by Tinalynge
“Hui Yue. Tell me about how you ended up sharing your body with this disgusting bird inside of you.” Wan Qiao said as she waved towards the chairs in front of her, and Hui Yue quickly took a seat.
“I am from another plane,” He began. “A plane unlike this one where there is no cultivation of martial arts nor is there inner energies. The plane I came from, we called it Earth.” Hui Yue started telling about where he was from and Wan Qiao listened to the words with great interest.
“In this world what mattered was knowledge. The more knowledgeable you were the better you would do in society. Killing was strongly frowned upon and physical strength got you nowhere.”
“I lived in this world for twenty four years,” Hui Yue’s tale was bringing great interest to Wang Qiao and her eyes were round, filled with amazement. Although she was strong she had never been to another world before. She was, after all, no God.
“When I was twenty four years old I saw a shop selling ancient chinese antiques, and one of these items was a beautiful hairpin with a blue phoenix on top.”
“This hairpin turned out to contain the soul of Lan Feng, and after he managed to kill me and impale my heart then two of us were forcefully reincarnated into this world which appeared to be his home plane.”
Having heard the brief explanation of his background story Wan Qiao had raised an eyebrow as she heard neither hate nor regret in the young man’s voice. It was as though he was completely content with his past, and living in the now that was created by the phoenix within.
“Tell me how you ended up here then,” She continued, “Your strength is far from enough to enter Shenyuan the natural way.”
Hearing her say that Hui Yue nodded, and he somewhat regretted having entered Shenyuan at all. If he had more time, he would definitely have entered either the Siban Empire or the Yueliang Province. These were both easily traveled through compared to Shenyuan, the country which was known for being impossible to leave upon entry.
“Some things happened back in Riluo City and some of my friends were banished while I on the other hand needed to go into hiding for some time. Considering that we needed training we all entered into the Dungeons of the Divine. Various things happened, someone called Zhong Fai happened, to be more precise and we had to split up. My friends went back above ground while I went through the Vermillion Bird Tunnels and ended up within Shenyuan,”
The woman was stunned when she heard that the young man and Lan Feng had met Zhong Fai. She was not like Lan Feng, she knew everything which happened in the entire plane; she was, after all, one of the top powers in this plane.
“I see, so the mess with the Dragon Corps was done by you and Lan Feng? I see that the annoying little bird is still filled with mischief.” Wan Qiao’s smile grew larger as though she found it entertaining though after a bit her face filled with a frown.
“You say that Zhong Fai appeared, but you are still alive and definitely not a part of his Frozen Brigade. That’s peculiar.”
“The Frozen Brigade?” Hui Yue asked curiously. He remembered the domain which Zhong Fai unleashed; an ability which made the world freeze over and made the humans within freeze alongside the world. It was the most terrifying ability he ever experienced, and he felt a great deal of dread whenever he thought about the young man Zhong Fai.
“I don’t know what he wanted from me,” Hui Yue said honestly with a sigh. “He helped me escape from the Dragon Core, but refused to let me travel with my friends and said he’d kill anyone I befriended within the Dungeons of the Divine.”
Hearing this she could not help but raise an eyebrow. The Frozen General was not known for helping other people out, especially not if it required him to do something serious, and destroying the Dragon Corps was quite a serious act.
Hui Yue was barely strong enough to be considered a genius of the younger generation. His cultivation speed was astonishing and his actual combat experience were far more impressive than other youngsters his age, however, considering the many people who assisted him, and the fact that he uses the purest of Qi, he was, rank-wise, not considered to be at the top of the younger generation. For the Frozen General to be this interested it proved that he knew of some secrets the younger man possessed.
Knowing that the Frozen General was interested in this young man, Wan Qiao suddenly felt her own interest pique. Before, the young man had been nothing more than a container for Lan Feng, however, now she started paying attention to the man himself.
“Stay here for a while,” She said with a decisive voice. It was clear that arguments were not welcome. “I’ll help train you. Your physical strength is definitely weak. Any of my guards, even those ranked lower than you, would be able to hand your a** back to you in a physical combat. That is something we need to get sorted. Secondly, you need to speed up your cultivation. Being an expert is no dance on rose petals; you need to work hard!”
Hearing her words Hui Yue was at a loss for why she so suddenly changed her opinion. However, hearing her say that she would assist him in training was something so good that he was incapable of declining it.
“I first arrived here wanting to request that you would help me leave Shenyuan,” Hui Yue started, but before she had the chance to decline he continued. “Your offer is far better than what I could have wished for before, but right now my friends are worried about whether or not I am even alive. Help me send out a letter to my friends and I would be glad to stay here and train under your guidance.”
“Humph,” The woman snorted at him but after thinking for a moment she nodded her head. If she truly wished to teach him it was better that he was not preoccupied and worried for his friends back in another country.
“Write them a letter tonight. I’ll get it sent out tomorrow, and you better be ready to take on my training starting tomorrow. If you ask Lan Feng, I am sure he will tell you what it is like.” A cruel smile appeared on her face and a shiver ran through Hui Yue’s body. It was obvious that this training was going to be training from hell, but in spite of that, Hui Yue was still excited. He was eager to get stronger and this was something he could only do if he trained hard.
Just as he thought he was free, Wan Qiao suddenly stood up. Her brows furrowed as she leaned against the young man.
“Boy, why do you smell like a magical beast?” She asked, her voice dangerously low and so sharp that it felt like it could cut through anything. “This is definitely not the smell of Lan Feng. Boy, are you trying to trick me? Are you really not a magical beast?”
Hearing her words, Hui Yue was torn for some time. Lan Feng had long since said that he should never lie to Wan Qiao; that he should value his life even more than he valued his secrets.
“I am not sure how to explain it,” Hui Yue finally said with a deep sigh, “No matter how I explain it, it will sound silly.”
“Try me,” She said, somewhat puzzled as to what the young man meant.
“Inside of me are various energy sources. One of them is a beast core of some unknown beast. I have relied on this energy for a long time and it has grown stronger and stronger the more I’ve used it. Unfortunately, I am unable to control it so recently I’ve refused to use this power.”
“You have various energy sources within you?” She asked completely dumbstruck. Her face was filled with disbelief. The confusion on her face was enough to cause Lan Feng to feel a strange sort of satisfaction that the woman could be surprised.
“It is hard to explain. It is like each energy has its own cave within my body.” Hui Yue was not sure how to explain the energies within him. This only led to him starting to get confused himself.
Seeing his confusion Wan Qiao placed a hand on each of his shoulders and closed her eyes. Golden light belonging to her entered through his veins and entered his meridians, forced their way forward into his lower dantian where it shone brightly. This allowed for the woman to thoroughly examine his body.
Being filled with foreign energy like this was in no way a comfortable feeling f
or Hui Yue. It felt as though it was attacking his body by forcing its way through the narrow meridians and entering his dantian.
Although it was uncomfortable, Hui Yue held strong and braced himself allowing the woman to examine to her heart’s content. Having examined for the better of ten minutes, she finally withdrew her energy and Hui Yue fell to his knees as his body felt light. His head started to spin from his own internal energy rushing about his body checking whether or not every part was undamaged.
“How peculiar,” Wan Qiao said with glistening eyes. Her mouth smiling. She finally understood why Zhong Fai was interested in this young man.
“Tomorrow I will need you to display the prowess of your beast core. We will have some extra lessons; you and me alone, where we tame your beast within. The core that I saw when examining you belongs to a beast I have never seen before. This really is peculiar.”
Hui Yue nodded his head excitement growing within. To be able to learn how to control the energies within him was something which he very much wished to learn. Having come to Shenyuan was now something which he did not regret, and moments after a servant called who took Hui Yue to a room which would be his in the future.
Chapter 10 – Training From Hell
The first thing Hui Yue did upon arriving within the room was to look around. It was incredibly bare, looking almost like a prison cell with nothing more than a stone bed, a stone chair, and a stone desk. Everything looked cold and gloomy, but Hui Yue knew that all he needed was right there. The room itself did not have any storage space, but having a belt filled with storage stones this was in no way a problem.
On the stone desk, Hui Yue found pen and paper and he quickly sat down to write the letter to his friends. Knowing not where Sha Yun, Deng Wu, and Wang Ju Long were, he addressed his letter to the Rong twins which he knew were within the Main Branch of the Royal Academy. He guessed that the three of his friends would have gone to meet up upon arrival.
Dear Rong Ming and Rong Xing
I write to you as I guess that the two of you are still attending the Royal Academy’s Main Branch. It has been how many years since we last met? I hope the two of you are doing well within the capital.
I imagine that you have met Deng Wu, Wang Ju Long, and Sha Yun recently, and I request of you to tell the three that I am safe and sound, however, I am caught up with something right now; something which will keep me occupied for an unknown amount of time.
I am sure that our friends have told you the stories of our travels and when I return I will tell you the rest.
Your friend
Hui Yue.
Looking at the letter, Hui Yue knew that it left out all a lot of important information, but it informed them about him being alive, and that was the main reason why he wrote the letter in the first place.
Rolling up the scroll he fastened a small thread around the document which he added some of his spiritual energy within and then sealed the letter shut.
Leaving the letter on the desk he moved towards the stone bed where he sat down and started cultivating. He knew that the next day would be the start of the training which Lan Feng considered hellish. He could not wait to see just how terrible it truly was.
While Hui Yue was within the room no one came to disturb him, not even a servant to bring food or water. It was obvious that he would have to look after himself. Thankful that he had stored plenty of food and drinks from before his travels and during his travels themselves. Saving dried meats, fruits, and nuts was something he considered necessary.
Although Hui Yue had a lot of food with him, it was quite rare for him to be hungry. Hui Yue was currently a Duke ranked cultivator. Internal energy rushed through his body, fortifying every cell, and every organ. The body itself constantly absorbed the essences of the heavens and earth something which kept his body filled with nutrients.
Eating and drinking was, at this point, something he did not need to do daily. Only once every week was enough, and considering this, Hui Yue could not truly blame Wan Qiao for not looking after his meals.
The night was spent in quietness while they, man and phoenix, cultivated their internal energies. Although they cultivated the speed with which they refined their energies was far slower than it usually was.
Lan Feng was frightened about the thoughts of going through training once more, training which had traumatized him while Hui Yue was excited to undergo the harsh training, a training which was capable of making him even stronger. So strong that he could stand tall without having to always rely on Lan Feng, something he looked forward to.
As the expectation of training overtook Hui Yue he was not capable of refining much essence into Qi nor much Qi to spiritual energy. All he did was to imagine the training program he was to undergo.
*knock* *knock*
As soon as the first ray of sunshine appeared in the sky, a servant knocked on the door. Hui Yue instantly stood up, opened the door, and followed him with a gleam of excitement in his eyes.
The trip to the training grounds was long and winded. They walked past multiple corridors, beautiful gardens, and elaborate terrasses. There were human, or beast, made lakes and within the lakes were various fish species and birds moving around. The entire palace was so beautiful and exotic that Hui Yue could not help but stare in amazement.
Finally after having walked through multiple gardens, buildings, and terrasses the servant who was leadíng Hui Yue finally arrived at the outskirts of the castle. At a place where green fields stretched far and wide. Thousands of different human shaped beasts were standing in the chilled morning air split into various groups.
All of their faces were filled with astonishment and confusion as they stared at one person who was leaning against a tree which served as a fence around the practice grounds.
Moving closer, Hui Yue instantly recognized this figure to be Wan Qiao. Somehow he remembered the slaps he was given the day before and shivers ran through his spine as he thanked the green pearl for healing him. Had it not then he was likely to have been seriously injured and unable to leave the bed for a couple months.
But here he was and as soon as he stepped onto the grass an energy ripple emanated outwards, and within less than a second, the woman who was leaning against a tree suddenly found herself right in front of the young man.
Seeing this, all the guards attention were now fully focused on Hui Yue. The newcomer who was getting special attention, something which they did not like.
“To think you made it in time, even though Lan Feng knows what this is about, I am shocked to see it.” The woman said with a grin on her face and with a flick of her hand she brought out a vest, two leg guards, and two arm guards.
“Wear these. They will increase your weight. For the next four weeks, you are not allowed to use your internal energy unless I tell you otherwise.” She said and Hui Yue, confused, nodded his head as he stripped off his shirt and took on the weight while asking no question. As soon as the weights touched his body it was as though all internal energy had been stopped. Although he could still refine energies passively, he was completely incapable of controlling them.
Seeing the determined expression within Hui Yue’s eyes, Wan Qiao was very satisfied, but she knew that although someone was determined at the start this did not mean that they had what it took to get through her training.
Having his internal energy not rotating, Hui Yue felt exactly the same way as when he lived on earth. Had he not lived a life on Earth for as long as he had, then he was certain that this feeling would have been incredibly odd.
Seeing that Hui Yue made no fuss over the sudden removal of his energies, Wan Qiao silently approved of his reaction, but she showed none of this on the outside. With a barking voice she told Hui Yue to run as far as he could. He was not allowed to stop for the first two hours at least, but she hoped he would run for longer.
Running was something which Hui Yue had been used to do back when he trained Wushu on Earth. Currently, his body was many times stro
nger than it had been back then. Even if he could not use his internal energy, his physical body had changed from the many years of having energy roaming inside. Now he was capable of running both faster and longer than ever before.
In spite of this, Hui Yue chose a steady pace. A pace he would have run had he been training for wushu, and the reason he chose this was due to the extra weights he was wearing.
The first ten minutes he felt absolutely nothing. The following half hour was slowly heading towards disaster, and after an hour sweat was flooding down his body as he kept running with fifty kilograms weighing down his body; ten on each leg, five on each arm, and twenty on his chest.
Running past the first hour, Hui Yue was quite satisfied with himself, but he then remembered Wan Qiao’s words of having to run at least two hours. He gritted his teeth and staggered onwards. At this point every muscle in his body was burning, his legs were like jelly but Hui Yue forced himself to continue. one more step. He kept telling himself as he was running.
