1 A broken dream

In the world of cultivation, many people's futures are already destined the day they are tested.

Will they become the cultivator soaring to the sky above or stay on the ground like the peasant?

On the long line from inside a Chinese building, many kids lined up to test their potential.

"Ning Yue (calm moon), 1 star!"

At the pillar with 7 stars, one kid is standing there, realizing his future is doomed.

The elder disgustingly looks at the kid like he looks at a walking trash bin.

One star means you are an ordinary person, not a cultivator.

It is astronomically rare for a 1-star score to break through and receive martial power; even then, cultivating further will be a waste of resources.

"Fuck!!"

The kid swears and punches the altar in anger, but of course, this mystical item doesn't affect and he ends up being everyone's laughing stock.

"Hahaha! You are stupid! Did you think punching things hard will make any difference to your lack of talent?"

*BOOM*

The kid who bad-mouthed him flew away by the force of his punch.

Compared to other children, Ning Yue is abnormally strong; he is 8 years old like everyone here but with a 4ft height (1.2M) and muscular figure.

"At least it makes you shut up, you fucking weakling."

Ning Yue shouted in anger and looked around like a maddening beast.

"YOU BRAT PUNCHED MY SON! NOW YOU DEAD!!"

One of the visitors rushed angrily and sent a fist flying at Ning Yue.

"Please, let me apologize for my son's behavior."

But before the punch can connect, a GIANT figure jumps in between and takes the punch without a flinch.

"Uh…. O-Oh! That's ok then. Go teach your son some reason, you lowly beast!"

The fear engulfed the father's heart, and he stepped away to check on his son, but the son who bad-mouthed Ning Yue had fallen unconscious.

"..!!!"

He tries to suppress all of his anger because today is an important day! But his opponent is a giant like that. How can he possibly win against him!

"You two, leave now. Our sect doesn't welcome those who don't even have a standard manner!"

Elder of the sect comes down and fences off both of them with disgust.

"What did you say, old man?! You want that weak who falls in one punch or I who makes him fall!"

Ning Yue tries to grab the Elder's clothes, but his father stops him.

"Ning Yue, stop." His father said calmly while pressing his grip on his son's shoulder.

"… Fine!"

Ning Yue turns back and stomps off.

"Your son is such a pathetic brat, he may be strong now, but in a few years, he will be the weakest!"

The Elders predict Ning Yue's future with confidence in his voice, those with 1 star are not a thing but a slave for them!

"Sorry…"

Everyone can see the anger on the gentle giant face but also acceptance of his son's fate.

Both son and father walk out of the Azure moon city, back to their faraway village.

At the back of this village, Azure cloud village, is a tiny house with two rooms and a huge rice field surrounding it.

"Father, I'm sorry."

After cooling down, Ning Yue sat down and bowed to his father to apologize for acting aggressively in public.

"I always knew it would come to this…."

The father sighed. Since Ning Yue was born, he has always had this violent tendency.

At age 3, he choked the stray raccoon that got into their house.

At age 5, he brutally murders the wolf who wanders into their field.

And now, at 8, he punches a stranger in a public event and knocks them unconscious.

And he did all of it when he was not even a cultivator yet.

"You knew about my star?"

Ning Yue looks up to his father. Hopefully, his father has a secret to help him fight against his fate?

"No, about your mannerism…"

Ning Yue didn't have a mother to teach him because she died at his birth.

His father is a farmer, so he didn't have much time; he had to take care of the invader.

'He must have picked up this behavior of his by watching me. Liangjun, I'm such a bad father, aren't I?'

His father looks at the painting hanging on the ceiling.

It is the picture of a giant man and a beautiful girl, with a letter, "Ning Fangjie (calm, beautiful, and very kind) and Ning Liangjun (calm virtuous, and talented person)."

He and Ning Yue's mother.

"Your mother must hate me from heaven."

Ning Fangjie thinks he failed as a father, didn't know how to raise a child, and ended up like this.

"No! It was my fault, father, I knew I shouldn't hit him, but he has bad-mouthed me, so I…"

Ning Yue tries to cheer his father up.

All he's doing is his fault, not his father's!

"That aggression of yours must have originated from me. Then it is my duty as a father to fix it. Come with me."

Ning Fangjie leads Ning Yue to the back of their house, which has a large tree standing and a grave of Ning Liangjun.

"Mother…."

Ning Yue never gets a chance to know his mother's face; all he has for a reference is the painting.

"She was once a strong cultivator, very strong."

Ning Fangjie has a regret hiding in his voice.

"But because of me, she abandons the cultivator way and flees her sect to start this family."

Both of them were once proud cultivators, but one of them is lowly trash who is stuck by destiny's wall.

"Ning Yue, why do you want to become a cultivator?"

Fangjie asked.

"Because I want to become the strongest!"

Ning Yue confidently answered with a pure heart.

"You know, most people's goals are also to become the strongest, so they accept the hardship of cultivation. Are you sure you only got 1 star and want to compete with those who got all 7?"

Back in his day, Fangjie also had this exact wish to become the strongest.

But the reality is harsh; his body can't catch up with his ambition.

Deep down, he wishes his son to have his mother's talent, but it seems he inherited his.

"Yes! If they got 7 stars, then all I have to do is work 8 times harder, so mine became 8 stars!"

Ning Yue positively says his ambition.

If his power can't keep up with those 7-star genii, he has to work hard to close the gap with his hard work!

"Haha…. Speak like a true son of mine…"

Ning Fangjie felt a sharp pain pass through his heart; he just had to be like his father's younger days, didn't he?

Now, trying to shoot down his son's dream is harder.

'Liangjun, should I help him meet an inevitable fall, or should I stop him now?'

Fangjie kneels in front of his wife's grave and tries to make the correct choice for their son's future.

He, too, is 1-star trash who tried to reach heaven and fall, dragging down the angel alongside him in his fall.

--

"Hey, Fangjie. Why did you come here today? Aren't you busy with your training?"

"Liangjun... I train for a whole year, and my power doesn't grow; I think it's time for me to leave…"

"WHAT? What about me then?! Are you leaving me?!"

"Yes, I'm sorry, Liangjun. I'm just a leftover, and I should have known it sooner… I got blind-sighted because all my friends helped."

"Then, I leave too!"

"WHAT? Are you crazy?!"

"No! All of our friends already break into the real participant realm, The Earth Realm! If we are both just leftovers, why not leave and have a happy life?"

"You are not a leftover like me! you are our number 1 disciple!"

"Current number 1 disciple! I became number 1 because all the previous 1-5 left!"

"Please, Liangjue, don't think too harshly. It may take longer, but someone like you can easily break into the Earth Realm."

"Who cares about the Earth Realm! If I must be single while meditating on the mountain, I want to be with you more! you dumb walking rocky stupid mountain!"

"Really?"

"Yes! I started cultivating because I wanted to be happy, and now I found you. And what about you? What is your goal, Fangjie?"

--

"Because I want to be the strongest…"

Ning Fangjie clenched his fist, trying to suppress the guilt of what he will say next.

His wife was right; having a happy life is better than trying to live an empty cultivator dream.

His son's dream and his dream are the same, the method is the same, but their talent is also the same.

Hurting him now is better than letting him waste his time in the future.

"Father, I want to become a cultivator. Please teach me!"

Ning Yue bowed down to the ground, asking for help.

He knows his parents were once a cultivator, and he is sure his father got some tips for him.

"No."

Ning Fangjie shattered Ning Yue's dream with just a single word.

A word of advice from experienced delusional.

"I will stop you from acting like a brat and train you to become a good person."