"Brat, wake up!"
Early in the morning, a loud shout echoed through a small courtyard. The voice belonged to a burly man, who was standing in front of a door.
"Today is the day to choose your cultivation technique." He continued speaking, but this time in a gentler tone, while pushing open the unlocked wooden gate.
Inside, he saw a young man sleeping on a bed, covered with a fur blanket. At that sight, the man's face darkened.
"Feng Wu!" The man strode over and yanked the blanket away. "Get up!"
"Old man, stop being so noisy."
Feng Wu opened his eyes and yawned, then lazily sat up. "I know it's today, but look at the time, the sun isn't even fully up yet. You're more anxious than I am."
"The earlier you go, the more time you'll have to study the technique," the man retorted.
"You have a point." Feng Wu nodded, stretching his arms. Putting his feet on the floor, he got up and slipped into a pair of simple shoes.
"Let's go." He yawned again and walked out, followed by the old man, who was rubbing his hands nervously.
As a father, he was deeply worried about his son—afraid he might choose a useless technique, one too complex, or worse, have no talent at all and fail to practice within the allotted month.
"Xiao Wu is a lucky star. I believe, if it's him, everything will work out." The man silently prayed in his heart for his only son.
***
In the center of Feng Village, the morning was lively, with many villagers gathered in front of a massive red building. Some wore expressions of anticipation, others looked worried. All eyes turned to the two people approaching.
It was Feng Wu and the old man, both surprised to see such a crowd.
"So many people?" Feng Wu raised his brows, finding it a little hard to believe. But then, thinking of his past deeds, he realized it made sense.
"I'm just that amazing." He grinned and began waving to the villagers.
"Feng Wu! Good luck—remember to share the technique you pick!"
"Yeah, don't keep it to yourself!"
"..."
Feng Wu was left speechless at their shouts. "They're not here for me, they just want my stuff… ungrateful bunch."
Throwing a glare at the crowd, he entered the building alone. The interior had an ancient design, nearly a kilometer long, with a roof supported by countless pillars and a stone floor. Several bookshelves stood scattered about, each packed with scrolls.
Upon entering, Feng Wu's eyes trembled, as though he were seeing something invisible to others. And indeed, he was: before his eyes, a golden halo appeared.
"That's not red or green… it's gold!"
Feng Wu had been born with a strange gift: he could see halos.
The reason people were obsessed with his belongings was exactly that. After he discovered the function of the green halo—which revealed prosperous places—the village's harvests had flourished. At the same time, the red halo had helped him avoid death, warning of danger.
"And the golden one… what is it?" He grew curious, yet fearful. The first time the red halo appeared, he had nearly been killed by a wolf.
From that day on, whenever he saw red, Feng Wu ran as far away as possible.
"I doubt there's danger here. The elder is too powerful… so what does this golden aura mean?"
While he was trying to reason it out, a voice echoed in his mind:
"Boy, are you just going to stand there? Remember, you only have one hour."
Snapped out of his hesitation, Feng Wu moved toward the golden halo, about a hundred meters ahead.
"I'll take the risk. If something goes wrong, I'll scream!" With that decision, he quickly approached. Stopping a meter away, he examined it. Before him stood an old bookshelf, riddled with holes and reeking of dust. The halo was on the bottom shelf, over a scroll that looked even older than the others.
Seeing this, Feng Wu pinched his nose, though the itch still made him want to sneeze. Holding it back, he crouched and carefully studied every corner of the six-tiered wooden structure.
"Doesn't look dangerous, just filthy. Don't they clean this place? What's the elder even doing, letting the dust pile up like this?"
He grumbled inwardly as he crept closer to the golden halo, still cautious, scanning everything like an eagle ready to bolt at the slightest sound.
At ten centimeters away, everything remained silent, nothing unusual happening. That gave him courage. Feng Wu stretched out his hand, lightly touched the scroll, then pulled back.
"No danger." He exhaled in relief when nothing happened. Dropping his guard, he grabbed the scroll and stepped away from the dusty spot.
Once clear, he lowered his arm from his nose and took a deep breath.
"Time to find out what you are, little golden halo."
With his heart racing in curiosity, he unrolled the scroll, which displayed several illustrations. The first depicted the shadow of a seated man, while the following showed him absorbing a strange power—first from the sun, then the moon, and finally, the stars.
"A breathing technique?" Feng Wu's eyes lit up. The whole reason he was here was to choose his first cultivation method. Yesterday, the old man had explained just how crucial that decision was.
Once someone began practicing, the Qi drawn from heaven and earth depended on the breathing method. The most common were based on the five elements.
"Sun, Moon, Stars… if I can really cultivate this, doesn't that mean I can absorb Qi at all times?"
The thought filled him with burning desire.
"I'll choose this method!"
But the moment he decided, a red halo appeared outside.
"Danger!" Feng Wu froze in shock and immediately abandoned the idea of taking that method. The danger quickly dissipated.
"Damn it!" He cursed, rushing to a nearby shelf to grab a random method. "I'll take this one!"
Instantly, death loomed over him once more.
"Someone out there is targeting me… no matter what I take from here, it'll be dangerous!" Feng Wu felt his mind grow heavy.