Immortal Ascension Tower

Any beings that had developed self-consciousness had always wondered and pondered about what would come next, with humanity being no exception to that statement. So when these beings first experienced "death", the thought that formed in many people's heads was one and one only...

What next? What came after death? Was it the extermination of the soul? Reincarnation? Or was there a completely different world altogether? Well, people nowadays say that men create their own gods, and the best explanation is that, just like that, those thoughts turned into a place where rivers of souls and consciousnesses flowed incessantly. Countless souls of countless creatures, some would disappear, some would enter a new world while some would drink the old lady Meng's tea and forget everything about their past lives, allowing themselves another chance in the same world.

There was no ceiling and yet no sky could be seen. The ground was completely black; nothing would ever be able to grow in the black dirt, as it had been in the presence of Death for far too long to bear Life. Long rivers flowed. What flowed was not water however. After all Water, was also, in a way, the source of life, no water would be able to flow in a world of death. Countless bright ethereal bodies were what took the place of the water and formed those long rivers on the black dirt: souls. Countless souls passed every single moment on those yellow rivers of death...

It was such a place. Hell was. Indeed; those rivers... Were the infamous Yellow Springs, the rivers of the underworld!

In that hellish place though, 'He' was different. 'He' simply stood there, alone, in the dark, looking upwards towards where the sky should have been. 'He' was special. Souls had no bodies, thus of course they also shouldn't have eyes to see. And yet, 'He' could see, meaning that his existence was not that of a soul... 'He' was something else! At the same time though, 'He' also had no memories... No memories of himself or of any others. 'He''d just lay on his back and looked upwards, as the time flowed on, and on, and on.

When 'He' had first arrived in that place, a presence had appeared in his head, instantly wiping away everything else: this presence had then told him that 'He' simply... was not. 'He' did not and had never existed, nor would he ever, even in a far future. Although something should have made him suspicious then, as 'He' was clearly not 'Nothing', the same presence that had wiped away his memories had also took away his Logic and Intuition, leaving nothing left behind except for the one fact: 'He' was nothing. 'He'... was not.

And it remained that way for a long, long time... All was black and the darkness clouding in his mind showed no sign of going away. 'He' noticed the passage of time, but 'He' didn't give it a thought. 'He' couldn't. And indeed, all was the same for a full thousand years...

Until, Light finally reached 'His' eyes.

In the black dirt of this world of death, a crack appeared. From the crack, a pellet came out: completely golden in color, it couldn't be described as anything else but a Spark of Light for it was just so bright! It had appeared suddenly, a dazzling Light in the Dark... And it was such Light that would then proceed to dispel all the Shadows! With a flash, hazy memories that, according to the presence's claims, 'shouldn't have existed', memories that that same presence had wiped away and erased... those memories all suddenly reappeared as clear as the day!

After a full thousand years, 'He' finally remembered! 'He' knew where 'He' was!

'He' was in the world that came after Life, a World of Death, so to speak. 'He' was at the entrance of the Yellow Springs, cursed to never reincarnate nor pass on, cursed to watch the starless sky until the end of time... 'He' should have died back then, but such death had been sealed. Instead of death, 'He' had experienced the absence of life while still being very much alive.

He was alive, yes, but it was a life that was much more of a curse rather than a blessing.

But now! Through that spark of light, everything had changed!

Since his death was sealed meaning 'He' was very much alive, 'He' could had theoretically gone back in the world of the living, his world, any time 'He' wanted... Unfortunately, that darkness in his head had not allowed that, as it had taken away his consciousness, the knowledge that 'He' had once been, let alone that 'He' was. Then, that one Light had flashed and those shadows clouding his mind had been dispelled!

After a full thousand years, 'He' finally remembered! 'He' knew who 'He' was!

'He' was the one whom, one thousand years ago, had challenged the Heavens! 'He' was the one whom had brought chaos to the Nine Heavens of Tian!

Once again, golden flashes reached his figure as more and more shadows could only struggle for a while before they also finally disappeared!

A thousand years wasted, a thousand years stolen away...

A thousand years 'He' would pay back!

Because, right then, after all that time, 'He' finally remembered! 'He' knew what 'He' had to do!

'He' smiled with a mouth that his mind insisted wasn't there... Or was it?

'He' laughed even though 'He' should have long known that his vocal chords shouldn't exist... Because they didn't exist... rightjQuery21408685291972386021_1521025646230

'He' stood up on his legs when 'He' shouldn't have had any, and took the speck of golden light in his hands... And yet, back then, hadn't the presence insisted such hands had not existed Regardless, 'He' could hold that small spark.

Regardless of all, his 'nonexistent' mouth and throat had even just swallowed that same spark!

'He' didn't exist? 'He' clearly did! As for why, the Logic 'He' had just reacquired answered that for him!

If 'He' were nothing, 'He' would not be able to do anything. Thus, if 'He' did anything, 'He' wasn't 'nothing'.

'He' did, therefore 'He' was.

To be and to do, weren't they the exact same thing? After all, something couldn't be thought as existing unless it 'did' something, and the same worked the other way around! And 'He' did. Therefore 'He' was!

Reaching that conclusion, the deepest shadow in his mind also faded away and the invisible shackles that had bound him to that place broke down! It was then, at that moment, that this fake image of Death couldn't hold him anymore. After a full one thousand years of blankly staring at the starless sky, the stars reappeared and then 'He' knew. 'He' knew that they had been there all along! And that it had just been him that hadn't had the power to make the final step and really, truly... open his eyes!

The familiar black dirt beneath Him turned back into a cold ground, the grass even tickled his ears. The air, so still in the underworld, now even brushed in waves nonstop against his exposed skin. The sky... The earth... The wind... They were there. They were all there!

'He' lifted a small hand. At first 'He' was taken aback as the hand was really small and the skin covering it looked so soft it was as if water could be squeezed out with but a light pinch. 'He' frowned, as such a hand had clearly never held a farming tool, let alone a weapon, as it was simply that smooth. But then, 'He' smiled. 'He'?had always liked a challenge. And hadn't 'He' always been lowly anyways? The golden light pill that 'He' had swallowed let out a feeling of warmth from his stomach. The warmth comforted him as 'He' enjoyed the feeling of laying on the fresh ground instead of the harsh, black dirt. From his navel and stomach was an uneasy feeling, coupled with a burning pain, but?'He' could not care less... after all what was some pain, in the face of freedom?

'He' breathed in the 'cold' air of the night, except it was not cold at all. In fact, some smoke was actually mixed in. When that one breath reached his lungs it even burned a bit... off in the distance, the vague outline of a burning village could be discerned. Although 'He' felt pain from inhaling smoke, 'He' still laughed. Long black hair fluttered in the night wind and the gaze of the child focused on the beautiful starry sky above him before finally forcing himself to stand up. A small pair of golden eyes blinked ecstatically as a hint of reminiscence flashed by the pupils.

"I..."

In the night lit up by the flames and the starry sky, a small mouth opened and a short string of words came out:

"I... have returned!"

...

The child threaded the small path to the burning village with a pleasant smile plastered on the face that still held some baby fat in it. Right now, the place where the 'past him' had lived for about eight years was being slowly eaten away by crimson flames. The few valuable things the villagers had managed to gather during their poor life had already been pillaged, and the cries of women and small children, plus the occasional house imploding, all contributed to break the silence of the night.

Roofs and walls came crashing down and slowly were turned into ashes as the fire burned the wooden buildings to the ground. The cold night had been heated up exactly thanks to those flames. The child smiled as he walked in between the flaming debris, as if the fire posed no threat to him. Step by step, he headed towards the only part in the village that had yet to burn down: here, the houses hadn't been built with wood; instead, all the buildings were made out of stone. Although this may have saved many villagers from the fire, it would not save them from the biggest threat: the bandits! At the moment, dozens of people clad in black were rushing down the paved roads, each of them holding a sack in one hand and a weapon in the other. Some had let go of the loot to grab women instead, but one thing didn't change: if you were not gold, silver, some precious ore or a beauty, you would get cut down on the spot!

In between all this chaos of people screaming and buildings falling, the child kept smiling as he headed towards the one place where the fuzzy memories from the 'past him' indicated the people of Stonewood Township would be able to defend themselves from the bandits' raid: the major's mansion. As for why he was heading there... it was definitely not to seek protection. He walked up to the town plaza and no one seemed to notice him. It didn't matter if it was a bandit looting a house, a rogue raping a woman or one of the criminals drinking stolen wine, they all didn't notice this shadow that swept by them. And, of course, they also didn't notice when one after the other, their heads fell on the ground, their visage still contorted into feral grins and sadistic smiles...

After some time had passed, the noise finally began to quiet down, leaving only the cracking sounds coming from the flames. The people that had hid themselves in the mansion were now even more scared: did the bandits leave? Or were they only preparing to attack them? Or did something even scarier come in their place? Finally, after a few minutes, one of the bravest hunters in the village stepped out of the safe haven that was the major's mansion. People waited the news anxiously and every second that passed seemed to last hours. After ten minutes, the man came back. There was no trace of the usual courage on his face. Instead, the only expression was terror, and pure terror alone. He was shaking from head to toe, and only after he drank some of the best whisky did he manage to tell everyone else of what had happened outside.

"Death. Outside there is only death. Pools of blood, countless dead bodies... and dozens of headless corpses, their heads are still grinning, as if they still haven't realized that they are dead..." Although he had managed to speak, the old hunter still felt a shiver run down his spine as he remembered the extremely graphic scenes he had bore witness to.

"But, " he exclaimed, "This is nothing! In the plaza, I found the cause to all of this, or at least, the one responsible for the many heads decorating our streets. It was..." the old hunter trailed off, shaking his head as if he couldn't believe those words he was about to speak himself. "It was... a boy. No more than eight years old. He was completely naked, without a single speck of clothing on his person, not even shoes. But that was no problem, because his body was so covered in a crimson liquid that it worked as a robe itself! As for what that liquid was... I hope you won't force me to say it out loud and will figure out on their own."

The old hunter took a sip from a flask of alcohol and sighed in disbelief. "When I stepped into the plaza, I didn't make any noise, you see? And yet... yet that thing turned towards me, as if he had somehow... Sensed me."

Gulp, another mouthful was swallowed with gusto. "He seemed to have recognized me as friendly, because he did not rush over or attack. 'Uncle, what is my name?' He had asked instead. When I heard the small voice, I edged closer and closer... Maybe it was a rush of adrenaline, but suddenly I wasn't so scared anymore. Anyways, when I got closer I was even more shocked..."

The man turned towards a couple holding each other close in a corner of the building. "Master Fen, please brace yourself! The child, that devilspawn... was Little Hao!" he exclaimed as the couple glanced at him with horror. "But his eyes were totally different! The warm and kind eyes of Little Hao were instead ruthless, cold, as if he hadn't just killed a hundred people by himself! Those were not the eyes of a child... They were the eyes of a demon that had fought countless battles and slaughtered millions! A devil!"

The man curled up in his chair as everyone patted on his back and poured him more alcohol. In the corner, the two people, a man and a woman, trembled. The man was called Cheng Fen, the woman Ning Rong and they were Little Hao's parents. Cheng Fen was also the small town's major.

"At that time, I couldn't help but answer truthfully, fearing for my life in the case that the demon could somehow discern lies from truth. 'Child, your name is Cheng Hao, you are this town major's son', I told him." The man shook his head "Little Hao seemed to ponder for a while. Of course, I did not dare interrupt him, since my instincts told me that if I did, I would most likely end up like those people on the ground..."

"After a short while, Little Hao had smiled and then nodded at me. 'Cheng Hao, uh? Sounds like a nice name... Since I have technically stolen his body, even though he was already dead and died a harsh death at that, I will still make sure to use his name to repay him! Oh, and thank you for telling me, Uncle! These dead bandits are my way to thank you and the village of everything you have done for the other me up to today!'" The old hunter fell silent as he downed more and more liquor. He had lost more than twenty years of his lifespan from that single encounter! Let alone boars and wild animals, the old hunter would not hunt anything ever again! He was pretty old anyways, and the temptation of a rocking chair sounded pretty alluring...

Hearing the dialogue the old hunter had reported, Cheng Fen was truly shocked: was that person that had been described to him truly the same foolish child of his that couldn't hurt a fly? How could he not be surprised when he found out that the one person that had cleared the village of the bandits... Was his very own kind and gentle son! He shook his head in disbelief but then he still asked "And then? What happened? Where is Little Hao now?"

The hunter shook his head "I'm sorry, I don't know..." He lifted his head towards Cheng Fen and his wife in an apologetic manner. "H-He just... disappeared!"

The Heavens and the Earth. Two completely different worlds that rarely had anything to do with each other, yet tales and legends of the Heavenly Realm, of the Jade Emperor, the might of his mighty guardians and the battles against powerful foes caught the ears of the mortals nevertheless.

Especially tales like the one of the Evil Saint that had once tried to destroy the world. Such a story, by the way, was also every mother's favorite if her child refused to go to sleep. Whenever that happened, the parents would only need to casually blurt out stuff like "If you don't go to sleep soon, the Evil Saint Xū Líng and his army of monstrous beasts will come and eat you!" At that, the child would tremble in fear and immediately go to bed.

The bad guy wanted to destroy the world, and the mighty heavens interved. How many times had scenarios like this occurred? They were way too many to count, so why would anybody pay especially close attention to another attempt of evil to overthrow good? Well, as it turned out, it's because the actual story was not that simple at all. This... 'Evil Saint' was no evil conqueror. He was no bloodthirsty demon. He was actually a simple man, an unlucky piece of a gigantic puzzle of reality that the Heavens had found unsightly and had tried relentlessly to dispose of.

A man that, together with his army of Heavenly Beasts, humans and all kinds of monsters who also held grudges towards Tian's Nine Heavens for whatever reason, fought for their own rights and freedom. He had no intention of destroying the world, but it happens quite often that history would be laid down by the winners. It didn't matter what had truly happened: in the eyes of the common people, what those in power said, they would accept it as the one and only truth! The losers had no say in this, and Xu Ling had, unfortunately, lost. Following his death, his righteous ideals were distorted and the records turned his existence into an enemy of all that lived beneath the Heavens!

His nickname, Evil Saint, which had been bestowed upon him many years prior, also didn't help when it came to restoring his image. This coupled with countless witnesses, real and false alike, of horrendous acts that the Evil Saint had carried out, made it so that a righteous man had been branded as a cruel criminal.

After all, while people would, yes, fear those who had power, they would at the same time bully those who hadn't. Xu Ling had lost and had been killed, so mortals immediately started to distort the truth even more with fake stories about his cruelty and ruthlessness. He was branded as weak and was thus slandered, as that was the way both human and all other corruptible living beings had lived, lived and would live for many, many years...

People would also admire and encourage those that went against the odds, as they would pity the weak. And yet, once that weak person won, the actions of the populace would make a 180 degrees change: admiration would turn into envy and their encouraging would turn into scorn.

One of the many reasons, apart from the lack of talent or external support, that true geniuses are rare is that some of them couldn't endure this change of attitude and would subconsciously restrain their abilities, or would be forced to do so to avoid the eyes of the powerful. After all, in the world, even a heaven-shaking talent would account less than nothing when compared to strength!

But what about a genius that was so heaven-defying, even the strongest amongst the strong would be unable to lay even a single finger upon him? With knowledge capable to shock the world with a single phrase, connections that allowed him to step even in the most sacred of grounds... and an overbearing attitude that would never allow him to bow to no one! What then? Would such a genius be restrained by the Heavens? By Death? By Age? What could any of these weak shackles possibly do in the face of insurmountable power? And how exactly would the world change with his appearance?

...

A black blur shot through the forest at speeds at the very limit of what a human body could handle. It kept speeding down the mountains and running through swamps for at least half a day before it finally began to gradually slow down as the sun was halfway into its descending parable. When it finally came to a stop on top of a tall cliff, only then could the figure be seen a bit more clearly: it was a young boy. He was wearing ragged clothes, and carried a huge backpack on his shoulders.

His skin and clothing were so dirty that he appeared to be completely black. If it weren't for the pair of bright, golden eyes and the two rows of perfect, white teeth perennially arranged into an excited grin, one could easily mistake him for a shadow.

The child wasn't panting and didn't seem all that tired despite having gone through half a day of traveling at his full speed. If it weren't for the slightly rugged breathing, the astonishing feat could have even been mistaken for an illusion, as if it had never happened at all. Looking in the distance, the youngster examined his surroundings: below the tall cliff, a gigantic fortress could be seen, the outer walls extending for countless miles to the point they disappeared beyond the horizon. Inside the fortress there weren't just houses made of stones and buildings as one would expect. Instead, there were many lakes, forests and even actual hills and mountains. It made people wonder whether the gargantuan castle had actually been built somewhere else and only then moved on top of the fantasy-like scenery.

As his gaze landed on the majestic walls, his eyes glinted with delight. He turned around and said a few sentences, seemingly speaking to himself. "This seems to be it! We're finally here!" The youth's expression revealed a smug smile as two slender arms completely covered in filth crossed in front of his chest. "So, what do you say now, uh? What would have happened if I had turned left at that time, uh? Thus, as agreed, from now on, I keep the map! Mmm... anyways, this was a pretty hard journey, even I feel a bit of pressure after running for half a day... but I must say it's quite the view!" And indeed it was. The imposing fortress was striking, but there was also a beauty in the way the nature had been preserved. Was it intentional, the boy pondered, but did not truly give it too much of a thought.

The youngster dyed in black stretched his arms and legs for a bit. His body emitted creaking noises, followed by delighted moans that occasionally escaped the thin lips. After the short stretching session, the boy turned around and then asked, "Well... Shall we head down?"

Surprisingly, a voice answered him. It seemed to be the voice of a middle aged man, yet it carried a hint of ancientness "Yes, let's hurry, wouldn't want to be too late, right? Especially after running so much to get here on time!"

"Absolutely, since I did all the running! Yeah, your only usage lately seems to be that of a dead weight I need to take care of. Be sure to breakthrough soon or start slithering already." The boy looked at the valley beneath the cliff and nodded. Suddenly, his eyes glinted and the pupils within seemed to transform into golden coins as they glittered with greed. "But enough of that, look over there!" The youth exclaimed. "What a fat sheep!"

The boy rubbed his two hands together grinning, "Are you thinking the same thing I am?"

The mysterious voice responded dreamingly, as if intoxicated. "It is indeed a beautiful scenery-"

"Not that, you damn reptile! Look at those fat sheep! My pouch is empty right now and it seems reeeeally sad. Look at how it's bending downwards! We should really help him up, if you know what I mean... don't you agree? Good! Then, let's head down!" At that the boy suddenly bent his knees. "Brace yourself, Goldy!"

"What did you say? Did you just call me G-Goldy? Me? Blindlight, the devourer of worlds and the eclipser of stars?" The middle-aged man's voice replied enraged. Suddenly, it stopped and the same voice that had appeared so overbearing before asked tremblingly, "Uhm... You are not thinking of... Like... No, no, no! Absolutely not! Hey, did you hear me! I said stop! STOP, DON'T J-" The voice seemed to have understood something was about to happen, because it grew louder by the word, but before it could say anything else the boy had already jumped off the cliff.

"Hey, you crazy boy, I told you to waIT, DIDN'T I!"

"You did, I just ignored you! YEEEE~AAAAAAH! THIS IS SO FUUUUN!" The boy laughed with delight and soon his tiny figure disappeared in the valley below.

...

In the Four Beasts Mountain Range, one of the longest chains of mountains in the Western Continent, many sects and schools had been built by powerful figures in their time. Although these organizations also taught common subjects like math and literature, their main focus was on the so-called Martial Cultivation, a way to enhance one's strength through training and enlightening of special techniques. Since such a resource had nearly infinite potential, it had long since been incorporated into the world.

Those people who underwent and explored the properties of Martial Cultivation and wielded powerful techniques were called Cultivators. The cores of such techniques were the so-called Spiritual Energy and Qi. The Qi was... Well, everything. Literally. Everything was made out of Qi, albeit with different kinds of attributes. It was the most basic brick that made up matter. At the same time, Spiritual Energy was a kind of energy that could be openly manipulated through various scriptures and techniques, energy that was omnipresent as long as matter existed. Cultivators used the Spiritual Energy of the world to enhance their power. At the same time, enlightening of the Qi allowed them to understand various aspects of the Qi more deeply, thus allowing greater control and strength over both Qi and Spiritual Energy.

Amongst the ranks of those powerful sects and schools in the Western Continent was a single Sect called the Mysterious Light-Shadow Sect.

A thousand years ago, treasures, elixirs, pills, drops of blood holding within great power... anything a Cultivator could ever wish for suddenly fell from the Heavens upon the lowly mortal world! Thanks to this lucky event, many powerful cultivators rose during that period of time and it was then called the Golden Age of cultivation. According to the rumors, a powerful expert had found a big stash of these treasures and thus collected enough resources to build a first-rate sect, the Mysterious Light-Shadow Sect! After his death and a thousand years after the otherworldly treasure had rained down, the Sect had prospered and currently housed millions of disciples, some of which were extremely heaven-defying geniuses.

Right at that moment, a group of twenty youths wearing the black, white-striped clothing of the sect were standing together and were happily chatting with an older young man. The older man also wore black robes, but unlike the other youths who only had one or two white stripes going from their shoulders to their ankles, the man's robes had three stripes, signifying that he was actually... an esteemed Inner Sect disciple! He was an existence in the Sect that statistically only appear once for every thousand of disciples that enrolled in its ranks!

"Senior, senior, is it true that you've successfully condensed your Core?" A person asked, his expression showering the older man with respect as well as worship.

"What? Senior, could it be... you have stepped into the Advanced Martial stage at such a young age? Senior surely must be a heaven-defying talent!" A woman's eyes glinted with surprise as she edged closer.

"Eheh, so Senior finally broke through! Senior will now have to treat us to a drink right? We have to celebrate this great occasion with the finest of wine!" A burly man laughed and patted the person in question on the back.

The group of young people kept bombarding a young man in his early thirties with questions and showered him with praises nonstop. He stood at one meter and eighty centimeters tall, and had long, flowing, black hair that reached down to his waist, giving him a somewhat scholarly aura... The man had a somewhat haughty air and his eyes had a bit of contempt in them, but he hid both very deeply, and acted well enough for people to mistake them for affection and humbleness! "My, my! I am not such a genius, it took a full sixteen years to finally begin to condense my core, how can that be called genius? I am far from being talented..." The man waved his hands dismissively, but he was actually laughing inside. Yes, yes, praise this genius more! Heaven Defying? Indeed, indeed, these guys know exactly what they're talking about! Mwahahah!

"Not a genius? How can Senior say that!" A young man in his late teens grabbed the chance to flatter the older man even more, and skillfully illustrated his own bootlicking skills. "Very few people in the sect have such talent, and those people truly are dragon amongst men! And yet today Senior has actually joined the ranks of such powerful monsters! This lowly Junior can only hope to one day also follow Senior's footsteps..."

"Yes! That's indeed right, Senior! After all, if your talent isn't good enough to be called at the very least above average, then wouldn't our talent be worse than dog crap?" Some disciple also laughed and jokingly hit the man's shoulder.

"Ahhhh, you guys..." the older youth shook his head as he chuckled.

Even though he seemingly kept dodging the praises that other people were throwing at him, it was still evident to the keen-eyed that the man actually felt really proud of himself! Stepping in the Advanced Stage at the age of thirty-one truly was something worth of praise, as some people might even not reach that level of profound martial cultivation at all in their whole lives. Yes praise this genius more! Who is next? This genius can't wait... Preach my greatness, mwahaha!

"Uuuu, seniors, is this the road that brings to the Mysterious Light-Shadow Sect?" Just then a small voice could be heard. Everybody stopped talking and switched their attention towards the new arrival: the boy clearly wasn't even in his teens as he was nine years old at most, most likely he was still only eight. Appearance-wise, he was wearing ragged clothes, had no shoes on and his only belonging was a big, worn out backpack he carried on his back and an empty pouch on his belt... the child grinned. "I seem to be lost."

The closest people immediately walked a few steps backwards disgusted: the teen was so dirty that even his face was indistinguishable and his long flowing black hair that reached the waist had black earth and mud attached to it. It really made one wonder whether black truly was the color of the hair or if it was simply so unclean that it had been naturally dyed like that! The worst thing though was that the boy was so stinky that many people had to hold their noses and breath through their mouths: the child seemed to have never taken a bath before!

"Y... Young child, what matters could possibly bring you to come to my Mysterious Light-Shadow Sect? Is a sibling of yours studying there?" The man that was constantly being sung praises to annoyingly asked the small boy. The disgust on the youth's face was hardly concealable as he clearly bent back and tried to put some distance between him and the dirty child. The boy's eyes scanned the man in front of him and an imperceptible smile formed on the thin lips as the child realized the kind of man he was talking to.

"Oh, This Lowly Junior has no siblings, relatives nor friends at Esteemed Senior's Mysterious Light-Shadow Sect. This Lowly Junior came to join the sect and become a powerful cultivator just like Senior! Esteemed Senior's strength can be seen simply by his air and demeanor, truly worth of a king between men!" After noticing how much the man seemed to value face, the boy wasted no time and immediately started flattering him in front of the other disciples. The praises had been extremely smooth, without the slightest hint of sarcasm amidst the fancy words. It was a beautifully done flattery, so much so that the man's expression turned from the disgust in the stinky youths' regards, to pride, and finally self-satisfaction, as if what he had just gained had not been only face, but a sum of money that could allow him to live in bliss forever!

He looked around, a big smile plastered on his face, as if he were saying: See? This genius is so great even a small child understands how he should act in front of me! Mwahahah, indeed, this Genius is the greatest!

"Cough, cough, ahem!"

The older man stepped closer to the kid and he waved his hand towards him: immediately, the air flow changed, an invisible pressure started to shake the child's body and at the same time threw off all the dirt and mud on his figure.

The boy watched in 'amazement' as the previously dirty him suddenly turned into a clean, refined young boy: his beautiful, straight, long, pitch-black hair and wide, girly, golden eyes as well as his handsome face mesmerized some of the females on the spot. The long eyelashes, the straight nose pointing slightly upwards... how was this child not a girl? He was even prettier than many beauties! Some girl even awakened their hidden shotacon side, and immediately started to think of methods to get closer to the beautiful youth.

The child's pretty girly looks, coupled with a hint of courage between his eyebrows and yet having such an innocent look in his eyes... If he was this beautiful while still so young, how breathtaking would he become in the future? Gah! Arrows of blood shot into the sky!

Ignoring the strange reaction from his female companions, the thirty-one year old cultivator smiled at the child. "Good child! You sure know how to flatter others! As a reward..." He looked up and the air surrounding them trembled as the two suddenly shot towards the sky! The jump was really high and they soon were more than a hundred feet off the ground. When they were about to fall though, the young boy realized that he was actually as still as a rock on the ground: he was fluctuating in the air!

The child turned towards the man at his side that was firmly grasping his shoulder and sharing the power of flight with him. The man looked back and, seeing his 'shocked' face, he explained. "This, little Junior, is my power. You were absolutely right, your Senior is indeed powerful, Junior really has good eyes... This is the power of... an Advanced Stage Cultivator! This younger brother who knows his ways with words, recognized my strength and even allowed me to show off in front of those ignorant people, how could I hold up to my might if I let such actions go unrewarded? As a prize I, Liu Biao, will personally escort you to the Mysterious Light-Shadow Sect!" With that, the man that called himself Liu Biao turned towards the tall walls in the distance. He smiled and the child felt a strong pull as they suddenly sped up, moving so extremely fast that the trees beneath them could not be clearly seen and the people below seemed even more like colored blurs!

In less than twelve breaths they had travelled quite a distance and reached the tall walls of the gigantic fortress! The fort spanned for many miles in both length and width and it was absolutely massive, so big that it could easily house at least a few million men while still having plenty of space left over.

"Young boy, Senior has given you his name, so can Junior tell what is this little Junior's name?" As they landed and started approaching the tall walls, Liu Biao also started to ask the youth beside him a few questions.

"Senior, this junior is called Cheng Hao and he comes from a mountain village in the south. This junior truly thanks Senior for his assistance and hopes to one day be able to repay kindness with even more kindness. For Senior is so strong, this measly junior truly doesn't want to waste the great Senior's precious time and thinks that for Senior's best it is better to part ways here..."

Although the intention of sweet-talking and flatter the older man was crystal-clear in the boy's words, the 'Advanced stage cultivator' had already fallen for the young man's soft schemes and sweet praises so much... That he actually couldn't bear to part with the boy! It was like biting into a delicious cake: now that he had bit once, he wanted more! Because of this, he quickly disregarded the boy's suggestion. "Hahaha, this junior can call me big brother Biao and I will call you little brother Hao! How about it? There would be no need for worries when we are brothers right? Onwards, let big brother help you easily pass the exam for Vacant Disciples!"

Cheng Hao caught onto the occasion and knelt on the ground. When he looked up, his eyes glittered with excitement as he softly called out. "Big... Big brother Biao..."

Ugh! Too cute! Some passers-byes felt as if an arrow had suddenly stabbed into their chest!

Mwahahah! Indeed, this Genius is the greatest big brother! "Ahahahah!" Liu Biao lifted his head upwards and laughed loudly to the sky. By doing so, though, he also missed the grin as well as the greedy countenance that appeared for a really short time on the child's face. Suddenly, the child's expression had changed as he slapped a golden blur that had suddenly shot out from his ragged clothing. The blur whimpered once, and then returned back into one of Cheng Hao's front pockets.

"Not yet, " he hissed. Without being seen, he hurriedly closed the front pocket where, for a moment, a golden, scaly tail could be seen moving about...

...

A short while later...

"Little Bro' Hao, you wouldn't by any chance have already started to cultivate, have you? Those trashy cultivation methods that ordinary peasants use could really harm your talent, as it is really difficult to change one's method midway..."

"Sen- No, big brother Biao!" Cheng Hao stuttered. "How could have I? I am so young, how could I possibly have started to cultivate?" The child chuckled before his expression darkened. "Our mountain village only had one cultivator, and that cultivator didn't let even his closest of friends look at his cultivation method. Let alone a small, poor and..." the child sniffed theatrically, "Orphan child like me..." At that Cheng Hao gradually started to slow down and began to sob. An incessant stream of tears also didn't wait long before falling down the sides of his face.

"You... You are an orphan?"

"Y-yes... W-w-WAAAAA! MOMMYYY! DADDYYY! WAAA!"

Liu Biao panicked when he saw the child cry even more at his question. He hesitated but he then knelt in front of the child. "Do not worry, you may have no parents, but now your big brother is here! Big brother will protect you from now on!" After saying that he tightly hugged Cheng Hao and let the boy cry his heart out on his robes. After a long while, the child seemed to have finally calmed down and he looked at the older man with what seemed even more ardor. "Big brother, thank you!"

Liu Biao grinned and patted the boy's head. "Now let's go... I will make sure you pass that exam! You will join the Sect"

Cheng Hao also looked determinately at the wall that was now only a few dozen step in front of them and nodded before starting to walk again.

...

"What do you mean he can't join???" Liu Biao furiously banged his fist on the table. The poor furniture immediately got crushed into splinters under the immense power of Advanced stage cultivation. Thanks to the thirty-one year old cultivator's actions and fiery temper, all the people nearby had given up on their intentions and steered away as far as they could from the broken down table and the three people gathered around it.

Sitting at the table, or at least the few splinters that had once been a table, was a middle-aged man: he wore a white uniform with a single black stripe on it. The white robe meant he was yes, an Elder, but that single stripe showed he was only a mere Vacant Sect Elder... compared to an Inner Disciple, his status was as low as an ant before an emperor! Furthermore, when the table had been destroyed, the poor guy had also found out that the power of this arrogant disciple was a whole stage higher than his own, so he could do nothing but pray that he would let the matter go...

"E-e-esteemed inner disciple, " he flattered "this boy is simply way too young, we can't possibly allow such a young kid in our sect! Let alone the fact that we wouldn't be able to measure his talent as martial power usually blossoms once a person reaches his teens... the rules require him to pass through a vicious and arduous trial!" The Elder tried to explain. The result?

"Does it seem like I, your grandfather, gives a dog's crap about your rules??? If I say crawl, you crawl, if I say bark like a dog, you bark and bring me back the stick I threw at you while at it! And so, if I say my little brother here will join the sect... He. Will. Join. The. Sect. Am I clear?" Facing Liu Biao's, an Inner Disciple's, cursing, the vacant Elder could only shut his mouth and not retaliate, hoping that the other party would eventually calm down... or a miracle happened. Well, not that he put much hope into the latter, after all miracles were miracles exactly because they simply did not happ-

"B-big brother, you don't have to go as far... I-I will come back in a few years, how about it?"

A miracle! Thank the Heavens! The Vacant Elder felt as if he was on the verge of tears.

"Look here, you WILL make Cheng Hao a sect disciple now, understand?" Liu Biao yelled.

Fuck! The Elder's eyes twitched: he did not get paid enough for this! Now that he thought about it... did he even get paid at all?

"Big brother!" Meanwhile, as the Vacant Elder was lost in his thoughts, Cheng Hao lamented in his place. That much attention was unwanted. Cheng Hao also started to tug at the bigger boy's clothing and urge him to stop, in vain...

"Senior... I-I... Really can't-" The Elder finally stuttered as he shook his head.

"Are you not listening to me?" Liu Biao was on the verge of exploding.

Cheng Hao gritted his teeth and finally spoke out. "Big brother! I will just take the test! There will be no problems if Junior can pass the new disciple acceptance exam, right?"

"Uh?" Both the examination elder and the Liu Biao looked at him with wide eyes and stopped arguing.

Finally, the enraged Inner Sect Disciple seemed to have calmed down. "Little brother, you should know that there are traps and monsters waiting for you if you take the test... Are you willing to throw your life away??? Just leave it to big brother here!"

"I-I won't die!" Cheng Hao yelled. "Please big brother, just stop arguing!"

Liu Biao was stunned and before he could say anymore, Cheng Hao walked towards the area where the middle aged vacant elder was sitting, stepped on the teleportation hexagram laid on the ground, the one that would bring him towards the test's location, and vanished. Both the elder and Liu Biao looked at the fading teleportation hexagram blankly.

"Does he actually have enormous strength even if he is so young? W-what cultivation does your little brother have?" The Elder managing the examination asked Liu Biao: for the child to be so confident, was he perhaps a genius that had begun cultivating at such a young age?

The black robed man paled. "C-Cultivation? He... He... HE DOESN'T HAVE ANY!!!!!"

Both Liu Biao and the elder looked at the now almost completely gone hexagram with fright.

"NOOOOOOO!!!" Liu Biao tried to step on the hexagram before it disappeared but failed miserably and landed on the ground fiercely.

"STOP! Stop the new disciple acceptance exam! NOW!"

"I cannot! There is no way to access an occupied examination array once it is full! Now that it already holds a disciple in it, the exam has already started and unless he dies, nobody else can go in!"

"Nooooooooo! Little Hao!!! Noooooooooooooo!"

Liu Biao started weeping on the ground. Had the Inner Disciple at the Advanced stage been just a little more clear-headed instead of drowning in his grief, he would've probably felt something off. And instead, it would only be much, much later, that he would finally discover that his belt had actually gotten one Heaven&Earth pouch lighter...