In the dimmed cave.
Li Kong sat silently while looking absentmindedly at the spectacles before him and blinking occasionally. His left hand was lifted up with palm facing to the ceiling and a white bead rested on top of it.
In front of him, there was a total of four books on the ground, each having it cover facing up.
"What are you actually thinking right now, White?" White was at loss of words when he faced what had happened just before.
When he saw that two books that came out wasn't even worth a scrap to him, White immediately ejected out as many items as he possibly could until, for unknown reasons, he couldn't take out anymore thing out after the fourth time, no matter how hard he tried.
Li Kong found it a little funny when he saw White wondering what another White was thinking when they were the same person in essence but he known better to kept his mouth shut and pursed his lips as hard as he could so that not even a crack of smile would be shown.
After moments of full cursing, White finally stop and let out an exhausted sigh.
"I'm sorry, Li Kong. It shouldn't have been like this." White sounded dejected.
Hearing his words, Li Kong only shook his head and smiled a little at the white bead on his palm.
"It would be a lie to say that I wasn't the least disappointed." Although he said that he was disappointed, his voice tone directly contradicted him, still carrying the carefree like wind feeling.
"But let's look it from another point, weren't these a treasure too? I mean you definitely can't find any of these in this village and neither the city. I've been there and I never see anything like this before."
Li Kong put the bead down to the ground and stood tall. He lifted his arms and pointed at the bead.
"And who said I couldn't be a brave young warrior using something basic? I tell you that it is the basic thing that matters the most! Mark my words." He ended his declaration in a harrumph and his eyes bearing resolute look before softened as he watched the bead.
"So, you don't need to feel so bad, White. I know that you've tried your best."
White remained silent and shortly after, the bead suddenly launched on its own and made a loud noise as it hit the cave's wall.
Dusts flew onto everywhere, blinding Li Kong's vision and some of them even ended up sucked by Li Kong's nose causing him to cough as he tried to swat the dust away.
"White! Are you okay?" Li Kong worriedly picked up the bead and placed it on top of his palm.
"Don't worry. I'm unscathed." White replied.
After he discovered that there was no cracks on the surface of the white bead, he breathed out a sight of relief.
"What just happened before? It's like someone was flicking you like children does with their marbles."
"It's okay. I just feel a need to stretch myself a little after hundreds of years wandering." White assured him before fell into a deep contemplation.
"Uh, okay." Li Kong's brain failed to comprehend the logic behind his reasoning and decided to abort all of its remaining functions.
'Wake up, White! The boy doesn't even complain yet why am I the one who was more offended than him?'
White made a clapping sound, drawing the half-functioning Li Kong's attention.
"There's no time to doze off. Let's see what we've gotten." Then White instructed him to bring the books.
"Okay firstly we got this book." Li Kong "You know what? Let's save this one for the last as just seeing it made my blood boils."
Li Kong picked up another book and carefully inspected it. The book's cover was nothing intricate nor beautiful. It looked like an ordinary book to any other person, showcasing the maker sense of simplicity or just laziness. Honestly, he couldn't tell which one this was.
"This book is called Wind Steps and as the name stated, it allowed you to move freely like the wind if practiced correctly." White calmly explained.
"The next book is..."
Li Kong put down the book and picked up another one. This time the cover had something slightly different with an ink figure drawn on top of it drawing a stance and thrusted his fist forward.
'A little more effort than before.' Li Kong commented.
"Flame Fists and it does just what the title suggests. You can shoot out an explosive fire from your fists by mastering fully this technique."
"Now on to the next."
Li Kong stacked the book on top of the "Wind Steps" and picked up the last remaining book.
Personally, Li Kong was drawn to this book more than the others because of what was written on top of it resonated deeply with him.
"Thousand-Illusory Daggers." Li Kong murmured as he examined the entire book thoroughly.
The book was different from the rest with a vibrant purple color coated the whole cover and intricate pattern ran through the front of the cover vertically.
"At last, something decent. I guess he still have some heart." White's grump words reached Li Kong's ear and he smiled awkwardly.
"What's so special about this one?" Li Kong said while he opened the book and lifted it up high.
"That technique comes from once a famous assassin clan in Lower Realm that White happened to met them at one time and they had a bad history with each other but in the end, White was the one to made it out on the top in the end and the clan perished."
Li Kong's eyes sparkled at the mention of the great cultivator name and eagerly paying attention to each words before suddenly his expression harden near the end of White's words which White noticed.
"Is there something wrong?"
"Nothing. I just think that isn't it too ruthless to decimates an entire clan just because of some bad blood?" Li Kong said while scratching the side of his head.
As Li Kong finished his words, White stopped speaking for a period time that promptly put Li Kong's mind at disarray.
'Argh! What I've done? I made White mad! I'm an idiot! A big idiot! I'm sorry Uncle Zheng, but I think I'm done here.' Li Kong cried silently in his heart as he waited for the inevitable fate.
But the inevitable didn't come as Li Kong expected, instead an invisible energy struck his head right in the middle.
Li Kong screamed at the sudden pain which sent the bead flying from his palm.
"It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!" He rolled in the ground while covering his forehead.
"You fool." Voices came out from the bead.
Hearing White speaking, Li Kong immediately sat in kneeling position in front of the bead while biting his lips to distracted himself from the burning pain on his forehead.
Li Kong didn't dare to met White's gaze as he dropped his head downwards like a child that just got a mouthful of talking.
"An enemy is an enemy, Li Kong. You have to etch that deep inside of your brain. It's not like in your homeplace that everything can be solved by a simple apology. The world that you will enter isn't that forgiving. Your enemy wouldn't spare you if they have the chance. If you don't kill your enemy, you will be the one killed. And if it wasn't you, it would be your loved one. The people that close to you. " White stated in serious manner.
The bead silently watched Li Kong who was sitting still without making any movement and only staring straight at the ground.
Although White was speaking in all seriousness but truthfully, White felt a pang in his nonexistent heart each time he directed his line of vision at Li Kong's slumped figure.
'This damned brat is making my old heart ache in guilt every time he does that face of him. But I have to make him realize what is waiting for him out there. This could serves a warning for him also. Afterall there wasn't any obligations for the fated one to do, everything was according to their own will.'
No matter how bad White's heart felt right now, he was determined that his decision was the best he could make. From the great cultivator's memories, he had seen many cultivators died an unfortunate death because they were too weak-hearted and he didn't want that to happened to the child before him.
Even though they hadn't met that long yet, White was already fond of the boy in front of him. Although from the outlook Li Kong seemed goofy and unserious which for some part was true, but he was quick to think of what to do even and was calm even in the most tense moment in his life.
But the most important of all for White was his eyes. His eyes bore purity, devoid from any evil desires and resolute. Like what he said before, he truly believe that he could become the brave warrior he sought to be. It wasn't an attempt to comfort nor arrogance. It simply because he believed he could.
But regardless of what he thought right now, he had to did something the boy before him because if it took any longer again his heart would undoubtedly shattered.
White coughed to draw Li Kong's attention. When he saw that Li Kong had lifted up his head, he knew that he already succeed and he continued.
"But even the great cultivator spared his enemy at some point, they even became the best of brother with each other after fighting an intense battle." White was done speaking and peeked a little at Li Kong's expression and his heart quickly alleviated of the pang.
"But!" White exclaimed.
"That only possible because White had a good heart and most importantly, White was strong.
"Remember this, Li Kong. Strength is everything. People wouldn't heard a single words from you if you weren't strong. The only reason White could did what he did was because he was strong. So if you want to do what you want, the solution is simple. Be so strong that your will couldn't be bended by anyone else. No one will listen to those who had good heart but powerless to do anything."
'No one will listen to those who had good heart but powerless to do anything' Li Kong repeated in his mind as he clenched his fist tightly.
"Alright! I'll be so strong that no one could defeat me!" Li Kong's fighting spirit was pumped up.
"That's the spirit. But remember, strength without good heart is cruelty and a good heart without strength is useless. So you have to keep a balance between the two of them. Do you understand?"
"Roger!" Li Kong said loudly while making a gesture with his hand on his eyebrows.
"Could you not scream? It's hurting my ear and what even is this "roger" supposed to mean?"
Li Kong didn't know how to reply as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his head before saying.
"I don't even know myself. I just feel like doing it sometimes."
"Forget it." The bead rolled his imaginary eyes. "Now let's continue the rest."
As White spoke, Li Kong fixed his sitting posture and picked up the bead again.
"The main point about Thousand-Illusory Daggers is the unique throwing technique used and the ability to make countless daggers illusions."
Li Kong raised his hand at White's explanation.
"Can I ask something, teacher White?"
"What is it, Li Kong?" White replied, unbothered.
"What do you mean by unique throwing technique?"
"In the Thousand-Illusory Daggers, there are manuals about how to throw the daggers which is further divided to three stage according to your degree of mastery of the technique. The first being, Silent Wind, followed by Flowing Water, and at last, Shadowless.
"Besides that, there are the illusion technique which utilizes Qi to use it." White suddenly stopped explaining and he realized something important.'
"Li Kong."
"Here."
"Do you know what being cultivator mean?" He asked solemnly.
Li Kong surprised and opened his mouth a little before closing it and with closed eyes and an innocent smile, he said plainly to White.
"No."
Hearing there was no response, Li Kong looked at the bead on his hand worriedly.
"I remember that my uncle told me a story about an immortal riding a sword and piercing through the cloud. Does that count?"
"Yes, that is one thing you can do if you become a cultivator but do you know how to get those power?"
Li Kong shook his head at the question.
"A Cultivator gains their power by drawing the power of something called as Qi.
"Qi is a life force energy, the source of every living being and some would even say that Qi is the life force of the world itself, akin to wood to a fire. Almost every living being or not have some Qi in their body.
"But even though Qi is abundant, it is invisible to the untrained eyes, like yours. And that's the first step to becoming a cultivator. To sense the Qi around you.
"After you can sense it, only after that you can absorb it and use it to strengthen yourself.
"And the degrees of how far you strengthened himself is split into many stages. But let's end it at here." White suddenly stopped explaining.
As White's words suddenly halted, Li Kong raised his brows and looked puzzlingly at the bead.
"Teacher, is there something wrong? We're only getting to the important parts." Li Kong inquired.
"Student Li Kong." White completely immersed in at this point.
"As much as I like to explain it too you, I think that you have a more important thing to take care of."
'More important thing?' Li Kong thought as he slowly tilted his head to the side.
His eyes widened at the realization and horror quickly drawn in his face. He swiftly jumped from his sitting position and stormed to the cave's exit.
Li Kong's eyes sting after exiting the cave. After that, he turned his attention to the sky and the sky was looking a bit too orange for his liking.
Colors dropped from his face as he frantically entered the cave again and took up the bead before taking a sprint.
"The manuals, Li Kong! The manual!" White reminded him.
"Oh, damn. Almost forgot about it."
Li Kong made a sudden stop and turned his body back and quickly stashed the manuals into the leather pouch he brought before.
After that, he took off and rushed to the forest's exit.
"I'm done. I'm done. I'm so done." Li Kong frightfully muttered while running.
"Slow down, kid! You're going to tire yourself out before getting out from this forest. Do you wish to become beasts' food?"
Li Kong did as instructed and slowed down his pace but still proceeding out the forest in a fast pace while conserving any energy he had.
"How long did I passed out after you tried to kill me?" Li Kong suddenly asked.
"What do you mean by trying to kill you? If I really wish so, you're dead already. And to answer your questions, over an hour maybe?"
Li Kong's face turned ugly after listening to White's recollection.
He shut his mouth tightly and focused all of his energy to navigating his way out of the forest.
While Li Kong was trying to got out from the forest with his dear life, White calmly observed Li Kong's face.
Although currently White was in the leather pouch, his vision wasn't obstructed and he could freely watched Li Kong in action and the surroundings.
'I'm not wrong. This child had received a training by someone else before. A hunter, I think.' White mused to himself while watching Li Kong.
Even though Li Kong was proceeding at a fast pace, White noticed that Li Kong hadn't even taken his eyes off from his surroundings for once.
The bush rustles, animal footprints, and claws on the tree's bark, all of them were noticed by him and he planned his way according to the information that was displayed within his eyes.
'I must say whoever teaching this kid was excellent. He didn't only teach him but he ingrained his teachings deep inside this child. Mortal or not, this still called for an applause.' White gave his sincere praise.