Divine Bird City ...
Seven years later ...
In the solitude of a courtyard, a lone figure, barely fourteen years of age, stood before a weathered stone statue. His frame, though tall for his age, bore the unmistakable marks of hardship, his clothing worn and frayed from a life of toil. Short, raven-black hair framed his youthful face, which held a gaze of profound melancholy and unspoken despair. The depths of his cerulean eyes concealed stories of a past known only to him, lending an air of mystery to his presence. In that moment, he seemed a poignant embodiment of both resilience and vulnerability, a young soul grappling with the weight of life's trials.
The stone statue, an imposing and majestic presence in the landscape, soared to a towering height of five meters. It portrayed not merely a man but a veritable paragon of strength and valor. The sculpted figure stood with resolute bearing, encased in formidable armor that clung to every contour of his body, a testament to the indomitable spirit it represented. His hands, positioned atop a sword that descended earthward, exuded an aura of unwavering determination. Majestic and mythical, two splendid phoenix wings unfurled from his back, their feathers casting a protective shadow over all who gathered in the statue's presence.
Feng Luotian's thoughts wandered back to his father. "Will I ever live up to your legacy?" he wondered, feeling the weight of expectations pressing down on him. As the entranced boy remained lost in contemplation, his thoughts swirling within, his gaze fixated upon the grandeur of the statue …
"Brother Feng." Another boy, breaking the silence, beckoned to him, shattering the stillness of the moment.
Undeterred by the initial lack of response, the boy fixated on the statue, his attention seemingly riveted. The other boy, growing more insistent, raised his voice and took firmer action, firmly grasping the shoulder of the statue-staring youth, determined to pull him from his trance: "Hey!! Brother Feng!!"
After the boy finally turned towards the sound, the one who called out earlier suggested with a low voice: "You should train properly, or else Teacher Shu is going to yell at us."
It appeared that they were in a training class on a school field. Today was the day when students would practice their hand-to-hand combat to further their experience in fighting.
There was a teacher overseeing the class, Teacher Shu, and he would advise his students from time to time.
"I know, Wuji." The boy with blue eyes, whose name was Feng Luotian, calmly replied but still muddleheaded.
"What's the point?" Feng Luotian thought, looking at his bandaged hands. "No matter how hard I train, it won't change the fact that I'm a cripple."
The boy who urgently implored Feng Luotian to regain his focus shared a striking resemblance in age, with chestnut-brown hair framing his youthful features. Despite his petite stature, there was a palpable aura of determination that emanated from his every movement. His eyes, a unique shade of amber, held a mix of concern and determination. He introduced himself as Sun Wuji, a name that resonated with unwavering resolve and camaraderie.
"But what's the point if even this doesn't work?" Feng Luotian added before showing his hands full of bandages to his classmate.
Sun Wuji took a glance. He felt a pang of sympathy for his friend but knew he had to stay positive. "We can't give up," he reminded himself.
After getting such a response, Sun Wuji sighed and shook his head, understanding the implicative meaning in Feng Luotian's action: "Just do what Teacher Shu told us to do, and we will go train the way you want later, alright?"
"Okay." Feng Luotian agreed before he gave another sigh to himself. After that, he posed his battle stance, facing Sun Wuji to fight in hand-to-hand combat as they were tasked, but with a couple of moves, while he was still on his mind about something ...
Swish. Thump.
Feng Luotian got flipped to the ground by his sparring partner.
Sun Wuji lightly chuckled: "What's wrong with you today, Brother Feng? Did you eat your breakfast properly?" He tried to keep the mood light, hoping to lift Luotian's spirits. He then extended his hand toward Feng Luotian, signaling to his friend that he would pull him up.
Not trying to get up from the ground, Feng Luotian lay there and said: "No, it's not that ... I just ..."
After letting out a loud sigh, the defeated youth continued: "Even if I go through all the training and push myself thousands of times harder, I won't be able to accomplish a thing before I can overcome my current condition, you know ... being a cripple and all that."
"Why can't they understand?" Feng Luotian thought bitterly. "I'm not like them. I can't just train and get stronger."
As the story went, Feng Luotian was, in fact, a cripple who was unable to cultivate. In other words, he could not practice or train to become any stronger than a commoner.
Although Feng Luotian was strong enough to beat some of the cultivators, and that fact was already incredible by itself, anything beyond that, he was just like an average worker who could only use his muscle and nothing more.
In this world, there were two types of people.
One was a commoner, and another was a cultivator.
Cultivators could control the energy within their bodies and use it in battle, whereas commoners could not. As Feng Luotian could not do what cultivators could, so he fell into the latter category.
"Don't give me that shit again, Brother Feng!! We have talked about this. You will and surely be able to awaken your bloodline one day."
In response to his friend's pathetic state, Sun Wuji furrowed his brows, grabbed the hand, then forcefully pulled Feng Luotian up from the ground.
"I have to believe that," Wuji thought. "For both our sakes."
But not a moment later that a scornful voice came from the side.
"Right, right!! As Little Sun said, you will be able to awaken and breakthrough to become a One Fang Fighter one day, well, in your next life maybe, heh!!"
Approaching the two youths with a regal and almost haughty demeanor, another male, significantly taller, cut a striking figure. His long, blood-colored hair cascaded like a river of crimson, adding to his air of distinction. The most arresting feature, however, were his eyes, a deep shade of crimson that seemed to pierce through the very soul. His attire, in stark contrast to the tattered clothes of the statue-staring boy, was impeccably tailored, hinting at a life of privilege and refinement. His disdainful laughter echoed in the air, creating a stark contrast to the earnest exchange between the other two youths.
Ying Lizhua relished in belittling Feng Luotian. "He's nothing but a reminder of what I'll never be—a failure."
This caused rage to appear within Sun Wuji's eyes, but before he could bark back at the newcomer, a harsh rebuke of a feminine voice sounded from another: "Shut up, Ying Lizhua!! There is no one calling you a mute even if you don't speak!!"
It was a girl who immediately cursed at the guy. She arrived next to the victim and asked worriedly: "Are you okay, Luotian?"
In the midst of the diverse assembly, she stood out as an ethereal vision of beauty. Her cascading hair, a rich, dark brown, bore an enchanting hint of green at its ends, as if nature itself had bestowed an adornment upon her. Her locks flowed like a silken waterfall, harmonizing flawlessly with her captivating green eyes, which held a mysterious allure. Draped in an enchanting green-and-white silk dress, she embodied elegance and grace. Her complexion, as fair and immaculate as the purest jade, framed her exquisite countenance. It was as if an artist's brush had meticulously crafted her, rendering her a living masterpiece.
Her mere presence commanded the admiration of any man of her generation, bestowing upon her the revered title of [Goddess Mei] within the city, a name that resonated with grace and splendor – Mei Yue'er.
Nonetheless, her beauty did not seem to have any effect on Ying Lizhua, much less make him back away from his previous intention to mock Feng Luotian. He continued to smirk at all of them as he always did.
Ying Lizhua was the current top dog in the pre-school.
In fact, Ying Lizhua was much more than that. He was the fastest to become a cultivator in the history of Divine Bird City.
To become a cultivator was to be able to awaken their own bloodline, and normally, if someone had the potential of being a cultivator, they would be able to awaken their bloodline and become a cultivator when they were around twelve years old.
However, Ying Lizhua did that when he was nine, becoming the greatest genius in the city.
And the drama was … the four of them had actually been together since young. And as a matter of fact, they were actually sworn siblings, while Feng Luotian was taking the lead as the big brother of the group in the past.
Despite that, ever since Ying Lizhua was granted the title of the [Greatest Genius], he also aimed to become the greatest genius in the world.
With such an ambition, Ying Lizhua seemed to disregard anything that would obstruct his path, and one of those things was his big brother, Feng Luotian, himself.
While Mei Yue'er awakened her bloodline at ten and Sun Wuji at eleven, even though Feng Luotian was already fourteen, he had no sign of being capable of doing so.
Naturally, Ying Lizhua did not wish to stay together with someone who would eventually drag him down, so he left the group and began to train on his own.
Furthermore, for some reason, Ying Lizhua constantly bullied Feng Luotian for being a cripple.
As for Feng Luotian himself, also for some reason, he did not seem to mind one bit of his bad brother's actions.
Alas, the other brother and sister could not understand any of this. They closely stuck to Feng Luotian and always protected him from being bullied by Ying Lizhua.
Already familiar with such a lineup, Ying Lizhua did not hold back and answered Mei Yue'er with an even more sarcastic remark: "Here comes the babysitter. You know what? If you focused all your time on training, you would already surpass me and become the top of the class by now."
With his talent, although Ying Lizhua looked down on all cultivators in the same generation, he still knew that there was another genius within the group who could rival his aptitude.
Moreover, he preferred that there was at least one person to compete with. Otherwise, it would be awfully boring if he would rank best all the time.
Seeing his rival always spending her time taking care of a cripple, wasting many opportunities to cultivate in the process, Ying Lizhua would, of course, be upset. He continued to harshly reprimand Mei Yue'er: "So, I'd like to suggest to you. Mind your own business, rather than taking care of that TRASH!!"
"You!!" Her angry expression contorted her beauty slightly as Mei Yue'er balled her fists. But before she charged at Ying Lizhua, a hand pressed down on her shoulder, stopping her from doing so.
"Yue'er, it's fine."
It was Feng Luotian who stopped Mei Yue'er from advancing.
But that was not only unable to make Ying Lizhua feel grateful but also urging him to continue his insult: "Right, right!! Little Mei, you should listen to the great … God's… Crippled … Son."
The energy was burst out of Mei Yue'er's body in fury: "Ying Lizhua, you bastard!!"
Not only her but Sun Wuji also could not hold his anger while listening to this prick continuously insulting his brother in front of him. So, he released his inner energy, ready to beat this guy to the ground.
The so-called [God's Crippled Son] was the nickname people gave Feng Luotian, but it was only when they were talking behind his back. Yet, today Ying Lizhua was throwing it right on his face.
Feng Luotian, with his hand on Goddess Mei's shoulder, applied more force onto them, signaling her to stop: "Wuji!! Yue'er!! It's fine, really."
Both Mei Yue'er and Sun Wuji stopped their advance, but their eyes were still filled with rage when they looked at their target.
Right then, a pressure came down upon the conflicting four along with a light cough: "Ahem. You all have finished the training, I presume?"
Once an aged voice reached their ears, the group realized a disaster was coming, which caused their body to tremble. When they turned their heads, they saw an old man with a walking stick sternly glaring at them.
"Teacher Shu!! We just exchanged viewpoints about the training and are about to restart." Ying Lizhua immediately tried to explain and get out of trouble.
However, Teacher Shu replied to that comment with a small chuckle: "Heh, quite too late."
Each of them got one walking-stick poke to their foreheads before it swelled to a little meat bun. Few drops of tear came out as they covered their heads with their hands.
Looking at their current pitiful appearances, the rest of the class laughed out loud.
With a hand gesture from Teacher Shu, all students swiftly moved and stood in rows in an orderly manner. After that, he made an announcement:
"Okay, everyone!! This is the last day you will be learning from this old man at the pre-school. As you all know, there will be an entrance exam for every school in the city a month from now."
Teacher Shu took a stack of paper from the leather bag beside his waist and threw the papers upwards. With the wind that he controlled with his energy, each piece of paper floated in front of each and every student present.
As the students caught and started looking at the papers, Teacher Shu resumed his explanation: "Bring this application form to the city hall to apply to the school you wish to enter. After that, the school officer will guide you to the exam area and carry out the rest of the process."
A cold light was beaming out of his eyes when Teacher Shu was about to give one last lesson to his students: "Remember!! Train hard at home during this one month!! And choose the school you are likely to pass. Otherwise, you may have to see me for another year, understand?"
"Yes, Teacher Shu!!"
All students answered in unison and in the most respectable manner they could give. Some were even crying a little bit as they reminisced about the scene where they learned a lot of things from their teacher.
"Class dismissed!!"
Teacher Shu announced the end of the class before he slowly walked back to his quarter.
The students separated to do their own business. Some were still lingering, talking among their friends about the application form they got from Teacher Shu. The same went for Feng Luotian's group, excluding Ying Lizhua, of course.
Mei Yue'er was the first to give her opinion: "I will help you with the application. I'm sure Father won't have any objection."