Chapter 2: Exile
It was cultivation assessment day.
I woke up feeling enlightened. If martial arts and sword mastery were no good to me, maybe I would excel in supernatural abilities. A smile curved up my cheeks. And there was Mina, standing in her utmost brilliance—her smile alone was what brought me this far.
She bathed me, brushed my teeth, robed me, and did everything I was supposed to do myself. I didn't care how she felt doing it, but now I see how awkward it must have been for her.
I came down to the Li Chan Hall to get my abilities tested. If it turned out to be one of the supreme laws, I would no longer be considered the illegitimate son of the Li clan. I had high hopes—well, I needed them.
My father, Li Tianlong, had always despised me, calling me a mistake. My mother, a common whore, was thrown out of the Li clan for not terminating me. She could have kept the remaining honor she had left and continued serving the leader of the Li clan—but she didn't, and I'm really grateful for that. If I ever got stronger, I would find her and restore her lost honor.
Lady Mei Hua was the first wife of Lord Tianlong. She had mastered the partial laws of wisdom and was known for her strategic nature. Her son, on the other hand, Li Zhenyu, had mastered the laws of Butcher, which were close to the supreme law of Slaughter. He was indeed the pride of the Li clan. He had already done his assessment and was just here to see what I had to offer.
The twins from the second wife were the first to get their abilities assessed. I was last in line.
I walked up to the large orb in the center of the hall. All eyes were fixated on me. I used to have a feeling that this moment would mark the end of my shame in the Li clan, but standing here, everything felt different. If I passed, I would be accepted into the Li clan and earn a name for myself. With one breath of relief, I laid my hands on the orb—nothing happened.
"Try again," Li Shuying, the grand matriarch, said. She had mastered the supreme law of time and had seen a vision of me being a hero. I didn't want to let her down—not now, please not now, I said, tears swelling in my eyes.
"Again," she said. She kept asking for a reassessment, but my father had had enough.
"Enough!" the patriarch of the Li clan said coldly. "Assessment is over."
I failed at everything. I was at my lowest moment and terrified. Mina was also scared. I was the only one treating her like a human. If I left, she would probably end up in the harem of a prodigy from the Li clan. I failed her, I failed the grand matriarch, and worst of all, I failed myself. I was a failure.
It wasn't long before the elders of the Li clan came up with a decision. I was summoned by them—I was to be cast out of the Li clan if I couldn't prove my worth before the age of thirteen. What was going to be my fate? I thought, feeling the heat as I approached the court. I bowed my head in respect, but that held no value here. In the Li clan, respect was only given to those who possessed great power.
"The grand matriarch has taken pity on you and is willing to give you a chance to prove yourself again."
My eyes lit up with joy hearing this. I was determined to prove my worth no matter what.
"You will battle Li Zhenyu in combat. If you manage to land five hits on him before being defeated, you will be allowed to stay in the Li clan and be given certain privileges," Elder Tofu said.
"What? Battle Zhenyu?" This was unbelievable. There was no way I could win, I said to myself. The sheer force from Zhenyu alone was enough to rip my ribs apart.
"You're going to fight, right?" The innocent voice of Mina echoed in my ears. "Fight?" I asked myself, staring into her innocent eyes. I had to try. It was just five hits, right? I smiled and told her yes. Only then did she give me a comforting smile.
The match was set for two days later. All I did was train, pushing my body to its peak.
Zhenyu and I already had bad blood between us, so I wasn't counting on him holding back. He used to be the sweet big brother protecting me wherever I went—we were like the best brothers in the world. He was older than me, but we acted like we were age mates. Those were the good old days. Everything changed when the grand matriarch called for a meeting and told the clan that I, the illegitimate son of a whore, would be the greatest Li—far greater than Li Chen himself. This stunned everyone present. From that time, only one of us could be the greatest, and Zhenyu took it to heart.
I trained my body sore and pushed my soul to the verge of collapse. A day passed quickly. Then came the next. At sunset, my brother came to exile me from the Li clan. My heart was heavy—I was only doing this for Mina.
"I knew this day would come," my brother said.
"Brother, please," I tried to plead, but it fell on deaf ears.
I charged with all my might, only for my sword to be broken in half. I took a dagger stance, aiming for his critical joints—maybe if I disabled him, they would call off the match. Unknown to me, he had already seen through my attack and countered it with ease. He disarmed me and dealt as many blows as I could handle. I passed out.
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[MORNING]
I woke up outside the territory of the Li clan, my face stained with my own blood. I looked at my right arm to see my Li crest marked with an X, signifying that I was no longer part of the clan. Knowing that going back was a death wish, I had to survive on my own.
The Li privileges were no longer mine, but who said their enemies weren't either? I traveled alone and survived every battle by sheer luck—until I came across Captain Genjiro, who opened his arms to me, probably because his son, around my age, needed a companion besides the old veterans at the camp.