The Journey Begins

Chapter : 9; The Journey Begins

Coming out from the choking depths of that forest, Qiangu Qitian stepped into the open world. The sun rays, filtering down through the sparse canopy above him, felt warm and unfamiliar on his skin, as if to greet him for a new life.

He took a deep breath as his hands tightened on the meager belongings he had managed to scavenge: a small pouch of herbs and a couple of storage rings he had yet to unlock. A gleam of determination entered his eyes.

"I need to get to the nearest city," he muttered to himself, "but first, I have to overcome the distance. I don't think walking will do.

After hours of traveling down the overgrown path, Qiangu Qitian finally came upon a small, busy village nestled in the valley. Smoke from cooking fires wafted lazily into the sky, while the chatty voices of villagers created a humming buzz. Qiangu Qitian had tattered robes, but he drew no attention to himself, as people often emerged worse from the treacherous landscape.

As soon as Qitian entered this village's marketplace, he caught sight of a merchant who had a pen full of spiritual beasts. There was variety in them: agile Cloud Wolves with agile feet, solid Earth Rams, and proud-looking Thunder Horses. All of these gave off a faint spiritual aura, proof of their enhancement through cultivation.

Approaching the merchant-an elderly man with a sharp gaze and an acquired smile, Qitian stopped.

"How much for the Thunder Horse?" he asked, nodding toward a sleek, silver-maned beast that pawed the ground restlessly. Its eyes shone bright with intelligence, and its muscular frame screamed raw power.

The merchant raised an eyebrow and eyed Qitian. "The Thunder Horse isn't a cheap, young man. It'll cost you five low-grade spiritual stones. You got that kind of money on you?"

Qiangu Qitian fished a handful of the lower-grade spirit stones that he took from the corpses in the forest out of his pouch. "Is this enough?"

The merchant salivated at the sight of the spirit stones. Not as good as gold, but rare enough to be exchanged in remote villages, he was prepared for anything. He got a share of the spirit stones after haggling, and Qitian bought the Thunder Horse.

It whined quietly; the beast nuzzled him as Qitian laid a hand on its flank, feeling where warm energy was running inside. He had stayed for one day to rest in a village inn. Now he is prepared to leave town. In a single smooth jump, he managed to mount the thing, then grasping the reins tight.

As he was about to leave the village, the merchant yelled, "Travel carefully on the main roads, traveler. Bandits and beasts are one thing. Weird things have happened recently near the cities-cultivators vanished into thin air."

Qiangu Qitian nodded and said nothing. He did not waste even a single second on idle chitchat.

Thunder Horse ran with unprecedented speed, moving miles in a matter of minutes.

.....

Some time unknown later.

The sky above his head started getting darker; clouds were moving in the sky.

He huffed and unfolded the map of the city. He found the place close enough to estimate that it would take at least a week to reach the nearest city for the sect selection. Three years had already passed since the accident, and he was above 15 years old now.

He decided to retreat into a nearby safe location to rest. Not that he was tired, but the Thunder Horse was.

....

A Week Later

In the boisterous city of the southern domain, there stood an independent third-rate city, by the name of Velvet City.

This was also Qiangu Qitian's destination, mainly due to the sect selection. He remembered that in every city of the southern domain, the sect sent a person to select children below the age of sixteen years.

....

Before the Main Gate of Velvet City

"Stop. who are you?" Just as he was about to enter the city through the main gate, Qiangu Qitian was stopped by the guards stationed there.

Standing at the entrance of Velvet City, Qiangu Qitian found himself face-to-face with two armored guards. Both men exuded a faint spiritual aura, indicating they were cultivators, albeit at lower levels.

"State your purpose, traveler," one of the guards demanded, his tone sharp and authoritative.

Qiangu Qitian straightened his posture, his eyes calm but firm. "I've come for the sect selection. That's all."

The other guard was burly, a scar running from his cheek right down to his chin. He eyed him up and sneered, "Sect selection, eh? You look more like a beggar than something with any kind of potential. Do you have the qualifications?"

Although he has already worn very good dress these days, he really can't afford to wear a high end dress, so the guards thought he was commener.

Qitian's gaze turned sharp, but he suppressed the irritation in his heart. "I'm here for the selection, not to debate my qualifications with the gatekeepers."

The scarred guard's sneer deepened. "You've got a sharp tongue for someone trying to enter. Entry to Velvet City isn't free, kid. You'll need to pay a tax—five spirit stones. Otherwise, no entry."

Qiangu Qitian furrowed his brows. Actually, five spirit stones were an amount that even cultivators could afford to pay as a mere tax. He knew this wasn't any regular price-this was a little something the guards were asking to fill their pockets.

"Five spirit stones just for entry?" he asked, cold, "Is it the sects ruling this city or is it the thieves?"

The scar above the guard's eyebrow flared, and he took a step forward, his aura rising slightly. "Watch your mouth, boy. Pay up, or turn around."

Qiangu Qitian hesitated for a moment. He only had a handful of spirit stones left after buying the Thunder Horse, and he really didn't want to spend it on bribery. But starting a fight here would just attract a lot of unwanted attention, which was also not acceptable to him now.

He reached into his pouch and fished out five low-ranking spirit stones and handed them over.

The scar-faced guard snorted as he pocketed the stones. "Wise choice. You may pass."

Qiangu Qitian clenched his jaw but said nothing, striding past the guards into the city.

....

Inside Velvet City

The city was in a stir. Besides, the streets were lined with merchants selling exotic wares, cultivators haggling over spirit herbs and weapons, and children darting through the crowd with laughter. The air buzzed with an air of excitement mixed with tension due to the upcoming sect selection that hung on everyone's mind.

Qiangu Qitian's gaze swept the vista before him. For a third-rate city, Velvet City was a fair bit ahead of that godforsaken village he'd just crossed. Buildings with ghoulishly crafted carvings of beasts and stellar diagrams around their windows stretched high on both sides of the roads; cultivators clad in various garbs joined others in haste, crisscrossing the flow.

He urged his Thunder Horse toward a stable near the center of the city and paid a small sum for its care. With these immediate needs dealt with, he could turn to the next matter at hand.

"The sect selection. It's my only chance to gain resources and grow stronger." He thought in his heart and went to inquire about the sect selection details and dates.

He strolled through the crowded marketplace, taking in the vibrant sights and sounds. Specially those merchants shouted their wares, offering everything from rare herbs to spiritual artifacts.

Cultivators of all levels bartered and haggled, their voices blending into the din of city life.

...

Qiangu Qitian walked towards a small tea house, which seemed to be a congregational point for travelers and locals alike. The murmurs inside were pretty rowdy, with topics that ranged from trade transactions to the latest rumors regarding sect selection.

He sat on an empty table and beckoned one of the serving girls. "How about the sect selection? What's the word?" he asked, pushing a small spirit stone across the table.

The server, a youth with a quick smile, pocketed the stone and hunched forward. "The sect selection is tomorrow in the central plaza. There will be representatives from the Azure Sky Sect. They're looking for young talents under sixteen. But let me warn you, competition is fierce, and not everyone plays by the rules.

Qiangu Qitian nodded to himself, his mind whirring. Of course, he had known there would be competition, but having two sects present just weighed the event further.

"Anything else I should know?" he asked.

The servant seemed to hesitate and speak, "Be careful. This time it appears that a thirteen-year-old daughter of a city lord has reached the spiritual condensation realm and there are even rumors to the effect that she will likewise be joining the Azure Sky Sect".

However, from details coming in, Qiangu Qitian just left - he doesn't even know a soul, anyway - so he won't find any reason important enough to probe someone over.

Finally, when the sun went down, Qiangu Qitian sought out an inn in which to rest. The room was modest, but he didn't need much after the day of traveling he had undertaken. Seating himself cross-legged on the wood floor, he began to practice, focusing on solidifying his spiritual energy.

The storage rings he picked up from the forest lay in front of him. And so, despite his best efforts, their restrictions remained unbroken, and he tried for the ones with low grades; for most of them, his current cultivation level wasn't enough to bypass the seals, but he vowed he will find a way. Fortunately, some of them were broken, and there was nothing more than some cultivation technique which currently he doesn't have time to practice and some of spirit stones.

After excessive sweating, He finally gave up removing the remaining seals on the spirit ring.

....

The next day, Velvet City was in an uproar. The streets were filled as participants and onlookers headed to the city's central plaza. Qiangu Qitian joined the crowd, a calm expression on his face, but determination in his heart.

It was an open plaza with a lot of towering buildings covered with banners bearing the name of the Azure Sky sect. At the center was a raised platform, and sect representatives sat upon it. A powerful aura emanated from each of them.

Hundreds of young cultivators, all below sixteen, congregated in the plaza. Some of them were accompanied by their families, but most were alone, like Qiangu Qitian.

A man with a crimson robe, stern-faced, stepped forward and let his thunderous voice move across the multitude: "Welcome to sect selection! We seek only talents and determination; thus, steel yourselves for a series of tests: whoever fails gets dismissed immediately; so whoever has already reached the age of sixteen, leaves.

Later on, all the young men, including Qiangu Qitian, were asked to check their bone age in the name of fair competition.

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