Six Steps to Cloud: The First Step

A day had passed since Li Jing woke up and miraculously, all of his wounds were healed. This came as quite a shock to his parents which was normal because with the severity of the injuries he had, it was enough to be bedridden for weeks.

Thus, they decided to keep this matter a secret and pretend that their son was still recuperating.

Li Shang and Su Xiaoyue wondered how this miracle had happened but were still happy to see their son all healthy now. They were never bothered by these thing as long as their child was happy.

Li Jing, himself was quite surprised to see that his injuries were already healed but soon figured out that it must be due to the Reincarnation Qi.

"HAH! HAH! HAH!..."

Currently, he was standing in his courtyard and was performing a series of fist moves along with quick body maneuvering. This was the Serpent Fist Art.

To perform this fist art, one's body must be as versatile and flexible as a snake's, for it involved a series of rapid, versatile fist attacks and body movement, making it one of the fastest attack-type Battle Art in the Yellow Rank.

The only flaw of this Battle Art was the individual strength of each fist which was considerably weak. The reason for this was the extreme body maneuvering and the rapid movement of the arms. But still, when the punches were converged into a combination of fist attack, it could deal a lethal blow to the enemy. 

Speaking of Battle Arts, they, too, were divided into different ranks corresponding to the different realms of Martial Path.

Yellow Rank for Body Tempering and Blood Strengthening Realm Martial Artist. Black Rank for Meridian Opening Realm whereas Silver Rank Battle Arts for Grandmaster Realm Martial Artist.

With every punch he threw, every step he took, the proficiency of the Serpent Fist Art increased and his control over his strength also increased, causing his overall battle prowess to leap.

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!...."

Sweating profusely, his chest heaved up and down as he greedily inhaled the air. He decided to take a break and picked up the worn torn book lying on a stone table.

The Six Steps to Cloud.

When the First Elder, Li Wei Ren, had looked at this Battle Art, he advised Li Jing to choose another one, for this battle art was incomplete and had unknown origin.

According to him, this movement art had been rotting away in the library for years because no one has ever been successful in practicing it. The reason for this was the endless amount of Inner qi required to execute the First Step. It was like a bottomless abyss.

Thus, the Six Steps to Cloud was deemed useless by the Li Family Elders.

However, to Li Jing, this was simply a treasure. With the superior Reincarnation Qi, he could easily make up for the seemingly endless Inner qi required and also possibly perform the Second Step.

With excitement to fuel his courage to go into the uncharted zone, he quickly mobilized the Reincarnation Qi according to the method mentioned in the manual.

The bluish black qi within his dantian was stirred and it rushed towards his legs. A bluish black hue manifested around his feet while he slowly bent his keens to prepare himself.

Boom!

A sonic shockwave swept across the area of his courtyard as he launched himself into the sky like a missile.

"Ah!...."

Although he had prepared himself, he was still caught off guard when he experienced the sheer force with which he shot up.

He had only blinked twice, when he found himself high above, in the sky.

"Whoa! Ho! Ho!"

He was flabbergasted by the view in front of him. The entire capital was under his gaze. The numerous buildings, estates of other families and of course, the majestic imperial palace. Everything was in his sight.

This was the first time he had seen the imperial city.

The winds at this height were extremely strong and cold. Looking down he saw the Li Family estate and the people walking around who were like small dots.

"Hmm. From this height, I estimate that I am around...200 meters above the surface. ...Wait. 200m? Oh, shit!"

Realization suddenly dawned upon him when he thought about how high in the sky he was. He started falling and at the same time, getting swept away due to the strong gale.

"AH!!!"

He shouted in terror. 

"I am going to die! I am going to die! I am going to die!.... No! Think! Think! There has to be a way!!"

When in the crisis of life and death, a person's thinking ability would be at its peak. Li Jing was the same. His was currently thinking of a solution out of this precarious situation.

Yes, precarious. Because to Li Jing, death would be just a walk to the garden of life, for he had the Grand Heaven's Reincarnation Sutra.

However, after that dream, he understood that it wasn't death that was true suffering, it was loneliness.

Imagine, to be trapped in a place for years with no one to talk. How would one survive that without going insane? Thus, he wanted to live, to be with his family because no one knows if he would be able to enjoy such peaceful time in the future.

"Right. This should work."

Suddenly, enlightenment was on him. He quickly controlled the Reincarnation Qi and sent it throughout his body.

"Hiss!"

He hissed in pain when he felt the pricking sensation all over. That's right! He was forcefully refining his Muscles and Skins while wrapping his entire body into the bluish black qi.

If anyone saw this, they might exclaim, "T-This brat is crazy! He has a death wish!"

Li Jing was crashing into the forest behind the Li Family Estate and with an incredibly fast speed. As he approached the earth, he quickly crouched his body, to defend himself with his arms and feet.

BOOM!

With a loud explosion, he crashed through the few trees and hit the ground.

"AH!!"

He cried in pain when he hit the ground, for the numerous bones in his body were broken. Dust scattered all around and when it settled, it revealed a huge pit and his bloody figure in it.

"Argh!", he groaned in pain while he tried to get up and realized that his left leg had been broken.

"Fuck, it hurts! Ah, it hurts so bad! Damn it, it would have been better if I just died."

The amount of pain had messed up his head and he couldn't think straight. Fortunately, he didn't suffer any internal damage, only broken bones.

"Grr~"

However, before he could even breath in relief, a growl resounded in the vicinity and a figure of a beast revealed itself.

It was a tiger and not a normal one but a three meters big tiger. It glared at Li Jing with its cold, golden eyes and roared, "Roar!", before running towards him.

Seeing the tiger, he exclaimed in misery, "Oh, for the Mother of Lord!"

He prepared himself with difficulty to take on the incoming tiger. and concentrated the Reincarnation Qi in his right hand.

The moment the tiger lunged in his face, Li Jing threw the punch, aiming for its head.

Splat!

The tiger's head burst like a water balloon and blood splashed all over the place. Its body went jelly and fell over Li Jing, burying him under it.

He pushed the tiger's corpse off his chest and heaved in exhaustion. 

"Well, that was easy.", he muttered with a smile as he felt his vision blurring, falling unconscious.

...

Within the desolate, cold borders of the North.

The Great Commander was sitting in his camp within the military base, holding a letter.

He was wearing a heavy military armor which looked domineering. He had icy blue eyes and big white hair and beard, which was tied properly.

His face slowly darken as he read the contents of the letter. He muttered coldly, "Wei Yi, you have crossed the line. To think you would dare to lay your hands on my grandson."

His eyes shimmered in cold light and he made a decision.

Li Shang had written this letter yesterday evening and this afternoon, it was already in the hands of Li Wei Feng. Such fast mode of transportation could only be possible because of the Spiritual Beast.

In this world, beast couldn't cultivate. However, there were exceptions to everything. Spiritual Beast were one such exceptions. They possessed the strength of a Martial Artist from birth and their power increased gradually till they reach adulthood.

The spiritual beast used by Li Shang was the Sky Raven, a Spiritual Bird, which was famous for its high speed and exceptional tracking skills.

The tiger that had attacked Li Jing, too, was a spiritual animal. However, it hadn't reached adulthood yet. If it was one then, he wouldn't have such a pleasant time killing it.

----

Hey, there! Author, here.

If you are enjoying my novel then, please share it, comment and add it to your library.

I mean, why not? Its good stuff.

Thank you.