The morning after Bei Xing meets Siwang he’s full of energy. His face is visibly glowing with excitement and he speaks quickly during breakfast which makes his family curious.
In the midst of scarfing down his food Bei Xing’s mother Meili Xing inquires as to why he’s so lively this morning.
“Son I do enjoy seeing you happy, but when you act this ecstatic it makes me wonder what the cause is.”
Lao Xing adds on.
“Your mother is right son. What has you in such a good mood? Could it perhaps be a girl?”
Lao Xing’s tone is used jokingly and he smiles while nudging at his son who sits to the right of him at the table.
Bei Xing’s mouth is packed with food and hearing his father’s question makes him nearly choke in his effort to swallow and get out a response. He coughs several times and slaps his chest before finally saying a word.
“No father it’s not. I’m only 12 years old so don’t tease me like that.”
“Nonsense! I met your mother when I was 13 and we got engaged a few years later. Soon enough you will be in the market for a woman as I once was.”
Meili Xing butts in.
“He’s right Bei Xing, I’d love to see you bring home a girl one of these days.”
“Mom I said stop teasing me!”
“Alright then we’ll stop. But if not for a girl then what has you acting so energetic this morning?”
Bei Xing takes a drink from his cup before standing up to address his family.
“I wanted to keep this a secret for at least a little while but it appears I have no other choice as it stands.”
He surveys the looks on his family’s faces - his little sister Wei Xing stares at him with googly eyes wondering what will come out of her brother’s mouth. Meanwhile both of his parents look on in anticipation of what he says next.
Knowing he can’t tell his family the whole truth as to why he’s happy Bei Xing comes up with a different story to use.
“Last night I was cultivating in my room and my meridians were unblocked. My body is now able to generate qi and absorb it from the outside world. Meaning I can now begin practicing the mystic arts.”
He steps back from the table and closes his eyes while striking a pose with both arms in front of his chest, palms touching one another. Bei Xing then gathers the qi around him and starts glowing with different colors to show that he is able to absorb the qi in the room.
Both Lao Xing and Meili Xing’s jaws drop to the floor and their eyes widen in shock. Wei Xing immediately shoots up out of her seat and runs around the table to interrupt her brother and hug him. Bei Xing is the one person in the world who she looks up to and respects most, so hearing this news and watching this demonstration makes her just as happy as him.
“Big brother Bei you’re able to use qi now! You’re not a cripple anymore!”
Her arms wrap around her brothers waist as she squeezes him half to death to show her love and excitement. Bei Xing clings to life as he becomes short of breath trying to escape his sister’s grasp.
“Wei Wei please you’ll kill me…”
Bei Xing is barely able to get these words out due to the tightening grip of his sister’s hug.
“Sorry big brother Bei!”
Wei Xing releases her brother and takes a step back. He then pats her on the head.
“That’s right Wei Wei, now I’ll be able to train for my duel with Duan Xing. Mother and father now have nothing to worry about.”
Bei Xing turns to his parents who are now statues stuck in their previous poses with their mouths still ajar.
Weili Xing manages to collect herself and does the same as her daughter by getting up and rushing over to her son to hug him.
“This is wonderful news son! Thank the heavens for such wonderful timing.”
She hugs him tightly, but nowhere near as tightly as Wei Xing had done moments before. Tears of joy run down her face as she’s no longer able to hide her cheerful smile and emotions.
Bei Xing lets out a devious smirk.
“Ha ha, you have no idea mother.”
Bei Xing returns the hug and after a few seconds they let each other go.
Lao Xing is finally able to close his mouth and stand up. He approaches his son and stops in front of him.
“My dear boy, I am so happy for you. Never since your birth have I been this proud of you. After all this time you never gave up and continued practicing in order to unlock your potential. No father could ask for a better son.”
Lao Xing finishes praising his son and opens up his arms for a hug.
Bei Xing steps forward and embraces his father, both of them now have small tears slowly crawling down their cheeks.
“Thank you father, your love and support means the world to me.”
He lets go of his father and steps back to look at his family.
“Truly a boy such as myself could never ask for a better family.”
With the energy of the room lifted and spirits high Lao Xing reaches back toward the table and grabs his wine before raising it into the air.
“Tonight we shall invite the whole village for a feast in honor of your hard work Bei Xing!”
Bei Xing attempts to laugh off his father’s idea.
“Father don’t worry about bothering the village. I want to keep this a secret for now so that come the day of my match Duan Xing will underestimated me. Thus giving me a better chance at winning.”
“How could I overlook such a cunning plan? My apologies son. If you do not want a feast then I will not hold one for you, although the entire village could use the feast to lighten everybody’s spirit...
Meili Xing asks her husband what he means by that sentence.
“Why Lao? What happened?”
“As you know our village relies on collecting ores and magical materials from the mines in order to make money by selling them to traders. However the resources are beginning to run dry and our recent expeditions into the depths of the mine have turned up nothing. If we do not think of a solution soon then the mines will become empty and our village will have no reliable source of income.”
“Father this is terrible! What are we going to do?”
Bei Xing knows just how important the mines are to Luse Village’s survival, so hearing this makes him worry about both the villagers and his father who has to come up with a solution.
“Son do not worry about the affairs of the village right now this is your one free pass. Now that you’re able to use qi you should train and prepare for your duel with your cousin. Leave running the village to me so that you can focus on developing your skills.”
“But I can help you!”
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“My son Bei Xing wants to help me run the village? What a surprise considering just yesterday you told me that you had no interest in doing so. I am the noble lord of the village and it is my duty to handle this problem, not yours. Now do as I say and go train before I change my mind.”
Lao Xing smiles and waves off his son to go off and not worry about anything.
“Fine then, I’ll leave first.”
Bei Xing bows to his father and turns to his mother and sister.
“I’ll be heading into the forest today for my training and will return in a month before my duel. Is there anything you need of me mother?”
“No son just do as your father asks and begin practicing, it’s what we all want for you.”
Wei Xing nods her head in agreement with her mother and Bei Xing lets out a sigh to mess with them.
“All of you are ridiculous, but if this is what you want then our goals line up.”
Bei Xing then runs back upstairs and puts on the same training gi from the night before. As he’s doing so Siwang emerges from thin air and floats while laying down on his side.
“Your family loves you a lot my disciple, and they are right. As the noble lord your father must handle those kinds of issues with the adults in the village. Meaning your training should come first for you.”
Bei Xing now kneels on one knee as he puts on his cloth shoes and ties them off.
“Just because they’re right doesn’t mean I should enjoy leaving my father alone to deal with these types of issues.”
“For now all you need to worry about is training young man. Otherwise you’ll get killed in the fight against your cousin. What exactly are the two of you dueling for anyways?”
“Yesterday the royal envoy came from the capital bearing a message from the emperor. He said that Silver Peak Academy is allowing one youth from every village in the empire to join the academy for studying the mystic arts.”
“This Silver Peak Academy must be pretty impressive to be able to work so closely with the emperor of your empire.”
“Indeed it is - going to the academy has always been a dream of mine so this is my best chance at getting in.”
Bei Xing has finished tying his shoes and stands up before his master.
“In that case I will make sure you win that duel against your cousin.”
Siwang then returns to the King’s Amulet and Bei Xing sets out for the forest with nothing but the clothes on his back. His plan is to live off the land during his training.
Once far from the village Bei Xing decides to set up camp in a clearing within the forest that will allow him to practice without restraint. He gathers materials to set up a fire pit and a place to sleep. Afterwards he locates the nearby river which he will use to bathe with and get water from.
With his campsite complete and preparations set Bei Xing calls out to Siwang.
Siwang comes out of Bei Xing’s chest as if he were possessed and begins his teachings.
“Before we get started what mystic art does your cousin Duan Xing use?”
“He’s a martial arts cultivator. At age 13 he’s already an Apprentice Realm 3rd Layer.”
“Not bad for a human boy within a small village, he appears to have some talent. Too bad for him you are being taught by the God of Gods."
“True our deal has given me a huge advantage which I must utilise.”
Siwang nods in agreement, but acts somewhat childish in a sense by boasting.
“My knowledge and power truly are remarkable. With me teaching you who knows how far you will get in life.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself master, now let’s get started I am eager to begin training.”
“Alright my disciple, since you will be facing a martial artist it only makes sense to start off by teaching you martial arts. However, because your body is touched by my divinity you will be able to learn all of the mystic arts later on. Something probably only a handful of humans have ever been able to do throughout history.”
Bei Xing’s face lights up in delight.
“That’d practically make me a God by human standards if I were able to practice all of the mystic arts well!”
“You are both right and wrong disciple. Just remember that being all around skilled is good, but having specialties is what will allow you to excel in combat. For now we will focus on martial arts but as time goes on we will practice more skills and see where your talents truly lie.”
Siwang then holds out his hands and a scroll materializes in each of them.
“These two skills are Immortal-Level martial art skills. Are you aware of how these skills are ranked?”
“Yes master. Martial art skills are ranked as Low-Level, Mid-Level, High-Level, Immortal-Level, and Deity-Level skills. In that order.”
“Very good you seem educated. I should have expected that considering your father is the noble lord of your village.”
Siwang then puts his hands down and the scrolls disappear.
“For now I will teach you several martial art forms and styles, as well as give you a suitable cultivation technique. In the past humans focused too much on learning skills as opposed to mastering basic fighting techniques. Once you master the basics I will reward you with those two skills and teach you how to use them.”
Bei Xing bows.
“Yes master Siwang, I will try my best.”
“You have begun acting more mature and level headed recently, what seems to be the change?”
Bei Xing’s face turns serious as his eyes narrow.
“For the past 12 years I have been a cripple that could not gather qi. Now that you have given me the opportunity to prove myself and make my goals a reality I must work hard to ensure the chance is not wasted.”
“Despite your typical behavior you are actually very mature when necessary. I can respect that. Now let’s get started with your training. First let me give you this.”
Siwang holds out his left hand a scroll appears from it, just like before. Only this time in his hand rests a cultivation technique for Bei Xing.
"This is the Divine Coalescence Technique that I came up with. Since you have my own godly qi within you, cultivating it will allow you to progress faster."
"Master Siwang, I have not heard of such a strange sounding technique before. Is this one a secret?"
Siwang gives Bei Xing a prideful nod.
"Indeed young pupil, this was never given out to anyone or even shown to another soul. You will be the first to cultivate it after me. This is a legendary cultivation technique by human standards, but in all fairness it does not begin to truly take effect until you reach higher realms."
In the Mortal World cultivation techniques are ranked by their power to assist cultivators. Each technique is listed as common, rare, epic, and legendary in that ascending order.
"Thank you master, I will treasure this dearly!"
For the next month Bei Xing studied hard and practiced the techniques his master taught him. In order to catch up to Duan Xing’s level of expertise Bei Xing was forced to train his body in the harshest of ways possible with little rest. Siwang made him climb mountains to build muscle, practice his fighting on trees to build endurance and learn technique, run around the forest while dodging attacks to build speed and agility, and he did this all in between cultivating his qi.
Throughout the entire month Siwang watched as Bei Xing pushed through pain and suffering in order to embrace the true spirit of a martial artist. He was even stunned by the speed at which Bei Xing was progressing. In the span of a little under 4 weeks Bei Xing had risen his level from nothing to Apprentice Realm 3rd Layer. For a human Bei Xing’s growth couldn’t be judged as superhuman or even godly. One might have to call it demonic. And before long it was the day before the fight between Bei Xing and his cousin Duan Xing.
Bei Xing falls to the ground panting and sprawls his body out. His breathing is heavy and sweat covers his body from head to toe. In the midst of his intense breathing he begins speaking to his master.
“Master Siwang, tomorrow is the duel between me and my cousin. I’ve grown my foundation up to the Apprentice Realm 3rd Layer in less than 4 weeks and I nearly mastered all 3 fighting styles you taught me. Is it finally time to learn those immortal-level skills?”
Despite his determination and hard work Bei Xing is still somewhat impatient which is understandable considering he’s only 12.
“Not yet disciple. I have decided to give you a test in order to receive those skills.”
“What might that test be then master?”
“During tomorrow’s duel I want you to only rely on your own strength and fighting styles, but I will not send in you entirely empty handed.”
“So you’ll give me a different skill!?”
Bei Xing jumps to his feet and his eyes lock with his master’s in the hope of hearing the right response.
“Yes Bei Xing I will give you a skill to use.”
Siwang then summons a scroll which floats over his palm.
“This is the Destruction Fist Skill which allows you to focus all your qi into your fist and release it in a devastating punch. It is a mid-level skill that is used by many in combat. In order to use it your body must be strengthened to the top of the Apprentice Realm so that you do not harm yourself when using it.”
“But master my level is only at the Apprentice Realm 3rd Layer. How will I use this skill?”
“Boy do you think all this training was for nothing? I put you through such harsh conditions for a beginner because I wanted to harness that growth speed of yours. It is truly demonic even by my standards. Your body is already as strong as that of a peak Apprentice Realm martial artist.”
Bei Xing looks at his body and compares it to before he began training.
“Master is right. When I first began training my body was still somewhat weak despite having his godly qi in it. Now I’m able to uproot a tree with a single punch. It really only took me a month to reach this point? Duan Xing has been practicing since he was 7 and his strength doesn’t match mine right now. This is all thanks to master Siwang’s training.”
“Thank you for teaching me master. Your teachings have allowed me to reach this point today.”
“Although you would not be here without me you stand where you are today because of your own work. I merely coached you and gave you techniques; it was you who refined them and made yourself stronger.”
Bei Xing bows to his master to thank him and takes the scroll from his hands.
“With this I will surely beat Duan Xing tomorrow and show the world that a new genius has arisen from Luse Village.”
“I look forward to watching your fight my disciple. Now let us return home before the sun sets so you can eat dinner. Otherwise your mother will deal with you and even I would not wish that on my worst enemy.”
Siwang and Bei Xing both laugh at each other in agreement. Bei Xing then gathers his belongings and runs home to enjoy his last dinner before fighting his cousin for the spot at Silver Peak Academy.
Chapter End.