Su FengQiu
The city gates were packed.
Families, merchants, the whole Su Clan, and like half the city showed up to see us off. You'd think someone important was leaving, not a bunch of kids barely old enough to wipe our own noses.
Banners with the Sky Thunder Divine Sect's emblem flapped in the breeze, making everything look too perfect. It kinda annoyed me.
Like... did they really need to make it feel like we were already property of the sect before we even got there?
The carriages lined up like we were part of some imperial parade. Shiny, spotless, over-the-top.
Honestly? It didn't feel like us at all.
I caught HaoYu squatting on the back of our cart, face already bored out of his skull.
"Bet you can't make it to the gates walking backwards the whole way," I whispered to him.
He blinked.
"You serious?"
"When am I not?"
That dumb smirk I loved seeing stretched across his face.
"You're on."
And just like that, while everyone else was bowing, giving tearful speeches, and acting all proper... me and HaoYu started walking backwards through the whole crowd.
People looked at us like we'd lost our minds.
Which... yeah, probably.
"Hey! Su FengQiu!" one of the elders barked.
"You dare make a fool of yourself at such an important moment?!"
I shrugged without turning around.
"Can't help it, Elder. Guess I'm just naturally gifted."
HaoYu choked on his laugh.
Bro was literally wheezing.
My sister looked like she wanted to throw a brick at my face.
Father?
Yeah, that vein on his forehead looked ready to explode.
But what were they gonna do?
Ground me?
Too late.
We finally reached the gates, still walking backwards, still smirking.
The whole city? Yeah, they were dying laughing.
Even old grumpy Uncle Wu wiped a tear from his eye.
Guess someone had to make this boring parade worth remembering.
….
We didn't even make it three days out of the city before the trouble found us.
First, it was just the usual merchant gossip—some bandit group prowling the route to Leixiao City. Nothing new. But that afternoon, when the sky turned an ugly gray, the elders grew tense.
Then the screams started.
"Bandits! At least twenty! They got a Core Condensation stage among them!" One of the city guards shouted, voice cracking.
HaoYu and I looked at each other. We were sitting on the back of the supply wagon, casually chewing jerky like we had all the time in the world. That mood died real quick.
"Guess we got our first welcome party," HaoYu muttered, hand already reaching for his sword.
"Stay with the wagon," an elder barked. "Protect the younger ones."
But of course, HaoYu didn't listen.
Neither did I.
The clash happened fast. Our elders and guards engaged the enemy head-on, the air filled with Qi pressure that made my bones feel like lead. Core Condensation cultivators were on a whole different level from what we'd seen in the city.
One of the bandit lieutenants—probably a Body Tempering stage 5 punk—slipped past the front lines, his axe gleaming as he charged toward the wagons.
"Shit!" HaoYu cursed, drawing his blade.
We jumped down to meet him. I could feel it in the way my body moved, the way my breath came short—we were outmatched. Even though we trained with swords since we could walk, this guy was an actual cultivator, his muscles bursting with Qi-infused strength.
Our blades clashed once, and my arms went numb.
"Switch sides!" I called to HaoYu, and we swapped positions, flanking him from both sides.
I struck hard straight at his deadass skull, but he easily blocked it with his axe.
But only have one axe, HaoYu stabbed him straight through the backside, it gone in for about 6 inches then was force out a a urge of qi.
He yelled in pain, then qi erupted from him pushing me and HaoYu a good 5 feet's back, but I knew he couldn't anything more than that…..yet.
He stomp one feet into the ground creating a foot size hole the force pushing him forward…..towards me.
Fuck, why he always picking on me???
I dragged my sword in front of he with both hands to be meets his blow. The shock wave making my legs numb.
Damn it, it feel like fighting my father in practice when I was 7 all over again.
Suddenly I feel him enchant his arms with qi.
Fuck.
The sudden burst of strength push me back immediately for 10 feets, both my arms and leg tumbling under the force.
But HaoYu struck right on time, he aimed at his legs. The bandit push me back one final time before turning to meet his blow.
I stuck immediately, straight across his back in a diagonal line, but he expected it and enhanced his back with qi so it wasn't deep, just a bit over the skin level about 1 centimeters in.
I was about to stab again, but he stuck first his axe straight into my arms. I jumped back just in time so the cut wasn't deep but it wasn't shallow either.
I will get the elders to heal it later.
After what felt like forever, our swords found his neck at the same time. He collapsed, gasping, and I realized my hands were shaking.
We barely took down a Body Tempering Stage 5… and that was one of the weaker bandits.
Further ahead, I caught sight of Elder Su Fang—our strongest escort. He was clashing with the bandit boss, a Core Condensation stage 2 brute with a spear that radiated killing intent. Their fight was like watching two storms collide. I couldn't even see their attacks half the time, only flashes of light and shockwaves tearing up the ground.
One wrong step and we'd get flattened like ants.
I swallowed hard. This was the real world. The kind where you die if you hesitate for even a second.
"We're nothing," HaoYu muttered under his breath, his eyes wide as he watched the duel.
I clenched my fists. "Yeah. Not yet."
The rest of the battle felt like a blur. Our elders pushed back the bandits after a fierce struggle, but even they looked worn out. By the time we made camp that night, the mood was grim. A few guards were dead. Some injured. And for the first time, the kids from the city—including me—understood that outside our little walls, strength was the only law.
Lying under the cold stars, sword at my side, I couldn't sleep.
"Next time," I whispered, more to myself than anyone else, "I won't need someone to protect me."
The campfire crackled, casting long shadows across the battered convoy. The mood was heavy, like the smoke from the roasted meat couldn't even cut through the bitter air.
We gathered around, bruised, dirty, and silent.
That's when Elder Su Fang stood up.
He wasn't smiling.
"Today, you killed a man."
His words were blunt, dropping on us like a hammer. No praise. No celebration.
"You killed one bandit. A Body Tempering Stage 5. Barely," he continued, sweeping his sharp gaze over me and HaoYu. "And you almost died doing it."
I clenched my fists under the table, but I couldn't argue. He wasn't wrong.
"You think you're strong because you awakened golden and black? Because you can swing a sword and not fall over?" His voice turned cold, like steel scraping against steel. "Wrong."
We kept our heads down. No one dared talk back.
"Strength in this world isn't decided by flashy colors on an awakening stone. Or by who your ancestors were. Or how much talent you think you have. It's decided by blood, experience, and how many corpses you're willing to step over."
The words made some of the younger kids shiver. Some looked like they were about to cry.
Good. Maybe they'd understand.
"You fought a Body Tempering Stage 5 today. There is still one great stage and 5 little stages before Core Condensation. And let me remind you," he said, raising his hand toward the still-bleeding battlefield, "our best—me—am only stage 5 of Core Condensation. That's halfway to the next stage."
He leaned closer, his face like stone under the firelight.
"In Leixiao City, cultivators like me are the lowest of the low."
That hit harder than the bandit's axe.
"You got a glimpse of the world outside your village. Don't forget it. You're nothing yet. Remember that every day. Or the next time you face someone stronger, you'll be nothing but a corpse."
He turned and walked off without waiting for a response.
The camp stayed silent long after his footsteps faded.
"…Shit…" HaoYu muttered finally, breaking the tension. "He's scary when he's serious."
I couldn't even argue.
But deep inside, that fire only burned hotter.
Not yet, huh? Fine.
But give me time.
And I'll make the whole world remember my name.
Just like what my ancestor once did.
When they entered Leixiao City, it was like stepping into a different world.
Back in LianXu City, even a Qi Foundation cultivator was someone people looked up to. But here? Qi Foundationmeant you were still a baby, running around in your student robes doing chores, bowing to even the weakest Core Condensation cultivator.
And those Core Condensation cultivators?
They were everywhere.
You couldn't walk ten steps without bumping into someone at Core Condensation Stage 3 or 5, and those were probably the bottom of the barrel. The sect disciples walking with their swords on their backs, their steps light yet carrying a weight I couldn't even understand yet.
HaoYu whistled low under his breath, nudging me as a group of disciples passed by.
"Bro… I feel like we're dirt under their boots," he muttered.
"That's 'cause we kinda are," I replied, forcing a grin that even I didn't believe.
We weren't even Qi Foundation stage yet, just kids with swords and some basics beaten into us by our old man. In this city, we were no better than ants pretending to wear tiger skins.
The disciples in uniform didn't even look our way.
The Core Condensation cultivators did—but only with amusement or boredom, like they were looking at some bumpkins lost in the big city.
It was suffocating.
I could feel it in my bones.
But at the same time...
I felt something else.
I clenched my fists tight, the memory of my ancestor's name echoing in my blood.
I'll make them look at me one day.
No...
I'll make the whole damn world remember my name.
Just like my ancestor did…..
On our way there the elders explain the cultivators rule not just for the city but the entire Orders.
Cultivators from the Orders Empire (Outside of the Sect)
If under Spirit Ascension Stage: treated with suspicion. Required to register at the City Guardian Hall immediately upon entry. Forbidden from entering inner city sectors or disciple areas. Orders Empire cultivators under Spirit Ascension Stage found unregistered or acting suspiciously can be detained, interrogated, or even executed without trial. Reason: The Orders Empire is currently in tense relations with the Chaotic Empire. Low-level cultivators could easily be spies or saboteurs hiding their true allegiances.
It makes sense since the first three stages of cultivation weren't divided.
Spirit Ascension was the first Orders specific stage, just simply being in it meant that you're in alliance with the Orders.
Or else you would have died during the Reawakening stage.
Of course, that doesn't stop all spies since you can betray the Orders after the Reawakening.
But those cultivators wouldn't go far since you cannot switch to Demonic Dao after choosing Heavenly. You cannot progress in either Dao without the correct mindset. So traitors get stuck in the same stage for the rest of their life.