The Baby
South Star Planet, Azure Sky Continent, Fang Empire, South Autumn Leaf Village(1).
In this poor village, early in the morning, you will already see people preparing their business, stalls were formed, fresh fruits and vegetables were displayed, the sounds of roosters and hens cocking, and the bustling noises starting to generate.
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South Autumn Village, like most ranked 1 village, only has the size of 100 kilometers in diameter, forming a circle, with wooden walls at its outermost perimeter, stopping any wild beasts from entering.
This poor and tiny village has 4 major powerhouses around it.
To the north, are tiger clan
To the east, the lion sect
The west, where the eagle mountain dwells
And in the south part of the village, are the south warring academy.
These local powers are only ranked 1 at most.
And each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages.
The Tiger Clan uses tigers, king of the wild,
The Lion Sect uses Lions, king of the jungle, well except those rare and lost demonic beasts, which sometimes roam throughout the periphery.
The Eagle Mountain uses the eagles for their advantage, and the south warring academy is famous for its aggressive and effective teachings in combat.
In the middle of the village, lies the market, always the busiest place from morning till evening. Here one can find, fresh meats from cattle, or from beasts from the wilds, brought by the hunters.
Outside of the market, lies many different stores, necessary for daily needs, like a tailor shop, a blacksmith, a wareshops, and many more.
And the rest of the 100-kilometer sized village are all residences, the closer you are to the middle the better the housing and the livelihood are, while the closer you are to the gates, the poorer and harder life will be.
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In this boundless universe, every individual who has the ability and talent aims to be the strongest.
For the strong will always eat the weak. Always.
Dominance?
Conquest?
Pleasure?
Wealth?
Fame?
Power?
Anything can be achieved,
Anyone will bow,
Everything is possible,
AS LONG AS YOUR STRENGTH CLAIMS SO.
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Our journey starts with a boy, a young boy, black hair, black eyes, with ordinary facial features, at the of age 10.
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At his birth
In one evening inside the south side of the village, a poor and broken house, a creaking bed with a pregnant mother, lying above it, a midwife tending to her, with sounds of groans and cries began to ring out from the mother.
The sky was full of stars twinkling in the sky, the moon shone so brightly like a sun in midday, on that night, the insects were silent as if asleep, everything was calm as if the whole universe was waiting for something.
After a while, a baby's cry could be heard, along with the joyful cries of his mother.
A man can be seen rushing towards the poor house, knocking on their rotting door, the man entered, witnessing the scene before him, the man felt more dejected and hesitant to tell the news he obtained.
Noticing the man standing on the door, the midwife said "Guard Lin? Where is he!? Isn't the father supposed to be here when his wife is laboring!" cried annoyingly by the midwife.
Hesitantly Guard Lin said "Miss Rosie, I'm sorry. The whole squadron searched the village, but unfortunately, we found no trace of Miss Yi's husband..." Guard Lin bowed in sadness "We're very sorry." then he left, feeling guilty for destroying the happy mood of her new son's birth.
Together with his leave are heartbroken cries of the new labored mother.
---
After 1 month of his birth
'Ohh!!' a baby's eyes sparkled as he observed the surroundings through their windows,
'What's that!' seeing the birds fly, he contracted because of shock, his mother, while carrying his son, noticed his reaction, chuckling, the mother pointed towards the bird and said "That is a bird"
Looking at his mother, the baby smiled and cried happily clapping his hands, as if understanding what his mother meant.
Then the baby pointed towards the insects on the ground, to which the mother answered "Crickets" resulting in the baby clapping his hands joyfully again,
Then that was the start, of the pointing and answering for the whole day.
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At night after her mother breastfed him, they both went to bed.
'Sometimes, when I look at you, I can't help but think of your father,' looking at his son, which has significant resemblance towards his father, she teared up, "Sorry my dear, your father left us abruptly without no reason, I apologize in his behalf " she patted his back as if consoling him or herself.
Her son, after being patted at, slept comfortably at his mother's embrace.
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At 4 months, the baby learned how to crawl, that was the time when his mother brought him a cradle. It was there where she always places her baby so she can work, to at least sustain their livelihood.
The baby, curious at everything tried his best to escape from the prison which we call cradle.
After weeks of practice, the baby learned how to escape sneakily.
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At 5 months after his birth
Hearing the loud noises outside, every morning, from sunrise till dawn, the baby got curious.
Watching her mother leave, the baby slowly sneaked out of the cradle, and slowly crawled towards the source of the noise, the baby for the first time, went out!
Unbeknownst to his mother, that her child could already crawl, the baby continued until he saw in the distance a ground, full of wooden weapons, training dummies properly aligned, archers aiming there targets on the side, people everywhere, shouting, punching, kicking, and doing some weird actions.
The baby then saw a person furiously shouting at the others "You maggots! On a real battlefield, Do you expect any of you will be alive when the real battle arrives! With those puny skills of yours don't even mention the enemy soldier! MY DOG CAN EVEN KILL YOU RIGHT NOW!! CRAWL MORE! KICK FASTER! PUNCH HARDER!"
The baby was perplexed 'What is happening?' tilting his head he continued to observe.
Across their poor house was the soldiers training ground, the baby suddenly, laughed, clapping his hands as if realizing that the noises, grunts, and cries he heard every single day since his birth came from this place.
Time went by, in the afternoon, the sun slowly sank on the horizon,
The baby after watching the whole training process noticed the time, he knew that this was the time when his mother will return home, so the baby crawled back to their home, and climb backed up his cradle.
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At night, after his mother breastfed him, it is now time for rest.
They both went to their creaking bed due to its materials slowly deteriorating.
The single mother and child went asleep...or did he?
The baby looked up, watching the sickly face of his mother, feeling her breathing patterns, and noticing that she was sound asleep, stood up.
The baby sneakily crawled out of his mother's embrace, climbed down the floor, and crawled into the living room, there, at first, he tried to stand up, but because of his undeveloped lower body he failed, after continuous tries, the baby now knew how to stand up, albeit trembling.
Remembering the uncles' movements earlier;
The baby slowly put his left and right foot shoulders width apart, slowly bending down his waist, but because of his inexperience, he fell down, again and again,
After continues adjustments and learning, the baby now knew how to do a horse stance,
Then the baby did some deep breathes while punching his left and right arm repeatedly.
Doing this kind of exercise causes a huge strain on the body, adults are no exception it trains the core muscles, to strengthen the balance of an individual.
At first, after a few moments, the baby's body went shaking, the hips, the legs, the arms, every part of his body trembled.
'Why! Why is it so hard to breath?' panting the baby asked 'How did the uncles do it so long?' the baby wondered.
After repeating this exercise for a long period of time, a puddle of water formed on the floor beneath the baby's body.
Doing this exercise for 30 minutes straight, the baby's body adapted, the trembling slowly ceded, and his breathing became stable and rhythmic.
'Ahh it feels so good' the baby smiled in pleasure, satisfied with the warm feeling that is slowly creeping out every inch in his body as if comforting him.
2 hours later, after doing such strenuous exercise, the baby stopped and crawled way back into their bed into his mother's embrace, his muscles were spasming from exhaustion.
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"kuko-raok~~ kuku-raok~~" hearing the rooster early in the morning, as the sun slowly rose from the horizon.
The people of the village woke up, some went to prepare their stall for food, some went to cook, some went up preparing for the journey ahead, and some like a specific young baby within his mother's embrace woke up while thinking...
'URGH! IT HURTS!' frowning in pain, the baby held his tears back, as if afraid of waking up his mother.