As night arrived, an intoxicating aroma spread through the open air as the hot summer breeze brushed past the purple blossom. In a large backyard within Water Jade City, there is a little courtyard, where small tapping sounds can be heard. “pa! pa! pa!”

  The sounds were sometimes rapid and sometimes slow. Within the yard, a 14-year-old teenager is standing in front of a wood stake and pa.s.sionately hitting it, causing the sound. Sweat began to bead up on his forehead as he persisted in this exercise.  The small stake withstood the continuous strikes of the youth without breaking.

 He has a stubborn look on his adolescent face, and his shining eyes glimmer with a spark of perseverance. His face was handsome but ruddy, as he panted from the strenuous exercise. Draped across his back was a wrinkled blue robe wet with sweat.

   Time began to pa.s.s, but the juvenile was oblivious as the moon climbed above the trees. As he continued to strike the wooden stake, the juvenile’s palms were bright red and his brow began to wrinkle.

   ‘pa’ ‘pa’ ……

   The teenager’s movements seemed mechanical as, again and again his fist hit the st.u.r.dy stump.

   Suddenly his ears perked up as the sound of footsteps echoed through the courtyard. The juvenile ceased his actions and listened carefully.  Sure enough, someone seemed to be getting closer and closer.

A man appeared at the entrance of the courtyard. When the teenager saw this, his face lit up. Typically, the juvenile had no visitors in his courtyard, except this man.

   The visitor is a middle-aged man who is wearing a black sweatshirt.  When he sees the teenager, a rare smile appeared on his face.

   “It is so late Xia Yan, why are you still practicing?”, the man asked in a gentle voice.

   Xia Yan is the name of the adolescent who was. .h.i.tting the stake. The middle-aged man is named Xia Changhe, Xia Yan’s Third Grandfather, Xia Yan’s father’s third uncle, and one of the nine elders of the Xia Family. After Xia Yan’s father died, Xia Yan grew up under his mother’s care. However, when Xia Yan was eight, his mother also died leaving him alone. Ever since then, it was his third grandfather, Xia Changhe who treated him best.

   Without his third grandfather, Xia Yan would already have been kicked out of the Xia Family and left to fend for himself on the street.   Now he can stay in the Xia Family, though only in the small courtyard.  Despite this, Xia Yan never complained about his situation.  Xia Yan’s third grandfather is the only reason the Xia family still takes care of Xia Yan.

   After seeing Xia Changhe, Xia Yan’s spirits lifted, and he ran to his grandfather. In a firm voice  he declared, “Third Grandfather, I have to open up all my meridians and become a true martial artist, just like my father!”

   When Xia Changhe heard this, he could not help but sigh, as the smile on his face grew wider. Xia Yan was born with a frail body so on the path of martial arts, he would not achieve much. Despite this, Xia Yan never gave up and continued to practice martial arts.

  In the past ten years, although Xia Yan strengthened his body, there were no improvements in other areas. For example, although there were a hundred and eight meridians in Xia Yan’s body, even now, not a single one had been opened. This phenomenon was almost impossible in such a large family, but it still occurred in Xia Yan’s body.

(TL Note: I guess in this case, the meridians are like the profound entrances from ATG)

   Xia Changhe muttered something to himself, then looked Xia Yan straight in the eyes with a smile and said, “Xia Yan, at the Council of Elders meeting tomorrow, the Grand Elder has just promised to a.s.sist me.  With his help, there is a possibility that your mother’s soul will be admitted into the Xia Family’s Ancestral Temple.

   When Xia Yan heard this, he leapt up in excitement and embraced Xia Changhe, exclaiming: “Third grandpa, did Great Grandpa really promise you?”  He laughed then continued, “my mother’s soul, can it really be admitted into the Ancestral Temple?”

    Xia Yan’s eyes lit up, the excitement in his heart simply could not be expressed through words. He wanted to proclaim to the world this wondrous news.

   It has already been six years since Xia Yan’s mother died, but her soul was never revenued in the Ancestral Temple. This has become a thorn in the heart of Xia Yan.

  After Xia Yan was born, before he was one year old, his father’s body was brought back from the Dark Forest. From then on, Xia Yan’s mother was often cursed at and mocked by others. Everyone thought that it was Xia Yan’s mother’s arrival that caused his father to die in the Dark Forest. However, his mother never defended herself or cursed back, enduring through all mockery. However, only in front of Xia Yan did her frosty face reveal a warm smile..

   The reason for this was because Xia Yan’s mother was not from the Imperial Dragon Continent but from the Dark Continent. Ten years ago, Xia Yan’s father entered the Dark Forest and brought back Xia Yan’s mother when he returned. It is known that denizens of the Imperial Dragon Continent always viewed people from the Dark Continent as the enemy. When Xia Yan’s father brought back a woman from the Dark Continent, the family’s negative reaction was expected. However, Xia Yan’s father did not care about what his family thought and amidst the opposition, his parents decided to get married, followed soon after with the birth of Xia Yan.

   After Xia Yan was born, the rumors gradually died down, but less than a year after his birth, Xia Yan’s father made another trip to the Dark Forest, never to return alive.

Since then, he and his mother never lived a good day, with everyone giving them a cold face. Furthermore, some members of the family even went as far as suggesting the execution of Xia Yan’s mother. Fortunately, Xia Yan’s third grandpa, Xia Changhe, decided to protect Xia Yan and his mother, which was the only reason Xia Yan’s mother was able to stay within the Xia Family. However, her treatment within the Xia Family was worse than that of the lowest servant.

   After Xia Yan’s mother died, her soul was not allowed to enter the Xia Family’s Ancestral Temple.

  “Xia Yan, when you grow up, you must become a man of indomitable spirit, just like your father…”

(TL Note:  There is an idiom used here, 顶天立地 literally means to “support both heaven and earth”, which directly translates into indomitable spirit. This means that he must become unyielding and inherit his father’s pride.)

   “Xia Yan, in this life, your mother has only two wishes. The first is that you can live a good and fulfilling life… The second is that after I die I can be reunited with your father in death…”

      At his mother’s deathbed hearing these words, Xia Yan could not control his tears.

   Every time Xia Yan recalled the words his mother said at her death bed, he could not help but ball up his fists as his chest shook. His father’s soul resided in the Ancestral Temple, but his mother’s soul was forbidden from entering the Temple. Xia Yan’s desire was to be able to put his mother’s soul in the Ancestral Temple so that she could be with his father.

   Xia Changhe added, “By the way, Xia Yan, although the Grand Elder has promised his a.s.sistance during the next meeting of the Council of Elders, this does not guarantee anything. It is still up to the Council to decide.” Seeing Xia Yan’s jubilant mood, Xia Changhe sighed in his heart. For six years now, Xia Changhe has been trying to convince the Council to let Xia Yan’s mother’s soul into the temple. Today, it was only because the Grand Elder was promised huge benefits, that he yielded and promised to speak for Xia Changhe at the next meeting.

    The Grand Elder, Xia Lai, held tremendous status within the Xia Family, as he was a whole generation older than Xia Changhe and even the Patriarch. So if Xia Lai decided to help at the next Council meeting, that would make things a lot easier.

     Looking at Xia Yan, Xia Changhe could not help but recall Xia Yan’s father, Xia Dongsheng. Xia Dongsheng was once the most outstanding disciple in the Xia Family’s younger generation. When he was only eighteen, he fully opened all one hundred and eight meridians in his body achieving full body cleansing. If not for that accident ten years ago, he would have already be a master in the Xiantian realm if not the Spirit realm.

   What a pity ……

    Originally, Xia Dongsheng was also the most popular candidate for the next Patriarch. If Xia Dongsheng had not died, Xia Yan’s status would be dramatically different.

   Alas, life is full of unforeseeable circ.u.mstances!

   “Third Grandpa, I will work hard in my cultivation, I will not disappoint you!”, Xia Yan declared.

    Xia Changhe shook his head and replied: “Xia Yan, there is a small chance that you will be able to break through. And true, breaking through will allow you to stand out among your peers, but look at me, my cultivation is only Tempered Body Stage!”

    This was not the first time, that Xia Changhe tried to dissuade Xia Yan from practicing martial arts, but Xia Yan always resisted. Among the nine elders of the Xia Family, only three were not martial pract.i.tioners and Xia Changhe was among the three.

     Because he knew that his third grandfather was saying this with good intentions, Xia Yan did not get angry.

    This time, Xia Yan silently pondered for a while and realized that his third grandfather’s advice was reasonable.

    “Third Grandpa, my mother wanted me to practice martial arts and become a cultivator as strong as father.”

    Hearing Xia Yan’s words, Xia Changhe fell silent. He knew that Xia Yan was stubborn and would perhaps never change his mind.

    He patted Xia Yan on the shoulders and kindly gazed at Xia Yan saying, “Practice then, I believe that you will succeed Xia Yan!”

   Xia Yan nodded his head, his eyes glowing with self confidence. His black eyes twinkled like the stars in the sky, bright and shining. In his heart, he hears a voice calling him, telling him to never give up. Everytime he thought of his mother in the dead of night, his entire body filled with strength.

   The next morning, after eating two sesame cakes, he sat down in the middle of his shabby room and began to practice writing. Although he already decided to practice martial arts, he would still dedicate himself to reading and writing.

(TL Note: The sesame cakes referenced in the preceding paragraph is a type of breakfast food called 烧饼. Shao Bing is a type of baked, unleavened, layered flatbread bread in Chinese cuisine. It can be eaten stuffed or plain.)

    Just as Xia Yan wrote down his eighty-seventh character on rice paper, he heard deafening footsteps from within the yard. Xia Yan looked up and saw the maidservant of the Patriarch, Xiao Cui.