1 The Ascetic Road, Past and Present

The autumn breeze blew drearily.

Beasts and poisonous insects lingered everywhere thousands of miles around the uninhabited Python Mountains. 

According to the rumors, there were ferocious beasts that devoured people at the Python Mountains. Therefore, no one would go into the deeper areas of the mountains even if one were the strongest of youth. There were only those Mystical Warriors who had cultivated the Mystical Way who were brave to go to these mountains where danger and opportunities co-existed.

A group of twelve people moved forward slowly at the heart of the Python Mountains.

These people were lightly dressed—at most clothed with a bamboo hat which could protect them from wind and rain. They seemed to not feel anything when the slightly cold autumn breeze blew on their bodies.

"It's getting dark!" One of the two boys in front of the team took off his bamboo hat, looked up at the sky and said.

His face still had child-like features. His skin was slightly tan, yet taut—making him look like a teenager.

"Yup, it's time to take a break. According to the map, there is a small valley in front. Let's stay overnight there." The first man in front of the team also took off his bamboo hat as he said so, showing the face of an experienced middle-aged man.

The other ten people followed the middle-aged man in silence as they headed toward the valley. They took off their bamboo hats, put down their leather pouches and sat on the ground.

With the removal of their hats, what was unusual about this group was brought to light as all of them looked rather young except for the first who was a middle-aged man. The eleven people looked like they were fourteen or fifteen years old, just like the boy with tanned skin.

"Hey numbskull, come and massage my leg!" The tanned boy yelled as soon as he sat down.

"Hey, Lu Song. You sure know how to enjoy yourself seeing that you grabbed hold of him for yourself. I can't even be the first to have a go."Another boy sneered. "Numbskull, come and massage my leg after you've massaged his. Mine are sore too."

The last boy looked paler than the others. He seemed to be malnourished. It was a tough task for him to reach this point after carrying the heavy leather pouch.

"Forget it," the middle-aged man waved his hand and said. "We still need someone to make a fire and search for water. Stop ordering him around. Although he's of no use, he is still a young master—the prestige of Lin Yuan's Xu family is no joke."

"Pfft, young master? How can a young master come to the Ascetic Road to toil with solo cultivators like us?" Lu Song snorted in disdain. "Even if this Xu Yang is one of the members of the Xu family, he must be an outcast—like those who are distant from the main household."

The pale boy was Xu Yang. Nobody could see his facial expression as he was always looking down. 

"What are you waiting for? Aren't you gonna go look for water?" Lu Song demanded impatiently.

Xu Yang turned around and left without saying a word.

"I have no idea why that Xu Yang somehow became dumb and foolish after he fainted yesterday. He looks even more annoying now." Lu Song said as he took some rice balls out from his pouch and started to wolf them down."

"Wasn't it you who beat him up using your ten Jun fists until he fainted? It was really a miracle that he could survive from the beating with that frail body of his." Another boy who looked delicate with lighter skin tone laughed and said.

"Liu Zishan, stop putting on an act. It's not like you didn't have your fair share in beating him up." Lu Song retorted.

The pale boy gradually straightened his body as he walked out of the valley.

"The Ascetic Road… Lin Yuan's Xu family of Dong Lai Kingdom?" The boy named Xu Yang's fingers rubbed between his brows as he mumbled, "It turned out to be like this..."

The boy named Xu Yang was no longer the previous Xu Yang from Lin Yuan's Xu family. The original Xu Yang had been beaten up so badly that his soul had dispersed. 

The soul that possessed Xu Yang's body was a soul from ten thousand years in the future. And his name was also Xu Yang! 

After his successful possession yesterday, Xu Yang had been internalizing the soul memories of the previous Xu Yang. He looked entirely out of it, and was slow and unresponsive the whole day. 

It was not until that very moment when he disappeared from their sight, when he finally pieced all the pieces of the memories together, that he was able to shake off that dazed consciousness of his.

"How did I get here?" Xu Yang asked himself. He had no idea what had happened. Soon after, he thought of something else instead.

"Compared to the last question… Mystical Qi is the main point here! That fascinating rich Mystical Qi! Is this the Mystical Continent ten thousand years ago? Sure enough, according to the ancient texts, Mystical Energy ten thousand years ago was rich and in abundance. Apart from that, some precious cultivation energies like Jade Mystical Qi and Supreme-Purity Mystical Qi even existed in some of the sacred lands!" 

"Now, it's time to find out the identity of this person."

"This kingdom is called Dong Lai. It should be a small kingdom but if according to the ancient texts, their ruler is a master at the Mystical King stage! It is truly the golden age—the pinnacle of the Mystical Civilization."

Ten thousand years from this point in time, natural Mystical Energy had been exhausted to the point where masters at the Mystical King stage could not be produced. During that era, no one was bothered with those magical techniques or secret scrolls as they all required rich Mystical Qi which had nearly disappeared after ten thousand years.

The basic Qi-Attraction Technique was modified by many genius Mystical Warriors from age to age. They were forced to improve efficiency when absorbing the natural Mystical Qi. It was a tough task to squeeze a little Mystical Energy from nature as it was exhausting.

"Lin Yuan's Xu family—one of the three big families of Lin Yuan City! The head, Old Xu, is at the Mystical Grandmaster stage. He is one of the Grandmaster level characters of the region. This Xu Yang I have possessed is Old Xu's grandson. However, it seems like he's not accepted by the Xu family?" 

After all, he had reincarnated by taking over another person's body, the memories he had were most probably incomplete. Xu Yang could not figure out why this grandson of the family did not get the same excellent treatment the others did. He assumed that it might have something to do with this parents.

"More importantly, this body's constitution is awful."

Xu Yang frowned. This body was only one of a Primary Mystical Learner. It seemed that his Star Ocean had been opened without any physical training. It would be considered lucky if he were to have even two or three Jun of strength.

It was very tough to cultivate Mystical Qi in the future era. Mystical Warriors would require stronger body strengths, and ways to temper their bodies would emerge endlessly. They had been restricted by the lack of Mystical Energy, and natural herbs and treasures which made it difficult to unleash most of the techniques.

One must have seven Jun body strength at the lower-tier of a Mystical Learner. One must have thirty Jun body strength to be called good if one were to reach the pinnacle of a Mystical Learner.

Jun was the standard to measure one's body strength in the Mystical Continent. One Jun was equal to fifteen kilograms.

This also meant that, Xu Yang's body now only possessed strength of not more than fifty kilograms. He was much weaker even when compared with some stronger common people.

"Nevertheless, it was ten thousand years ago when physical training was less concerning… Those arrogant solo cultivator boys are at most at the superior stage of a Mystical Learner, yet they only have ten Jun of body strength."

Xu Yang went deep into his thoughts. In his life ten thousand years later, he had no worries nor regrets. His daily routine was to clean and tidy up the decaying clan's scripture pavilion—his life was relatively carefree. The only thing he was interested in was the golden age ten thousand years from before! He could only sigh when looking at those magical techniques and secret scrolls as he was limited by the lack of natural Mystical Energy.

Once, when Xu Yang was cleaning, he climbed up the ladder to clear the dust on the statue of the clan founder. He accidentally broke the statue and found a small pagoda that was not made of either gold or jade. When he was in a state of panic, the pagoda shone with endless rays of golden light. He then lost consciousness.

When Xu Yang woke up, he found out that he had arrived at a time that backdated ten thousand years, possessing the body of a boy also called 'Xu Yang'.

'Since God has granted my wish, I, Xu Yang, will not let down the heavens!' Xu Yang thought to himself excitedly. "In this life, I must reach the pinnacle of a Mystical Warrior. I must become a legend. I must hold the sun and moon, and pluck the stars from the sky. I must shine magnificently!"

Xu Yang slowly closed his eyes to explore his internal physique. He realized that there were a lot of bruises on the body. He knew that they were inflicted by the solo cultivator boys.

The solo cultivators were those who were talented in training the Mystical Way. They were usually born in families that did not hold much power, as such they did not have adequate resources to cultivate their abilities. They were all from households that did not have to worry about clothes and food but could not afford the expenses to raise a Mystical Warrior.

Raising a Mystical Warrior was the same as raising a gold eater. They needed money to buy those skill books, herbs, weapons, and mystical stones. Not only that, they even had to have money to enter a dojo...

Only these solo cultivators would go to the Ascetic Road. They were there to build the foundation for advancing as Mystical Warriors. On the other hand, members from big families could just stay at home to advance as Mystical Warriors with their elixirs, food supplements, mystical stones, and weapons. The path toward becoming a Mystical Warrior was much easier for them than the solo cultivators who had to go to the Ascetic Road.

Hence, Xu Yang, who came from a big family, was discriminated against by this group. Moreover, he was very weak, as such he was picked on and beaten up by the rest. 

"The Xu Yang now is no longer the Xu Yang in the past. I must get revenge for the pain and afflictions that I have suffered from before." The memories he had digested recently were mostly the parts where he was being beaten up into a pulp. This made him fume with anger and utter dissatisfaction!

"Oh? What is this?" Xu Yang looked at his Star Ocean and saw something unusual. He was taken aback by what he saw.

The Star Ocean—also known as the Inner Ocean or Qi Ocean, was located three inches below the belly button of every Mystical Cultivator. It was the foundation of every Mystical Warrior. Basically, there was nothing in the Star Ocean of a Mystical Learner. However, when he looked at the Star Ocean on the body, there was a pagoda which was not made of either gold or jade floating on the Star Ocean.

"This… is this the pagoda that was stained by my blood hidden in the statue of the clan founder?" Xu Yang's mind flashed through his memories. "Perhaps it was this that brought me here to a time that is ten thousand years ago?" 

Xu Yang put his entire attention on the pagoda. The plaque on the lowest layer of the pagoda seemed to be engraved with words. Xu Yang could not clearly see what was written on the plaque. When he wanted to take a closer look, he felt the sky and ground spinning. He was then sucked into the pagoda by an extremely strong force! 

In the valley.

"Why has the numbskull young master not come back, or does he want to be beaten up again?"

"He has probably been eaten by ferocious beasts. This area is the center of the Python Mountains. It is not surprising to see the appearance of these beasts." Liu Zishan laughed darkly and answered.

"Du Ming! You go and check whether that numbskull has been eaten by those beasts or not." Lu Song sounded like he was giving an order to a servant. 

The boy named Du Ming stood up, though slightly unwilling. He acknowledged the order, then walked out of the valley. He muttered while walking away, "That lazy and sly numbskull! I'm gonna beat him up once I find him."

"Be careful, don't kill him." Lu Song merely pursed his lips and said.