A Fleeting Moment In A Genius Life

A month had already gone by since Ji Bolin had successfully condensed his first Astral Soul and he is already at the 9th level of the Body Refinement realm. The young Bolin was undergoing very gruesome training in a forest near the Bright Lotus City.

Ji Bolin had already refined his flesh, muscles, energy channels, bones and was now about to finish refining his inner organs. The young Bolin's physique was already perfect from an average Stellar Martial Cultivator perspective yet he himself knew that in the world of cultivation all of those so-called perfection were only relative to oneself.

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30 Days Ago

After the young Bolin had condensed his astral soul, his consciousness was pulled into the Jade Token and what he saw there shocked him deeply. On the stone platform floating in the magnificent nebulous was one more mat with his astral soul seated on it. The latter size in here was very much smaller yet he was still about 9ft tall.

To the young Bolin's surprise, his consciousness abruptly merged with his astral soul and several lights in the nebulous void immediately disappeared. The remaining lights were all much brighter than the nine coloured lights from which he had previously obtained a technique despite being counted in hundreds of thousands.

Ji Bolin immediately thought about the specificity of the cultivation technique he wanted and the lights started to dwindle little by little until as back then only nine remained. This time the young Bolin chose a scarlet coloured one because of how closely it resembled his astral soul skin tone. Immediately after a technique was imprinted in his mind before he was ejected violently by the token almost as if he was a filthy thief inside a gold bank. Nonetheless, Ji Bolin had no time to complain as he was fascinated by the Cultivation Technique he won haphazardly.

The technique was called "Hundred Beast Refinement Sutra" and was truly worthy of being qualified as a fearsome one.

Stellar Martial Cultivators that had condensed an Astral Soul would naturally be able to absorb Yuan Qi from the Constellations into their own body. The Yuan Qi obtained from the Constellations was called either Astral Yuan Qi or Astral Qi. The Astral Qi absorbed by the Stellar Martial Cultivators would complement the Constellation with which they had formed an innate link from.

For example, the ones who condensed their Astral Souls based on the Lightning Revenant Constellation would have their Astral Qi in their bodies take on properties similar to that of their constellation. For instant whilst in the Body Refinement Realm they would have the might of cracking lightning with overwhelming speed. In higher cultivation realms, they could conjure true lightning and control it freely; this meant they could launch terrifying lightning bolts at their target amongst other things. By using their Astral Qi in conjunction with their Astral Soul, the might unleashed would be even stronger. This was why Stellar Martial Cultivators were the rulers of all in this world.

"Common Cultivation Techniques would temper and refine the body through suffering and pain. Yet this Hundred Beast Refinement Sutra was even more perverse — it is truly a technique of self-torture! By repeatedly fighting countless demonic beasts and trading blow for blow with them, injuring oneself in the process, then after the subsequent healing of the body with aid of one's Astral Soul Astral Qi, the body would become tougher and increasingly perfect. Only through constant refinement, will one be able to break through their limits and overcome themselves." Ji Bolin's first glimpse at the mysteries of the technique made him undergo a sudden enlightenment.

After his eventful breakthrough, Ji Bolin exited the secret realm and told his father of his successful breakthrough. The latter was left flabbergasted by the fact that his son had successfully condensed an Astral Soul from the 7th layer of heavens, something that even he cannot do. His face couldn't but lighten as a smile was born.

Nevertheless, he did not forget to warn his son about flaunting such talent and even gave him a precious secret art to hide the glow of his Astral Soul.

Ji Bolin was allowed to enter the clan's Scripture Hall where he was allowed to take one technique or secret art. The young Bolin naturally chose a combat manual, namely the Tri-Beast War Art.

The Essence of the Tri-Beast War Art was malleable and ever changing in nature, fully embracing the idea that there was a suitable move for every situation. The manual had only three different stances that started as normal attacks but would evolve as innate techniques as the user's realm advanced. The three stances was; Raging Ape Fist, Sky Eagle Steps and Great Mammoth Defence. As an innate technique one would need to devour tons of demonic spirits of Ape-type, Avian-type as well as Elephant-type Astral demonic beats to assimilate their demonic essences and fully master the manual. It was a truly vicious secret manual.

After all of those preparations were done, Ji Bolin was given a spatial ring filled with Yuan Stones and thrusted alongside his cousins in the Bright Lotus Forest for training. The trio was absolutely ecstatic about working together and this was especially true because Ji Bolin had recovered from his infamous Broken meridians condition.

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Present Day

Now young Bolin was facing a Redback Flame Ape, a freshly promoted 4th level Astral Demonic Beast, it possessed tremendous strength and durability but average speed. The beast used its powerful and long limbs to deliver powerful blows to the young Bolin. The latter was not a pushover either as he countered by using his Tri-Beast War Art 2nd stance, Heavenly Eagle Steps. This allowed Ji Bolin extreme agility and speed as he hopped from tree to tree to attack the demonic beast from its various blind spots. Ji Bolin was akin to a vicious eagle diving to strike at any moment of weakness of its prey, his speed was way beyond anything your average 9th level Body Refinement could muster.

(A/N: Astral Demonic Beast cultivation realm: 1-to-3rd lv is equivalent to Body Refinement, 4-to-6th lv is equivalent to Arterial Cultivation and so on..)

Despite his numerous blows, his strikes lacked the power to completely bypass the defences of the demonic ape therefore he decided to trade blow for blow with the ape. With four consecutive bounce, Ji Bolin went from behind the ape to in front of it and used his increasing momentum to deliver a herculean blow to the demonic beast's head. The demonic ape had its primal instinct and immediately felt the threat to his life, it rushed to punch hard with fiery astral Qi coating its fist right to the torso of Ji Bolin.

The two fists connected to each other's body nearly at the same time with a slight advantage for Ji Bolin. The young Bolin's fist, completely enhanced by the demonic attribute Astral Qi circulating within his meridians, smashed through the thick skull of the demonic ape whilst the beast's flaming fist connected to his chest thereby sending him flying. His chest was instantly burnt crisp, several of his ribs were broken as the shockwave of the blow travelled and impacted his inner organs, Ji Bolin could not help but spit several mouthful coughs of fresh blood.

He intelligently rolled as he was flung away to try disperse the tiniest bit of the force but it was only a drop in the ocean of force received.

The demonic beast flaming astral qi tried to invade his meridians but was instantly countered then devoured by his own tyrannical Astral Qi and used as fuel to heal his body as Ji Boling ran the Hundred Beast Refinement Sutra at maximum rate.

Suddenly, a melodious laugh could be heard coming from deep within the woods.

"Little Bolin, why are you so ruthless when hunting down those demonic beasts? For the last dozens of days, I cannot count the number of days you did that exact same stunt of exchanging blows for a blow to kill those low level demonic beasts. It is almost as if you don't know the feeling of pain!!" the gentle voice of his eldest cousin travelled through the quiet forest all the way up to his ears.

A young beauty, with her hands clasped behind her back, then stepped out from behind the trees, she was dressed in navy blue martial robes which gave her temperament a slight masculine touch that could only elevate her beauty. She was the little princess of the clan, the daughter of the Ji clan patriarch — Ji Meiling.

"Cough.. Cough.. Big Sister Meiling, I started way after everybody else so I must be more severe with my training to catch up and even surpass them. You are only five years older than me but already about to enter the Heavenly Dipper realm. I can only be more decisive, more ruthless and more greedy in my training. Pardon me for causing the two of you so much problems. Cough.."

The answer of her little cousin did not change her attitude whatsoever and with the same otherworldly tone she continued their conversation.

"Little Bolin, your father scourged the continent to find a heaven-defying remedy to your broken meridians which allowed you to obtain a set of legendary stellar meridians. This in return allowed you to condense an astral soul from the 5th heavenly layer. Your progress will naturally be way faster than ours. Ah, forget it! You are the son of the 4th Uncle and probably are just as stubborn like him. I doubt mere words will sway you in any way! Hmph!!!" Ji Meiling started to pout before continuing,

"Yuan'er come out of hiding already, we will go deeper in the forest to find some treasures of heaven and Earth to help little Bolin finish his breakthrough."

The world famous Fairy Ji Meiling was naturally extremely sharp and had already taken notice of Ji Bolin's peculiar situation or else how could she allow him to be so crazy whilst in training. Her latest astral soul was a pair of divine eyes and consequently she could see that Ji Bolin's body was increasingly more perfect after each round of healing. Little Bolin ought to be ready for a breakthrough after this last round of regeneration and thus it is the perfect time to adventure deeper in the forest.

A few moments after Ji Meiling had stopped talking, a sharp young man in dark martial robes with flowing dark hair jumped out of the shadow of a nearby tree. He was Ji Yuan, the son of their 3rd Aunt, and was a formidable assassin. But if anyone who wrongly thought that he was weak in frontal combat were to ever fight him — they would die without a proper burial!

"Brother Bolin is the son of the 4th Uncle, of course he is a ruthless character Sister Meiling" the young man talks with a nonchalance as if he was the freest man in the world. His charisma was off chart, he was surely a lady killer.

Ji Bolin once asked him why he chose the path of an assassin and what he answered with great nonchalance deeply shocked the young boy — "Once the world knows that I can kill them anytime and anywhere, who would dare to antagonise me! A knife in the dark is infinitely more frightening than a sword in the light".

About thirty breath later, Ji Bolin had completely healed and he could feel that his body was incomparably flawless as even his inner organs now possessed an unrivalled toughness. He had purposely chosen a demonic attribute constellation to condense his first astral soul because of their most basic properties; 1) a tyrannical body with overwhelming strength and toughness, and 2) their overwhelming vitality. The greatest example was the ape he fought no so long ago which could continue its strike despite having its head cracked open.

Ji Bolin was barely twelve years old but his body was already toned to an unparalleled degree, his muscular torso could be seen with a pristine glow. He urged his spatial ring using his Astral Qi and retrieved some clothes. Normally Ji Bolin would wear a divine armour but his cultivation technique needed him to be injured so he was helpless.

The three cousins began their advance into the deeper parts of the forest, the Bright Lotus Forest was divided into the outer, inner and core area.

According to the various records in the clans library, the core area housed a few high level Astral Demonic Beasts nearing the immortal foundation realm — the Evil Tiger King, the Purple Condor King as well as the Dragon-scaled Serpent King.

The Ji Clan trio was aiming for the inner area where several heavenly fruits could be harvested provided you have enough strength. Some of them absorbed so much Astral Qi from the Nine Heavenly Layers that a single bite would flood the energy channels and meridians of the practitioner who ate them. This was perfect for anyone who sought to break through to the next realm.

Ji Meiling blue eyes had turned completely white and were shimmering with a soft ethereal light as she used her astral soul. Anything inside the forest in the immediate several dozens of miles around her could not escape her gaze, she was akin to a heavenly seer peering at the heavens. She could see several spots of bright lights which translated to places where astral qi was in huge quantity and the blinding brightness was only a few miles away from them.

She could also sense that a group of five individuals was approaching that specific spot at great speed and she could instantly judge their strength as they were in the Arterial Circulation realm; one at the 2nd level plus four at the 1st level. She could only applaud their spirit as they were not afraid to delve deep in the Bright Lotus Forest where Yuanfu and heavenly dipper beasts were not rare.

"Let's go, I discovered some interesting treasures but by the looks of it you will have to fight others for it!" As soon as Ji Meiling finished her sentence, the young Bolin was grabbed by Ji Yuan and they nearly instantaneously appeared near their destination.

As he looked around Ji Bolin discovered that his two cousins had disappeared once more, Brother Yuan was probably melded in a shadow whilst Big Sister Meiling had most assuredly casted a mirage to hide herself.

He could not help but marvel at how mystical this universe was, as well as contemplate his own weakness, either one of them could kill him with a single blow and he wouldn't even know.

Ji Bolin immediately scaled one of the huge trees next to him and seated high in its canopy looked straight at the Astral Tree which possessed the astral fruit essential to his breakthrough. It was obvious that it was the tree his cousin talked about because there were absolutely no other plants other than weed in a 30m radius around it plus, it housed nine bright red pear-like fruits which radiated intense astral qi.

Ji Bolin connected with his astral soul hidden deep within his astral gate in his sea of consciousness and his magenta coloured eyes suddenly became slitted. Now he was exceedingly sensitive to the demonic qi of demonic beasts and he instantly perceived three of them — a fish-scaled Snake, a Golden eye Rat and a Purple Thunder Condor.

Ji Bolin could also spot that a group practitioner was hidden not so far away and that they too had sensed him. The young Bolin's specialty was absolutely not stealth thus it was to be expected.

The Purple Thunder Condor flapped its massive wing as it released a massive bolt of purple lightning as thick as a child's arm straight to the demonic snake's head.

The reptilian demonic beast sensed the danger, coiled its body around itself with tremendous speed and tucked its head inside similar to a turtle. The cone-like coiled snake received the lightning bolt on its exposed belly and bits and pieces of its now charred sturdy fish-like scales were sent flying. The remnants of the lightning could be seen racing across the ground as the grass all around was reduced to ash.

The snake released a high pitch hiss that visibly enraged the condor as it decided to dive and deliver a lethal blow.

The hiss was a sound type attack.

The turquoise snake didn't expect the condor to be that crazy and failed to uncoil in time as the sturdy beak of the flying demonic beast ripped it apart. The condor, proud of its victory, starts to feast on the Fish-Scale Snake.

Yet as that old idiom says; the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

The Golden-Eyed Rat which is a master at stealth, was hidden at the base of the tree. In fact, it had its nest right there. A golden glow was all that could be seen as the demonic rat pierced through the unsuspecting condor neck.

Even the group of practitioners was surprised by that development as they had not spotted the rat.

Yet even more shocking was the flying spear that pierced right through the cat size demonic rat. What oriole behind! There was a little monster in human skin that had set his sight on these treasures.

Before the group could even register what happened, Ji Bolin had already scaled the tree in an attempt to snatch all of the astral fruits. Using his Heavenly Eagle Steps move, the speed of Ji Bolin was somewhat outrageous for his level of cultivation. By the time the group of practitioners had reacted, Ji Bolin had already picked up five fruits and was fleeing away. The group of five wanted to pursue him but they couldn't guarantee that no beast would snatch the four remaining astral fruits.

Moreover, there were five of them for four fruits so a somewhat bloody battle royale was not out of the question. After all they only grouped together because of their fear of the inner area.

Ji Bolin was using his astral qi at maximum capacity to perform his Heavenly Eagle Steps and with every single step he would travel over a dozen of metres. In a few breaths of time, he had already fled more than a mile with his five pear-like fruit as well as a shiny turquoise egg stolen from the demonic rat nest.

The young Bolin continued his frantic escape for as much time needed to brew up a cup of tea until he arrived at a cave. He had thoroughly used up most of his astral Qi and needed a place to hide. Fortunately the group of five had not followed him nor that they could have either.

"Little Bolin! You are really the son of the 4th Uncle, aren't you!" The delicate voice of Big Sister Meiling raced through the cave and surprised the young Bolin as she appeared like a ghost.

She would always do that which is proof of her playful behaviour.

Ji Yuan was walking right by her side and nodded at the words of their big cousin.

"Brother Bolin, I collected the snake and condor carcasses so we could have a good meal tonight. Your luck is really something too, right after you fled, a peak 9th level demonic beast arrived. The Sky Pill World do have five less Arterial Circulation cultivators as from now on." This was Ji Yuan talking this time.

Ji Bolin could not help but shudder as he heard those words. Once more he was reminded of how terrible and deadly this world could be.

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The night had already begun and as always Ji Bolin was busy meditating. The two other Ji cousins too were busy with their cultivation as both of them were at the 9th level of the Yuanfu Realm. All they needed was a single flash of inspiration and enlightenment so they could step into the next stage.

Enlightenment being something that only be encountered but not sought, the two of them could only grind for a little bit of process at a time.

The young Bolin sat cross-legged on the ground in the deepest part of the cave. The rock of the walls of the cave were incapable of blocking the starlight from the nine heavenly layers. At this moment, thunderous sounds of cracking and grinding could be heard from within his body as a bright corona of radiant Astral Light revolved freely around him.

The fleshly body glowing with its own light, while Astral Light nourishes the body — this is the indication of a peak Body Refinement Realm cultivation base.

All day and night long for years all Ji Bolin did was immerse himself in cultivation, and this was the first achievement of his cultivator life.

A crisp sound rang out and travelled all around the cave. Ji Bolin had begun to prepare himself for breaking through to the Arterial Circulation Realm, and to open up all of his acupuncture points by eating one of the Astral fruits.

Although there was external assistance such as eating one Astral Fruit, eating the demonic beast's meat everyday, as well as the Yuan Meteor Stones prepared by his father, the most important reason behind the speed of young Bolin breakthrough was the fact that his cultivation technique was extremely exquisite, and that the tyrannical energy provided by a constellation from the 7th Heavenly Layer was extremely suitable for the refinement and tempering of the body.

The purpose of the Body Refinement Realm was to temper your flesh until you achieve a so-called perfect body. Naturally Stellar Martial Cultivator with weak cultivation methods who also relied on absorbing Astral Energy from low-level constellations, would have a low effect towards the refinement of their fleshy body.

In contrast, if the cultivation method was of a high level, and the Astral Energy within the body was powerful enough, one would be able to achieve the perfect body within a much shorter period of time.

Ji Bolin could have broken through even faster but he knew that haste in cultivation is no good, after all he is a man who has read countless cultivation novels.

The overbearing Astral Energy from the Archaic Demon Sovereign Constellation of the 7th Heavenly Layer continuously descended and fell straight onto his body. Within his body, boundless Astral Energy circulated, as it gathered at his various acupuncture points frenziedly surging.

Within the human body, there were many energy channels and acupuncture points. In the Arterial Circulation Realm, one needed to completely "open up" their acupuncture points. Only then; would one be able to store even more Astral Energy. After which, one had to use the gathered Astral Energy to "clear" the acupuncture points of debris and filth, before connecting the energy channels to the acupuncture points, forming a main, circular pathway, through one of the nine main meridians to the entire body whereby Astral Energy could flow freely.

And after the circulated pathway was fully completed, Astral Energy would flow unhindered throughout the four limbs, bones and various energy channels, immensely improving one's attacking and defensive capabilities. Not only that, the Astral Energy Essence would then passively sink into the eyes and ears of the cultivator, immensely elevating one's senses.

As each of his acupuncture points was cleared, the expression on Ji Bolin's face became increasingly more hideous as the pain also increased. The various acupuncture points of his body were nine times the size of your average practitioner due to him using the Hundred Beast Refinement Sutra and thus the process of breaking through was longer and tougher.

This breakthrough lasted for the whole night.

The next day, Ji Bolin had officially entered the second realm of cultivation. The current him, his features and aura, all had traces of perceptible differences if they were compared to before — even his eyes shone with a discernibly brighter glow.

The young Bolin had already "opened up" all of his acupuncture points, which enabled him to store even greater amounts of Astral Energy. At the same time, his stellar meridians had been cleansed of impurities and transformed into a circular stellar pathway, which connected his energy channels with his organs throughout his entire body, creating an intricately connected network, forming a completed Arterial Circulation pathway.

The Body Refinement Realm emphasised on strengthening and perfecting the fleshy body. Stepping into the Arterial Circulation Realm emphasised on opening up his acupuncture points, connecting his meridians and energy channels to transform into a circular pathway. This would in turn grant him heightened senses, increased movement speed and agility, and overall improved his entire fleshy body — this was a total upgrade.

The next day the three cousins simply relaxed and enjoyed a well deserved rest because at night Ji Bolin would condense his 2nd Astral Soul.

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The following night after his breakthrough, Ji Bolin went on to the next task.

Once more the starlight from the nine Astral Rivers cascaded downwards as Ji Bolin bathed himself in their starry radiance. He started absorbing the Astral Qi from the Archaic Demon Sovereign Constellation in the 7th Heavenly Layer.

Ji Bolin stuffed the remaining Astral Fruits in his mouth.

Hence, the enormous amount of Astral Energy contained within them flowed out of his stomach via the freshly connected energy channels and travel along his Stellar Meridians, transforming into a terrifying Astral Energy Spiral before gushing forth in the direction of the 2nd Astral Gate and embedding itself in his sea of consciousness.

All humans would naturally be born with a single Astral Gate. The 2nd Astral Gate would appear only after stepping into the Arterial Circulation Realm.

To open the 2nd Astral Gate, one must flow an extraordinary amount of Astral Energy along the circular pathway of their connected meridians. Flooding the meridians would stimulate the 2nd Astral Gate into opening.

This process would require a staggering and astounding amount of Astral Energy to work, which was why cultivation resources were so important.

This is precisely why cultivators of famous and powerful clans such as Ji Bolin had an overwhelming advantage; this was because of the resources they were entitled to.

His sea of consciousness was currently shaking excessively as it slowly expanded.

Ji Bolin endured the piercing agony. Cultivation was originally something that was meant to be filled with suffering and pain in hope of blissful rewards.

Only after relentlessly tempering oneself would a person be able to obtain strength. Those without a strong will or iron-like mental fortitude would never embark upon the pathway of becoming a truly strong existence.

Therefore Ji Bolin persistently attempted to open his 2nd Astral Gate — the Astral Energy contained within the three Astral Fruits in his stomach had already been nearly fully digested.

As the sun slowly finally rose, a thunderous cracking was emitted from his sea of consciousness, signifying that his 2nd Astral Gate had successfully sprung into existence.

Ji Bolin did not relax in the slightest but continued with his endeavours until night when he began his search for a suitable constellation.

However, he had no intention of condensing his Astral Soul right away. Instead, the young Bolin first chose to observe, taking his time to consider.

Ji Bolin sensory awareness easily soared through the 4th Heavenly Layer. At the 5th Heavenly Layer, he felt a slight bit of pressure. At the 6th Heavenly Layer, the pressure intensified, and at the 7th Heavenly Layer, his head began to aching like no other time.

After a few days, he gradually became accustomed to the pain as the length of his stay in the 7th Heavenly Layer became longer and longer.

Thirty nights later, nine platinum needles were inserted into the nine major acupuncture points around his head, sealing him in a trance-like meditative state.

Quite quickly, Ji Bolin envisioned himself as a huge needle piercing straight to the nine heavenly layers, which his senses used to travel, reaching out to the Astral Rivers.

At this moment, he directly ascended to the 7th Layer of Heaven.

The immense pressure caused him to feel a crazy amount of pain, as if his brain was about to crumble to pieces. He knew that the current him still did not possess sufficient strength to form an innate link with the constellations from the 8th Heavenly Layer.

Towering Giant Constellation; those who condensed a Towering Giant Astral Soul would be able to gain terrifying boosts to their strength and durability as well as generate all kinds of force to crush any obstacle.

Lightning Ghoul Constellation; those who condensed an Astral Soul from it would be able to wield the power of lightning which would be extremely beneficial for tempering one's body.

The higher the layer a constellation belonged to, the more terrifying the Astral Energy within them would be. Not only that, they would usually possess unusual and extraordinary effects as well.

At last Ji Bolin found an appropriate constellation.

Ancient Sword constellation; the constellation was a mountain sized sword that was shrouded in formless sword qi. The sword intent emanating from the constellation was so terrifying that no other constellation could exist near it — it was one of its kind.

The astral body of Ji Bolin floating in the 7th astral river approached the sword and was immediately drowned in radiant formless sword intent, so much so that his mind nearly broke but he muscled through the ordeal. Slowly Ji Bolin's second astral soul sprung inside his empty second astral gate.

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Sky Pill World, Western Province, Ancient Territory, Bright Lotus City, Ji Clan

Six long years had already gone by since the young Bolin condensed his second Astral Soul. He has since then condensed two more Astral Souls and is now a young man of 18 years old at the peak of the Heavenly Dipper realm.

Those years had been pretty uneventful all things considered except for one thing; He had put the turquoise egg to incubate inside himself into his first yuanfu alongside his Archaic Demon Sovereign astral nova using a secret technique obtained from the clan scripture hall.

Ji Bolin was now looking forward to participating in the "Dao Conference Festival" held every ten years for the younger generation of the whole Sky Pill World. Every young geniuses below the age of 30 years old would freely compete and the top 10 would receive incredible opportunities.

According to his father, even a few third-rate young geniuses coming from the Azure Mystic Immortal Realms would attend that celebration.

The Sky Pill World is gargantuan compared to the Earth yet insignificant in this universe. The Ji Clan as one of the only Five superpowers to possess immortal level cultivator are almost unrivalled down there.

Hence, Ji Bolin never had any of those bloody adventures during his teenage years except for when he went to temper himself in the several vast forests, deserts, underground caves or boundless lakes all around the continent against demonic beasts.

No Sovereign can be born without spilling the blood of countless opponents.

Ji Bolin swore that after he leaves his clan territory for the "Dao Conference Festival", he would not return unless he has achieved immortality.