Forgotten One

As Lei Shu was falling into the darkness, he felt incomparably comfortable. The darkness was somehow a sort of warmth for him. Surrounding him, in this place it was the only thing constantly by his side.

"Aoooooooo"

The roars of beasts could be heard in the distance. Lei Shu finally awoke, he was on the ground and he was being dragged slowly across the floor. It was dark and cold, but the person that was dragging him seemed to know where he was going.

The man took Lei Shu to a cave near the edge of the canyon and dropped him on a table. The man was wearing a cloak that covered his entire body, Lei Shu was unable to even see his face. Lei Shu was still mesmerized the cave itself was like nothing he had seen before; the inside of the cave was incredibly smooth. There was probably a massive lake that went through this canyon in the past.

Lei Shu continued looking around and saw countless runes drawn across the inside of the cave walls, they lit up the cave in a bright yellow. Only then did he notice that the man in the cloak was sitting at a bench mixing blood with thick dark green withered plants. The pungent odour wreaked of blood and covered the entire cave. Roars could be heard in the distance as a result.

"RAAAAAA" "Aooooooo" "KEEEEE"

Lei Shu was shocked that a beast could make such thunderous sounds. The cloaked man turned around and hesitated for a bit before pouring the bowl of blood and plants onto Lei Shu's body. Lei Shu tried to speak and move but his body was numb with pain and his throat was dry to the point his voice sounded like the wails of a ghost.

"THUMP THUMP THUMP"

The mysterious man began to make his way to the exit of the cave before he turned his head, "That bowl of blood and plants is medicine, it will help you recover from your injuries and will also strengthen your bones. I will be back in a few minutes."

Lei Shu laid on the stone slab as the medicine travelled throughout his wounds. In the beginning, Lei Shu felt a piercing pain but as time went on it began to feel better. After the 20-minute mark, his wounds all closed up and he began to feel his body fill, with strength. It wasn't much strength, but he was indeed stronger than the night before. He felt his body lighten up, and he slowly stood up from the stone slab. He felt as if he was stronger and faster than before and he wondered.

"Have I finally broken through to the first stage of Body Tempering?" He began to giggle with joy, he knew anything was possible and this proved it. He was supposed to be a cripple forever, today was his birthday and he had already turned 16. He was celebrating until he heard a terrible sound.

"BANG BANG BANG"

Lei Shu looked towards the entrance of the cave and he was startled. The mysterious man was holding the beasts in his hand, all by the neck. Their lifeless bodies were dragged into the cave by that man and the stench of blood once more filled the room. The crazy thing was that this old man didn't have one scratch on him, he was perfectly fine, and he didn't even seem tired at all. Lei Shu was shocked and began to think to himself, what would he do if he had that amount of power one day.

The cloaked man dropped the body of the 3 beasts in front of Lei Shu, he then slowly began to remove his cloak. "I hope I haven't startled you; my name is Mo Fen and this canyon in my home. I saw that you were injured and brought you back to treat your wounds."

The man with the name Mo Fen was tall standing at 6 foot 1 but his back was incredibly slouched decreasing his height. If his back was straight, he would stand at a towering 6 foot 4. The man looked quite old like he could be in his 60s or 70s but he was quite powerful in the eyes of Lei Shu. The man had wrinkles like pancakes across his forehead and a scar over his left eye. One of his eyes were a dark blood red and the other completely marble-like, it was white with a huge scar running diagonally across it. His lips were also quite thin when he smiled it looked as if it was a sinister grin from an old ghost. He was very pale, he looked like a scary fellow, but Lei Shu didn't feel the same way.

Lei Shu found that even though he was frightening to look at, he felt somewhat close to this person. Mo Fen also spoke in a very gentle and kind tone and did nothing to harm Lei Shu. He even went out of his way to help this kid he didn't even know. Lei Shu kept this in his heart, even if it was something little, he would repay the favour. Lei Shu would never assume something about others without knowing them first or without any evidence, he wasn't that type of person.

Lei Shu began to speak, "Thank you Senior Mo, without your help this junior could have been a corpse by now. I assure you I will one day repay this debt."

"HAHAHAHA" The old man began to laugh. "For a child that was on the brink of death just last night, you sure are lively today."

Lei Shu looked awkwardly and laughed a bit before he got unto his knees. "Senior Mo, I have been discarded by my family with nowhere to go. Since I have come into this world, I could count the people who have treated me with kindness on my fingers and senior you are one of them. If you would be so kind as to take a weak boy like me as your disciple I will do everything in my power to not let you down."

The old man sat down and began to speak, "Shouldn't you already have a master by now. Judging by your white silk robes your family should have a decent amount of money. Are you sure you aren't playing any games with this old man that's on his last legs."

Lei Shu looked at the man awkwardly. This old man was obviously a cultivator and he was filled with vigor and vitality while fighting those beats, standing on his last legs my a.s.s. "Senior, our empires' examiner passed a judgement that if I was unable to breakthrough into the first stage of Body Tempering by my 16th birthday, then I would remain a cripple for life."

"PTOOEY"

The old man spat on the floor and cursed that examiner. He then hurriedly sat and thought about it. "Maybe after all these years the phony orthodox cultivators and the idiotic demon cultivators have strayed so far onto the incorrect path that they really didn't know of a way to help you. Or maybe it is just the level your kingdom is at that it had eyes but couldn't see the truth. Sigh. I really have been gone for too long."

Lei Shu slightly shook when he heard Mo Fen's words. Lei Shu thought to himself, this man is obviously much more powerful than anyone in the Shu kingdom judging by the way he is speaking. Or maybe he is just someone who wasn't accepted by the cultivation world and curses them out of shame. Lei Shu believed the former.

Lei Shu began to bow even deeper. Some may see it as humiliating, but Lei Shu didn't. Lei Shu saw this act as showing great respect and reverence and he felt normal about it as he was asking for something that would change his fate. Humiliation meant nothing in front of Lei Shu, he believed that you could only feel humiliated if you cared about what other people thought about you. Well, there were only them two and even if others were looking, should you really care for the opinion of random people that you care nothing for? Lei Shu made up his mind.

"Senior, please take this one as your disciple, my life is yours as you have saved it. I do not forget favours and if there is anything, I could do for you, all I would need is your word and I would drag my balls through 30 miles of glass shards just to hear your word. All without any material or spiritual protection."

Mo Fen began to chuckle heartily, but he was also deeply impacted by Lei Shu's words. Even though it may have sounded like he was making a joke, the principle behind what he was saying was deeply admirable. Mo Fen respected this man and spoke, "Child, there is no need for you to give your life to me as I have no need for it. I Mo Fen will take you as my disciple but if you fail to impress me, we will have no further relations. I can't carry around dead weight, it might come back to harm me. If I truly do have your life in my hands then I will ask of one thing from you, live your life how you want to. The meaning of life is what you make it, everyone can say they have a different meaning and no one can prove that their way is the only way. Some gain meaning from power. I myself believe that the meaning of life is to be happy. Without happiness there would be no reason to live. Every day would be torturous, and it would continue until you slowly become insane. Although it doesn't look like it, my happiness comes from serving and helping others, I sense that you have a deep feeling to protect, and this is your happiness.

Lei Shu was shocked, the man in front of him could see through him as though he was as thin as a single sheet of paper. Lei Shu hurriedly got up and bowed once more, Lei Shu was about to begin thanking the old man until the old man stopped him.

"No need for thanking me, you still have yet to become my official disciple. I have one trial for you and as your first trial, this will be a life and death trial. It may seem cruel but if you fear death then you should not cultivate, it is as simple as that." What shocked the old man a bit was that this young man's eyes did not shudder one bit. Even the stench of blood, bodies and screams of beasts and the mention of life and death battles did not cause any fluctuation in his clear calm eyes.

Lei Shu was ready for anything and he seemed as though he was untouchable, living by his own rules. Nothing could destroy his will and beliefs. His values were solid, and the opinions of irrelevant people did nothing to him.

Mo Fen's eyes slightly shook. He seemed to reminisce about his younger days while looking at Lei Shu, there was something in this boy he felt was very familiar.

After a moment Mo Fen spoke, "This is the last time you will hear from me before the trial. I have a few things to say. Do not constantly thank me in the future and do not try to suck up to me. I have seen many things and false intentions have been plentiful among them. I will leave you with 7 more bowls of medicine and in two weeks' time, I will arrive with your trial details. Strengthen your body as much as possible, grow accustomed to the darkness around you and within you, calm your heart and create a plan before rushing in headless." The old man was going to say one more thing, but he stopped himself before a flash appeared in his eyes, he quickly turned and left the cave.

Lei Shu was dumbstruck, he gained a powerful master just like that. He was booming with the feeling of progression; he could finally begin his journey and the first thing was this life and death trial. As soon as the old man left the cave, Lei Shu began moving towards the 7 bowls of medicine. He raised the bowl and roared inside the cave, "Starting with this bowl, I, Lei Shu, will have my name strike like thunder and lightning in the ears of those who hear it. My name will bring fear and despair to my enemies and hope and respect to my family. I, Lei Shu, will change the world."