"Seventy nine," I grunted, barely managing to get my chin over the thick tree branch. One last one, one last pull up. "Eighty," I wheezed, but my own convincing was a lie. It wasn't one more. It was one more, then another, and another. Another after that, if possible. I would keep going until the rocks on my back ripped my body from my arms, or the tree branch fell and crushed my body.
Ninety one seemed to be my body's current limit for pull ups. My arms ached, practically yelling at me. I could see my breath in the frigid evening air, which made me happy. A warm body means a good workout.
"You're going to kill yourself before someone else gets a chance," Ponsu had warned me on one of my visits to Mount Hua. "And these poor rookies can't possibly hope to keep pace with you. To climb up here with sandbags on your legs and arms and still want to train? Unsightly at best, Sect Leader Yuron."
He was quite the snarky bastard, but he was a breath of fresh air in the martial world. That was one friendship I was excited to rebuild. Perhaps I would climb Mount Hua that same way, or go above and beyond this time.
I hid my makeshift basket of rocks in a bush and headed out of the forest to my father's farm. He would be finishing up around this hour, so it made sense. I arrived there after twenty minutes of walking and spotted him giving his workers thanks for their hard work.
I waited until his colleagues had departed before I emerged.
"Let me help you with that," I said as I hoisted a few of his belongings onto my shoulder. I didn't know what they were, but I wanted to help my father. "Mother might've prepared something nice tonight."
"Where did you come from?" My father asked with a chuckle, gathering the rest of his things. "You'll scare your mother if you don't at least tell her something in advance," he warned me, wrapping his sword on his waist.
"I just went out to train some more after the Academy. I'm going to be doing it most days," I informed him as we exited the farm. "Also, I have something to talk to you about."
"If it's about your antics at the Academy today, save it," my father replied sternly. "Your mother and I agreed to let you fight that battle on your own without our input. She wanted to wain you from chasing your dream, but if you wish to fight for our Lord, then I wholeheartedly approve."
"Father, I do not want that," I refuted as we passed the town's blacksmith. I wavered on whether or not to reveal my true intentions, battling with my own thoughts until my selfishness won.. "I want to be a Sect Leader."
Last time I told my father this, I was around nineteen years old. I was fresh out of a war against a revolution in the region and had a new outlook on my life as a martial artist. I wondered how he would take it from a fresh-faced ten year old who hadn't shown any proficiency in martial arts until two days ago.
"You've changed a lot recently, and out of nowhere too. The way you talk, and apparently even your skills have improved magically, but i'm not able to send you to a Sect. We can't afford it. We can't even afford to send you to the Cloud Splitting Sect over there," he said, nodding his head at the grand building that overshadowed our shanty town. "I'm sorry, but that dream isn't possible."
"You misunderstood. I have a dream," I said, reciting the exact words I had said to Frak when I told him of my plans. "I have a dream that I can create a place where many styles may congregate. The Sects just now have nothing but history and hope, but my sect will have variety and character. I dreamt that I created a place where everyone was equal- the peasants may party with the Mayor, and the Sect Leader isn't an untouchable entity, but more of a grandfather. I dreamt that my Sect had good times, hardships, fought wars, had internal conflict, and even an uprising. But do you know what stood above all of that?" I asked rhetorically, about to continue my speech.
"What?" My father asked, genuine intrigue in his voice as he listened. Frak had been the same, down to the enthusiasm at the idea of a Sect with more than one style.
"A new day, for a new day brings a new chance. The sun sees all, and the moon helps him forgive the misgivings of days gone bye," I said, looking at the moon that hung overhead. "Our cult will one day be able to see the sun eye to eye and thank him for casting his warm embrace on us all despite our shortcomings. We will reach greater heights than Mount Hua, so high that it will seem like an anthill compared to our family."
A moment of silence fell over the two of us as we walked, the only noise being the pebbles under our feet being kicked and rolled by our feet. I wondered if my father thought I had stolen the speech from some book, or had lost my marbles, but he grabbed my shoulder with his firm hand.
"Tell me son," he said, looking me in the eyes as an equal in that moment- not a son. "Will I be able to see that peak alongside you and your mother?" He asked, his eyelids quaking as this big man of war fought back some tears.
"Of course, father. I would rather not make my way to the peak by climbing in the corpses of fallen foes, but I know that is an impossible dream. The sect, however, is more than possible," I said, smiling at him. He truly was a big softie. "But we probably shouldn't tel mother, she'd be rather displeased knowing I want to walk such a lonely path."
"Your path won't be lonely, my son," my father corrected me as we continued walking. "You'll have your blood family, as well as your other family. Remember that, and never forget it once in your life."
"I won't, father," I assured him, following behind him. "I won't."