The Deity of War

Qi Ying had always known that he was out of the ordinary. When he cultivated with his very first cultivation method, he was able to immediately materialize energy within his first major acupoint, and he knew from that moment that he had prodigious aptitude. For him, cultivation would be far simpler than it was for others.

However, he discovered that he had still underestimated just how talented he was. He was able to instantly sense the countless constituent particles within the vital energy of heaven and earth, just after activating his Energy Guidance Mantra for the first time. It was as if he were already a seasoned veteran who had been cultivating for decades! How scary was that?!

‘So be it! This can only be beneficial to me, so what am I worried about?’

Qi Ying was feeling quite elated, as if he were hunting on a mountain but stumbled upon a massive nugget of gold instead.

After sensing the vital energy of heaven and earth, the next step was to find the Purple Energy before guiding it into his body.

Guiding different types of energy into one’s body decided the direction one’s future cultivation would take.

Some cultivated with methods like the Fierce Flame Mantra, in which case they would need to guide explosive and extremely unstable fire-type particles into their bodies, in order to create fire-type True Energy. Those who cultivated in the Extreme Frost Cultivation Method had to guide frost-type particles into their bodies, thereby allowing them to attain frost-type True Energy. Aside from those, there were also water-type, metal-type, and many other types of True Energy… Strictly speaking, Purple Energy was a branch of fire-type True Energy. It contained extremely high levels of power, but compared to fire-type True Energy, it was far more stable, and sacrificed explosiveness for density.

Accumulation before eruption had always been the cultivation path Qi Ying pursued.

Soon, Qi Ying identified some purple particles among the smorgasbord of different colors laid out before him. Compared to other vital energy constituent particles, the purple kind possessed higher levels of energy that were also more stable in nature.

“Absorb!”

Qi Ying began to guide the purple particles into his body…

Slowly, wisps of Purple Energy began to appear around Qi Ying’s body. That Purple Energy revolved around him, before gradually being absorbed into his pores and seeping into his meridians.

“Nice!”

Qi Ying was very excited.

The amount of Purple Energy being guided into his body had gone beyond his expectations, as had the rate of absorption. At the very least, it was much faster than what he had heard from his teachers.

After that, he had to circulate the Purple Energy into his body for a complete cycle before guiding it into his dantian, where it would form a sea of energy. Activating the mantra at that time would form an energy vortex, thereby taking him to the Energy Martial Stage.

However, things did not go as planned.

Roughly ninety percent of the Purple Energy that went into his body was absorbed by his left hand!

‘F*ck off!’

Qi Ying almost swore out loud.

‘What have I done to you to deserve this?’

‘I could have formed an energy vortex after absorbing two or three more batches of Purple Energy, but you’ve taken ninety percent! My rate of absorption has dropped down to ten percent of what it was as a result! Ninety bloody percent!’

Qi Ying was suddenly struck by the urge to chop off his left hand. That thing was more trouble than it was worth!

However, Qi Ying managed to repress his impulses and calmed himself down before continuing to patiently guide the Purple Energy.

‘Amitabha, I am far too violent. Even with my rate of absorption reduced by ninety percent, I’m still no slower than anyone else. Besides, nothing is perfect. My left arm greatly benefits me, so it must also present some detrimental effects too.’

Qi Ying tried some self-counseling.

The sun set lower and lower before gradually disappearing behind the mountain. The moon emerged alongside a sea of bright stars.

The Purple Energy revolving around Qi Ying’s body finally completely vanished.

His dantian, which was completely empty not long ago, had been filled with rich purple True Energy. That was the True Energy Qi Ying had attained after using his Purple Energy Cultivation Method, to convert the Purple Energy he absorbed.

At the center of his dantian, a small patch of purple True Energy began to slowly rotate. Gradually, the surrounding purple True Energy also followed suit… More and more of the energy joined in, and a vortex was taking shape.

After an indeterminate amount of time, a dense and powerful energy vortex had taken shape!

Wisps of purple True Energy then detached themselves from the energy vortex before flowing into his meridians and into his nine major acupoints. The energy within his acupoints was then also converted into True Energy.

Then, something infuriating happened again!

Each time the purple True Energy flowed into his left hand through his meridians, a bit of it would be stripped away. It was only a tiny amount, roughly five percent, but it was still nothing to be scoffed at! Five percent was taken after each cycle, which meant that an entire cycle worth of energy would be stripped away every twenty cycles!

Energy vortexes were extremely stable once materialized; even without True Energy, it could absorb Purple Energy to be converted into True Energy again. However, his left hand still presented quite a worrying issue. During battle, True Energy circulated for one cycle per several dozen seconds, which meant that he would be extremely inefficient in prolonged battles!

But there was nothing he could do about that. He could only look on as his hard-earned True Energy was taken from him like income tax.

After a long while.

“Phew…”

Qi Ying exhaled before opening his eyes. A faint purple light appeared shimmering within his pupils.

Whoosh!

A gust of wind swept up around him.

In that instant, Qi Ying’s aura seemed to have been elevated.

He extended his right hand, and a ball of purple energy appeared above his palm. Qi Ying smiled with satisfaction. “I did it! I’ve reached the Energy Martial Stage!”

Qi Ying didn’t bask in excitement for too long. He had completely immersed himself in cultivation, and had lost track of time. It was probably already close to midnight. Mother Yu would surely be worried.

He was feeling a little anxious. How was he going to explain getting home that late?

Qi Ying repressed the urge to test out his new power as he rushed along the moonlit mountain path. After a while, he caught sight of the light emanating from that small courtyard, and he picked up the pace.

After finally arriving at the familiar courtyard, Qi Ying was rooted to the spot. His eyes were wide with shock, and his hands were balled up into tight fists. “What happened?! Who did this?”

The walls of the courtyard had been toppled, the stone table was smashed, and the budding vegetable field had been stomped into disarray. With the exception of their house, the warm and inviting courtyard that he and Mother Yu had taken many days to set up had been reduced to rubble!

A thought suddenly occurred to Qi Ying and he yelled as he charged into the room. “Mother Yu!”