.
That is, until he was 11 years old when he suddenly left his dull inactivity and exited his quarters.
Without asking anyone, he began picking cultivation techniques and battle skills in the Shen clan secret bookcase, training himself very dutifully.
He was like a changed man, his soulless eyes recovered their brightness, a chilling cold light that pushed everyone away.
Not only he was extremely hardworking in his cultivation, he also learned battle skills at a fast pace. At the same time, he quickly began to challenge and fight young prospects from middle-sized clans, defeating them one by one as his strength grew unceasingly.
The leaders of middle-sized clans, under the invitation of the Shen clan, didn't dare refuse Shen Xue's challenges either.
His father and the higher-ups of the Shen clan, were extremely joyous towards this change and supported him thoroughly.
He also personally fought and executed many prisoners and criminals of the clan after releasing them from their bind and would go in the Jade Forest once in a while to train himself against powerful blood beasts, obviously, under the surveillance of several elders tasked to protect him.
"Everytime he made an appearance, his strength would have grown exponentially compared to the last time and he quickly became renowned after defeating the heirs of many clans in the city. In only three years, he caught up and even surpassed I, Li Qiang and Gao Lixin." Yan Mei said, her tone shifting, growing upset as she thought about it.
Ye Mo listened attentively, his eyes shining in understanding, "So that's how it is. I thought he cultivated since he was eight years old and only grew explosively this last year, but I was still underestimating his aptitude. In truth, he started cultivating when he was 11 and in only three years, he reached the peak of the 7th layer of the Qi Gathering Realm, I heard he even delayed his breakthough to the 8th layer for the recruitment competition of the institute. With the full support of the Tiger Martial Institute and attaining first place in every single competition he progressed even faster and now attained the Foundation Establishment ream. He didn't grow explosively this last year in the institute, he has always been this fast."
If he reached the peak of the 7th layer in three years then it was much more comprehensible for him to attain the Foundation Establishment Realm in another year enjoying the resources of both the Shen Clan and the institute.
With his rank 5 talent, the heavenly wall preventing breakthroughs is too weak to pose a problem so he doesn't need to wait like other cultivators, but can immediately tackle the Foundation Establishment realm once he attains the peak of the Qi Gathering Realm.
Yan Mei sighed deeply, solemn, "This is why I have to become stronger, the most powerful possible, if not for me, for my clan. If one day, he acquires enough strength and seeks revenge against us, I have to be able to stop him and protect everyone!"
Ye Mo kept silent, looking at her struggling expression, "She's talking about their elder attacking Shen Xue in the past? As expected, they were behind it, when the assassination failed they used him and his family as sacrificial pawn to avoid the Shen clan's retaliation. It's not surprising, no one in their place would hesitate if they had the chance to nip in the bud a future threat, the other clans surely tried to eliminate him as well. Then offering the family of one elder who isn't present anymore to prevent the death of thousands in an open war? It's not even a choice, but an evidence."
"If you understand, then you should avoid crossing his path at all costs during the year-end competition if you want to live." Yan Mei parted with these words, leaving towards the disciples residential area.
Ye Mo wasn't heading this way so he came to a halt at some point near the end of her recollection and didn't follow her when she left.
"Shen Xue, like many, went through his own share of struggle. Every great figures who left their names in history passed by their own difficulties at some point before becoming the person they are. Life is not a tranquil sea with a clear sky and a gentle breeze, storms and sea monsters are part of it as well, all of them have to be experienced to truly grow as an individual and realize what needs to be done."
How can you surpass yourself without ever facing any difficulties? How can you overcome hardships when you have never suffered?
You can't achieve anything by living a life filled with only joy, pleasure and enjoyment or we wouldn't be stepping on earth, but living in a fairy tale.
To rise up, one must fall first; The pains and struggles of the past are the foundation that will push one higher in the future.
Hardships and sufferings are the flames and hammer that mould our soul in an ancestral sword that will cut through any obstacle, paving our own path relentlessly!
"I attained the 8th layer of the Qi Gathering Realm, meeting the conditions to visit the third floor of the battle skill tower. Only seven days remains before the year-end competition, it's time to pick another martial art."
Ye Mo walked on the street, moving towards the three towers, his eyes glimmering in brillance.