3 Chapter 3

Zhou yawned and stretched, wincing as he felt his back crack. It was quite early in the morning, 6 to be exact. The sun that barely peaked over the horizon glared into Zhou's eyes, making him narrow them.

"Oi, are you listening?" Zhou winced as he felt Ye flick his forehead. Zhou groaned and fell back onto the floor, wiggling around in protest at being worked so early in the morning.

"Er gege, we've been here for half an hour already! Can't we take a break so I can close my eyes for 5 minutes?" Zhou whined. Ye sighed and walked behind Zhou, lifting him. Zhou whined again and let his body collapse against Ye, shaking his head as Ye tried to push him off.

"Zhou, I will kick your ass if you do not listen to me," Ye warned. Zhou, with a final whine, stood on his own feet, blinking as his eyesight went dark from standing up too fast.

"Come on, once you've mastered the moves, we'll have a practice spar," Ye said, patting Zhou's shoulder in encouragement. Zhou nodded and rubbed away the weariness in his eyes.

"Alright, watch my fists," Ye instructed. Zhou watched intently as Ye took his stance, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. After he had breathed out, Ye's eyes snapped open as he stepped forward, striking the air with his fist. Zhou's eyes widened when he felt the wind turbulence cause his hair to move slightly.

"Wow, you're so strong er gege!" Zhou exclaimed, clapping as his eyes sparkled. Ye stepped his foot back and folded his hands behind his back.

"Go ahead and try," Ye said. Zhou nodded and stood up straight, closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath. At the end of his breath, he opened his eyes and stepped forward, throwing his fist out. Zhou looked at Ye for feedback. Ye shook his head. Zhou's face fell as he stepped back, frowning.

Ye walked behind him, reaching around to grab his arms.

"You need a stable base to throw your punch, or else you will be off-balance and your punch will be weak," Ye said. He moved Zhou's foot forward and directed his arm to punch in front. Ye stepped back as did Zhou. Zhou took a breath and applied Ye's direction. Zhou stepped out slightly farther, putting strength into his fist as he controlled his shoulder to throw it steadily. Zhou felt that his punch had created some turbulence, but it was still far from Ye's punch.

Zhou looked back and got excited when he saw Ye's pleased face. He calmed himself and stepped back, trying it again.

"Er gege, I don't get how this will help me in combat or make me stronger," Zhou asked.

"It won't help in combat as much as fighting manuals, but it does. It only increases your strength by a little, but it's used as a foundation manual. It's just to get the punch into your muscle memory and serve as the foundation for other fist arts," Ye explained. Zhou nodded as he repeated throwing punches.

"Try the other side," Ye instructed. Zhou stepped out his right foot and punched with his right hand. He wobbled a bit from it not being his dominant side, but he ended the punch without many hiccups.

"Good job," Ye complimented. Zhou beamed as he continued to punch the air, going faster and harder each time. Ye watched him with complicated eyes.

'He picked this up and is improving at a rate that's almost as fast as me. Is Zhou a hidden genius?' Ye thought, chewing the inside of his cheek.

"Alright, stop," Ye interrupted. Zhou looked at him, bouncing on his feet slightly.

"I want you to try and punch me," Ye said. He walked up to Zhou, stopping at a little less than an arm's length away.

"Are you sure?" Zhou asked, unsure about hitting his friend.

"I can block it, don't worry," Ye reassured. Zhou nodded and got into stance. He took a breath and stepped forward, striking with as much force as he could muster. Ye easily caught his fist, but the wind turbulence caused his hair to fly back. Ye's eyes widened as he felt a slight stinging sensation on his palm where Zhou's fist had hit.

Zhou quickly pulled back and Ye shook his hand, ignoring the slight redness that had started to come onto his hand.

"Good job. You improved nearly as fast as me," Ye said. Zhou was about to smile before he pouted, realizing that Ye had given him a backhanded compliment and had shown off his genius status.

"I'm not a genius like you er gege, so go easy on me," Zhou lamented. Ye rolled his eyes and lifted his foot, lightly kicking Zhou in the back of his knees. Zhou stumbled, but he managed not to fall. He glared at Zhou and Ye stared back, challenging him to do something about it with his eyes.

"Alright, c'mon, I'll teach you footwork now," Ye said, pretending like he did nothing. Zhou glared at him, puffing out his cheeks in annoyance.

Ye shook out his feet before moving them, instantly traveling a couple of meters away. Zhou watched, enraptured that Ye could move so far and so fast. Ye stopped as he had traveled all the way to the other side of the acre long training ground. Ye dashed back to Zhou and let out a huff of air.

"Your feet moved so fast that I couldn't even see them," Zhou exclaimed, eyes sparkling.

"That's the point," Ye said in a matter-of-fact tone. Ye jutted his chin toward Zhou, gesturing for him to try it. Zhou nodded and moved his feet, but he couldn't get any faster. After a couple of attempts, Zhou stopped, kicking the ground in frustration.

"I feel so stupid," Zhou muttered.

"You should, I was teasing you," Ye said. Zhou snapped his head up, staring at Ye in shock.

"You actually have the ability to tease?" Zhou asked incredulously. Ye scowled.

"This 'footwork' is just running with extra steps," Ye explained. Zhou blinked, still confused.

"Just do what I do," Ye said. Zhou followed each step- left foot forward, right foot cross, right foot forward, left foot cross, repeat.

"Okay, but how does this help?" Zhou asked.

"This is the foundation. If you channel your Qi into your legs, you'll move faster," Ye replied. Zhou sighed.

"You know, it would be really helpful if I knew how to do it!" Zhou expressed sarcastically.

"It's the same from how you circulated your Qi, but you keep it in your legs. It's already been refined and purified, so you won't suffer any side effects," Ye explained patiently. Zhou nodded and circulated his Qi to his legs. He felt his legs become stronger and he started to do the footwork. He smiled as he felt he could control his legs a lot easier and it was easier to move them. Before he realized it, he had reached the border of the training grounds.

"Well, if it isn't Brother Ye and Brother Zhou," Zhou and Ye looked over and saw Brother Mo, Brother Gong, and Brother Feng entering the training grounds. Ye walked over to stand next to Zhou and nodded in acknowledgment at them. Zhou smiled at them in greeting.

"Hello Brother Mo, Brother Gong, Brother Feng," Zhou greeted. The trio nodded back at them, sneering on the inside.

"C'mon Brother Zhou, we'll show you some sparring moves," Brother Mo invited. Zhou nodded happily and followed them, Ye trailing behind him. Brother Mo glanced at Brother Gong and Brother Feng, nodding.

"Alright, Brother Feng and I agreed that we would have a practice spar, so watch closely," Brother Mo said. Brother Feng walked and stood a couple of meters away from Brother Mo, going into a ready stance. Brother Mo brought his fists up and widened his base, nodding and Brother Gong to start them.

"Ready? Fight!" Brother Gong announced. Brother Feng ran at Brother Mo, leaning back and directing a kick toward his head. Brother Mo blocked it with his arm and threw a punch at Brother Feng. Brother Feng barely dodged it by flipping back, landing low, and sweeping his foot at Brother Mo's leg. Brother Mo grabbed his leg and pulled Brother Feng towards him, circulating Qi to his fist and punching Brother Feng's stomach. Brother Feng landed harshly against the ground, coughing up some blood.

Brother Feng gritted his teeth and pushed hard against Brother Mo's chest with his foot. Brother Mo got knocked back and he coughed, spitting out a mixture of blood and saliva onto the floor. Brother Feng charged at Brother Mo again, faking a jab at him before stopping and kicking him in the side with his leg. Brother Mo flew to the side, groaning as he held his side.

Brother Mo and Brother Feng circulated their Qi, healing a majority of their injuries.

"Woah, it's almost like they never fought at all," Zhou exclaimed in awe. Brother Gong rolled his eyes and nodded.

"Of course. Those two are sons of very rich families, so they have top tier resources. They would become a laughingstock if they weren't as powerful as they are now," Brother Gong said with pride.

"What rank are they?" Zhou asked.

"Brother Mo is at Human middle-stage rank 4. Brother Feng has been at the bottleneck of Human peak rank 3. They've been sparring and cultivating for a couple of months now so Brother Feng can breakthrough,"

"They're pretty strong, aren't they? So what's after Human rank?" Zhou asked. Brother Gong turned to him and looked at him in shock.

"You don't know even the basic knowledge?" Brother Gong asked. Zhou's ears turned red as he shook his head slowly.

"I didn't really pay attention in class," Zhou muttered in embarrassment. Brother Gong shook his head and turned to him, pushing the sounds of the fight into the background.

"Listen closely. There are 5 categories of spirit levels, and in those categories are 9 ranks. The categories are Human, Ghost, Soul, Demigod, and Immortal. Then each category is divided into 9 ranks. Got it?" Brother Gong asked. Zhou nodded as he processed that information.

"So what rank are you?" Zhou asked.

"Me? I'm Human late-stage rank 2," Brother Gong said dismissively, waving his hand like it wasn't that big of a deal,

"How come you're so much weaker than Brother Mo and Brother Feng?" Zhou asked. Brother Gong's eye twitched as he felt like he would throw up blood at Zhou's unintended insult.

'He has quite the sharp tongue, doesn't he?'

"My family isn't as rich as Brother Mo's and Brother Feng's family. We're all new money families, but it's my parents that became rich. For Brother Mo and Brother Feng, they've had money for a couple of generations already," Brother Gong said grimly. Zhou coughed awkwardly as he realized that he had touched a sensitive topic.

"So why do you hang out with them?" Zhou asked, trying to quickly change the topic to something less heavy, but still managing to fail miserably. Brother Gong sighed as he turned his head to watch Brother Mo and Brother Feng fight.

"Connections. If I can get into their family's good books, I can help my parents be even more successful and live a comfortable life," Brother Gong said softly, his eyes lighting up with care and love. Zhou glanced at Ye and Ye shrugged, signaling that Zhou could do what he wanted.

"Do you like sticking around Brother Mo and Brother Feng?" Zhou asked. Brother Gong scoffed.

"Who in their right mind would actually like to hang out with those two snobs? All of the terrible things they do, I just follow along and act like I'm on their side. I hate hanging out with them. I feel guilty whenever we bully other sect mates," Brother Gong confessed before letting out a weak laugh.

"Hell, why am I even telling you? You're supposed to be my enemy, but here I am telling you my sob story," Brother Gong rubbed his hand across his face, suddenly feeling very tired.

"Isn't there a better way to help your parents live more comfortably?" Ye suddenly spoke up. Brother Gong glanced at him and nodded.

"Unless I can move on to a larger sect in the middle realm or work as a mercenary, I can't give my parents money,"

"Middle realm?" Zhou asked, tilting his head.

"You really know nothing, do you?" Brother Gong responded, internally shaking his head at Zhou's laid-back nature and attitude when it came to knowledge. "We live in the mortal realm. The mortal realm is divided into three parts; the lower realm, the middle realm, and the higher realm," Brother Gong explained. Zhou pouted, realizing that he really knew nothing about the world.

"Liuxian, this sect is only for foundational studies. In a normal sect, the sect members can't leave every day after classes to go and talk with their family. Also, in a normal sect, there are clans and specialized teachers to teach cultivation branches, like alchemy, beast taming, blacksmithing, et cetera," Ye explained patiently.

"That's the most I've heard you say for the two years I've known you," Brother Gong said, chuckling. Ye nodded at him, agreeing.

"There are different occupations for cultivators?" Zhou asked, surprised. "I've only ever heard of soldiers and mercenaries,"

"Brother Zhou, there are the Superior Occupations, the Normal Occupations, and the Inferior Occupations," Brother Gong said.

"Brother Gong! What are you doing?" Brother Gong, Zhou, and Ye turned and saw that Brother Mo had left Brother Feng on the ground in a pathetic pile. Ye walked over and took a pill out of his robe pockets, feeding it to Brother Feng. Brother Feng groaned as the pill worked its magic, slowly healing the wounds from sparring.

"Thanks," Brother Feng muttered quickly, moving away from Ye as fast as he could. He smirked for a second before looking back at Brother Mo.

"So, Brother Zhou, want to spar with me?" Brother Mo asked. Ye's hand twitched slightly as he glared at Brother Mo. Zhou glanced at Ye, noticing Ye's emotional spike, before smiling and nodding.

"Sure! It'll be good practice for me," Brother Mo sneered on the inside at Zhou's cheery attitude.

'If you aren't beaten nearly to death by the time I'm done with you, then I won't call myself Mo!' Brother Mo swore on the inside, confident that he could beat Zhou.

"Start!" Brother Feng shouted, not even giving Zhou any time to prepare. Brother Mo circulated his Qi to his hand, punching towards Zhou.

"Fire Spiral Fist Art!" As Brother Mo shouted, a huge fire spiral headed straight toward Zhou. Ye's eyes widened, looking at Zhou worriedly.

"A fist art?" Ye asked. Brother Gong nodded, shaking his head.

"Cheap bastard using his resources to fight a defenseless kid," Brother Gong judged critically.

"Liuxian will be fine," Ye said, mostly to reassure himself than Brother Gong. Brother Gong raised his eyebrows at Ye's surprising analysis. Brother Gong watched the fight in increased interest.

Zhou quickly dodged the attack, the fire singing the very edges of his robes. Brother Mo gritted his teeth and sent punch after punch, more fire spirals barrelling towards Zhou. Zhou continued to barely dodge each attack, causing Brother Mo to become increasingly frustrated. Brother Feng's and Brother Gong's jaws were on the floor, absolutely amazed that Zhou was managing to dodge the attacks that they couldn't dodge after the third strike.

"Dammit!" Brother Mo shouted, stopping his onslaught of punches because his internal energy was depleting at a fast pace. He crossed his arms in front of him, closing his eyes as he muttered a prayer for a blessing.

"Benefactor Hell's Fire, please give me your blessing and heat my Qi. Burn this trash to the ground," Mo's hands glowed a bright orange, the last of his internal energy burning up to supply the blessing.

"Hundred Fists of Strength Fist Art!" Brother Mo shouted, attacking Zhou at breakneck speed, ignoring the searing pain in his fists as his heated up Qi circulated in his fists. Zhou paled in fear as he stared at the fists that were flying so fast that they were leaving after images.

"Brother Mo! You can't use that! Your body can't bear the heat!" Brother Feng shouted, trying to reach Brother Mo's ears. He was panicking as Brother Mo used the fist art his father had banned him from using. Brother Mo couldn't handle the toll the art would do to his body, and there was a high chance he could become crippled.

Ye tried to run to protect Zhou, panic in his eyes. Brother Gong grabbed his arm, holding him back from running into danger.

"Liuxian!" Ye screamed, voice hoarse and cracking. Brother Gong struggled with all his might to keep the much stronger and taller Ye from running to his death.

"Brother Ye, you can't! It's too hot there, you're basically asking for your death!" Brother Gong pleaded, circulating Qi to his arms as his muscles strained to hold him back.

"Liuxian!" Ye screamed again, managing to throw off Brother Gong, and ran towards the fight. Brother Feng paled and ran out of the training grounds, holding his side as he ran across the road to the elder's chambers.

"H-Help! There's a fight in the training grounds!" Brother Feng shouted crazily. Students that were walking on the road look as Brother Feng make a fool of himself before sprinting towards the training grounds, excited to see the fight.

Ye dashed towards Brother Mo kicked him hard in the stomach, knocking him out of his crazed stupor. Brother Mo skid back 30 meters, coughing up blood. Ye ignored Brother Mo and ran over to the area of dark smoke, coughing and trying to find Zhou.

"Liuxian! Are you okay?" Ye called, feeling panic-stricken.

"Er gege?"