The sandstone floor of the massive arena glistened with the light of intricately set up formations as a heroic looking youth battled what seemed to be a wooden humanoid.
In but an instant, the wooden humanoid threw a barrage of kicks and punches at the young man, but every single strike was dodged by him, his long black hair waving back and forth as he nimbly avoided being hit.
The youth's gaze was calm, but his forehead was already covered in droplets of sweat. It wasn't that he was physically tired, he could go on for hours on end evading the attacks of the wooden humanoid. However, he had been constantly making hand seals to activate a spell that could defeat the opponent. Right at this moment, and after ten breaths of time, he finished preparing it.
"Thrashing Wind Wheel!" He shouted as he pointed both hands forward, forming what looked to be a wheel formed current, spinning so fast it became visible. In the blink of an eye, his spell reached the wooden humanoid, crashing against it. Countless shards of shrapnel were sent flying through the arena as the humanoid's armor was destroyed, revealing an incredibly complex system of gears beneath.
The light in the eye sockets of the wooden humanoid dimmed, and it fell limply onto the arena's floor, utterly defeated. The heroic looking youth grinned with satisfaction upon seeing the effectiveness of his spell after his most recent breakthrough.
CLAP. CLAP. CLAP.
"Truly worthy of an heirloom left behind by one of the Six Marquises." Praised a pale, sickly looking youth with delicate, almost feminine features. Within his tone, some hints that he did not think much of this puppet could be gleaned.
"See? My cultivation finally catched up to yours. Now I can defeat the puppet with just one attack." Stated the heroic looking you, sitting on the training ground's stairway. Inwardly, however, he scoffed at the other youth. It wasn't like his clan had a better one.
"I had to see it to believe it, but I must congratulate you brother. Why don't we go to the White Mare Brothel to celebrate? We can put it on my tab." Proposed the pale youth with a lascivious glint in his eyes, unconsciously he licked his lips.
"I'll take you up on that offer Brother Chen, but only if you let me have Zhu'er. Hehe."
The pale youth only nodded reluctantly before he patted him on his shoulder.
"Fine, just this once." He acquiesced before walking out of the training grounds, followed by the other youth.
Just as they left, the silhouettes of a shaven young man and a hunchbacked old man became visible coming into the training grounds.
Looking at the broken puppet sprawled on the training ground's floor, the shaven young man breathed out a sigh of resignation.
"Goddamn, what a mess." Cursed the old man, a pensive look in his eyes. The shaven man said nothing.
"Do you want me to take care of this?" He asked after a couple of breaths. Normally, due to his age, he no longer handled the puppet's repairs. Nevertheless, he knew that it was an important day for the young man. Thus, he had offered his help.
"No need, Uncle Xing. I have been an apprentice for eight years now, I can easily handle this." He rejected, pretending he did not know the reason behind Uncle Xing offering his help even though he was no longer physically suited for the job.
Thereafter, he approached the puppet, and kneeled down to place his hand onto the puppet's torso. Not even a second passed before the puppet disappeared into his storage pouch. Luckily, all Nie Clansmen with cultivation base at or above the 3rd stage of Qi Condensation were given a low-quality storage pouch. Otherwise, he would have had a hard time carrying the puppet back to the workshop. After all, he was not a body cultivator, and his cultivation base was nothing remarkable either.
The shaven young man stood up, shook the dirt off his palms and looked at the horizon, where the sun was preparing to set. For some reason, his greenish pupils made his gaze seem full of loneliness, and even more so sadness.
"Well, if you need anything, feel free to come to my place."
For some time, Nie Gan simply stood there in a daze, watching as the last rays of sunlight disappeared and darkness took over. Only then did he show signs of coming back to himself, walking out of the training grounds and taking one of the many paved paths that connected different important areas in Nie Clan Estate.
On his way out, he crossed several members of the Clan Guard who were about to start their daily training. They were dressed in light armor and had identical swords hanging from their waists. During daytime, the training grounds were open to the public. Only at nighttime would the Clan Guard train there so as to not inconvenience clansmen who wanted to make use of the facilities. Heat also played a factor in this. Since their training was physical, doing so at nighttime when the temperatures were lower was much more convenient.
In fact, the training grounds were usually empty most of the time due to most of a cultivator's time being spent indoors in meditation. Only those like Nie Shan who wanted to train their spells would come here, but most clansmen were either incapable of using spells, had other secluded locations in which they'd rather train, or were simply out on clan missions.
As he walked past the Clan Guard, the leading man waved at him and smiled. It was an acquaintance of his, Nie Han. His cultivation was also at the 3rd stage of Qi Condensation, which was why he had been forced to join the Clan Guard.
Ordinarily, most clansmen had to work to earn a living. People like Nie Lan were so rare they might not even make up a fifth of the clan. This was one of the reasons that Nie Gan was rather popular with some members of the clan, even though there were many who belittled and despised him. They simply viewed him as humble and hardworking, while Nie Lan and the others were just raised with a silver spoon. In a sense, the clansmen either loved him or totally looked down on him, with very little in between.
In response to Nie Han's greeting, he simply smiled and nodded. There was something important he had to do, and Nie Han seemed to understand this, so they did not even exchange a word.
"Skill is highly prized. Yes, you could earn the same by working for the Clan Guard, but it will never be the same. A puppet keeper like me sells his skills, the Clan Guard's men sell their lives. You tell me which is a better deal."
He remembered this had been Uncle Xing's words when he had started apprenticing for him per Nie Sang's arrangement. It couldn't be said that Nie Sang had been a very present father, far from it actually. But it also couldn't be said that he had never cared for him.
In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he reached his destination. It was completely empty, which caused a desolate feeling to arise in anyone who approached.
A couple of pillars hoisted a large sign that had the words "External Clansmen Graveyard" written in bold calligraphy. However, the sign had gradually turned blurry with time.
The sign caused some hints of sadness to be shown on his countenance. Nie Clan was, after all, restricted by the clan system that the modern world had adopted. Those without the bloodline of the clan, even if they had lawfully acquired the surname, were considered inferior. Thus, Nie Clan had different graveyards for those who were truly part of the clan and those who had simply married into it or been adopted. In Nie Gan's eyes, this was simply preposterous.
"It shouldn't be like this. Alas..." He lamented, thinking that love was indifferent to bloodline, but keenly aware of his powerlessness when it came to the clan's rules.
Silently, he made his way to one of the many gravestones. Although it looked the same as all the other gravestones since its shape and size were similar, if one inspected it closely, they'd see that there was a spiritual energy surrounding it. Clearly, someone had gone to great lengths to protect this particular grave, placing a hidden formation all around it.
On the gravestone itself, the name Lin Fei'er was engraved in bold calligraphy that gave off a mystical feeling. It was the name of Nie Gan's mother. The date of her death was actually exactly five years ago.
Nie Gan stood before it for some time, until the moon was high up in the sky, many conflicting thoughts in his mind. His mother had died during one of the missions the clan had sent her to. All ordinary clan members had to complete missions. Even though Nie Sang could have helped her skip this, there were still his wives, such as Nie Xiu'er. They would not allow him to give a mere concubine preferential treatment, unless she became his wife.
At first, Nie Gan had harbored resentment towards Nie Sang. He could not understand why he had never married his mother, and blamed him for her death. However, some days ago, a jade slip had flown into his workshop. Within, Nie Sang explained why he had been unable to marry his mother. As it turned out, his mother had had a rather complex background. Due to this, Nie Sang had been unable to marry her.
After remembering the contents of the jade slip, he took it out and read it once again in case he had missed anything. Much to his surprise, after the part where his father asked him to not dwell on the past and instead build a future for himself outside the clan, there was a map of an unknown region. No details were provided, so Nie Gan knew not what region this map depicted. However, it was accompanied by a short poem.
In the realm where stars hold their sway,
A fierce spirit emerges, come what may,
With fiery eyes that pierce the night,
A presence bold, a majestic sight.
With each passing breathe anew,
Life's symphony finds its debut,
Whispers of change upon the breeze,
A harmonious interplay with ease.
For the time being, he did not feel like deciphering its meaning. Thus, as the last vestiges of the incense he had lit burnt, he stored the jade slip away and left. He still had work to do.
Moments later, at the edges of the graveyard, an unbelievably gaunt man appeared out of thin air. His blue eyes, defined features, and long black hair would have made him handsome, were the former not absurdly sunken and the latter falling by the handful. In spite of his unsightly looks, however, the spiritual fluctuations coming off him were so strong that even Nie Sang's at his peak fell short. The insignia on his robe was quite eye-catching. It was a golden wreath, the symbol of the Golden Wreath Dynasty.
"I lived up to my promise. Interesting that you'd choose to leave him the clues to such a great fortune." Thought the gaunt man to himself as his body distorted and he vanished without leaving a trace.