-
Written in Chapter Two, page 27 of the Tome of Immortal Deeds: "With a stomp of wrath, the heavens trembled, and the mountains quaked beneath his rage."
-
Long Tianyu sprinted down the stone path, each step pounding the stones with a furious rhythm, his legs propelling him like storms over the ground, and the loose pebbles skittered wildly beneath his feet.
57 seconds ago.
Long Tianyu flung himself out of bed, hair sticking up at odd angles, eyes still half-blinded by sleep.
"I'M LATE!" he screamed at the top of his lungs.
The sound ricocheted through the small house like a thunderclap. Outside, pigs snorted in alarm, chickens squawked, flapping their wings and scattering into the yard. A rooster crowed, clearly offended by the interruption.
"Damnation, Long Tianyu!" his mother Long Meilin, shouted from the other room, pounding on the wooden wall. "Why must you always be so loud?!"
Ignoring her, Long Tianyu leapt from the bed, landing on the cold bamboo floor with a thud. He grabbed his clothes, yanking them over his head while nearly tripping over the low wooden stool by the window.
"Come on, come on!" he muttered, fumbling with his shoe, trying to tie one of them while one foot wobbled dangerously. His hands trembled; the laces seemed to tangle themselves intentionally.
Finally dressed, he bolted toward the door. He could feel the morning breeze on his face, carrying the faint smell of smoke from the village hearths, mingling with the earthy scent of dew-soaked bamboo.
The world outside was alive, but Long Tianyu didn't notice. The clatter of wooden carts in the distance, the squawking of birds, the pigs sniffing the ground, it all blurred into a chaotic symphony that somehow matched the rhythm pounding in his chest. Every step brought him closer to the village center, and yet farther from the safety of being on time.
"Why did I sleep so late?'' he groaned, dodging a stray chicken. His heart hammered like a drum, and his lungs burned, but he didn't slow down. Strength surged from his legs, powered not just by his training but by sheer desperation.
The world became a blur of stone paths, bamboo fences, and morning mist. Long Tianyu's arms pumped furiously, his feet slapping the ground in rapid succession. Every fiber of his body seemed alive with urgency, every step a defiance of time itself.
And somewhere behind him, he could hear Long Meilin's shrill voice echoing, a mixture of exasperation and amusement, a reminder that in this village, chaos came early and so did the consequences for being late.
He leapt over a low fence, narrowly avoiding a startled Uncle Zhao Feng, and stumbled toward the village center, arms flailing wildly. Long Tianyu skidded around the corner of the village square, sending a spray of dust and loose pebbles into the air. His legs burned, his chest heaved, and his hair stuck up in every direction like a nest of startled birds.
"I'M-" he gasped, but his words caught in his throat as Song Ming's sharp gaze landed on him.
"Long Tianyu!" the old teacher bellowed, his long white hair practically bristling in the morning wind. "Do you always announce your presence like a stampeding buffalo?!"
Long Tianyu froze, one foot mid-air, cheeks burning red. "I… I'm… I'm here, Teacher! I ran as fast as I could!"
Song Ming stomped his foot. Dust puffed around him. "As fast as you could? Ha! You practically tore through half the village and scared the livestock! Do you know what it means to respect time, young man?!"
A chicken clucked in agreement, darting past Long Tianyu's ankles. He stumbled backward, arms flailing, nearly tripping over a stray stone.
"I… I… won't be late again!" Long Tianyu said, breathless and desperate, trying to sound firm while catching his balance.
Song Ming crossed his arms, his robes flapping like storm clouds. "Humph, what about yesterday?! You know even a rooster is on time, but what about you?! Should you live with them from now on to learn?''
Long Tianyu swallowed hard, nodding furiously, while in the background, a rooster gave a perfectly timed crow as if punctuating Song Ming's fury and the nearby chicken pecked at his shoe.
Song Ming shook his head, muttering under his breath, "That boy will be the death of me…"
Long Tianyu scrambled forward, cheeks burning as he stood next to Hua Qingqing. The other children were already lined up neatly, each one watching him with a mix of amusement. Hua Qingqing's expression was calm but a faint smile tugging at her lips. Hua Qingqing leaned slightly forward, whispering, "You're lucky you're fast, Tianyu… but maybe you have to learn from the rooster in the future." Wang Mei, Lin Yue and Xiao Chi and the other children snickered next to her. Long Tianyu gritted his teeth, straightened his back, and tried to ignore the teasing.
Teacher Song Ming led the children back up the winding mountain path, the morning sun shining down upon the mountain and village. The dew still clung to the bamboo leaves, and a faint mist lingered in the hollows of the valley. Long Tianyu followed closely, trying not to lag behind, though his mind wandered as always, distracted by the strange beauty of the mountain around him.
"Qingqing," he called, pointing to a cluster of small blossoms with shimmering white petals and faint golden centers. "What are these flowers?"
Hua Qingqing, walking beside him, leaned down to examine them. "Those are Sunlight Blossoms," she explained softly. "They're used to heal wounds, if you grind the petals into a paste, even a deep cut can close faster. But…" She glanced up at him with a playful frown. "We can't take them all. That would be greedy. Even the animals need some, or the mountain's balance will be disturbed."
Long Tianyu frowned, glancing at the delicate flowers swaying in the breeze. "But… if they heal wounds, why not take all of them? Just imagine how strong we would be!"
Hua Qingqing shook her head. "That's silly. Strength doesn't come from greed, nature doesn't work that way. The mountain provides just enough, if we respect it."
Teacher Song Ming overheard and smiled faintly. "Wise words," he said. "One day, you'll understand that cultivation isn't just about power. It's about patience, discipline, and respect for the world around you."
The group came to the same clearing from yesterday. The children sat down in their usual places. Long Tianyu and Hua Qingqing sat next to each other. Teacher Song Ming stood at the front and looked at the children, just like yesterday, thinking about the harshness of cultivation and that it was rare for anyone in these children to have a chance at it.
He began to teach them the very basics of cultivation things he himself had only learned in fragments from the mercenaries in his youth. How to breathe with intention, to feel energy flowing through one's limbs, to move in harmony with the world. His knowledge was too small, incomplete, but enough to spark curiosity in the children.
Long Tianyu struggled to follow, his brows furrowed and lips pressed tight. Every attempt to sense the energy around him seemed to fail. He fumbled, twisting his hands in the air as if trying to grab something invisible. "This is really too hard!" he grumbled, slapping the ground beside him in frustration. Dust rose from the stone path, drifting into the morning air.
Hua Qingqing, sitting cross-legged nearby, radiated a quiet focus that seemed effortless. Her breathing was slow and steady, her hands tracing gentle motions in the air as if coaxing the energy itself to obey. "You have to imagine it flowing through you," she said softly, her voice calm. "Breathe slowly, feel it moving through your legs, your arms, your chest… like sunlight filtering down through the leaves of the trees."
Long Tianyu clenched his fists and tried again, following her instructions as best he could. Slowly, he felt something shift, not much, just the tiniest tickle of warmth. Closing his eyes, he imagined a stream of energy rising from the earth beneath him, traveling along his legs, into his spiritual core. For a moment, it felt as if he were suspended in nothingness.
When he opened his mind fully, he found himself in a strange void: complete darkness stretched endlessly in all directions, broken only by motes of soft light drifting lazily like distant fireflies. He reached toward one, trying to draw it into his spiritual core, but it slipped away, teasingly just out of reach. He tried again and again, but the energy refused to stay.
Frustration bubbled in his chest. "Why… why won't it work?" he whispered to himself. The lights flickered, dancing farther apart, and he felt the emptiness pressing in.
Hua Qingqing leaned over slightly, noticing his struggle. "You're trying to force it," she said gently. "Energy isn't something you pull; it's something you let flow. Let it guide you, not the other way around. Stop thinking too much and just… feel."
Long Tianyu took a shaky breath, letting his arms relax and lowering his hands to his knees. He closed his eyes again, imagining the energy flowing through him, this time like a warm river instead of something he had to capture. The lights swirled around him, teasing and dancing, but slowly one tiny mote hovered closer, hovering just above his spiritual core. His heart leapt.
He tried to steady it, to hold it without gripping too tightly, and for a moment, it seemed to linger, just long enough to give him hope. His chest swelled with a small, thrilling sense of accomplishment.
"See?" Hua Qingqing's voice was soft, almost like a whisper of encouragement. "It's already starting. You just have to trust yourself."
Long Tianyu opened his eyes, sweat beading on his forehead. The void faded, replaced by the gentle rustle of bamboo leaves and the warmth of sunlight. He couldn't hold much yet, but for the first time, he understood what it meant to begin.
-
End of chapter 4 - The First Step