Ni Ming knew the journey forward would be anything but easy, but no matter how difficult it became, he would still push forward and strive towards supremacy. 'If the price was death, then he'd still advance resolutely.' His hand tightened at the sides, blood boiling within him.
Right about then, subtle footsteps resounded into his ears, moving closer with each passing second. With no eyes to speak of, while living in the desolate wilderness, he'd learned to train his ears to listen to the wind, pick up subtle sounds, sense others' intentions, and much more. Months into the training session, just about winter, he'd despaired like a little kid would, cried out to the heavens, unwilling to accept the fate of being mediocre.
Without his eyes, no matter how astonishing he was, it was difficult to prevail over other geniuses. And more so, keep his life in the desolate wilderness teeming with desolate and ancient beasts.
And the worst part of it all was… he wasn't even astonishing to begin with. He was born without his pupils, Grandpa Teng had told him. He viewed that with skepticism—after all, he couldn't really be that unlucky, right?—but since Grandpa Teng refused to touch on the topic, he'd eventually given up on pursuing it any further.
Furthermore, he also had some sort of sickness, always needing him to refine his body in a tempering bath every night when the stars were at their brightest and during the day when the sun was at its highest. Despite the numerous tempering baths, he still remained frail and weak, a flickering life energy covering his body.
He didn't know much, but from the little he knew, the Xiao clan didn't have the ability to sustain continuous tempering baths, only doing so during the clan's youths' baptism. Perhaps only ancient families could meet up with his living expenditure, and even for them, it would be anything but easy. A grueling task, even. He knew they were secrets Grandpa Teng refused to talk about. Perhaps Grandpa Teng and the older clan members might have risked their lives to get those resources; hence, he was rather grateful to Grandpa Teng, and more so, everyone in the clan.
Tears poured out of his eyes as Ni Ming whispered softly: "Is that you Grandpa Teng?"
Grandpa Teng walked forward, sitting down beside Ni Ming. They both sat in silence for a few seconds, Grandpa Teng gazing at the distant waterfall. "What was it, child, that led to such tears?
"I'm sorry Grandpa," Ni Ming replied through sobs, "For being so useless."
He balled his small fists, a raw pain twisting deep inside his chest.
"Who dares call my grandson useless?" Grandpa Teng replied, "Those so-called geniuses? They're nothing
but trash compared to you."
Ni Ming knew Grandpa Teng was simply trying to comfort him, unwilling to see him in such a state. However, the least he could do was to play along.
"Indeed!" He laughed heartily. "What geniuses, they're but ants before me."
Grandpa Teng laughed vigorously, "That's how my grandson should be. So what if they're some problems, you shouldn't allow anything to stop you from advancing forward. Remember this well, child. There's an old adage in the cultivation world: 'One suffers no defeat until the spirit is broken.' The body may fall, but only when one's will shatters does one truly lose."
He glanced at Ming'er, a light smile crossing his lips. "Do you understand Ming'er?"
"I understand grandpa," Ni Ming replied with a nod.
The both of them, grandpa and grandson, sat in silence for a while, calmly observing the distant waterfall in their own ways. Eventually, Grandpa Teng rose to his feet.
"It's time for your tempering bath, Ming'er."
"Yes, Grandpa," Ni Ming replied, getting onto his feet. He walked forward, moving ahead of Grandpa Teng, as he found his way down the steep slope.
Xiao Teng sighed. He knew Ming'er had walked ahead of him so he wouldn't help him out.
"Truly stubborn and determined," he muttered under his breath, stepping forward to catch up to Ming'er.
They soon walked through the training ground, and the children were all still there, awaiting little Ming'er's return. For the past few months or so, he had mostly secluded himself beyond the clan, at the distant waterfall, and since Grandpa Teng had requested for him not to be disturbed, they communicated less and less frequently. Although they still talked and discussed, it became more and more apparent that Ming'er was growing more distant with the clan with the passage of time.
"Little Ming'er," Xiao Min, one of the younger kids aged six, called out to him.
Ni Ming stopped, a smile crossing his lips as he walked towards the source of the voice.
"When you're done with grandpa, sneak out and meet us at the waterfall. Everyone is planning to check out the distant forest."
Ni Ming frowned. After all, he knew that the skywalk forest was quite dangerous for the adults, some always coming back from their hunt with grave injuries, and some even losing their lives. Talk less of mere children like them. Wasn't heading there the same thing as courting death?
However, logical he might be at times, the thrill of seeking danger and braving the unknown still thrilled him and made his blood boil.
Seeing the frown on Ni Ming's facial features, Xiao Ge stepped forward.
"We aren't going to head that deep into the forest," he said. "They're quite a few weaker desolate beasts at the outskirts of the skywalk forest."
Ni Ming nodded.
"Ming'er!" Grandpa Teng called for him, urging him to get moving. "You've to have your tempering bath before the sun dims."
"Coming Grandpa," Ni Ming replied. "I'll be back. Don't you guys dare leave without me."
He laughed vigorously, dashing towards Grandpa Teng. Following the subtle footsteps, he and Xiao Teng headed for the patriarchal residence.
Stepping into the residence, it was as though they'd entered a separate plane, an astonishing amount of worldly essence pervading the atmosphere, starfall essence gushing down from the stars in the distant starry sky, and strands of immortal energy weaving through the air.
Ni Ming took in a deep breath, exhaling deeply, his flesh and bones absorbing the numerous essence. However, because he'd lost his true blood, the astonishing essence that would have caused a sensation in the outside world, had no effect on him. It did help in grinding away the deathly energy around him though. Perhaps that was also something…
Xiao Teng exhaled lightly, staring into the sky, with hands behind his back. "It has been over a year, where are you?" He muttered under his breath. Was the unmatched expert dead, or did he succeed in his endeavors? He had no way of knowing.
He could only keep on with what he'd been told to do. And even if he hadn't been told to, he saw Ming'er as his own grandson and would've done his very best to keep him alive.
Stepping into the room, he walked towards a hollow part of the chamber. His hands shone with numerous symbols before he placed it on the wall, and as though some sort of mechanism was being activated, an astonishing amount of energy concentrated around his body, rushing into the wall before a slight creak resounded through the room. He walked inside afterwards, taking in the numerous world shaking essences that'd kept Ming'er away from the clutches of death. Every single one of them were astonishing and would've caused a bloodbath in the outside world, some only recorded in ancient legends, and some he had no knowledge of. Luckily, Ming'er's grandpa already took that into consideration, leaving behind a manual that discussed how to make use of the various essences and herbs to create a unique tempering bath.
Ni Ming stepped into the hidden room, and sat crossed-legged on the ground. Although he couldn't see, he could always sense the exuberant flow of vitality and essence whenever he stepped into this room. It didn't take a genius to know there were numerous special herbs here that would've placed the Xiao clan in a precarious situation if learnt by the outside world.
He took in a deep breath and exhaled. "Grandpa Teng, when can I start cultivating?"
Although logic said that once one lost their true blood, they shouldn't be able to cultivate again. Grandpa Teng had said he would be able to. He had no idea how, but he trusted Grandpa Teng. He had to.
Xiao Teng sighed. Glancing into the sky, as though to peer through the heavens, he replied. "Soon… very soon."