In the midst of a dense, widespread forest, a bright light illuminated the night, leaving a trail of smoke in the sky.

Lying beside a small bonfire, Lucian frowned in his unconscious state. Long, deep lines surfaced over his forehead.

"Umm..." He mumbled in his sleep-like state, moving his body around in uneasiness. All of a sudden, as he turned his body to the left, he extended his right hand all the way. His palm reached the freshly burnt coal leftovers of the bonfire, toasting the edges of his fingers in an instant.

As the sharp pain surged through his bones, Lucian let out a loud, sharp shriek. His eyes snapped open in agony, but almost instantly, his voice died down. It was a voluntary withdrawal that Lucian chose upon seeing the starry sky and the edges of the tree branches—full of striking green leaves of the spring.

Gasping out loud for breath, the soft creaking of the woods in the bonfire made sure to crackle sense into his mind. Hearing its soft crackling sound, feeling the soft breeze of the mountainous wind, and smelling the earthy smell of nature, it all came down, hitting his mind like a turbulent waterfall.

"Uhm," His eyes narrowing sarcastically, "Where the fuck am I?" Both of his hands were spread out—his left hand merely inches away from the bonfire.

"So you are awake?" A familiar voice sounded near him, causing Lucian to instantly freeze in surprise. Though, almost immediately, he relaxed as he realized that it was the old man he had accepted as his master.

Then, almost instantly, he pushed his upper half off the ground with his arms and sat upright. His neck slightly twisted as he noticed the old man sitting to his left. The old man had his back resting against a giant, aged tree—sitting in a lotus position.

Lucian's mind was still heavy with tiredness, as he could not remember anything that might have led to this situation. 'The last thing I remember is venturing into the inner streets of Xiouyue with Master; after that... Urgh...' Forcing himself to remember correctly sent a wave of sharp pain surging through his head. Lucian, in visible pain, frowned and quickly clasped his temples.

"Do not try to think of it any further. I've temporarily sealed your memories of the time to help you retain your mind. If not for that, you'd have long since lost your mind." The old man's voice was loud and clear, yet eerily soothing as it calmed Lucian's pain down in an instant.

Lucian's eyes rolled towards the old man. His eyes were closed and his back straight. Even Lucian could easily understand his posture. The old man was neither cultivating nor sleeping in disguise. In a sense, one could call it mere meditation. But Lucian couldn't really understand this act of his.

The old man, as he claimed, really held enough power to seal someone's memories with such perfection. Why would they need to cultivate any further? In the normal sense, it's always been a fact that those who hold powers as such can absorb Qi as easily as breathing.

To them, sitting down at a place and cultivating is nothing more than a passion. However, from no angle did the old man look like such a passionate man.

"Do not worry." The old man slowly opened his eyes and spoke in a rather soft voice. "I've already gotten the answer I wanted. And I'm quite satisfied with it. Thus, as of today, you will be the first and the last disciple of this old man." His lips slightly curled into a somewhat soft smile.

Lucian, for a second, could not react, for his mind was still somewhat blurry from before. To be able to understand the old man's words correctly, he repeated the old man's words in his mind several times.

Then, as he realized what he meant, Lucian's eyes widened, and he quickly knelt before the old man. What he was about to perform now was the final custom that can only be performed once the chosen master truly accepts the child as their disciple. Of course, as simple as it sounded, the process itself was very hard.

Since, from what Lucian had learned from his parents, this last step usually took years since the master would like to test their disciple's perseverance and loyalty.

However, for it to be done this quickly for Lucian, it was nothing short of a blessing.

Touching his forehead to the ground, he yelled at the top of his lungs, "Disciple Feng Tian pays homage to the Master!" His voice resembled the roar of a lion, loud and fierce.

The old man smirked as his voice appeared once again. "My name is Tianlong Bai. I come from an ancient solitary sect, and I am the last lineage of the Tianlong sect. Now, you as well will be considered a lineage of the Tianlong sect. From now on, I'll teach you all the skills of my Tianlong sect with the best of my abilities. Of course, it won't be a short journey, so you'd better be ready for what's to come."

Looking at this sudden change in his expressions, Lucian instantly began to wonder whether his choice was truly correct or not. But even as he was, he could only believe and hope that this new master of his won't put his life into danger at least.

Up until now, Lucian had only witnessed the old man's indifferent expressions. However, now that his mind was still numb, he couldn't notice or even question the sudden change in the old man's eyes. Maybe it was because his memories had been altered. Or maybe, it was merely his slowly building trust towards his teacher.

Either way, he couldn't know what was truly going on in the mind of Tianlong Bai.

'Worry not, old friend. I will raise this child's powers with the best of my abilities.' The old man's eyes flickered with a mysterious, eerie glow.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.