Kingdom of Da Xia, Autumn Maple Town.

In the Ye family’s ancestral hall, all sorts of delectable goods were placed atop of the rectangular carved table as offerings to those who came before. And in the middle, was a simple yet rustically unadorned black cauldron with a couple of incense sticks stabbed into it. The scented smoke curled and wafted around in the air.

It was then the door creaked, opening, a thin figure strolls in quietly.

A young girl, no more than a teen around thirteen years of age going by her looks. Despite the exquisite features of the face, her beauty’s been marred by the disheveled hair and sluggish eye that lacked the light of wisdom and intellect.

As the girl made her way over to the table to carry out her business, several individuals surprised the young lady by suddenly scurrying out from underneath.

“Excellent, capture this thief,” the menacing looking servants grabbed her by the arms and legs, pressing the girl down against the ground.

“Woo…woo,” frightened, the girl attempts to wrestle herself free from those unwelcome hands, sadly, a frail lass like her had no means of overcoming the combined efforts of the servants here. Each of these people are practitioners of martial art and have trained their body to the first level of the constitutional domain. The entry stage of any martialist.

“Ye Ling Yue, so it was you! You retarded girl, who gave you the courage to come steal the offerings from the ancestral hall?” The servant interrogating her was named Wang Gui, a trusted aide of the sixth young master of the Ye family, Ye Qing.

As to the one being pressed against the floor, her name was Ye Ling Yue, the younger cousin of Ye Qing. Though her status inside the family was that of a lady – mistress of these servants – she lacked the proper respect and care she rightfully deserved from someone of her lineage. In fact, her position was even lower than the common servants in the house, all because her mentality had been damaged as a baby.

“Not… steal… cleaning,” panic filled the poor girl’s pale face.

“You still dare to quibble.” Not giving the girl a chance to defend herself, Wang Gui sent several slaps across her face to shut the girl up.

Wang Gui was a practitioner of martial art, so with just a few slaps, the mentally challenged girl’s face had become swollen and bruised by the impact. Satisfied, he followed up with a heavy stomp across the chest and sent Ling Yue flying out like a kite having its string cut in a windy day.

As she crashed directly into the firmly placed cauldron in the middle of the ancestral hall, Ling Yue lets out a string of muffled noises as she went limp next to the thing.

“The dumb girl’s not moving at all. Don’t tell me she’s dead?” Seeing that the young lady remains stiffly still on the ground, the servants responsible for the deed started to get worry that they might’ve overdone it.

“How can she die that easily? This retarded girl’s been beaten like this for over ten years and she’s still alive and kicking. The young master already said so, this is the so called ‘a cheap person’s life is always harder to kill’.” Wang Gui’s thought pattern was just as vicious when his sweeping eyes fell upon the incense cauldron beside the unmoving body.

Ever since this ancestral hall was bought by the house master over thirty years ago, this incense cauldron had been preserved in here without changing its location.

Walking up to it, Wang Gui pushes aside the cauldron lid and grabs a hefty handful of the incense ash.

“You lot, pry open the dumb girl’s mouth. If she likes to steal food so much then I’ll let her eat until she’s full today.”

The servants giggled at the order. In their eyes, even a stray dog was better than the girl.

While holding down Ling Yue’s hands and feet, they stuffed the incense ash into her mouth – who knows how long the ashes have been sitting there without being cleaned.

The moment the stale ash was stuffed into her mouth, a round object also slid into her throat in the process. Once inside her stomach, a blazing sensation overtook her “dantian” located into the abdomen area. Very soon, even her bones and heart started to feel like they were being scorched by the very pain gripping her mind and soul.

Note: Dantian – The energy center of a person’s body located in the abdomen. This is the chinese version of Naruto’s chakra veins if anyone doesn’t know.

It’s painful…… so painful. She grabs onto her throat as if there’s something trying to force its way out.

By the time when blood began seeping out of the claw marks on her neck due to the excessive scratching, the heat continues to encroach upon her soul. Unable to bare the pain any longer, she ran head first and directly rammed against the closest object she can find – the incense cauldron. Fresh blood flowed from her forehead as a result.

“Oh crap, the retarded girl’s really dead!” Wang Gui stepped forward and checked, finding no movement whatsoever from the body.

Looking at each other in dismay, the servants now knew what fear felt like. The retarded girl’s position in the family may be low and petty, plus she wasn’t given any value of importance, but she’s still an authentic young lady of the Ye family regardless of how the other family members frowned upon her.

“What are you lot still standing there in a daze for? Hurry and go find the young master.” Panic-stricken, Wang Gui fled with the rest of his goons in haste.

In the ancestral hall, Ye Ling Yue’s small little body had curled up into a fetal position like how a baby would inside a mother’s womb.

“Mother,” she calls out helplessly to get no reply from her plea.

Gradually, the scorching heat eventually subsides to leave her internal organs a twisted mess. Even so, she’s alive and that’s all that matters.

Not knowing how much time had passed, an explosive sound blows up in her mind like something had just popped open in her dantian. Precisely at this moment, something else was occurring inside her body. Streak after streak, red flashes of energy were spreading across her entire body, healing and repairing the damages the mortal body had acquired in this day.

Her fingers twitched. Opening those eyes, the scenery around the girl becomes clear and the sluggishness that once gripped those pupils had evaporated. In its place, a brilliance as bright as the scattered stars had taken hold.

What came into her view next was a rustically quaint, yet grandiose room with a rectangular table filled with offerings to the memorial tablets of the ancestors.

“I’m-I’m alive again,” mumbling to herself, she gazes down at her own hands to reaffirm the reality of the situation.

Small, thin, and covered in scars of all types and sizes, this was a girl’s body that had gone through much hardship and endured lots of pain and humiliation.

Standing up, she attempts to recall the information belonging to this body and the current her. But due to the damaged intellect of her former self, only fragments of her past could be deciphered.

From the looks of it, I still need more time to adapt.

Just as she’s about to take her leave, a string of bubbling sound crossed her ears when she swung around.

Not far away on the old incense cauldron, the puddle of blood in which she herself had left behind when ramming head first into the thing had started to go through a transformation.

At a speed perceptible to the ***** eye, the blood was clearly seeping into the thing like its being absorbed.

Unsure what to make of this, a rush of cold air scurried up her feet. Though she’s scared by the freakiness of it all, a stronger sense of curiosity got the better of her. Moving closer, she reaches out with her hand.

In the moment of contact, a strange thing happened.

Swish ––

That old cauldron, which originally needed no less than two to three strong men to lift, transformed into a string of black light and entered into her right hand, disappearing from existence as a result.

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The sensation was similar to a bug bite when the cauldron entered her body. By the time she came back to her senses again from being so overwhelmed, the string of black light had completely disappeared by then. In its place, only a mark on her right hand gave proof to the whole reality.

The symbol was only the size of a fingernail, but it looked exactly like the same large metallic object that was once placed in the middle of the hall. Like a birth mark, no matter how she tries to wipe it off, it won’t come clean.

A lot of things still didn’t make sense to her still, but there were too many questions plaguing her mind with no clear answers in the near vicinity. Furthermore, something mysterious, or maybe its just her mind at work, but whenever she tries to think back to why everything was making sense, a stinging pain would ensue that pushed her away like a compulsion.

Deliberating her choices, plus something was urging her to move forward with life, she decides to return to her residence first before slowly working her way into unraveling everything. In her view, regaining her true self must be a lucky coincidence that the heavens bestowed upon her.

Unbeknownst to the girl, there’s no such thing as coincidence, only a will and careful planning in this world. All good and bad, bad and good, they will all come in a circle. That’s what they call karma.

After leaving the ancestral hall, Ling Yue relied solely on her body’s reflexive habits and headed towards the courtyard behind the building.

The northern manor of the Ye family consisted of the ancestral hall and a back courtyard. This made up her entire residential area.

Ye Ling Yue and her mother, as well as an old granny who has been serving them for a long time, lived together in this place . By relying on the meager allowances provided to them each month by the house, the three somehow managed to survive just fine until today.

As she continued on her path, several short buildings soon appeared in sight from the direction up ahead. Looking at the appearances of these structures, they are nothing more than storage sheds converted into living quarters.

Coming up to a certain building that was no more than a simple cabin, some chickens and a vegetable garden were all that welcomed her. Aside from these, there were nothing else. This rundown shack made up her living quarter, her home.

“Little Young Miss, you’re back.” An old woman with a face full of wrinkles came out to greet her from within the small cabin after hearing her return. The old granny coughed incessantly, but after seeing the girl’s return, the sickly appearance became overshadowed by her warming smile

This old woman was her mother’s loyal servant, Granny Liu.

For all these years, it was always Granny Liu whom took care of this daughter and mother pair in their times of need.

“Granny Liu, you still haven’t completely recovered yet, why did you get up so soon?” Ye Ling Yue remembered it was usually Granny Liu who was responsible for cleaning up the ancestral hall. But recently, this old woman fell sick and “the former retarded her” didn’t want the old granny to overwork herself. So, out of insistence, she managed to persuade Granny Liu to let her go instead for the cleaning duty. That’s the reason why she encountered Wang Gui and those people, which led to her eventual death.

Ling Yue’s question may be a casual one, but when Granny Liu heard the fluent words coming out of her mouth, it was like a sudden clap of thunder that had struck down onto the ground. Her old eyes were filled with disbelief.

“Little Young Miss, you’ve recovered?” Granny Liu excitedly grabbed onto her hands and inspected her thoroughly. The result was a bright clarity in those eyes no different from a normal person’s.

Ecstatic with joy, tears started to swell out of the corner of the granny until the emotions overtook her. Tears came flowing forward.

“Granny, please don’t cry. The wind out here is strong, let’s go inside first.” Ling Yue’s heart was filled with ruefulness. A retarded girl has a retarded girl’s advantage; at the very least no one will suspect anything when she acts out of character. The memory loss card can always be called upon when needed.

After going back inside the room, Granny Liu immediately took notice to the filth clinging onto the girl’s body. Hurrying to bring some hot water over, the old granny demanded the young lady to wash up and get changed first. Sure of this, she then promptly went off to prepare something for the girl to eat.

Not wanting to waste the time, Ling Yue took advantage of the woman’s absence and began assessing her surroundings.

The cabin the three of them stayed in weren’t large by any means. There were only a few crude furnishings placed inside, a dining table, some long benches, and a mirror beside the table.

Walking over to the mirror, the reflection illustrated Ling Yue’s own appearance for the first time.

It was a face which still possessed the innocent look of a child. Although a tad malnourished and sickly, her eyes however were beautiful like the crescent moon in the night sky. With long eyelashes rising upwards, her facial features were all very exquisite. A natural born beauty.

After putting down the mirror, Ling Yue then caught sight of two crummy looking books used as wobble-stoppers under the table. Casually picking them up, the words written on the cover of these books were (Records of Da Xia) and (Introduction to Martialist).

(Martialist is a made up word, but it’s still better than using “warrior”)

Both books hadn’t been read in ages for a thick layer of dust and soot had gathered on the surface.

Not minding it, she flips through the pages to get a rough understanding of the world she lives in.

Ling Yue was currently living inside a kingdom called Da Xia. In this place, there are many different administrative areas along with a complicated topography. As to the current location where the Ye family resides in, its a small settlement called Autumn Maple Town located in the northernmost region of Da Xia. Due to this area being mountainous with many valleys, a wide variety of wild and ferocious animals had taken up hold in this region to call as home. This made it very dangerous to venture out alone due to how territorial these animals are.

In Da Xia, regardless of you being an ordinary citizen or a member of a noble house, eight to nine out of ten people would voluntarily learn martial art out of necessity. According to the different cultivation levels of a martialist, there are nine ranks within the first constitutional domain, followed by the lower celestial and upper celestial realm after that.

The difference between a normal person and a martialist lies in the dantian of the person’s body – they can condense their inner force together. This so called inner force was actually their Yuan energy.

Yuan energy?

Ling Yue was slightly taken aback by the phrase. She could clearly feel the faintly weak flow of power slowly moving about in her dantian at the moment.

Could it be, the former me is also a martialist? Exactly like the book described. Having Yuan energy in the dantian was the symptoms of someone breaking into the entry level of a martialist.

“Little Young Miss, why did you take the wobble-stoppers out from under the table ?” Just as she’s busy lost in her own thought, Granny Liu’s curious voice brought her back to reality.

“Granny, have I ever trained in martial art before?” she places the book down, asking.

She’s positive. Although the energy in her dantian may be weak, but it was exactly like the Yuan energy aforementioned in the (Introduction to Martialists).

“When you were young, you did learn a few moves from your mother,” Granny Liu sets the bowl and chopsticks in place as she explained.

Just a few moves and I already cultivated Yuan energy, could it be that I’m naturally talented to become a martialist?

Puzzled, she then looked at the table before her. There’s a bowl of brown rice and a dish of dry dull vegetables.

“This is what we usually eat?” If that’s all they ever consumed then it’s no wonder she’s so skinny and small.

“Little Young Miss, we don’t have any more money. Housekeeper Wang and his son embezzled more of our allowances this month,” the old woman sighed with helplessness in her voice and wrinkled her already wrinkled forehead.

Housekeeper Wang was Wang Gui’s father and the person in charge of managing the north manor’s affair inside the family. Due to not being favored inside the Ye household, this pair of mother and daughter had faced no shortages of bullying from the man.

“Mother doesn’t care about the situation with the monthly allowance?” Ling Yue asks with a tinge of surprise in her voice. Her mother was the third daughter of the current family chief. As the dignified third miss of the Ye family, how did she ever fall into such a decrepit state?

Bang ——–

The door was then  kicked open at this moment and in came a youth clustered around by many servants from behind.

“And what of it if she tries? A retarded girl is a retarded girl, you still think your mother is the genius who everyone respected from back then? She’s only a good-for-nothing now, who would care about a good-for-nothing’s wellbeing.” The youth with fancy clothes raised his head high to the point where his nose could reach the sky. He had the appearance of a calf with an indescribable arrogance to him.

This overbearing youth who suddenly barged in on them was Ling Yue’s older cousin, Ye Qing.

After Wang Gui and his crew finished beating her to “death”, these people became encroached with fear and ran for their master in hopes of the young lord handling the aftermath.

Ye Qing had looked around the ancestral hall after getting wind of the news, but after finding no traces of the dumb girl’s corpse, he knew then the wrench hadn’t died.

Knowing where Ling Yue most likely went, Ye Qing headed straight for the backyard where the cabin stood. As he came close, he just so happens to overhear Ling Yue and Granny Liu discussing the topic.

In his wildest dreams Ye Qing would never have expected the girl to be with such fortune. Not only did she escape death, she also became a normal person after bumping that head of hers.

“Sixth young master, how can you say that about the third miss, she’s your blood-related paternal aunt.”

“What paternal aunt, you think she’s fit to be my aunt? She’s only a good-for-nothing who was divorced and sent back home, losing all of our Ye family’s face in the process.” Ye Qing spat with disdain in his mouth.

“What did you say? I dare you to say it one more time!” Ling Yue’s eye turned cold like iron. Inside her body, the newly developed Yuan energy began to surge because of her anger.

“I can repeat it a hundred times if I want to. Retard girl, let me tell you, because of another woman, your mother was kicked out by your father and was even critically injured in the process. She made our Ye family lose a lot face due to her uselessness. Both of you are bitches who no one wants, and yet you got the shame to leach off of the family without paying rent.” Ye Qing and the group of servants all started to laugh loudly in a ridiculing tone.

Ye Qing and his crew would say these words every time they bullied her, and every time “Ling Yue” would cower in fear while crying for forgiveness. But not today, everything will change.

From the bottom of her heart, the deep hatred that’s been buried for thirteen years rushed out like a volcanic eruption. Pushing aside Granny Liu who wanted to stop her, Ling Yue violently lunges forward at Ye Qing after stamping her foot backwards to gain momentum.

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“If I don’t beat you till you are disabled today then I’m not Ye Ling Yue!” Like a completely different person today, a scary aura began emitting off of her body.

“Oh, the retard girl wants to show her might? You people move aside, I’ll let this little retard know the difference between a genius and a good-for-nothing today.” Ye Qing snickered and those servants beside him were also laughing as they dispersed to the side.

Ye Qing was already a third rank constitutional cultivator. Among the Ye family’s younger generation, his abilities are ranked among the top ten.

As for Ling Yue, a mentally challenged girl up until today, she would never have the opportunity to learn martial art; thereby eliminating any chances of her being a threat.

Not thinking highly of the little girl in front of him, Ye Qing went as far as to disregard the use of his Yuan energy during the confrontation.

Quickly arriving in front of Ye Qing with only a few steps, Ling Yue pummeled both her fists into his chest. The punches carrying a faint piercing cold as they landed.

Just when Ye Qing noticed something wasn’t right…

BOOM!

A cold gleam surged out of Ling Yue’s eye.

The servants were all startled by this outcome because their master was actually forced back several steps with this one punch.

“A first rank constitutional cultivator!” Ye Qing clearly felt it, there’s a faint fluctuation of Yuan energy in that punch.

Succeeding in her attack, Ling Yue can now tell the difference between a commoner and a martialist – Ye Qing’s skin was as hard as copper.

Wang Gui and the others were also dumbfounded. It’s only been just an hour or so, yet this retard not only became normal again, she also broke through to the first level of the constitutional domain!

“Ye Ling Yue, you dare deceive the family head and secretly learn martial art! But it’s no use even if you learned it for I will pay you back double for that punch just now.” Ye Qing flew into a fit of rage out of humiliation. Violently shouting aloud, his two fists issued out a series of lightning flashes.

“Little young miss, hurry and run, that’s the thunder burst first!” Once Granny Liu saw it, she promptly turned pale with fright.

Young Master Ye Qing’s punch was based upon the Ye Family’s basic martial foundation training, so this one punch wasn’t to be taken lightly.

As someone whom just broke through into the first rank of the constitution domain, there’s no way Ling Yue could be a match for Ye Qing, a third rank constitution cultivator.

Then in this moment of life and death, a shadow suddenly dashed into the cabin like lightning and blocked in front of the young girl.

Despite the interference, Ye Qing’s punch continues to move towards the person, and just when his fist was only half a meter away from landing, Ye Qing clearly heard his wrist making a crackling sound. Then before he knew it, a powerful repulsive force had thrown him away, causing his body to smash directly into the wall.

While Ye Qing suffers from immense pain of having his wrist bones shattered, a goddess like figure stood in front of Ling Yue.

The woman’s cheeks were slightly hollow and had a pale complexion, but her posture was straight and had beautiful arched eyebrows along with a pair of almond-shaped eyes. She wasn’t angry, but an aura of might and power exuded from within, thus giving her the impression of someone possessing an indescribable imposing force.

“Ye…third miss!” Once the family servants got a clearer look at the person who arrived, every one of them fell into extreme fright.

Ye Huang Yu, the family head’s third daughter, and was once someone worthy of being called the Ye family’s number one pride.

She had broken through to the first rank of the constitution domain at the tender age of three, and then bypassing the ninth rank into the lower celestial domain at the age of fifteen. If it hadn’t been for the fact that she married the wrong person in her youth, it was very likely she would’ve been the first person in the Ye family’s recent history to become the first upper celestial martialist.

Although the Ye Huang Yu of today can’t be compared to the Ye Huang Yu of back then, she’s still a lower celestial master despite her chronic injury.

“Ye Huang Yu, you dare injure me? My father definitely won’t let you off so easily!” Ye Qing was in so much pain he wanted to die because his wrist’s been dislocated and many bones in his arm had been shattered to pieces.

“Who do you think your father is? Even if he came today I would likewise beat him too.” Ye Huang Yu declared this upfront without any means of hiding her fury.

Due to Wang Gui and his father embezzling their monthly allowance, Ye Huang Yu’s been forced to trek the mountains every other month in order to collect medicinal herbs and hunt wild games to subsidize the family expenses. Once she’s gone, she would leave for no less than ten days to half a month without returning.

Knowing this habit, Ye Qing and the others would deliberately choose this period to bully “Ye Ling Yue”, and because of their carefulness, the injuries they inflicted on her were all internal, leaving no traces on the outside to discern.

Also, adding in the fact that “Ye Ling Yue’s” a mentally challenged individual back then, she didn’t know how to express her complaint, thus leaving the problem hidden away from the adults for all these years.

If it weren’t for the fact that she coincidentally came back in time, Ye Huang Yu would never have known about her daughter’s suffering at the hands of these scums. Just thinking of this, her guilt became even stronger.

As a mother who can’t even bring herself to allow a scratch on her daughter’s fingers, how can she endure this outrage after learning these people have been hurting her.

If Ye Qing’s father didn’t come then it would be fine, but if he does have the nerve to show today, then she would beat one if one came, two if two came, and a dozen if a dozen came. She will beat them all!

“Just you wait, I’m going to go tell grandfather.” Ye Qing didn’t dare talk back to Ye Huang Yu and could only let his servants support him and flee with their tails behind their back.

Hearing everything from the back, Ling Yue stuck her tongue out at the scrambling bullies and silently gave her mother a big thumbs up.

Ye Qing’s insults earlier had made Ling Yue mistakenly think her easy to come by mother was a pitifully sad abandoned wife character, but who would have known that she was instead a violently cool and protective maniac.

Upon turning her head around, the first thing Ye Huang Yu saw was her daughter eyeing her all over in a scrutinizing fashion. From the shifting black pupils to the intelligent light, which part of that gaze looked like it belongs to a mentally challenged girl?

For a moment there, Ye Huang Yu was stunned stiff.

“Young miss, little young miss is no longer dumb anymore.” Granny Liu keeps repeating herself with watery eyes.

“Granny, you’ve already said that many times already.” Ling Yue rolls her eyes and complained.

“Mother,” After hesitating for a moment, Ling Yue calls out.

Ye Huang Yu’s body began to tremble and her eyes began to be filled with something hot. For thirteen years, she’s been waiting for this one to call her mother.

While Granny Liu attended to the mother and daughter pair as they ate, Ye Huang Yu took the opportunity to inquire a few more things pertaining to how Ling Yue became so smart.

Not wanting to make things complicated, Ling Yue only gave some vague answers, saying she had hit her head. Then by the time woke up again, she had already become like this.

“Mother, daughter wants to learn martial art.” Ling Yue lowers her chopsticks, then kneeled down and said what she had to say.

After the fight with Ye Qing, it made her strongly realize that if she wants to continue living in this world, she must become someone strong.

No matter who it was, she will not spare them lightly if they bully her and her mother.

“Practicing martial art is not easy. It’s not something you can master in a short amount of time. Ling Yue, are you sure you want to do this?” Ye Huang Yu looked at her daughter with deep emotions running through her eyes.

“Child won’t give up. Mother, please allow this.” Ling Yue declared this unwaveringly.

Ye Huang Yu realized too that her daughter had become a completely different person after experiencing this calamity and gained a new lease on life.

“Since you’re already determined to do so, then starting tomorrow mother will teach you the basic foundations as introduction to martial combat. Here’s a strand of Vitality Condensing Grass, it can gather together the Yuan energy of heaven and earth to aid you in your training. Grow this in your room and it’ll be useful for when you begin cultivating in the future.” On this trip up the mountain, Ye Huang Yu’s original intentions were to find some herbs which would be beneficial for her injuries, but rather than finding what she’s looking for, she inadvertently came across this spirit grass instead.

“Mother, this spirit grass is too precious. You should keep it for yourself to use.” Ling Yue could tell her mother was still injured, and on top of that, it’s a chronic injury that was difficult to heal.

“This won’t do any good for my injuries, only a fifth grade medicinal pill and above can heal my old wounds.” Ye Huang Yu shook her head. There was no one clearer than herself about her own injuries. After all these years, she’s lost all hope of ever getting healed now.

“Fifth grade medicinal pills? Mother, if you had the medicinal pills then would your injuries will heal?” Ling Yue persisted and asked.

“Silly child, fifth grade medicinal pills are hard to come across even in the provincial capital, let alone finding one in this little place like Autumn Maple Town. You were injured today, so after eating you should go to bed and get some rest early.” She stroke her daughter’s hair and said this with a pained tone. Ye Huang Yu was also feeling a bit tired from everything.

Unable to object, Ling Yue could only hold the Vitality Condensing Grass which looked no different from any random weed in her hands and returned to her room.

Due to losing too much blood today, it didn’t take long for drowsiness to overtake her as she drifts into a slumbering sleep with the grass in hand.

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Thnx everyone for their never-ending support

and ya

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