Do please leave your comments telling me what you think of the story so far and as always if you spot any mistake, leave a comment. Spoiler: Chapter 6: The Darkness surrounding the stars. Chapter 6: The Darkness surrounding the stars. A shadow appeared suddenly next to Ignis, who had a wide grin as he was sleeping. “Silly child. Sigh, if you need help ask so what about the clan teaching. You won’t get far in life without having companions.” The shadow sighed and let out a smile full of warmth, he then put a blanket over Ignis and Solace. The shadow then left at Ignis’s courtyard at an absurd speed, if Ignis was awake he wouldn’t know what to think because he wouldn’t be able to see the person due to the speed they were moving at. The shadow moved away from Ignis’s courtyard and soon he left the Crimson Clan and arrived a seemingly normal house that was near the exit of the Twin Fire and Ice city. The door suddenly opened without any warning, the shadow then entered the house that was without any light. Even the moonlight could not enter the house, even in the room without light at all the shadow appeared to be able to see in the room. He then swiftly moves across the room and a hidden mechanism started working. Out of nowhere, the floor tiles start to split apart showing exposing a hidden staircase that led below the house. The shadow then walk down on the staircase and appeared in a room where there were other shadow figures. “Hmph, is there a need for a room below the house. A cultivator at our level can easily sense that there is a hidden room below the house. If there is someone below our level and wants to spy on us then they would just die before even realising it.” The shadow that just entered the room snorted. Unlike the room above, the room below ground had candle showing the faces of all the figures. “Now, now. Aurelius, you know the temperament of Shade he has a hobby creating traps and hidden room.” A figure talked to the first shadow who turned out to be Aurelius. “Hmph, Lydia why are you defending that old man.” Aurelius once again snorted. “Because he is my husband, why else?” The figure turned out to be a woman that appeared to be around her 60s. “Bah, Aurelius you are bad mouthing me again. Sigh, when you were young, you used to worship my hobby and hidden art. Proclaimed to everyone that you would follow my footstep and now you tell others that it’s useless.” Said another figure who was next to Aura he was seem to be the same age as Aurelius. It turned out this figure is Shade, the owner of the house and the husband of Lydia. “Hmph, why are you bringing that up. That was when I was young and naive so you could fool me with your cheap tricks. You are just older than me 10 years stop acting like you are an elder.” Aurelius rebuked the Shade’s nostalgic statement however he seemed to be less angry than before. “Haha, Aurelius why you bickering with Shade. Reigs wake up, Aurelius has decided arrive.” Another figure let out a laugh. “Hmph, Gias why are you interrupting my meditation” The sleeping figure said as he yawned. In the dimly light room was 5 people; Aurelius, Lydia, Shade, Reigs and Gias, they all were sitting around a table. “Aurelius, isn’t it time you tell us why you gathered 5 elders of Crimson Clan here today.” Said Gias who had scholar air around him, he had subtle deep aura, as if no one could read what he is thinking. “The meeting this time is about Ignis.” Aurelius said as if he was unaffected by Gias. “Oh, Zephyrus’s and Elena’s son. He turned 6, a few days ago, correct?” Shade asked. Similar to everyone else in the room, he also exhibited an aura. However, unlike Gias who appeared to be a scholar and an intelligent man and different from Reigs who exhibited an aloof air around him. Shade’s aura was wicked and shrewd as if anyone who angered him wouldn’t have an easy time. “Yes, I tested him and turned out he possessed an affinity with both Fire and Darkness. Helios and Ragnar was there also as they were protecting the library.” Before Aurelius can respond, Reigs answered Shade’s question. Both Lydia, Shade and Gias, all lifted their eyebrows up in surprise. “Oh, so what cultivation method did he choose? Haha, it wouldn’t happen to be Solar Eclipse, right?” Shade laughed. His joke however was met by the silence of both Aurelius and Reigs. Shade stopped laughing and then stood up in disbelief. “How could this be? Wasn’t that cultivation method lost?” “Hmph, lost? Do you actually think those archaic fossils would let something precious as that disappear?” This time it was the amiable Gias who spoke however he had an angry expression on his face. “Sigh, even though we are elders we are still kept in the dark with some matters.” Lydia agreed to Gias’s statement. “What so special about elders, in the clan hierarchy we aren’t high up enough to be included in these secrets” Reigs bitterly said. “So, you do realise your position” Suddenly out of nowhere, another shadow appeared in the room, even the hidden staircase. However, even though the shadow abruptly appeared no one seem to be surprised. Gias and Lydia slowly stood up. “It’s a pleasure to see you today, Supreme Elder.” Both Gias and Lydia greeted the shadow while the rest were still on their chairs. “Hmph, you see what I mean, shade. If someone is stronger than us he can easily appear without us even knowing.” Aurelius said to Shade as he disregarded the Supreme Elder’s presence. “Haha, true to your nature, you hold a grudge against me don’t you.” The Supreme Elder let out a laughed. “Hmph, if it weren’t you who gave Ignis the cultivation who did?” Aurelius snorted. “Haha, now, if I were to tell you it wasn’t me who gave it to him. What would you think?” The Supreme Elder once again let out another laugh. However, this time it had a big effect on all 5 of the elders, without an exception, all 5 stood up and had a surprise expression on their face. “Was it… was it Holy Guardian? Or the Blood Vanguard? Or could it be?” Aurelius was shaken because he was very confident it was the Supreme Elder who gave the cultivation method to Ignis. “It wasn’t either the Holy Guardian or the Blood Vanguard who made the decision. They were there when Ignis received it but the one who made the decision was the Ancestor.” Aurelius went quite a for a long time before he then sat down one again. “So, it was a decision made by the ancestor.” “If that’s the case then it should be Ignis’s fortune however for the ancestor to let Ignis practice this cultivation method means he thinks highly of Ignis’s talent.” Commented Gias. “The ancestor sure is wised, before I arrived here, I was at Ignis’s courtyard and I found that he has managed to sense and control the Qi in the environment.” Aurelius sighed as he said. The other 4 elders were quite surprise of Aurelius’s news. “Oh, he managed to sense and control the Qi in 3 days. That’s quite impressive” The Supreme Elder was quite pleased with Ignis’s talent. “No, it wasn’t 3 days, he managed to do all that within today.” Aurelius corrected the Supreme Elder’s misunderstanding. Once again, the elders were surprise however this time even the Supreme Elder was fully shocked and couldn’t hide his expression. Then they all showed an excitement expression. “Haha, the Ancestor is wise indeed however I’m sure even he didn’t expect such a result. For now, you should all go home however you must not let this news out. Aurelius, you have to warn Ignis and tell him to never let this secret out.” The Supreme Elder let out a laugh and became serious. The four elder nodded as if agreeing with him while Aurelius snorted “Hmph, I know what to do without you telling me.” Then they all left the house in an instant and the room was quiet once again.
Spoiler: Chapter 7: Small leads to Big Chapter 7: Small leads to Big. The sun rose into the sky, bringing forth the Fire Qi as the moon descend with the Ice Qi. The city bustled with people setting up shops and cultivators leaving the city to go hunt demonic beasts, for their cores, and travellers enter the city to get lucky in the Agora market. In a courtyard of the Crimson clan, Ignis was still sleeping soundly after being exhausted from yesterday. As the gale bird chirps, Ignis slowly open his eyes and sat up. “Huh, where did this blanket come from” Ignis lifted the blanket that was over him and solace. “Ah, it was probably grandfather. Hmm, Solace wake up its morning time.” Ignis placed his palm on Solace and patted him to wake him up. Solace let out a small growl as he opens his eyes and yawned as if he didn’t sleep enough. “Haha, did you not sleep enough?” Ignis let out a laughed and lifted Solace into his arms. He then walked back into his house to get dress for the day and had breakfast. The Crimson Clan emphasized on independence so even though Ignis is one of the young masters of the clan he doesn’t have maids that serve him, he would have to do the chores himself. This is so that cultivators of the clan aren’t spoiled and at the same time it would decrease the chance of spies as there are less people in the clan that aren’t blood related. However, the most important point is so that the cultivators can mature faster so that the clan can depend on them. After cleaning himself up with water, Ignis sat down in the centre of his house and began to sense the Qi around him once more by using his mental energy. “Phew, let us try this again” Ignis closed his eyes and Solace can be found sleeping cosily next to him. Like before, he managed to sense all the foundation Qi and then he focused mainly on the Fire element. He let out a breath to calm himself down, he then started to operate his mental energy this time one however instead of trying to force the Qi like what he did yesterday. He managed to figure out that instead, he needs to invite the Qi into his body and attracting the Qi rather than forcing it. It’s almost as if the Qi in the world has a conscious and if force against its will it would start to resist and fight back. However, to say that Qi has a conscious would be incorrect this is simply because if they do then they would have become an elemental soul. Instead to be more exact, Qi has instinct and would act on that instinct. If the cultivator is friendly to the Qi and matches their affinity, it would then follow to the command of the cultivator. After being comprehending this yesterday, Ignis began to try to attract the Qi. He began to use his mental energy to be friendly with the Qi in the air and then began to lead the Qi into his body. After a few hours, he managed to lead the energy to move towards his body. However, it would then dissipate when it comes into contact with his skin. “Why is this happening?” Even after countless attempts, the same reaction kept repeating, leaving Ignis no choice other than to be frustrated. Ignis tousled his hair and stood up in irritation. He then decided to take a break and went to his courtyard to relax however before he could take another step. The sky started to rain, starting will small droplets. Ignis’s clothes started to became wet as the small droplets penetrated his clothing. The small wet part of his clothes then connected together forming a part causing Ignis whole clothing to be drench in water. However, Ignis stood still and his eyes was open widely and he thoroughly astonished as if a bomb went off in his mind. He immediately went back into his house and rather than changing clothes he promptly sat down in his usual spot. Ignis began to concentrate once more and began to sense the Qi in the air. Then began to once again draw in the Qi however this time he did it in a smaller proportion. Rather than completely dissipating some Qi started to enter the body however majority of it still dissipated. “Haha, finally! Progress. Solace there is finally progress.” Ignis let out a grin as his eyes was as crescent as the moon. He then picked up Solace and woke up it up The reason for the Qi to dissipate when it reaches the body is simply because the mortal human body is simply unfit to absorb the body. Instead cultivators must try to squeeze in small amount of Qi and once doing so and repeated, the body would get use to the process of Qi entering the body allowing. Once the body is use to, cultivators can absorb in larger amount of Qi. Due this reason, there is a large disparity between an average cultivator that cultivated for 50 years and one cultivated for a measly 10 years. The body of the cultivator that has cultivated for 50 years would have qualitative change after so long and can no longer be called a mortal human body. Even if the cultivator does not advance Absorption Realm and does not activate their Dantian their body would not simply be a mortal body. It would be transformed to a Semi-Cultivator body, this is because they have yet to become true Qi cultivator but their body have already evolved due to Qi. Even though Ignis has not yet manage to absorb the Qi into his body this progress has lifted his mood. He only stop once the sun set, dusk came and the Ice Qi emerged. The rain stopped hours ago when Ignis was still cultivating. “OH NO.” Ignis shouted as ran to his backyard and found that clothes that were hang up were wet. Ignis sighed and then left his backyard and entered his courtyard again. He then laid down on the slightly wet grass, due to the temperature the wet grass was very cold and was unexpectedly comfortable. Solace came out of Ignis’s house and sat next to Ignis as they looked up to the sky to appreciate the beauty of a stellar night. However, not before long Ignis heard the rumble of his and Solace’s stomach. He then looked at Solace and had an apologetic and awkward expression. “I’m sorry Solace, I completely forgot about lunch and dinner.” Ignis let out a wryly grin. Solace let out a small growl in protest and then walked into the house. After a while he brought out some apples and peaches. Then as the night continue, Ignis and Solace began to eat the fruits as they watch the stars and once again slept comfortably which had a serene atmosphere. … The night left quietly and the morning came with a bang as the citizens began their daily life. The following days for Ignis repeated like normal; wake up, eat, clean up, cultivate, eat dinner then sleep outside. It’s become a habit for Ignis and on the 10th day of his cultivation something changed. Ignis slowly open his eyes as he was sitting on the floor, his eyes revealed his excitement as it turns out after 10 day of attempting to attract the Qi into his body, a wisp of the Qi has manage to enter. Once it entered his body it dissipate and was absorbed into the muscle and bone of the body. The changes this cause to Ignis’s body was minuscule due to the Qi absorb was just a wisp however this small step was huge to Ignis whose effort paid off. Ignis was grinning so much that the point on his mouth was close to his ears. He was also squishing Solace as he was hugging him. After a while, Ignis finally calmed down and realised something. “Oh right, grandma Alyssa told me to visit grandpa once I managed to absorb in Qi. Hmm, I’ll just go tomorrow” Ignis put the though back in his head and commenced to try to absorb the Qi once more. Similar to before he manage to absorb a wisp of Qi which would dissipate in his body and be absorbed by the bones and muscle. Ignis continued until night came and slept outside with Solace as if they couldn’t sleep inside the house anymore. I made changes to Chapter 1 and 5 this is because I made a mistake and so this is a summary of the change: Spoiler: Summary of changes. Elemental Soul possess Crystallised World Qi instead of normal Qi. A cultivator can only absorb Qi into the Dantian once stepped into the Absorbtion Realm, however they can absorb Qi into their body to strengthen and nurture the body.
Spoiler: Chapter 8: What's Next? Chapter 8: What’s next? In a medium sized courtyard, there was an old man in his 50s with a woman. They were relaxing and were drinking tea as they sat in front of their house. They were talking to each other while giving the entrance to their home a few glances as if waiting for someone to appear. “Grandpa, Grandma! Good morning” A boy rushed into their entrance and greeted them. On his should was a lion cup that had a pair of wings on its body. A boy visiting his grandparent had quite a tranquil atmosphere that could move any children book author and the grandparents had quite a pleased expression as they were being greeted by their grandson. The boy was Ignis and on his shoulder was Solace. Once Ignis entered the courtyard, Solace immediately jumped of his should and ran toward Alyssa and jumped on to her lap. Alyssa has visited Ignis a few days ago, so Ignis wasn’t surprise at Solace’s actions since he was happy that his companion was familiar to his family. Also the fact is, his grandma didn’t find Solace as an annoyance and rather she actually welcome him, as she rubbed his fur on her lap. However, the serene atmosphere didn’t last long as the Aurelius with his eyes closed, snorted. “Hmph, only now do you visit your grandparents. I thought you have forgotten these old fossils.” “Ha? Why you saying that to the boy, you want me to beat you up?” Alyssa smacked Aurelius shoulder. Even though his wife got angry and hit him, Aurelius had an indifferent expression. Ignis let out a wryly laugh as he tousled his hair. “Don’t worry about him, even though that’s what he said, he has always visit you every night.” Alyssa consoled Ignis as she pat the chair next to her telling Ignis to get closer and sit down. This time it was Aurelius that got angry as his eyes was open and his face was a tad redder than before. However, rather than angry to be more exact he was embarrassed and ashamed that his act was out. He then closed his eyes once more and had stern look once more. The peaceful scene continued once more as Ignis chatted with Alyssa, while Aurelius was sitting beside them, not saying a word but had a calm expression. Alyssa then start telling Ignis of her long trip and this continued until noon when the sun started to descend. “Hmm, Ignis its time I tell you why you are here today.” Aurelius interrupted Alyssa’s and Ignis’s joyous chat. “Tell me how far have you progressed in your cultivation.” “Grandfather, I’ve manage to be able to absorb wisps of Fire Qi into my body.” Ignis stood up as he reported his progress to his grandparents. Aurelius had a satisfied expression with a hint of pride while Alyssa was simply just joyful that she got to spend time with her grandson. “Ignis, what do you think is the next step?” Aurelius stood up in-front of Ignis and questioned him. “Eh?” Ignis was surprised at Aurelius’s question. “Next step?... I suppose I have continue until I absorb Qi until my body can enter the Apprentice stage?” Ignis pondered and then answered. He was unsure at first but after thinking carefully he realised that he was clueless. “Yes, that’s correct however what is the requirement for your body to enter the Apprentice stage?” Aurelius nodded and continued to ask the next question. “If I remember correctly for a mortal to become an apprentice he must be able to perform a basic martial art.” Ignis crossed his arm and though carefully before answering. Aurelius nodded one more time to acknowledge that Ignis’s answer was correct. Martial Arts are completely different from Martial Skills. Skills would require the activation of Dantian and Qi, while Martial Arts are simply moves that a cultivator can executes to form attack, defend or movement. However, Martial Art can be the base of a Martial Skill, for example, the Tyrant Leg Art was transformed into Glacial Onslaught Kick by the ruler of the North, Tyrant Raigus. Martial Art is the first step for any cultivator and by practicing Martial Art can be seen as creating a foundation for Martial Skills in the future. Aurelius operated energy into his Dimension Ring and a book suddenly appeared in his palms. He then handed the book to Ignis. “Foundation art. Grandfather… does that mean?” Ignis hold the book and his body shook on realising. “Yes, if you can learn and master the Foundation art then you can be regarded as an Apprentice.” Aurelius patted Ignis head and had a smile that was full of expectation. “Ignis, once you can perform the Foundation art then go and meet your uncle Reynold. He will tell you what to do next.” Aurelius said as he and Alyssa looked at Ignis that was full of warmth and care. “Alyssa and I will have to leave for a trip and we won’t be back for sometimes.” “Eh?! You guys are leaving? Where?” Ignis was shocked and his eyes became teary as soon as he heard what Aurelius sad. “Ignis, we can’t tell you where however I trust that you can depend on yourself. You can’t cry.” Aurelius said with a stern expression. Alyssa hugged Ignis and comforted him. Ignis sniffled as he tried to hold back his tears, his mouth whimpered. “When will you come back then.” Ignis asked once more hoping to know more. “We won’t be back for a very time, dear. However, you are never alone, you have to remember that.” Alyssa said in a caring tone, attempting to calm down Ignis. “When… are you leaving then?” Ignis asked softly. Aurelius stern gaze soften as Ignis asked once more for a short period before it harden once more. “We will be leaving tomorrow. Enough questions, it’s time for you to go home and rest.” Ignis nodded and listed to Aurelius’s order and left his grandfather’s courtyard slowly. Aurelius’s and Alyssa’s gaze on Ignis back was full of sadness and heartache. However, they did not say anything but sighed and walked back together into their house. Once Ignis slowly left his grandparents’ house he immediately started to run with all his might back to his house and Solace ran behind him trying to catch up. For the first time in a while he laid on his actual bed and started to cry in anguished. Solace, who was next to him as he was crying, tried to comfort him and let out a few small growl. He then nuzzled Ignis with his nose trying to lift up Ignis’s mood. After a while, Ignis finally calmed down and grabbed Solace next to him into his arms and hugged him tightly. Solace let out a few growl in protest at the start however he soon quiet down when he hear Ignis speak. “Solace, it’ll just be me and you now.” Ignis red eyes became teary once more but he did not cry instead he rubbed his eyes and then left his bed to go to his courtyard. Like any other day, Ignis and Solace laid on the cold grass and sleep as if there was no worry in this world. The next day came like normal however, when Ignis woke up he lifted the blanket that was put over him without him knowing and next to him was a note. He read the note and his eyes that was red from yesterday was becoming teary once more however he did not cry and just rubbed his eyes. “Ignis you aren’t alone, while you must be independent you still have Solace and your uncle Reynold. When you ever come across a problem you can ask your uncle. You do not need to visit my residence, Alyssa and I have already left by the time you wake up. We won’t be back after some time but during this time you must not slack off and you must never be arrogant. Those that are arrogant all fall due them not seeing the sky above their sky. Also you must not reveal that you manage to sense and control Qi within a day, there will those that fear and envy your talent. Goodbye, my grandson, cultivate and get stronger.” Ignis folded the letter and ran back inside his house and placed the letter into the cupboard. He let out a breath and then began his daily life once again, starting with breakfast. After eating breakfast he then once again repeat his day like any other day, sitting down and absorbing Qi which is then used to nourish his body. It could be said that this process is very boring and repetitive and require patience. If you lack patience then you would get nowhere in the world of cultivation, especially those young masters that throw their weight around in secular world. They can only mess around and can’t advance any further in their cultivation. All of them are treated in distain by the normal people and especially by those within the clan since their action reflect the reputation of the clan. Only through diligent and hard work can a cultivate become stronger however while hard work can improve a cultivator’s cultivation, those that stand on the apex of the world are all heaven-defying individuals. Life has never been fair, those without talent can only reach so far before they fall down due to the severe power of Time. While a life of a cultivator can be considered heavenly, sometimes a life of a normal mortal isn’t so bad as they can carry on their daily life without living in solitude like cultivators. They live a normal life and have family and spend time with each other while being ignorant of the world. While they may experience hardship, they can be considered trivial once compared to the hardship of a cultivator. For example, the merchants in the city, they aren’t the strongest and wouldn’t be able to dominate an area with an iron first however they wouldn’t have to experience the path of a cultivator which can be considered blissful. Some cultivators aren’t able to last in the path of a cultivator and they grow weary, as a result, they stop their cultivation and fall. No longer aiming to reach higher but instead settle down to cleanse their heart and live the rest of their life as mortals. However mortals will always bow down to cultivators simply due to them being weak, in the current world the strong rule the weak while they may not experience the hardship of a cultivator. They must follow the orders of others and they aren’t able to control their own fate or destiny. … At the exit of the Twin Fire and Ice city, a caravan can be seen with two horse pulling it. In the caravan was Alyssa and Aurelius, they were looking back to the city and toward the direction of the Crimson clan. “I hope Ignis can carry himself up and be diligent in his cultivation.” Alyssa said as she looked at her husband. “Of course, he can, he is my grandson after all” Aurelius retorted to Alyssa statement. “Hmph, what you mean. He is only like this because he is my grandson.” Alyssa snorted and crossed her arm. Alyssa then let out a smile as the caravan exited the city and enter the Forest of Ivern.