Towards The Awakening

It was evening. Huan Wei was taking Chiu Ti home. As the moon slowly rose, a pleasant breeze ruffled both their hair.

They passed the arena in the 3rd Square. Two men were fighting inside. The crowd around the circular arena was watching with excitement.

Huan Wei recognized one of the fighters. Huan Quon... His father was Huan Wang, the most respected merchant in town.

Huan Wang owned a big shop in the 3rd Square. His shop, called the Golden Fountain, sold everything from weapons to pills, alchemical materials to monster crystals. He was one of the richest men in town.

Naturally, Huan Quon also benefited from his father's wealth. He was the third strongest Cultivator of the younger generation in the town. He often competed in the arena and usually defeated anyone who challenged him. He was in the late phase of the Wanderer Realm.

"It looks like he's going to win again." Huan Wei spoke.

"You know, there will come a time when you will make him kiss your feet."

"I just need to figure out this meditation thing. I can't meditate, so I don't get much out of the battles I fight."

Chiu Ti smiled at him. "Tomorrow I will bring you another pill."

"No," Huan Wei refused. "Your uncle will notice. I don't want him to hurt you."

"I don't need to steal pills for him to hurt me." Chiu Ti laughed.

Huan Wei looked at her face. Making fun of the harsh realities of life was the way people like them lived.

Chiu Ti was in the middle phase of the Wanderer realm. She did not have good potential for cultivation. Chiu Shirong was at the peak of the Path Realm and was striving to break through to the Life Link Realm. Even if Huan Wei and Chiu Ti combined their powers, they would be no match for him.

When they finally approached the house, Chiu Ti stopped. "Don't come any further. Don't let my uncle see you."

"All right." Huan Wei kissed her on the forehead. "Remember that I love you."

Chiu Ti smiled at him before leaving. "That's the only reason I'm still alive."

Huan Wei watched her until she entered her house. Then he turned around and started walking towards his own house.

As he passed near the arena, he saw Huan Quon's victory. His River Wave technique was giving his opponents a very difficult time. Huan Quon's Qi took the form of water and crashed into his opponents like a violent wave. It could drag back almost anyone who tried to resist.

Then came the real power. The Ocean Whip... Huan Quon whipped his opponents from a long distance until they either gave up or lost consciousness. He had learned this technique very well. Add to that his cultivation level and he could not be stopped.

Huan Wei took a deep breath. He knew that he needed to improve his Mouth of Flame technique even more. But this was not something that could be done at the early phase of the Wandering Realm. His first priority should be to break through to the middle phase.

He made his way through the streets to his home. It was bad enough living in the same house with Huan Chao. It was frustrating to have to go back to that house.

He walked through the moonlit, torch-lit streets. Soon someone appeared in front of him. This person was Zhao Yongnian.

Huan Wei looked at him with a frown. He knew someone was coming from the back. He turned his head and saw Zhao Huojin. They had interrupted him.

"Do you know how many people laughed at me today because of you?" Zhao Yongnian spoke. He was at the middle phase of the Wandering Realm. Zhao Huojin was the same.

"Back off, Zhao Yongnian. There's no Master Guiren to stop me this time."

Zhao Yongnian laughed. "You're right. This time there is no Master Guiren to force the fight to be one on one. Or someone to forbid us from using techniques..."

Zhao Huojin flailed his arms. "Earth Blow!"

Huan Wei immediately turned around. Zhao Huojin's Qi had formed into an earthen ram's head and was flying towards him.

"Mouth of Flame!"

Huan Wei sent a wolf head of flame towards the earth technique. When the Fire Qi met the Earth Qi, it exploded and scattered a small portion of it around. But Zhao Huojin was in the middle phase. The difference in Qi power was high.

The remaining power from the Earth Blow slammed into Huan Wei, knocking him towards Zhao Yongnian. The young man crossed his arms in front of him and tried to protect himself. But he was seriously hurt.

Zhao Yongnian looked at him with disdain. "Is that how you do it?" he said, grabbed his leg and raised his arm to deliver an elbow strike.

Seeing this, Huan Wei put his hands on the ground and kicked him in the face with his other foot, knocking him to the ground.

"Yes, that's what I was doing!" he shouted as he grabbed his leg and delivered another elbow strike.

Then he turned to Zhao Huojin. "Mouth of Flame!" he shouted, pointed his hands towards him. The Fire Qi took shape once more. Zhao Huojin jumped to the side to avoid the explosion. Even though there was a difference in cultivation between them, he didn't want to take the attack directly. The fire technique dissipated with a little explosion when it hit the ground.

Zhao Huojin ran towards him after dodging the explosion. The surrounding people watched without doing anything. Usually no one would try to break up fights like this. They were worried that it would end up in their hands. Only friends of the fighters would intervene. Huan Wei had no friends.

By the time Zhao Huojin got there, the young man had delivered another hard elbow to Zhao Yongnian's face. Zhao Yongnian's eyebrow was split.

Then he immediately stood up. Zhao Huojin spun around and delivered a powerful kick. Huan Wei raised his arms to protect his face. But Zhao Huojin didn't stop.

He put his hand on his shoulder and jumped over Huan Wei to get behind him. With a solid knee strike to his back, he knocked him to the ground. Zhao Yongnian was also recovering.

Huan Wei angrily pounded the ground and stood up. "You can't afford one person, so you're coming two at a time, okay!"

Huan Wei pulled his arm back and punched hard. Zhao Huojin moved his head to the side and avoided it. Yet Huan Wei opened his hand and grabbed him by the throat. Then he hit him in the face with his free hand.

He punched him a few more times. He was squeezing Zhao Huojin's throat very hard. So Zhao Huojin found it hard to fight back, but he finally managed to catch his fist.

At that moment, Huan Wei kicked Zhao Yongnian, who was trying get up, without turning towards him. Zhao Yongnian caught his foot. Zhao Huojin had also recovered.

He grabbed the hand at his throat and twisted it to free himself. He kicked Huan Wei's foot, which was still on the ground, and knocked him down.

Both of them simultaneously raised their feet up to their faces and brought them down on the young man's chest. Huan Wei felt several of his ribs crack. Blood came from his mouth. Internal injuries were certain.

When he struggled to get up, they kicked him again. Finally Zhao Yongnian wiped the blood from his split eyebrow and said, "Let this be a lesson to you." He took Zhao Huojin with him and they left.

Huan Wei slowly turned over on his stomach and got up. There was a great pain in his chest. Holding his chest with one hand, he staggered forward.

When the techniques were involved, he couldn't resist them. Being in the early phase of the Wanderer Realm had been his greatest weakness. His technique wasn't strong enough. Because his Qi wasn't as strong as Zhao Huojin's Qi.

Cursing silently, he began to move forward. Fortunately, he was close to the 3rd Square. He entered the nearest alchemy shop.

He took one of the simple healing pill and walked towards the seller to pay for it. When he saw Huan Quon in front of him, he knew he had entered the Golden Fountain. "Damn it," he thought. "Why didn't I look at the sign?"

Huan Quon smiled slowly as he looked at him. "Get well soon, Huan Wei. Beaten again?" You could see from the young man's face that he was holding himself back from laughing. "The pill costs two wolf coins."

Huan Wei opened his money pouch. All he had was three wolf coins. He took out two and handed them to him. Then he left the shop without saying anything.

He didn't speak to anyone until he got home. It had been a long walk. When he opened the door he was a little happy. His father hadn't come home yet. And he didn't have to take his words.

He went quietly to his room, swallowed the pill and sat down to meditate. Maybe he couldn't draw Qi from the outside world. But at least he could use the Qi he had to heal himself.

He focused all his Qi on the wounds he felt. With the effect of the pill, the pain began to subside within a few minutes. Still, he focused for a while longer to completely repair the internal injuries.

Such was the cultivation. One's mind and spirit also had an effect on it. The fight Huan Wei lost today had left scars on his mind and soul. If he didn't repair them, he would face a lot of problems and bottlenecks in the future. It was hard enough to grow. He didn't want to get into a bottleneck.

When he was done, he lay down on his bed. When he laid his head on the pillow, he cursed himself for being weak. His father didn't accept him and neither did the world. The world that gave its Qi to every cultivator had officially excluded him. Was this what it was like to be sealed by fate?

He closed his eyes and wanted to sleep. But fate was about to remind him of what it had made him forget. Tens of thousands of voices echoed in his mind as he dived once more into the endless darkness.

"The time has come, Huan Wei."

"We will help you."