"Greetings, brother Yun. How have you been these days?"
"Long time no see, brother Yun. Where were you?"
As he strolled through the clan. He decided to visit some of his old acquaintances. It had been a long time since he met his friends.
Luckily, he met two of his classmates which he hadn't seen for quite some time. With a smile on his face, he went ahead and greeted both of them.
"Isn't it brother Chen and sister Liqing? So, when are the two of you getting married?"
Both of them were stunned by his question. "Brother Yun, it isn't what you think…"
The man hurriedly tried to explain himself.
Tianlong didn't say anything but just smiled knowingly. He knew that these two were childhood sweethearts. However, both of them were too shy to say anything to the other.
The two of them were even more embarrassed.
A few others who were passing by noticed them and joined the conversation. The place soon became lively with old friends chatting.
"So, are you participating in the annual competition?" One of them asked Tianlong.
"Me? Eh… I don't think I will. Some of my course work is left."
"Nerd." One of his female classmates commented. It was a joke between friends with no hidden intent. The small group started laughing.
"Speaking of competition, did you hear that the Grand Xia's selection is going to be held in our neighbouring country of Clearwater?"
"Hm, it's held every five years across the countries and everyone gets two chances to participate in Qi Condensation, Yin Yang Cleansing and Jade Core realm. But if you are in the Nascent Soul realm, you can directly join them as a guest elder."
"Despite having so many chances, only a hundred people are selected every time. To be among those hundreds, from the thousands of cultivators who participate in their competition, you can just imagine the talent required."
Their group immediately became silent.
Who among them didn't want to join a rank 5 country's core academy?
Anyone who managed to enrol themselves in such a prestigious institution would have an incomparably bright future.
With the resources of the sect supporting them, reaching the Jade Core realm was far easier there than in the clan. Even Nascent Soul realm wasn't impossible!
However, there were less than five people in the clan who managed to enter the academy.
Among them, four were ancient existences that didn't manage to form their Nascent Soul and died after exhausting their lifespan.
Tianlong wryly smiled when he saw all of his friends looking at him. After all, his mother was the fifth person who had joined the academy. She was the sole female among the five.
When the sun was about to set, the friends bid each other farewell. Tianlong was once again left alone.
"The selection of the Imperial Academy of Grand Xia would happen next year. If one considers the timing, the annual competition becomes much more meaningful." He mumbled to himself while going back.
After all, if the person couldn't even rank top in the clan, how could he or she hope to rank within the top 100 amongst the thousands of participants?
Thus, those who attained the top three would be taken by the clan leader to visit the adjacent country where the competition was going to be held.
Naturally, if the competition was held in their country, then almost everyone would've participated. But since it was out of the country, it wasn't possible to take a lot of people.
Hence, the buzz for annual competition this year was far greater.
Perhaps Tianlong was the only one completely unbothered by the competition. To him, nothing mattered more than treating his mother.
As for competition, not to mention fighting, he wasn't even sure if anyone among his age had ever killed someone. There was no point in him competing with them.
However, seeing his friends' fighting spirit, his desire to get stronger was also ignited. He would train, but not now.
Another month passed by.
It was the season of winter. This year, there was only a little snow.
The snow would melt by the time it was noon.
His mother's condition was getting better every day. Due to his continuous research, he no longer had to spend as much time in his treatment.
He could finally devote time to his cultivation.
"Let my Qi base sublimate. I will not deliberately refine it anymore. My body refining is lacking, so I'll focus on that." With this in mind, he went to find his father.
"Oh, you want me to train you again?" Yun Dingxing looked at his son with a sharp glint.
"Un. I lack physical stimulation. After all, Body refining isn't like Qi refining where I can just absorb energy and grow strong." He said with an earnest expression.
Yun Dingxing let out a long string of laughter. "Since my son is asking me to give him a beating, how could I refuse?"
"What-"
Tianlong shivered as he looked at his father's evil smile. However, he knew that it was too late.
With few warps, they had reached a secluded part of the forest.
"Alright, for the next few months we'll be practising here to our heart's content."
Including the ground beneath, the place was entirely composed of black mountain rocks.
"See all these stones here?" He pointed towards all the stone slabs nearby. "Your training won't stop until I don't dye the stones with red!"
Tianlong shuddered as he understood the meaning behind the words.
After reaching the middle stage of the Blood Surging realm, all of his blood had turned silver. It would only revert to its original colour once he reached the late stages of the Blood Surging realm. As for the amount of blood required to dye the entire place red, Tianlong didn't even want to think about it.
When he looked at his father, he saw the same look he gave to the demonic beasts while hunting them.
BOOM!
In the next instant, the ground beneath him detonated as Yun Dingxing appeared in front of him like a ghost and delivered a punch.
"I'll restrict the power of my punches to the peak of Diamond Carapace realm and not use any divine abilities. As for you …I don't care what abilities you use."
With a vicious grin on his face, he once again rushed forward towards Tianlong who had managed to dodge at the last instant using the whirlwind steps.
"Parting Wind Slash!" Previously, he didn't want to fight using divine abilities and only wanted to use his fleshly body to train.
However, after seeing the strength of his father which caused the stony ground to crack at every step, he knew he had no chance unless he used all his abilities.
His arm looked like a sword as it chopped down towards Yun Dingxing. An invisible ripple passed through the air as a 10 metres long wind blade sliced forward like a silent assassin.
Just as it was 20 metres away from Yun Dingxing, the latter clenched his palm and delivered a punch at the empty air. The wind blade crumbled as if it was a corporeal existence and became a gust of wind that lifted Yun Dingxing's long hair.
"Using only half of your power to attack me, are you afraid of accidentally hurting me?" He let out a string of laughter and shook his head.
Tianlong's expression instantly became ugly. However, he didn't have much time to think because his father had reached him with a single step.
His instinctive reaction was to run. But he stopped himself at the last moment and chose to go offensive.
Instead of retreating, Tianlong fused his fist with the understanding he had gained from the first style of Wind Genesis and hurled it towards the incoming figure.
The latter didn't even bother to dodge it and let the punch land on him.
THUD!
"There was only wind behind that attack, where was the punch?" He sneered and struck his palm on Tianlong's chest. His body was motionless; completely unaffected by the punch.
Even before the punch had landed, Tianlong already knew the result. That's why he used the rebound force to immediately shot back and used his Windsmoke transformation to run away.
"Do you think you are invincible in this state?"
When Yun Dingxing's hands touched the grey gas, they didn't pass through it but caught it as if it was solid. Yun Dingxing's other palm crashed down on the stunned Tianlong who had just become corporeal again.
A force so hard that made him feel as if his ribcage had shattered spread throughout his body. Tianlong was sent flying backwards while vomiting a mouthful of silver blood which dyed the mountain rock.
He had left his first mark on the mountain!
"Are you done?" Yun Dingxing smiled and rushed towards Tianlong without giving him a chance.
"You said that the mountain rocks need to be dyed red. Your blood will do just fine!" Tianlong wiped the corner of his lips and gave a vicious smile.
"That's my son! Hahahahaha…."
The two rushed at each other. Rumbling sounds filled the mountain which wouldn't die out for a long time.