Eons before humanity, four heavenly beasts brought together all the different types of power in the universe. A great act of forming took place and our world was born.

* The True History of the World, lost to time

* Author, unknown

Thirteen years later (early spring) – A dilapidated barn in Fei Shu City:

Fenghuang Yu retched onto the floor of the barn. She spit up blood and vomit into the hay and grass that was scratching her bare legs and arms. She was prone on the filthy floor, trying to hold her long multicolored hair out of the mess with one arm while also protecting her stomach with the other.

“Mundane girls like you should cover themselves, cousin. You are being indecent, showing so much skin,” Fenghuang Li mocked.

Spitting out the remains of her last meal and more blood, Yu glared up at the three figures who were standing over her slumped form.

Two boys and a girl against a cripple. How brave and honorable.

“Girls that cultivate are allowed to wear the same clothes as boys,” Yu called back with a glare, proud that she heard no trace of fear in her words. She had learned long ago that wearing a cultivator’s attire in her secret training was a risk, but still she wore it.

The sleeveless beast-wool shirt ended at her navel. The leggings stopped halfway down her thighs, and her soft cloth shoes ended just above her ankle. Her garb’s limited covering allowed for flexibility of movement and targeted skin exposure so that students’ bodies could strengthen through Qi absorption.

Unfortunately, the student outfit, while perfect for training, offered little actual protection. Cultivators had their Qi for that. Yu didn’t. Not that it stopped her. In fact, she felt it made for excellent training attire, even without Qi. She wore it because it was functional, and, admittedly, as a small act of defiance.

The fact that it exposed so much skin meant it was only worn by young cultivators, and only when required. Yu was aware she had no right to wear a cultivator’s clothes, but the hypocrisy angered her. She welcomed the anger. It quelled the fear.

Li, the girl who had hit her and shoved her down, let out a braying laugh. She leaned over called sneeringly, “You’re no cultivator.”

Yaozu, the larger boy, stood directly in front of her. He quietly sneered down at her while squeezing his fists so tightly they caused his knuckles to crack. Given his dinner-plate-sized hands, the sound was loud and ominous.

The smaller of the two boys next to her, Chen, added, “Yeah, you’re a freak.”

Yu’s temper flared as she reached behind her back with the hand that had been protecting her stomach. After a moment’s fumbling through the hay, she found one of the two wooden short swords she had been practicing with. They were the best she was permitted, given her… infirmity. She would certainly have never been allowed anything that could cause her to bleed.

Tensing her weak muscles, Yu prayed to the gods that her three assailants were not cycling Qi to protect themselves. She swung the short blade in a sweep in front of her. Her prayers were answered. Her target must have been distracted by jeering at her because the blow miraculously did some actual damage. The thwacking sound of wood on skin and bone surprised all of them, but likely surprised Yaozu the most, as it was his knee she had successfully struck.

His eyes widened, and a sharp yell of pain escaped his mouth as his leg buckled beneath him. Yu swung again, twisting her wrist as her years of relentless practice had taught her. She brought the sword into contact with the boy’s temple, now that his head had fallen within reach.

Despite the pain in her hand from the vibrating wood, she smiled as his body dropped like a bag of rice next to where she lay sprawled in the hay.

The other two shook off their surprise and Li yelled, “What did you do?”

“He should have been cycling,” Yu replied.

Arrogant asses. They took their power for granted. Yu, who had to earn every ounce of strength she had, was better than them. At least when it came to martial skills.

As quickly as she could, she twisted her torso. She held herself upright with one arm and reached out for the other wooden sword that lay behind her, having been discarded on the barn floor when her tormentors had surprised her. Her perfect ambidexterity, one of her only two redeeming features, led her to always utilize dual swords when she practiced melee combat.

Just as her hand closed around the leather-wrapped wooden handle, her feet were grabbed and she was yanked roughly toward her attackers. Her arm no longer supported her, causing her head to jerk downward and her chin to slam into the filthy compacted dirt floor of the barn. The taste of coppery blood once again filled her mouth as she bit her tongue.

She was bleeding again and that meant trouble. Yu needed to get to a healer, and soon.

She tried to spin and swing one of her swords, but her prone position and the grip on her ankles prevented her from getting any leverage and the blow held little force, and certainly not enough to hurt a prepared cultivator – even a young one.

The swords did absolutely no damage when her attacks struck their arms, simply bouncing off their now Qi-enhanced skin. Yu saw movement from her side and looked over just before a fist made contact with her head. All she knew for a short time were flashing lights and ringing ears. Then her vision went dark.

When Yu became aware of her surroundings again, she saw a tall, familiar form towering over her and yelling at the remaining two upright assailants. She saw Li pointing at the now barely stirring body of Yaozu on the hay-covered floor. The ringing finally faded enough for Yu to make out their words.

“—knocked out Fenghuang Yaozu. She deserves to be beaten.”

Yu’s much larger brother, Fenghuang Lei, looked contemptuously down at the two still-conscious cultivators and then over at Yaozu’s prone body. His massive frame put him head and shoulders above the others, causing the offending parties to shuffle back involuntarily and crane their necks to meet his eyes.

With a sneer he said, “That fool was knocked out by a cripple?”

Yu winced at the descriptor she knew was true but still hated. She also knew her brother didn’t mean it; he was trying to get rid of her tormentors peacefully. It would not be honorable for him to take physical action if he had another option. After all, they were as much ants to him as she was to them.

“He deserved it and the lump he’ll have. Go drag his useless ass out of here before you join him unconscious on the floor.”

The two looked like they were going to argue, but her brother released a little of his Qi. The crackling of ice accompanied a cold vapor rising from his fingers.

“You are of a branch family. Don’t press your luck further,” he growled in a threatening tone.

Yu both admired and envied her brother’s strength and rare affinity. The ability to command ice was nearly unheard of in the Xing Nation, and her brother’s strength in it was far above the average. Lei was the most gifted youth in the family and a great hope for the clan’s future. He was also one of the few who didn’t abuse his half-sister.

The two younger cultivators walked over to the slumped Yaozu, leaned down, and grabbed him by his armpits. While their faces were closer to Yu’s own slumped form, the younger boy, Chen, quietly growled out, “This isn’t over, freak.”

The girl followed up with a sneering whisper, “Watch yourself, freak.”

They easily lifted the boy using their Qi-enhanced bodies and dragged him away like he weighed nothing.

Her brother didn’t move until the group was out of sight and Yu could no longer hear their steps. Once it was clear, he turned to his little sister and walked over to where she lay. He held out his hand. Yu spit the blood in her mouth to the side and grabbed it.

Looking like he didn’t even notice her weight – which he likely didn’t – the young man very gently lifted her to her feet and stepped back. A wave of nausea washed through Yu at the sudden motion. She wobbled slightly but eventually was able to stand by leaning on his broad chest.

She saw him checking her up and down for any significant injuries. He grunted when he saw the blood by her mouth. Then he scanned the area and noticed the vomit and blood on the floor. His eyes flashed ice blue, a mist rose from his body, and the ground beneath his feet crackled from the cold. Yu shivered slightly from the sudden drop in temperature.

“Thank you,” Yu mumbled, looking down at her feet. She saw her breath mist as she spoke.

She heard a sigh, and the cold quickly dissipated into the warm spring air.

“Yu’er, what did I tell you?”

He was using her family’s affectionate name for her

She didn’t answer or raise her head. She was angry and embarrassed and exhausted, the combination robbing her of the will to speak. She felt her brother’s hand on her forehead as he pressed it gently up so she had to look at him.

His sad look matched the tone in his voice, “Yu’er?”

She then heard him growl as for the first time he saw her swollen face and the beginnings of the black eye that she knew would be fully formed soon.

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She needed to get to a healer immediately. The intensity of her emotions and fatigue was distracting her, though.

“I didn’t do anything wrong. I was minding my own business. I wasn’t bothering them,” she whispered.

Another sigh, and then he spoke, “C’mon. Let’s get you to a healer before you can’t walk from the blood loss and I have to carry you. And then I’ll walk you home so you can change before your mother finds you dressed like that and smelling so awful.”

Yu dragged her feet and leaned against her brother for strength. Together they walked out of the isolated barn and toward their home in the city center.

He did end up having to carry her, to her shame and frustration.

***

Yu kneeled, fully healed, at the far end of the long polished dinner table with her family.

She ate the meal of rice and spicy beef, moving her chopsticks slowly. Her uncles, brothers, and her father and his three wives also sat around the table making quiet and polite conversation.

She glanced out of the corner of her eye toward the opposite side of the table. She saw her father at the head position, his head turned to his left to speak to one of his wives. The first, Ning Huiqing, hated Yu for reasons beyond her understanding. Next to that conniving and vicious woman was Yu’s mother, and next to her was her father’s third wife, Shen Guoling. Yu had little interaction with her and did not know her very well.

Opposite them were Yu’s uncles, Gen and Zhao. Yu enjoyed what little time she had with her uncles. Gen was always gentle and understanding when he healed her. Zhao, on the other hand, was mischievous and joked around all the time. He didn’t seem to care about anything except gambling and women as far as Yu could tell.

She loved them. But at the same time, she hated the looks of pity that always showed on their faces when they interacted with her. In some ways, pity was worse than the abuse she received from others. Physical pain would fade after all, but the looks never stopped, and had not for thirteen years.

Next to them was Lei. He was, of course, her favorite. The eldest brother, Howin, was technically Lei’s senior, but was far less talented. Thus he would have been lower down the table were he present. However, he was off learning how to cultivate at some sect or school somewhere. Yu didn’t know or care for the details.

A seat away from Lei were the identical twin boys who were her primary tormentors. Compared to the large Lei, they looked small. But they were actually average in looks, size, and build. Their short black hair and maroon eyes made them look sinister, in Yu’s opinion. It certainly fit their personalities.

Delun and Deming had never liked her, and not just because of her condition. As with their appearance, they were both barely average cultivators, despite having their father’s Fire affinity. Unfortunately for them, theirs was many times weaker than their father’s. As such, they would not inherit any standing or position beyond that which they could earn for themselves.

Most importantly, however, they felt that Yu was spoiled and received more than them because she was the only child of the strongest wife. The most baffling part of that was that Yu could never figure out why. All they said was that they should have what she did as she didn’t deserve it. That made no sense to her. What did she have other than ridicule and abuse? She would trade positions with them at a moment’s notice were it possible. To be average would be so much better than being what she was.

Focusing back on her meal, Yu ignored the buzz of conversation around her. By ignoring the rest of her family, she hoped to avoid notice, although she did see that the twins were giving her sneering looks throughout the meal. Despite her twin brothers being older than her, third and fourth after Howin and Lei, they rarely acted their age.

A few minutes later, when everyone was finished, her father cleared his throat. “You are dismissed,” he called to the room.

Yu was relieved, thinking nobody had told her father about the barn incident.

But just as Yu was about to get up and hurry away, he continued, “Not you, Yu’er. And Lei, please stay as well.”

Yu’s shoulders slumped. She knew what was coming, and her heart fell in advance. This would be another lecture about her practicing her martial skills. Every time something happened to her that resulted in a healing, a reminder of her constraints would ensue. After all these years of practicing against her parents’ wishes, and the injuries that resulted from that, she was used to it. Not that it hurt any less.

“I would like to stay as well, lord husband,” her mother said.

He nodded at her once and the rest of the family silently started to leave. They all knew Yu was in trouble again. They probably wondered how bad it would be this time, and hoped she wouldn’t disgrace the family too much. All, that is, except the twins and their mother, Ning Huiquing, who lingered behind. Delun and Deming were smirking. They were overjoyed every time their father took Yu to task. On top of that, it appeared that Lei might be involved as well, and that would bring them even more delight.

Huiqing, on the other hand, was glaring. Yu could practically feel the vitriol that woman had for her.

Over the years Yu had learned that it was her, not her twin boys, who came up with most of the torments in Yu’s life. Yu wasn’t sure if the twins were clever enough to come up with more than their favorite game of “hit the freak.” The twins were not subtle, but Yu kept the beatings secret, lest she should look even weaker in her father’s eyes. And they were always smart enough to keep it just short of doing lasting harm.

Huiqing, on the other hand, was the real brains and power behind Yu’s troubles within the clan. Not that she could prove anything.

The twins’ mother used her position and influence to encourage, manipulate, or even force others to cause Yu problems. And her sons were her favorite instruments for this. Not that they were unwilling. In fact, they were likely that woman’s most enthusiastic accomplices. She and they also used their positions to protect any who harassed Yu.

Reluctantly, that woman and her sons also exited the dining hall. Yu and Lei remained, facing her mother and father.

Once all the doors had been slid shut, her father spoke. “Come sit up here so we can speak, Yu’er,” he ordered.

Without lifting her head or looking at anyone, Yu walked to the other end of the table, a position reserved for the strong and important, and knelt on a pillow seat across from her brother and next to her mother.

Looking at her mother, her father said in a casual tone, “I received an interesting report today.”

Yu saw her mother raise her perfect violet eyebrows. “Oh?” she said in a questioning tone.

He nodded. “Indeed. Apparently, a young trainee cultivator – Fenghuang Yaozu I believe is his name – was brought to my brother for healing. He is from one of our largest branch families that manages many of our merchant businesses.”

Yu said nothing as her mother responded. “I see. And why do you bring that up now, lord husband?” she asked.

“Normally, I’d simply let it go as a normal training incident and ignore it as beneath my notice,” he answered. “However, this boy had a concussion from a blow to the temple. Late into the evening. After the day’s training was complete. Yet the wound was shown to have come from a slim wooden training sword.”

Yu heard his tone getting a little firmer by the end. She winced internally but said nothing. Nobody else spoke either.

Back in his casual tone, her father then said, “You see, his friends brought him in, and when they were asked what took place to cause such an injury, they said it was carelessness and would not happen again. My brother is, of course, a discreet man, and he let it go. But not long after, a certain girl we know also requested a healer. Not Gen, mind you, but another. That healer reported that the girl had a very slight concussion as well. She also sported a lump on her head the size of a dumpling, a black eye, and various bleeds. At least, according to the report.”

Yu kept her head lowered, staring at the table and her folded legs beneath her. She had learned that silence was best. Her tongue had a way of making situations worse.

Still, Yaozu had deserved it. She only wished she could have given the same to the other two.

Nobody said anything for a while. Eventually, her father spoke again.

“I see. Then I will ask the one who brought you to the healer,” he stated with complete neutrality. Looking at her brother, he asked, “Lei, what happened this evening?”

Lei looked their father straight in the eyes when he answered, “I don’t know the whole story.”

Yu knew he was dissembling and appreciated the attempt, even if it was destined to fail. At the same time, she was always astonished at how her brother could look their mighty father directly in the eyes. She wanted to curl into a ball and hide anytime she met his terrifying gaze. Yu always saw anger and disappointment when she mustered the courage to look for longer than a few seconds.

“Tell me what you know,” their father ordered Lei.

Her brother nodded and told the story like he was reporting to a military commander.

“I was assigned mount care duty this evening, and I realized we were running low on some supplies. So, I went to another barn farther into the city to borrow some things for the night. I obviously would have returned them. But when I got close, I heard the sounds of scrabbling and scuffling from one of the stalls. I entered, assuming I’d find a pair of lovers and send them on their way. What I found instead were Yu and three others: two boys and a girl.” He paused for a moment, then continued in the same formal tone.

“The larger of the two boys was unconscious on the floor. The two others were dragging Yu’er out of a stall. She was striking at them with her wooden practice swords, but, of course, it served no purpose against cultivators and was ineffectual. The younger boy punched my sister in the face, and she blacked out for a few seconds.”

Yu could feel her mother shifting in her seat slightly at that last part of the story, but she stayed silent.

Yu’s brother concluded the story with, “I confronted the two upright children and instructed them to leave and take their unconscious friend with them. They did, and I took Yu’er to a healer and then home.”

Yu’s father was silent for a few breaths, likely processing the events that had been related to him.

“How did you knock out the boy?” he inquired of Yu. “He is a cultivator. At the Foundation Building Stage, yes, but I understand he is at the second level, which means his skin and at least some bones would be reinforced. A wooden sword swung by you should have been barely useful.”

Her father was explaining this as though speaking to a child. Yu felt some of her anger begin to bubble back up through the shame. Of course, she understood the stages of cultivation. Just because she wasn’t permitted to join the clan’s cultivation classes did not mean she was completely ignorant.

The foundation stage was the first, and was used to build up and strengthen the body. Its purpose was to prepare the cultivator for the opening and use of meridians in the second stage and beyond. Meridians were the pathways by which cultivators could cycle Qi, in whatever form it took. Of course, Yu could not access Qi, could not prepare her body for meridians, and could not use them even if she could find and open them. She was a crippled freak, and always had been.

“Well?” Her father interrupted her melancholic thoughts with a snapped question.

She flinched and mumbled out an answer. “I surprised him.”

Yu knew nobody would believe her if she didn’t start with a justification for a non-cultivator defeating a cultivator.

“That does not fully answer my question,” her father said in response.

She sighed and explained, “He wasn’t actively cycling at the time, and I struck his knee at the outer ligament, which caused it to spasm and buckle under him. I struck his temple with the flat of the blade while he was distracted by the surprise and pain.”

Silence followed again at the table until her father asked, “And why were you at the barn?”

Yu didn’t know her shoulders could slump any further, but it was apparently possible. “I was practicing my sword forms.”

A moment later he said, not unkindly, “You are not a cultivator, Yu’er. We allow you those swords as a hobby and don’t interfere with your practice because you appear determined to continue regardless of our wishes. But by now you know you cannot fight with your condition. You are too weak. Too fragile.”

Anger flared up within Yu. She knew she was weak. Everything that was wrong with her was because she was weak. Her fury caused her mouth to run without thought.

“I’m better than them. I work harder, remember the forms better, and can use both hands perfectly. I’m a better swordsman and fighter!”

Her tone was much harsher than she had intended it to be, but it was too late at that point, as her mouth continued on its own.

“I know you think I’m a disgrace to this family and only bring dishonor to you, but my martial skills are better than any of those pretenders at less than foundation stage. I can bring value to the clan, even if you refuse to see it.”

Her mother sucked in her breath, and Yu realized what she had done by speaking to her clan leader in such a way. Any other cultivator would be severely disciplined for such impertinence.

After a moment of silence, his only response was a curt, “You are dismissed, Yu’er.”

Yu bowed as low as she could without hitting the table, stood, and left the dining hall. The moment the door slid shut behind her, she ran out of the family hall and to her small rooms.