Xiang smiled confidently at his father.
"I won't let you down father!" He promised.
"I know you won't son." He smiled back.
Today was the day that decided every 10 year old's future in the village. This was the starting point of all their journeys to adulthood. The Magus from the Mainland would test every child's potential and decide if they are worth bringing back to the Mainland, being conscripted into the Emperor's Army, or completely worthless to the Emperor. Every child that wasn't tested 10 years ago, the last time the Emperor's Magus journeyed to the Outlands for potential recruits, were here now to be tested. And of those children included Xiang!
Xiang hoped he had the best talent for becoming a Magus. Magus are respected everywhere and anywhere! Even the weakest Magus was still given great respect and wealth. If he has the talent to become a Magus, he could take himself and his father to heights they never could've reached before. No more being simple hunters who are forced into risking their lives just to eat the next day. If he couldn't become a Magus then he wouldn't mind becoming a Warrior. Warriors were just as strong as Magus but Magus were more popular because arcane arts were cooler than physical arts.
Children like himself liked flashy spells over swords. There was a third path Xiang could walk on but he doubted he has the talent necessary for it. That path was the Magus Warrior path. A path so rarely seen that in some parts of the world it was only seen as a legend. Even Xiang had trouble believing someone so talented could walk the earth. If normal Magus were seen as monsters by normal people then a Magus Warrior could only be gods in comparison.
"He has the potential to become a Warrior." One of the Magus announced after a boy just went up on the stage to get his talent tested.
The glass ball lit up green but only the Magus and Warriors understood what that meant. They sent the boy off to his father and mother and a knight went over to them. Many assumed that meant green was good since they were asked to come back to the Mainland. This made everyone excited. Going to the mainland meant that you were going to officially become someone great! Someone that nobody in the Outlands could possibly compare to.
Xiang was far in the back of the line to get tested so, he had to wait awhile before it was his turn. In the meantime, while he was waiting, he looked on with the rest of the villagers and watched the kids ahead of him get tested. From their observations, he could tell that some colors were good and some were bad. Green, blue, yellow, and white were good. Red and brown were bad. If anyone got red or brown, they were deemed as trash that wouldn't make it far in their paths. Their parents weren't approached and asked to come to the Mainland. Meaning that they would be stuck in the Outlands for the rest of their lives unless a miracle happens for them.
It was finally Xiang's turn and he couldn't help himself from getting nervous. Seeing the faces of those kids and their parents who got red and brown talents made him think of what would happen with him and his father. Would they be stuck in the Outlands for the rest of their life? Would it be his fate to disappoint his father and never accomplish anything meaningful in his life? The Magus had to hurry him along up the steps because of how nervous he was.
"Place your hand on the crystal ball." He instructed with a gentle smile on his face.
His golden and red robes etched with dragons onto them only made them even more awe-inspiring. Xiang couldn't delay this any longer. Focusing on the negatives wouldn't help anyone! He had to look on the bright side of things. The young innocent hopeful boy carefully placed his hand on the talent measuring device and felt everyone's eyes on him.
He couldn't bare opening his eyes to see the results. Seconds went by and even the Magus was left speechless at his results. The Magus from the Mainland scratched his head when he saw Xiang's potential. This was something they've never seen before. Hence, the Magus performed an arcane art on the strange village boy to inspect the inside of his body.
Xiang felt a tingling on his insides and couldn't help but giggle at the feeling. The slight enjoyment from the tickling sensation was immediately destroyed after hearing the words of the Magus.
"Trash! Complete and utter rubbish! You don't even have the smallest chance of being able to cultivate with mana or qi! Get out of my sight, you disgusting cripple!" The Magus who previously looked at him with such kindness was now looking at him as if he was worth less than dirt.
Xiang soon started to hear laughs from the villagers and soldiers. Words couldn't express the shame, disappointment, and sadness overflowing within his heart. He looked towards his only remaining hope and felt his heart shatter. His father stared at him with those same eyes before turning and walking away.
"Father!" Xiang cried out.
He jumped off the stage and chased after his father. Xiang pushed his way through the laughing crowd, looking at the faintly disappearing figure of his father. Just barely being able to spot his familiar back, Xiang ran with everything he had. If he lost sight of him now, he felt like he would never see him again.
"I'm sorry father! Please! I didn't mean to let you down!" Xiang begged with tears in his eyes.
Xiang finally made it through the crowd and managed to spot his father entering their home. He closed the door and Xiang tried opening it. But it was locked. Xiang pulled twisted and turned with everything he had while screaming his father's name.
"Dad! Please let me in! Please don't throw me away! I'm sorry I don't have any talent for magic! I'm really sorry! I can still help with hunting! I can learn how to cook like mom did! And clean!" Tears fell from his face and snot oozed down his nose.
"Get away from my door! A useless waste like you don't deserve to be called my son." His father shouted.
"Dad please give me another chance! I won't ever let you down again, I promise! I promise with all my heart! I can prove I won't be a waste! Let me in and I'll show you! We'll never have to worry about food again! Please let me in dad!" Xiang cried with all his heart.
Silence was the only response on the other side of the door. Xiang continued his pleading without even stopping for a single breath of air. When he stopped and was forced to give air to his lungs, he saw the door slowly open. It opened all the way and his father stood in front of the entryway. Xiang tried hugging his father but only felt the large hand of his father coldly push him away. He fell to the ground as his father threw his hunting sling onto his chest and closing the door once more.
Xiang didn't bother getting up after hearing the door close. His father has truly thrown him away and disowned him. The tears rapidly flowed down the side of his cheeks. The ache from hitting his head on the ground wasn't anything compared to the sharp pain coming from his heart. The talentless cripple lied on the ground for several minutes.
It wasn't until the tears couldn't flow anymore that Xiang got up from the position his father pushed him in. He crawled over to his door and sat in front of the door as silent as could be. His arms were wrapped around his knees and his back against the door frame. Not a single weep or peep came from Xiang during this time. Hours went by with the small youth just sitting against the door of his home.
Many villagers passed by and saw him there. Some looked at him with pity but also with relief since their child didn't turn out like him. A few others looked at him with mockery, all too happy to make fun of him for his lack of potential. Knowing that he could never do anything about it even in the future. The rest looked at him with indifference, not caring about the plight of the trash that wouldn't be useful to society in anyway. To put it in perspective, mana is everything in this world. Even a person with the worst talent for cultivation has some worth. So, Xiang who has absolutely no talent whatsoever is judged to be below beasts and insects! A slave with their limbs cut off has more value than Xiang.
Xiang didn't respond to any of the passing villagers. Not even the ones that walked up to him and looked him in the eyes. It wasn't until night came that Xiang showed any signs of movement again. The chilly night's wind gnawing against his young virgin skin awoke his motionless body. His stomach loudly growled and he realized that this wasn't just a horrible nightmare. Xiang stood up and fully accepted that his father abandoned him.
Silent tears tried to escape from his eyes once more but his tear glands were completely empty. Xiang made his way to the neighbors to ask for some food. He gently knocked on the door and waited for someone to come. The first couple times he knocked there was no noise inside but once he kept at it, someone eventually came to the door.
"Can you please spare me some food?" The door was promptly shut in his face by Uncle Xue. He looked at him with the same eyes as the Magus and his father...
Xiang moved on to the next house and experienced the same treatment. He refused to give up as he would starve if he didn't. Asking neighbors, friends, and even strangers. No one was willingly to give him anything. Not even leftovers or scraps were given to him. After asking everyone in the village with a few bruises by those who didn't liked to be woken up in the middle of the night. Xiang slowly walked off into the forest with his sling.
Upon entering the forest, a certain emotion started to grow in his mind. It wasn't fear as he was too hungry to think about something like that. No, it was anger. It was hatred, rage, fury, wrath, and resentment! And all of these intense emotions were slowly bubbling up inside his deepest crevices of his heart and taking root inside like little parasites. These emotions were aimed at the villagers who refused to give him even the smallest amount of food and openly mocked him. His father who turned his back on him and threw him away like he was nothing. The Magus who told everyone that he didn't have the chance of becoming a Warrior or a Magus. If wasn't for the Magus from the Tianak Kingdom, his father would've never abandoned him!
"They can all die for all I care!" He cursed.
He walked along fuming and boiling in hate with his sling in hand and a rock in the other. Forcefully burning the faces of everyone to memory. Everyone that treated him wrongly today, he would pay them back 100-fold in the future. Xiang refused to believe that he needed mana or qi to become someone great. He'll train himself till he's stronger than any Magus, Warrior, or Magus Warrior! Xiang planned to train himself to death and then rise from the grave even stronger and slap every magic cultivator! Proving to everyone that you don't need talent to become someone important.
"Grr..."
This noise instantly paused Xiang's extreme emotional state and pushed him into a full sprint. Thoughts of revenge, growing stronger, and all that was instantly put on hold. He had to be alive to do any of that stuff first! Xiang ran as fast as he could through the cold dark wilderness. Whizzing between trees, running in zig zag patterns, anything to possibly slow down the beast behind him.
As he was running, he placed his rock into his sling and started spinning it. Xiang cursed himself as he knew exactly the type of beast that was chasing him. His shitty father taught him better than this to allow a lousy predator like that to sneak up on him. The sounds of the Metal Pig Dog breathing was getting closer. The young boy stopped his running and turned around to sling his rock directly at its leg. Its legs were better to target than its thick skull.
The Metal Pig Dog tripped and tackled into Xiang. Unbeknown to the quick-thinking youth, he was directly over a large hill! Both him and the beast were taken down the hill, accumulating numerous injuries. Down the hill, the dog landed on a sharp rock that pierced through its meaty body. Xiang was a bit more fortunate as he only managed to break his left arm and gain a nasty gash on his chest. It didn't need to be said how loud of a scream he made due to these injuries. He was only a 10-year-old boy.
Xiang stumbled into a dimly lit cave. Glowing rocks somewhat brightened the insides but Xiang couldn't spare any interest for them at the moment. He dragged himself inside the cave and saw an elevated rock formation in the middle of the cave. Since it looked as good as any other place inside this cave to take a quick break on. The youth with some hunter experience wrapped his wounds with torn pieces of his clothes. For his arm, he had no idea how to fix something like that. He'll figure it out in the morning... Nighttime was too dangerous to be walking around.
So, he slept. Rested until morn and felt the ache of his injuries from falling down the large hill yesterday. As he woke, he took notice of something he previously failed to spot yesterday. There was a considerable large book resting on top of the elevated rock he used as a pillow. Naturally, his innocent mind wondered why in the world was there a book sitting inside a cave. And could anyone blame him when he picked it up with his good arm and started reading it?
"Wow! I can read this!" Xiang exclaimed.
The letters on the page seemingly flowed into Xiang's mind as he read each word. A poor village boy like himself couldn't read or write.
'Welcome! To the amazing world of wrestling! The greatest fighting style that has managed to transcend planets and dimensions! And you are the lucky son of a bitch that has managed to find this volume in this plane. Turn the page if you want to become one of the strongest fighters in your world. Ah but before you turn the page, let me remind you that once you turn that page, you won't be able to practice magic ever again.' It read.
Most of the words didn't make much sense to Xiang but the raw emotion coming from the person that wrote the words in the book got to him. It riled him up along with the word of becoming one of the strongest. He immediately turned the page and blacked out from the amount of information flowing inside his head. Xiang thought that since he couldn't practice magic in the first place, what did he care about that warning? He didn't need to rely on something as stupid as magic in the first place.