He Had No Past

Dawn spilled over Crescent Moon Bay, speckling the waves with golden mist.

"Hey! Heh-heh!"

A group of children, ranging from three or four years old to their teens, numbering close to a hundred, stood in several neat rows on the riverbank at Crescent Moon Bay. With deliberate precision, they threw punches and raised their legs, earnestly carrying out their morning training.

Not far ahead of them, before the ancestral hall, nearly every member of the Liu Clan was present, some seated, some standing.

A burly man in martial robes, responsible for teaching the arts, walked before the youngest group of children. His bright gaze swept over them as he declared, "Our Liu Clan possesses the unique Seven Soul-Forging Cauldrons for cultivating the Soul Forging Realm. Each cauldron is a realm. What you practice is the Tiger Subduing martial art of the First Soul-Forging Cauldron. It strengthens sinews and bones, invigorates the blood, and tempers the legs. Once cultivated to the utmost limit of spiritual communion, you can refine the White Tiger Soul Pill, unleash Primordial Power, and lift the First Soul-Forging Cauldron."

He raised a hand and pointed to the side, where a small square cauldron stood. It was large enough to fit two children inside, ancient bronze in color, its surface gleaming with a solemn, dark-golden light beneath the morning sun.

"Today is a special day. Among you, there may emerge the greatest genius in the history of our clan," Liu Chengwu, the man teaching the arts, said, his voice trembling slightly.

Everyone's gaze fell upon the smallest child in the first row. He was only three or four years old. Standing amid the line, the children on either side of him were at least half a head taller, making him look especially out of place.

"Liu Ji, take this White Tiger Soul Pill and lift the cauldron." Liu Chengwu drew a deep breath and spoke solemnly to the child.

The child lifted his chin and stepped out. Taking the white pill Liu Chengwu offered him, he swiftly swallowed it, then strode toward the First Soul-Forging Cauldron beneath the rising sun and firmly gripped its feet with both hands.

On the riverbank, nearly everyone held their breath.

The child closed his eyes. A moment later, he suddenly opened them. Though his steps were somewhat unsteady, he slowly raised the First Soul-Forging Cauldron.

"Liu Ji has broken through to the First Soul-Forging Cauldron realm and become a One-Vessel Martial Apprentice!"

At Liu Chengwu's shout, the child slammed the First Soul-Forging Cauldron down with a boom and proudly lifted his head.

"Yeah!" Among the elders seated in the front row before the ancestral hall, an old man with graying temples rushed forward in wild delight, scooped the child up, and held him high as though displaying a treasure.

"Brother Zhengxu, congratulations on gaining such a gifted grandson."

"Lifting the Tiger Subduing Cauldron at three years old and entering the One-Vessel Martial Apprentice realm of the Soul Forging Realm—remarkable, truly remarkable!"

"Heaven has blessed our Liu Clan. Perhaps, through this child, we may one day break through the shackles that bind our clan in the Soul Forging Realm, reach the Law Soul Realm, and produce the Liu Clan's first Law Soul Warrior!"

The Soul Forging Realm contained seven cauldron realms. Cultivators advanced in order, becoming One-Vessel Martial Apprentices, Two-Vessel Martial Apprentices, all the way to Seven-Vessel Martial Apprentices. The Liu Clan had quite a few apprentices at the peak of the Seven-Vessel realm, yet since ancient times, no one had ever broken through the Soul Forging Realm to reach the Law Soul Realm and become a Law Soul Warrior. It was as though some shackle, like a set of chains, had been locked around the clan's fate.

Thus, every Liu Clan member on the riverbank at Crescent Moon Bay looked hopefully at the genius child being held high overhead.

No one noticed another, even smaller child—barely over a year old—wobbling toward the forgotten First Soul-Forging Cauldron. His toddling gait was enough to make one laugh.

He was a very pretty Little Dot, with a fair, tender face that seemed delicate enough to break at a breath, and large, bright black eyes. As he walked, he waved his tiny hands and babbled away, looking utterly innocent and foolish.

Behind Little Dot followed a gentle young woman, smiling vacantly as well, utterly oblivious to the commotion around her. When she saw Little Dot stumble and plop down on his bottom, she hurried forward to help him up.

But Little Dot pushed her away. This time, he simply used both hands and feet, quickly crawling to the First Soul-Forging Cauldron. He grasped its two feet, lifted with both hands, and stood up while hugging the cauldron.

"Ah—he... he picked up the First Soul-Forging Cauldron!"

Someone cried out in shock, and only then did everyone notice the unbelievable sight before them. Across Crescent Moon Bay, eyes and jaws nearly dropped all over the riverbank.

As the crowd stood stunned, Liu Yandong, the Liu Clan Patriarch, strode forward in a few quick steps and rushed before Little Dot. Clenching his fists, he said in a trembling voice, "Lift it!"

Little Dot's tiny face flushed red with strain. He exerted force through the hands gripping the cauldron's feet and raised the First Soul-Forging Cauldron several inches higher. No one noticed that dim runic light seemed to flicker within his palms, melding with the cauldron's feet.

"Lift it! Lift it! Lift it!"

At that moment, many people on the riverbank of Crescent Moon Bay snapped out of their daze and crowded forward. Their eyes gleamed with astonishment as they shouted at the top of their lungs.

Even those who had not stepped forward were deeply shaken.

Liu Ji, the Liu Clan genius who had been cast aside in an instant, was like someone thrust from the crest of a wave to its peak, only to be smashed brutally into the abyss. The unrestrained pride he had just gained was swallowed by the tide.

His grandfather, Nie Zhengxu, still held him aloft, standing there blankly and feeling like a laughingstock.

"Grandfather, put me down. Don't worry. Even if he can lift the First Soul-Forging Cauldron, he'll never have the chance to surpass me."

After a long while, Liu Ji was set down. He turned and coldly looked toward the Little Dot who had stolen his glory. Fierce chill blazed in his eyes, cold and piercing as the moon, and the aura he gave off made hearts tremble with fear.

Amid the fervent encouragement, Little Dot tried to exert more strength. But at that moment, the young woman behind him cried out in panic, "Ding'er, let go! Don't let it crush you!"

"Yiya, I don't have any strength left." Little Dot glanced back at the young woman. The runes in his palms faded away, and the Soul Forging Cauldron became heavy once more. It crashed down with a boom, kicking up dust across the ground. Frightened, he plopped down on his bottom, and the young woman pulled him into her arms, calling him her precious darling.

Three days later, when Liu Yandong announced that he would formally take this mythical child as his grandson, he was immediately met with a storm of opposition.

Had Liu Yandong's son and grandson still been alive, his words would have carried the weight of nine cauldrons. Before anyone dared voice opposition to the Patriarch, they would have had to sort through their thoughts several times.

The position of Liu Clan Patriarch had always been inherited solely by the direct line of Liu Yandong's branch. Now that branch had been cut off at the root: his son had mysteriously vanished during a hunt, the posthumous child he left behind had suddenly died at six months old, and his daughter-in-law had gone mad. Only after she brought home an abandoned infant from the back gate on a stormy night last year had she improved slightly.

They all knew that Liu Yandong had no descendants left, and that the absurd clan rule of hereditary succession through the direct line had reached its end. Thus, the moment Liu Yandong spoke, opposition rose from every side, no longer sparing him any face.

They had paid little attention to the abandoned infant Liu Yandong's daughter-in-law had brought back. What kind of child could a woman not in her right mind possibly raise?

But three days earlier, this infant had miraculously lifted the First Soul-Forging Cauldron, which weighed several hundred jin, without practicing the Tiger Subduing Fist or refining a White Tiger Soul Pill. In that instant, they felt the threat once more.

"To make an abandoned child of an outside surname your grandson, Patriarch Liu Yandong—how could you even think of such a thing? Do you still intend to pass down the direct line's hereditary succession?"

The loudest opposition came from Nie Zhengxu. He placed particular emphasis on the words "direct line hereditary succession," and the mockery in them needed no explanation.

"Nie Zhengxu, when you use the words 'outside surname,' mind your own surname first." Liu Yandong's cold retort immediately choked off the impassioned speech Nie Zhengxu had been about to deliver.

The Liu Clan was one of the four great families of this land in Chixian. Villages under its command were scattered everywhere, and they lived by hunting. Almost every day, they faced all manner of terrifying savage beasts. Even an ordinary vicious wolf was as large as a wild boar. Frail humans could not survive at all without undergoing cultivation tempered a thousand times over.

Several thousand years ago, one of the Liu Clan's ancestors had obtained the unique Seven Soul-Forging Cauldrons that aided cultivation in the Soul Forging Realm. From there, the clan gradually grew powerful and established its dominion over this region.

Even a clan like the Liu Clan, blessed with a mysterious inheritance, had lost countless sons in the wilderness over the centuries. To make up for the loss of population, Liu Clan widows, and even daughters unwilling to marry outside the clan, could take husbands from the villages under the Liu Clan's command and have them marry into the family.

Nie Zhengxu was one such reserve member of the Liu Clan. Hearing Liu Yandong's sarcastic retort, he fell silent, but inwardly he was dissatisfied ten thousand times over. He and Liu Yandong were both at the Seven Soul-Forging Cauldrons realm, yet when their fist force collided, he stood firm as a bell while Liu Yandong had to retreat half a step.

"Patriarch Yandong, although Zhengxu married into the clan from an outside surname, he is still someone whose roots and background are known within Liu Clan territory. But that abandoned child your daughter-in-law brought back has an unknown origin. What if he is a spy planted by our enemies? In the future—"

The speaker was a clan elder whose strength was no weaker than Liu Yandong's. Yet the words "direct line hereditary succession" were a raw wound for all those of collateral blood. Now that the Liu Clan's direct line had finally been cut off, everyone could not help but begin making their own little calculations.

"I knew you would say that." Liu Yandong snorted coldly, then raised his voice. "Please invite Grand Fate Master Fang."

A soft cough came from a side room behind the ancestral hall. Then, a robed sorcerer with three long strands of beard stepped out.

"Fang... Fang Xi!"

Everyone cried out inwardly, nearly drawing a sharp breath. He was a legendary figure capable of seeing through the secrets of heaven. If he were invited to cast his art, he could uncover a person's past and origins. But to move him, the Liu Clan would surely have to bleed itself dry this time.

After the initial shock, Liu Yandong's second granduncle, also the clan's Grand Elder, understood why his Patriarch grandnephew had insisted on inviting him to the clan meeting. The furrows on his forehead deepened. "Yandong, although Liu Ding is astonishingly gifted, able to lift the First Soul-Forging Cauldron at such a young age, he is still—"

"Second Granduncle, there is no need to say more. I will give the clan an explanation." Liu Yandong raised his head and faced the elders. "By inviting Grand Fate Master Fang to examine my Liu Ding, I have shown my solemnity and resolve. I admit that inviting Grand Fate Master Fang will almost exhaust more than half of the clan's wealth."

Liu Yandong waved his hand, suppressing the many elders on the verge of erupting. "In return, I announce that after me, the position of clan patriarch will go to the capable."

"You mean that whoever can defeat you can take your position as Patriarch?" Nie Zhengxu's eyes immediately lit up.

Liu Yandong glanced down at him with disdain and said coldly, "You are thinking too much. I, Liu Yandong, inherited the Liu Clan Patriarch's position through the direct line. That is an ancestral rule that cannot be changed. But if you wish to spar with me, I, Liu Yandong, am willing to oblige."

"You're dangling a painted cake before us!" Nie Zhengxu shrieked in fury. A spar ended at the first touch—what use was that? Though he held half a step's advantage over Liu Yandong in the Soul Forging Realm, actual combat involved martial arts, comprehension, and even luck. Even if he won narrowly, the price he paid would certainly not be small.

"Twelve years. This is my final concession." Liu Yandong could not be bothered with Nie Zhengxu, a man with a thief's heart but no thief's courage. He faced the elders directly. "Twelve years from now, I will relinquish the position of Patriarch and let Liu Ding and the younger generation compete for it. If you disagree, no problem. I, Liu Yandong, am not even fifty this year. Many of you here may not live long enough to see the Liu Clan change dynasties. Heh-heh."

Though Liu Yandong ended with two chuckles of teasing, an indescribable sense of loss welled up within him. Twelve years from now, he would still be in the prime of power, the time to spread his wings and achieve great things—yet he would have to let it all go.

The elders naturally thought of this as well. Moreover, many of them were collateral members of the Liu Clan whose status was "neither justified nor legitimate." Their ancestors all bore, to some degree, the stain of having married into the clan. Even if Liu Yandong stepped down, under the Liu Clan's absurd clan rules, only a descendant with "pure" Liu Clan blood would be qualified to serve as Patriarch.

"Fine, we agree." In that instant, nearly more than half the elders made their decision.

"May we begin now?" Seeing that the clan dispute had finally settled like dust, Grand Fate Master Fang Xi asked blandly.

When Liu Ding was carried out, he waved his hands and feet, giggling happily, looking exceedingly adorable. Yet Fang Xi suddenly froze upon seeing him. Only after Liu Ding grabbed and tugged at his three strands of beard did he manage, laughing despite himself, to soothe the mischievous Little Dot. Then he cast a great hypnotic art and began probing his past and origins.

One incense stick burned out, then another was lit. A full five incense sticks burned away. Fang Xi's forehead was covered in sweat, yet his expression remained lost and bewildered. With narrowed eyes, he seemed to have sunk deep within it.

"Grand Fate Master Fang, is my grandson Liu Ding all right?" Seeing Fang Xi finally open his eyes, Liu Yandong could not help asking in a low voice.

Only then did Fang Xi seem to awaken from a great dream. He let out a long breath and frowned. "This child... he has no past."