World of Beasts

by Tinalynge

  He remembered the abilities by heart already. His mind was incredibly good at remembering things, and after reading through the five abilities he had picked four times, he knew them by heart.

  "First, I am going to train the Azure Light Finger. When I finish that, then I will proceed to the Shattering Mountain Fist," he mumbled to himself and, without hesitating, and completely ignoring that Manager Su was still present, began his training.

  Having decided on what to do, Xue Wei did not waste any more time. Instead, he rushed to the training field where he saw row after row of dummies.

  These dummies were not ordinary dummies, they were made of black gold, a material which repaired itself after destruction. These dummies had been extremely expensive, but they were also very beneficial when it came to training.

  Even Xiao Lei had been capable of using them. He was a Heavenly Warrior who was capable of cultivating to an almost inconceivable level, and for these dummies to be able to withstand his attacks showed just how potent their self-repairing abilities were.

  Xue Wei had often seen his uncle train on these dummies and had often wished to be able to train himself, and now it was finally time.

  Xue Wei tried to send the Qi to his finger a few times before he managed to successfully activate the Azure Light Finger. On his first attack, it did not shoot the Qi out, and exploded right on the tip of his finger, sending him flying backwards and landing with pain in both his body and his fingertip.

  Second time, the beam left his fingertip but started dropping instantly, flying straight to the ground instead of towards the dummy.

  After this, Xue Wei had one issue after another with trying to control the amount of Qi that he was sending to his finger. If he sent too much then he was incapable of controlling it, and if he sent too little it would not even launch the attack.

  After a bit of trial and error, Xue Wei finally got the hang of it, and he reached out for the Qi within his dantian and followed the superior technique of the Azure Light Finger. Suddenly, an azure light exploded from his fingertip; it was aimed straight at the dummy and landed with a clang.

  The attack was not overly strong, but Xue Wei had only used a small amount of Qi, as he wished to be able to control it, and it had proven successful.

  The more Qi he used, the harder it was to control this light beam, but making his finger as hard as iron was as simple as thinking about it.

  Xue Wei spent the entire day in front of the same dummy, attacking again and again, using the Azure Light Finger’s over and over again until his finger became so sore that he could barely move it.

  The martial attack should be rather difficult to learn since it was a superior-ranked martial art, but Xue Wei found that it was as easy as it was for a fish to swim in water. He had absolutely no problems performing this attack. The only thing he did have problems with was controlling when the beam of Qi got too strong.

  Although the Azure Light Finger was a superior martial technique and not a profound ranked one, it was still very useful to someone who had never before cultivated.

  Every single attack caused Xue Wei to use almost all his Qi, and constantly restoring it was causing his training speed to become many times faster than it was before.

  The manager was stunned when he saw how simply Xue Wei was displaying his martial art, and from the aura of the attack, it was clearly ranked rather high.

  The rumors about Xue Wei having cultivated spread through the mansion like wildfire and everyone came to the training grounds where he was training to see it with their own eyes.

  Manager Su allowed for all of them to come and see him, but none of them were allowed to disturb him. They could watch, but if they said a word they would instantly be sent away.

  Xue Wei did not really care about how many people came to watch him – all he could think about was practicing the Azure Light Finger.

  He felt how he was becoming more and more proficient in it; his control grew better and better as he managed to use two attacks instead of one before he ran out of energy.

  He would throw attacks at the black gold dummies before he would sit down and restore his energy while the dummies repaired themselves.

  At the start, everyone had been watching, but as the hours went by, more and more had to return to their chores. For some reason, no one gossiped about Xue Wei and his new abilities. They all kept it a secret.

  Not because they wanted Xue Wei to suffer from the bad rumors, but because all of them were eager to see the day that Xue Wei would shock the entire Tiankong City with a burst of power.

  Unknowing of all of this, Xue Wei continued to train day in and day out. He ate a few meals a day, but apart from that he would spend all his time cultivating and practicing his Azure Light Finger.

  Chapter 8 - Forbidden Rush

  Like this, a month went by. During this month, Xue Wei was spending all his time at the back of the mansion on the training ground. Here, he practiced the Azure Light Finger alongside the cultivation of his internal Qi.

  During this time, Xue Wei had managed to break into the fourth layer of the Ordinary Warrior rank, and he even managed to reach the peak of the fourth layer.

  In this month he was never alone. Manager Su would spend most of his time watching over Xue Wei, and when he was needed elsewhere, a set of guards would be present.

  Xue Wei completely ignored the people around him. He would gobble down the food when it arrived as he was often hungry, but he would do nothing more than practicing his martial art and cultivating his internal Qi.

  Xue Wei had gotten familiar with the Azure Light Finger, and although he had not perfected it, his understanding of it was far better than he had expected.

  Azure Light Finger was a superior martial art, and it would take a long time to fully grasp every single detail of it and reach perfection, but as a superior martial art, it was truly superior to low, middle, and high-ranked skills.

  Although Xue Wei was only at the peak of the fourth layer, he was armed with an Azure Light Finger, a superior martial art. Although he could not defeat the other younger geniuses of Tiankong City, he would be able to surprise them and hopefully also wound them, giving him time to escape if he was ever bullied again.

  Xue Wei had nodded his head in approval when he managed to shoot a hole through one of the dummies. The dummies were made of black gold, which was many times tougher than a human body, at least an Ordinary Warrior's body as that was still considered within mortal limits.

  As the rank went higher, one's body would be transformed by the Qi, and it would become tougher than even black gold, but that would not be before the middle of the Earth Warrior rank.

  "Time for me to begin understanding the Forbidden Rush technique," Xue Wei decided and was just about to begin when he heard Manager Su behind him.

  "Ahem, young master, you have visitors," he said with his dreary and old voice. "Young Master Shen has come every day to visit you and I am unable to continue keeping him from entering. Today, he even brought men from the City Lord's Mansion with the purpose of forcing his way in to see you. It seems that the City Lord fears that you have been killed."

  "Killed?" Xue Wei chuckled and shook his head. "Well then, lead him in," he said before he returned to focusing on the Forbidden Rush.

  Right now, Xue Wei was within Tiankong City, the major city within the southern administrative region of the Kingdom of Heping; the southern administrative region was located in a hot climate, the temperature rose every day while dropping drastically during the night.

  The sun shone all the time, and there was hardly any wind or even a gentle breeze. The Forbidden Rush was a superior supportive martial art, and it allowed for the cultivator to merge with the wind and use it as a means to move faster and more agilely.

  Practicing it in the middle of the southern administrative region might be difficult because wind was scarce here, but Xue Wei found that he had no problems remembering wind.

  When he closed his eyes, a small
village in the middle of a snow-covered landscape appeared, and this place was filled with wind. Snowstorms were the norm and Xue Wei could feel as if he was back in the middle of this landscape whenever he closed his eyes.

  Although there was no wind in Tiankong City, the moment Xue Wei closed his eyes, he felt wind all around him. He could feel as if wind was making his hair and clothes flutter and he started moving in accordance to this wind he remembered.

  Fluttering like a butterfly, Xue Wei spread out his arms and moved faster than he had ever moved before. It was as if he had grown wings and was capable of taking flight.

  Jumping allowed for him to fly into the air and even reach above the mansion's walls, moving forward allowed for him to become a blur that merged with the little wind that was within the city.

  Xue Wei had completely immersed himself in the changes of the wind. He could feel the frost wind surround him and it all felt so real as he started fluttering around.

  "Your friend, young master Shen Mu, is here." sounded Manager Su's voice suddenly behind Xue Wei, interrupting him and causing the illusionary world he had been in to shatter.

  The wind he had been merged with vanished, and he lost control of his movements, losing his balance, and fell to his butt.

  Truthfully, Shen Mu and Manager Su had been there for some time, observing Xue Wei. Manager Su had felt pride upon seeing Xue Wei, but Shen Mu had been filled with disbelief.

  He had feared that Xue Wei had died and had even gone as far as to have his father lend him the City Guard to enter the mansion to ensure that Xue Wei was still alive, but what he found was that not only was his friend alive, he was doing much better than ever before.

  He had been cultivating, and now he was practicing martial arts. Xue Wei stood up as if nothing had happened and dusted his outfit clear of dust.

  "Shen Mu, what brings you here?" he asked, his face once again completely expressionless. Seeing this face that showed no emotion, Shen Mu could not help but sigh.

  They had been friends for a long time, but Xue Wei was still referring to Shen Mu by his full name. Although it seemed a bit rude, Xue Wei still considered Shen Mu his, albeit sometimes annoying, friend.

  Shen Mu was fifteen years old, just like Xue Wei. He was wearing clothes of the finest quality, and his black hair was tied on top of his head with a hairpin.

  Whereas Xue Wei adorned clothes of blue and white colors, Shen Mu wore gold and red. His eyes were brown and they sparkled with intellect. Although he was not as well-read and informed as Xue Wei, he had learned from an early age how to behave and how to deal with leading many men. He understood the point of who to make friends with and who not to make friends with.

  At the start, Shen Mu had only tried to become friendly with Xue Wei because of his father asking him to do it, but then he had found that although this man was considered trash, he had a sharp mind and an unwavering determination.

  When he saw that Xue Wei was capable of cultivating, a great smile slowly spread on his face. He was still disbelieving, but after observing for some time, it was impossible for him to argue against what he saw.

  When Xue Wei stood up and went towards them, Shen Mu also stepped forward and observed Xue Wei from every angle while pacing around him. He stroked his chin in surprise, but after a bit of time, he laughed out loud, his voice containing honest happiness.

  "It has been four months, but within these four months, it seems as if pigs can truly fly! You are a cultivator! And even at the peak of the fourth layer!"

  Shen Mu was one of the most talented geniuses within Tiankong City. Four months ago, he had been at the eight layer, but now he was at the ninth layer. It was clear that he too had spent the last four months breaking through. He was now only one step away from being an Earth Warrior and if luck willed it, then he would be able to become an Earth Warrior before it was time to enter the war against the Primordial Beasts.

  The ranks of the Ordinary Warriors were fairly easy to break through. As the title said, Ordinary Warriors were simply ordinary. They had the lifespan of a mortal, and although they could contain Qi in their bodies, that was it. Their bodies could use the Qi to attack, but the attacks were weak.

  Earth Warriors were much stronger. They had a lifespan of two hundred years, and it was not before then that people could be considered cultivators.

  Xue Wei gave a glance at Shen Mu and shrugged his shoulders. "I found that I am not as useless as everyone thought I was," Xue Wei said with a casual voice as if what he was saying had nothing to do with him.

  "This is so strange," Shen Mu continued smilingly as he shook his head, "You used to just read books or run around following your uncle, but now you are actually on the path to become a cultivator. Your talents are even quite good!"

  Shen Mu calculated on his fingers and then his eyes grew wide, "It has only been four months since I last saw you and you are already at the peak of the fourth layer! Did you eat a whole lot of medicinal plants and pills?"

  Xue Wei frowned as he shook his head, "I haven't eaten even one of those pills or plants yet," he said truthfully. "I did not want to leave before I was strong enough to protect myself, should I run into Li Jian or someone else."

  Sighing, Xue Wei noticed that Shen Mu did not seem to listen to what was said and he smiled faintly.

  "Shen Mu, please stop staring at me like this," Xue Wei said with a wry smile on his lips. "Staring won't change anything."

  "Of course, you are right!" Shen Mu laughed, but he had a hard time not staring. The changes that Xue Wei had undergone were simply too stunning.

  "Come with me to visit Father. I am sure he would like to know what has happened. Also, since you are now a Warrior, you will have to join the war in a year, so we need to sign you up for the same army as me as well!" Shen Mu was quite excited about this and grabbed Xue Wei's hand and dragged him with him towards the outside of the castle without even asking what he thought of the idea.

  Xue Wei knew that he had to report that he was no longer trash, as any child at age sixteen had to join the army if they could cultivate, even the ones of major families and the ones from large sects, so Xue Wei was also required to be sent out to war.

  This was not something that Xue Wei truly minded; he had always wanted to join the war and make a name for himself, so for once he allowed Shen Mu to drag him along.

  The only thing that Xue Wei was worried about was running into Li Jian on the way, but he knew that if Shen Mu were with him, then he would be safe. Even though Li Jian was also considered a genius, his cultivation base was not as stable as Shen Mu, since he had used more external resources to boost it.

  Li Jian dared not fight Shen Mu head on, and even if he had the benefit of having more people, he did not dare to fight the next city lord.

  Fortunately, Xue Wei and Shen Mu did not encounter any of the other youngsters on their way towards the City Lord's home, and they quickly reached their destination.

  The reason that the Shen family were the city lords of Tiankong City was that they were the first family in the city to have a Heavenly Warrior. It was before Xiao Lei entered the city, and before the Li family managed to produce a Heavenly Warrior too.

  The Heavenly Warrior of the Shen family was exactly Shen Mu's father, Shen Bingwen, the current city lord.

  Chapter 9 - Visiting the City Lord

  "Welcome back, young master," the guards said to Shen Mu the moment they saw him. Yet none of them even so much as looked at Xue Wei. He was the trash of town, someone who was not even worth a greeting.

  If they had looked at him, they would have noticed the unmistakable air of an expert around him. Although it was still weak, it was there, and it was clear that he was no longer an ordinary mortal who could not cultivate.

  Shen Mu pursed his lips in displeasure. He wished that the guards were more polite, but just as he was about to speak, he saw that Xue Wei just smiled and shook his head almost unnoticeably.

  Shen Mu's lips turned into a tight lin
e, but he said nothing. Instead, he just dragged Xue Wei with him past the many servants, maids, and guards that had all completely ignored Xue Wei but politely greeted Shen Mu.

  The further into the mansion they went, the more upset Shen Mu became, but Xue Wei found it amusing how Shen Mu suddenly realized how everyone had treated him for the past five years and was agitated by it.

  Since Shen Mu was in a bad mood, the two of them rushed through the mansion towards Shen Bingwen's office.

  As they reached the office, Shen Mu finally let go of Xue Wei's wrist and straightened his clothes before he knocked on the door. Although he was the most outstanding genius in Tiankong City, Shen Mu was always nervous whenever he was in front of his father.

  "Enter." A stoic and penetrating voice sounded out. Shen Mu took a deep breath before he opened the door and let himself and Xue Wei inside.