1 Beginning of an End

There was a youth at most being fifteen years of age. His dark-brown hair and dark-brown eyes matched the brown clothing he was currently wearing.

His story was a common one. A boy who was disparaged for his status, be it his power and/or his social status, which led to a desire of proving his naysayers wrong. He joined the New Moon Profound Palace to gain power, but only came to realize that he'll never be the best. There will always be somebody above him who will look down on him like he's nothing more than trash.

He couldn't accept that.

Though his Cultivation was of a mere Third Rank of the Elementary Profound Realm, his courage was far above that. Or, it could be called foolish recklessness because in his desire to get back at the disrespect he received, he went into a forest to hunt down a Profound Beast around his level.

This is the reason why he's currently on a sturdy branch from a relatively thick tree, trying to staunch the bleeding from a mortal wound.

"I can't die here…! I don't want to die." He kept his voice to a low volume as to not attract the wild wolves that caused this injury in the first place.

The blood won't stop flowing. He belatedly realizes this, but still clings on to a powerful desire for life.

This boy was nothing more than an orphan. An unwanted child who nobody loved, so if nobody wanted him to live, he had to be the only person in the world that would love himself and desire himself to live.

He grit his teeth and pressed his hands tightly against the wound as if to prevent the blood from leaking through a hole akin to a balloon running out of air.

It was hopeless.

"Why did I come out here again? Why did I even need to prove myself to people who wouldn't care in the first place. Am I really that insecure of a person that I need to retaliate against anything and anyone that attacks me?" At the verge of death, only now did he start wondering about his nature and his actions.

It was a kind of once-in-a-lifetime epiphany that appeared at the moment death became a certainty. "...Even now, I still don't want to die."

There was nothing he could do. His breath was weakening and the strength he had to hold his hand to the wound had run drie. The sound of blood dripping from a location about seven meters above the ground probably would've attracted some beasts to feast on his dying body.

His vision was already darkening, but he still had parting words for himself. "I was really stupid…"

At that moment, the very same moment he slipped into a semi-conscious state, his blackened vision was replaced by a searing light that renewed his instinctual determination to live. If his eyes were open, he would see a strange orb of light with warped markings on it inch closer to him with visible fatigue.

It entered his body and his mind was nearly shattered by just a fragment of memories, for this soul was old. Even if it barely had memories and emotions inside of it, it was still enough to nearly overwhelm the boy's mind and soul.

"Ah…!" He nearly screamed from the pain. He gripped the sides of his head and smashed the back of it against the tree, trying to replace the unbearable pain with a more bearable one.

The mind-searing pain that almost sent him to oblivion garnered a suicidal move from him. He rolled off the branch, leading him to fall seven meters onto the ground.

The fall kicked up dust, and had he been a non-Cultivator, he probably would've sustained some injuries serious enough that his life would've finally ended.

It was miraculous how no Profound Beasts sniffed out the blood and gobbled him up.

The boy opened his dark-colored eyes. Said eyes had confusion dwelling within them. "I'm... Zhou Ying."

That's who he was and that's who he'll always be. Even if a waterfall of unknown emotions and memories try to erode his identity, he'll cling onto his soul no matter what.

He shook his head and shut down his mind to only focus on his physical state. He manipulated his inner vitality to staunch the bleeding in a form that felt so natural, yet so foreign at the same time.

"I have to go back. They'll all make fun of me and call me a coward again, but I'm just too weak!" It was pitiful and pathetic, but all he could do was bemoan his weakness in a world where might makes right.

A nauseating feeling washed over him, forcing vertigo in his body. He slowly stood up while ripping off a section of his clothes. A whole sleeve was used to wrap his wound once and tie it.

Zhou Ying gritted his teeth and moved his feet in a manner that was slightly hurried. He had to get out of this forest before it takes his life.

"Is there really no way I can get stronger? All I want to do is just stick it to them!" Everyone who knows this youth knows he is usually a quiet one who only acts when provoked, but words are now freely flowing from his lips.

"I need more power."

He can't keep these locked up in his brain as that would force him to move the gears in his head trapped in cobwebs at the moment. Just thinking was an act that nearly made him vomit. "...Do I start stealing herbs to increase my strength?"

It wouldn't be something foreign to him. The school he's going to that teaches youths like him about general cultivation, but just teaching isn't going to put him over.

---

"Finally back at New Moon City." His voice was low and bitter. "And now I have to return to the palace as a failure."

Zhou Ying took a deep breath and filled his lungs with resolve. Insults and laughter are things he can deal with. If he dealt with it back then, he can handle them now.

In the middle of his stride, he missed a step and barely caught himself from faceplanting the ground. He quickly looked to his sides for people that would laugh at his failure. Even if they were just gazing at him and not laughing, it stung all the same.

"I need to rest," he said to himself. "The headache must've come from the fall." He didn't want to think about the burst of fragmented memories that seemed more like a daydream than reality. He went up to the gate of the New Moon Profound Palace, flashed his student badge to the ambivalent guards, and went on in.

Luckily, he found his room without seeing any of his classmates. He strolled on in and dropped on his bed without covering himself or cleaning his wounds. There was still sunlight out, but his exhaustion came from the bones.

As he slept, something akin to a mutation occurred in his soul.

Right now, there's Zhou Ying's soul where it should be and something that looks like a soul, but much smaller trying to tether itself onto it. The moment the fragment hooked itself onto the soul, the sleeper started to dream of vivid events.

A battle. Divine power. Divine realms. Revenge.

The sheer amount of emotion in it woke the boy up in a cold sweat. "What...was that?!" he spoke in a whisper-yell. He put a hand to his chest and felt a powerful thumping, like his heart was going to leap from his chest.

He couldn't get the dream from outside his head. He couldn't call it a memory because he can't accept it as a memory, but to only call it a dream feels wrong too.

Before, it was static. Now, the imagery is clear, like he was there, participating in that dream. "I need more sleep," he said unconsciously before nodding to himself. "Yes, that's right. I just need more sleep."

He properly covered himself and went back to sleep with a feeling of horror in his gut. Eventually, drowsiness claimed him and he fell back to sleep with the added addition of horrific dreams.

Why couldn't he call them nightmares?

The youth woke up again with bags under his eyes that made him look like a panda. He went into a bag of reserves he kept for important use and found some herbs he crushed up and used as a poultice for his injury he didn't treat yesterday. Immediately after that, he replaced his dirty clothes with clean ones and went to his teacher.

He was nothing like a human in that state.

"Wow! Zhou Ying, how did your hunt go?" A disdainful voice entered his ears. He would never thank the owner of this voice for snapping him out of his one-track mental state.

"Li Zhao." He only nodded at one of the reasons behind his reckless act. He and his cronies insulted him one too many times, so he had to hunt a Profound Beast for self-validation.

'Looking back on it, that was pretty pathetic of me, huh.' A sarcastic gasp. It seems his pain in the ass isn't done talking yet.

"Could it be that you actually failed to kill even one Profound Beast? There's no way that someone as brave as you could fail, right?" The stinging pain of nails digging into his palms made him relax his hands.

"Yeah, I failed." He moved past the boy that was stronger than him, a cold smirk engraved into his mind.

'Just once. Just once I want to knock him down. It doesn't matter what price I have to pay, I just want to knock him down!'

He entered the training room where the teacher was waiting for everyone to come, so he could begin lessons. He sat down in a wooden, creaky chair, indicative of the quality of this class.

He was just a useless member of Class Three. Classes Two and One were far above him. He'd probably never reach them, but he's reluctantly able to settle for third best.

"Not everyone's here yet." He closed his eyes with a hand supporting his cheek. He'll just rest like this to catch up on his sleep while everyone gets here.

Blood. Sword. Revenge. Friend.

"Are my lessons boring you, Zhou Ying?" He opened his eyes in shock, mouth gaping in surprise.

'When did I fall asleep?!' He stared up at a towering instructor casting a shadow across his body. His countenance was distorted by irritation from looking at his show of disrespect.

"N-no. Sorry, I didn't get enough sleep. It won't happen again." The teacher snorted callously.

"See that it doesn't." Zhou Ying could feel the gazes on him. If the teacher wasn't here, they'd be accompanied by laughter.

"Now, as I was saying..." Zhou Ying tuned out his lesson again, but stayed awake just to show some form of respect.

He's very tired and these dreams aren't really helping him. 'I need to overcome Li…' His thoughts stopped. A feeling of dread washed over him.

He couldn't recall Li's name, just his surname. 'Come on, what was it? I know what it is! Why would I forget?!' He grabbed a section of his hair and pulled down hard.

"Not only did you sleep through my lessons, but now you're not even paying attention. Is this how you show respect to your elders?" Zhou Ying paused and looked up once more.

"Ah." Now his teacher is truly aggravated and he only has himself to blame. Before he could apologize apologize, his teacher spoke up.

"It seems you're more of a hands-on learner." He looked pointedly at his side. The spot where an injury nearly killed him and dressed up today. He almost flinched.

"That's perfect because it's time for sparring. Zhou Ying. Li Zhao. Come to the front and do battle with each other. The most important thing for a cultivator is experience that can be gained from fights and insights."

The two students stood up and stared at each other. One had a mocking look and the other had a tired, but determined look.

They went to the front and stood ten meters from each other. The instructor spoke up. "Match begin!"