Qing Yu and the little fox stood dumbly on the spot, at a loss for what to do. Lu Yun and Motong had both fallen into the deep passage and it closed the second they entered.
In the crucial split second he had, Lu Yun sent all of his strength into his dao partners. They now grasped all of the great daos heād ever cultivated, including the method to control the nothing.
āHeās not dead, he must be alive!ā Qing Yu rasped out in a voice so charged with emotion it was like she was crying.
āMmhmm!ā The little fox shook as she spread out her hands. A black book appeared in them.
The Tome of Life and Death.
Incredible pain coursed through every inch of Lu Yunās flesh and bone. It was like his body was disassembling. It was fading away and his will slowly deteriorating.
Heād sent away the Tome of Life and Death at the last possible second, gifting everything he owned to the little fox and Qing Yu through the ties of karma.
When his body fully faded away, so did his consciousness turn hazy. In this moment, he seemed to see another body thatād also just died. His struggling soul barrelled into it.
A tiny memory part suffused his soul, occupying everything that was him.
āYushi Moliā¦ Is that your name?ā Lu Yun exhaled gently. He was reborn through taking possession of another.
In these unknown straits, he latched onto a newly dead young man for the sake of his own survival. Unexpectedly, a sword shadow that towered to the sky floated out of the boyās mind and stabbed into the memories of Lu Yunās soul.
Lu Yun trembled and found that his memories were being sealed off by the sword! The shrewd look in the boyās eyes immediately cleared up to utter purity.
Everything of the past began to drift away from him.
āThis is just as wellā¦ Only with losing the past can I grow anew and fight my way back to the nothing. Only then will Iā¦ not miss everyone. Little Yu, little fox, wait for me.ā
The unending Origin Continent.
The northern expanse of the Nebula Prefecture to the north, Aurora City.
The backyard of the city lordās residence.
A young man roughly thirteen years old gripped aĀ qingfengĀ sword, raining sweat through the air as he stabbed forward again and again. White robes clad his tall and slender frame, red lips and white teeth were set in a handsome face. Determination suffused his black eyes.
The sword in his head moved steadily, swiftly piercing the air in front of him again and again.
āNine hundred sixty-seven!
āNine hundred sixty-eight!ā
āNine hundred seventy-twoā¦
āI canāt do it anymoreā¦ Iām so tired, I canāt go on!ā Pain flashed through the young manās eyes. āNo, I have to go on! I, Yushi Moli, am the son of the Aurora city lord. I have to keep going!
āI canāt cultivate true qi because I have no sense of qi, but I still canāt give up! Not being able to cultivate true qi means I canāt become a martial cultivator, so Iāll be a top notch swordsman instead! I wonāt let father lose face!
āOne thousand strokes a day, not even one less will do!ā
The boy persevered! Despite being tired beyond his limits, the sword in his hand remained as steady as Mount Tai. It didnāt lean in any direction, droop, or tremble.
āLegends say that the great sword master Long Qianjue of one thousand years ago possessed an qi absentia constitution, but his sword skills were marvelous and he reached the celestial rank with them. He dominated his era!
āSo while I cannot become a martial cultivator, I will become a swordsman like Long Qianjue! I will bring honor to the family name!
āNine hundred and eight-nine!ā
āMoli continues to persist.ā
Two men stood side by side in a tower of the city lordās complex and looked at Yushi Moli in the backyard. One of them sighed heavily.
āHis furious training will destroy him. Are you not going to stop him?ā Ouyang Du looked at the massive man in front of him. This was the lord of Aurora City, the strongest of its citizens!
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āHe has herbal baths and fare nourishing him. He wonāt die,ā Yushi Jianchou replied expressionlessly.
āAre you that heartless? He is your son, my nephew!ā Ouyang Duās lips twitched. āHis cultivation method is completely incorrect.ā
āCorrect or not, it is his choice.ā Yushi Jianchou stared at the boy below. āSince he has chosen, that is his business. I will not interfere, and the Aurora city lord residence has never kept trash around.ā
āYouā¦ā Ouyang Du brandished his sleeves with a sharp crack and left in a huff.
An expressionless Yushi Jianchou continued looking down at the boy below.
āOne thousand!ā Yushi Moli finally finished one thousand pierces. He was drained of energy and his right arm flopped weakly. He could barely lift it and wanted to lie down on the ground. āNo, no, I canāt lie down or Iāll have wasted my earlier efforts!ā
He held fast against the weariness of his heart and stood ramrod straight like a spear, shifting to practice a sword method.
āThe eldest young master is relentless when he cultivates!ā Two maids gossiped off to the side.
āThe eldest young master is the city lordās son. Although he canāt cultivate true qi, heāll still be a wealthy scion who lacks for nothing for the rest of his life. Why does he work so hard?ā The younger maid didnāt understand Yushi Moliās actions.
āYou dummy! Itās because heās the city lordās son that he works so hard. The city lord is the strongest powerhouse of Aurora City and the eldest young master in the only stain on his glory.ā
āI feel bad for the young master thenā¦ā Sympathy welled up in the younger maidās eyes.
āWhat are you feeling bad for?ā The older maid next to her curled her lip with disdain. āHeās the city lordās son and lives a life that ordinary people canāt dream of! Apparently, the herbal food and baths he takes costs one hundred gold coins every month. Ordinary people wonāt even earn that many gold coins in their entire life!
āAnyone else would already be a high level martial cultivator after two years of these resources! But him? Heh. I suspect the city lord would rather this young master not work so hard.ā
āHuh? Why?ā The younger maid failed to understand.
āItās a waste of resources. Even a pig can advance to the human rank with so much valuable food and baths. But whatās the difference between throwing them into the gutter and using them on the young master? Throwing them into the gutter would at least raise some ripples, but on this oneā¦? Heh,ā the older maid snorted. āCāmon, back to work. Us servants shouldnāt talk about stuff having to do with the masters.ā
The younger maid shrank in on herself and stuck out her tongue before leaving.
Although Yushi Moli wasnāt a martial cultivator, heād been born with keener senses than others and thus heard every word of the maidsā conversation. He clenched his fists so tight that the veins popped on them.
Heād heard this kind of jeering ever since he was a child. Whether it was within the city lordās residence or Aurora City, most sighed when they heard the name Yushi Moli. A tiger father had beget a dog son!
His heart spasmed with pain every time he heard talk like this, like a dagger had been plunged through it. But the more this was so, the more he wouldnāt give up.
He exhaled noisily and regained his usual determination.
āWaste of resources?ā Yushi Moli reached into his robes and ran his hand over the silk handkerchief on him. āIāll let you know that nothing Iāve done is a waste!ā
He gave another long sigh and retracted his sword aura, accepting a bowl of medicinal soup from a servant and draining it with one gulp.
āMoli!ā Ouyang Du walked over.
āUncle?ā Yushi Moli smiled happily when he saw the buff young man. Ouyang Du was the younger brother of Yushi Moliās mother. The two had a strong relationship.
āThatās enough training today, Moli.ā Ouyang Du couldnāt bear to dash Moliās hopes when he saw the young man dripping with sweat.
āNo, Iāve got three more techniques to practice before Iām done for the day.ā Yushi Moli shook his head with great reluctance.
āWait a minute, uncleās brought you a piece of great news today!ā Ouyang Du grinned. āAlchemist Grandmaster Yuqing Yang of the celestial rank will be visiting Aurora City soon.ā
āHuh?ā Yushi Moli looked curiously at his uncle. āWhatās Grandmaster Yuqing Yang have to do with me?ā
āGrandmaster Yang is a celestial rank alchemist. They say he can refine a celestial rank pill called the Qi Elevation Pill that can enhance a martial cultivatorās sense of qi! Anyone will gain a sense of qi upon taking the pill, so long as they donāt possess a qi absentia constitution!ā
Yushi Moliās eyes lit up. Obtaining a sense of qi meant that heād be able to cultivate true qi and become a martial cultivator. This was what he dreamed of!
āBeing a celestial rank pillā¦ the Qi Elevation Pillā¦ isnāt cheap, isnāt it?ā Yushi Moli frowned.
āWell, the price is apparently one million gold coins.ā Ouyang Du started, then answered with a wry smile. As young as his nephew was, he was sharp witted and very few things flew under his register.
āThen forget it, Iāll just stick to practicing sword techniques.ā Dejection flashed through Yushi Moliās eyes.
Yushi Jianchou was the city lord, true enough, but he didnāt have one million gold coins to spare. The entire city lord residence was likely worth one hundred thousand. Just one gold coin alone was sufficient for an ordinary family to live in the lap of luxury for an entire year!
Spending one hundred coins on herbal baths and food every month was already undue pressure on Yushi Moliās young heart.
He didnāt dare think about it.
Instead, he raised his swollen arms and returned to his training.