Cloud-veiled moon on a dim-lit night,
Bag in hand and cloaked in candlelight,
The young boy’s shadow’s a lonely sight,
The martial path he walks is an eternal fight.
Unlike the wealthy Chan Clan, the Wun Clan wasn’t luxurious enough to buy luminescent ore for every one of its disciples. Even the young master Wun Fan had to carry a simple candle to light his way. Wun Fan had never been a careful person. He constantly stubbed his toe as he packed, screaming and howling every time he hit his toe on something else again. Old Lei couldn’t bear to hear it. He shook his head in disappointment and snapped his finger. The Flame of the Roaming Dragon and Dancing Phoenix ignited on command. Old Lei flicked his finger and the twin-colored flame transformed into a tiny dragon and phoenix the size of a palm. The flame creatures quickly flew past Wun Fan and illuminated the room.
It was only then that Wun Fan managed to pick up his speed in packing.
Once Wun Fan had successfully packed all the clothes he needed into his storage ring, Old Lei waved his hand and a few dozen jade bottles appeared on the table. Old Lei said slowly, “Kid, go past the auction house later and hand these fifty Energy Restoration Pills to your lover.”
“Keep the money. There will be plenty of chances for you to spend it on your martial journey!”
Old Lei picked up a red bottle and looked at the bottle proudly as he smiled, “There are five Grade Seven Mortalmaker Pills in here. Ten hours after consuming it, it will force the person’s aether to merge with their mental energy, giving rise to soul energy and allowing the person to advance to Martial Mortal.”
“It allows martial artists stuck on tenth-level Martial Disciple to ascend to Martial Mortal realm easily, hence, the Mortalmaker Pill.”
Wun Fan was speechless when he heard this. He stared at the red bottle and stuttered, “Y-you mean if a Martial Disciple is stuck with his training, all they need to do is eat this pill and they will become a Martial Mortal?”
Old Lei nodded and Wun Fan immediately whined, “If you had a pill like this, why didn’t you give it to me?”
“Do you really think that something so powerful comes without a price?” Old Lei looked at him in disdain. He took out a low-Grade storage ring and put the pills away in the ring as he said, “In my world, only useless trash will rely on pills to ascend. Are you one of them?”
“Alright, you win,” said Wun Fan. He pouted and muttered to himself, “If it’s trash, why’d you bother to make it…”
Old Lei ignored his words and returned to the Spiritstartler Ring in a flash. However, he maintained a connection with Wun Fan’s mind. Wun Fan placed the letter he had prepared ahead of time on the table. To my esteemed father, it read on the envelope. Wun Fan wrapped his coat around him and left through the door. After all, he was planning to leave on horseback. The cold winter winds would be even colder while he was riding. While he wouldn’t freeze to death with his power, it was still uncomfortable to expose his limbs to the elements. On the other hand, using soul energy to stay warm seemed like a waste.
Wun Fan made his way onto the path under the dim moonlight. He saw plenty of hidden sentries along the way, but none of them reacted even when they seemed to be looking his way. It was almost as if he didn’t exist at all. Wun Fan found this strange. If a disciple were to wander around the Wun Clan at night, they would almost definitely be caught and interrogated. Wun Fan had even prepared his excuses ahead of time because of this.
He reached the stable soon enough. The moonlight was still partially covered by clouds, but some of it spilled through to the ground. A faint silhouette stood outside the doors of the stable, the face shrouded in the darkness. They turned around. It was his father!
Wun Fan never expected Wun Ching Yeung to be here at this moment. Was it a coincidence?
Wun Ching Yeung smiled gently, as if this was all within his expectations, as he said, “You’re here, Fan.”
Wun Fan felt like he had just been caught red-handed doing something bad. He was speechless for a moment, before finally stammering, “Father, about this…”
“That’s enough. I’m not here to make things difficult for you,” said Wun Fan with a gentle and loving expression on his face. He looked at Wun Fan and sighed deeply. Even the son he was most worried about was now preparing to leave on a training journey. He had truly grown up.
He was surprised to see his precious daughter preparing dinner when he went to visit her and check up on her condition. She was usually a pampered girl who left everything to the servants, and yet she was personally cooking today. Wun Ching Yeung didn’t need to ask to know that this was all for Wun Fan’s sake. He knew that no one else could get Wun Siu Lan to go through all this effort. After a series of persistent questions, she finally revealed that Wun Fan was likely preparing to leave tonight.
That was how Wun Ching Yeung came to be waiting for Wun Fan in front of the stables.
The two of them stared at each other for a long time without any words. Suddenly, Wun Ching Yeung turned away and came out of the stables with a handsome white horse. He patted the horse on its back and chuckled as he said, “This horse has exceptional strength in his legs. He’s not very fast, but he has incredible endurance. You can ride him for half the day and it won’t be tired at all.”
“From here to the outskirts of Green Sea Forest will take ten to twelve hours at most. If you leave now and don’t stop riding, you should be able to reach the Martial Artist Guild on the forest’s outermost outskirts before sunset. That will be a good place to rest.”
“Got it, father,” replied Wun Fan. It seemed like the sentries had left him alone on his father’s instructions.
He was well-acquainted with the Green Sea Forest, having spent so much of his time in the Wun Clan’s library. The Green Sea Forest was divided very clearly into five areas. The outermost outskirts, the outskirts, the central zone, the inner zone, the forest’s core, and the forbidden grounds.
The division was very simple. It was based on the level of the magical beasts that patrolled these areas. However, Wun Fan wasn’t entirely sure about what these levels were supposed to be. He didn’t have a sufficiently high clearance within the clan and the Wun Clan’s library was also not exactly comprehensive. Some information you can only get by going out into the world and finding out yourself.
The Martial Artist Guild, on the other hand, was a guild that could be found all over Heaven’s Martial World. Its purpose was to build an international platform for all martial artists. It even gave out missions and rewards to further boost the development of all martial arts. Moreover, the Martial Artist Guild often acted as an intermediary for people looking to trade or issue missions. Its function and mission had set it up as a neutral force that was trusted by most martial artists.
Consequently, the Martial Artist Guild became the main platform through which unaffiliated martial artists and lone wolves accepted missions to earn the funds they needed for their training. This included the trading of information, intelligence and all sorts of other services.
“That said,” said Wun Ching Yeung as he placed the reins in Wun Fan’s hand with a mischievous smile, “I don’t think you have ridden a horse before…”
“Ah…” Wun Fan’s face turned dark when he heard this. His father was right. But if that was the case, wasn’t his father just making fun of him by giving him a horse anyway? It was true that he had never ridden a horse in either of his two lives. The only ride he had ever been on in his past life was a motorcycle; while he never needed to go on long expeditions in this life. Riding was going to be a problem.
Suddenly, green flames enveloped Wun Fan’s entire body. Wun Fan shifted his stance and leapt onto the horse’s back in one motion. He sat there properly, as if he knew exactly what to do. Old Lei’s voice rang out like an echo, “I’ll teach him. It’s easier for his body to remember it this way.”
“Thank you, Mr. Lei,” said Wun Ching Yeung. He already knew that Old Lei was hiding in a ring that Wun Fan had. He bowed respectfully when he heard Old Lei’s voice and saw that iconic green flame.
After spending some time together, he was utterly convinced of Old Lei’s intentions and knew that he could trust him. Moreover, it wasn’t like he could do anything to stop Old Lei even if he suspected him.
Wun Ching Yeung lifted his head and looked at Wun Fan on the horse. He said with a caring gaze, “Fan, you will be without the clan’s protection when you are outside. Take care…in everything you do.”
Wun Ching Yeung almost choked on the last few words. He was holding back tears. After all, any father would be worried if their eleven-year-old child said they wanted to go on a training journey.
Eleven years old. Other children his same age might still be growing comfortably under the protection of their clan.
“I’m leaving, father. See you soon,” said Wun Fan. He locked eyes with Wun Ching Yeung for a moment. He took a deep breath and stuffed his emotions deep down as he whispered, “Old Lei, I’m counting on you.”
“Mm,” came the reply. The green flames simmered down slightly until they were barely noticeable. After all, riding around while glowing with green flames all over your body in the dark of night was a little too conspicuous. The green flames took control of Wun Fan’s limbs. His legs pinched together and the horse leaped past the open gates of the Wun Mansion.
“Take care, father!” Having said that, Wun Fan officially started on his training journey.
He might only be out there for a few months, but it felt like a farewell for much longer than that.
“Hahaha! Stuck at sixth-level, blessed with a good mentor, survived a legendary lightning tribulation and going on a training journey at eleven years old. I have never heard of anything like that. Only that kid could have such limitless potential,” said a gentle voice from behind Wun Ching Yeung. A man stepped out of the shadows. It was the great elder, who was also staying up tonight.
“Mr. Wun Sing, why do you always like to hide behind me?” said Wun Ching Yeung unamusedly. He glanced at the shadowy corner that the great elder just stepped out of. He paused for a moment and said, “Fan…really looks like Sau Man. His back, his tone, his determined eyes…”
“Alright, forget the sad stuff,” the great elder immediately changed the topic. He knew Wun Ching Yeung had tried his best to gather information on Tung-Fong Sau Man. However, ever since that fateful night, he had heard nothing about him at all. It was quite likely that…even the great elder didn’t dare to continue thinking about what might have happened. He could only hope that time would wash away Wun Ching Yeung’s sorrow.
Everyone was already tired tonight. The two of them walked back to their own rooms without another word.
At this moment, a tiny figure was sitting down in the mountain behind the Wun Mansion, dressed in white.
She wasn’t scared of the cold. She had a coat on and was sitting cross-legged on the snowy ground. She closed her eyes under her mask and turned her attention inward. She paid close attention to her internal organs and focused all her energy and attention on a single point. She activated the Tai Clan’s Mantra of Imperial Flame and started reciting the first stage of the mantra, “Cloaked in flames, blessed with power; skin as lungs’ lanes, air absorbed and filtered.”
Having said that, flames burst forth around the girl. The flames started off as random sparks and burned wildly and without control. However, the girl controlled the flames as much as she could and was barely able to force the flames into the shape of a cloak that covered her entire body. She remained seated on the ground without any movement. When aether passed by her along the wind, they would get stuck on her cloak of flames. The flame cloak instantly absorbed the aether and filtered it, channelling it straight into her body, where it was turned into soul energy!
After a long while, the girl finally woke up from her meditation. The corners of her lips rose as she said, “Fan, I won’t be slacking while you’re working hard. I’ll give you a surprise the next time we see each other again.”275Please respect copyright.PENANAY1xLHBjmR9