"Come on, let's stake everything on one final gamble."
"The victor will possess it all."
"The loser will suffer eternal ruin and be utterly annihilated!"
The mad voice dissolved into countless mutterings.
"Ah!"
The youth cried out and woke from his dream. He wiped his face, finding it drenched in cold sweat. "Another one of those strange dreams! Ever since I was born, I haven't been able to escape them!"
"Never mind. I'd better get some rest and save my strength. The Coming-of-Age Ritual starts tomorrow!"
The youth was named Gu. He was born in a small tribe in the Southern Barbarian Hundred Thousand Mountains.
The Southern Barbarian Hundred Thousand Mountains had their own rules. Every newborn had to be tested. Those with suitable aptitude were immediately taken into the sacred grounds to be raised as the strongest warriors of their people.
Their society held views utterly different from the outside world. They believed that things like familial affection and friendship were nothing but hindrances.
Only by devoting oneself wholeheartedly to cultivation could one become the strongest warrior of the tribe!
Thus, from the time he was very young, Gu had trained under the strictest regimen alongside the other children who had been gathered there. Crying earned nothing but a lashing; only the strong won the respect of their peers.
Luckily, I was born with good aptitude. The elders all said I had an eighty percent chance of successfully awakening my spirit and activating my bloodline power during tomorrow's Coming-of-Age Ritual!
Gu clenched his fist.
Without bloodline power, he couldn't become transcendent. He would remain a mere mortal, unable to live a hundred years.
Among this batch of tribespeople, I'm one of the top five in strength. I'll definitely succeed!
For some reason, there was always a voice inside