Today was a joyous day because it marks the year of the creation of the Heilong Kingdom located on the Wulin continent. It was also the day of the Stellar Alignment that only happens once every 1000 years. The Heilong Kingdom had been established since the end of the great war between humanity and the Black Soul Eating Dragon, also known as Heilong. In honor of defeating the dragon, the kingdom was named after it.

Festivals and parties were at a full swing today, especially for one family, the Zhou clan.   

Lots of merchants and people would pass Blue Tear City, thus allowing a large amount of money to flow into the city and made the residents wealthy.  

The Zhou controlled the regulation of trade, making it the wealthiest of the three clans. While the Wu controlled a small army stationed to protect the town, thus making them the law enforcers of the city. And finally, the Liu who neither had the most wealth or power but control most of the land in the city. They alone own basically half of the city’s farmlands and possess the longest history in the city, being able to trace their lineage back to the founders of Heilong Kingdom.  

Today the Zhou clan would be welcoming the newest addition to their family. The wife of Zhou Cheng the leader of the Zhou clan, had just given birth to his first son named Zhou Zhang.

Zhang’s birth was just like any other baby, but the midwife panicked when he came out, he was a particularly odd baby, unlike most babies he did not cry when he was born. She had thought that he was possibly stillborn.   

Zhang’s mother picked him up and cradled him gently in her arms, as he stared at her and everyone in the room intently.

The next day, the Zhou mansion was filled with people, servants were outside keeping an eye on horses and carriages while their masters were congratulating Zhou Cheng.   

Zhou Cheng was so happy that he had ordered his servants to allow everyone who wished to join the festivities to enter the mansion. People that usually would not be at such a social gathering soon flooded into the mansion and seated nonetheless.   

“Is this the place that’s giving out free food?” The old man said cheerfully.

“This way sir.” A maid said as she led him to a table.

Not so long after the man had entered the mansion, Zhang’s mother, Zhen Jin, who was known as the prettiest woman in the city walked out of her room carrying Zhang in her arms.  

Zhen Jin thought to herself, “what could this man possibly have that her family did not already have?” Nonetheless, the treasure of someone of his status was probably worth nothing to her. But she kept quiet and simply smiled.  

The pendant had a strange glow to it, although it was pitch black there was a somewhat blue sheen to it, which mesmerized everyone who looked at it.  

The man then proceeded to say, “Your child’s future will be riddled with tragedy but also filled with greatness. He will experience the most terrible ordeals and enjoy the best world has to offer. He will stand on top of millions with power that can bring down the heavens or he will be like me, penniless, homeless, and alone.  Being born during the Stellar Alignment and blessed by the Blood Moon could be viewed as a blessing, but it can also be viewed as a curse.”  

Zhen Jin however was furious, she had not heard anything the man had said after he had told her that her child’s life would be filled with tragedy. She was certain that this man was a lunatic and then ordered her servants to kick the man out of the mansion. And in a fit of rage, she tossed the pendant the man had given Zhang into the pond in her garden on her way back to her room.  

Eventually, the people in the mansion gave up trying to take the pendant off Zhang’s neck.  

Zhou Cheng and his wife Zhen Jin brought their son to the Wu clan’s mansion to celebrate Wu Ling’s birth.  

This was to change the long-lasting friendship among the two clans into family ties. And thus two destinies were tied together, Zhang and Ling were to be married when they both reached the age of sixteen.  

“How am I supposed to know? All we can do it hope they get along or else we might end up being terrible parents for doing this.” Zhou Cheng said with a chuckle.

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He was given the finest clothes and the best things that could be bought. From silk woven blankets to gorgeous tiny articles of clothing that were made especially for him.

Zhang was like any other baby who was showered with love and care grew very quickly. By the age of eight months, he had started waddling all around the Zhou clan’s mansion. Sometimes  he even managed to waddle away from the watchful eyes of the maids assigned to watch over him.

As Zhang’s father and Ling’s father watched the two children play they felt at ease about their decision to engage the two.

Thier attachment grew as the months and years went by and the two toddlers became small children. The two playmates  became the best of friends who were inseparable from each other. Without a worry or care in the world the two of the spent every waking minute playing with each other.

When Zhang was not playing with Ling, he was exploring the clan’s large garden. Zhang could be described as a very curious and adventurous child who could run about for hours on end and not become bored. Zhang often spent his time sitting under a large apple tree that was on top of a hill that overlooked a part of the city. He and Ling would often play under the cool shade of the apple tree on hot summer days.

He learned art, literature, basic etiquette, and other general knowledge that one should know. Zhang was about to learn everything taught to him at an astounding speed that made his tutors all awestruck. As the eventually ran out of things to teach him, they  soon left one after another ashamed of their lack of knowledge. In the end, only one tutor stayed behind to teach the young boy.

One time he scared the living daylights of out of the maids assigned to watch over him. Zhang had climbed up on a horse for the first time while the reins were being held by a male servant. Once Zhang was on top of the horse he accidently pulled on the mane of the horse which caused it to go mad and kick about sending him flying off the horse. Seeing this, all of the servants rushed to where Zhang fell to see if he was okay, worrying about his safety.

This however was not the only odd thing about Zhang. Often times late at night he would wake up screaming and yelling. And when asked what happened he would tell everyone that he saw scary looking man chasing him.

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Most people just shrugged it off as the random talk of a child, who was probably just repeating what he heard an adult had said.  

Essence was in every living thing; some called it the soul, others called it life energy. Essence had many uses, one could harness the powers of nature and bestow it to their weapons for combat. For instance, someone with essence related to lightning might be able to bestow their sword the power of lightning. If one was able to train and reach a higher level, they could possibly shoot lightning from their fingertips; or use the elements to strengthen their bodies beyond the realms of man.  

Although it was very hard to become saints, there were quite a few of them in the Wulin continent, mainly because once they became a saint they would be free from illness, aging and live indefinitely.

To be able to attend the Royal Academy was an honor that most of the families dreamed of, but the requirements weren’t easy to fulfill. Every age group had a set of parameters for essence levels and one had to be at least two levels higher than the average of their age group and a high elemental amplitude to even be considered for admittance.  

Typically, someone at ages of ten through twelve would have an essence level of one, and someone at the age of thirteen through sixteen would most likely be a level 2. Whereas essence could be increased and trained, amplitude was what one was born with and would never increase or decrease.

Ling and Zhang were an inseparable pair that was often seen playing together and being born only a few months apart they would be taking the test at the same time.  

Zhang then sprinkled a drop of his blood onto the crystal, and in an instant it projected his age and essence level, which as 10 years old and level 1. He waited for the crystal to change color to reveal what element he had an amplitude in, but it remained transparent. Disappointed and somewhat ashamed, Zhang walked off the stage.  

Zhang couldn’t help but smile because it truly didn’t hurt, it wasn’t that he was pretending it didn’t hurt nor was it that he was distracted by something and didn't notice the pain. Zhang simply could not feel pain, ever since he was born Zhang had never been able to feel pain. No one knew of this besides his parents.  

If Ling’s essence kept increasing at the age of sixteen, she would be admitted for sure into the Royal Academy.  

Ling came running down from the stage towards Zhang, with a broad smile across her face as her silky black hair flew in the wind.

“You’ll do better next year for sure Zhang!” She said.

And so they continued on their way home, when they had reached Zhang’s home, he took Ling’s hand and told her that he wanted to show her something.

Zhang and Ling ran up to the hill and stood under a big apple tree. Zhang began to climb up the tree and Ling soon followed. Once they reached the top they were able to see the whole city and the sun setting.  

Zhang picked an apple and handed it to Ling, and the two would sit and chat until it was time for Ling to go home.

He didn’t think too much about it, it became a common occurrence for him and would happen quite frequently.

His father hired a private tutor for him, the tutor taught various subjects such as literature, geography, art, and overall basic etiquette.

Thus began Zhang’s path into cultivating, the first thing he was taught was the various uses of essence. He learned that a person who used their essence to strengthen their bodies would be classed as warriors, and people who used their essence to manipulate outside forces would be called mages. Generally, people pick one or the other, everyone had their own preferences but once they reached sainthood it would all be the same since they would have mastered control over essence.

He was told once he mastered this he could be able to use the energy in two ways, he could channel it into his body parts to make them stronger than they normally would be or if he had the talent release it from his body and make it take shape.

Zhang would try to circulate his essence but each time he was able to gather some, in an instant it would disappear. As if he was trying to get water out of an empty well.

Not seeing any results, however, his teacher offered him an alternative. Instead of strengthening his inner energy, strengthen his body. Instead of gathering energy inside a vessel and use that energy to strengthen the vessel, they would instead directly strengthen vessel itself.

However, not wanting to fall behind Ling any further Zhang gave it his all. He would wake up every morning and strap weights onto his arms and legs like his teacher told him and run laps from his house all the way to the hill in the back of the garden. Roughly a mile-long stretch to the hill from the house and as soon as he got back he would have to start over.

When Ling came over to play, Zhang would always be too busy training, he did not want to be left behind by her.

Ever since he started training Zhang always had a weird feeling in the back of his mind, he felt that something or someone was telling him to get stronger and obtain more power. It made him feel afraid of being weak and afraid of being left behind thus, he would always push himself to the limit.

Zhang learned two different sword styles, the first used a traditional long sword and was meant to follow a certain flow to use the enemy's power against them, which was more appropriate for one on one duels.

One followed a flow that was best for defending and fighting long battles, whereas the other was best for its explosive movements and fast attacks. Zhang honed his skills in both styles and would soon master all of the techniques that his master taught him.

Zhang would keep training day in and day out and gradually grew stronger by the day.