Like Son, Like Father

'<How to run away>,' he activated the technique which had a ridiculous name and immediately, he felt a change in his body.

It wasn't that time had slowed down for him but it felt like he was seeing numerous paths he could take.

'I get ten steps.'

Imagining someone wielding a sword in front of him, as they swung the sword at his neck, he took a step to avoid it and just by reading his "opponent's" movements, he was able to react to every single action they made.

Once he took that tenth step, the technique deactivated and he was unable to dodge the sword that was aiming for his chest.

"...Wow. I was moving at the same speed and yet, I felt like I was a step ahead of my opponent every time but as soon as the technique was over, that step disappeared."

Activating the technique again, Yi Tian used it for its intended purpose — running away.

The imaginary enemy chased him with an axe while three men shot arrows from afar.

With each step he took, he was moving in the correct direction which allowed him to avoid all the arrows while dodging the axe swings.

After his tenth step, the arrows reached him then the axe decapitated him.

Holding his neck even though it was perfectly fine, Yi Tian couldn't help but start laughing.

"How was that manual considered Common?" he shook his head in delight. "No wonder the system deemed it good quality. It's already this good and it's still at its weakest form."

Of course, the technique was only that good because he had comprehended everything about the manual's teaching through the system.

To him, that instantaneous knowledge was something that would take others decades to reach an understanding of the manual.

And even then, they would only be able to understand the concept of how to use the technique to run away.

For Yi Tian, he had knowledge about the hidden properties of the technique which was that it could be used for attacking, dodging, defense, and countering.

"What a versatile skill."

* * * 

Yi Pengfei, the great hero, and father of Yi Tian and five other children, was in the middle of training.

Although he was sitting in the lotus position and had his eyes closed, he was actually fighting a hundred men simultaneously.

These men were obviously not real people but just figments of his imagination, similar to what Yi Tian was doing except many times harder.

Even bystanders would be able to feel the faintest movements in the room resembling the movements the imaginary enemies make.

The room itself felt hot, stuffy, and heavy as if you were trying to carry a ton of weight.

Alone in the room, he felt a vibration in the air and knew that one of his subordinates was approaching him.

Concentrating all of his strength into one last kick, Yi Pengfei's representative in the imaginary world killed all of his enemies with a blast that none of them could block.

Opening his eyes at the same time as the door opened, Yi Pengfei looked at his subordinate who got down on both knees.

They didn't dare hold a conversation with their master while looking downwards.

There was a moment of silence where nothing was being said but at the same time, a lot was being discussed and contemplated.

Deciding that he wasn't in the mood to punish the subordinate for interrupting his training, he uttered a single word, "...Speak."

"Yes, Master. The Fang clan is on the move. They've gathered their forces, 4000 men total, and are set to head towards the Blue Moon Sect within the next couple of hours. Leading them is Fang Dong along with his two right-hand men, Fang Tae and Hu Ji."

Yi Pengfei nodded and said, "Good. Anything else?"

"..."

Sensing that there was hesitation in his subordinate, the information on the tip of their tongue must be too hard for them to determine whether or not it was worthy of being shared.

"Just say it. I'm in a good mood with the revelation that our plans have worked. I won't punish you even if the next words that come out of your mouth end up being useless."

The subordinate bowed his head and said, "Your son, Yi Tian, is now an Early-stage Qi Condensation cultivator."

Immediately, the room was clouded with this dark aura and the subordinate collapsed to the floor.

"Say that again."

Even though he was in extreme pain, the subordinate repeated himself, "Yi Tian is at the Early-stage Qi Condensation stage."

"Are you sure?" 

Yi Pengfei always trusted the information his subordinates gave him.

He never doubted them because they knew the punishment that came with being wrong.

Yet, he couldn't help but doubt his subordinate's word at the moment.

"Yes, Master. I'm sure."

The suppressive aura in the room disappeared and Yi Pengfei stood up. "When did... no, how? How did he manage to acquire enough qi to do such a thing? I didn't know it was possible for his dantian to be fixed."

"Master, his dantian... it's still incapable of gathering qi."

Again, the room suddenly became masked with a dangerous aura and the subordinate was pushed onto the floor, breaking the wooden tile underneath him.

"Then how? How in the heavens did my useless son reach the Qi Condensation stage?" Yi Pengfei asked.

"I... I don't know."

"Wrong answer," Yi Pengfei said as he swiped his hand and one of the subordinate's arms went missing.

Missing a limb, the one-armed man didn't let out a single sound. Not even the slightest wince.

Pulling back his aura, Yi Pengfei instructed, "Find out how, who, when, where, what... find out everything about Yi Tian's situation. By the time we set off to finish off the remains of the Fang clan and the Blue Moon Sect, I better know every last bit of detail regarding my bastard son."

"Yes, Master," the subordinate responded as he stood up and vanished.

Alone in the room again, Yi Pengfei sat back down and resumed his training.

He was a minute into it when he opened his eyes again.

His mind was restless and he couldn't concentrate.

"Yi Tian... how did you do it? I've... I've tried for..."

He shook his head and closed his eyes again. 

'It doesn't matter. What's the point of being a cultivator if you can't even use qi? Your body is still nothing more than a cup with a hole at the bottom.'

Even if the cup is made of stronger material and is capable of taking and dealing more damage, the cup still has a hole in the bottom.

* * *

The next day.

Yi Tian woke up early, barely sleeping more than a few hours.

After the late-night bath he took, he woke up feeling fresh despite those hours, the product of being a cultivator whose body was no longer as weak as before including the recovery time.

Squeezing his hands, he looked at the muscles on his forearms tightening up.

'I still can't believe my body looks like this now,' he admired his physique.

He had slept in a different room as the smell of his bedroom was too strong.

As yesterday had been his birthday and to celebrate the Dual Cultivation System, he withfrained from drinking or heading to the red light district.

As it was a new day, that was no longer the case.

Most people would wait till the night as it was the sensible thing to do but Yi Tian wasn't most people.

Even before he acquired the system, he would visit the red light district and drown himself in alcohol while the sun was out.

Why?

Yi Tian liked sleeping at night and being awake during the day.

It was that simple.

With a few gold coins in his bag, he went to his favorite place, "Golden Hour".

It was a place that had the most beautiful women but more importantly, there was a courtesan there who was at the Middle-stage Qi Condensation stage.

It was rare for a courtesan to be a cultivator as there was other way for cultivators to make money but it sometimes happened due to circumstances.

This specific courtesan at Golden Hour was someone with circumstances.

* * *

Byeon Min-Hee was in the middle of her sleep when someone opened her door and shook her awake.

As it was rude to wake someone up for something trivial, it could mean one thing.

She had work she needed to attend to.

"Who is it?" she asked while yawning and stretching her arms.

The other courtesan had a strange look on her face.

"Don't tell me it's one of those ugly old fat men?" asked Byeon Min-Hee, shaking her head at the thought of it.

"No. Worse."

"Worse? How can anything be worse than that?"

"Your client is Yi Tian," the courtesan informed her.

"...Ah."

The courtesan quietly left the room as she saw the change in Byeon Min-Hee's expression.

She went from looking like a diamond beauty to a specter about to kill someone.