After a couple of months, Shoneyi realized how difficult life in the Heaven Sect was. The boy understood that if he wanted to continue on his path and avoid ending up like his parents, he had to give it his all.
It was a matter of time before he was assigned a master, who would be someone from the Inner Circle. For this to happen, he would have to wait for a member of the earth slaves to form their first core and enter the Outer Circle. The boy spent months and months training with a log behind the cabin where he lived with the other slaves. There were over a hundred people, all waiting for their opportunity to advance.
To be chosen, you must display your potential and innate talent to every person who possesses more than seven cores or less than nine. They would be your masters in the future. How you developed, and what part of a Heaven Master's military force you would have to protect you, would depend on them.
There were many times when Shoneyi would faint while training. Every time the blows became harder and harder, the boy's knuckles would start to bleed and, upon seeing it, he would collapse. Reliving the trauma of his parents' death because of blood was a daily occurrence.
"I can't keep going like this… I must become stronger."
With great determination, Shoneyi clenched his fists after coming to. Doing this, more blood rushed through his body, and the feeling of the warm liquid made his nightmare real again, causing him to fall to the ground once more.
For more than a year and a half, this scene repeated itself weekly. One day, a slave belonging to an Inner Circle member showed signs of his first Spiritual Core, which meant it was promotion day.
By this time, Shoneyi was a bit more filled out, with strength in both his arms and legs, and he knew this was a golden opportunity. The boy also had common sense; he wasn't the strongest among a hundred people, nor perhaps the fastest. His determination might be what made the difference.
"It's the Fifth Master and Lord Rao."
The other slaves said in trembling voices, and one after another they began to lose their powerful and unbreakable posture to appear somewhat weaker. It was at that moment that Shoneyi decided to shine brighter.
"A Heaven Master! Finally, someone with a keen eye to notice my dedication this past year and a half."
The boy puffed out his chest more and more with every minute that passed, while his cabin mates did the opposite.
"How disgusting!" a high-pitched voice released from an individual entering the slave cabin. From his face, it was obvious he was not happy to be there.
"Well, well… Which one of you useless lot will be my next prey?"
When he mentioned the last word, his eyes fell on the small sixteen-year-old boy, Shoneyi, who without waiting a second longer replied: "Good afternoon, Lord Rao. It is a pleasure for me… for us to meet you."
Hearing this, the Inner Circle member took some interest in the boy who spoke so loudly.
"Lord Da Shi, I can do this!" he said while bowing to his master and awaiting orders for action.
The elder accompanying Dakun Rao was his master, and with a slight inclination of his head, he indicated to his disciple that he had an open door to make his wishes come true. After a quick inspection of the place, he said: "I expect you to clean up when you're done… Disgusting slaves."
His last words were whispers, but loud enough for everyone in the cabin to understand their place and that perhaps they would never advance on the path to immortality.
"Alright, everyone form a line, your test begins now!" the young Rao said while dismissing the Fifth Heaven Master with a deep bow.
Turning around, the first thing he did was punch the first person in line in the stomach. The person, without any hope, collapsed onto the cabin floor seeking help.
Gasping for air between breaths, he stammered: "Thank you, Lord Rao, for your teachings." Upon finishing the last word, almost inaudible to a normal ear, he lost consciousness. This scene repeated about ten more times until it reached Shoneyi. The boy received the blow to his stomach and, from his perspective, he could tell by the movement of Lord Rao's arm and the rotation of his wrist that this blow had been moderately stronger than the previous ones, or perhaps it was just his own assumption.
"Thank you, Lord Rao, for your teachings."
Shoneyi put his feet together and bowed his body in a near ninety-degree reverence. As he did, a warm liquid began to leak from his mouth and ears: it was blood.
"What is your name, filthy slave?"
Barely able to move because of the sensation of blood in his mouth, the boy replied: "My name is Sho… Shone… Sh…"
The Inner Circle member wiped his fist on another slave's shirt, turned around, and addressed the whole cabin: "Finish cleaning up… Shoneyi, I'll see you at my cabin in three days."
With a disgusted look and a fist half-stained with blood, Dakun Rao set off to leave and returned to his quarters to wait three days, meditating while his new victim approached.
Feeling his new master leaving the cabin, Shoneyi collapsed onto the floor as he saw the bodies of his parents sprawled in front of him. The blood, no matter if it belonged to his enemies, his allies, or himself, made him relive the worst moment of his life.