CHAPTER-1

The wind blew above the mountains and seas. It rustled the green leaves of the evergreen trees and as it moved, it lifted the sands off the ground and carried them away.

A very tall mountain stood on the horizon and at its peak, sat a man. The man's eyes were closed as he inhaled and exhaled the fresh air the mountain had to offer.

Wing-sam mountain is said to be nature's gift to the cultivating world, because on this mountain resides a fragment of nature's purest qi, the healing qi. The air at the mountain's apex contains healing properties that not only heals, but slowly improves a cultivator's fighting qi.

The Liliang continent is one of the four continents on the planet and it housed the weakest levels of cultivators around the globe. The other three continents were filled with cultivators who were on par with gods!

Liliang had a little number of sects due to the fact that it lacked talented cultivators, and it's population was slowly dying out. The residents of Liliang knew the reason behind the qi lacking environment it possessed. The reason was because the Yin Emperor, God of Evil and Darkness, left a fraction of his fighting qi that still lingered around Liliang even after his death.

The man's eyes finally opened after days of intense meditation. Even though he had lost a part of his fighting qi, he still had to retain his life force. Long Qiao was a man in his fifties, and the eldest member of the Long sect, the Progenies of the Dragons. The Dragons were the first elemental cultivators, they possessed the ability to control the elements and were one of the most powerful creatures of their time.

The last Dragon, Long Zhi was killed by the Yin Emperor centuries ago. For his death not to be in vain, Long Zhi evolved a fraction of his spiritual qi, leaving it scouring the continent for a worthy master. Eventually, his spiritual qi came upon a man named Leng Xiaochen, a man of worthiness.

Unknown to Xiaochen, Long Zhi's spiritual qi dissipated into his body. A few days later, Leng Xiaochen began having dreams and in these dreams, Long Zhi would ask him to establish a sect of his own, one that could carry the blood of the dragons.

Xiaochen rubbed off the dream thinking it was just an ordinary dream, but he kept having the same dream over and over again, and each time, the dreams became more detailed. Long Zhi kept tormenting him which made Xiaochen accept the offer on one condition. After he agreed to start a sect of his own, Long Zhi would leave his life.

Xiaochen married beautiful Ji Feifei, a woman he met on his way to Liliang's capital. Years later, he changed his surname to Long just as Long Zhi told him to.

As agreed, Long Zhi stopped the torments and never appeared in Xiaochen's dreams again. The family continued to grow and eventually, on the third generation, the Long sect was created.

Long Qiao sighed as he brought himself out of his thoughts, "Those days are history, I need to plan ahead, the future is all that matters." He stood up and smiled, before walking down the mountain.

The house of the Long sect was quite big, it had undergone some major developments in the last few days. The floors were design with dragon carvings, so were the pillars and the walls. At the entrance, a board was hung. The board had the head of a dragon protruding from its top and on this board, laid a calligraphy of words, which read, 'Progenies of the Dragons.'

People of Liliang see the Long sect as a disgrace to the dragons. The Dragons were ancient and powerful creatures, so powerful that some people refer to them as gods! How can a sect which as never produced a single fifth level practitioner be called Progenies of the Dragons?

Long Qiao did not care what other might say about his sect, because he truly believed that they were the Progenies of the Dragons.

As he walked into the household, a little boy could be seen running up to him.

"Father, you're back!" The boy shouted out as he glued himself to his father's thigh.

Long Qiao lifted the boy up and placed him on his shoulder, "Of course I'm back, I needed to spend a little time with my son."

The boy's name is Long Xue. Long Qiao believed that his son would take his sect to greater heights and have them achieve things they hadn't achieved before.

Long Xue was a talented kid and he showed great interest in cultivation that at the age of 10, he had already reached the pinnacle of a second level practitioner. Becoming a second level practitioner was a huge challenge to cultivators in Liliang but a 10 year old kid managed to do it.

Long Ahli, Long Qiao's wife, saw her husband and ran over to meet him. Her black hair glowed in the sunlight, and her lips were ever so red. She was a rare gem of beauty and a loyal wife and mother.

"Husband, you have returned. How was your journey?"

Long Qiao smiled as he placed a hand on her shoulder, "It was worth it since I managed to reach the pinnacle of a fifth level practitioner. It wouldn't be too long now before I move on to the Genesis of Essence."

Long Xue's mouth opened wide, "Father, really?"

"Yes, but I don't want this news getting out. The Sect leaders might call for a sparing competition again."

"Okay Father." Long Xue nodded.

Long Qiao glanced around like he was looking for something, "Where is your sister?"

Long Xue kept quiet. He knew exactly where his big sister was but, if he told his father, she would be severely punished.

Long Qiao's looks changed, "I hope she–"

"She left with Men Hui earlier." Long Xue spoke out before his father could finish, but he lied.

"Are you sure?" Long Qiao asked with a glare.

"Yes father, I know what you'd do to me if I lied." Long Xue replied.

Long Qiao nodded with a smile, "Good. that's my boy."

...

"Night fell, and the skies were swallowed up by darkness. The little stars twinkled in the sky and the moon gave off its light that illuminated Liliang. The night was eerily quiet as strong gusts of wind blew the littered street. The crickets chirping were irregular and even the fireflies dare not come out tonight.

Every night of the third full moon, the Yin sect would roam around Liliang searching for sacrifices to offer to the Yin Emperor. This was done in order to prevent the Yin Emperor from suddenly waking up from his deep slumber.

No one dares come out during this time, or else their spiritual qi would be dinner for the Yin Emperor.

One night, a beautiful maiden stepped out of her house to search for an important ornament she had lost earlier. She rummaged the streets but she could not find it. The ornament was a necklace her mother passed onto her before she passed away. She believed that the necklace carried a huge amount of Yang to keep Yin away. The necklace would chase evil spirits away from her home and give her good dreams.

As she was rummaging through the streets, chanting voices fell into her ears. The language was foreign so she could not understand it. Promptly and swiftly, she hid behind one of the palanquins that belonged to the house by the side of the road.

Suddenly, people in black appeared out of nowhere and started walking down the street. They were about 15 of them. They carried four coffins with them and their leader who stood at the front of the group, held a sickle that radiated a massive amount of yin.

The maiden's fear increased as they slowly walked passed her. Her fear did not deplete until they had walked some metres away from the palanquins.

She exhaled as her fear started to fade but something happened, something that had her fear hit the roof all over again!"