Qin Feng says with a forced smile: ‘Second brother, I wasn’t paying attention at the time. After that I regretted saying so as well.’
Suddenly, Qin Feng’s face hardens. He says: ‘Second brother, because of his dantian’s innate problem, Xiao Yu can’t do well in martial and literary arts. He won’t have enough power to protect himself. We two must protect Xiao Yu well. We mustn’t let anyone bully him.’
‘If anyone dares to bully Xiao Yu, I’m going to make them regret being born!’ says Qin Zheng with a trace of cruelty in his eyes.
In a short while, the 2 brothers and the bodyguards behind them have left Mount Donglan and rush for Yan City.
……
Late at night, on Mount Donglan, a small, thin body is sitting on the top of the mountain in cold breezes. A black young eagle is standing quietly on his shoulder. Qin Yu is watching the starry sky in this way, but there is a look in his eyes that is much more mature than that of other children of the same age.
Every day, he either reads books in the study alone or ponders alone. This has given Qin Yu a mind far superior to that of an 8 year old kid.
‘Xiao Hei,’ Qin Yu suddenly utters, but his eyes are still looking up at the starry sky. The black eagle on his shoulder makes some movements, its pitch-black eyes move around a couple of times, but it does not understand what its owner just called it for.
Qin Yu suddenly has a faint smile on his face, a sparkling happy smile: ‘Xiao Hei, do you know? When I was very little, father often stayed with me and cared a lot about me. After those 12 teachers came, he let me follow these teachers to study. Even though I didn’t like those things, I tried hard to force myself to study them so that father would be happy. I learned those characters very fast, and father even called me a prodigy, but after that…’
He pauses for a moment then continues.
‘I remember very clearly, when I was 6, in the secluded courtyard of father’s mansion, those 12 teachers said something like I wasn’t fit to become a ruler. Then Uncle Feng said my dantian was problematic and couldn’t accumulate internal energy, making it impossible for me to pursue martial arts. After that I came to Misty Villa. From then on father no longer paid attention to or cared about me. At that time I didn’t know what a dantian is, and didn’t know what a ruler is. So I even thought that father really let me come here to play. But…’
Qin Yu lowers his head and nips his lips. His eyes look very depressed. ‘In these 2 years, I also asked people like Uncle Wang about the meanings of dantian and ruler. I think I already understand why father no longer paid attention to me.’
Qin Yu pauses again and looks up at the starry sky.
‘I really don’t like those books on scheming and policy making. In fact I forced myself to study them. I really, really want to see father smile and to hear him accept and praise me, but those scheming books, those cruel books… I, I forced myself and suppressed my dislike to read them. I know all about those schemes and stratagems, but I can’t bring myself to execute them! I can’t carry them out. Father, I really can’t!’
Qin Yu cries bitterly in a low voice. His thin and weak body quivers. Xiao Hei, standing on one side of him, moves its eyes around and cleans Qin Yu’s face with its little wings.
Qin Yu leans his head and looks at the young eagle on his shoulder. Then he embraces it tightly to his bosom. The eagle remains silent in Qin Yu’s bosom as if it knows its little master’s mood at the moment. ‘Xiao Hei, I really want to hear father’s praise, want to see his happy smiles, really want to…’ mumbles Qin Yu in an increasingly low voice.
……
At a secret place on the top of the mountain, the 3 experts who secretly protect Qin Yu sigh endlessly.
Suddenly -- a meteor cuts through the starry sky, radiating dazzling rays of light. For a moment in the sky the meteor’s brilliance surpasses that of any star.
‘Meteor!’
Qin Yu’s eyes suddenly shine. He immediately releases Xiao Hei from his bosom, stands up, closes his eyes tightly, puts his hands together before him: ‘I wish father cared about me, just like how he treats big brother and second brother. I’m not afraid that he would spank or chastise me. I only want him not to ignore me.’
Qin Yu slowly opens his eyes and looks at the meteor, which has arrived at the horizon.
‘Father once said a wish made before a meteor would come true. He couldn’t have fooled me. It’ll definitely come true.’ Looking into the starry sky, Qin Yu’s childish face has a resolute expression.
Suddenly, a brilliant idea springs to Qin Yu’s mind.
His eyes brighten. He pats his head: ‘Ah, I was such a fool. Martial and literary arts; martial and literary arts; I can’t do well in literature, but won’t I succeed in martial arts either? Uncle Wang said there are many internal energy techniques in the world. Maybe some of them are suitable for my dantian. Even if none is, who says practicing internal techniques is indispensable in martial arts?’
Qin Yu after all is only an 8 year-old child. Even though his mind has matured a lot thanks to reading many books all by himself, he is still a child. Because Fengyuzi said in the past that one with a dantian problem could not pursue martial arts, a fixed idea was formed in Qin Yu’s mind. Only at this moment does he awaken.
Is it really impossible for one with a strange dantian to pursue martial arts?
‘Well, with resolution, an iron pestle can be ground down to a needle. This principle was said by father. As long as I try hard, I’ll be successful,’ says Qin Yu to himself while nodding repeatedly. His eyes are filled with unparalleled confidence as well as determination.
‘Xiao Hei, let’s go. Let’s return to the villa!’ Qin Yu does just what he says at once. Because he now has a goal, everything becomes different.
The black eagle on Qin Yu’s shoulder also seems to be very happy and repeatedly flaps its wings. As Qin Yu is skipping toward Misty Villa, 3 black silhouettes appear briefly and chase after Qin Yu like 3 wisps of black smoke.
Chapter 3: Midnight Discussion
‘Who is it?’ asks a black-armored soldier at the entrance of Misty Villa in a cold voice. The other black-armored soldier also looks at the silhouette far away. Only after a while can these 2 black-armored soldiers see clearly that the person coming is Third Prince Qin Yu. They cannot help feeling startled, but they still kneel down as usual and say respectfully: ‘Third Prince!’
Because Qin Yu has been running, there are small drops of sweat on his forehead, but his eyes are shining with excitement. His whole face has reddened. He says: ‘You two please stand up,’ and even smiles at the 2 black-armored soldiers. After that he hurriedly skips into Misty Villa.
These 2 soldiers look at Qin Yu’s back with doubtful eyes.
‘When Third Prince went to watch the stars on top of the mountain, he usually waited until after the daybreak of the following day. Why did he return so early this time?’ says the black-armored soldier on the left side doubtfully.
The soldier on the right side also shakes his head in confusion. He obviously does not know the reason.
******
Lian Yan is the person whom Qin Yu calls ‘Grandpa Lian.’ He is an old man in the Qin clan. The current East Vanquishing Prince Qin De was brought up by him, so his voice in the Qin clan is still very influential. 2 years ago, Qin De let him go to Misty Villa to take care of Qin Yu.
Like a gust of wind, Qin Yu rushes right to the outside of Lian Yan’s room. Then he immediately knocks the door powerfully with his little fists.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! ...
‘Grandpa Lian, hurry up and open the door. I’m Xiao Yu. I have something to talk to you about. Quickly open the door,’ shouts Qin Yu hurriedly. After a short while, there is lamplight in the room. ‘Xiao Yu, your grandpa fell into sleep just a moment ago, but you already woke him up,’ says a benign voice. Then the door opens.
A kind old man in his sixties wrapped in a coat appears before Qin Yu.
‘Ah, Xiao Yu, what’s the matter? Your head is sweating a lot.’ Lian Yan is startled upon seeing Qin Yu. Qin Yu wants to say something but because was running hard not long ago, he can only gasp for breath. Lian Yan says hastily: ‘Come on, get in the room first and talk later.’ As he is saying, he leads Qin Yu into the room.
The 2 of them sit down at the table in the room.
‘Calm down. There’s no hurry. Let’s talk about it after you have caught your breath,’ says Lian Yan hurriedly as he sees that Qin Yu wants to say something. Qin Yu takes a deep breath then stares at Lian Yan and says very resolutely: ‘Grandpa Lian, I want to practice martial arts.’
‘Practice martial arts?’ Lian Yan is slightly taken aback. After that he asks laughingly: ‘Xiao Yu, why do you want to practice martial arts?’
Qin Yu is slightly jolted. But then he says with happy laughter: ‘There’s no reason. It’s just that every one of those uncles in Misty Villa is so formidable, so I want to be like them too. Grandpa Lian, can I practice martial arts?’
Qin Yu’s desire for his father’s affection is buried at the bottom of his heart. He only thinks that when buried in his heart, it will become a goal for him to unceasingly strive for later.
‘Xiao Yu, do you know what martial arts are?’ asks Lian Yan instead of answering.
Qin Yu shakes his head and says: ‘I only know martial arts practitioners are very formidable. I don’t know much about anything else. There seems to be stuff like internal energy as well.’ As an 8 year old kid, even though Qin Yu has read quite a few books, there are still too many things he does not know about.
‘Then I’ll give you a detailed introduction first,’ says Lian Yan with a smile.
Qin Yu’s eyes immediately brighten. He stares at Lian Yan and starts to focus his attention on listening.
‘First I’ll talk about the experts in the world. They are divided into Houtian experts and Xiantian experts… Standing above Xiantian experts are Shangxian,’ says Lian Yan laughingly, ‘On the Qian Long continent, there are as many Houtian experts as fish in a river. It’s impossible to count them. But as for Xiantian experts, there are no more than 100 of them in the whole Chu kingdom.’
‘100 people?’ says Qin Yu in surprise, ‘Isn’t the population of Chu kingdom 4 billion? How can there be so few Xiantian experts, only one in several tens million?’
Lian Yan sighs and says: ‘To become a Houtian expert, one only needs a suitable practice method. But to become a Xiantian expert, it is extremely difficult. There are 2 requirements that must be met to become a Xiantian expert: First, you must max out your Houtian level. And second, you must have some intuitive enlightenment on the natural way of heaven.’
Qin Yu asks doubtfully without delay: ‘What is this natural way of heaven thing?’
Lian Yan immediately laughs out loud: ‘The natural way of heaven is not an object but rather a kind of conception that you can only grasp on your own and is very hard to explain in words. Some people were at the peak of the Houtian level for 10 years, but because they lacked intuitive enlightenment, they couldn’t finish the last step and therefore couldn’t become Xiantian experts in their lifetimes. But if they had become Xiantian experts, their lifespans would’ve increased to 500 years.’
‘500 years!’ Qin Yu’s jaw drops.
Seeing Qin Yu’s adorable expression, Lian Yan laughs: ‘It’s very hard to become a Xiantian expert. But if you can become one there’ll be a lot of benefits. The Xiantian energy inside a Xiantian expert’s body essentially differs from that of a Houtian expert. They are on 2 wholly different levels.’
……
‘Ah, Grandpa Lian, higher up than Xiantian experts there are Shangxian, aren’t there? How formidable are they?’ asks Qin Yu with glittering eyes.
If Xiantian experts are so good, then how fantastic will Shangxian be?
‘How can it be easy to become Shangxian?’ Lian Yan sighs: ‘Upon seeing them, even emperors have to salute and hail aloud ‘Shangxian’ very respectfully. But these emperors are afraid of being killed by Shangxian as Shangxian can fly to the ninth level of the sky with their flying swords. Basically they aren’t considered mortals!’
‘Fly to the ninth level of the sky?’
A picture spontaneously appears in Qin Yu’s mind in which he stands on a flying sword while flying on the ninth level of the sky. Little Qin Yu’s heart cannot help being bewitched by that sort of pleasure and liberty. Unconsciously, a desire to become a Shangxian has been planted in his mind.
‘The whole Chu kingdom has near 100 Xiantian experts, but… in the last 100 years it hasn’t seen a new Shangxian. Moreover, in the whole Chu kingdom, there are no more than 3 Shangxian. 2 of them became Shangxian more than 300 years ago. In the last 300 years, only your Uncle Feng has been able to become a Shangxian.’
‘Uncle Feng?’ Qin Yu remembers his own Uncle Feng. That white-clad Uncle Feng who often rode a white crane is actually a Shangxian?
Lian Yan continues: ‘However, if you want to become a Shangxian, you’d best go to the Overseas Immortal Islands to learn from a master there. But who else knows the location of the Overseas Immortal Islands, except for each country’s Shangxian? If commoners can see a Shangxian, will they have the qualifications to ask the Shangxian about the location of the Overseas Immortal Islands?’
‘Even if the location is known, the Overseas Immortal Islands are really too far from the Qian Long continent. Every year, over 10,000 people on the Qian Long continent went in search of the Overseas Immortal Islands to learn martial arts. They were all outstanding people, but there are too many hidden dangers in the ocean, so only 1 in 1000 people could reach the Overseas Immortal Islands alive,’ says Lian Yan emotionally.
Qin Yu’s eyes immediately shine. He asks: ‘Grandpa Lian, 10 people reached the Overseas Immortal Islands every year, then why are there so few Shangxian on the Qian Long continent?’
According to Qin Yu’s understanding, each year had 10 Shangxian, then should the Qian Long continent not have too many of them?
But the number of Shangxian on the whole Qian Long continent is too small. In the last several hundred to 1000 years, there have been less than 10 Shangxian altogether.
‘How could you become a Shangxian just by reaching the Overseas Immortal Islands?’ says Lian Yan while shaking his head, ‘Shangxian are so special. How is it possible for everyone to become a Shangxian? Even if the method of practice is made known to everyone, only 1 in 1000 people will have the necessary aptitudes for practicing it.’
‘Ah, doesn’t that mean it took almost 100 years for one of the people who arrived at the Overseas Immortal Islands to become a Shangxian, since there were only 10 of them every year?’ Qin Yu immediately feels how hard it is to become a Shangxian.
Lian Yan suddenly stands up and looks outside the window.
‘Shangxian? It’s such a dazzling name. Countless experts on the whole Qian Long continent went crazy over it. Countless experts all wanted to become Shangxian. To be able to behead a person from thousands of li away as soon as the flying sword is drawn, what kind of magic power is this?’ There is a hint of desire in Lian Yan’s eyes. Then he says emotionally: ‘Even your father has also been in constant need of a Shangxian’s help. If one more Shangxian helps your father, perhaps his goal will possibly be achieved.’
Qin Yu’s heart suddenly beats faster.
‘Father’s goal?’
At the same time, a warm current flows through his whole body. Qin Yu immediately feels that his whole body is full of vigor. ‘If I practice martial arts and become a Shangxian, father will be very happy. When the time comes, I’ll be able to help him as well.’
Thinking of himself becoming a Shangxian, being able to help his father, and being able to gain his praise and respect, Qin Yu’s heart, which is lonesome and longs for father’s love, heats up.
‘Because of father, I’ll definitely become a Shangxian,’ thinks Qin Yu, nipping his lips. His eyes radiate resolution.<
br />
Chapter 4: Father and Son
It is already late at night. Cold wind is whistling outside, but in the room Qin Yu is so excited that his whole body feels very hot.
‘Grandpa Lian, please tell me how to practice martial arts. I want to practice. I’ll definitely become a Shangxian. Even if I can’t become a Shangxian, I’ll become a Xiantian expert!’ Qin Yu’s eyes shine with an extreme resolution.
Stellar Transformations Page 5