10 The will of a cultivator

Jian Long had a blank expression on his face, while he tried to cope with what he had just found out.

'Who poisoned me? Who!?' was the question he asked himself repeatedly, yet he knew that with the drop in status he would soon have, there was no chance to find out the perpetrator.

In the Endless Sword continent, strength was valued: if you had no strength, then you were worthless. Because of this, Jian Long knew the days ahead of him would be rough.

It all started with the announcement that the coronation ceremony would not be held, and that the crown prince position was still up to debate.

The Heavenly Dragon Empire had many princes and princesses, and each one had a large faction backing them, wanting for them to rise to the throne.

This announcement could possibly begin a war between the different factions, for control over the Heavenly Dragon Empire.

Jian Long did not care for the news, though, as he had his own struggles to deal with.

Everywhere he walked, people looked at him in disgust, as they kept their distance. Not only, but many even taunted and humiliated him, venting their daily frustrations on the fallen prince, who they could only look up to in the past.

"What are you looking at, trash? Move it, and don't you dare get close to me, or death will be your only option!" yelled some young official, as Jian Long walked in the hallway, returning to his bedroom.

Jian Long simply ignored him, walking past the man and towards his room, which was bound to become the only safe place for him in the whole palace.

Jian Long lay in his bed, his mind wandering as he pondered about his options going forward.

He was not given much time, though, as after only a few minutes the voice of a servant rang out, "Young master, his majesty wishes to see you!"

After relaying the message, the servant left immediately, scared that he might get the Flowing Jade Blood poison.

Jian Long's frown deepened as he heard these words, 'Oh, I forgot about dad... he's always been strict, so regardless of the purpose of the summon, this is not going to end well for me!'

Jian Long's father, the current emperor, had always valued strength, and the way he felt and doted on his sons, all depended on their talent and strength. Even though Jian Long used to be the emperor's favorite son, that was only due to his determination and talent, yet now that he had no chance to become strong again, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he was probably the most hated.

Although he was not exactly willing to meet his father, Jian Long knew there was no compromising with the emperor, so he slowly got out of his bed, before heading over to the throne room.

Entering the room, an oppressive aura instantly engulfed him, as he struggled to remain standing.

"Do you know your SINS?" At that moment, a booming voice rang out from the darkness, where a serious looking man sat on a large, strangely inconspicuous looking chair.

Just the sound of the voice knocked Jian Long down, spitting blood. Anger rose into him, yet there was no way his body would budge under the pressure, so standing up for himself was out of the question.

"My son, regardless of whether you were poisoned or not, the fact is you are trash now, a shame to my name! If it was me, i would not have been poisoned in the first place! I do not wish to see you in Heavenly Dragon Empire any longer, you are exiled. If you dare go against me, you will come to learn the consequences of your actions." With those harsh words, the emperor stopped talking, before slowly leaving the throne room, where Jian Long now sat, distraught.

Everything had happened so fast, and he had gone from one of the most talented youngsters in the continent, to being abandoned by his own father, and exiled from his own kingdom, all because someone else poisoned him.

Jian Long sat there for an hour, before he finally decided to leave, though he was not sure where he would go. He slowly walked out of the room, heading out of the palace.

On his way, Jian Long spotted his cousin, Jian Bao, the fourth prince, who had always been the second most likely candidate for emperor, though the limelight had mostly been "stolen" by the crown prince. Jian Long tried to avoid him, to no avail.

"You aren't so high and mighty now, are you? I think deep inside me I always knew you would amount to nothing in the end." as he said this, Jian Bao had an excited look on his face, clearly taking happiness out of the misfortune of Jian Long.

"You know what, cousin, I bet for the rest of your life you will live in a small village, treated poorly even by the rats on the street. At that time, I, Jian Bao, will be the emperor of the Heavenly Dragon Empire, and you will have to beg for me to leave you alive." he continued, as his words grew more unpleasant with each sentence.

"There is no hope for you, Jian Long, nothing will ever change!" were his last words, before he walked off, with a smug smile on his face.

As Jian Long took in all the insults, his eyes dimmed. At that moment, though, a sudden memory flashed into his mind:

The sun was setting, in a large grass plain, where the grass fluttered as the wind danced. It was a beautiful sight and in the center of it all were a small kid and a barely taller old man, who seemed in the midst of a lesson.

"Kid, I like your determination, but you need to understand that you were born with talent and in a rich family. Although you have had no familial love to speak of, when it comes to resources you have it all, while many others have to start from scratch, and forge their own path, amidst the challenges of life. If you and someone like that fought, with equal cultivation, who do you think would lose?" Asked the old man, with a kind look on his aged face.

"Well of course it would be my enemy, since I know the royal techniques, which are much better than any other" replied the kid, as though it was the obvious answer.

"Well you would be wrong, kid, dead wrong. You would lose every time, with no suspense, because you are missing something... something essential" As he said this, the man sighed, realizing that the kid would probably not understand the concept.

"What am I missing, master? I have cultivation methods, techniques, treasures... I do not lack anything" spoke the kid, Jian Long, who sounded ahead of his age.

Taking a small pause, the old man replied: "You are missing the will of a cultivator, the one thing which can only be achieved through challenges and suffering. It is the one thing, that when you fall so low that you can't even see the way back, it will guide you, drive you to overcome your hurdles and allow you to find your way back, stronger than ever. A cultivator never loses hope, and a cultivator never gives up, because they way of cultivation is to go against the Heavens, and if a small hurdle here can stop you, then you are not fit to be a cultivator."

Stopping for a short while, the old man finished his speech, "Remember, kid, there is no challenge in this world that cannot be overcome, only people that are not willing to overcome it." and with that, he disappeared, leaving a dazed Jian Long, who was still far too young to realize the truth behind this statement.

As he suddenly remembered this lesson, of so many years earlier, Jian Long realized he had failed his master, he had given up, when he should have been finding a way to overcome.

Determination was now etched onto his face, as his hope was recovered. "I will find a way to cure this poison, because if I can't overcome this challenge, I am not fit to be a cultivator! I may be down, but no hurdle can stop me, nothing can kill my resolve, because I ... AM ... JIAN LONG!"

And as he yelled these last words, the scenery suddenly changed around him, with the imposing imperial palace changing into tall, dark trees.

At that moment in time Jian Long, or better yet, Li Zhu, had no doubt that he was back in Crouching Tiger Kingdom, having just broken through the Thousand Illusions forest.

He swiftly made his way back to Trials peak, were the fourth elder and a few trial participants stood, waiting for more people.

Seeing someone new, and with such a low cultivation base, the fourth elder was shocked, though he surely didn't show it, as he addressed Li Zhu and the other youngsters, "Kids, you have all passed in less than thirty minutes, meaning you will receive a small award if you pass the next trial and enter the sect. All of you have probably understood the crux of the Illusion by now, which is to go against the flow. I believe all of you thought you were living in reality, yet you managed to go against what the illusion posed for you, and not follow what seemed to be fate, proving that you have the determination to challenge the natural order of things, and become true cultivators"

As though he thought they would get ahead of themselves, though, the elder continued, "That said, this trial was about willpower, yet the next one is based on strength, so try not to fail."

Li Zhu looked exhausted, since he had just lived through a lot. At the same time, he was also overjoyed, realizing that regardless of cultivation base, he had now surpassed his past accomplishments.

'Finally, I have become a true cultivator!'