Chapter 11: Zhang Wei’s Death

“Z-Zhang Wei… has died?” Yulian stuttered as he spoke. In this world, Zhang Wei was the strongest person he had known. Even Zhang Wei’s suppressed killing intent made Yulian feel like the gravity had multiplied, easily restricting him! Such a strong person…what could cause his death?

Failing to compose himself, Yulian asked Jack with a quivering voice. “How did he die… what was the cause of his death?”

Seeing Yulian’s expression which was stricken with grief, Jack felt a pang in his heart. Nevertheless, he kept himself composed and continued speaking. “…Zhang Wei’s team was attacked by a Horde Leader level beast, ‘Flamewood Crimson Bear’. Due to his prosthetic leg, he was not able to retreat…”

Attacked by a Horde Leader! Since Zhang Wei’s foot was amputated, his speed would be the lowest in his team! The normal speed of a Horde Leader level beast is many times greater than a Warlord level Fighter in the first place, and Zhang Wei’s speed was lesser than an average Warlord!

After hearing Jack’s words, the fact that Zhang Wei had died finally sunk into him. Memories of the short time spent with him surfaced in his head. The rugged man’s voice, his skilled movements, his diligent instruction… all these memories flashed before his eyes.

At that moment, the chairs and tables nearby began floating! The Spirit Force which lay dormant within Yulian’s body took advantage of his fragile emotional state to emerge! The moment Yulian realized that his Spirit Force had burst forth, he summoned all his willpower to retake control over it and stop it from wrecking havoc!

Yulian spat out a mouthful of blood as he fought with the rebellious Spirit Force. Subduing the Spirit Force wasn’t easy! However, it was originally something that originated from Yulian’s body, and something that could be controlled by Yulian. It took five minutes for Yulian to re-establish control over his Spirit Force. After this, he spat out another mouthful of blood.

After forcefully subduing the Spirit Force, Yulian was struck by a sudden feeling of dizziness. The adrenaline rush that had powered him through the ordeal finally disappeared. However, Yulian forcefully maintained consciousness.

Looking around, he found Jack standing in the same place. Perhaps he was too shocked, but he hadn’t moved a single inch. “Jack!” Screaming with a dry throat, Yulian’s hoarse voice finally shook Jack out of his state.

“Y-Yulian? Are you okay?” Seeing Yulian’s bloody mouth and the small pool of the blood that had formed, Jack was flabbergasted.

“Get me some water.” Hearing Yulian’s words, Jack quickly went to get some water. Meanwhile, Yulian licked his bloody lips in a desperate attempt to maintain consciousness.

…

After fetching Yulian his water, Jack immediately called a doctor. Meanwhile, Yulian found out that the Genetic Energy in his body had gone haywire, completely out of his control. Even though Yulian sensed that it would calm down after some time, it did not lessen the worry in his heart.

Yulian immediately returned to his room and sat atop his bed. Not seeing any other options, he entered a cross-legged posture and tried to meditate. However, after learning about the death of his mentor and his Spirit Force’s sudden rebellion, Yulian’s mental state was in turmoil. Meditation was impossible.

After 15 minutes of unsuccessful attempts at meditation, Yulian heard the sound of footsteps. A few moments later, he heard the sound of sharp rapping on the door. Sighing, Yulian immediately opened the door to welcome his visitors.

As expected, Jack had arrived with a doctor. The doctor was an old man who looked to be approximately 70 years old. Yulian could sense strong power concealed within the aged body; this man must have been a retired Fighter!

“Yulian, this is Doctor Westdale. He has come to treat you.” After quick greetings, Yulian laid flat on his back as the Doctor diagnosed him.

Tap. Tap. Tap. The doctor’s gnarled fingers tapped on various points on Yulian’s body. His heart, throat, abdomen, pulse were carefully examined. Yulian sensed energy from the doctor’s fingers probe his body.

Five minutes later, the doctor came to his conclusion. “…Apart from the qi in the body being in a chaotic state, I sense no other problems. Young boy, your name is Yulian, is it not? You have cultivated to the level of an Intermediate-grade martial artist at such a young age. Certainly a genius!”

Yulian completely disregarded the doctor’s praise and anxiously asked, “The qi in my body is in a chaotic state? How can I recover from this?”

The doctor took out a sachet filled with a few pills. “That’s no problem at all! Swallow these pills every morning, noon and night after eating for five days. The qi in your body will regain stability in a week! Since your cultivation is below that of a Fighter, I can’t use acupuncture treatment on you. My qi is too fierce and might rupture your blood vessels. Since it is so, you must regularly take these pills for complete recovery!”

“Remember, take the pills three times a day after eating for a week and do not attempt any strenuous physical exercise or qi cultivation for a week, even when you feel like the qi in your body has stabilized!” For some reason, the doctor liked using the word ‘qi’ instead of ‘Genetic Energy’. “Before I leave, let me ask you, how did the qi in your body destabilize?”

At that moment, Jack decided to answer the doctor’s question. “His martial arts teacher died yesterday. The news shocked him.”

“So it was something like this?” The doctor smiled. “In ancient times, when monks suffered great emotional damage, it impacted their confidence, making it difficult for them to clear the mind and meditate. The ancients termed this as a ‘heart demon’. No matter what, death is an unchanging fact in life.”

The doctor turned to look at Yulian. “Your teacher died doing his duty, culling the hordes of monsters. He certainly wouldn’t want your talent to wither after his death. Death is an inevitable aspect of a Fighter’s life, so even if it seems difficult, you must try and get used to it.” After saying these words, the man turned to leave.

…

“Come to terms with death, huh?” Yulian was a reincarnated person. He had experiences with the deaths of his close ones in his previous life. Zhang Wei was a person he had met four times in four weeks. Their relationship shouldn’t have been of any consequence. However, Yulian still suffered an emotional attack when he learnt of Zhang Wei’s death.

“I cannot understand my own heart.” Yulian had a bitter smile on his face as he muttered this.

As he pondered over things, Jack entered the room.

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“You okay?” “I’m alright.”

After this brief exchange, both of them fell quiet. Even though both of them lived in the same house, their interactions were extremely few and moreover, they were introverts.

After some time went by in silence, Jack spoke again. “Zhang Wei’s funeral is taking place the day after tomorrow. Do you want to visit?”

 “…I’ll go.”

Two days went by in a blink of an eye. Unable to circulate qi or practice martial arts, Yulian tried spending time watching television and reading webnovels, like he did in his previous life. However, he found out that he rather disliked it. Before he even realized it, martial arts had occupied Yulian’s heart. In the end unable to practice martial arts, Yulian spent time (unsuccessfully) meditating.

…

Zhang Wei’s home was a lush Fighter Mansion. Yulian walked along beside Jack as he navigated through the small crowd of people. Zhang Wei was a veteran Fighter, and had forged friendships with all sorts of other Fighters. Many veteran Warlords were gathered for the funeral. There was even a Wargod gathered among the mourners!

Yulian was in a daze as he watched the proceedings. Clad in solemn black robes, Zhang Wei’s wife, Zhang Xu and son Zhang Ran were greeting all guests. Jack and Yulian got in line to introduce themselves to the pair.

When their turn finally came, before Jack could introduce them, Yulian ran ahead to greet the mother-son pair. “…My name is Yulian. Zhang Wei trained me in martial arts for a month. Thanks to him, my cultivation is at the Intermediate Grade level.” Yulian didn’t want the pair to gain the impression of him being an uninterested child being dragged along by his guardian to the funeral. Even if it appeared rude, he needed to show his sincerity to Zhang Wei’s family.

Ignoring Yulian’s rudeness, Zhang Wei’s wife greeted him with a cheerful smile. “…Ah, Zhang Wei told me about you. He was extremely impressed by your training speed and determination. In reality, you were the first and the only person he trained personally. Most training Fighters can get the guidance of a Warlord from training dojos, and forking out $1 million for 4 days of training is rather extravagant for a civilian. He had put up the offer as a joke in the first place. You should have seen his face, he was so shocked when someone contacted him about it! …Like this, you are also his only disciple.” Yulian listened as the excitable tone dulled down to a gloomy one as the woman failed to keep up the façade of cheerfulness.

Her son, Zhang Ran patted her on the back, and here tone softened. “…What was I saying? Oh, never forget that you are my husband’s only disciple, his only legacy. Do not falter in your training, and make my husband proud!”

Hearing the words of Zhang Wei’s wife, determination filled Yulian’s body. He simply nodded to her in response.

…

The funeral went on. After everyone greeted Zhang Wei’s remaining family, eulogies were said. Zhang Wei’s team mates, his fellow Fighters, the lone Wargod who mentored him… all of them gave a speech about Zhang Wei.

After this, the hearse arrived. The long black car took the coffin to the New York Fighter Cemetery. A feet of cars arrived to bring the living mourners to the cemetery. At the cemetery, the Bishop of the local church cried out verses from the Bible. The coffin was finally buried into the ground, laying Zhang Ye to his final rest.

…

After the funeral ended, Jack and Yulian took an automatic taxi home. The returned home at 2:30 PM. In the past few days, there was turmoil in Yulian’s mind that Zhang Wei’s death had given birth to. This turmoil finally disappeared and Yulian’s mind was finally at peace. After a quick bath to cleanse himself, Yulian returned to his room.

The room seemed large due to having too few furnishings. There was a bed, a computer and a cupboard. Yulian sat crosslegged in the middle of the bed. He closed his eyes and turned his sight inwards, beginning his meditation.

Breath in, breath out. Before controlling the world, first control yourself. Meditation can only clear the mind of useless thoughts that cloud it, but with a clouded mind, how will you traverse the martial path?

Yulian diligently meditated. He could sense his surroundings while his eyes were blind to them. He could sense the time fly away. A blink of eye, how many hours would have passed?

After a period of time, Yulian’s eyes finally opened. The clock stated that four hours had passed by, it was now 7:00 PM.

Yulian walked downstairs to the mansion hall. The door to the mansion was open. Just then, Jack arrived with a man holding a large case. It appeared that there was a delivery.

“Good job waking up. I wasn’t sure where to keep this case. Oh right, Zhang Wei’s wife sent this as a gift to you. It’s a sword.”

“A sword?” Yulian was surprised; he really didn’t expect to receive such a gift. The front of the sword-case was made from a transparent synthetic material. The sword was a large heavy sword made with a reddish-brown blade.

“The weapon is a stone blade that can only be wielded by an Advanced Warlord. It weighs 350 kg.” Hearing Jack’s words, his surprise rose further. ‘Who would actually gift a Warlord-level weapon to a child? Even if no one in Zhang Wei’s house can wield it, they would be better off selling it!’

Just then, Jack handed Yulian a note. He began reading. “This rock blade was bought by Zhang Wei, but never used by him. Due to its material, selling it will only bring a pittance. I hope your strength grows so that one day, this weapon might be used in battle.”

Reading the note, Yulian understood everything. ‘Blatantly saying that the weapon is unsellable, so they are giving it me… Zhang Wei’s family is too straightforward.’ At that moment, Yulian made an unspoken promise to become strong enough to wield the blade in battle someday.

“So where should be move this blade?”

“Let’s place it inside my room.” Yulian observed as the deliveryman picked up the 350 kg+ weapon case and placed it in the centre of his room. The man was certainly not a Fighter, yet he was able to carry the 350 kg weapon box with ease.

The deliveryman gave a form to Jack for signing and immediately left. Yulian simply stared at the box.

Zhang Wei found this sword being sold and bought it for future use. Unfortunately, he was unable to wield this sword in his lifetime. Zhang Wei’s family could not sell the sword and thus it ended up in the hands of Yulian.

“I wonder how long I will have to train until I have the ability to wield this sword.” Yulian looked at the sword lying in the case with mixed feelings.