I Can Do Anything?-Chapter 22: Hesitation Is Key...

...

Xuan Wu sits in his abode, continuing to cultivate. Even if it feels like nothing is happening, he continues drawing spiritual energy into his meridians.

The process is actually kind of satisfying.

Spiritual energy gets stored inside the meridians, where it slowly converts into qi to better accommodate the human body and turn from loose and temporary to tight and permanent.

In some cases the qi can slip out of the meridians, which is what happened to Xuan Wu.

With a brief thought, Xuan Wu lets a shaky sword-shaped breath out.

No more do the sword-shaped breaths harm the corners of his lips, as it is still at a mortal level.

To upgrade it to the qi gathering level, he must start shaping more and more swords.

Which he has already started doing.

A few metres away from Xuan Wu, is Xun Shi's abode. And inside he sits here, cultivating faster and at a more calm pace than Xuan Wu.

That is because he is a supreme-grade talent.

And supreme-grade talents can reach the top of qi gathering in no time.

He opens his eyes, and then looks at his hands.

"What is my purpose... what is my end goal??" He then looks to the entrance of his abode, and then to the surroundings, it's a very small space.

"What is the purpose for which I cultivate."

A man dressed in inner disciple attire beside Xun Shi sighs, patting his back.

Jian Ming.

"You've reached the questioning phase quite early. Good, I'll leave you alone, find your purpose."

He walks outside, shutting the entrance with a boulder behind him.

Xun Shi starts sweating, a cold sweat, and his eyebrows tremble slightly.

Time starts flowing slower and slower.

He feels as if he can hear the ticks of a clock, and that the clock is slowing down, slowing down to a point of pausing.

His breaths start coming out quicker and quicker, and he struggles to calm himself down.

In the face of the presence of this phase, his cultivator ego isn't even worthy of mentioning, its like thin paper in front of the sun, feeble!

Xun Shi grunts as a strong pressure presses down on him, like a fat monk had just sat on him.

"Me... what is my purpose!" Xun Shi calls out to the heavens, but he recieves no answer.

His quick breaths start becoming shaky, and his eyes turn red.

"For what is my purpose!"

Tears start falling from his eyes, cultivator tears. He falls down pathetically, cradling himself.

"I do not have a purpose! I'm useless!"

"You are useless."

Candles go out. The room darkens.

A shadow appears behind Xun Shi, its touch gentle.

"But that doesn't mean you have to be sad..." The shadow whispers into his ear, rubbing his back slowly.

Xun Shi's eyes tremble, glancing at the shadow for a moment. "M-mother? Is that you...?"

The shadow smiles at him, offering a hug.

Xun Shi nearly breaks down, rushing to her.

Visit frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓ for the b𝘦st novel reading experience.

He embraces the shadow, ignoring the pressure pressing down on him. "I-I've missed you for so long..."

The shadow chuckles a bit, rubbing his hair. "We can go home now. Together." She continues whispering into his ear. "Cultivation? It's all a game of brutality and pain in the end."

Xun Shi slightly trembles. "But I'm a superior-grade talent." He looks up at the shadow. The shadow doesn't have a face. But it has her figure, his mothers figure.

"What is talent in the end?" His mother questions, and then she chuckles once again. "What is talent compared to family?"

Xun Shi completely breaks down at that moment, surrendering completely to the shadow. It starts to engulf him, bit by bit.

Outside, Jian Ming sighs.

"So this was the inner demon holding him back... can he get over it? Or will it lead to his demise..."

Back inside the abode, the shadow morphs from his mother to something unrecognisable, something like an incarnation of patheticness.

He sits in this shadow, his arms engulfed, and even his legs. His face is blank, a face similar to when a man surrenders to death.

He looks up, everything is dark, but he feels as if his vision is blurry.

"My purpose... is it to remain a mortal, to be with my family until death...?" His mouth slowly opens, dry lips cracking.

And then, a light suddenly returns to his eyes. "Or is it to become the greatest? To trample the entire world, to battle against the heavens, to ascend!?"

He suddenly stands up, and the shadow starts dispersing, but it also shrieks.

"Xun Shi! Return to me! Return to your mother!" The shadow screams in a mix of his mothers distorted voice and the deep, unsettling voice of a monster.

Xun Shi hesitates, his eyes trembling at the sight of his mother. Dried tears stick to his cheek.

"Should I..."

He then clenches his fist, turning away from the shadow.

"I will become the greatest cultivator that has ever lived. For you, mother."

The shadow finally disperses, and the candles in the room flicker.

"I will perfect the sword, travel across the world, ascend to great heights, all in the name of you!"

And then, the candles start burning brighter than the sun itself, fire starts swirling around Xun Shi, who has overcome the questioning phase.

To his surprise, he broke through to the third layer of qi gathering, skipping a layer!

He smiles, having a newfound purpose as he opens the entrance to his abode.

Jian Ming sits outside, grinning at the new Xun Shi.

It's as if he had shed his immaturity, and finally became a cultivator. He integrated the arrogance that had always been with him into himself.

From his back, he unsheathes his sword, getting into a stance.

"Senior brother." He chuckles, flexing his arms.

Jian Ming sighs as he stands up, revealing a wooden sword he has been carrying.

The Confusion Phase. A phase each cultivator has to go through.

Xuan Wu, who is sitting back at his abode still has ways to go.

Fatty Wang, who is asleep, snorting at the Toughening Up peak may enter this phase soon.

Though it is between the first layer to the ninth layer of qi gathering that someone will go through this phase, it is still widely unknown why.

Some believe it is the heavens test, while others believe it is a test made by yourself.

Far away from the Sword peak, Gao Yong sighs while signing paperwork.

"Xun Shi. To have the questioning phase so early, and to even pass it first try... what a talent."

His eyes glance towards the distant entrance of the sect, where Liu Huan arrives.

"Liu Huan... you are very behind now, I wonder how you'll try to catch up." He smirks, standing up and walking away.

Meanwhile, Liu Huan who is currently outside of the sect stands in front of the two outer disciple guards.

The right disciple points at him. "How could you possibly be one of those new disciples? Your all bandaged up, like a mummy!"

The left disciple laughs, "And don't tell me you lost your token, how could you possibly have lost your token—"

"Disciple."

A tall man stands behind the gate, crossing his arms. He wears armour with an empowering aura.

Liu Huan bows, walking inside of the sect as the two outer disciples freeze.

"The peak leader of the spear peak! This is the first time I've ever seen a peak leader!"

"Y-you mean the legendary Lu Bu!"

...