A little toad's first steps
A.N - Well guys don't worry I didn't die or drop this Fanfic I was just taking some time to rest my head after almost going into burnout honestly I still don't even know how I managed to post every day or twice a day I literally used up all my free time to write so I needed to rest a little
So I don't know what the posting schedule will be like for now, but you can be sure I won't drop it but please give me power stones to motivate me -_-
There's another thing a great shoutout for a new Reverend Insanity fanfic:
Reverend Insanity: Nature's Dominion Venerable by Ligheris
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*Rumble* *Rumble* Loud sounds of thunder echoed everywhere as a strong storm raged in the dead of night. With each bright lightning bolt streaking across the sky, it became as clear as day for a few moments.
However, as if unconcerned with the great storm engulfing the entire mountain, a man hurriedly ran through the now empty streets of a small clan before entering a medium-sized house.
"Quick! Where is the chief midwife? It's an emergency!" A man, a Gu Master of ordinary appearance, said urgently, not even worrying about his wet body dirtying the infirmary's interior.
"Qing Wang, don't tell me your wife is giving birth now!?" A young woman dressed like a healer from ancient China asked in shock.
"What do you think?! Call the midwife, for heaven's sake!!" Qing Wang shouted, frightening all the young women in the infirmary.
"I-I'll go right away!" The girl nodded and did as the man asked, running to call the chief midwife.
The next few minutes seemed like years to Qing Wang, who stood trembling with nervousness and apprehension. None of the young healers dared to try to calm a Gu Master in his emotional state.
"Mr. Qing Wang... I'm here. Let's hurry; every second could be vital to saving Jing Niang and your child's life," an old lady with a wrinkled appearance said, followed by three young women.
"Ahh, Chief Midwife Yi finally arrived! Let's go now!" The man spoke almost crying with happiness as he left the house, leading the group without caring about the rain.
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*Some hours later*
"Hahahahah, thanks to the heavens, my boy was born safe and sound, and as strong as a stallion," Qing Wang said with a beaming smile while holding a small baby crying loudly in his arms.
"Let me... let me hold... my baby," a woman lying in bed spoke softly and weakly due to exhaustion after childbirth.
"Of course, my love!" Qing Wang quickly and gently handed the baby to his mother, calming him and stopping his loud cries.
"Congratulations, you are now the parents of a beautiful and healthy boy," Midwife Yi said with a gentle smile on her face, even though she looked very tired after hours of assisting with the birth.
This was a particularly stressful situation as everyone was caught off guard by the premature birth of this baby, who came after only seven months instead of the usual nine, making him quite small even for a baby.
"My boy was born so healthy and strong... let's name him Qing Wa," Jing Niang said gently, ignoring her postpartum pain, looking at the baby in her arms with the deep and unconditional love only a mother can have.
"Qing Wa... Qing Wa... I can feel that our son is destined to be a great man!" Qing Wang said, embracing his wife and child with immense paternal love and a desire to protect them from everything.
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*Many years later*
"This young lad, Qing Wang's son, is really impressive," a robust man with the typical appearance of the Northern Plains said, watching two nearly child-aged youths fighting with sabers.
"Indeed, he is a talented boy. He will become a great warrior for the tribe in the future!" Another man, similar in appearance but slightly shorter, responded, also observing the fight calmly without thinking of separating or stopping them.
"With his combat talent, I think he might even awaken a B-grade talent despite coming from a family of Rank 1 Gu Masters," a woman said with interest, watching the two young men skillfully fighting with sabers.
"Argh!" As if to end the men's discussion, a small young boy with a strong, trained body, seemingly no more than twelve years old, defeated his opponent, who had a much larger and more imposing physique but now found himself overpowered by the young lad.
"I surrender!" Seeing the saber at his neck, the fourteen-year-old tall boy raised his hands in surrender.
"You were a fierce opponent! It was an honor to fight against you," Qing Wa said, lowering his saber from the boy's neck.
Now Qing Wa's attention shifted to his father, observing the fight amid the crowd of men and women from the tribe. His gaze then fixed on a beautiful girl his age.
"Li Tian'e, I dedicate this victory to you! And I claim you as my wife according to the ancestors' customs!" Qing Wa said, pointing his saber at the girl before making a horizontal cut in the ground with it.
Anyone familiar with the Northern Plains traditions would understand that the recent battle was for the girl's hand, whom both young men wanted to court.
In typical Northern Plains fashion, they resolved it with a fight so that the stronger one could impress the girl and, more importantly, gain her father's approval.
Li Tian'e looked at her father, seeing him nod in agreement, and then acted as instructed.
"I am honored to accept such a heroic and capable husband," she said, bowing gracefully to Qing Wa despite feeling a bit disappointed, as she had hoped the other boy, the larger and more imposing one, would win the duel. However, since that did not happen and being a woman in the Northern Plains, she had no say over whom she would marry, leaving her only the choice to obey her father's commands.
Qing Wa smiled with pride after winning the beauty he had set his eyes on for a long time, now preparing to formalize the marriage agreement with her father.
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*Few years later*
"I need to settle things with him. How can Li Tian'e's father decide to give her as a concubine to the young master of the Shao family?!" Qing Wa said with an expression of anger on his face as he prepared for a possible fight. "He promised her to me... he has no right to do this now!!"
"He was indeed a scoundrel for breaking his word, but what can you do? The Shao family is led by a tribe elder..." A young man, seemingly fifteen years old, spoke with a complicated expression. "...you're not going to do anything stupid because of this, right?"
"Stupid? Questioning why Li Tian'e's father gave my promised wife as a concubine to another man is stupid now!!" Qing Wa, short in stature but with a strong body, spoke furiously.
"Brother, he's the young master of a powerful Gu Master family; there's nothing you can do!! You'll only bring death upon yourself by causing trouble!" His friend, known for his weak will and slight cowardice, tried to convince him not to act rashly.
"Would I be a man of the Northern Plains if I didn't demand explanations for fear!? If so, I might as well kill myself for being so pathetic!!" Qing Wa said as he advanced towards Li Tian'e's house, undeterred and unexcited, even with his friend trying to stop him.
"Let me go! I'll show him what happens if he tramples on my honor and breaks his word with me!" Qing Wa said, heading towards Li Tian'e's house, exuding the aura of a Rank 1 middle-stage Gu Master.
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*Minutes later*
"Damn!! You piece of trash... fight your own battles, coward!" Qing Wa, lying on the ground, stretched his hand towards the sky, screaming with hatred in his voice.
"Shao Ye, I will kill you... you cowardly scum who doesn't even fight your own battles!!" Qing Wa said, gritting his teeth and clenching his hand into a fist until it bled. "...even if it's my last action!"
At that moment, even these small actions brought great physical pain to the young man lying on the ground, bruised, injured, and cut all over. But now, it couldn't compare to the anger he felt after having his honor thrown into the mud.
And it was feeling as if he had been spat on by Li Tian'e's father's actions that led him to act rashly like the reckless young man he was, seeking satisfaction alone.
But when he arrived to confront Li Tian'e's father, a Rank 1 peak-stage Gu Master, he encountered Shao Ye and immediately started a fight due to Shao Ye accepting his wife as a concubine.
Unfortunately for him, Shao Ye always had a Rank 2 guard protecting him, so Qing Ma was quickly beaten to the point of being unable to walk, lying pathetically on the ground. If it weren't for how severe the crime of killing a tribe member was, he didn't think he would still be alive.
"I swear I'll kill you! But before that, I'll take all your wives and concubines and fuck them in front of you!" Qing Wa said angrily, recalling Shao Ye's provoking words as he was being beaten.
"You are courting death!
You have eyes but fail to see Mount Tai!
Cut off your arms and legs, cripple your cultivation, and I'll spare you!
Kneel and beg for mercy!
Your granddaddy will teach you a lesson!
A toad wants to eat the swan meat!"
As he remembered this great humiliation, he heard his friends coming to rescue him, along with his father, who had been informed of what happened by them.
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*Years later*
"Look, the group of Crested rabbits is just ahead!" A Rank 2 initial-stage Gu Master said in surprise.
"Well, Ni Bu, now that we are separated from the rest of the group, knowing the location of these rabbits is useless," Qing Wa said, running alongside the Gu Master, exuding the aura of a Rank 1 peak-stage Gu Master.
"Well, the rest of the team is searching for them, so if we follow these Crested rabbits, it's only a matter of time before we reunite," Ni Bu said, slowing his pace to remain undetected by the rabbits and signaling Qing Ma to do the same.
"Good idea, but if our team finds another group of Crest--!" Qing Wa was interrupted mid-sentence as the ground beneath their feet suddenly collapsed, causing them to fall into a cavern.
Despite the considerable drop, it was not a major problem for a Strength Path cultivator like Qing Wa, and even for Ni Bu, a Fire Path cultivator, who quickly managed to get up from the ground in front of him.
What he saw shocked him and stirred greed within him: a skeleton wearing the robes of a Gu Master with an insignia bearing the number "3" on its waist, along with a small greenish-brown lotus in its lap.
"...Is this an inheritance? It seems to be made by a--! Argh!" Ni Bu was interrupted mid-sentence by a chokehold as he was slammed face-first into the ground.
"Argh!...It was either you or me, argh!" Qing Wa, who held Ni Bu in the chokehold from behind, spoke with regret.
Of course, Ni Bu did not remain passive. He used Body Embers Gu to burn Qing Wa, who was choking him, struggling with all his might to break free. But after a few minutes, it proved to be a futile effort as his body lost all life in the chokehold of Qing Wa.
"Ahh... ahhh, I'm sorry, my friend... it would have ended like this anyway..." Qing Wa spoke, still full of adrenaline, as he released Ni Bu's body, stood up, and walked over to the skeleton of the Gu Master.
"An inheritance from a Rank 3 Gu Master... I had to kill him... he would have done the same after realizing its value..." Qing Wa said, looking at the horrific burns on his body, trying to justify his actions.
He was still in shock after killing a longtime friend in cold blood in a surprise attack driven by greed and fear that Ni Bu would have the same idea.
"This is a Rank 1 Preservation Lotus Gu..." Qing Wa said, holding the lotus in his hand to see what Gu it contained.
"This... was worth it!" Qing Wa spoke from his heart as he saw the contents of the Preservation Lotus Gu.
Inside it contained various Gu, including three Rank 1 Gu worms: White Wolf Strength Gu, Black Wolf Strength Gu, which are obviously permanent strength-enhancing Gu, and Tough Muscles Gu, which permanently strengthens muscles.
There were also two Rank 2 Gu worms: Healing Ground Gu, a fairly common and easy-to-feed Earth Path healing Gu, and Wolf's Smell Gu, an investigative Gu that enhances the Gu Master's ability to detect scents.
But most importantly, there was a Rank 3 Gu, which, without his knowledge, would lead him on the path to becoming a legendary Rank 8 Information Path Gu Immortal. This was the Information Releases Strength Gu, which allows the Gu Master to release increasing amounts of an animal's strength proportionate to how much he knows about the said animal, potentially even releasing Strength Path phantoms with ease.
"Ahh, with these Gu, I can pave my way to becoming a Rank 3 Gu Master... ahahahah, magnificent!" Qing Wa said with a smile on his face, feeling it was worth it even after killing a great friend, his emotions build up to the point that he recites a poem.
"Forgive me, friend, for I betrayed you,
Yet better to live as a traitor than die a loyalist,
A sacrifice to my honor, but honor is the privilege of the strong.
I am a man of talent, capable of great deeds,
But born a C Grade in a poor family,
Resigned to mediocrity.
A jest of fate, one with ambition and pride,
Forced to endure humiliation,
Powerless before all.
Yet the Heavens saw my plight and took pity,
Given this chance, I betrayed a friend with cold blood,
And would betray the world itself if need be!
I swear by my ancestors,
In the future, none shall look upon me with disdain,
Those who treat me as a fool shall beg for death.
These words I mark as my conviction,
Carried with me until the end of my days!"