Prologue (2)
The next day, early in the morning, Zhengqiu lazily stretched her arms from under the sheets. The breeze brought the smell of the morning dew, a sweet smell. The sounds of water splashing and scrubbing came from outside in the courtyard, where her mother was busy washing this weeks clothes.
She got out of her bed and got ready before going outside to help her mother with cleaning. Although the Shen Clan Manor has a few maids, but her mother, Su Zhanghe prefers doing her own work in the manor. She is from the Su family on the other side of town, but they aren't well off and taught their daughter how to do the work of a maid in the Shen Clan Manor. The only reason why the marriage between Zhanghe and her father, Shen Haoran is because they are currently declining after the death of Haoran's father. His father was a really talented hunter who could even come back with bears twice the size of himself, but one day he came across a spiritual beast that even some expert martial artists struggle to run from, never mind an old hunter.
Shen Zhengqiu's maternal grandmother is very mysterious to her, she has never seen her before but has left a scroll for her Mother's dowry gift, which would then be inherited by her. Unfortunately her eyesight hinders her from even seeing the scroll. Her mother told her that Su Ya, her grandmother was even more powerful, and was on the road to immortality. The first time she heard that, she was full of curiosity and disbelief, because who can truly split the seas and shatter the mountains? To her who is smart, it sounded like a tale that parents tell to their children because they are gullible and naturally curious about those things.
Martial artists truly can split rocks, but that's it, only rocks can be split when you become a Master in martial arts. In order to be a master, first you have to start on the journey of martial arts.
Everyone starts off as a small Martial Artist who is only slightly stronger than an average adult man but their techniques are considerably better. Next would be an Iron Martial Artist, who can beat 10 men with their techniques and strength, their bones are exactly like their level, iron. After that would be a Gold Martial Artist who can shatter someone's bones with just a fist and are usually the people who are hired by wealthy families in the Capital.
However, after Gold is when one would be called a Master but that is like comparing a hill to a mountain. A Master Martial Artist can use Inner Qi that can shatter swords and bring down the most sturdy of walls. The Inner Qi comes from the Earth after passing through the threshold to be a Master, and is like a vigorous current that flows through your meridians that open up.
On the Red Leaf Continent, the amount of Masters could be counted just below the hundreds and would grant you a very esteemed position anywhere you go. One such famous person would be the Principal of the Green Mountain School, Master Yuanzhong who is at the peak of Master. After Master would be Grandmaster, and they have meridians the size of rivers and strong Inner Qi that flows like a waterfall. They can cause avalanches by hitting mountains and within the whole of this Continent you can count all of them on just one hand.
Another thing her Father told her was that there was supposedly a legendary Sage level ancestor who could project their own Qi outside of their body and kill people by just standing still. However there currently isn't any known on the continent or perhaps they are just deep in seclusion.
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After helping her Mother with cleaning the clothes and preparing for the breakfast, the family of four gathered at the table once everyone was awake. The food they ate today had a little bit of rabbit meat in it from her Father's hunt yesterday, and it was quite filling for morning food.
Shen Hung ate his food with a voracious appetite as yesterday he was punished by skipping the afternoon meal. He glanced at his older sister and warmth flashed through his eyes as she shared half a dumpling with him in secret. Although it wasn't a lot, but it made him really happy.
Today he was going to go with his father to hunt for more meat to eat and sell at the stalls. He clenched his fists and hoped he could help his Father catch a really big rabbit so his sister can have some more meat!
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When night started to fall and the moon started to rise, everyone went to their beds after briefly washing their face with rice water.
Shen Zhengqiu tumbled around under her sheets trying to get warm, but she just couldn't get rid of that chill under skin. After wriggling around for just under 10 minutes, she finally fell asleep exhausted after series of rolling.