Gu Auntie saw Du Chan and immediately went to her room, where his dans were, and fetched them. She found that only 2 pills were remaining in the drawer. Also, there was a slip in the back corner.

The paper was given to her by the traveling doctor 5 years ago. The sect’s address in the town was written on it.

‘Let’s feed him these pills first and then go to the sect’ Gu Auntie thought quickly, her decisions bearing a heavyweight when it came to Du Chan’s life.

After she took the pills and the slip, she called all the children and teenagers of the orphanage and told them that she would return in 5 days.

She called an emergency transport and initiated the journey to the nearby town. She fed him a pill but his condition was nonetheless the same. Du Chan was in very excruciating pain that he couldn’t care what happened right now.

The ache in the abdomen increased again…..Du Chan felt his heart might stop anytime soon, and with it, the chilling energy began to spread from his abdomen to all his body. Du Chan’s limbs became like ice. Even Gu auntie who sat beside him, felt the chill coursing all over her too.

‘W-Why is this happening to me? I didn’t do anything wrong…why am I receiving this punishment…I don’t want to die…I don’t want to die…I DON’T WANT TO DIE!!!’

Du Chan was screaming inside of himself….he was clearly distraught by the sudden onslaught of his current illness.

It was then that a golden light kicked in and started radiating on his forehead. Golden energy was flowing from the light and down the rest of his body. He felt the chilling energy slowly disperse but the golden energy could still not enter his abdomen.

Du Chan, although floundered and sickening, could clearly perceive that there was a black and strange force near his chest. It was akin to a black hole, sweeping everything within it, and when the golden energy got near it got sucked in effortlessly.

The pain alleviated but he couldn’t open his eyes or mouth yet.

Seeing no progress, he was pulled to read the undying physique’s words for no apparent reason. A few sentences in and the golden energy received a major boost and gave shape to a dragon that swallowed the black energy in whole. But upon doing so, that foreign energy blasted.

BOOM!

The dragon was torn into pieces and the black energy circulated in his abdomen just as before. The golden energy, fearing for its current master, gave attempt once again and regenerated, giving shape to a bigger dragon.

Larger than the one before, it swallowed the energy easily but it was torn again and was even stronger now.

Du Chan’s internal organs were damaged in the process. Blood came pouring out of his mouth.

There was a furious battle happening where the illness festered. The dragon spawned endlessly and swallowed the energy in an attempt to neutralize it, but it failed each time and got blown up.

The golden energy was similar to a child learning from its mistakes. After a few times of failures, the dragon didn’t swallow the threat but instead encircled it…Du Chan saw all of this unfolding inside of himself. But, being the inexperienced child he was, did not understand what that dragon was trying to do.

In his abdomen, the golden light increased and broadened even more, and always at the last moment would it get blasted again.

‘SHIT! It wants to blast everything with..…’

All of these attempts were happening in a blink of an eye. Before he even gave another thought, it blasted yet again. This time…

Both energies were destroyed and disappeared completely. That blast totally damaged his internal organs and left him severely injured.

But…

‘I’m alive…’ Du Chan was relieved, his mind unhindered by the suffering of his corporeal form.

‘Xiao Chan…Xiao Chan…’

Du Chan heard his auntie calling him, but he lost consciousness after his battle was over.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Above all worlds, in God’s realm!

In a vast land full of mountains, within a cave, a man was sitting in the middle of a lava pool. He looked like a middle-aged man. He was only wearing trousers and was naked at the top. His body was full of muscles and if one-eyed him long enough and very carefully, one could notice that his body wasn’t wrinkling nor aging. He had an ageless body so to say.

Suddenly, the man opened his eyes, a devilish smile arched on his face. He started laughing.

“HAHAHA! FUN! THIS IS FUN! HAHAHA!”

His voice resounded like a furious dragon’s roar that shook down the whole mountain range. Some smaller peaks even collapsed.

After he was done, he called out to someone who came instantly at the request.

“SHEN!” the man with the laugh of a dragon shouted.

A person appeared beside him. Everything was normal about him but the only god knew where he came from.

He looked like an assassin according to his attire. He covered his face with a black cloth that wrapped around his neck.

“Yes, Master?”

“Shen. Protect this kid. Do not reveal yourself unless it was a life or death matter” he instructed the shady fellow, sharing with him, through thoughts, the image of the child he mentioned.

“Okay, Master” Shen said, his voice void of emotions.

“Ahh. He is yet too young right now but give him this cultivation technique when he’s reached his fourteens” the middle-aged man added as well and a book appeared on his smooth palm.

Shen took it and vanished after bidding his master farewell.

The master left to his own inside the lava-filled cave continued his monologue and laughed loudly yet again.

“Hehe, I want to see how this little devil rises to the top! HAHA…..”

••••••••••••••••••••••••

Du Chan opened his eyes. He saw that he was sleeping in a room that was not his, once his vision was not blurred anymore.

It was invaded by a medicinal smell that numbed the senses and looked to be old-fashioned due to its decor.

“Huh?” Du Chan shot straight up, uneasy about his wake. “What is this place? This… this is not my room!”

Someone was sitting beside his bed. He had never seen him before.

“Who are you?” Du Chan asked. He could tell that he was a doctor, but he asked him nonetheless.

“Hoo, you woke up!” That guy said

“Don’t avoid my question, I asked who you are?” Du Chan repeated, rather defensive in the way he spoke.

“Well, I’m a student who studies in this sect. My master ordered me to feed you medicine, and here I am” the student answered quite innocently

Du Chan was confused and thought,

‘How did I get to town?’

“Worry not. Take a rest and I will go call your aunt back. She’s been quite worried”

The student left after his current words and not soon he did, that Gu Auntie came rushing into the room, worry riddled all over her tired visage.

She sat beside him and fondled his hair, the tears not yet dry from the countless hours she spent weeping.

“Xiao Chan! Thank god! You were unconscious for 2 days….I thought you will die…”

Gu Auntie cried with a mix of sadness and relief.

Hearing his auntie’s words rendered Du Chan emotional too.

“I-I’m sorry auntie” he said, his voice squeaking in the process.

“Why are you apologizing? It is not your fault…” her pats intensifying on Du Chan’s head.

He closed his eyes and enjoyed the rubs for a moment.

“Okay” she wiped her tears and stood up. “Rest. The sect master said that he will check on you in three hours…I don’t know why the master wishes to meet you but he is a very powerful and important person in this kingdom. You should be very polite and mannered when you talk to him”

‘Sect master…Why does he want to meet me?’

Du Chan thought and nodded in agreement.

“Then I will go out. Don’t strain yourself, Xiao Chan”

After saying that, Gu auntie left the room, leaving Du Chan alone with his thoughts.

Staring at the roof for three hours straight, Du Chan remembered the suffering he had undergone and clenched his teeth and fists angrily. Even with his promise to cure himself of this illness, he found himself yet again useless. He didn’t want to suffer anymore. He just wanted to live a normal life. But that life only came about when he got strong.

“I don’t know what kind of disease I have but I’m sure I will cure it….and I don’t want to see auntie sad again…I will get stronger and protect her!” Du Chan promised himself yet again, his conviction fortified.

Three hours passed…

Du Chan didn’t sleep. In fact, he couldn’t sleep. He was thinking about how he could get stronger. He didn’t know anything about this world and anything about how to cultivate the so-called martial arts he had witnessed before in his dream.

It was not long before a group of five people entered the room. The middlemost one looked like a doctor, but some strange energy was floating around him. It was transparent but Du Chan was able to see traces of it.

“The Sect Master ordered us to bring you. Pardon the intrusion!” that same guy said and gave a signal to the other four in his company. They appeared to be staff that worked here.

“Wait. I’m injured right now how can I come…” he wished to say but before Du Chan could finish his words, those men lifted the bed and took him along.

“It’s okay. They will carry you to the sect master” the middle guy said with a smile.

After that, they left the room while carrying the bed.

Du Chan looked around and saw so many people outside. They were strangely looking at him. He laughed and shamelessly gave a look as a king would express on a throne.

“Tch!” those four guys who were carrying him complained. And another guy smiled at him in response.

After some time, they entered a big room at the end of a long hallway. Stationed in the middle, they dropped the bed gently. Du Chan looked around the room. It was huge.

After they were done, the staff knelt downed on their twos while the doctor knelt on one leg. They bent their heads and shouted simultaneously as though rehearsed.

“GREETINGS TO THE SECT MASTER!”

Du Chan was shocked. He didn’t see anyone nearby.

But when he glanced to where they knelt and then carefully inspected the place, he saw that there was a person seated over there. His eyes were shut.

Du Chan observed the sect master but the man suddenly opened his left eye and looked back at him. Du Chan dropped his head down in a reflex when he noticed the golden eye the sect master had.

“You may be excused,” the sect master said to the five members.

“Very well, Sect Master. Then please excuse us” the doctor said and they all left the room.

Leaving Du Chan and the master to speak alone.. When Du Chan looked again at the great person before him, he felt that he was caught in a tiger’s den….