1 The Black Book

Kevin East was the happiest person alive at the moment as he walked home from his warehouse job. This was because he had just been emancipated, and this meant that he was now free from the foster care system. From the first week since he had entered his first new home, he knew the system was flawed as the foster parents had starved him and forced him around like a slave. He was six at the time and it only grew worse as he aged older.

That was why at the age of fourteen, Kevin finally freed himself from his prison. He found a job easily as he had the brightest mind in his school. Then finding a home that he could pay for with his checks, he was now living the dream he had always wished would come.

But his happiness ended when he stumbled upon something he never would have thought would have been possible. In front of Kevin appeared a rift in space of some kind. It was circular in shape and had dark red swirling energy within. How did Kevin know that this was a rift in space, it was because he was an avid reader of the fantasy variety.

As Kevin observed the rift, an object flew out of it at high speeds straight towards him and while Kevin was a bookworm, he didn't spend all his time sitting down. As he shifted his body sideways, he suddenly freaked when the object did a ninety degree turn and smack him on his face hard. His entire body fell to the ground with the object on his chest.

Getting up, Kevin noticed that the rift closed and that the object was a book. When he tried to read the title of the book, he suddenly got a massive headache. But then a drop of blood fell from his nose and touched the book. At that moment, a soft dard red glow was emitted and died down before Kevin could see it.

"Damn it, a bloody nose." Kevin said before he turned his attention back to the book.

With a look of surprise, Kevin found that he could now read the object of his pain and so he muttered the title of the book. "The Divine Demons Cultivation Notes?"

"What the hell is that?" Kevin said and was about to throw the book away but stopped when he realized he was about to litter.

"Damn my green thumb." Kevin sighed before deciding to keep the book that appeared out of a strange rift. "I just hope no aliens or something come after me to get this book."

Going back home, Kevin smiled brightly at his home. While it was small, it was his home and he was happy about that. He took off his clothes and showered before he came out and cooked himself a nice meal. After eating, he took out his phone and began watching internet videos for a while. Just as ten o'clock hit, he was about to go to sleep when he felt a strange feeling and turned to the book he had left in his shoes.

Walking up to it, Kevin decided to give it a shot as he was an avid reader. Going to his bed, he opened up the book and began reading. The first page was once again blurry and caused Kevin a headache but after a few seconds, words began to form and the english alphabet began to arrange themselves.

"Cultivation is a road for those who wish for something more, to become eternal and powerful, taking hold of their own destiny. It isn't for those who wish to stay still and follow the fate given to them." Kevin read and felt that these words had meaning as he had done exactly that.

Kevin had hated the fate given to him to become a part of the system until he was old enough and broke out of it, becoming independent at the age of fourteen. So feeling a connection to whatever this cultivation was, Kevin began to read more from the book.

"To begin Cultivation, one must first sense the energy within the world, twisting within and outside of all living things. To Cultivate is to absorb these energies and make it your own, master it and you will soon master your own fate as well as gain power beyond your imagination." Kevin said before he continued to the next part.

After finishing the first few pages about the first realm known as the Qi Gathering Realm, Kevin found that he couldn't read the rest. The words would become blurry and his head would hurt immensely. Seeing as this couldn't have happened unless magic was involved, Kevin decided to give it a try as he sat upright and put his hands on his knees.

Taking deep steady breaths, Kevin focused on his body and the surroundings. He emptied his mind just like the book and focused on feeling a warm liquid surrounding his body like water or a dense mist. An unknown amount of time passed for Kevin before he finally felt something within and surrounding his body.

Not wasting this time, Kevin mentally pulled this energy into his body towards his dantian located by his navel. Following the book's instructions, he began to spread it all around his body and felt as if he had drunk ten energy drinks. Opening his eyes, Kevin looked at his body in amazement as it was an impossible sensation to describe since amazing was an understatement.

Then a loud ringing noise awoke Kevin from his awe, it was his alarm clock and it was currently displaying the time.

"Eight… Eight fifteen!" Kevin yelled in shock as he had to get to work by eight thirty.

Quickly putting on his clothes and dismissing his other morning routines, he ran out of his apartment and into the streets. The reason why Kevin was rushing so hard was due to his boss being a very very strict person. Just on Kevin's first day, he had seen two new employee's get fired for being a minute late to their shift. It would take Kevin about ten minutes to get to work running and he had already spent five getting ready.

"I got to hurry!" Kevin said in worry.

But as he was running, he suddenly remembered the book and it's notes. Focusing on breathing and taking in the surrounding Heavenly Qi, Kevin absorbed it into his dantian and spread it throughout his body. He instantly felt its effects as his body became energized and his speed increased rapidly. He had been running pretty fast before but now, he was running almost as fast as the cars on the street.

With four minutes to spare, Kevin arrived at work and looked at his hands which were sweaty from all of the running. He could only say one word as he took deep breaths.

"Amazing."