by Tinalynge
Xue Wei knew that there was no arguing with his uncle when he saw the great smile that was spread on his lips. Xue Wei could not help but sigh. He was feeling warmth in the deepest parts of his heart. It was clear just how treasured he was. Even if he was a useless trash in the eyes of others, his uncle would never consider him as such.
As they went to town, Shen Mu was shocked. He could not help but gape with a little jealousy when he saw that Xue Wei had a purse filled with coins, and he himself only had his meager allowance.
As they entered the markets, Xue Wei looked around with big eyes. Although he was very mature for a ten-year-old, this was the first time he had seen such a sight in front of him.
Stalls were everywhere, people were screaming out their prices, and shops had opened up their doors, allowing for a steady stream of people to enter and leave their premises.
Some shops sold medicinal herbs and pastes. When Xue Wei saw these herbs he could not help but frown. The herbs that were on display were all herbs that Xue Wei knew about.
Xue Wei was surprised. He had no memory of his past, but he still remembered every single plant and herb in front of him, and when he thought about it, a whole encyclopedia appeared in his mind filled with knowledge about the herbs ranging from common to incredibly rare.
Xue Wei was shocked, but his facial expression quickly returned to normal, and the surprise and shock he had felt were hidden deep within.
Xue Wei had lost his memory, everything from before he awoke in his room at the mansion was gone, yet sometimes new information resurfaced in his mind, such as the knowledge about plants.
Shen Mu had been too busy looking around to notice the strange change on Xue Wei's face.
As they walked through the market, Xue Wei looked at everything in sight. He had no use for medicinal herbs as he could not cultivate, but what he was interested in were books. If he could find a stall or store selling books, then he would be happy, and that was his aim with this market trip.
Shen Mu, on the other hand, had just started to cultivate. He was also a ten-year-old boy, and he was eagerly trying his best to break into the ranks of an Ordinary Warrior.
Although he had been cultivating for a few months, Shen Mu had still not reached the threshold of being an Ordinary Warrior.
He was still considered a mortal, but he would become a real cultivator soon. Shen Mu was eager to step into the first layer of the Ordinary Warrior rank, and he had saved up his allowance to be able to afford a herb that would allow him to break into the first layer of the Ordinary Warrior cultivation realm.
Shen Mu would have bought a pill had he had the money, but he knew that pills were incredibly expensive and that it was impossible for him to get his hands on them.
The herb he wished to purchase was the Rising Mountain Dewflower. It was a common herb from the mountains, but to Shen Mu, it was still an expensive plant.
The pill version was called the Rising Mountain Pill, which was between double to seven times as effective as the herb itself, depending on the pill's rank. The higher the rank, the purer the medicinal extract within the pill was.
While Shen Mu was busy looking around for the Rising Mountain Dewflower, Xue Wei had found a market stall with a wide selection of books.
Xue Wei started looking at these books with a spark in his eyes, and he was filled with excitement when he suddenly felt someone place their hands on his shoulder.
Expecting that it was Shen Mu, Xue Wei scowled and turned around to tell this overly friendly person that he did not appreciate anyone touching him. However, when he turned around, he found that this person was not Shen Mu but an unknown person.
Frowning, Xue Wei tried to leave, only to see that more people stood out from the crowd and surrounded him. When he looked around to see if he could find Shen Mu, he noticed that his first and only friend had completely vanished.
"I assume you are Xiao Lei’s nephew?" the person who had his hand firmly placed on Xue Wei's shoulder drawled the question and Xue Wei could easily detect the enmity that the other felt towards him.
"I am, so what?" he asked, knowing full well that it would be a bad idea to admit to it, but he could not get himself to lie about his relationship with his uncle. That relationship was the only thing in the world keeping Xue Wei sane, and even if he had to endure bullies, he would not lie about it.
"I am Li Jian. The young master of the Li family," the young man introduced himself. "I started cultivating earlier this year, and I am almost at the first layer of the Ordinary Warrior rank. I do not accept trash like you in my city!"
"Your city? As far as I am aware, the City Lord comes from the Shen family," Xue Wei said, without backing down, his eyes gleaming dangerously.
Although he was incapable of fighting back if this young master wanted to beat him up, Xue Wei was not backing down, and he stared right into the eyes of Li Jian.
Xue Wei looked at Li Jian and measured his appearance in front of him. The child was clearly the same age as Xue Wei, his skin was pale from spending most of his time inside, and his eyes were narrow. His eyebrows were sharp like swords, giving him a threatening air, and his long black hair was tied on top of his head in a hairpin that resembled a crown.
He wore clothes of great quality; the quality was no less than that of the clothes that Xue Wei had on. While Xue Wei’s clothes were white and blue, this Li Jian's outfit was in white and golden colors.
"I am from the Li family! We might not be the city lords, but we are the oldest family in Tiankong City. This is our turf, and you have nothing to do here!"
The hand that was resting on Xue Wei's shoulder changed from a friendly touch to grab his clothes. Just as Li Jian was about to act, Shen Mu appeared from the side of the street, his breath ragged and his eyes filled with anger.
"Li Jian!" he called out. "You know the rules, do not touch Xue Wei. If you do, you will be scolded by Xiao Lei! Did you not wish for Xiao Lei to become your mentor? This way all you will gain is being loathed by the greatest Hunter of all time!"
Chapter 5 - Azure Dragon Scripture
Li Jian scowled as he looked at Shen Mu with eyes that could kill. It was clear that had this other person not arrived, then Li Jian would without a doubt have caused problems for Xue Wei, but now that the son of the City Lord was present, he did not dare to do anything.
"You won't be this lucky next time!" Li Jian sneered as he turned around and left, leaving behind only Xue Wei and Shen Mu where they stood.
"I am so sorry!" Shen Mu said apologetically, and he truly looked incredibly sad. "I was too obsessed with getting my hands on a Rising Mountain Dewflower that I even lost track of you, and when I returned, I saw you were caught by Li Jian."
"Li Jian is a no-good guy; he is not a nice fellow. Try to stay clear of him whenever you can." Shen Mu sighed, but although he looked sad, a twinkle sparkled in his eyes and his arms were grabbing hold of a paper bag with a jade case within. It was clear that this was his treasured Rising Mountain Dewflower.
Xue Wei shook his head. "Don't worry about it," he said blandly. He was not disappointed at Shen Mu vanishing like that, because he had never really expected anything from Shen Mu, and although the latter considered them friends, Xue Wei still only saw him as an acquaintance.
Xue Wei returned to look at the stall in front of him as if nothing had happened before and ended up purchasing a few books. Shen Mu tried to convince him to eat out at one of the dining places, but Xue Wei was adamant on returning home.
He had made it a ritual to always eat his meals together with his uncle, and this was something he did not want to lose out on.
This was not the last time that Xue Wei visited town. As the weeks and months went by, Xue Wei went to the markets at least once a week to purchase newspapers, books, and other readable information from the vast world.
It was not every time he went with Shen Mu, sometimes he went on his own, and when he did, he quickly experienced that Li Jian would know about him coming out to do some sh
opping.
Li Jian would not let go of any chance to ridicule and torment Xue Wei. At the start, this began as verbal sparring, but Xue Wei was very scholarly. He had read so many books and knew so much that it was impossible to defeat him using words, and thus Li Jian had no other option than to resort to using his fists.
At the beginning, it did not hurt Xue Wei too much. Li Jian was still just a mortal and a ten-year-old child to boot. Although he had gained some Qi, he was still not a first layered Ordinary Warrior and thus his punches did not sting too much, but as time went on and he became stronger and stronger, Xue Wei became more and more alert.
Li Jian made sure to always hit Xue Wei where the clothes covered his body so that no one would notice the bruises and wounds, but from time to time rumors of the bullying made it through town and arrived at the mansion, reaching Xiao Lei's ears.
When this happened, Xiao Lei would be furious. He would explode with anger, and it took everything in Xue Wei's power to keep him from going to kill Li Jian, or at least beat him up.
Slowly, years went by. Nothing much changed in the proceedings of Tiankong City, and although not many spoke about Xue Wei any more out of fear for what Xiao Lei would do if he heard them, everyone looked down on this particular young master. It was hard to respect someone who could not even become an Ordinary Warrior.
"Trash! How can someone like you even be allowed outside! You should just be hiding inside your mansion. If it were not for your uncle, I'd have crippled you for real already!" a cold and cynical voice sounded next to Xue Wei as he was walking on the street.
As he heard the voice, he sighed internally and straightened his face, completely hiding any and all emotion that could be shown.
"Young Master Li, how come you are here? I thought it was time for you to train?" Xue Wei asked casually as he lifted his head and looked at the young man in front of him.
Although some years had passed, Li Jian looked very much the same as he had done when he was a child, albeit his features had matured over the years.
Xue Wei had learned at what time the young masters of the prominent families within Tiankong City were training. It was at this time he would usually venture out into the City, but from time to time he would be unlucky and run into a young master or young miss that was taking the day off. Today was exactly such a day, and Xue Wei could not help but sigh to himself because of his bad luck.
"As if a piece of trash like you understands what it means to train in the first place," the young master of House Li snorted as he looked at Xue Wei maliciously. "Beat him up!" he grinned to the men behind him, and without delay, the young men behind him all jumped out and started kicking and beating down on Xue Wei.
These were all cultivators, and although they were only Ordinary Warriors, their strength far exceeded Xue Wei’s. He could not even hold the slightest wisp of Qi within his body, and as a result, he was beaten rather badly.
Usually, the young masters would not beat Xue Wei too much as they knew about the looming dragon behind him who would go into a fit of rage whenever Xue Wei came home wounded, but today they ignored every bit of caution and kicked and hit Xue Wei till his entire body was aching and yellow and blue bruises sprouted all over.
Returning home, Xue Wei was not too worried about himself. What worried him was how his uncle would react when he gets to see these wounds, and he sighed as he entered his room. He was planning on telling a maid to draw a bath for him when he noticed, to his great surprise, that there were no maids or servants anywhere in sight. The mansion was eerily quiet.
Looking around in his room, Xue Wei noticed that something was amiss. On the table were some things that he had not placed there, and he went to look.
On the table were a leaflet, a document, a big chest, a handwritten note, and a ring. At first, Xue Wei picked up the note and read it.
"Little Wei, it has now been five years since I took you in, and I have enjoyed every single moment of the time. I never once considered you a burden, and to me, you are more important than the entire world. Unfortunately, I need to leave for an unknown period of time. You can stay in the mansion as you please."
"I know that in these five years that what has bothered you the most is not the lack of memories, but the fact that you could not cultivate. I have spent a lot of time and resources, and finally I managed to get my hands on a cultivation technique which could be suitable for you."
"The reason you cannot cultivate is not because of poor talent but because you need a special martial arts manual, and this I have found for you. It is called the Azure Dragon Scripture and was originally made by the ancient clan that controlled the Eastern Territory, but by now they have long since become mere legends."
"Do not share this Scripture with anyone else, and when you have memorized it, burn the copy that I have left behind for you."
"Secondly, I have also left behind the documents and deed of this mansion. If you are to live here, you should own the mansion. You can always give it back to me when we meet again."
"Thirdly, I also left a chest filled with gold coins for you. Living is not free and especially not in a city like this. There should be enough gold to last you until I return."
"Finally, I left you my ring. My ring is not an ordinary ring. It is the symbol of my family. When you get strong enough, you will notice that it also has some hidden uses, but you need strength first of all."
"I have not told anyone that I have left for long. My friends and the major families believe that I have gone hunting Primordial Beasts for a couple of years. Do not tell them anything differently."
"I look forward to seeing you again soon – your uncle Xiao Lei."
Having read the letter, Xue Wei felt both ecstatic and depressed. He was ecstatic at the prospect of him possibly being able to cultivate, but he was heartbroken that his uncle had needed to leave. These last five years had been great exactly because his uncle had been by his side to look after him. No matter how useless Xue Wei had been, his uncle, Xiao Lei, had never looked down upon him, nor had he treated him badly.
"I will become strong and make you proud!" Xue Wei swore and ensured that no one could enter the room before he sat down and started reading the Azure Dragon Scripture.
The scripture was very similar to the martial arts he had seen before, with the only change being that it flowed through a different pattern in his body before entering his dantian.
The cultivation within the Continent of Chang'an was split into different ranks. The first rank was the rank of an Ordinary Warrior, which had nine layers, then came the ranks of an Earth Warrior, which was similarly nine layers, followed by the rank of a Sky Warrior before one became a Heavenly Warrior.
Heavenly Warriors were amazing; even Tiankong City only had three Heavenly Warriors, with his uncle being one of them.
The majority of the younger generation were all Ordinary Warriors, but some of them were in the seventh and eighth layers, their strength nearing the Earth Warrior stage!
Tiankong City was one of the major cities within Heping Kingdom and all the young masters were considered geniuses of their time.
Although they had not been fed medicinal pills, their family had spent some copper, silver, and even gold on buying medicinal plants for their consumption to increase their strength.
Xue Wei had never been able to cultivate, so he was not even in the first layer of the Ordinary Warrior rank, but he was not going to give up easily. Now that he had understood that his uncle had found a chance for him to become a cultivator, he was willing to become even more hardworking than anyone else to make up for the five years he had not cultivated.
As soon as he had learned the Azure Dragon Scripture by heart, Xue Wei took a small candle and burnt both the copy of the Scripture alongside the note that his uncle had left behind before he picked up the ring he had been given and placed it on his finger.
He took a deep breath and calmed his heart, which was beating rapidly from the excitement.
<
br /> Taking in a deep breath and seating himself in meditation, Xue Wei felt how the energy in the surrounding area all rushed towards him. As he guided it through his body in accordance to how the Azure Dragon Scripture said he should do it, Xue Wei was hardly breathing due to being too anxious. Was this really going to work or was it just a pointless effort?
The energy that flowed through Xue Wei's body slowly changed from a white mist-like energy into a dense golden wisp of energy. This golden wisp of energy entered his dantian and slowly rotated around itself in a never-ending spiral, sending pulsing waves through his body.
Xue Wei opened his eyes, and he was ecstatic! This was only a small wisp of energy, but because of this, he had already become an Ordinary Warrior of the first layer!
"Nothing can stop me now!" Xue Wei said to himself, and his eyes gleamed with excitement.
Chapter 6 - Dragons and Dogs