The sky was still dark when Tang Tian woke up.
After casually washing up, Tang Tian turned on the lamp and sat at the table. He opened a sheet of paper, lowered his head, and began to write.
"Qian Hui, how are you? I miss you very much. Everything is fine for me, don't worry. The new semester has begun, and I am still in the position of assistant teacher to Master Cen in his Sword class. Without you here, I feel bored. Everyone looks down on me, I don't like them all.
Recently Master Cen's body has not been doing well, he is a good man, and I hope he will stay healthy forever. How is Uncle Yu? Please help me greet him. I really hope to see the Immortal Constellation Nebula Waterfall you talked about, I cannot imagine how spectacular it must be.
I am still persistent in my training, it might still take a long time, but I will not give up…"
After writing so much, it was all about things from daily life. Carefully folding the letter, Tang Tian sealed it in an envelope.
Carefully writing the address:
Immortal Constellation Rainbow City,
Street Fifteen,
Bai Bai Establishment,
Year Three A Class,
Shangguang Qian Hui (Receiving).
Done, he took out an airmail stamp to Heaven's Road that he had prepared earlier, and stuck it onto the envelope.
After finishing everything, he stood up again and went to the courtyard.
The morning air carried a peaceful chill to people's hearts. Tang Tian stretched his arms and legs, holding the position until his muscles began trembling, before changing his stance, preparing for the day's training.
What he practiced was the fundamental boxing art. (TN: Basically boxing)
After training for nearly a year, his mastery of the fundamental boxing art was almost perfect.
The fundamental boxing art consisted of three movements: cross, jab, and hook.
The cross punch released a lot of power, deep, strong, and violently forceful. Jabs were light and fast punches that matched with footwork. Hooks lay between cross and jab, with greater emphasis on angles.
Every basic movement looked simple, but when performed by Tang Tian, they were graceful. This was after practicing them more than a thousand times, executed perfectly.
In a state of concentration, Tang Tian practiced meticulously, not once showing an expression of fatigue on his face.
Soon, he was sweating everywhere, soaking his clothes, droplets of sweat sliding down his neck.
Looking closely, there was faint steam rising from his entire body.
He repeatedly practiced the movements again and again, occasionally stopping to reflect on them, but quickly diving back into training. Time slowly passed, and as the sun rose, the cold air gradually dispersed.
Tang Tian was completely immersed in his training.
Suddenly, an alarm rang, and Tang Tian stopped what he was doing.
Time was up!
Hu!
In the courtyard, breathing heavily and unevenly, Tang Tian bent over with both hands on his knees. Beads of sweat the size of beans dripped from his chin onto the floor.
Every time he trained, he would become so focused that he lost awareness, causing him to be completely drained and momentarily disoriented once he stopped.
Five minutes later, Tang Tian recovered from his daze. He straightened his body, lifted his weak knees, and walked toward the corner of the courtyard where a pool was located.
The pool was filled with water.
Tang Tian walked to the pool, and with a splash, he fell straight into it.
The water of the pool sent a bone-chilling cold through his body in the early morning. As he fell into the pool, he shivered.
He drew back his lips and looked as if he was in pain.
Slowly, he adapted to the cold water, and about two minutes later, his body had completely adjusted to it. He sat cross-legged and focused on mental cultivation.
After staying at Andrew Academy for five years, his basic mental cultivation art had been perfected.
The basic mental cultivation art required "essence", and as long as one was persistent, it could be mastered within one or two years.
Tang Tian did not possess strong essence and therefore took an average of five years, but he never slacked until the basic mental cultivation art was perfected.
He soon began searching for a rank two mental cultivation art. However, Andrew Academy only focused on fundamental mental cultivation arts. To learn a rank two mental cultivation art, one needed to enter another academy.
But Tang Tian did not want to waste time, therefore he searched around.
Teacher Cen noticed Tang Tian's situation and invited him to become his assistant teacher. In return, he gave Tang Tian [Qi Cultivation Secret], a Spirit Card Level Two Spirit Grade Bronze.
Tang Tian then began cultivating the rank two mental cultivation art.
[Qi Cultivation Secret] suited people engaged in martial arts but lacking strong essence, because its only benefit was strengthening Qi.
The [Qi Cultivation Secret] that Tang Tian possessed could be mastered quickly, because low-level martial arts techniques were simpler, focusing mainly on persistence. Not many techniques were required.
Warm and powerful Qi spread to every corner of his body, eliminating the cold and allowing his tired body to recover quickly.
Tang Tian opened his eyes after an hour.
His exhaustion had disappeared, and he felt refreshed again.
However, he did not immediately stand up. Instead, he placed half of his body in the water and stared at the blue sky.
What could Qian Hui be doing right now…
His eyes turned gentle.
But very quickly, his gaze returned to normal as he removed the Bronze Plate from his neck.
The Bronze Plate was connected to several red strings, one tied by his mother and the others by Qian Hui. When Qian Hui was in Star Wind City, she would tie a new red string onto the Bronze Plate for Tang Tian every year.
The size of the Bronze Plate was similar to a coin, and in appearance it looked ancient.
On one side of the plate was the image of the word "ten". On the other side was a winding river. The river looked as though millions of stars were shimmering within it.
Right beneath the river was a line of numbers.
Its color was gray, but it had faded so much that it was almost impossible to see clearly.
Tang Tian had worn this Bronze Plate since he was little, but only in the last few years did he notice the numbers.
He also noticed that the numbers would change from time to time when he began cultivating fundamental martial techniques.
He was extremely curious about the new discovery on the Bronze Plate.
Although carefree, he was not stupid.
Very quickly, he discovered a pattern in the changing numbers on the Bronze Plate. Every time he made progress in fundamental martial arts techniques, the numbers would jump.
From that day onward, he realized that the mother he once thought was ordinary did not seem so ordinary anymore.
He realized he did not know much about the circumstances surrounding his mother's death.
And the bastard who abandoned him…
Tang Tian was filled with the desire to know the truth.
He wanted to solve the mystery.
The Bronze Plate was the only clue he had.
He began cultivating fundamental martial techniques to observe the changes in the Bronze Plate.
When he mastered the fundamental sword art, the numbers stopped jumping. So Tang Tian began trying different things.
He tried cultivating rank two martial arts techniques, but the numbers did not move until he switched to cultivating the fundamental boxing art, where the numbers began jumping again.
It was the fundamental martial techniques that caused the numbers to increase.
Year after year, fundamental martial techniques changed again and again.
The numbers jumped from 100,000 to 200,000… continuously increasing.
While there was no reaction from the Bronze Plate, the gazes he received from people around him gradually changed.
All kinds of ridicule were directed toward Tang Tian.
From a student of Andrew Academy, he became a hanger-on, and eventually he became the ultimate hanger-on.
Tang Tian was no longer the same as he was five years ago.
The numbers continued to change.
999,400. [Robin: Current number.]
Tang Tian placed the Bronze Plate back onto his neck, but he failed to notice that the gray-colored numbers began to shine faintly.
Tang Tian jumped out of the pool, wiped his body dry, and put on a fresh set of clothes. He picked up the letter meant for Qian Hui from the table and left the house.
His house was located far from Andrew Academy, and very few people were walking in the early morning.
There was only one place that handled airmail to Heaven's Road in Star Wind City, and that was the post office on the south side of the city.
Tang Tian's speed was not slow.
He had long mastered the basics of light body arts and was able to keep his upper body still while rapidly moving his feet in rhythm.
Each time he took one large step, three smaller steps followed, repeating again and again.
Because it was still too early, the post office had not yet opened.
Tang Tian then placed the letter into the mailbox located right outside the post office.
The Immortal Constellation was so far away.
It would take around three months before Qian Hui received his letter.
He looked up at the sky and felt peaceful.
A grin appeared on his face as he turned to walk toward the academy.
---
When Tang Tian arrived at the academy, a large crowd had gathered outside, so tightly packed that even a drop of water could not pass through.
Tang Tian frowned.
He was responsible for the Sword Arts class that day, and it would not be good for him to be late.
However, he was very grateful for Master Cen's help and care. Therefore, when he worked, he became extremely serious, and he was never late.
This was very different from when he had been a student attending class.
"Excuse me!"
He pushed through the crowd.
The students who were pushed aside were about to shout, but when they saw it was Tang Tian, they immediately stepped back.
"Gu Xiao Yu, I will let you go if you kneel to me!"
A boy with an extremely arrogant attitude stood in the middle of the crowd, looking as though his nose pointed straight toward the sky.
The boy's clothes were very luxurious, and the material was of high quality. It seemed he came from a wealthy family.
Beside him were several burly boys whose faces were full of mockery.
In front of them was a thin boy curled up on the ground, his body bent in pain.
"Lick it! Hurry up, it's almost class time!"
"Damn it, seems like we didn't beat him enough!"
…
Several bullies shouted.
Tang Tian was disgusted by what he saw.
Although he was considered a tyrant in Andrew Academy, he had never bullied the weak.
Most importantly, these people were blocking the entire entrance, causing congestion.
There were only a few minutes left before class.
"Are you new here?" Tang Tian stood there with an unfriendly gaze.
"Move."
"Oh my, you must have gathered all your courage just to say that. Mind your own business, okay?" the leader sneered.
Tang Tian knew that if he kept arguing, he would definitely be late.
He could not be bothered to say another word.
In an instant, he stepped one centimeter to the side and rushed toward the arrogant youth.
With fear appearing in the youth's eyes, Tang Tian grabbed his throat and clenched tightly.
Like carrying a chicken, he lifted the boy with one hand by the neck.
The sudden suffocation caused the youth to faint.
"Stop! How dare you attack…"
"You're dead!"
The burly boys panicked and rushed forward.
Tang Tian had rich fighting experience. Without even looking, he twisted his arm and struck one of them, then punched another boy.
In the blink of an eye, the others were knocked down.
"After all, Tang Tian is still the most vicious!"
"But of course, he's the old tyrant! Every year it's the same. If he doesn't clean up the mess, the new students will never know who's the biggest here!"
"Come to think of it, our academy's characteristic isn't that bad. If Tyrant Tang Tian leaves, who will keep the academy peaceful and drive away evil spirits?"
…
Tang Tian did not even glance at the boys lying on the ground and hurried toward the training field.
The moment he stepped into the training field, the alarm rang.
Whew!
Tang Tian let out a long breath.
He glanced at the students in the sword class.
After yesterday's gossip, Tang Tian's reputation had already spread, and all the students looked at him cautiously.
He coughed awkwardly and waved his hand.
"Let's begin training!"