Li Tengfei sheathed his bloody dagger into his roughly-made sheath and glanced at the crimson-coloured sky.
"I think it's time to go back. It's easy to hunt saber wolves during the day but at night, it's a completely different story. "
Li Tengfei had gone hunting like usual since he bought the dagger to get his belly filled. What he didn't know, however, was that a wrinkled face was intently observing him with eyes that were almost spurting flames.
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"That brat's skills are not half-bad!" exclaimed an old man while nodding satisfyingly. His name was Ye Dongfeng and was an Elder in the famous Soaring Dragon sect. Although he was not the strongest in the sect and was at an advanced age, he was easily ranked at least in the top three in terms of strength in the sect. As he made his way back from his sect mission, he stumbled upon the 14-year-old Li Tengfei fighting the saber wolf.
"At such a young age, he can easily dispose of the saber wolf, almost a level one beast, without even a shred of cultivation! He is obviously a once-in-a-century genius! If I could make him my disciple I would have someone to inherit my techniques and maybe even bring them to a new level!" said Ye Dongfeng excitedly unfitting of his age.
Li Tengfei, as for him, despite having sharper than average senses did not sense the elder. He casually skinned the saber wolf and returned to the little village with the pelt in hands and a satisfied expression. His total gains would amount in the hundreds of bronze coins, meaning he could for once enjoy a barely satisfying life.
Meanwhile a shadow could barely be seen stalking him, hopping from tree to tree despite being qualified to be called an old man. In fact, Elder Ye wanted to inquire about the background of this youth. He was determined to make him his disciple.
After returning to Yellow Mountain town, Li Tengfei went directly to an acquaintance of his who owned a shop, after all, it was not safe to wonder around with his somewhat valuable pelts.
"Ah! Tengfei, its you!" , the shopkeeper yelled upon seeing those pelts in Li Tengfei's backpack. Li Tengfei was used to doing business with this guy whenever he got anything valuable from his various 'activities', therefore the exchange was quickly carried out and Li Tengfei came out from the shop with a hundred and twenty bronze coins in his hands. It was less than he expected but he knew that man would not cheat him.
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" Huh.... Incredible! That genius looks like he is just an orphan living on the streets in this small town. I thought he would be the young master of a powerful family given how he is able to easily kill level 1 deadly beasts while not being a cultivator. Who would have thought? Well, its a good thing. It'll be easy to take him in as my disciple", exclaimed the elder who was following Li Tengfei around for a while.
He swiftly came out from his hiding spot and approached Li Tengfei.
"Hey there little friend! I saw you hunting back then in the forest and I must admit, you have a lot of potential. This old man here would like to take you in as his disciple. So what do you say?". Elder Ye was not only known for his strength in the Soaring Dragon Sect but also for his straightforwardness which is why he was so direct to the point where he did not even introduce himself.
Li Tengfei got ready to escape away when he heard about the hunting part. It was not uncommon to be robbed around here, even from an old man. But he instantly remained rooted on the spot when he heard the next part.
'This could be my way of becoming a martial cultivator, after all you would only accept a disciple if you are a powerful cultivator! Huh, now that I think about it, this elder should be rather powerful if he is able to conceal his aura like this...'
Li Tengfei was thinking about this and was overjoyed. Furthermore, the elder did not seem to be lying as he was wearing an expensive-looking robe which he had only seen on powerful cultivators. Meanwhile, Elder Ye mistook his silence for something else and realised he had not even introduced himself. But then again, it was the first time he was trying to take in a disciple.
"Sorry little friend, this elder has forgotten his manners. My name is Ye Dongfeng and I am a martial cultivator. I would like to open the way of the martial cultivator to you and take you in as my personal disciple. So, what do you say?"
It was at this moment that Li Tengfei ,who was lost in his thoughts, realised that he had not even answered yet. Of course, he could not let this occasion go and he swiftly accepted, as although the elder was a bit suspicious, Li Tengfei's will to get powerful triumphed over his rationality. Even if he were to be scammed and get caught in something terribly dangerous, so what? He obviously did not want to die in a dirty alley. On Elder Ye's side, he was very happy.
"Right, little friend, I forgot to ask you, what's your name?"
"My name is Li Tengfei."
"Huh, what a nice and elegant name! Don't worry, I'll definitely make you soar higher and higher, haha." [1]
"I belong to a powerful sect in Xuanwu City. Say , little Fei, it will not be any problem for you to follow me there, will it?"
A sect? Things just got better and better for Li Tengfei. Not only did he get a powerful master who had a sense of humour, he also now technically formed part of a sect. Of course, he did not have anything here in Yellow Mountain town preventing him from going to Xuanwu City.
In fact, Yellow Mountain town was not even a town, but more like a big village. The officials just thought ,'Yellow Mountain town' sounded better than 'Yellow Mountain village'. Comparing Xuanwu City to this place was like comparing a powerful elephant to a little ant.
And like this, Li Tengfei and Elder Ye set foot for Xuanwu City. During the journey, they met many powerful beasts, some even at the level 3, but they were all killed with a single slash of Li Tengfei's master, which made him admire him more and more.
Meanwhile, they also conversed a lot and Elder Ye also found out that his disciple had a good sense of humour which complemented his well. This made him like his new disciple more and more. Since this was a rather long trip, Elder Ye used this opportunity to teach his disciple about cultivation.
" A martial cultivator has the ability to absorb the invisible energy that surrounds us and make use of it to strengthen himself and even attack..."
The trip itself was extremely beneficial to Li Tengfei and he learned the basic essence of cultivation.
Apparently, there existed many realms, each having a number of levels. For the moment, he only knew of the Body Refinement Realm which had nine levels and had the purpose of laying down a strong foundation for the later realms.
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Two weeks later, they could see a magnificent city in the horizon.
"Haha, Li Tengfei, Welcome to Xuanwu City! Our next destination is Xuanwu Hills which is where my Soaring Dragon Sect is located. I am sure you will fit right in, especially with your name!"
[1] Tengfei means soaring high