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Thread: Infinity Tomes - Chapter 38 is released!

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    Default Infinity Tomes - Chapter 38 is released!

    Intro: In an enigmatic world filled with mysterious powers and treasures, a place where the strong dominates and the weak perish, a young boy has the ability to change the fate set by the
    gods. This is the legend of Ryu, a young boy who inherited the legacy of the
    Ancients and became a renowned hero. With respect, envy and fear people and deities alike
    address him as the Peerless Sword God, The Abnormally, Supreme Martial Lord,
    and Invincible under the Heavens. However, he first must go through a painful
    journey to discover his origins.

    About me: Back in the good old days when Avatar anime and Chinese Paladin drama was airing and the translation of Jin Yong's novels were in their infant stages on spcnet, I wanted to be a writer and wrote a few of what I thought was "Kung Fu" novels (after stumbling across this site I realized they are xianxia) nearly a decade ago in high school. After coming across this site and binging on it for the past month, I thought it would be cool to share some of my random works.

    If you guys like my humble story then I'll try to decipher more of my old scribbles and type more
    Please let me know if there's contradictions or grammar errors and I'll fix them. I am Canadian but I am not a native English speaker.

    Disclaimer: All rights to the story reserved by me.

    My website http://www.happy-psych.com/ <- free blog from a friend who gave up on it, will post it here first
    Also posting it in Wuxiaworld Forums
    Last edited by happypsych; 09-09-15 at 11:23 PM.

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    Chapter 1 – An Ordinary Boy

    Under a myriad twinkling stars, there was a little boy wandering just outside the Forbidden Forest. It was an extremely unusual sight, the enigmatic forest was infamous for having immeasurable number of treacherous monsters.
    The young boy was about nine years old, the tattered blue robe he was wearing had been washed so many times that it’s more grey than blue. He had two brown sacks hanging around his slim waist and a plain jade pendant around his neck. The grass around him showed a tint of yellow, signaling the end of summer. The little boy was looking towards the pitch black forest that seems to devour all light around the area. However, what he was looking at was a hue of orange light on the ground between two large trees.
    “Crimson Grass! Ember Lily!” The young boy exclaimed as he approached the trees. “What an amazing batch of herbs. Wait what’s this… could it be a Fire Lotus?” The boy thought to himself as he peered closely. Fire Lotus was an unusual herb that’s rare even on the market. The lotus itself was only the size of his palm but there was a brilliant ball of fire floating at its center. The young boy was lost in thought as he gazed at it for hours. Only did he noticed the tip of a glowing yellow medallion on the horizon did he store the Fire Lotus into his herb sack and started moving.
    Oh no, grandpa is going to find out I’ve snuck out. He thought. He could just imagine the scolding he’ll receive. Dashing back down the path and back into town, the boy couldn’t help but break out a wide grin still.
    Blazing Tempest was a small ordinary town with three thousand families located beside the Forbidden Forest in the Southern part of the great Lin Province on the Heaven Continent.
    The boy that was dashing at full speed suddenly stopped in front of a small worn-out house. Slowly, holding his breath he gently tip-toed across the lawn, lightly climbed into a window and slowly walked towards a hoary wooden table while reaching for his herb sack slowly at the same time. Just as he was inches from his target, an ear piecing shout came.
    “Ryu, you little rascal. How dare you sneak out again? How many times have I told you to rest properly and focus in cultivating your Qi at school? You’ll never amount to anything if you don’t give it your all!” An old man stood by the hallway barked. The old man had white hair and beard and donned in a long green robe. He had the look of a distinguished gentleman.
    “Grandpa Sheng, look what I found!” Ryu shyly said, pretending not to hear the scolding. He quickly opened his herb sack and laid down his findings on the table. “I found a few strands of Crimson Grass, two Ember Lily, Ruby Flame Seeds, and… a Fire Lotus! Even if it doesn’t cure your illness, you should feel much better for a long time!”
    The old man was about to rebuke the kid at another level of intensity but abruptly stopped after hearing Fire Lotus. A Fire Lotus was worth more than the other herbs combined, at least thirty gold coins. Sheng himself having lived sixty-five years had only seen three of them in his life time.
    After shifting his awe-struck gaze upwards, Ryu was nowhere in sight. Sheng sighed to himself. He knew that Ryu had to go to great length of labor to gather these herbs. These herbs could only be found near areas dense in Qi such as the Forbidden Forest.
    “What am I going to do about this little rascal…” Sheng muttered to himself. Although he was worried for Ryu’s safety, as long as he didn’t enter the forest, he should be fine. The Forbidden Forest was a place filled with terrifying monsters. The strength of the monsters grows exponentially stronger as one gets close to the center of the Forbidden Forest. However for unknown reasons, the creatures of the mysterious forest never leave the forest.
    What Sheng didn’t know was that this young boy he raised actually dares to venture into the forest to collect the herbs. No parents in their right mind would ever let their kids near it, never mind entering.
    Sheng hated himself for not being able to provide more for little Ryu. In this world strength is everything, unless one reaches the pinnacle as a warrior or in a profession – they’ll live a difficult life.
    “Hehe, Grandpa sure was shocked” Ryu giggled as he ran to school. In his heart, he’s forever grateful to his Grandpa, who took care of him when his parents suddenly disappeared. His Grandpa never spoke much of it except that he came under his care when he was just a baby. Ryu didn’t mind though, Grandpa took great care of him and he’ll be forever grateful.
    “I hope the herbs can alleviate some of Grandpa’s pain.” Ryu thought to himself. A pained look can be seen on his face.
    In this town, kids could start attending school at age of five. There were regular schools that taught scholarly subjects and then there were cultivating schools. The latter only taught one thing and that is basic Qi cultivation. One needed talent with Qi to be able to join such schools. On average only one out of five in the population could sense their own Qi. Moreover tuition was expensive so some could not afford to go.
    However, there is one exception in this town – an accomplished and kind hearted Blacksmith in the past was willing to finance a public school that was free of tuition for as long as his wealth will last. He was rumored to have reached level 42 as a warrior and Rank 4 as a blacksmith. The school, named after the founder’s infamous move – Inferno Fist, accepts all students without a question. There are exactly twenty-nine students in this school. Since this was an informal school currently, kids of all ages were taught together at once. The teacher Seo-Yon Lee, a direct descendent of the founder, instructs the kids with Qi cultivating methods that the founder left behind for the majority of day.
    Every living being has something called a Qi reservoir which contains a vital energy called Qi. As long as you are living, you are always generating a small part of this energy. One can “cultivate” and increase their Qi if they can control the energy emitted from within, gather Qi from nature into their reservoir and refine it. In this world, strength is measured by the achievements in Qi.
    Qi cultivation are ranked by domains: Apprentice (Level 1-9), Intermediary (Level 10-19), Advanced (Level 20-29), Master (Level 30-39), Grandmaster (Level 40-49), and Heaven Domain (Level 50-59). Each domain has 9 levels. The difference between each level is the quality of your Qi. Using the same amount of Qi, one can break 10 bricks at level 10 while one can smash boulders at level 20. When one reaches Grandmaster, their lifespan are said to have been increased by a few hundred years and when one reaches Heaven, it is rumored that one can soar through the sky. There are more stages after Heaven Domain but Ryu isn’t too sure about them since the strongest person in the city was only at the Master Domain.
    The importance of Qi cannot be stressed enough. It is no exaggeration to say that the key to a successful and happy life lies in one’s own cultivation in Qi. Qi is what makes a warrior strong. Qi is what helps a doctor cure people. Qi is what an alchemist needs to concoct a spiritual pill. Qi is what’s needed to create magical items. Qi is what allows one to live a long life and even retain youth. Qi is what one needs if they hope to one day fly through the heavens. The list could go on forever.
    “Hi Ryu! Late to school again?” A middle-aged man said as Ryu ran down the street of shops. This was one of the two shopping districts in the town. The one Ryu passed through is the smaller one in the eastern part of the town. Ryu hasn’t been to the western part of town before, it is widely known that it’s the “wealthier” part of the town.
    “Mr. Din, don’t jinx it for me.” Ryu said after stopping in front of the man and bowed with a smile. Wu-Ji Din is the only local alchemist in this shopping district. “I got more herbs to sell you later today if that’s alright with you.”
    “Haha, don’t worry about it. You know you are welcome anytime. Say hi to your grandpa for me!” Wu-Ji replied back. Wu-Ji has been in business for over 30 years and he has never seen a harder working boy than Ryu. Ryu has been selling him bags of herbs 2-3 times a week. Not only is it cheaper than the local supplier, some of the herbs are much rarer too. However what’s puzzling him is how Ryu is able to collect so many herbs. The only places he could be collecting them from are all in the wilderness outside of town and not even adults with basic Qi cultivation dare to venture out there alone. At first Ryu has been painstakingly delivering them one by one so Wu-Ji gifted him two magic herb sacks that could contain over a dozen herbs.
    Ryu saw three other kids up ahead running in the same direction he was. They were one to two years older than him.
    “Man Ryu, are you human? How does a skinny pretty boy like you run so fast?” One of them said.
    Ryu was indeed skinny compared to them. He was slim and his cheek bones gave him a bit of a skeletal look. However, he had strong dense brows and thick eyelashes over his deep vivid navy blue eyes which along with his distinct cheekbones and angular jaw made him look particularly handsome at a young age. What’s more mysterious is how Ryu is able to move at a faster speed than these boys.
    Ryu was also a very shy and secretive person. He only nodded back at them while continuing to run alongside them. They slowly approached a big mansion surrounded by a three meter tall wall. This was where the famous blacksmith used to reside. He has transformed part of his mansion into a school for the less fortunate kids.
    As the kids line up outside on her lawn, Seo-Yon came out of the school wearing a black dress and holding a wooden fan in her hand shouting. “If you want to be successful, you must work hard from a young age. None of you are rich or have extraordinary background. In this world, nothing is free. My ancestor, bless his soul, was a commoner who managed to overcome all odds and enter the Grandmaster Domain by practicing breathing techniques every day. It was because of his blood and sweat that he poured towards his cultivation that he was able to become a Rank 4 blacksmith and develop a fearsome Rank 4 skill – “Inferno Fist”. In this world, no matter what you want to achieve – be it a swordsman, blacksmith or even a doctor, you’ll need certain achievements regarding your cultivation to be successful at it!”
    She paused and gave a stern look at the group of kids before continuing. “As you all know, anyone above ten years old are welcome to attempt the Talent Examination that happens every three year. If you are selected, you can join a prestigious martial arts sect. In most sects, you can opt to learn other professions such as alchemy and blacksmithing. You can become an elder at the sect if you are successful in cultivating to a high level. You can start your own business or join a guild to take on quests. You can go adventuring. You can join the government. The possibilities are endless.”
    The kids listening all had a twinkle of hope and excitement in them as they listened.
    “However, not all of you will succeed and that’s the sad truth. This doesn’t mean there’s no hope though. Even if you have the basic cultivation down, it’ll keep you healthy and help you out in the future.” Seo-Yon warned. The few mature kids in the group knew what she meant. If you don’t have a good cultivation, you’ll end up with a commoner job like farming or construction work. Best case scenario is joining the army as a foot soldier which could be dangerous since the relationship between the provinces on this continent wasn’t completely stable.
    There was two groups of kids, the first group had twenty-one people and consisted of kids younger than twelve years old. The other group were between twelve and fifteen years old and has eight kids. Seo-Yon usually instructs the younger kids on breathing techniques to cultivate Qi then she moves on to teach fighting techniques to the older kids.
    “Now start by breathing in through your mouth and exhaling through your nose…” Seo-Yon instructed slowly.

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    Chapter 2 – Hidden Talent

    Ryu sat down with everyone else in the younger group and started gathering Qi from around him into his reservoir. However, he was not following everyone else. As long as he can remember, he was extremely sensitive to his own Qi and the Qi around him. He can not only feel where the Qi around him are, he can also discern its quantity, quality and type.
    One special feature that he found was exclusive to him was that he sees raw Qi. Qi had colors which he assumed to be different elements. This is why finding herbs came so easy for him, special herbs will emit traces of Qi. For example fire type herbs will radiate a red shade. After asking around he knew this was something unique only to him.
    Controlling his Qi also came to him as easy as breathing, he can control his Qi freely and had stopped his inner Qi from flowing out as long as he could remember. Therefore, Ryu didn’t need to do the same exercises everyone else is doing to get in contact with their Qi. He has long started to experiment with what else he could do with his Qi.
    A young kid beside Ryu started complaining. “What’s the point, the rich kids are all using spiritual medicine and potions to increase their power. We can’t compete with that, it’s not fair!”
    Whack, the wooden fan from Seo-Yon came down on the kid’s head. “Kevin, of course the world isn’t fair. That’s why you have to work harder than them to achieve your destiny. As for depending on external help to increase your cultivation rather than using your own effort, it’ll only backfire later on. Ryu explain to Kevin why this is.”
    Kevin who was one year younger than Ryu looked confused as he rubbed his head.
    “Even if one consumes something like a spiritual pill, once it enters your body you’ll only have a certain about of time to absorb it before all the Qi dissipates from the medicine. If you don’t have the foundation down to control your Qi, not only will you have wasted the pill, you’ll be dependent on expensive things to help you break through in the future.” Ryu said moderately.
    Speaking of spiritual medicines, he has seen them around in markets going for astronomical prices. However, what got his attention was the “clarity” of the Qi. He could clearly see that the Qi within the medicinal pills were clear and bright unlike common Qi which were misty and dull in color.
    Thus it inspired him to make a “filter” with part of his own Qi to refine incoming Qi from nature and of course his existing Qi over and over again. He would make multiple sieves with his Qi and remove all the impurities. Even after he refined his Qi which was misty at first into a fine clear state, he would keep doing so out of habit. In fact he would feel strange if he doesn’t do it. He has become so efficient at it, he could do it on the side as long as he’s not doing something strenuously or mentally challenging.
    Why was Ryu hiding his abilities? He was clearly way ahead of everyone else at his own age. Ryu would definitely be considered a top prodigy if he was born within a noble family or great sect. The reason was because of money. He didn’t want his grandpa to worry about financing his tuition in a prestigious school. As long as he does well during the Talent Examination, a great sect might just sponsor his stay and even provide housing and living expenses for him and his grandpa.
    His grandpa would never admit it but deep down Ryu believes that his grandpa got sick trying to earn enough money for him to get a personal trainer. Like all doting guardians, after learning that Ryu is gifted with Qi he wanted Ryu to have an advantage.
    His grandpa was a retired carpenter for many years and used to only do a few odd jobs every now and then. Two years ago he started collecting wood at the outmost area of the Forbidden Forest in order to craft furniture to sell at Auction House in town. It was there that he was bitten by a Frost Spider. Its icy venom could only be purged by a strong fire type medicine but the prices were just too astronomical.
    Therefore Ryu resorted to sneaking out at night to gather those herbs. Sometimes, Ryu enters the outer edges of the Forbidden Forest to collect herbs. Ryu was extremely confident in his ability to run away. He has already achieved insightful mastery in Qi reinforcement, using one’s own Qi to reinforce one’s body for physical activities. This is why he’s able to run faster than kids his age even though he’s so scrawny.
    Actually Ryu was a frail little boy, much weaker than other kids his age. If it wasn’t for his discovery of Qi that turned his life around. He and his grandpa would be homeless. The town collects tax from every citizen each year. By collecting herbs, Ryu could make enough to just make ends meet.
    Ryu could also emit his Qi to give off an aura. An aura could be used to protect oneself or use to detect one’s surrounding. Ryu’s Qi is a lot deeper and profound than most kids twice or even thrice his age. He can spread his aura like a thin layer of mist around a few meters of himself. Anything that moves will be instantly detected by him so he can run away.
    After instructing the younger kids, Seo-Yon walked over to the second group of kids who were over twelve. The older kids can choose to cultivate Qi or practice techniques.
    “The basic usage of Qi is reinforcing one’s own body obviously. Not only can it increase your longevity, it can also drastically increase your strength. You can even increase your vision or hearing if you can concentrate your Qi at certain areas of your body. This is what you should all be practicing regardless of what you want to specialize in.” Seo-Yon said with a frown, looking at a few kids attempting to utilize their Qi in odd ways.
    “Boring, I want to learn how to control a flying sword!” A pale and chubby kid shouted.
    “Me too, I want to be able to shoot Qi at people!” Another kid with brown freckles all over his hair pitched in.
    “Teacher, how will we be able to compete with students from other schools at the Talent Examination this weekend? The judging is based our cultivation levels and our skills. Both are inferior to kids from other schools.” A casually dressed girl with a delicate build asked earnestly. She was Eu-Meh, the oldest of all the kids. She’ll be one of the three people attending the Talent Selection this year. All the kids stopped what they were doing, awaiting on their teacher’s answer.
    “First of all, advanced skills are not something you can master overnight. Secondly, even if you do not get scouted at the Talent Examination it’ll still be a valuable lesson and you can try again in three years. Aside from that, training your Qi will strengthen your body and help you out in your life no matter what you do.” Seo-Yon paused and sighed. After staring off into the distance for a while she spoke again but this time to the whole class. “To be honest kids, it’s not that I’m withholding advanced techniques from you guys… truth be told, three generations ago a thief broke into our school and took off with all the blacksmith manuals and the “Inferno Fist” skill manual left behind by the founder. Not only was he skilled, he was also heartless beyond belief. He fatally wounded my great grandfather and destroyed all but the basic Qi cultivating manuals.”
    All the students were shocked. Unless it’s a spar, fighting anywhere within any town or city was prohibited. As for murder, the consequences are unimaginable to them.
    However, this does clear some things up to them. Although the Inferno Fist is a free school, it used to be the top school in town. It has declined greatly within the past century and most people thought it was just the descendants that had no talent to carry on the profound techniques of the school. Who could have imagined that it turns out that the techniques themselves were stolen and lost to the school?
    “It’s actually not a secret, it happened over a hundred years ago. I am only at the peak Apprentice Domain myself unfortunately.” She continued on softly, lost in her thoughts.
    Ryu sat there shocked for a minute. A year ago he felt that his cultivation has reached that of his teacher already. Ryu thought to himself Peak Apprentice Domain really? Does that mean I am also at level 9?
    Na, not possible. Ryu quickly brushed off this thought and went back to meditating. One’s level could only be determined by an expert or more commonly by magical items. Little does Ryu know, his cultivation has far exceeded his teacher’s. By filtering and condensing his Qi perpetually with his own unique method, his inner strength had reach a terrifying level for a kid. If an expert spiritually searched Ryu, they would be astonished to the point of inducing a heart attack.
    Seo-Yon recovered from the brooding moment and went back to instructing the group. The kids groaned and went back to practice. Seo-Yon looked over at the younger group of kids until their concentration was satisfactory then she went to teach the smaller group of kids over age of twelve.
    “Qi reinforcement is the most basic and most practical usage of Qi. Let’s practice the Flash Punch again, everyone line up behind Eu-Meh and…”
    Ryu has overheard the Flash Punch technique many times before and had long grasped it. He zoned out the world around him and cultivated his Qi with his unique methods with part of his mind while theorizing how to improve it with the other.
    There are four classic usage of Qi that Ryu knows of after questioning Seo-Yon in person before. Qi reinforcements is the primary one everyone trains in and has many wondrous usages and benefits. If you focus your Qi to any part of your body, it’ll not only enhance it physically, it’ll also increase its functionality. Reinforcing the eye with Qi will allow the user to see further in distance and more in depth into the surrounding Qi. Reinforcing your ear will increase your hearing. Reinforcing it into your body will make it stronger and tougher.
    Another one is Qi manipulation. The user can inject his Qi into a weapon and make it more robust. This allows the user to control the weapon without lifting a finger as well. The flying sword mentioned earlier by another kid uses an application of Qi manipulation. By leaving traces of your Qi inside an object like a sword, you can control the sword to fly while you stand on it. It’s the most popular way to imitate flying if you are not in the Heaven Domain yet. It’s supposedly the second hardest of the four. The reason it’s more difficult than reinforcement is because it requires control of Qi outside of your body. Controlling Qi outside of your body compared to inside is like comparing heaven and earth. The difficulty is much harder.
    Qi manifestation is the third type and is also the third hardest. It is also dependent on control and mastery of one’s own Qi. The difference is that it’s not only controlling your Qi outside of your body, it’s also solidifying the Qi into a physical object. This object is made of Qi so the moment your concentration breaks, the Qi made object will vanish as well. Depending on your skill, the object you materialize can be more durable than the original.
    Ryu has mastery over these three basic usage of Qi which is essentially controlling your Qi exceptionally well. However these are just the basics. Ryu can’t move an object with his Qi yet, the moment it leaves his hand it falls to the ground. Ryu can’t create any objects, he can only solidify his Qi right outside his skin as a thin protective layer. Having an extraordinary talent for controlling Qi allowed him to build his foundation well but he has no guidance on any advanced usage or techniques beyond that.
    As for Qi elements, the hardest of the four, Ryu had never tried before. There are four elements and it’s extremely rare for one person to be able to use more than one element. People usually need an affinity with that element to be able to use it. However, Ryu had an enlightenment last night and he couldn’t wait to try it out later.
    There’s also special Qi categories Seo-Yon doesn’t know much of but told Ryu that if he manages to be strong enough to travel the world, he’ll see them one day.

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