Core Formation (3)
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In the Min Luo Dream Realm, a three-year-old boy emerged outside the house of Hai Ning"s Ning Clan. He was staring blankly at the huge building before him at the entrance. He was one of the adopted children in the Ning Clan.
In fact, the clan was adopting many children whose parents were either dead or have been killed. Once the kids were brought in, their memories would be wiped out clean by the cultivators of the clan. It might seem cruel and unfair to the children but they could at least avoid becoming casualties in the battlefield or starving to death. Besides, they were not treated poorly at all in the house of Ning Clan.
In Hai Ning City which was surrounded by a greenish-blue river, countless children with confused expressions were being led to their respective divisions. Those who possess enough potential to become cultivators were known as "young masters" and they would be brought up by cultivators. In contrast, those who lacked natural talent would be adopted by the servants of the clan. All of the servants were mortals. Only servants who became scholars and practice martial arts would gain a higher social status among the rest.
A boy who had just turned 10 stood at a riverbank while carrying a basket made of bamboo at his back. He was looking at the reflection of himself on the surface of the calm river. A moment later, he let out a deep sigh. His name was Ning Fan. He was adopted by the Ning Clan when he was three and as usual, he did not remember a single thing before his adoption. He was given the name Fan (凡 ) which meant "ordinary". It was because there was nothing extraordinary about him!
As he did not possess any latent talent for cultivation, he was raised by a servant and became a servant himself. Neither did he have potential for literature nor martial arts. Therefore, he was considered one of the most insignificant beings among the servants.
However, he had a younger brother who was uncommon. Although he was not chosen to be a cultivator, he had an inborn talent for martial arts of the mortal world. He was especially excellent in archery. At the age of nine, he was able to fire an arrow with a bow weighing 47 kilograms. In the mortal world, he was a genius in martial arts.
After the rumor about him spread around in the Ning Clan, a cultivator who specialized in Body Refining Cultivation took a fancy on him. The cultivator considered pa.s.sing his techniques to him, Ning Gu. Shockingly, he simply rejected the offer because he was unwilling to follow an immortal"s path of cultivation. However, that impulsive young boy replied to the cultivator using insolent words, which in turn, offended him. As such, the disciples of that cultivator, the "young masters" began to make trouble for Ning Fan and his brother.
In the house of the servants of Ning Clan, they were raised by a man who became their stepfather, who was known as Ning Daniu. Their stepfather was rather timid. But when he knew that Ning Gu had upset the cultivator, he almost beat the life out of Ning Gu. It was on that day that Ning Fan brought his brother with him and left their stepfather"s house.
Ning Fan knew that his brother would need time to practice his martial arts. So he, alone, went to work and shouldered the responsibility of a breadwinner. No matter what kind of job he was offered, be it short-term or a long-term one, as long as he can earn some coins, he would work with no excuses. The sufferings he experienced in those days without his stepfather made him mature capable person. He learned how to read a person"s face and acted according to the situation. He also learned many skills which enabled him to do a lot of things. Most importantly, he acquired knowledge how to differentiate various spiritual herbs!
Today, the work he got was to collect spiritual herbs for Ning Clan. He was actually on his way to the forest when he stopped by the river and took a good look of himself on his reflection on the water. His hand gently stroked the purplish b.u.mp on his cheek, letting out a dispirited sigh.
Yesterday, his brother, Ning Gu, got himself into trouble which led to a fight between him and a few drunken men outside a restaurant. Unfortunately, the drunkards knew a few magic techniques that managed to wound Ning Gu. When Ning Fan arrived at the scene, he immediately dashed towards the group of men and retaliated like a mad dog.
"Immortals and mortals…There surely is a huge gap between these two beings. Despite Ning Gu having a natural gift for martial arts, he is still weak and fragile compared to an immortal. If Ning Gu promised the cultivator that day to follow the path of cultivation, it would have been a different story…"
"However, I heard some rumor spreading that Miss Qing from the Ning Clan saved me that night after I was knocked out…"
When his words fell, the 10-years-old Ning Fan who had been talking to his own reflection suddenly turned speechless.
"I… I feel that there"s something weird going on. It"s like I"ve forgotten something very important. But I can"t seem to remember it…"
Ning Fan shook his head and cast the doubts off his mind. He carried his bamboo basket and continued on his path towards the green hill to collect herbs. He liked to sing. As he walked, he was singing the song of Wu Country. However, he restricted his pa.s.sion to sing when he entered the forest in order to not attract unwanted attention from the wolf king.
He took out a type of fragrant gra.s.s from his pocket and spread it all over his body to conceal his smell… Packs of wolves lived in the mountain and among them was a wolf king. Multiple cultivators have been eaten alive by the wolf king when they came here for secluded meditation.
They might have magic power that could cause harm to others, but they did not have Ning Fan"s vigilance. In fact, he was always cautious and careful because if he wasn"t, he would have been bullied or punished when he was still young. It was the cruelty of society that forged his current att.i.tude.
Before the sun had set, he safely collected a few kinds of spiritual herbs and placed them into his bamboo basket. Most of the spiritual herbs he found were one-hundred-years-old and above. The medicinal strength in those herbs was too strong to be eaten by mere mortals. Only several mountain ginsengs and wild lingzhi[1] mushrooms were edible for mortals like him.
I guess these herbs can be exchanged for quite some money. Then I will find a master for Ning Gu to train him well.
He was very delighted whenever he thought of what he would be able to do with that money. However, his happiness distracted him on his way home. He got lost in the jungle, trying to figure out the direction where he came from.
All of a sudden, he arrived at a pond which was widely known as the Absolute Clear Spring at the foot of the hill. A female was currently removing her clothes intent on enjoying a wonderful bath in the spring. As Ning Fan was creeping around the bushes, he heard some noises from somewhere in front of him. He could not see clearly who and what was there since it was hidden behind the trees.
Behind a tall tree with an enormous bark stood a few teenagers who were smirking lecherously. They were drooling over the scene they were about to witness!
"It"s really unexpected to see Ning Qinger bathing in this spring. Hehe. This must be a one-in-a-lifetime chance bestowed upon us by the heavens. Ning Qinger had always behaved proudly since she is being looked highly by the master of the clan because of her latent talents. Her arrogant demeanor disgusts me but I can"t do anything to her in the house since she"s under the master"s protection. Now, however, no one is going to be protecting her. We can stare at whatever we want on that naked body. *Chuckle*"
"I got a plan! Once she enters into the spring, all of us should rush towards her and pin her down. Then we can do whatever we want to her, instead of just staring."
The young girl who was around 15-year-old was a Fifth-Level Vein Opening Realm cultivator. She came to the forest to temper herself through killing wolves. During her practice, some wolves" blood spurted over her green robe. She didn"t want to return with the stench of blood staying on her body. Therefore, she stopped by the spring to clean herself. But she never knew that she was being peeped by a few teenagers. To a young girl like her, being peeped on during a bath or being humiliated s.e.xually was really a nightmare. Either of those could form a mark on her pride, traumatizing her for the rest of her life.
"Miss Qing! Be careful!" Ning Fan shouted out loudly to put her on guard and quickly ran away with his bamboo basket!
Most of the teens were Second-Level Vein Opening Realm and Third-Level Vein Opening Realm cultivators. Only one boy in white robes who looked much more outstanding than the rest was at the Fourth-Level Vein Opening Realm. His name was Ning Feng. He was the disciple of the cultivator whom Ning Gu had offended. He was the one who would bully Ning Fan whenever he caught sight of him!
Usually, Ning Fan would never try to cross him. However, Ning Qinger helped him once in the past and he had yet to repay her kindness. As such, it was a must for him to help her in return.
When his voice echoed around the spring, Ning Qinger"s expression changed and scanned through the surroundings. She immediately knew someone was taking a peek on her but she failed to identify the person who alerted her.
To Qinger, she did not know who Ning Fan was. In contrast, the teenagers knew Ning Fan very well, especially Ning Feng.
Luckily we didn"t reveal our ident.i.ties.
Ning Feng and his buddies moved stealthily away from the spring and ran towards the direction where Ning Fan went.
"Hmmph! It"s Ning Fan again! How dare he disrupt our plan! Chase him and beat him to death!"
However, Ning Qinger had no idea about it.
…
They were currently in hot pursuit.
Dusk began to settle but the teens were still trying to catch up to Ning Fan.
In reality, everybody in the clan knew that Miss Qing had been peeped by a few perverts during her bath but no one knew about the hidden dispute between Ning Fan and Ning Feng.
Ning Feng"s eyes were filled with killing intent. If he manages to catch Ning Fan, he would definitely kill him and then put the blame on the wolf king. With that excuse, no one would figure out that he was the murderer.
Just as they were just a few steps behind Ning Fan, he suddenly stopped. Unknowingly, they had followed him to a deserted area where no one would actually pa.s.s by.
Ning Fan turned himself around, facing the group of cunning teens who had clenched their fists and prepared to throw punches at him.
"Aren"t you going to run?!" Ning Feng let out a wicked laughter.
"Not anymore. Because I"ve remember who I am."
"Who are you? An immortal? Hahaha"
"I am "Ning Fan"… You all can die now!"
It was at this juncture when a huge black mist covered the entire area!
Before Ning Feng could react, he was already turned into minced meat!
"This is my dream realm and I am the younger me!" The 10-years-old young boy muttered to himself in an indifferent tone.
He had the physical body of a 10-year-old kid, but he never flinched when he killed someone!
Note :
Measurements :
a. li(里) = 500 m
b. zhang(丈) = 3.13 m
c. chi(尺) = 30.7 cm
This translation originated from Liberspark.
If a mistake or mistakes were found in this chapter, feel free to comment below.
Certain name of skills will not be capitalized but italicized.
Some terms are subject to change when better suggestions are selected.
Footnotes