Chapter 3

At Qingzhou Academy, with Mount Tianyao as its background, occupied quite a bit of land. Even an outer sect disciple would be able to have a personal residence on campus.

Ye Futian returned to where the residences of the outer sect disciples were located. With Yu Sheng trailing quietly behind him, Ye Futian walked into his own residence.

“Yu Sheng, I want to give up,” he said slowly as he stopped in his tracks.

“Even if the Mandate has yet to awaken, you’re still incredibly gifted.” Yu Sheng looked at the youth in front of him. When Ye Futian had identified himself as a Mandate Sorcerer, everyone had laughed at him, but only Yu Sheng knew that it was no laughing matter.

Ye Futian was indeed a Mandate Sorcerer.

“I know that. It’s just that I’ve worked so hard.” Ye Futian smiled bitterly. “It’s been three years. If this goes on I really will get left behind by you. It looks like I’ll have to work harder.”

“Come on, let’s go train.” Ye Futian turned to look at the young man behind him. Yu Sheng was a head taller than him, with a frame larger than most. He naturally had a strong aura about him.

The two walked into the designated development area inside the residence. Ye Futian sat down cross-legged, instantly closing his eyes. A bright airflow surrounded him. The Spiritual Qi in the small area he occupied was going crazy, and began rushing towards Ye Futian. Yu Sheng watched all of this from behind without a word. At that moment, Ye Futian was like a formidable vortex, engulfing all the Spiritual Qi. If the others were to witness this scene, they would be rendered speechless out of fear.

The frightful flow of air drifted through his body, his inner mind its destination. This was the location of his Life Palace.

Possessing a spirit in your Life Palace, also known as the Life Spirit, was an attribute of a Mandate Sorcerer.

Currently, in Ye Futian’s Life Palace, there was a large ancient tree thick with jade-green leaves. However, the land around the tree was barren. As the Spiritual Qi drifted into the Life Palace, the tree greedily absorbed it all. The crisp green leaves rustled, moving without the help of wind.

An apparition appeared under the tree. It was Ye Futian. He looked at the magnificent tree in front of him and said quietly, “Three years of absorbing Spiritual Qi, yet it hasn’t made any difference. You only know how to take. If you’re going to be like this, then I’m no longer going to transfer any of the Spiritual Qi I absorb to you.”

He had said everything that he needed to say. The apparition he had created with his consciousness disappeared. The Spiritual Qi that was flowing through his body was no longer headed in the direction of his Life Palace, but travelled to the rest of his body instead.

A great wave of Spiritual Qi washed over his body. He was ready for the Enhancement Plane. Right at that moment, however, a strong force emerged, pulling all the Spiritual Qi backward. It began rushing straight back into the Life Palace.

The sudden change caused Ye Futian to shudder. Boy, he was pissed. For the past three years he had sent every last bit of Spiritual Qi he had collected to the Life Palace, but saw no results. Now it was forcefully taking it away, keeping him from developing.

Just the thought of this made Ye Futian want to fight. The forceful energy ignored his feelings, however, and continued its crazed absorption of all the Spiritual Qi. The force then began to absorb all the energy in Ye Futian’s body. In only a few moments, Ye Futian’s complexion began to turn pale.

*sshole! Ye Futian cursed. Accompanying the raging rush of Spiritual Qi into the Life Palace, he felt a violent shaking in his head. It seemed as if there was a drastic change going on in the Palace. His consciousness attempted to interrupt it, but was destroyed by a wild force.

Ah…! A deep growl escaped his lips. Yu Sheng stood up abruptly, witnessing the change in Ye Futian’s body. Not only was his body changing, but all the Spiritual Qi he had previously collected from around him was rushing towards him as well. Even more, the flowers, grass, and trees in the surrounding area all began to wilt at an alarming rate. Yu Sheng’s eyes lit up as he realized what was happening. He stepped closer to Ye Futian and took a seat right behind him. When he placed both of his hands on Ye Futian’s body, he immediately felt an enormous force. It absorbed the Spiritual Qi Yu Sheng had in his own body, just as he thought it would.

Was it finally awakening?

……

When Ye Futian woke up, all he knew was that his body felt extremely weak. The sunlight pierced his eyes as he opened them. A night had passed.

“What…happened?” Ye Futian sat up and saw the withered plants. Seated beside him was a weakened Yu Sheng.

Thinking of the events of the previous day, Ye Futian closed his eyes, his consciousness entering his Life Palace. Ye Futian jumped at the sight of his previously barren Life Palace. There was now a moon in the sky, shining down on the vast land, as well as mountains and streams. The ancient tree the Life Spirit had resided in stood as tall as ever, looking greener than ever before. It was full of Spiritual Qi.

The World Tree. The apparition of Ye Futian, created by his consciousness, appeared under the ancient tree once more. Could it be that his old man had lied?

His father had once told him that his ancestors were Mandate Sorcerers who had gone against Heaven’s will. The World Tree could take the spirit from anything on Earth. However, it had failed to be passed on, and Ye Futian was the only one who had inherited their ancestors’ innate abilities.

Could it be that Freedom Meditation is real? Ye Futian thought of the Freedom Meditation mantras he had repeated over and over as a child. He was excited, With his eyes closed, the mantras flowed from his mouth. He quickly became focused, controlling all his thoughts. It was as if he was galloping between Heaven and Earth.

Just as quickly, a dense force of Spiritual Qi appeared in his meditative mind. Within that dense force, he was able to see different colored Spiritual Qi. Those were the purest kinds of elemental Spiritual Qi. Each color represented a different type of element.

Flames. Ye Futian’s thoughts locked onto the blazing red Spiritual Qi. It was the fire-element Spiritual Qi. The World Tree Life Spirit took on the blazing red color; it was truly a dazzling sight. Suddenly, outside the Life Palace, the fire-element Spiritual Qi flowed feverishly into Ye Futian’s body. It wandered into every organ, giving him a strong burning sensation.

Wood-element. Ye Futian shifted his focus to the green Spiritual Qi using the Freedom Meditation. His body flooded with wood-element Spiritual Qi, instantly replenishing the energy that had been taken from him.

Metal, Earth, Wind, Water… Ye Futian played around with this for quite a while. Finally, he stopped, opened his eyes, and stared blankly into the space in front of him.

“Is this…real?” Ye Futian looked down at his hands in disbelief.

“Of course it’s real! You’re a Full-Attribute Sorcerer.” Sitting behind him, Yu Sheng had clenched his fists in excitement, to the point that the veins in his arms were clearly visible. He stared straight ahead at Ye Futian. “Plus, you’re a Full-Attribute Mandate Sorcerer, who is able to develop in both martial and divination arts.”

“Then, isn’t my gift…” Ye Futian’s eyes shimmered.

“Against the will of Heaven,” Yu Sheng finished. “There’s no one else like you in the city of Qingzhou.”

His face cracked into a big smile. So many of the elders in his family had been unable to inherit their ancestors’ great gift, yet he had. Was this the Mandate of Heaven? A Mandate Sorcerer, operating on the will of the Mandate?

“Let’s go.” Ye Futian stood up suddenly, heading outside the residence.

“Where to?” questioned Yu Sheng.

“To the back of the mountains,” replied Ye Futian. The mountains he was referring to were the Mount Tianyao mountains behind Qingzhou Academy.

“Demons scour the back mountains. Why do you want to go there?” Yu Sheng asked.

“We’ll just go near the border. Besides, what do I have to be afraid of with you next to me?” He was out the door before he finished his sentence. Yu Sheng did not have much to say, so he followed after him.

Mount Tianyao was an extensive chain of mountains. The terrain was steep, and demons walked the land. Not many people knew exactly how deep the mountains were. It was said that the reason for building Qingzhou Academy in front of the mountains was to prevent the demons from coming out and causing harm to the citizens. At the same time, it also provided a place for the academy’s disciples to train.

At noon, the two youths climbed up Mount Tianyao and stood on a boulder that was resting on top of a cliff at the border of the mountain range. Looking down at the massive academy grounds, Ye Futian exhaled.

It had been three years. Knowing his identity as a Mandate Sorcerer, how could he have possibly been satisfied developing in only martial arts? There had been no change in his Life Spirit, creating a hint of disappointment under his proud exterior. It had finally come to an end; he was going to keep reaching for his dream of becoming a powerful Mandate Sorcerer.

The scorching sun beamed on Ye Futian as he looked up at its rays. His squinted eyes gave off a powerful sense of confidence. The Freedom Meditation’s key points were observation and thought. Right now, he was observing and thinking about the sun.

As Ye Futian observed and thought about the scorching sun, he stood atop the large boulder. The rays of the sun turned into flames and permeated his surroundings. They then pierced Ye Futian’s body. The forceful blaze of fire flowed around him, reaching every internal organ and each of his limbs, filling his entire body.

Yu Sheng watched as Ye Futian turned into a man on fire in front of his very eyes. Those same firm eyes showed happiness. The sleeping dragon had finally awakened.

Crackling sounded as Ye Futian’s skin burned red from the blazing flames. Under the incineration of the sun’s flames, his body continued changing.

After a long while, Ye Futian’s skin glistened like crystals, but also bright, like a fire. Within his body, fiery dragons rushed into every vessel, causing a loud rumble. There was a lot of activity, and many loud, frantic noises. Luckily, there was no one else at the top of the mountains, so Yu Sheng was the only one that heard them.

It was shocking that entering the Enhancement and Venation Planes could cause such a ruckus.

In the blink of an eye, it was already dusk. The sun was setting, and Ye Futian’s entire body was engulfed in flames. It felt like a storm was raging inside his body. His bones were crackling continuously. He finally stopped when the sun disappeared below the horizon. Slowly, he opened his eyes. Unexpectedly, a beam of fire shot out from his pupils.

“You broke through three planes in a day,” Yu Sheng stated in shock. After having been suppressed for three years, he had broken out in one day. Borrowing the power of the sun for the calcination of his body, he had powered through both the Enhancement and Venation Planes in one go. He was now in the fourth plane of Awakening, the Adament Plane. He now possessed an impenetrable iron body.

“This is too cool,” Ye Futian muttered. It would have taken at least a few months for an ordinary person to achieve an iron body. To become a Mandate Sorcerer, he had used Freedom Meditation to observe and think about the flames of the sun, and with some help from his Life Spirit, he had been able to achieve it in half a day.

At that moment, he felt completely energized. He stood up and walked over to an ancient tree at the top of the mountain. With a quick wave of his fist and a loud snap, the large tree that had once stood in front of him split into pieces. The area where his fist had landed on the tree trunk was now burned black.

“Even those in the Juggernaut Plane wouldn’t be able to handle a punch from you,” Yu Sheng gasped, seeing the result of Ye Futian’s work. Those in the Juggernaut Plane had immense strength, but the force of that one punch from Ye Futian definitely surpassed the strength one would normally possess in the Juggernaut Plane.