Morning
Blue Moon City, Profound Continent.
In a courtyard surrounded by plants, a young man dressed in black robes sat on a bamboo chair, his head resting against the trunk and his eyes fixed on the gray sky. In his hands, he held a teacup that occasionally released small wisps of steam into the air.
Watching the sky brighten, Su An took a deep breath. His upward-directed pupils revealed an empty gaze.
Even with the beautiful sight of the sun illuminating the vast land with its orange light, he showed no reaction. To Su An, after yesterday's outcome, nothing made sense anymore.
"Haaa..."
Letting out another sigh, he raised the cup to his mouth.
"Hot."
A burning sensation spread across Su An's tongue as the liquid touched his mouth. Grimacing, he took another sip. In his current situation, perhaps only in moments like these did he understand that he was still alive and that things had to go on.
Yes...
He needed to pull himself together. Staying depressed all day was not good.
"Yeah, I need to get myself together."
Su An muttered to himself, forcing a smile. That expression lasted only five seconds. As soon as he stopped smiling, he once again fell into a depressed state.
'Imagining moving forward is easy, but actually doing it is hard.'
Every time Su An remembered yesterday—when his grandfather had great expectations for him, and he himself had been arrogant, thinking that just because he had good background his martial soul would be of a high level—he felt as if he had been slapped in the face.
Crack!
Overcome by these unpleasant memories, Su An gripped the handle of the cup tightly, pressing it with his fingers until it cracked.
"This still..."
The broken shards pierced the tips of Su An's fingers, and he immediately felt a throbbing pain spread through his body.
Lowering his gaze, his pupils trembled. The cup, which had already slipped from his hand, began to fall, leaving small droplets and fragments of tea leaves suspended in the air.
'Damn! I lost control.'
Su An immediately panicked. In a desperate reaction, he used his other hand to grab the cup from below, managing to catch it. Due to its low speed and light weight, it was not difficult to grab it.
But that was only the beginning.
The worst came when all the liquid spilled onto the long sleeves of his clothes, soaking through the fabric and reaching his arm.
"Aaa! It hurts!"
Su An groaned.
The cut fingers and the burn were hard to endure.
Throwing the cup to the side of the bamboo chair, he stood up and ran toward the mansion about a hundred meters ahead, whose door was open. Behind him, the sound of the cup shattering completely could be heard.
As he entered, Su An froze.
After glancing to the left of the door, he saw an old man with white hair and a well-groomed beard, dressed in a red robe. On the chest of the garment, there was a gray cauldron embroidered, with three blue pills above its opening.
The old man, standing upright, looked at Su An. Various emotions passed through his eyes: guilt, disappointment, concern, and irritation. In the end, only a neutral expression remained.
Without saying anything, he took out a green pill from his storage ring, which emitted a strong herbal aroma.
A second after it appeared, the old man stepped forward, closing a distance of three meters in a single step.
Near Su An, he waved his hand, releasing an energy that felt like a gentle evening breeze.
This energy reached Su An's fingers and removed all the glass fragments.
Then, the old man placed the pill into Su An's mouth and stepped back, adopting a furious expression.
"How long are you going to keep this up? What's done is done! Instead of lamenting, why not use this time to cultivate?"
The old man scolded Su An, speaking intensely.
Then, as if enlightened, his tone softened.
"Xiao An, even if your talent is limited and things are difficult, the Dao has not closed itself to you. You still possess a martial soul—better than mortals who have nothing. Perhaps, with effort, you can create miracles. Life has infinite possibilities. Just because one door has closed does not mean everything is over. So..."
The old man gently touched Su An's head with paternal affection.
"Don't give up."
Hearing these words, Su An—who no longer felt physical pain—had his heart touched. Instinctively, his eyes filled with tears.
"Grandpa... I'm sorry."
He whispered, his voice almost breaking.
"I didn't live up to your expectations."
These words had been stuck in his throat since yesterday, but he had not had the courage to say them. Now, after finally releasing them, he could not maintain his composure and cried like a child.
Su An, who had always been spoiled and had never faced hardship before yesterday, had a fragile spirit, easily broken.
Discovering that his martial soul—the one he had waited fifteen years for—was of low level shook him deeply, making him emotionally unstable. The incident with the cup was just a reflection of that.
Now, after breaking down, he managed to recover a bit of his spirit.
There were still many doubts in his mind, but for now, he needed to keep living.
The dilemma from minutes ago was now resolved.
To move forward, one needs at least support—someone who brings them back to reality.
"Grandpa..."
Having found that support, Su An cried like a child.
Su Wuchen said nothing during this time. He simply allowed his grandson to release all his frustration.
After a while—long enough to boil water—Su Wuchen lightly patted Su An's back.
"That's enough. It's shameful for such a grown boy to cry like a baby for so long."
Embarrassed by the remark, Su An stopped crying. With his face still wet, he looked at his grandfather and said:
"Grandpa, I'm going to start cultivating now. How about giving me some pills and spirit stones?"
"Y-you..."
Su Wuchen was left speechless by the sudden change.
Just minutes ago, he had been crying. Now, he was acting shamelessly asking for resources.
'My grandson is back.'
He smiled and, with a wave of his hand, took out a bottle of pills and a yellow-covered book from his storage ring.
"No spirit stones. I know what you want to do. For now, just use these spirit-opening pills and follow the method described in the book. Feel the power of heaven and earth with your martial soul and guide it into your body, opening your acupoints and reaching the First Level of the Martial Realm."
With that, he handed the items to Su An, who pouted slightly.
Su An wanted spirit stones. Now that his spirit was renewed, nothing would be better than spending money on good food and wine to lift his mood even further.
'What a hassle. Cultivation is slow... especially for me, who probably won't even feel the power of heaven and earth, even using all these pills.'
Su An was aware of his limitations.
'Even so, I don't want to disappoint Grandpa again. Even without talent, I won't give up on cultivation!'
With eyes shining with determination, he decided to go all the way.
Even if the heavens collapse, he will not stop.
In his entire life, except for yesterday and today, he had never been one to accept things in silence. So why would he accept it now?
"Grandpa, even if the heavens fall, I will remain steadfast on the Martial Dao!"
That was the promise Su An made to himself—and to his grandfather—at that moment.