Feng Luotian immediately shook his head: "Yue'er, you don't have to do this for me. Your father's school is the best one in this city, and everybody wishes to enter. The exam will be very difficult. If anyone knows I can get in while being a cripple, the school's reputation will be down the drain."
He hated feeling like a burden, especially to Yue'er. Even after hearing Feng Luotian's point, Mei Yue'er still insisted on giving an even more convincing reason: "But everyone knows you are God's son!! People will understand and want you to have a good life for what your father has done for us. They will surely support you rather than condemn you or my father's school about something this trivial."
About thirty years ago, this city, Divine Bird City, was made famous by Feng Luotian's father.
When Feng Luotian's father visited this planet, he was at a certain cultivation level where everyone on the continent could not hope to comprehend. He roamed the place and made all living beings submit to his will. And eventually, he made a declaration: "Whoever laid their hands on Divine Bird City, they would face my wrath upon touching it."
With that decree, this remote city had become the safest place on Ancestral Cloud Continent with the ultimate protection. There had been only peace in Divine Bird City since then.
Even after Feng Luotian was born and his father left the planet to pursue an even higher realm of cultivation, the respect and fear were still there to protect the city.
Toward Feng Luotian's father, everyone in the city only had admiration, gratitude, and love for him. They had titled him as [God] and erected his statues everywhere in the city. The warrior statue Feng Luotian was staring at earlier was one of them.
That was why Mei Yue'er dared to say that even if Feng Luotian was a cripple and used his father as a reason to cheat his way into the most prestigious school in the city, no one would blame him for doing that, at least not openly.
Sun Wuji also voiced his thoughts: "Yes, I agree with Sister Mei here. Though, I think it will be best if you could at least awaken your bloodline before the exam."
But Feng Luotian still shook his head even harder this time and rejected their kind offer: "No, you two. It's something I have already decided. If I don't become a One Fang Fighter before the exam, I won't apply to any school. And I will choose a normal life as a commoner instead of being a Theríon Cultivator."
"I need to stand on my own," he thought. "I can't rely on my father's legacy forever."
As previously stated, cultivators could control the energy within their bodies and use them in battle.
That energy was called Theríon.
Theríon was an energy dwelling within the bloodline of each and every person in the world.
While commoners also possessed bloodlines and they also had Theríon, they could not bring forth the power from it. In other words, they could not awaken their bloodlines, whereas cultivators could and use their bloodlines' special and unique abilities to fight.
Theríon represented the power of one's bloodline. The larger and more refined Theríon one had, the stronger they would become. One Fang was the very first stage one became after awakening their bloodline, giving the cultivator the title [Fighter]. Together became [One Fang Fighter], which was used to regard the cultivator of such cultivation.
Normally, the latest one could be to awakening their bloodline was when they were thirteen. That meant if one was unable to become a One Fang Fighter after overcoming thirteen years of age, they would be regarded as a commoner.
Actually, it was not that bad of a thing being a commoner.
Commoners still had their own roles in the world of cultivation, and cultivators appreciated their doings. It was rare to see a cultivator insulting a commoner as a cripple.
Alas, with his father being God, with all expectations everyone had for him because he was God's son, although Feng Luotian could be generally regarded as a commoner like any others, people could not help but be disappointed in their minds.
People in Divine Bird City had hoped, from the day God left Feng Luotian and this planet, for him to become their second God and continue to protect the city.
So, at the end of the day, some narrow-minded citizens gave him the title [God's Crippled Son].
Seeing his friend made up his mind like this, Sun Wuji lamented while sighing out loud: "Brother Feng …"
There was no word coming out from Mei Yue'er. She only looked at Feng Luotian's determination with watery eyes.
Feng Luotian cut the conversation at that and enthusiastically said to the two: "Actually, you guys should focus on your training for the entrance exam. I heard the one who gets to the top three of score ranking would directly become a disciple of an elder right away. It is a good opportunity for you, Wuji."
Then, he turned to Mei Yue'er and continued with his enthusiasm: "And Yue'er, although you already have a father as a school headmaster, it doesn't hurt to try hard and top the score. With that, your father will be proud of you."
Sun Wuji spiritedly flared up with eagerness and invited his friend: "If that's the case, then our goals would be the same then!! We just need to get stronger, right, Brother Feng?! Let's go to Warland Thicket to train!!"
Mei Yue'er wiped away her tears and urged Feng Luotian to come together: "Yes!! Come with us, Luotian!! Maybe you will find a fortunate encounter there."
Getting the invitations from his friends, and there was no reason for him to reject them, Feng Luotian smiled and agreed to it right away: "Okay. Let's go then."
———
Warland Thicket:
BOOOMMMM!!
Following a loud boom, a two-meter-thick tree was blown apart after being crashed by Sun Wuji's stone body. Currently, the upper half of his body was transformed into the stone, giving him a boost in both offensive and defensive capabilities.
In this outermost part of Warland Thicket, the trees were much denser than any normal forest. The land was also brimming with energies, accelerating the growth of these woods. Trees grew faster than one could thrash them all.
Complacent with himself, Sun Wuji shouted with laughter: "Hahaha!! At this rate, I will become a Six Fangs Fighter before the exam. I will beat down that Ying Lizhua to the ground the next time I see him."
Mei Yue'er suddenly appeared behind Sun Wuji after finishing her movement technique training: "Stop being delusional, Wuji. That bastard was already at the peak of Six Fangs, only half-step to Seven Fangs. He will be even stronger by the time of the exam. How are you going to beat him, huh?"
"…" With a dazed pause, Sun Wuji rolled his eyes at Mei Yue'er.
"Sister Mei, ah. Why do you have to ruin the moment? Even if I am not strong enough, you will definitely be. Aren't you already Six Fangs like him? Even though you are a bit weaker than him right now, I think, with your talent, you will become a Seven Fangs Fighter, or even Eight Fangs before the exam." Even though Sun Wuji felt a bit irritated with Mei Yue'er's indifferent comment, he spread his arms and answered in a carefree manner.
"I will try." Mei Yue'er replied before she looked at Feng Luotian sitting cross-legged with closed eyes on top of a towering rock a few hundreds of meters away.
Mei Yue'er gently activated her Theríon, and streaks of green light connected her body and the place behind Feng Luotian.
Peng.
After a glass-breaking sound was heard, in a blink of an eye, Mei Yue'er disappeared from her original position and reappeared behind Feng Luotian.
"How is it, Luotian? Any luck?" She asked.
"No." Feng Luotian slightly shook his head and sighed.
"It's always the same," he thought, frustration bubbling up. "No matter what I do, nothing changes."
"Same as ever. I feel bad for everyone who supported me with these monster cores." Feng Luotian gestured at the pile of gems in front of him. They varied in colors and sizes. The amount of energy exuding from them was also different.
Feng Luotian added: "That includes your father. He has given me a lot of monster cores, even the very expensive, Ten Fangs monster core!! And I still cannot do as everyone has expected. I don't even have the face to meet your father right now. I'm too much of a disappointment, wasting too many cultivation resources that should have brought about many other geniuses."
With another huge sigh, Feng Luotian dejectedly questioned: "You know, sometimes I wonder, where are all the energies I have been absorbing gone to?"
Mei Yue'er stayed silent, her mind racing with worry.
Sun Wuji leapt up to join them. "I was there when Brother Feng refined the Ten Fangs core. His aura didn't change at all," he said, frustration evident in his voice. "Maybe next time, we should try a Talon core."
"!!" Feng Luotian was fully taken aback by his friend's suggestion: "Are you out of your mind, Wuji? Ten Fangs core's value is more than enough for a commoner to live for several years!! Now, you are asking for a Talon core, a level above that?"
Sun Wuji shrugged his shoulders, not knowing what to say next: "I'm just saying."
One could get a monster core just by hunting a monster living in the wild. After killing the monster, the core could be extracted from the strongest parts of its body, such as heart, hull, fang, claw, etc.
Similar to humans, monsters also had power levels. And the monster's level represented their monster core's level.
For example, a Ten Fangs Monster Core would, of course, be obtained from a Ten Fangs Monster, which had strength on par with a Ten Fangs Fighter.
Ten Fangs Fighter was the peak of Fang Realm. The next step would be to break through to Talon Realm and become a One Talon Warrior.
Ten Fangs Fighters were already respected and would at least become a teacher or an instructor in schools, like Teacher Shu.
One could imagine how hard it would be to get a Ten Fangs Core, let alone a Talon Core which came from a Talon Monster holding the strength on par with Talon Warriors.
"Luotian. When I get strong enough, I will hunt a Talon Monster and get a Talon Core for you." Mei Yue'er comforted her friend by volunteering to do the task. She was confident that with her talent, she would reach such cultivation in no time.
Feng Luotian felt warmth in his heart and nodded with a smile of gratitude.
"But it's no use," he thought, even as he smiled. "No amount of energy can change what I am." But in truth, even though he sincerely appreciated Mei Yue'er's intention, Feng Luotian did not have much hope for it because he felt that no matter how much energy he got from cultivation resources, nothing would change.
Every doctor in the city had already diagnosed him and said that they could not do anything to elevate his conditions, nor did they even have a way to do it. So, the root of the problem of him being a cripple should not be resolved by just absorbing energy.
Sun Wuji saw a chance and began to shamelessly boast and laugh out loud: "You know what, Brother Feng? If I meet a Talon Monster today, I will take it down and give its core to you. Hahaha!!"
Mei Yue'er would not allow such words to go untouched, so she berated him: "Wuji, what you said is impossible!! First, how is a Five Fang Fighter going to take down a Talon Monster? You will be dead in a minute facing such a creature."
"And second, you won't find a single Talon Monster here in this outermost part of Warland Thicket, even if you turned every stone and—"
Rumble!!
Before Mei Yue'er finished her preaching, an overwhelming pressure crushed down on the three of them.
They could hardly move their bodies. Not only from the suppressive force but it was also from their most instinctive feeling of fear.
The group slowly turned their heads towards the origin of the force. And what they saw caused their eyes wide open.
Suddenly, and with an astonishing immediacy, an enormous gray wolf materialized before them, its majestic form manifesting within a mere few hundred meters of their location.
With a shaking voice, Mei Yue'er managed to utter its identity and power: "Wight Wolf? And this aura ... a One Talon Monster?!"