Yun Qiang opened his eyes. His head felt heavy, and every sound he heard was accompanied by a loud buzzing. He tried to move, but a sharp pain coming from his abdomen stopped him. Uncontrollably, he let out a groan. A familiar voice spoke to him.
"You shouldn't move, or your wound will reopen."
"Father..."
Yun Qiang responded with difficulty; he wanted to ask what had happened, but his father cut him short.
"Don't talk either. I know what you want to ask." He moved closer to his son. "Don't worry, the doctor said that it will take you two to three weeks of rest to get back on your feet."
The man who looked strong and energetic during the hunt now seemed older. His eyes were red due to lack of sleep, and his movements were slow. It was clear that this incident had taken a lot out of him.
"You should rest; your brother is good... he's just a little shocked. Luckily, the boar ran away and didn't try to kill you."
There was a small pause, as if he was carefully choosing his next words.
"I'm proud of you, son." A faint smile flickered on his face, quickly fading "But I think we will skip the assessment this year. You can go to the next one with your brother, ok?"
Yun Qiang was saddened by this, but he knew that some things were simply out of his control. So, he nodded in agreement. If he had been in good shape, he would've argued to go this year, unwilling to waste a single moment. But even someone as stubborn as Yun Qiang couldn't deny the gravity of his wounds. Besides, the assessment was a yearly event. He could afford to wait and go with Nian.
Seeing his son's decision, Yun Qiang's father said a few words, then silently left the room, giving his son some time to rest.
"Looks like my cultivation journey is delayed," Yun Qiang sighed. "If only…"
He slowly extended his right hand, seemingly lost in thought. Yesterday's events kept replaying in his mind—the walk to the lake, the information that appeared out of nowhere, the boar's charge. He recounted everything.
"I could've dodged it..." His fingers curled into a trembling fist. "If I hadn't hesitated..."
"If only I were stronger."
Alone in his room, Yun Qiang cried silently. His weakness had cost him this year's examination for the Skyward Pavilion—and he had nearly lost his life.
In that moment, Yun Qiang made himself a promise—he would grow stronger, no matter the cost. He would become a cultivator and reach the peak of the world. He never wanted to feel this powerless again.
With these thoughts in mind, Yun Qiang fell asleep. His objective now was to recover as soon as possible and start training for next year's assessment.
Once he fell asleep, Yun Qiang found himself in another dream.
I just want to sleep. Why do I have to end up in another dream!?
He sighed inwardly. The day had already exhausted him, and now he had to endure another one of his dreams. A shiver ran down his spine as he recalled what happened in the last one.
After a few minutes of inner complaints, he resigned himself to his fate. Fine. I'm already here. Might as well pay attention.
With these thoughts, Yun Qiang began to examine his surroundings.
He was in a small study. The walls were made of smooth rock, except for one wall, which was covered in strange patterns. No decorations were present. The only furniture in the room was a table positioned on the opposite side of the door and a small wooden platform where the protagonist of the dream was sitting.
Even if the furniture could be described as minimal, Yun Qiang could tell that it was made of top-quality materials and that the arrangement was a bit special. Yun Qiang couldn't really point out why, but he felt that the layout of the furniture had some kind of special meaning.
A thought struck him.
Wait a second, if dream-Yun Qiang died in the last dream, who is the protagonist of this dream? Is it another Yun Qiang? Or could this be something that happened before he ended up in prison?
Yun Qiang thought more about it. Both hypotheses made sense. Since the last protagonist died, it made sense to change it. But it was also true that the dream-Yun Qiang he knew from the dreams was just an ordinary boy in a mountain village—it made no sense for him to end up in prison without any explanation.
Maybe my dreams follow the same guy but have no true chronological order?
Yun Qiang's thoughts were interrupted. The "Protagonist" had started moving toward the table. Just like in the dream before, Yun Qiang could feel his emotions. In this "Protagonist's" mind, there was only one emotion: trepidation, anticipation.
As the man walked, Yun Qiang could feel the trepidation in his steps. It was like a man who had an urgent message to deliver to the world. When he sat down, he hurriedly picked up a quill and started writing on some papers. Yun Qiang was completely immersed in the man's emotions and began reading what the "Protagonist" was writing.
The "Protagonist's" calligraphy was precise and clear, as if he had practiced it multiple times. His movements were fast but calm, as if he wanted to write everything down as quickly as possible while still maintaining high-quality calligraphy.
As Yun Qiang read, his heart started beating faster and faster. Sometimes, he even read the same phrase twice to make sure he understood the content of the writings.
Because what the "Protagonist" was writing was a cultivation method.
As the man wrote, Yun Qiang became more and more intoxicated by the content. He read carefully, making sure he didn't miss a single detail. He was completely lost in the book.
He only recovered when the man stopped writing. The Protagonist then took a blank sheet of paper, placed it on top of the pile, and wrote two simple words:
"Cloud cultivation"
In that moment, Yun Qiang found these words incredibly beautiful. He looked at them fondly, as if he had written them himself, savoring everything he had just read.
When Yun Qiang woke up, he instinctively recalled the first page of the book:
"Qi is everywhere and in everything. The first step in cultivation is sensing Qi. To sense Qi..."
Yun Qiang was overjoyed—finally, his dream could begin.
1 year later
A cart was slowly rolling on an unpaved road. On the back of the cart, a small group of teenagers were talking excitedly about the future.
"Qiang, wake up, we are almost there."
"Wuji, give up. This guy only knows how to sleep."
Yun Qiang opened his eyes. He had just finished another meditation when he heard the conversation. He didn't mind being seen as lazy—it was just one of many inside jokes that had formed during their journey to Black City.
What excuse can I use this time? he silently thought.
He smiled as he feigned surprise and put on a flustered front.
"I wasn't sleeping. It's just too hot around here; I'm not used to it." Yun Qiang glanced at the fatty who was sleeping in front of him. "Besides, isn't Luo the same?"
"He's different. He sleeps because he has a rare disease, not because he's lazy," Wuji said, his voice filled with concern.
"Anyway, he should wake up soon. The city should be close."
This time it was the driver, Old Qian, who spoke. Since the city was near, it was a good time to prepare for the guard inspection that would happen at the city gate.
The topic then shifted to other things. Seeing that they were close to the city, Yun Qiang decided not to meditate anymore and instead briefly chatted with his travel companions. Excluding him and his brother, there were three other people on the cart: Wuji, Luo, and Fernando.
Of the three, Yun Qiang was only familiar with Wuji. Since he was the son of the village doctor, it wasn't rare to see him around the forest or farms in search of medicinal herbs. He had already learned the basics of medicine, so many people would ask him for help with minor injuries. Last year, Yun Qiang had also received his help while recovering from his own injury.
As for the other two, Yun Qiang didn't really know them. Luo was the son of the village blacksmith. He was known for being reclusive, and Yun Qiang rarely saw or spoke to him. Fernando, however, was a different case altogether. He was tall and muscular, with long black hair that made him look like a barbarian from the northern wastelands. His parents were new to the village, having arrived only last year. Due to his injury and his obsession with meditation, Yun Qiang hadn't interacted much with them before. However, during the trip, he had talked to Fernando a lot and had developed a good impression of him—he found him kind and easygoing.
With a smile, Yun Qiang joined the conversation to pass the time.
20 minutes later
"Look, the city gate!" Wuji was pointing behind Yun Qiang.
Yun Qiang turned around and saw a growing black dot on the horizon. It was the city gate of Black City—a mercantile city in the Kingdom of the Rose, and the place where Yun Qiang would begin his journey.