Conquering Worlds: The Cultivating Celestial

Chapter 1

Edited by Feypen

“A journey begins with a single step, while immortality begins when you discover your ‘true self’.”

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Three years earlier...

On a rectangular platform located inside the Heaven Empire Academy, two youths were currently sparring. The two kept exchanging blows. An intricate dance of sabers being executed. Each stroke was nerve wracking as both blades collided over and over again.

Beads of sweat could be seen on the young girl's forehead and neck. The two youths had been fighting for a long time. As they fought, both of their clothes were thoroughly soaked, but the young girl's determination and stubbornness were clearly displayed in her phoenix eyes.

Her tiredness would not lessen her attack, even while fighting her only friend, for her opponent's face was partially similar to the one she hated the most.

The young man knew that he would need to undergo another round of fighting until girl was satisfied. He was very familiar with her fiery temperament. She was always stubborn.

That was particularly why he was interested in her. Back in the days, she would always make trouble for him. Sometimes, he would be put in a difficult spot, especially when she got punished by her father. He couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry about those bittersweet memories.

However, it was said there was always a turning point in one's life, and some fates could not be decided by one's hand. It was exactly why he was dragged here this afternoon to undergo this torturous enterprise. He was being used as a cannon fodder to vent her anger.

It was one week ago, when the Emperor issued the edict, stating that she was to marry his brother, the crown prince. Most of the girls would have been ecstatic, but she felt the opposite. She was angry, and so it resulted in a week of torture for him.

"Xiaomei, just be calm. Maybe we can get my brother to cancel the wedding engagement." The man attempted to persuade the girl while dodging the incoming attack.

"Xiao Zi, do you know what that shameless ice block threatened me with?" The girl asked through gritted teeth. Before the man could interrupt, the girl suddenly spoke. "He said that if I were to do anything against the marriage, he would skip all the formalities and take action immediately. And tell everyone that I, Dongfang Li Yue, already had feelings for him!" The girl said while seething with anger.

"Xiaomei, you can talk to the Prime minister about this, he is your father. Didn't you persuade him to reject that marriage proposal last time?" The man was heavily panting by now, his legs and arms were turning numb. Any moment soon he would end up collapsing on the floor and waking up in his room while being tended to by the doctor. The limiters around his ankles were towing him down. He wondered how she could still continue with those limiters around hers as well.

"Xiao Zi, I did already, but father was adamant! He kept saying that if he continued rejecting proposals, I could stay unmarried and live the rest of my life as a nun reading scriptures." She shuddered visibly.

The man responded with a bitter smile. He knew that once his friend married, their contact with each other would lessen and his friend would lose what was left of her innocence. He let out a sigh. What Li Yue valued the most was freedom while venturing through the jianghu world, facing off powerful opponents, and indulging in the beautiful sceneries of the mortal realm. Too bad she was born as a female and a minister's daughter.

He still vividly remembered the moment when Li Yue told him her dream.

"Xiao Zi, one day I'll travel beyond the boundaries of this realm and venture into the exciting world of the jianghu. I'll exchange blows with powerful experts, while making friends along the way, and I’ll be away from all of this political adversary. Then maybe I’ll make a name for myself in history and have anecdotes written after me. Xiao Zi, how about you? What’s your dream?"