Ying widened his eyes as he saw an old man with gray and white hair holding his hands up in surrender. "What are you doing?"
"What am I doing? You have a knife to my neck, youngster."
Sighing, Ying slowly put away his makeshift knife and placed it under his pants, where his waistline meets. The old man looked at Ying curiously, as if he were looking at a piece of jade that was unruly and rough. "What is your name?" asked Ying as he never took his eyes off the old man.
"Haha, I am nobody, just a passenger passing by, but I noticed it was dark, so I just wanted to find shelter. Surprisingly, I found someone this deep in the forest," claimed the old man as he sat down.
Ying sat down opposite him and looked at him from head to toe. He seemed harmless, Ying thought. "Your name, old man," said Ying as he narrowed his eyes. He didn't miss that he didn't say his name yet.
"My name, haha, oh youngster, you are quite perceptive. My name is Shao Li Wu. I am just a retired martial artist."
"My name is...Ying."
"No last name?"
"Long."
"Long Ying, what a strong name," said the old man, looking at Ying up and down, noticing how he was circulating his internal energy as if he were ready to attack at any moment. "You are quite guarded, haha."
Ying narrowed his eyes, "Shao elder, may I ask some questions?"
Shao Li Wu nodded and leaned against the wooden trunk, "Ask away, if I cannot get you an unsatisfactory answer, don't fault me."
"Fine. Which continent is this?"
Shao Li Wu was quite dumbfounded until he looked at his clothes; it seemed this child had no clue about the world, thought Shao. "The continent we are on is called Jue; the other continent is called Shue."
"We are in Jue? What a weird name..."
Ignoring the comment, Shao spoke again, "Jue is mostly where the good sects are, the sects that follow the moral code and follow the interests of the people, mostly. Shue is where the evil sects are; some good sects exist there, but that is quite rare to run into them."
Nodding, Ying asked, "What is this energy in my body?"
"Internal energy, the key to becoming a martial artist. It incorporates physical energy and spiritual energy."
"That is what I assumed, since I have a low quantity of this stuff, I assume it is because of my body and soul."
Shao was shocked and a bit impressed at Ying's way of thinking, "You are correct, the older we grow, the older the soul grows."
"It seems I can only grow it so much before it affects my growth, hm."
Shao sighed and wondered if this kid was a genius, "Correct, too much internal energy while you are young, might have effects in the future. The body is the container for the soul, but if the soul is too strong, the body can't contain it."
Nodding, Ying asked another question, "Is it possible to be free?"
Shao stroked his beard like an old sage, "Free? How free do you want?"
"I want to be free from...destiny and fate."
Shao's eyes widen in shock and surprise, "Wow...you have some goals, but...I think it is possible, you just have to try until you die."
"What doesn't kill me makes me stronger."
Shao chuckled, "Do you want to become my disciple?"
Looking at the old man with skepticism, Ying stared at him for a minute, "Why?"
Shao stared into his eyes and said, "Kid, you have immense potential, be it your brain or body." Silence permeated for a few minutes. "If you don't want to become my disciple, then become my student; however much you learn is up to you."
"I...fine, I will be your student, Teacher Shao."
"Then, don't regret it," said Teacher Shao as he smiled wickedly.
Both of them went to sleep, and as day broke, Ying was hit with a bucket of water. Startling awake, he saw the old man laughing at him. "You mother...fu, why are you throwing water at me?!"
"Training begins early at the crack of dawn," said Teacher Shao as he walked out of the trunk. Following him while grumbling, Ying saw some wooden weapons on the ground. "These are weapons of the world, choose which one you prefer."
Ying walked up to the wooden weapons, but then he curiously looked at the old man, "Where did you get these?"
Shaking his pinky finger, Ying saw a ring that had markings on it. "Storage ring," said Teacher Shao.
Ying's eyes widened in shock. "I assume it can store stuff based on its name."
Teacher Shao nodded, "Storage rings can store things, but not store them indefinitely; only spatial rings can do that."
"Spatial rings? I assume they can store more?"
"Kind of, it can store more, but it also stops the time of the items."
Ying's eyes widened again, but not in shock, but in a bit of greed. "How can I find one?"
Teacher Shao chuckled, "Only nobles and high-ranking members in a sect have one. You have to find a space stone in the forbidden realm and forge it into a ring."
"Forbidden realm, I assume it is forbidden for a reason."
"Now, quit asking things, and pick up the weapon you want to train in."
Looking back at the weapons, he chose...