At the western edge of the Xinyun continent, a formidable wall of mountains pierced the sky.
At the base of these mountains, in the dirt and loose stones, Xiao Shan lay curled up, struggling under an overwhelming crushing pressure.
His mind trembled as streams of indecipherable thoughts flowed through him.
Blurry scenes appeared in his mind.
A young man getting stepped on in the mud, in the middle of the rain. Laughter rang out. Anger, humiliation.
A man getting stabbed in the back, feelings of betrayal.
A middle-aged man dying in the hot sun in the desert, pain.
A man getting pulled and crushed viciously into a sphere while yelling unrecognizable words. Unwillingness.
Though this only took a few breaths, it felt like an eternity to Xiao Shan.
Xiao Shan sat up slowly, confusion clouding his mind.
Breathing heavily, he whispered to himself, "What the hell was that?" Gritting his teeth against the pain, he struggled to his feet.
He stood immobile, looking at his hands in confusion.
After a while, the pain and strange sensations subsided, allowing Xiao Shan to relax his body.
However, deep inside, a flame of anger burned in him, refusing to be extinguished.
As he stood contemplating, the sky started to darken, the dusk approaching.
He looked at the path leading up to the mountain; it had been cleared of trees not long ago, but debris and boulders still abounded.
A shiver ran through his spine, and he decided he did not want to end up cleaning latrines.
Xiao Shan continued clearing debris as the sky became pitch black.
Early in the next morning, Bao Tie descended the mountain, inspecting every area under his supervision.
Eventually reaching the bottom, he found a snoring Xiao Shan on the ground.
Bao Tie's brows furrowed in contempt as he surveyed the cleared area.
"Did the little street rat spend all night moving boulders?" he muttered, striding toward the sleeping Xiao Shan.
With a mocking tone, he kicked Xiao Shan's flank lightly. "Xiao Shan, wake up; it's day already."
Jolted awake by a dull pain in his side, Xiao Shan stood up, deep bags under his eyes, staring at Bao Tie in confusion.
"You did a pretty good job clearing the area," said Bao Tie.
"Since you are so industrious, allow me to reward you with a better area." His lips curled into a devilish smile.
"Come, follow me," he said as they walked up the main path.
Xiao Shan struggled to keep pace; having spent the whole night working, his body was stiff and sore.
Eventually, they arrived at a steep hill. "This is your next area; you have a week." He tapped a bag carried on his waist, from which a set of rusted digging tools appeared in front of him.
"And don't forget our deal: if you fail to finish on time, you'll have to clean up latrines next," said Bao Tie, turning around to leave.
Xiao Shan stood speechless; his superior was clearly making things hard for him.
Veins bulged over his head as he opened his mouth to ask what he had done to offend Bao Tie.
But before he could speak, Bao Tie halted and turned slightly to look back, his eyes tinted with malice.
A cold dread crept over Xiao Shan.
"Oh, I forgot to mention this," said Bao Tie, his lips curling into a smile that wasn't quite one.
"I added you to the sect examination coming up next month; make sure you are ready." He continued walking away.
Xiao Shan was left with his words stuck in his throat, a mixture of anger and frustration welling up inside him.
His vision blurred as images from the vision he had started to appear in his mind.
But faces that were blurred before started to clear up, Bao Tie's face appearing clearly.
He balled his fists so tightly that his hands began to bleed.
His eyes shone in a purple tint as killing intent spilled out.
"I just joined the sect, why do I remember being punished by Senior?, that is not right..." His eyes turned muddled in confusion.
"He is unreasonable, this area is harder to clear and on top of that going through examinations in a month?" Xiao Shan furrowed his brow in desperation.
"If only I could find Master..."
Xiao Shan recalled the time he met his Master, he was an orphan living in the streets when his Master took him.
"He once said he was a core elder of the Sect", muttered Xiao Shan.
For the past month he had been spending time asking around for his Master but nobody knew him or even believed that somebody from the sect core even knew Xiao Shan.
Xiao Shan let out a heavy sight before following a rough path to the base of the mountain where the his quarters was.
Along the way, he saw other new disciples bustling by when a familiar voice suddenly called out.
"Hey, Junior Brother, why so gloomy?", called the voice.
Xiao Shan redirected his sight to a young man, probably 2 years older than himself, he had eyebrows like swords and a robust build.
It was Da He, an older disciple who had taken a liking on him.
Da He walked up to Xiao Shan with a hearty laugh, wrapping his arm around his shoulder. "Tell Senior Brother what's bothering you. Are you getting bullied?"
Xiao Shan sighed again as he told Da He about his encounter with Bao Tie, leaving out the strange visions he had and the examinations.
"Bao Tie can be pretty harsh, but he usually gets tired and moves on to bully somebody else," Da He said.
Xiao Shan sighed gloomily, then he asked about the examination. "What's this sect examination?, heave you heard about it?"
Da He's eyes narrowed. "It's basically a test to see if you've cultivated at least the first level of Qi Condensation. Why do you ask? Are you close to a breakthrough?"
"No, somebody mentioned it, and I was curious. What happens if you fail?" Xiao Shan asked.
Da He looked around conspicuously before responding hesitantly, "You get expelled from the sect..."
Xiao Shan's heart sank. "That's harsh."
Da He's face became serious. "I've heard they make everyone fight, and only the top three are accepted. Some get injured or even die..."
Xiao Shan felt a chill run down his spine.
Da He returned to his usual bright tone, "You are still far from that, no need to worry about it."