I laid on my knees in front of a giant statue of a man who shared my name, Yan Mo.
He was the first and last prodigal master to come out of our clan, we're a minor clan, in fact we're just a subsidiary family of Mount Hwa located in Gansu.
But over 500 years ago, we were powerful, enough to have been a part of the Five Noble Houses, factions strong enough to rival the Great Nine Sects.
Alas, centuries of turmoil have weakened our family to the point where I, a young 16 year old boy, remain as the one and only cultivator.
But our family will stay weak no more, sharing the name of my ancestor, I'll rise my family back up myself!
See, a week ago, I was meditating in the woods, trying to drown out the noise of the cities to hear the faintest whispers of the Tao.
There, I was found by and got chased by a wild boar, I could've easily hunted it myself had I caught the jump on it, but I am so weak I could only run when I was the one being ambushed.
I ran back towards the city but tripped and fell and rolled into a small hole, where embedded into the earth I found a martial arts book!
The Five Flames Art! Consisting of 17 stances and 5 stages of comprehension, this is the most ancient and supreme art of our family that was thought to be lost 500 years ago!
For the past week, I've been studying it and found amazing results.
Usually, to cultivate, one must meditate, gather Qi through breathing, and most importantly of all, comprehend the secrets behind the Tao through meditation.
This Tao often comes to cultivators when they're in meditation or in life-or-death situation, however, with the Five Flames Art, I'm able to summon both Qi and the Tao to me with just a swing of my sword!
Usually, one must align themselves to the universal harmony and some other philosophy stuff, to basically flow like a river with the flow of the universe, and just cause minor ripples in the water to summon it as destructive force in the current time.
One has to become a monk or ascetic of sort, like the Mount Hwa or Wudang sects, and transcend worldly desires.
But with this art, if I can dominate over the fundamental principles of reality, instead of flowing with them, would I not dominate the entire realm?
Anyhow, this past week, my strength has nearly doubled, to the point where normal animals cannot stand to me! And I've even learnt the very first sword stance of the Five Flames Art.
I stood up from the shrine, altar, and statue of my ancestor and turned to leave, I had a bigger goal, a bigger dream in mind.
Every 3 Years, Mount Hwa hosts a wide reaching tournament where every subsidiary branch or clan of the sect may come and show off their skills.
The winners of this tournament often get great rewards and much recognition from the entire realm, and it hasn't been unheard of for Mount Hwa to allow the subsidiary clan to separate itself from itself to form their own legacy.
That's what I aim for first of all.
Win the tournament, make my clan independent, and then I can focus on bolstering the young of my clan.