Chapter 2 Qin Ming Starts His Training

Sun Li made sure to put diligent care into both Jiangsu and Qin Ming. To him it was as though he had children. Although Jiangsu was five he still treated him like his own and wasn't cold in the slightest. Sun Li quietly whispered under his breath "maybe I should reopen the school. The boy should have friends growing up".

Jiangsu and Qin Ming were in no way normal people. In fact they weren't even human. They were half god and half Celestial Dragon. Their talent could be described as supreme. Although one's talent could only get them so far.

Thus they had silky yet scaly skin, their skin also has a slight golden tinge. Jiangsu had two small horns on either side of his head, while Qin Ming had one growing out the middle of his forehead. Jiangsu's horns were like his mother's akin to a qilin. While Qin Ming was like his father, that was much like an oni.

So time flowed on almost three years passed and Qin Ming was able to finally walk and talk, not well of course. He slowly waddled over to his 'father'. He looked kindly on his child "ahh what is it my son".

The little boy raised his hands to the sky "papa".

He laughed a little bit then lifted the boy up. He looked directly into the boy's eyes "my son how about we start your training".

The boy looked confused "training"?

"Yes, training. In this world there are people who wish to harm those weaker than them. And you must be stronger than them."

"Papa, why do people wish to harm others?"

He chuckles a little bit "well you see it was because most people are naturally corrupt. Remember power corrupts, absolute power absolutely corrupts."

The small child seemed to understand although he was young he was fairly smart. His father taught him well even as an infant. After all he was a teacher by heart so he found joy in telling his boy the mysteries of the world.

He put the boy down "from now on son you must refer to me as Lei Laoshi, from this day forward I am no longer your father but your teacher. Although I will always be your father and love you endlessly."

He nodded "yes Lei Laoshi I understand".

Lei Laoshi smiled "good, good. Now before we can train your body we must first train your mind. A strong body is nothing if you can't use it. Remember to know yourself and your enemy and you shall never fear the outcome of a hundred battles. Know yourself but not your enemy and with every victory you shall also suffer a defeat. If you know neither, you shall lose in every battle."

The small youth looked confused "uhh Lei Laoshi what does that mean?"

"A strong mind can do more than a tough body. Now come, come let me take you to your study, talk doesn't cook rice".

He guided him to a small room with a desk in the center. The walls were bookshelves filled with thousands of books. He handed him one "here this is the Art of War written by the great strategist of a minor world called earth. His name was Sun Tzu. Remember the name well and hold what he teaches close at heart".

The boy nods and starts to read the book.

Lei Laoshi walks off and sighs slightly. "My boy, I wonder how far I can take him".

RIIIP!!

"Gah what is it now".

A golden portal opens the sky. Lei Laoshi sighs "oh my she has arrived."

He walks over to the portal "good morning Amaterasu have you come to deliver young Raya to me".

Amaterasu grins coldly "yes I have and I expect that damned progeny of Star god to be worth something Deathslaughter".

Lei Laoshi laughs a little under his breath "my I haven't heard that name in ages. I hung that mantle up long ago. I am now Su Lei, a father. Also can someone please explain why everyone thinks I'm a babysitter for negligent gods''.

Amaterasu looks coldly at the man "I didn't ask for lip . I asked you to take care of Raya now will you refuse".

"Well when you put it like that I guess I have no choice do I."

She hands over the child then departs. He sighs lightly "what is an old man to do with so much time on his hands oh I know take care of the children we don't want. Bah you decrepit bastards."

Although he certainly didn't mind raising Qin Ming he honestly just didn't like everyone dumping all these children on him. He holds the small girl in his arms "my, my I think my slow life will end quite soon".

He sets the girl on the floor "hello little one I am Lei Laoshi and I will take over your studies from now on."

The girl smiles "good I will miss the court of the stars but at least I'll learn something"

He smiles "my Raya you most definitely will learn something."

Lei Laoshi stands up "now I believe your studies are in order".

The small girl understands "yes Lei Laoshi".

She bows respectfully and allows herself to be led away. Lei Laoshi looks down at the girl "now one thing you must never speak about to my son is the fact that you are the progeny of a goddess".

Raya looks confused. "Why is that Lei Laoshi?"

He sighs then chuckles a little "because my child I do not wish to teach him of the world of the gods nor does he need to know he and you are from that realm."

Raya seems to understand and doesn't try to pry any longer. Lei Laoshi leads her into a room right next to Qin Ming. About an hour passes by and Lei Laoshi comes by the rooms. He opens the door and greets his child. "Lei Laoshi your disciple greets you."

Lei Laoshi had taught Qin Ming quite well even though he was only four he knew his manners as well as any adult. Lei Laoshi puts his hand on his head, "Alright my disciple I shall teach you what I know about martial arts."

Qin Ming bows respectfully and the two move to a courtyard. "Every good martial artist must always start with footwork, much like the Dao is the foundation for your future, footwork is the foundation for martial arts."

"Watch me."

Lei Laoshi crouches down perfectly centering himself. He leads one foot out, and with that foot that was extended he moves it in a circle around him. He puts his arms forth in front of him. "Remember when executing martial arts there are only five basic stances, kicking, punching, parries, palm blows, elbows, and knees".

He nodded "right Lei Laoshi".

Lei Laoshi put his hand forward "alright now you try."

Qin Ming crotches down and nearly tripped over himself. He tries to create the circle using his leg but falls on his face. He moved very clunky and was falling and tripping with almost every movement. "Again." Lei Laoshi spoke calmly and commandingly.

Just like that he attempted the movements again, and again until he finally got it down. Lei Laoshi smiled as he looked at his disciple "yes, yes you make me proud boy."

A spark flooded Qin Ming's eyes "really I do!"

Lei Laoshi laughed softly and nodded. He waved his hand and a doll appeared that was roughly the size of an adult. The doll was dotted with targets on the skull, throat, chest, and the arms and legs. He patted the doll "with this I shall demonstrate each of the five basic stances, watch carefully."

Lei Laoshi rammed his palm into the throat of the doll then rammed his backhand into its chin. He sent his leg to its shin then raised his fist to strike his chest. He flung his elbow into its skull. He grabbed the back of his head and brought it up to his knee. Qin Ming was fascinated with each of these casual yet profound movements.

Lei Laoshi backed up "now you try".

Qin Ming nodded then he walked up to the doll. He instantly realized the problem, he was far too short! How could he reach the skull or the chest when he barely came up to the shins. He looked at Lei Laoshi, but he just turned away, ignoring him. Obviously he wanted him to come up with a way of doing it himself. An hour goes by with him struggling endlessly. He yells out loudly and he shockingly grows to be the size of an adult.

It must be understood that all gods are born with the divine ability of stellar transformation. This stellar transformation technique, if trained to its limits one could grow to light years in length. For him to awaken this power now was a form of talent which Lei Laoshi was trying to uncover. In the distance Lei Laoshi could be seen smiling. He never stopped watching after all he had Raya to train. Jiangsu was already outside adventuring so Lei Laoshi didn't really mind.

Lei Laoshi had a deep love for all of his students, even daoist Cloudjade! When Lei Laoshi takes on a student he never stops training them. If one of his students wanted to take on a new master, he would naturally still follow them and provide guidance where he could. For him his lessons were simply the first step of life for his children.

Qin Ming was now tall enough to run through each of the steps. With ease he was able to hit each of the targets. After all, he wasn't in a clumsy body anymore, he was in a full grown body that had balance. He had mastered the footwork he was shone so naturally the movements for them came just as simply.

Qin Ming was bursting with excitement, but right after he was shot back to his child form. He lightly rubbed his head "ow my entire body is on fire".

When he was reverted all of his new muscles were ripped and shredded. They were formed from divine energy and were actual muscles so he felt everything. Even his bones were grinded against like a millstone. Lei Laoshi slowly walked over to Qin Ming. "Ah I am proud you've awoken that power. If you can do that at four, imagine what you can do at a hundred."

Although he had no intention whatsoever to tell him about cultivation he knew that Qin Ming was smart and would figure it out eventually. Lei Laoshi was stubborn yet fair so if Qin Ming were to confront him about it, Lei Laoshi would give him everything he had to offer.

Qin Ming finally understood what his training was worth. To him everything he was doing meant something and it felt good. He liked that his Laoshi was proud of him and had doted upon him so heavily. So about two months went by with him training constantly. He fell down panting heavily, although he had seen martial artists perform before he never realized how tough training was. He had gained a new found respect for these masters.

Lei Laoshi looked at his disciple with a frown "now I don't believe I ever said we could rest!"

The small youth leapt to his feet "ri-right of course Lei Laoshi." he was very anxious and was practically shaking.

Since he had a basic understanding of footwork Lei Laoshi decided it was time to jump to something harder. He had him run an obstacle course with very small platforms for him to land on. They were only a centimeter in diameter. Of course Qin Ming had mastered this in a month so he pushed him to the next step and totally refittes the entire course. Before it was an open course with no obstacles in the way. Now there were leather strips that would instantly suck out his spiritual energy if he touched it. These strips were long and thick, about a meter long and thick. The platforms were now much smaller to about a millimeter in diameter. It took him quite a while to master this one as well but he did it in a month and a half. Now it was much much harder as dummies would also come out to battle him.

Qin Ming stood on the platform hyping himself up to run the course. Lei Laoshi shook his head "tsk tsk tsk what am l to do with you."

He kicked Qin Ming off the platform. He frantically tried to grab onto something. He was inches before falling off "screw it".

He was done with trying to play it safe. He slammed his palm into the leather strip and forcefully shot himself up. Lei Laoshi smiled "when he was presented with a difficult challenge he didn't give up good, good."

He landed gracefully on the small platform and wiped the sweat off his forehead. He continued to hop from platform to platform totally undisturbed. Which of course he knew once he completed a quarter of the track the actual challenges would appear. Like clock work he single finger made it past a quarter of the track and a halberd wielding dummy came from the shadows.

SLASH!!! CHOP!!

Qin Ming moved his head slightly to the left and struck his palm against the chest of the dummy. It was blasted apart in mere seconds. He leapt forward once more, continuing. Out of nowhere the dummy pushed one of the leather strips at him. Qin Ming was nearly thrown off but he was able to leap to another platform. "What the hell are they getting smarter!"

The greatsword dummy sends the blade crashing down at Qin Ming with such great force that the wind from the blade causes everything around him to shake. "Bastard!"

Qin Ming sends his fist at the flat of the greatsword with enough force to send the dummy away. He tried to advance once more but three dummies all came out at the same time! They all attacked at the same time sending their fists and blades to clash against him. He sent his fist at one of them and a leg at another, but the third one just slapped his fist against Qin Ming's body and sent him off of the ring.

In truth this took a long time to explain but everything happens in two breaths. Lei Laoshi lifted up his student "maybe we should call it a day, come, come let's go eat lunch with Raya".

He begrudgingly accepted his hand. He was upset and frustrated and on the verge of tears. He wanted to run it again and again until he finally mastered it. The first time he ever ran the ring he didn't eat or sleep until he finished it. He was headstrong and stubborn and wouldn't back down.

"Calm down my disciple, it isn't worth getting upset over. You can run it again and you will make it even further. If you never struggle you never learn anything. Each cut and bruise is proof you have learned something."

Qin Ming smiled at his words; he was afraid that at some point he would cap, seeing as he was stuck at the same place for three weeks. He now had more confidence to try again. They came into the big dining hall and sat down with the only other person here.

"Good morning senior-apprentice sister!" Qin Ming said in a calm and delighted voice.

In his two months on the course he had only her to comfort him so the meals they shared were the highlight of his day. When he was frustrated her visage was enough to calm him. When he was angry she would make him happy. Clearly he held her in very high regard.

Raya smiled at him with her eyes closed

"Good morning junior-apprentice brother. Have you made any progress?".

He shook his head and clearly looked upset. Raya laughed a little bit " don't worry junior- apprentice brother you'll make it past one day!"

She spoke kindly and assuredly and made Qin Ming feel much better about his current situation.

"Yeah I guess you're right".

She put on a smug face "oh, of course I can't remember a time I was wrong."

They both broke out into laughter. Lei Laoshi comes out of the kitchen with plates of food. Both Lei Laoshi and Raya ate delicately like a soft stream, however Qin Ming ate like a slob. He shoves food into his mouth and spills most of the rice and pieces of meat he would eat. The two looked at him very carefully. "What?"

They both chuckle and Raya looks at him softly "no no it's nothing". They continue to eat until they've had their fill. Qin Ming exits and he heads back to the course feeling much better about himself. "Wait, wait hold up I shall go and watch".

Qin Ming shrugs his shoulders "uh okay."

He climbs back onto the platform and takes a deep breath and jumps forward once more. Although he failed once more he made it much further this time he made it a third of the track. Once he got to that point blades and fire would shoot at him as well as him being assaulted by more and more dummies. When he fell off he had to fight ten at a time. Minutes passed like seconds and hours like minutes. In no time at all two months passed by.

"YEAHHH I DID IT TAKE THAT HAHA!!"

Raya clapped and smiled at him "yay congrats!" he jumped down.

Lei Laoshi greeted him, "Good job my disciple, good job. Training is good and all but means nothing if you don't do something practical."

He led him to the courtyard and two people were waiting for him. One of them had a murderous grin. The other one was a hot head, and was burning hot just being in his presence. "These two wish to join the school if they can beat you then I shall allow their admission."

Qin Ming felt a bit of fear and he was determined to beat them. He had two reasons for this. One, he didn't want to disappoint Lei Laoshi. Two he liked the fact he and Raya would train alone in peace and quiet and he didn't want anyone to interfere with that. "For my peace and quiet."

The one with murderous intent walked forward. Lei Laoshi called out "introduce yourselves then begin."

"I am Qin Ming." he then got himself into his stance.

The one with murderous intent looked at him "what a weird stance I've never seen anything like it." he thought to himself.

"I am Ryu Ning. enough formalities, let's begin!"

They turn into blips as they charge at each other at extreme speeds. Qin Ming has been training for four months on grounds that were much much smaller than this. For him to move and fight like this it was child's play. They go blow for blow each time one would send a punch the other would block and throw another. They were at a deadlock.

Qin Ming sent a palm blow at his chest. The force was so great he spat up blood from the blow. Ryu Ning became angry at this. He sent a fist at his jaw, then he rammed his leg into his side. He sent an elbow into his chest and sent him back a few inches. Ryu Ning became a violent beast. He jumped onto him after he fell on the ground.

Ryu Ning sent a fist after another covering him in a puddle of his own blood. He was controlled by his anger and let everything out on him all at once. "ARRGH ENOUGH OF THIS!!"

He threw Ryu Ning off of him and sent his foot right between his ribs which caused a few to crack. He pounced on him. He sent a chop into Ryu Ning's throat then he sent his back hand into his jaw. He continued to mimic the movements he saw from Lei Laoshi. He sent his leg into the shin of Ryu Ning, then he threw his fist into his chest. Finally he ended with an elbow to the skull.

Ryu Ning stumbled back he was unable to block he felt paralyzed "what the hell is this!"

He tried to release more power but he was unable to. This was the fundamentals of [Palm of the Blazing Star] it would strike at parts of the body that would disrupt the flow of spiritual energy. If they couldn't release more they couldn't become any stronger thus it would allow one to gain the upper hand. [Palm of the Blazing Star] was a martial art made for the students of Lei Laoshi. This was so even his students could have a shot at the big leagues. Although he does strictly forbid them from going into said fights.

Ryu shrugs it off then goes back to him. He sends a palm blow at Qin Ming, however he pushes his palm out of the way and sends one of his own. Qin Ming understood quite well how to release spiritual energy in each blow so it was one thing he had against him.

Ryu was constantly pushing his energy out trying to force it out. It was as though the meridian pathway was closed by some locks. He stopped worrying about the fight and allowed himself to be beaten.

Drip… drip.. drip. FWOOSH!

Like a small crack in a dam his energy flowed outwards in a crazy torrent of power. Qin Ming merely had a meek understanding of the meridian flow and the [Palm of the Blazing Star]. If he had slightly more insights Ryu never would have been able to break free. Alas this simply wasn't the case so he broke free and released a massive amount of spiritual energy. Qin Ming was blown back by this sudden force.

"What in the!"

Qin Ming was stunned; he never thought he could forcefully break the locks he placed. Ryu cracked an ugly smile "oh you thought you could stop me!"

Ryu had a firm understanding of the Dao of Fire and the Dao of Air and was able to mix them into an explosion. Thus he used it as his forte and covered his body in explosives. A fish no matter how vast the wave will never drown, this was the same there was no way he could be hurt by his explosions.

He charged forward and rammed his palm into his chest. In an instant his fist exploded and charred his chest. The surrounding area was splintered apart and some rocks flew off. Qin Ming was blown back in a few seconds. Once he landed he stayed there unmoving. He was knocked unconscious!

Lei Laoshi looks a bit down after all his disciple had just lost. "The winner is Ryu Ning and he shall be admitted into our school posthaste."

His face looked a bit grim. He turned around and carried his student off to be healed. He came back out to the courtyard "since Qin Ming is unable to continue Raya shall fight in his place."

A delicate girl walked forward. "Yes, Lei Laoshi I shall fight for my junior-apprentice's honor."

Raya had always just been a hair stronger than Qin Ming had been so of course she could put up a fight. She spared no time. "I am Raya."

The man that radiated a burning heat spoke horsely "I am Augus Huo."

They stood still for a moment. Then all of a sudden the area became deathly hot. Both trained in the Dao of Fire one was the daughter of Amaterasu the Sun Goddess. The other came from a clan that was the descendant of Zhurong the Fire God. Raya had dabbled in the Dao of Earth and was able to make lava. The area around them singes and chars. The ground starts to slightly melt. "How about we stop showing off." Augus spoke clearly, he was very tired of them competing in the Dao.

Raya scoffs then bursts forward. She coats her hands in fire. Although she could use earth she was not ready to reveal all of her chess pieces all at once. After all, she was not going to give him any information at all. The less he knew the better.

Augus signs and simply slaps her out of the way. Raya was startled for a moment but then came back and rams an open hand into the side of his chest. He becomes wide eyed "no way she does have some talent."

Augus smiles after all he was a berserk beast that only lived for the fight he was never happy with himself and always continued to work on himself. He would grow sad if he ran out of strong opponents. He slams his fist into her back. His hand came down like a comet; his fist made a small trail of flames as he rammed it into her back.

She fell down coughing up blood. She looked up at the figure and all she could see was his mountain-like leg coming crashing down. She rolls out of the way desperately trying not to be hit. She knew that if she was hit like that again it would be over for her.

She stands up and sends a stream of flames at Augus. he just sighs "ahh what a nice bath thank you".

What he didn't know was that the fire was a distraction. She bursts through the flames with her fist covered in stones. She smashes it right across the jaw of Augus. This sent him flying backwards a couple of meters. He stumbles a little until he catches himself. "Interesting she uses two Daos instead of one."

It's true at this level most people would focus on just one. She lifts her arm and sends several pillars of earth to come crashing down on him. He easily moves out of the way casually dodging each movement. She flys over at great speeds and sends a leg blow to the back of his head. When it lands he is sent through the rocks. Raya fought in a very sneaky method and would use deception as opposed to up-front combat.

"GRR COWARD!!"

Augus shouted out loudly he grabbed her leg and threw her against the rocks. He kept slapping her against the earth like a ragdoll. Her bones were shattered and she was bathed in her own blood until she lost consciousness. Lei Laoshi was quite upset at how both his students lost no matter he had just gained two powerful students. "Augus Huo wins the match. Now let's all get cleaned up, lessons shall resume like normal tomorrow".

Augus mumbled under his breath "the students here have never been in a real battle yet gave us such a fight they are quite interesting indeed."

It was true although they both lost this was their first battle yet Ryu Ning and Augus Huo both have quite a few years of battle under their belts. They both were led to their rooms. "Hey Augus, what do you think of the worms at this school".

He laughed "Ryu you fool you almost lost yet you still think they are worms? I have nothing but admiration and that is why I am staying. I think if I stay I will see something extraordinary".

Ryu chuckled "I thought you would say that I'm turning in so you get some rest too".

Augus nods then looks up at the sky "what an interesting world we live in ''.

He blows out the candle then heads inside.

In the still of the night Lei Laoshi silently sat in his chair smoking his pipe. The door pushes open and a beaten Jiangsu walks into the door. Lei Laoshi opens his eyes "I imagine your time in the red mountain beast cave went well". They both chuckle a little.

Jiangsu looks a bit serious. "I got what I was looking for, the Myriad Beast Crystal".

Lei Laoshi smiles "good, very good. Go now go get some rest my child".

Jiangsu shakes his head "I don't plan on stopping, I plan on venturing to the Frozen Seas of the Transcendent Heavens next".

Lei Laoshi looks surprised. "Do you know what lies there for you? I will let you go if you are dead set but wait a few years and make another breakthrough in your cultivation then you may go."

Jiangsu nods, then he turns to his quarters. Time flowed on like normal Augus would constantly spar with Qin Ming every day. This was because he found him to be the most interesting. Each day they would constantly try to run the next bit of the course.

The course had over twenty parts to it Qin Ming had already completed three of them in four months. Augus finished on his first go all twenty steps, as did Ryu. Qin Ming completed the track in under a year. From then life continued like normal, until a new student wished to join.