1 The Injured Old Man

The blazing sun hung high in the sky. Its red rays shot down onto the earth like fiery arrows, causing it to look like it had been set ablaze. The earth reflected a raging fire that burned like boiling oil. It was hazy, choking, merciless, and stuffy. This heat could make every cell and fiber in the body shake to the point of exploding.

Even though the heat was so unbearable, a shirtless young man was standing in the middle of a clearing with his head held high. His chest was puffed out. His skin was a healthy bronze color. The heat from the sun rays caused his body to profusely sweat.

His features weren't exactly handsome or cool, but his sparkling eyes were especially bright. There were great determination and boldness in his eyes.

"Haa…"

He gave a low shout like a dragon awakening or a tiger ferociously growling. It was filled with fierce strength.

The young man took a step forward. His bare feet landed heavily on the dry and cracked ground. There were several rock fragments on the ground, but he didn't seem to be able to feel any of them.

After that, his tightly clenched fists started punching forward.

The sound of cutting through the air could be heard. It was only heard after the punching had reached a certain speed that enabled it to sufficiently vibrated the air.

As he stepped forward, the young man continued throwing punch after punch. Every time he took a step forward, his body exuded a bold aura that seemed to only move forward and never retreat. His punches turned more violent as his speed picked up. As he gained momentum, it made him more imposing.

The only problem was that he was putting all of his strength into every punch he threw. After throwing 10 punches in a row, he had reached the peak of his momentum but couldn't keep it up.

"Haa…"

He gave one last loud shout and threw his 10th punch.

This last punch was incredibly strong. He had practically put all of his remaining energy into that one punch. That powerful punch echoed in the air and seemed to create an ear-piercing blast that echoed.

The power that the punch packed didn't seem to be any less than a true martial artist practitioner's boxing technique.

After the last punch, the young man's body was reeling. He staggered a few steps forward. It took him a while before he managed to stabilize himself. He was heavily panting.

After some time, his breathing returned to normal.

He looked up. His somewhat obstinate face had a hint of frustration.

A middle-aged man slowly walked over from a distance and stood by the young man's side. This middle-aged man looked almost the same as the young man except that his face was clearly much older.

He looked at the young man's expression. He knew the answer in his heart, but he still held a bit of hope as he asked, "Kaixuan, how is it?"

The young man hung his head, pursed his lips, and shook his head.

The middle-aged man sighed. He was quiet for a while before saying, "Kaixuan, forget it. Perhaps you just don't have the gift to become a martial arts practitioner. Our family can just continue living like this. We're already much better off than many others out there."

The young man raised his head with a start. He looked in great surprise at his father and asked, "Father, what are you saying? Are you asking me to give up?"

The middle-aged man laughed bitterly and replied, "My child, sometimes we just have to listen to our fate." He paused for a moment before continuing, "Ever since you could remember things, I have been trying to teach you the boxing technique of the Rong family. Even today, you still haven't managed to gather any true Qi. I suppose this is the will of heaven."

He looked at his son, who was standing in front of him. There was a bitterness in his eyes that was caused by something he could not speak about.

Rong Yiyang was a direct descendant of the Rong family.

Even though he was a direct descendant, he had been forced to leave the Main House several years ago. He had been unable to gather or refine any true Qi before the age of 15, so he was now in charge of a rural farm that belonged to the family.

For any direct descendent of the Rong family, this predicament was as good as sending the family away to live mundane lives until the day they died. Even a disciple of the clan who wasn't a Rong but was more gifted as a practitioner lived more gloriously than Rong Yiyang.

After being sent to the farm, Rong Yiyang never quite pulled himself together again. Even though he never completely gave up on boxing, he lost any fighting spirit he once had and started to give up on himself. Although many years had passed, he never managed to gather any true Qi.

After his son was born, he put all his hopes on his boy, Rong Kaixuan.

He had named his son Kaixuan because it meant "returning in glory." That name was filled with the hopes in his heart that he had never shared with anyone.

While hope was a beautiful thing, reality was often very cruel.

This boy had been diligently practicing boxing since he was a young child. He had never been one to be lazy. Yet, the heavens didn't seem to care about all of his hard work. Now, he was about to turn 15 and still couldn't gather and refine any true Qi.

No matter how indignant Rong Yiyang felt, he had no choice but to give up too.

Rong Kaixuan pursed his lips tightly. He pursed them so tightly that his lips turned pale.

He indignantly replied, "Father, don't worry. I will definitely gather and refine true Qi."

Rong Yiyang despondently shook his head and said, "My son, given your physique and diligence, you should have been able to gather true Qi a year ago. Every time you try, it ends in failure. Perhaps this is all already fated." He sighed and continued, "Besides, you will turn 15 in three months. If you still can't gather and refine any true Qi by the time that happens, then you won't have much future in the cultivation of martial arts. You should give up now and happily continue enjoying being a wealthy man. That's not too bad either."

He was trying to counsel and console his son, but it was hard for him to hide the loneliness and regret in his heart.

Rong Kaixuan raised his eyebrows as if he suddenly realized something. "Father, you're right. For the past year, I could feel it every time I used all my strength to box, but I'm just short of hitting that last stage." There was a flint in his eyes as he said, "Father, if I go and practice deep in the mountains, perhaps I might have a breakthrough."

Rong Yiyang's expression greatly changed. He immediately shouted, "Nonsense! I will not allow you to do such a thing." He looked into the distance and said, "There are Rong family members patrolling the forests of the mountains every year, so there's no danger in that area. Only heaven knows what terrible dangers lurk deep in the mountains. Even great martial arts practitioners don't dare enter that area. If you go in, you'll be like a meat bun throwing yourself at a dog. You will never come back out."

Rong Kaixuan replied in a low voice, "But Father, you said before that people who practice martial arts have to put ourselves in grave danger. In fact, we must ourselves in the gravest of danger that we only have a 10% chance of survival. If we practice in such danger, it will bring out the potential of our own bodies and allow us to walk much further down the road to cultivating martial arts."

Rong Yiyang pointed a finger at him. His expression became nasty as he asked, "What nonsense are you babbling about? Martial arts practitioners can indeed maximize their potential and exert more strength than they normally do in a life-and-death situation. Some may even breakthrough their current level, and it is common for many to reach the next stage. But do you know what a 10% chance of surviving means?" He harshly said, "A 10% chance of survival means that you're in a situation in which you're definitely going to die. If you don't make a breakthrough, you will certainly die. Are you able to guarantee that you will definitely be able to make a breakthrough?"

Rong Kaixuan was momentarily stunned. He hung his head low.

Would he be able to suddenly make a breakthrough and gather true Qi if faced with death?

He couldn't even answer that question himself.

Rong Yiyang waved his arm and said, "There are people who have managed to survive in that sort of situation, and they have attained great glory. But there are even more who have died in such situations, and they weren't even able to leave their names behind. So, listen up. I do not want you to go deep into the mountains because that's not a situation in which you'll have a 10% chance of survival. It's a situation in which you'll have a zero chance of surviving. Do you get it now?"

The last sentence was said with a very stern voice. His expression had even become a little threatening.

Rong Kaixuan was just a young man, so the courage in his heart greatly dissipated once his father sounded like that.

He nodded in a daze. His body slowly relaxed.

Rong Yiyang patted his shoulder and said, "It's getting late. You should go back and rest. We still have three months, so we can try a few more times."

That was what he said, but he didn't really have any hope left.

After countless attempts over the past year, he had lost any patience and hope he had.

Rong Kaixuan nodded and turned to leave. He didn't go back to his own house. He headed away from it toward the coppice filled with plants that were about his height.

Rong Yiyang sighed as he watched his son walk in that direction. He returned to the house all by himself.

Rong Kaixuan was headed in the opposite direction of the dense forest behind his house. Rong Yiyang was the one who gave instructions to plant seeds in this coppice, so it had grown quite well over the past decade.

Rong Yiyang relaxed once he saw that his son was headed for the coppice.

Rong Kaixuan walked extremely quickly into the coppice as if he was flying. For some reason, after hearing his father's words, he felt like there was a huge rock inside his heart. He couldn't find a way to vent his frustration and stuffiness.

He leaned against the largest tree in the coppice and slowly sat down on the ground.

Scenes of himself throwing punches and his father teaching him flashed through his mind.

Without him knowing it, he started clenching his fists tightly as he made a decision. He decided that even if he went past the age of 15, he would never give up cultivating martial arts.

Hoo….

There was a sudden flash before his eyes. A ghost-like figure appeared in front of Rong Kaixuan.

Rong Kaixuan's eyes widened in shock. An old man with white hair had suddenly appeared in front of him. The old man's face was covered with blood. The most unbelievable part was that this old man was missing most of his body.

There was nothing below his chest, and it seemed like all his internal organs were gone.

Yet, this old man was still alive.

He stared at Rong Kaixuan with bloodshot eyes. Rong Kaixuan felt goosebumps all over his body.

"Heh heh, are you trying to take my things away from me? You're asking for it. I'd rather give it to an outsider than to let you have it."

The old man laughed threateningly. He suddenly reached a hand out to pat Rong Kaixuan.

Rong Kaixuan wanted to dodge the old man's hand, but he was too fast. After the old man gently patted him, Rong Kaixuan's mind immediately went blank. His head turned to the side as his body gave way. He fainted right there and then.