Awakening

On a bright and sunny day, a youth dressed in white was seen sitting on a steep cliffside, in a lotus position with his eyes closed. The youth was named Yan Lenglei. An icy mist surrounded him, as it was all being drawn inside his body.

To be exact, it was being drawn into the one-hundred and eight meridians around his entire body, before being devoured by his Divine Rune. The icy mist surrounding him was a special energy that was formed when he cultivated.

The surrounding Qi would transform into a mist that one could see with the naked eye, before being drawn into his body, spreading throughout his entire body, making him feel extremely cold while cultivating.

He felt as if he was in a world of ice, butt-naked without any clothes, leaving him to become a block of ice instantly. The powerful freezing force seeped throughout his body, strengthening his physical body while enabling him to form a special kind of Qi within his body.

This was all thanks to the cultivation technique inside the strange rock he had discovered all those years ago. The technique didn't have a name, but its effects were extremely dominating.

It was both a Qi Refining and a Body Refining technique in one! By cultivating it, he would step into both pathways of cultivation in this world. One had to know that most people would only cultivate in Qi Refining or Body Refining, with Qi Refining being common.

Even those that cultivated Body Refining was extremely rare, being at most one in a hundred thousand. It was even rarer for one to be able to cultivate in both pathways! Of course, there were many powerful individuals in the past who had done so, Yan Lenglei was not the first, and neither will he be the last.

Anyway, his technique enabled him to form a new Divine Rune that was extremely powerful, while the Body Refining side, enabled him to take in all kinds of different energy to course throughout his meridians, causing him great pain, and strengthening his body through this way.

Of course, it wasn't as strong as Mo Jidong's Body Refining technique, but with his own talents and two pathways, Yan Lenglei would be able to become just as strong, or even stronger than the former.

After all, the techniques weren't just for show. Currently, Yan Lenglei was cultivating in a powerful Ice Qi, allowing it to course throughout his veins, before being devoured by his Divine Rune.

Only by repeating this process, would he be able to make progress in his cultivation. Just like that, a month had gone by, as Yan Lenglei reached the Second Stage of the Awakening Realm, while Mo Jidong had reached the Third stage.

As they cultivated, they never left each other's side. They would go through thick and thin, fire and water together, and be brothers for a lifetime. Even though they had nobody to test their strength on, they would never fight each other, even just for a spar.

Some time ago, when they had both reached the First stage of the Awakening Realm, a Chess Board was formed at the same time. Instantly, a King piece, along with the Queen, Rook, Bishop, Knight, and Pawns also formed inside their body at the same time.

Since Mo Jidong had reached it first, it was obvious that he was the one who had discovered that he was born a King. His Chess Board was black, along with every one of his Chess Pieces.

A strange but powerful demonic energy surrounded his Pieces. Foggy black smoke that looked like clouds surrounded every single piece, giving them a majestic, but dominating demonic feeling.

As for Yan Lenglei, his King, as well as the other Pieces were golden. They were all transparent, but a blinding golden light shined from each of them, appearing ethereal and enchanting.

It was a complete contrast to Mo Jidong's, but both of their Chess Boards gave off an intimidating aura that would make others submissive as if they were seeing an emperor.

Knowing this, they smiled. That's right, smiled. Even to their parents, Yan Lenglei and Mo Jidong's expressions hardly ever changed, while it didn't mean that it never changed, it was extremely rare.

Only in front of each other, would they loosen up a bit, and show their feelings. Such a bond between them was unshakable, and even if Heaven and the earth collapsed, they would stand by each other's side.

In the month of cultivation, they had returned home of course and proceeded to live their daily lives like normal. Of course, they hid their cultivation base, and slowly cultivated for some time.

One day, they both left Blackcloud City and headed for the Blackcloud Forest. There, many Demonic Beasts, which were beasts that cultivated just like Humans and Demons.

The way in which they cultivated was different. By eating Spiritual Herbs and hunting each other, they would grow stronger, while being many times stronger than Humans of the same stage.

Only those of the Demon race was stronger, and even the weakest of them were as strong as a Demonic Beast of the same stage. Of course, this rule for humans only applied to the average cultivator, and not the talented ones.

Demonic Beasts were ranked in the same grades as Human and Demon cultivation realms. Rather, the names were much simpler. Grade One Demonic Beast, Grade Two Demonic Beast, etc. There were also Low Tier, Middle Tier, and High Tier in between each grade, that matched each of the nine stages within Human cultivation.

For example, a Low Tier Grade One Demonic Beast was equivalent to the Awakening Realm stage one to three, and so on. While Demonic Beasts are powerful, they are somewhat lacking in intelligence.

Powerful and intelligent Demonic Beasts such as Dragons and other powerful beasts could have a human form, which meant they were far stronger and more intelligent than regular Demonic Beasts.

This meant that such beasts were also far stronger than humans of the same stage. While humans were the weakest race, they were also the most numerous. With quality lacking, they were made up in quantity instead.

The heavens were fair, and all beings are equal under the Heavens.

Of course, this quote was something Yan Lenglei didn't believe in. After cultivating for a few months, he left for the Blackcloud Forest with Mo Jidong, there, they would test out their combat prowess for the first time.

Even while they had made rapid progress and solidified their cultivation base, they had never fought a battle before, which would disadvantage them if they were to meet a true life and death situation.

Since they were still weak, they would only roam around the outer layer of the forest. If they dwelled too deep, they would only become nutrients for the Demonic Beasts.

******

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Crack!

Two youths, one clad in white, the other in black, were moving along like shadows within a forest. The two youths who were Yan Lenglei and Mo Jidong passed through the forest at a rapid pace, as if it were their backyard.

Soon, they sense a presence not too far away, only a few hundred meters from their current location. In the blink of an eye, they appeared besides some large trees covered in moss, as they looked down at the sleeping Demonic Beast.

Looking down, Mo Jidong nodded as he jumped down, revealing his cultivation base of the Fourth stage of the Awakening Realm. A powerful demonic might leaked from his entire being, causing the Demonic Beast to shudder.

Judging by its aura, it was a Middle Tier Grade One Demonic Beast, a perfect opponent for Mo Jidong to test his own strength. The Demonic Beast, that resembled a tiger, but had large antlers on its head, and scales on its back, woke up and stared at the former.

Even though it was superior in cultivation, it still felt an oppressive aura of suppression throughout its entire body, down to its very core. It knew that the human before it was terrifying, and was like a huge beast ready to erupt at any time.

The Demonic Beast instantly moved and pounced at Mo Jidong with all its strength. If it held back now, it was certain that it would lose its life here.

As for Mo Jidong, he unfolded his arms, as a powerful black demonic energy surged around his arms. Taking a step forward, his fist that was clad in black smoke smashed forward in a single motion.

Bang!

When his fist landed, the Demonic Beast's entire body exploded upon impact, turning into a pool of blood that splashed like rain. Mo Jidong was ready to punch out again, stopped his other fist midway as he realized he had killed the Demonic Beast in a single blow.

His face was filled with shock, as his right eyebrow was raised slightly in confusion. "Who am I, where am I, what am I doing here?" was all he had in mind. Facing a Demonic Beast, he was looking forward to his first ever battle.

He didn't hold back at all, as he punched forward with his right fist. Who knew that the Demonic Beast would die with just a single punch! Nothing was left behind, no flesh or bones, only blood sprayed everywhere.

Yan Lenglei hopped down as he was speechless. While he knew that Mo Jidong would be powerful, he didn't think the latter was so strong.

"This might be a problem, if everything dies like that, we won't be able to test ourselves." Mo Jidong said. Yan Lenglei nodded without replying.

They quickly left the area, in search of more powerful Demonic Beasts, after finding that the one they had encountered was useless.

******

Roar! Roar!

In the middle of a large forest, a huge Demonic Beast that resembled an elephant could be seen. It was over five meters in height, making it many times bigger than the human youth below it.

The youth was clad in black, while black cloud-like energy enveloped his arms. The Demonic Beast he was fighting now, is a High Tier Grade One Demonic Beast. Mo Jidong unfolded his arms and leaped into the air, as he punched forward.

Bang!

The huge Demonic Beast used its trunk to attack him at the same time. The fist and the trunk met, as a powerful sonic boom exploded at the point of contact. Mo Jidong was unaffected, while the Demonic Beast was blown back by his punch.

Just before, that same fist had destroyed a Middle Tier Demonic Beast in a single blow, now, this Demonic Beast which was just a tier higher had only suffered some damage by his fist.

This clearly showed the large disparity between each stage of cultivation. Mo Jidong's fist was evenly matched with the Demonic Beast, in fact, it was more superior since he wasn't pushed back by the earlier attack.

As he was falling down from the air, Mo Jidong dove downward towards the Demonic Beast, as his left fist came down. His body was shrouded in black cloud-like energy, appearing like a small meteor that was about to crash upon an unlucky being.

Boom!

His fist met with the trunk once again, as the Demonic Beast was sent flying, with the ground being dug beneath its large legs. Mo Jidong used the shock of the attack to flip backward into the air, as he dropped to the ground and took huge steps as he ran towards the Demonic Beast.

Each step he took shook the ground, causing small tremors in a small area. His physical might was impressive, clearly being displayed by the trembling of the forest. His two arms came close, as Mo Jidong bent over, and started lifting the Demonic Beast by the trunk.

His small body contained a huge amount of raw physical strength, enough to carry a huge Demonic Beast that weighed tons, Holding it by the trunk, Mo Jidong started spinning his body as fast as he could, while holding the trunk.

As his body spun, the Demonic Beast was getting dizzy, while it was experiencing pain from crashing into the trees within the Blackcloud Forest. A few moments later, Mo Jidong aimed at a nearby mountain and released the trunk.

Whoosh!

The huge Demonic Beast flew through the air with its huge body as if it were flying. In a matter of seconds, it crashed into a small mountain, as Mo Jidong didn't end it there. He ran forward, causing a miniature earthquake with every step he took, as he jumped and slammed his fist downward.

Bang!

Crack!

A loud cracking sound was heard when his fist met with the opponent. Clearly, something had broken inside the Demonic Beast, due to Mo Jidong's attack. After that attack, no more sounds were heard, as the death of the Demonic Beast was confirmed.

With just a few attacks, Mo Jidong had defeated a High Tier Grade One Demonic Beast, which was even stronger than the Ninth stage of the Awakening Realm. If he were to use all of his might, he may contend and possibly even defeat those at the Early Noble Realm, and a Low Tier Grade Two Demonic Beast!