The Paths Diverge

Once Chen Yi entered his accommodation, he closed the doors and went to sleep, not caring at all about the "plan" mentioned by Chen Wei for with the mystical system, he was sure to leap through cultivation stages with the realm that his father was going to send him to.

While Chen Yi was resting, Chen Wei was in a meeting with his father, Chen Hao. They had started to discuss matters of utmost importance, including the sects' strength and prodigious people they could recruit for use. Then Chen Hao said to his son Chen Wei, "you know how you and your brother are my pride and joy?"

Chen Wei said, "yes dear father, I do, is something the matter?"

"Yes, as you know our current state is not the most ideal, it is almost to the brink of our clan's downfall, so I will have to send your brother out to cultivate so he can get the power necessary to be the future patriarch and you will go to other tribes and look for men that are willing to come and work for with our tribe, this is an emergency and if we do not survive, our strength will be crippled for years to come and we will be the mock of everyone else. You can begin your journey tomorrow."

"The journey will be a waste of time for me as I cannot get stronger and may become vulnerable, causing the other sects to come to attack me and my bodyguards, who are not that weak either. Other people in our sects would be willing to do this mission," Chen Wei retaliated. "If we never let you out, won't everyone lose hope as no-one would know of your cultivation strength? Morale is key in a battle and if you show your prowess after countless towns have been massacred, then what is the point of us having control of those towns in the first place?" Chen Wei said, "But father…!"

The patriarch interrupted angrily with, "SILENCE! You will go and complete this mission, there will be no further discussion on the matter."

They heard a soft knock on the door and found that it was Li Mei, Chen Hao's wife, behind the door. As she entered, Chen Hao dismissed the meeting and told his son that the meeting was over.

As the door closed behind Chen Wei, Chen Hao spoke to Li Mei in a soft tone, "is there anything you need dear?"

As he asked the question, she let down her tied-up hair, and said, "I just wanted to spend time with you, for you are the love of my life and my reason for living."

Chen Hao responded, "and you are my rose, my delicate beauty. The ray of sunshine that lights my life up every day. I remember when I met you, I was crying under a dove tree, for my mother had perished and left this world, but you saw me and did not care that I was the chieftain's son. Instead, you saw me as a regular boy and showed me the path to eternal happiness and made me realize that life is not just for living through, but to cherish."

Li Mei responded to him, "When I met you, my family had just lost our home due to an accidental fire. However, the moment I saw you weeping and grieving, I wanted to keep smiling and wanted to help you despite my own family's misfortune. You thanked me and then asked for my information. When I told you my name and that I was the daughter of a merchant and asked for your information, you told me you were the son of the current chief of the village. When you thanked me for cheering you up and said goodbye to asking your father Chen Bei to let us stay together, you kept coming to see me, day after day even though your request was rejected and your father made it clear that he did not like our marriage. Years passed and the day you brought flowers and asked for my hand, as you had fallen for me a long time ago, was one of the happiest days of my life. My heart beat faster and faster when you went to ask my father and mother my hand in marriage. When they agreed, we settled down and had our two wonderful children, Chen Yi, and Chen Wei and now we are here."

After they finished reminiscing about the past, they went to sleep, blissfully unaware of the danger ahead.

The next morning, the two brothers parted ways, one to a secret realm to increase his strength, while the other went to rally up members

Chen Yi passed through a teleportation array, arriving at a frosty dystopia. As soon as he stepped through, the gently falling snow turned violent as if the gods were furious. The weather was freezing cold, began to seep into his bones. It cemented itself inside him, edging closer with malice. As Feng Po Po's breath coldly greeted and kissed his lungs, the snowflakes fell with nature's determination, that primal force that conquers until its energy is spent. The wind turned into a piercing arrow, breaking through what meagre protection he had from the elements and finding their way through every possible nook and knifing him. The savage, dark, ominous clouds enveloped the sky, enclosing him within their world of torment. The freezing air burned his skin like acid, creases formed, creating undulating streaks that drained blood from his limbs. His heart palpitated wildly.

As he retreated into a deserted alley, the half-frozen pellets striking him, the weather continued to ravage him like a destructive wolf, devastating all hopes of forming a single thought. It sank its frozen fangs into his numb flesh and bit him with sharp, cold teeth. He felt the effect of the blinding white of the snow. He resisted the urge to let out an ear-piercing cry for mercy against something so innocent and lifesaving as water being used as a weapon of utter destruction. The clouds' tears mirrored his. He tucked into a fetal position to prevent the abominable monsters from overpowering him and to dodge the millions of arrows shooting from the heavens and shattering over his scar-filled body. He dodged the blanket of terror. He dodged the relentless force of the wind that lashed his face. He dodged the supernatural forces of judgement from the heavens. But as he was about to perish from frostbite, he remembered his ring. "It has so far unlocked the mimic ability successfully," he thought as he used the power of the ring. He remembered that his previous world's most freeze-resistant animal was the near alien tardigrade and as he stopped shivering, he remembered that he had forgotten about the backlash

Then he groaned as everything went dark.