"Why are we still walking? We should have seen Wing-sam mountain by now already." Long Xue spoke as he wiped off the sweats on his forehead.
"You're right. Wing-sam mountain isn't that far from Liliang's capital." Long Zhi replied.
"Then why haven't we seen it yet?" Long Xue asked.
Long Zhi answered, "That's because we're taking a longer route."
"What? Why?"
"Just think of it as part of your training. You have to build your physic and also improve your physical abilities to have a smoother and easier training." Long Zhi responded.
"Huh! So when are we to get there?"
Long Zhi began rubbing his chin, "Let's see. If we continue stopping to rest every two hours, we should arrive at Wing-sam mountain in three months."
"Three months! That's too long." Long Xue exclaimed.
"Obviously it is. But, if we only rest only at night and resume out journey during the day, we should get there in two months time." Long Zhi glanced at Long Xue. "If we run there resting the normal way, we should arrive at Wing-sam mountain in a month."
"Can't we get there in three days time?" Long Xue asked.
"Three days time?" Long Zhi chuckled, "Kid, only an eagle can do that. We stand no chance."
"What about dragons?" Long Xue asked as he began walking.
"Dragons." Long Zhi paused as he looked into the sky before ambling, "Dragons don't need to fly in order to get to anywhere."
"And why is that?" Long Xue asked.
"In the far Eastern side of Liliang, lies a temple. This temple is called the 'Temple of the Four Dragons.' It is believed that inside the temple, there is an hidden scroll which contains many space and time skills." Long Zhi narrated.
"Space and time skills?"
"Yes, space and time skills. These skills are forbidden skills and are not to be used unless in dire situations! In the scroll, there is a skill that allows one to teleport anywhere and everywhere he wants." Long Zhi added.
"Isn't that the same thing as the teleporter?" Long Xue asked.
"No, no, no. The teleporter is a different skill. It is an earth space skill." Long Zhi replied, "The teleporter allows you to teleport only to places you've marked. You also need to have a detailed imagery of the place you want to teleport to if you're using the teleporter, but this skill doesn't need those requirements."
"Wow! What is the name of the skill?" Long Xue asked as his eyes brightened.
"The skill is called the Four Dragons Immortal Teleporter." Long Zhi answered.
"Have you been to temple?"
"Maybe."
"You've been to the temple, haven't you?" Long Xue questioned.
"Yes, but don't worry, when you're strong enough, you too will visit the temple and learn the Four Dragons Immortal Teleporter." Long Zhi smiled.
Long Xue frowned, "You've also learnt the Four Dragons Immortal Teleporter!"
Long Zhi's eyes widened. He had mistakenly blurted out the fact that he had learnt the Four Dragons Immortal Teleporter skill.
"Yes, I have. But like I said, do not worry, you too will learn the skill."
"Then let's use it now!" Long Xue spoke.
"It can only be used in dire situations." Long Zhi retorted.
"If I don't become strong enough to defeat the enemy I'll be facing in the future, the entire world is going to suffer for it. Isn't that something dire?" Long Xue asked.
Long Zhi began rubbing his chin once again as he nodded slowly, "Yes, you're right, that's something dire. Why carry your bag on your back when you have a space device on your wrist?" Long Zhi asked as he noticed that Long Xue was sweating profusely, probably from carrying the heavy bag.
"I do not know how to use it." Long Xue replied.
"What did you do?"
"I touched my bag with the bracelet on my wrist but it didn't work." Long Xue answered Long Zhi's question.
"You don't need to make contact with the bag using the space device. As long as you have a space device on you, just making physical contact with the bag should work."
Long Xue stared at Long Zhi for a couple of seconds before finally putting down his bag, and touching it. As he made contact with his bag, black fog rushed out of the bracelet and flew into his mouth.
Long Xue gasped for air as he grabbed his throat. His eyes turned red as black veins began to cover his face.
"Long Xue!" Long Zhi called out as he ran to the boy, but he wasn't expecting a kick in the gut.
The kick sent Long Zhi flying a few metres away. Long Zhi spat out fresh blood from his mouth as he stared at Long Xue, surprised.
"Yin Poison." Long Zhi whispered.
Yin Poison is one of the Yin sect's most deadly skill that affects the mind. It multiplies one's power by five, and then it slowly eats the meridians before permanently destroying one's core. The poison then begins to devour one's body from the inside and then, death sets in.
Long Xue launched himself towards Long Zhi, and smashed him using his shoulders. Long Zhi flew into the air, but Long Xue wasn't willing to let the him off just like that. Long Xue shot himself upwards and kicked Long Zhi once again, sending him further into the air.
Long Zhi got infuriated and shouted out, "That's enough!"
A large amount of blue qi shot out from his body and spread out in all directions. The energy blast cracked the ground and blasted Long Xue backwards. Long Xue fell back, and just as he hit the floor, a loud scream of pain left his throat before he finally passed out.
Long Zhi floated in the air. He took in a deep breath as his feet slowly touched the ground. "I really should learn how to control my temper. If I was made more angry than I already was, then my qi would have killed me."
He glanced at Long Xue and the bracelet on his wrist. "Qui Bei..."
Long Zhi slowly removed the bracelet from Long Xue's wrist, "It changed. This did not happen before. Crazy kid, now I'll have to extract the poison from him. Hopefully, if it doesn't kill me, I should be able to neutralize its effect and turn it into a more deadlier poison. Then I'll poison Qui Bei with it." Long Zhi smiled evilly.
"You shouldn't do that. You mustn't interfere with the flow of time." A beautiful woman appeared out of nowhere and walked towards Long Zhi.
Long Zhi's eyes widened as he fell to his knees and bowed, "Goddess Shijian."
"It changed." The woman spoke.
"Yes it did." Long Zhi replied.
"Hm. If his poisoning happened earlier than it should have, it means that his life is going to be harder to protect." Shijian spoke. "You remember the last one, who died immediately he was born."
"I do. He was killed by the Vermillion brotherhood." Long Zhi answered. "Luckily, they haven't located this one yet."
"I heard you whining about the usage of the Four Dragons Immortal Teleporter. I'm granting you the permission to use the skill however you like. This one mustn't fail, he must defeat the Yin Emperor." Goddess Shijian spoke. In her tone, one could sense an aura of forebodingness.
...
A man and a young boy walked on a bridge. Underneath the bridge, were black fogs that almost completely swallowed the area. Walking on that bridge felt like walking right into hell.
"Master, how long does it take to reach the end of this bridge?" Yin Chen asked as he struggled with the bags.
"Are you tired already? Here, time moves slower. Don't worry, we'll reach the end soon." Yao Lan replied.
"Master, can you tell me another story? I'm feeling bored."
"Hmm, another story." Yao Lan flew into his thoughts as he ransacked the place in search for an absorbing story to tell his disciple. He searched and searched, until finally, he came across one. "Would you like to hear the story of the Black Star?"
....
Long Xue woke up inside a cave. His memories were fuzzy, so he couldn't really remember what had happened the previous night. All remembered was touching his bag with his hands.
"Where am I?" He asked himself.
"Where do you think you are?" Long Zhi walked into the cave.
"Wing-sam mountain." Long Xue replied.
"And how do you think we got here?" Long Zhi asked.
"You must have used the Four Dragons Immortal Teleporter skill." Long Xue answered. "What happened anyways?"
"What's the last thing you remember?"
"I remember touching my bag hoping to get it into my space device." Long Xue stared at his wrist. "Where is it?"
"How well do you know Qui Bei?" Long Zhi asked.
"I don't really know him, although, father told me Uncle Bei was present on the day I was born. He also said I kind of liked him when I was little." Long Xue replied.
"If I told you that Uncle Bei poisoned you, would you believe me?"
"Maybe. I never really liked him anyway."
"Well, your bracelet, which he made wasn't a space device." Long Zhi replied. "It was more of a tracker."
"What!" Long Xue panicked. "What does that mean?"
"They're following you. They want you dead."
"Who are they?"
"The Vermillion Brotherhood." Long Zhi replied.
Long Xue's life is going to be filled with tumultuous ups and downs. If he survives them, then surely, he does stand a chance against the great darkness that is to befall man. Long Zhi knows this. Long Xue knows this, but what he doesn't know, is that his life was currently in critical danger!