A child cried out, his voice echoing through the empty town, but there was no one to hear him. As time continued, the cries gradually softened until eventually, they stopped completely.

In the darkness, all which remained was the sound of a slowly beating heart. Every beat was like a tick of the clock ticking away the remaining time the child had left.

Tick

Tick

It wasn’t long now.

Just then, everything shook, and the ceiling collapsed. Light beamed down, revealing a small child buried within. The child looked up weakly and there he saw an enchantingly beautiful woman with dark blue hair and porcelain like skin staring down on him.

The women stared at the boy with tearful tenderness and cleared away the rest of the rubble with her hand. Perhaps absentminded, the boy did not notice the crowd of people around him, focused solely on the woman.

Her eyes welled up with tears seeing the state the boy was in. He was pale and malnourished with dull eyes. The hunger and physical pains had all but numbed at this point and perhaps it was a good thing for he paid no heed to his mangled left arm which was barely holding on by strings of tissue and muscle.

The boy ambled towards the woman but could not move forward no matter what. He had already lost all feeling in his left arm. He turned his head when suddenly; the woman embraced him gently.

“It’s okay, there’s nothing to fear, I’m here.” Her words gently caressed his ears as warm energy entered his body. His eyes turned heavy before he fully lost consciousness and fell to sleep. The warm energy continued to enter his body, healing him.

Seeing him fall asleep in her arms, the woman reached towards his left hand. It was gripping something, another hand. The other hand reached out from underneath some rubble and they were gripping one another tightly, almost afraid to lose each other. Despite being unable to see the buried body under the rubble, she could see the emotions and care from the way the hands interlocked. Her hands gently lay over theirs and she said with a heavy tone, “Please rest, he’s safe now. I’ll take care of him.”

She gently pulled the boy’s hands away from the icy hand. She picked up the boy and looked down on his sleeping face delicately before turning around and walking past the others who had kept their silence.

Suddenly, a man with distinguished attire and chiseled features approached her and asked with a frown: “Pascal, what are you planning to do with that boy?”

“I’m going to bring him back to the sect and raise him as my disciple,” she curtly replied.

“Why go through such trouble when you don’t owe this boy anything? Just bring him to one of the large cities and drop him off in the orphanage. That’s already a great favor to him.”

Pascal turned and stared at him with an icy glare as she said, “What I do is none of your business and I wish you keep that in mind in the future.” She walked passed him and ignored his solemn gaze. Gazing at the crowd of young disciples, she waved her sleeves and shouted: “We are returning to the sect!” A long scarf extended out with enough space for all of them to sit on.

“Elder, what about the sect mission?” a disciple asked.

“Suspended until further notice! I will report it to the sect master when we return and you’ll all await further instructions.” She turned, showing she was no longer answering questions. The disciples all turned to one another for a moment before taking their seats on the scarf awkwardly.

With a single leap, she took to the sky with the disciples in tow with the man following behind silently. The sun was setting slightly over the horizon and as she flew, she couldn’t help but turn her head one last time to stare back at the place they had planned to rest at. It was a town on top of a grand mountain, but all that remained now was destruction and dead bodies strewn around. Sadness escaped her icy demeanor and just as she was about to turn back, she saw in the distance, motes of blue light dancing around. The lights danced beautifully around each other before abruptly disappearing.

“Though the town is no more, at least I could save this child.” She turned back to the sleeping boy in her arms and she let out a faint smile. Though she knew nothing of this boy, she already considered this boy as her own.

In the days to follow, the boy finally woke up but with no memories except his name, Relic. Besides his amnesia, he also barely spoke, scared of everything, and wouldn’t leave her side. He couldn’t be around others, for he would scream and run away. If you left him alone, he would huddle himself into a corner and shake. Only when one person, his master, was within sights would he relax and hold on to her tightly. With her around, he could do anything she asked.

Though she would get strange looks and whispers from the others in her sect, when she looked into his hazelnut eyes; her heart was calm and absolute.

“Relic, from now on, you are my one and only disciple, I will always be here for you so don’t be afraid, okay?” she smiled as she extended a hand.

“O-Okay… master…” he loosened his grip around her clothes and reached for her hand. Though his left arm was no more, he gripped her hand with his right.

Together, they walked around the sect as she taught him about the wonders of cultivation.

Two years later…

In a secluded forest, a boy was facing a creature of his deepest nightmares. A black wolf beast stared viciously at him as drool dripped down from the side of its mouth.

His hands were shaking and clammy. All of his senses were telling him to run away, to get to safety, but he held on as he muttered to himself, “I can do this, I can do it for master.”

Following the chant, he steadied his breath and tighten his grip around his spear. He glared fiercely back at the wolf beast, who could wait no longer. It dashed straight for him and leaped to attack with its razor-sharp claws.

He quickly dodged with a roll and immediately ran towards the trees. The wolf beast followed and was right on his trail when the boy vanished. The wolf seemed confused as it saw the boy run past this tree but vanish. It sniffed around the tree and caught the scent. It turned its head upwards, but it was already too late as the boy descended with his spear pointed downwards.

The spear penetrated through the wolf’s hide but wasn’t quite enough to penetrate past its muscle. Still, it was enough for the wolf to howl in pain and stagger back.

Seeing his chance, the boy charged towards the wolf and thrust his spear forward. However, in that moment, the wolf’s instincts kicked in and it tilted its head away from the spear. It sprang up and tackled the boy to the floor. It tried to snap at the boy’s head, but he quickly held the spear between them.

The boy tried desperately to hold the wolf off, but the wolf was simply too strong and with only a single arm, his strength was already fleeting. Though it seemed like he was on the losing end, the boy did not give up and summoned every ounce of strength he had to push the wolf away.

It seemed like neither would give up. However, in his moment of adrenaline, the boy’s eyes met the wolf’s fierce glare. A memory, forgotten and repressed, emerged from the back of the boy’s mind and darkness enveloped his vision. His body trembled as ravenous growls echoed around him. The strength which once fueled him had now retreated, and the spear which separated the two fell.

The wolf didn’t hesitate to take advantage of its opponent’s sudden turn and snapped its jaws towards the boy’s neck. However, whether it had realized what was happening, it suddenly found itself next to the boy, unable to move an inch more. There was no thought as its consciousness ceased the very next moment and the bisected body collapsed to the ground.

A woman of dark blue hair looked down at her disciple, who was trembling in the fetal position. She looked at him with tenderness and sighed as she placed a hand on his head.

“What am I going to do with you?”

As soon as her hand touched his head, his body suddenly stopped trembling. The boy gradually opened his eyes and slowly opened his eyes. When he saw his master, he rushed to her and clung to her.

“Master!” He called out and cried into her clothes.

A trace of unease crossed her face as she thought about pulling him away, but her hands instead laid on top of his head as she gave him gently pats. Even after the two years of living together, though she took on a motherly role, she herself did not think of herself as one. She tried her best to teach her disciple, but this disciple differed from others and needed constant attention. Thus, she wasn’t sure whether she should comfort him or scold him in order to toughen him up.

Though she knew she should try to get him to be more independent, when she heard his cries, she couldn’t help but soften her heart.

The gentle pats were enough to calm the boy down, and he eventually let go of her to look up.

“Master… I failed again,” he said dejectedly.

She looked at him aloofly and responded, “No matter, we will continue training until you can face these wolf beasts by yourself. Your fears are deeply entrenched with wolf beasts and only when you learn to face them can you take your first step towards cultivation.”

The small boy, Relic, nodded with understanding as he wiped away his tears. He then looked at her solemnly and asked: “Master, will I ever be strong like you?”

She gave it a brief thought before simply answering: “No.”

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“Oh…” The boy’s expression turned despondent and his head lowered when her hand settled on his head.

He looked up to see his master smiling gently at him.

“Your talent is less than others and there is little chance you will ever get very far in cultivation.”

His heart turned heavy and felt like it turned to stone as he heard those merciless words along with that seemingly innocent smile.

She chuckled slightly to herself before finally continuing: “But, master doesn’t need you to be the most talented or very strong. My only wish is for you to grow up healthy and happy. As long as you are by my side, trying your best, then that’s enough for me.”

Light return to the boy’s eyes as new tears welled up in his eyes and snot dripped out.

“Master!” He buried his face into her clothes.

“HEY, HEY! DON’T RUB THAT INTO MY CLOTHES!” For being such a weak little boy, he sure had a firm grip for holding onto his master.

She finally pried him away and with that, he wiped away his tears.

“Master, I won’t give up! I’ll do better next time!”

“Mn, that’s good to hear. Only when you confront your fears, can you take the next step,” she said as she waved her hand. A long scarf extended out, meant for the boy to sit.

However, the boy did not take a seat and instead asked, “Master, could I… could I ride on your back instead?”

“You… you’re already ten this year-” He hit her with another sadden lost puppy look, and she couldn’t bring herself to say no.

She resigned herself and gestured for him to get on. He happily leapt up and wrapped his arms around her neck.

“What sort of disciple did I get?” she could only sigh before leaping into the sky and leaving the bisected wolf's corpse behind them. As they traversed the clouds, back to their sect, she asked, “We’ll be staying in the sect for an extended period so if there is something you want to eat in the city, you can tell me now.”

No reply came.

She turned her head to see he had quietly fallen asleep. A warm smile found its way on her face and the two travelled through the sky in silence.

…

Five years quickly passed and the Thunderstorm sect was currently busy conducting tests for the new disciples. Most of the elders had already gone to the testing site to call dibs on any potential geniuses that may reveal themselves.

However, there was one elder who remained in her immortal abode as she cultivated peacefully.

Deep within her abode, a dark blue hair woman stood within an empty room silently. In her hand was an immaculate white sword and a sharpness which would lead one to believe could cut through anything. Everything was still, and she herself showed no signs of movement. Even for someone of her realm, achieving such a state of stillness was difficult. Her mind was calm as she focused inward and an image of a bead like object appeared before her.

This bead represented the barrier between her and another step towards immortality. Known as the sealed core, those in the spirit realm would use many techniques in order to break open their own sealed cores. Everyone had their own way to break through the core, with some using brute force while others using insight into the Dao.

She focused on the core in front, trying to probe for any weaknesses. In her heightened state of awareness, she was extremely sensitive to her surrounding that even a falling feather would not escape her detection.

Her eyes suddenly snapped open, and with a swift movement, her sword flashed across the core. A deep splinter formed along the surface of the bead and golden light shined out. However, the crack quickly sealed back up, and the light disappeared.

She looked to her sword and ruminated.

“What am I missing? What should I do to break through?”

The threshold between the realms became increasingly difficult the higher one goes, and she had reached a point where many had failed.

“Maybe If I ask father…” Her thoughts suddenly dwelled on a male figure, but when faced with his presence she did not feel familiarity with it, but apprehension.

She shook out the thought.

“Ah, forget it, there no use thinking about it now. Hmm, I’ve been in secluded cultivation for over a month. I wonder how Relic is doing now. “

She sent out her divine sense and found her disciple diligently practicing his spearmanship at the base of her mountain.

Swoosh

Relic, now a teenager, had been practicing with his spear since he first came to the sect. With only one arm, one would think he would have an easier time with a sword which cultivators commonly used, but his talent with the sword perhaps matched his talent in cultivation. Both were abysmal and the young Relic back then seemed to be on the verge of shedding tears. However, when he tried the spear he was more than capable of utilizing it with adequate competence.

His spear pierced through the air. From the outset, it seemed like he had only just thrusted his spear straight forward but to those with a trained eye, they would be astonished to find how perfect that thrust was. From the movement of his arms to his legs, the spear thrusted perfectly without wasted movements. Such a perfect thrust was not possible without years of hard work and training. After years of practice, the one move he practiced day and night grew more refined until it had finally reached perfection.

“He’s finally reached perfection.” She smiled and was about to move when a pair of disciples of the inner court walked by, talking without reserve.

“Hey, did you hear?”

“Hear what?”

“The third direct disciple of great elder Eiji, Ban, has already reached the core formation stage of the foundational realm. He’s only thirteen this year! At this rate, he’ll quickly reach the revolution stage in about 2-3 years!”

“It’s no surprise, he gets some of the best resources for being a direct disciple of an elder after all. If you aren’t able to reach at least the foundation stage by that age despite being a direct disciple, then you might as well quit cultivating all together.”

“Yea, if I couldn’t reach at least the foundation realm at that age I would just go die!”

The disciple spoke and laughed loudly. Though they did not face Relic, it was clear those words were for him.

Relic was the black sheep on the inner court disciples. His talent was subpar, below even those of the outer court disciples. Yet, he was a direct disciple of an inner court elder, a position many coveted for. As a direct disciple, he had access to many techniques and resources, and those who saw him couldn’t help but be envious of his position. Many couldn’t make sense why an elder would take in such a talentless person and because of that, many rumours surfaced about their relationship, some even being risque.

Of course, no one would speak these rumours for fear of being castigated, but behind closed doors, even the other elders could not keep a tight lip.

To the disciples and elders of the inner courts, Relic was a street urchin who got lucky and was just using his position to get resources. The discontent among the inner court disciples for him grew, and they mocked wherever he went.

Though Relic was used to these types of comments by now, the truth in their words affected him heavily. He cared little what they said about him, but being a direct disciple of an inner court elder, he would always hear the grand achievements of other direct disciples and the fame it brought their masters. Yet, as a direct disciple himself, he could bring his master nothing but shame.

His movements slowed, and he made more mistakes in his form.

However, before those two could continue their mocking, an aloof voice came from above.

“These two disciples seem to have ample free time. Tell me, are the disciples of my Thunderstorm sect only interested in gossiping instead of pursuing the path of cultivating?”

The two disciples immediately turned stiff upon hearing the voice and quickly realized who it was. They turned around and paid their respects.

“Elder Pascal!”

They bowed deeply and didn’t dare look upon the person who slowly descended.

“Master!”

Relic's eyes immediately lit up as he rushed towards her, however she quickly lifted her hand and smiled to him. He stopped as she turned back to face the two bowing disciples.

The two felt the suffocating air and their backs drenched in cold sweat. Much like her disciple, the other disciples of the inner courts did not like her. She was fiercely protective of her disciple, and cold disposition was hard being around.

As her gaze laid on them, they couldn’t help but recall the scene a few years back, witnessing a dozen senior disciples sprawled on the ground, groaning in pain. Back then, they had only recently joined the inner courts and saw some senior disciples making trouble for the feeble-looking boy. There had been many who thought it was unfair for such a talentless boy to be a direct disciple, and there weren’t any shortage of disciples willing to express their disapproval of him.

However, what happened next left many onlookers in shock as elder Pascal appeared and in the next moment, the dozens of disciples flew like rag dolls. Had the other elders not shown up, many others would have likely gotten injured as well,

The sect leader reprimanded her, but from that point forth, no one dared to pick on Relic again. Though there were many who would still talk behind his back, no one dared to pick on him again and those dozen of disciples who had originally picked on him steered clear of him all together.

The pair were now sweating bullets, cursing themselves on why they thought coming here was a good idea. In their eyes, she was like an evil witch, ready to grind their bones to dust.

“Well?” she said in a heavy tone.

“E-Elder, w-we were just talking about senior Ban's rapid advancement. We didn’t mean to offend,” one of the disciple said nervously.

“Y-Yes, we were heading to the training hall and were just discussing something on the way,” the other added.

If they were to explain things in such a way, surely even this irrational elder won’t fault them, right? After all, it’s not like they mentioned her disciple directly.

Perhaps such thinking would work if they were talking to a regular elder, but she was not like the other elders. She had brought her disciple from the ruins of a destroyed town and cared for him. From there, she watched over him as he grew and the two were as close as actual family. While a relationship between a disciple and their master had always been one of respect, hers and her disciple was much closer. To protect her disciple, she was ready to make enemies of the other elders and even incur the hate of the disciples.

“Oh…” Her eyes darkened as pressure befell the two disciples. Their knees buckled under the pressure and their heads descended to the ground.

She spoke out in an icy voice and said, “When I was around that age, I had already reached the revolution stage of the foundation realm and before I turned eighteen, I stepped into the spirit realm. Do you think such achievements are worth anything more than a passing thought? You two have been cultivating since you could read and have consumed large quantities of wealth in order to reach the cultivation you have today, yet you two have yet to step into the core stage of the foundation realm.”

The pressure suddenly disappeared, and the two disciples carefully looked up.

“Remember this, there will always be those better than you whether it is in talent, strength, cultivating, or anything else. While it is fine to aspire to be like those you admire, but to also so easily down play cultivation as something you should be ashamed of because you are not as good as someone else is the mindset of mediocrity. The only person you need to be comparing yourself to is the person you were yesterday. As long as you try more than yesterday, that is already an achievement you can be proud of.”

The two disciples looked at her in surprise. They did not receive the lashing they thought they would, nor did this elder entirely berate them. Instead, her words were more like words of encouragement that cultivation wasn’t a competition with others but with one with yourself. Indeed, in history, there have always been geniuses who were more heaven defying than the last. Though they were both inner court disciples, essentially elites of the sect, they were average compared to real geniuses and even less so when compared to the geniuses of history. To constantly compare yourself to others was a simple way to trap yourself in a mindset of believing it is okay to never try harder because you will never be as good.

The two were both from influential families and though they weren’t the top genius of their family, they still received resources the average person couldn’t even fathom. Their families looked down on those weaker than them while hugging the thighs of those stronger than them. It was a pattern they followed and which continued when they entered the sect. Holding onto the thighs of the stronger seniors, they grew complacent and while they ridiculed those below them, subconsciously; they also believed they would never be as good as their genius seniors. They had both become stagnant in their cultivation and with that, their enthusiasm in cultivating also diminished.

However, after hearing her words, a new found spark emerged. The lost passion for cultivation surged, and they found themselves excited to cultivate.

They both kneeled and clasped their hands.

“Thank you elder, we understand now!” they both said.

“Mn, report to the contribution hall and tell them you will forgo on the next round of resources,” she said.

They froze and realized they were still in trouble. However, they were not mad and were still much more thankful for her words.

They nodded and respectfully left.

Relic walked up to her and was just about to say something when she said, “Follow me.”

She walked up towards the mountain and Relic followed as they scaled up towards the summit.