Gathering all his belongings, which amounted to no more than a few items, Shoneyi placed everything in a bag and set off for a long walk across one of the hanging bridges that connected to a neighboring mountain. Already on his way to his new place of residence, the boy was tested by the fierce, hurricane-force winds.
Walking slowly and carefully so as not to fall into the abyss, the boy could see how Outer Circle members passed beside him without any trouble; it took them just a couple of minutes. Even more incredible was when one of the disciples of a Heaven Master began to appear and disappear on the bridge as if it were nothing.
So, this is what it means to be part of a great sect, the boy thought to himself. It took him about five hours to get from one end to the other.
With heavily labored breathing, he approached Dakun Rao's cabin and announced himself: "Shoneyi Wen presents himself for your service, Lord Rao."
The boy performed a deep, nearly ninety-degree bow, only to be met with a powerful kick to the face, striking his left cheek. Shoneyi flew backward from the force of the kick and, nearly breathless, not understanding what had just happened, stared at the man in front of him.
"First lesson, scum… Never, ever expect anything good from me."
When Dakun Rao kicked Shoneyi, one of his seven cores could be felt lighting up. Using his first core was like matching the strength of ten mortals at the same time. Despite being a blow strong enough to knock anyone unconscious, and coupled with the impact against a rock behind him, Shoneyi managed to stay conscious, ending with a slight inclination of his head.
"Thank you for your teachings, Lord Rao."
The words were heard through gritted teeth, followed by a rush of blood being vomited. The floor drew closer and closer to the boy's face until everything went dark for him.
The same scene repeated once every two days for the next six months.
Until one fine day, like any other, instead of just one core lighting up, there were two. This was equivalent to the force of the previous impact multiplied by one hundred. Shoneyi spent about three weeks in intensive care within the Heaven Sect.
When the other slaves saw him, they sighed and were glad they hadn't been chosen by Dakun Rao. He was perhaps the most despotic and sadistic Inner Circle member in the sect, and they thanked the heavens and stars for not being part of the Fifth Heaven Master's military force.
Awakening in pain, Shoneyi set out to walk to his residence alongside Lord Rao, who was his master and trusted counselor, if he could be called that.
"Well, scum, you're back… Finally, we can go hunting!"
When the boy heard his master's words, he couldn't help but feel his heart sink in his chest for a few seconds.
He could recall one of the passages his roommates used to recite when he lived with the slaves: "When you go hunting magical beasts, it is important to emphasize that you can only do so after having at least two cores; otherwise, it is certain death."
"Lord Rao, I don't have a spiritual core yet, it would be impos…"
Another of Dakun Rao's typical kicks landed on Shoneyi's chest, but this time the kick was with only one active core, and although it sent him flying a few meters, the boy was conscious—sore, but conscious.
"If you can withstand that already, you can at least withstand two blows from a low-level beast."
The little boy's eyes lit up as he began to plot in his mind that Lord Rao was doing all this to make him stronger and that his path to immortality had begun before he had even realized it.
With Dakun Rao's help, Shoneyi could walk calmly across the hanging bridges without fear of falling for the first time in his life. It only took him a few minutes to cross from one end to the other, and it was there that he understood the vast difference between being an Inner Circle member and not.
They ventured into the forest, right into the center of the magical beast territory. Lord Rao easily eliminated single-core magical beasts. One sword movement, another with kicks. Seeing this action, Shoneyi could only close his eyes and shake off the sensation that his master was hitting him just as hard, or harder.
Once the magical beast died, the decomposition process began, and you only had a couple of minutes to collect its magical core. With a bit of wisdom, it could be transformed into a small spiritual core and absorbed by the user.
One hundred magical cores could be equal to one bottle of Stardust in the Heaven Sect; it was a moderately decent comparison ratio for anyone who didn't aspire to perfection. Thus, it was easy to understand how the Heaven Sect maintained its power. Every Outer Circle member had to go hunting at least ten beasts weekly, while an Inner Circle member had to hunt at least fifty.
This was when Dakun Rao met his quota and, without a thought, disappeared, leaving Shoneyi alone in the middle of the forest, without any kind of protection in full enemy territory. The weakest beasts could finish him off with one blow. In that very place, three small balls of light illuminated on the body of a magical beast that was behind him and began to hunt its prey.