Calm Mind, Burning Heart

Holding the book within his hands, Liu Yang was curious to what it really was.

Looking over it once more, checking to see if anything else was written on it, he soon finds out that only the strange words from before could be seen.

'Ancestral Gate Technique...is this what i think it is?'

From time to time, Liu Yang would find time to read fantasy novels on the internet at his part time job from before he went to Fang Lao High School.

Back then, it was a manner of balancing work, play, and middle school.

In those novels he used to read to kill time, the protagonist of the story would usually have some kind of cheat-like advantage over others using a godly treasure or a supreme skill.

He had hoped that this strange place he was now in, was related to this book being a divine treasure that can help him rise above others. His heart started beating faster as he thought of the possible feats he could do in the future if he predicted right.

As his hands could not contain themselves, he quickly tried to open the mysterious black book called the 'Ancestral Gate Technique' as his eyes widened soon after.

Blank.

The first page had a light-brown dusty color, and seemed to only need a light tap before it would crumble. The same could be said for all the other pages coming after.

But rather, what was more important was that every page had no runes or ancient texts that Liu Yang had expected to see, but only a blank space that continued all throughout the strange book's entirety. The boy was stupefied, and froze in place.

At least for a few seconds, his mind started to aimlessly wander as his eyes darted around the room. Showing a face that did not know if it was laughing or crying, he unconsciously moved past the little stone altar, and had moved even further than before.

The next thing he knew, he had arrived in front of the towering doorway before he realized that he could not move anymore and stopped to see what was blocking him.

Once he saw the majestic doorway, it was like all his fatigue and grievances melted away into nothingness. It was a strange feeling that washed away all idle thoughts within him.

Looking up, Liu Yang could faintly see the top of the doorway, but it only served to prove that the latter's height was taller than he had expected.

"This door..."

'Good heavens, this door might be the divine treasure I was looking for!' he exclaimed inwardly.

Quickly keeping the useless book inside his clothes, Liu Yang slowly placed his hand on the palm-shaped lock at the center of the doorway.

One second.

Five seconds.

Ten minutes pass.

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!"

Seemingly having lost his mind, the pudgy youth screamed out his indignation to the boundless sky of the white space without fear nor care for anything.

Who could blame him?

In his mind at this moment in time, he was a toy.

A toy being made to dance in the palm of someone's hand. Suffering for someone else's enjoyment.

No one knew if this thought of his was true.

But as time passed, he quickly found himself calming down. Liu Yang could clearly feel his mind growing colder, yet his heart was burning with intense rage and indignation.

It was as if someone poured a bucket of cold water on him. His thoughts quickly became clearer and his screaming came to a stop. The bizarre state he was in right now, made him think back to a memory.

It was the memory of him on the first day of class.

•••••

"Shoes, check. My lunch money, right here."

'Although, it isn't much.'

Liu Yang, a chubby youth was lamenting his food expenses for the first day of school as he was going out of his one-person rented studio.

The studio was small, old, and cheap.

Liu Yang chose this place due to it's price, obviously.

Since his parents left him to fend for himself, he was taken into an orphanage for seven years.

After that, they gave him a scholarship all the way until high school because of his diligence in studying. His grades may be average but his work in painting, music, calligraphy and poems was beyond outstanding. He could have been said to be a god of the four arts, incarnated into the modern world.

Alas, his talents were forever left buried due to his looks and social status. Liu Yang, a genius in artwork was only a nobody, his luck was really too pitiful.

But this didn't affect the boy much.

He knew his outward appearance would never be suitable to show to the public even if he had mastery in certain fields.

People only judge you using their eyes, but not their heart. It was once a poem Liu Yang wrote for himself in the past, as he was contemplating this.

As he walked towards his new school, he suddenly heard a loud screeching noise in front of him.

Looking towards the source, Liu Yang found that an old man was lying on the street, breathing heavily as if in pain. Around him were scattered plastic bottles and cardboard box sheets.

Near him was an amazingly expensive-looking car.

It seemed that the old man was hit by the car in an accident while he didn't have time to get away.

'A Lamborghini. The owner must be really rich.'

Liu Yang thought for a second, but he was already rushing towards the old man without hesitation.

Other people would only look at this situation, while some even may call an ambulance. But this pudgy youth immediately came to the old man's side.

Even though he was a stranger to Liu Yang, the latter believed that every person's life is important.

Especially an elder like the old man.

It didn't matter who he was, as long as he made sure he was alright. That was all he wanted.

Taking out a handkerchief from his pocket, Liu Yang tied it over the old man's bleeding arm to stop the pressure. He was trained in first-aid in the orphanage but never had the chance to use it until now. Slightly clumsy and without the proper materials, he could only compromise with this.

While he was treating the old man, a spiky-haired youth with a dark expression came out from the expensive car. Slamming the car door shut, he walked towards the old and young duo.

"Old geezer, how dare you run in front of me like that! Look what you did to my car! Do you even know how much this costs? It's worth more than you will ever see in your lifetime!"

Distracted by those words, Liu Yang glanced at the hood of the car, only to see a tiny scratch.

"Are you serious?"

Angered by the youth's words, he unconsciously asked this question in a provocative tone.

At first, the spiky-haired youth did not even place these two ugly insects in his eyes, only venting out his anger on getting interrupted on the phone while driving to his new school, but when he heard the fat teenager's disdainful words, he quickly got mad.

"How dare you speak to me like that! Who the hell are you pig, to say those words to this young master!? Of course I'm serious. I'll report this old geezer to the police station and have him pay for the damages to my car! So you just scram to the side!"

Reddened with rage, Su Heng, the third young master of his family, swept his arm and pointed to the sidewalk. Implying to the large-bellied boy to screw off out of his sight, like he was sick of him.

Of course, a normal person who knew who this spiky-haired youth was in reality, would quickly run as fast as he/she can away from this guy.

But, Liu Yang was not a normal person.

Though, it was mostly due to his ignorance of who his opponent really was, but it didn't matter.

"Call the police? Are you an idiot!? We can clearly see that it was you who run this man over! Now you want to make the victim pay for that measly scratch in front of your car!? If that isn't the funniest joke I've heard in my life, I don't know what is!"

Gaining a burst of courage, Liu Yang screamed towards the youth in rage, as if his own family got insulted in front of him.

But this choice at that moment, doomed him into a miserable and hellish school life.

The youth, who was stunned speechless, wanted to tear this fat idiot into shreds, but noticed that Liu Yang was wearing the same school uniform as him.

"You, what's your name?"

The youth quickly lost his anger, and turned it into a complacent smirk. Devious plans were swirling inside his head as he awaited the large blob's reply.

"Liu Yang, a student who helps those in need."

This name, was quickly put on Su Heng's list.

The list of people he was going to have fun with.

Not in a good way.

"Haha, little pig you must also remember my glorious name, it's young master Su Heng, of the Su Family. I'll be seeing you in school, piggy."

With that, Su Heng quickly got into his car, and he drove away in a flash. Dust and smoke were the only things left in his wake, as he left the duo.

"That bastard, not even paying for the victim's medical fees. Once I report this, I'm sure he's gonna regret this."

•••••

"Sigh"

Of course, back in the present, Liu Yang found himself to be the one with a slight regret instead.

Back then, when he reported the incident to the authorities, they only told him that they will investigate the matter. Unsurprisingly, they never did. Apparently, the Su family has the police in that city in their pockets. There was no justice.

Only money talks in that world.

"Fortunately, the old man was alright and I'm not in that world anymore. Now that I think about it..."

'That old man said something weird to me after I took him to the hospital.'

Liu Yang tried to recall that distant memory.

After what seemed to be a long time of thinking, he finally remembered the white-haired elder's words.

"To become someone strong, one must have a calm mind, and a burning heart within. By balancing Yin, the freezing cold, and Yang, the searing heat, within one's body, the user's soul will be invincible."

As if reciting a mantra, Liu Yang wholeheartedly repeated these words while simultaneously trying to unravel the meaning behind each word.

Hours, days pass as he sat there in meditation.

The white space had no day and night, so it was difficult to tell how much time had passed unless one had a watch or a clock.

Liu Yang had a cheap watch on his left wrist, but it was already broken even before he entered this space. The timer display had been frozen in place.

Although this was the case, time seemed to be endless in this large space that stretched out for who knows how long. The eerie silence was only broken by a slight humming sound coming from the giant majestic doorway from time to time.

Until one day, a slight crack could be heard.

*Crack*

A bright light seeped through a little crack on Liu Yang's forehead. Previously, this would have caused him so much pain that he swore he would die.

But now, he felt as if he was already above the clouds. Looking over everything as if they were only insignificant things to him. He had reached the state of enlightenment towards a certain truth.

A hazy image of a golden eye could be seen forming in front of his forehead as he uttered mantras without end. The more he repeated, the more he understood. Although slow, he had finally opened his spiritual eye. The moment he did this, he could faintly see an intense amount of energy surrounding the large doorway, as if it was slowly activating.

"I should be able to do this now. Although this is only an introduction to a legendary technique, I'm sure it's enough for me to unlock this door."

He had no confidence in saying this.

Liu Yang, the boy who thought the old man would never have suspected him to use his words in this situation, only had a gut feeling, an intuition.

Gently placing his hand inside the palm-print lock once again, his heart beat wildly in his chest.

As this was happening, he quickly submerged his consciousness in deep freezing water.

Calm Mind.

Burning Heart.

The fusion of two opposing forces.

The strength contained within the clash should be...

*Click*

"Just enough."

A slight smile filled with relief made its way onto Liu Yang's face as he watched the large doorway unlock and slowly open into an open space inside.

"Here goes nothing."

Reinforcing his determination, he walks right into the room without the slightest hesitation.

*Slam*

But as soon as he did, his heart almost stopped beating. His mind, thrown into disarray.

The moment he entered, the door shut behind him, spreading eerie darkness all around him.

The darkness was everywhere.

His eyes saw nothing.

Nothing except those eyes.

Those terrifying emerald eyes, staring right into his soul. Like he was stripped bare before this gaze.

"...Oh? A mortal daring to step into my domain?"

"....."

Liu Yang, sweating rivers, could only try to speak, but somehow, could not utter even a sound.

"I see. Interesting..."

The gaze slowly moved closer and closer, until it was so near that Liu Yang could see its body outline.

'A snake'

'An insanely large snake'

The thoughts of how tall a skyscraper would be flashed into his mind, as he quickly compared the two. Alas, he only found the building to be much, much smaller than the creature before him.

"Fear me mortal. For I am the true progenitor of the reptilian race. The Ancestor of Envy, Living Eternity, Snake God Ouroboros."

After hearing these titles no one should ever hear in their lifetime, he was about to faint. But just before he did, a golden light came out from his chest.

This light was so calming, as if it was dispelling the darkness around it. Liu Yang was affected by this golden glow, as even his irises shone in the same color. His body was filled with strength and confidence, that he could look the large snake straight in the eyes. His state of mind quickly improving as he recovered.

"Hiss...that is..who exactly are you?"

Immense fear took over the snake's gaze as it trembled in the face of that golden light.

"Me?"

Surprisingly, Liu Yang found that he could now talk really easily. As if his fear was wiped from his mind.

"My name is Liu Yang."