Chapter 1: Prologue
Chapter 1: Prologue
The Mortal World as Gods first called it was a place where cultivation was considered to be vital. If you were a normal person, you would always be bullied even if you kept to yourself.
As long as you were weak you would be attacked, while you would live as royalty if you were strong. And yet the number of true experts that existed in this world could be counted on two hands. Most people never ascended, staying at low ranks forever. This could be explained by the fact that this world was constantly robbed of it's ressources by those who had ascended, leaving nothing for those who lived in this lower world.
Fortunately cultivators adapted and formed groups to help each others, as quantity was the only thing they had. That is how Sects were born, atleast that is how they were born in this world. Some Sects were said to be strong enough to destroy entire countries while other sects would not even be strong enough to influence powerful families. Not even the Sects were spared from the ruthless law of the jungle.
In this Mortal World there was a place called the Red Sky Continent, the weakest continent that ever existed. And inside this continent, many empires waged wars to become the one and only power of this gigantic and yet pathetic place.
Most of the Sects that resided in this continent sided with Empires due to how weak they were, however it wasn't the case for the Poisonous Raja Sect. This sect wasn't the strongest but it was one of the sect who remained peaceful since the Patriarch of the Sect cared not about the affairs of the different Empires.
Due to this, the Poisonous Raja Sect had to deal with a great number of young men and women coming each year to be recruited, wanting to get away from the conflicts. That was the case for one Jian, an orphan coming from a neighbouring country.
This young man who was only 12 years old , though he looked much older, had finally made the choice to try to join the Sect. Which was why he was currently in front of his old and nearly destroyed house. The place where he had lived for all his life, a place in which even the beggars wouldn't want to live.
As he threw a last glance at his home, Jian shook his head and steeled his resolve. He was sick of living in poverty, having to hunt for his food in the forest where dangerous beasts lived, forced to sleep with some fur he had stolen from a merchant due to how cold some nights were.
He was weak, he had no real talent, but he would do anything to enter this Sect, his future depended on it. He actually knew next to nothing about cultivation, but as an old man once told him: " With enough determination even an ant can beat an elephant.".
The Poisonous Raja Sect's Headquarter was actually quite close to where he used to live, only two or three kilometers away from his house. It was located at the feet of a mountain, though most cultivators from this sect lived inside the mountain, where the poisonous Raja, a Mystical Beast, lived.
It took him a few hours to get there on foot, and as soon as he arrived he saw he wasn't the only one who wanted to get recruited by the sect. The Sect would usually hold some Selection once or twice every year to recruit new disciples, but some people would come to the Sect's Headquarter and try to get recruited by showing off their skills or offering some rare materials.
Most Sects wouldn't accept disciples outside of the Selections, but Poisonous Raja Sect was known to be extremely greedy, and as such if one could demonstrate how they could benefit the Sect, they would get recruited.
Jian thought he could get recruited by passing a test of willpower, something he clearly didn't lack. And so you could imagine his surprise when he heard another young man talking about trying the same thing.
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" Hey there friend ! I heard you wanted to take a willpower test to get accepted into the Sect. It's the same for me." Said Jian as he appeared in front of the person who had said that. Said person was clearly a noble's son, wearing an expensive looking white robe with silver lining. After getting over the initial surprise he felt at seeing Jian appear out of nowhere, the young noble smiled and nodded his head.
" Indeed, I intend to take the willpower test. I don't have the ability to pass any of the other tests and while my family is wealthy, I can't just count on it for everything in my life." Said the noble's son. Jian was a little bit shocked that a noble would act so friendly, but then again he couldn't judge a book on it's cover.
" Then you two losers should really quit !" Said a voice coming from behind them. Startled, the two young men turned around and saw a slightly older man surrounded by women who were looking at him with adoration.
" Oh really ? And why should we abandon just like that ?" Asked the noble's son, his words carrying an arrogance that wasn't there when he talked to Jian. The other man smiled while the girls glared at the noble's son but quickly stopped when they noticed his clothing.
" The Poisonous Raja Sect is known to accept many types of people, but those who rely solely on willpower can't enter the sect. The Sect wouldn't gain anything in recruiting you." Said the man in a condescending tone before he walked towards one of the sect's disciple who had appeared to see the potential new recruits.
Said Sect's disciple had heard what the man had said and was nodding, which made both Jian and the noble's son drop their heads.
"....I should have seen that coming. Guess I am getting back home." Said the young noble, but Jian shook his head and put his hands on the noble's shoulder.
" Listen here, hmmm...." He trailed off, as he didn't know the noble's son name.
" Li Kuo." Simply the depressive looking noble.
" Okay Li Kuo, as I was gonna say, you can't abandon so easily. We are gonna take a willpower test, do you think you have a chance to pass it if you behave like that ?" Asked Jian, which brought a small smile on Li Kuo's face.
" You're right....."
" Jian."
" You're right Jian. I should just stay determined and try to pass the test." Said Li Kuo. Jian nodded his head and walked towards the Sect's disciple with Li Kuo. The Sect's disciple who had seemed to agree with the arrogant man, smiled at them and pointed to a cave behind him.
" You're not the only ones who tries to be accepted into the Sect by taking a willpower test. This cave is where you'll take the test. It's a simple test since we're not in a real Selection. Just enter the cave, then you'll be separated and will have to find your way out of the cave." Said the man. Jian and Li Kuo both bowed and entered the cave, while the disciple was called out by another disciple.
" Two youngsters trying to take the willpower test ?" Asked the other disciple who looked to be thirty years old.
" Indeed, the first one seems quite normal, but the second one is interesting. I think he noticed that I nodded at that other guy's words to deter the first guy's morale. Other than that, I didn't sense anything particular in him. Now that I think about it the first guy seemed to be a noble. Maybe he received a special training to pass this test, it wouldn't surprise me if he did pass it. He just seemed a little saddened by the fact that he had little chance to get accepted." Said the first disciple. The second looked at the cave and just shook his head before walking away.
With Jian and Li Kuo, both had entered the cave and were immediately separated by a thick fog. Jian tried to call Li Kuo, but even after screaming his name he didn't hear a response. He decided to simply try to pass the test on his own.
At first it seemed relatively simple, given that other than the fog, there was no other obstacles. But then Jian heard some horrible screams and skulls appeared all around him. He instantly understood what this test was about and tried to put his hands on his ears, but something stopped him. Next he saw an image of himself dying in hundred of different ways and tried to close his eyes but they stayed wide open. Finally when an horrid smell assaulted his nose, he tried to cover it but his hand was blocked. He still endured it, but it was starting to have an effect on him.
Nonetheless he still endured and continued to walk. He wasn't aware however that a great commotion had broken outside as a gigantic meteor had appeared in the sky and was gonna crash right onto the mountain.
" Get out of here !" Yelled the Sect Disciple from before as the potential recruits all ran away, except from the arrogant man who frowned as he looked at the rapidly approaching meteor.
" Jin Bao ! Where is the Gate Elder ?!" Screamed the disciple to his older colleague.
" He should be here in a few seconds." Answered Jin Bao, who looked to be quite afraid.
And indeed, just as Jin Bao said, the Gate Elder appeared. He was an old man with a long Fu Manchu mustache, long white hair tied in a low ponytail and who had a snake tattoo on his neck. The old man was wearing a luxurious blue robe on which could be seen a long snake with two heads and a pair of arms. It was the robe of an Elder from the Poisonous Raja Sect. The man exuded a feeling of power so overbearing a normal human wouldn't be able to breath while standing besides him
" Gate Elder Wei Fang !" Exclaimed Jin Bao as both he and the other disciple bowed to the old man. Said old man didn't even spare a glance at them.
" A meteor of this size cannot be stopped by my power alone. Even though it is only some rock, I won't be able to completely destroy it. Go back to the Sect and tell the Treasure Elder I was forced to use a space-time treasure." Said the old man. The two disciples nodded and quickly ran away, while the old man put a hand in his robe and grabbed a little scroll.
He then threw it in the air, and pointed one of his palm at it.
" Seal of Void Transportation !" Yelled the old man. As soon as he pronounced these words, the scroll opened while in mid-air and a complexe purple pentagram appeared. A blue smoke started to leave the old man's body while the light that surrounded the pentagram intensified. The meteor was now dangerously close to the mountain and was about to crash in two or three seconds.
However the pentagram shot out to the sky and appeared in front of the meteor, it then envelopped the meteor and disappeared along with it. The Elder fell to the ground and spat some blood as a terrible explosion was heard from far away.
"* Sigh* How are we going to explain this to the Sect's Heads....We already have enough problems with this damn Kingdom." Said The Elder before his eyes closed and he lost conciousness. Had he been more observant, he would've seen that a little light was ejected from the meteor before it disappeared.
Unknown to most people in this world, the little light that had been ejected in this world had more value than even the life of a God.
And Jian was about to discover this as the little light actually pierced through the cave's walls and entered his body.
" Arrgghh !" Screamed Jian as he felt a searing pain in his forehead. He walked a few more steps, getting out of the cave and thus passing the test before he lost conciousness.
Had anyone saw him, they would've seen a tattoo of a moon in a sun on his forehead. Though they would've also seen his hair turning black and white for a second while his eyes were also changed before he closed them and fell head first on the ground.