Light! Why did you say that?, Jade asked, confused.
"He's the reason that you're in this state, and you know how—"
"Don't worry, " Li cut in, "I've got a plan."
"A plan?! You've never beaten him!"
Li rolled his eyes as Jade launched into a rant.
"The last time you won was in middle —"
"Bye, Jade. See you tomorrow!" Li said, bolting towards the exit.
"Light! Come back here, light!, come back here!" She shouted, pointing at him.
Li sprinted to the bus stop, arriving just at the nick of time. He spotted an empty seat at the back and squeezed into it.
Welcome passengers," the bus announced as it pulled away.
He exhaled, finally able to breathe, then looked at the window. He stared, awestruck.
The city stretched endlessly before him, a glowing jungle of glass, steel, and light.
Skyscrapers clawed at the sky, their mirrored surfaces reflecting stars and flickering holograms. Towering billboards flashed with moving images, models pouting, slogans screaming in bold neon fonts.
Despite holding all of Light's memories, seeing it with his own eyes was something else.
He stared silently, dazed, then a voice broke him out of it.
[ANY STOP AT JAMIE STREET].
He blinked, fumbled and pressed the stop
button.
This side was nothing like where he came from; it was less industrialized and more neglected. But Light's memories told him exactly what it was: the poor side of town.
Li walked along the street looking for a familiar building, his house. He found it, and he walked slowly, observing every crook and cranny. The house looked run down and unkempt; there was weed all over the lawn, and the garden had turned into bushes.
He knocked twice before realizing that it was his. He entered the house, and the interior was no different. The paint was fading, and the wood was rotting. The floor creaked at each step Li took.
To his left, a note was pinned to the fridge on which was boldly written.
"CUT THE GRASS AND THE BUSHES AND I DON'T WANT TO HEAR I'M TIRED, DO IT.)
Li scoffed. He mumbled, "The reason he was tired was because he was dying..."
Li walked toward Light's room. As he entered, the stench hit him, rotting food, empty bottles and packs scattered around the room.
Li looked around, disgusted.
"Kids... will be kids."
He turned left and saw a book on Light's table, and recognized it
It was his diary. He scanned the first page, which read, When I get famous, he went through the pages slowly
Light wrote about his dreams and aspirations, how he wanted to help the world, become a hero and lift his sister out of poverty.
A burning sensation ran through Li's heart as he read through.
"Is this guilt?" Li muttered, he felt like he had stolen the life of a young boy, who had dreams, goals and aspirations.
He kept reading—page after page—until he reached the last one.
It read: My powers are fluctuating a little bit... the school doctors told me, the more I use it, the more I get sick, that it stresses my body.
I'm sure it's just a phase, it'll pass... and my powers are gonna come back stronger, just like when I was younger.
I have a session with Blunt. The last time I beat him was in middle school, and I've lost ever since, but I feel really good today. I'm gonna give it my all, and I'm sure I'll win.
A tear ran through Li's cheek, he muttered. "You're a good boy light, a good boy..."
Still shaken, he wandered into the bathroom. The mirror greeted him with a stranger's face
black hair, blue eyes, pale skin, different from what he used to look like.
He wondered if he had met him, if he would have made him his student.
"He would have become the strongest hero ever..."
Eureka
An idea passed through Li's mind, a way to honor Light's memory, since Light can't become the strongest hero... he'll do it for him.
Although he was only interested in beating blunt and disappearing, he had now developed an active interest in becoming a superhero.
He smiled at his reflection and said, "My name is no longer Li, it is now light. Li is dead." He adopted Light's name to carry on his will, from then on, Li was who died, not Light...
He walked over to the calendar and marked off seven days. Sitting cross-legged, he closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath.
"You have one week, Light. Make it count."
He's about to go from zero cultivation to late body refinement in seven days.
In cultivation, there are seven realms
Body refining realm
Qi Generating realm
Nascent Soul Realm
Core Formation Realm
Primordial Soul Realm
Heaven Ascension Realm
Ascension Foundation realm
Each one containing low, mid and high stages, getting through one stage can take months, and realms can take years, but Light was about to do it in a week.
Qi swirled in his dantian, increasing at each spin on the first day he reached the low body refining stage. His muscles were reborn, becoming dense and elastic, designed for battle.
On the third day, he reached the bone refining stage, a stage where his bones broke and healed all at the same time, reforged like a hammer hitting metal. Every bone on his body was refined and became as strong as steel.
On the seventh day, he achieved his goal, reaching the height of the body refining realm, which was the organ Fortification and sensory stage.
This stage marked the true beginning where a martial artist became an official cultivator.
Light's internal organs grew stronger, capable of withstanding blows that would've once torn them apart. His Regeneration also awakened, mending damage that once spelled death.
The five senses sharpened to inhuman levels, and with them came a sixth, the ability to sense qi, making him an official cultivator.
As his body broke down and rebuilt itself, impurities were forced out, oozing from his pores in a thick, black, soot-like liquid. The stench was unbearable; it clung to the air, making the entire room reek.
"Ahrgh. That smell..."
Light opened his eyes, awakened by the stench of his body, and the impurities were more than normal.
"I'm sure it's the preservatives..." Light mumbled. He stood up to have his bath, then paused. He swerved sideways, observing his room. "After I clean myself, the room next," he paused, thought and added, " no... the whole house."
After his bath, light proceeded to clean the house, mow the lawn and make some repairs; the house was spotless.
Light sat proudly on the porch, sipping hot cocoa, he dropped the cup and grinned.
"Tomorrow, huh?"
As the sun set and Light relaxed on the porch, everything felt calm and quiet.
Meanwhile, in a training chamber far away, things were the opposite: loud, harsh, and painful.
Ping... Ping... Ping...
The sound of notification alerts echoed inside Blunt's training chamber, but he ignored them.
Each punch struck the reinforced wall with a heavy thud, sending tiny cracks spiderwebbing across the impact point. His fists were bleeding.
Sweat drenched his vest, steam rising from his back as if his fury alone was boiling off the heat. One of his goons, Madi, walked into his training chamber.
"Boss... why'd ya always train so hard when you fight with light?" He asked, confused.
"You've beaten him every time you've fought."
Blut walked slowly to the rack and picked up a towel. Through ragged breaths, he replied, "Do you want to know—why?"
"Yes, sir."
"What is the power level of the average 10-year-old old"
"Well, it's zero star,.
. Blunt chuckled. "He was a two-star."
"Two star?! That trash?" Madi said, shocked.
"He was as strong as a top hero student!"
"Yeahh.." Blunt replied. He walked towards a bench and sat slowly on it.
"Him at that time could probably beat me now."
"You?! Lose to a ten-year-old?! That's impossible—"
"But it's true," a blunt cut in, "he was the best of the best..." he said slowly, "the doctors said his powers were so unique they couldn't be tested on power meters."
He took a sip of water and continued, "he was the best..., not until the second year of middle school."
Blunt stood up and walked toward the exit. He stopped and turned to face Madi.
"His powers started to fade... he became weaker".
He grinned.
"When I found out I was the happiest boy on the planet, I challenged him, ha! I beat him senseless...
He paused voice lowering.
Finally, that poor bastard way is finally in his place, the bottom."
His expression changed, and there was a hint of sadness in it
"As I rose through the ranks... to the top."
He wiped his face with his towel.
"I started to wonder... if light were still as powerful as before, would I be here? Would I be number one?"
He's expression was filled with anger, he added, "The more I thought about it, the more my hate for him surged."
"I challenged him multiple times, and he accepted every. Single. Time"
"I had hoped that maybe his power was going through a change, some sort of metamorphosis, but the more we fought, the weaker he became."
"Maybe you just became stronger!" Madi replied angrily.
Blut slammed his towel on the floor and said angrily, "I know what I saw!"
He picked up the towel and slung it around his neck.
"I'm gonna finish it..."
"Boss, you don't mean?"
Blunt grinned manically.
"Yeah... I'm gonna kill him."
He exited the training grounds, muttering.
"I failed last time, this time I won't."