After a six-day ride north of the city, Liang and the old man arrived at a small trading town that stood in the foothills of the TianTai Mountains. The town was surrounded by a tall, thick, stone wall with many rough looking guard’s holding spears and bows. With less than 100 buildings in the town, most being shops, the level …
Chapter 10: Only Fools Walk Around Armed
The old man went back to the desk and took out a large roll of leather half a finger thick and cut three-pieces. He explained to Liang that one was to create a bracer that locked the shield in place and the other was for the pommel of the sword. The larger piece would be used to cover the shield …
Chapter 9: The Wooden Treasures
The black knife slid through the Three-Fires Ironwood leaving no evidence that it had been cut. The old man trimmed the edges off leaving four flat sides then cut two slices from the wood lengthwise, close to the thickness of two fingers and placed the rest into his ring. Liang asked him what it was for but the old man …
Chapter 8: The Warring Crane Sect
The Warring Crane Sect was built on two massive peaks in the Tianlong mountain range. High above the small villages and cities they looked down on them as if they were ants. For many disciples that was exactly how they viewed those in the mortal world; however, the sect policy was that even ants had some value. The two peaks …
Chapter 7: Thoroughly Embarrassed
The auction continued on exactly how the old man predicted. The sects and clans purchased the most valuable items while the merchants took the scraps. The auction had many low-level pills for martial artists looking to break their bottlenecks and medicines that were able to cure wounds. None of these seemed appealing to the old man so he just sat …
Chapter 6: Helpless
Though small, Tian City was far larger than the village Liang was from and the streets were packed with vendors and people haggling. The old man seemed to enjoy arguing even over the smallest purchases; he walked away with great pride as long as he was able to lower the price. The large basket he purchased for three silvers instead …
Chapter 5: The Road to Divinity
Liang turned his head and saw the old man rushing a woman out of the door before he walked to the desk. She looked to be in her early twenties and his robes were loose and disheveled which was very unlike him. The old man liked to keep himself neat at all times, but the sheets on the floor made …
Chapter 4: Experimental Advance
Small cuts and scratches covered his face and arms, they would probably not scar but Liang knew when they healed he would be covered in scabs. He and the old man were trekking through thick brambles growing in the forest for some reason unknown to him. However, he had accepted the old man as his master the night before and …
Chapter 3: A New Path Forward
Liang had been following the old man for three days on their way to the next town. He asked him to purchase a wagon before their trip, but the old man replied with, “money is tight”, and “You’re young, it’s good to experience the world in its full glory” He thought that because of his age, the old man would …
Chapter 2: His Crumbling World
A gray, wood ceiling was the first thing Liang saw after opening his eyes. It had been three days since the unnatural mist fell on his village, and he spent each of them tormented by twisted memories while partially aware someone saved him. Not a moment passed without images flashing through his mind of bodies dropping to the ground in …