Kapitel 3: Chapter 3: Tian Peng

Walking out into the courtyard, Wudi saw a man with a strict posture wearing robes that represented the empire, with little adornments and a sword by his waist. "First brother," Wudi said with a faint smile as he awaited his brother's response.

Tian Peng showed no surprise at Wudi speaking and quickly grabbed his wrist, holding his breath. After a moment of silence, Tian Peng let go and let out a slight sigh. "It's a wonder you're alive, you're even moving," he said rather blandly but with a doting look. Smiling warily, he knew his brother well and had never seen such a look before. Tian Peng was a strict man with a lot of responsibility. As expected, the look faded quickly, and his expression turned stern. "Well, if you can move already, then you should keep yourself busy. You can't remain in the martial realm forever."

Somewhat expecting this response, Wudi said with slight amazement, "You're not surprised I'm speaking?" Looking at him with a side-eye, Tian Peng said, "Mother already told. Why should I be surprised?" Somewhat stunned by the response, Wudi's smile turned into one that wasn't laughing or crying.

Luckily, Tian Peng didn't notice as he was fixated on the gate of the courtyard, or more precisely, a man approaching leisurely with a stride that exuded aloofness. He wore a plain Taoist robe and had a carefree look. "Brother Fuyun," Wudi said with a happy smile. He knew his first brother meant well, but it was much easier to get along with his second brother, Tian Fuyun.

Fuyun had a surprised look and said, "You're speaking?" Tian Peng, who had a stern face, responded with a bewildered look and said, "He was bound to speak at some point. What's so surprising?" Both Fuyun and Wudi looked at Tian Peng wearily, and Fuyun said, "I should come to expect this line of thinking from you." Wudi nodded and said, "I was a little stunned as well, but Brother Fuyun is right." Fuyun, having found an ally, joked, "And here I thought little brother would grow up like Tian Peng." He had a relieved look while saying this. Tian Peng's face turned into a grimace, and before he could respond, Tian Fuyun added, "See, little brother, take things too seriously, and you'll end up with a face like your eldest brother."

"If you have time to crack jokes, then you must have time to cultivate. Why not help Wudi by sharing some pointers for him to see?" Seeing that his first brother couldn't take a joke, Tian Fuyun said, "Of course," but his movements betrayed his words as he took a backward stride toward the gate. It was so natural that one might not even realize he was retreating.

Not surprised by his actions, Tian Peng snorted loudly, and from a distance, a light laugh and Fuyun's voice could be heard saying, "Glad you're okay, Tian'er. We'll catch up later." With a wary smile, Wudi said to Tian Peng, "You might be a little too strict on second brother." Switching his glare to Wudi, his expression actually somewhat softened. "Your second brother is immensely talented. If he had put in more work, he would be the one taking father's throne."

Somewhat shocked by what his first brother said, Wudi was about to speak but held back. He realized that his first brother truly cared for the empire and didn't have an overly zealous attachment to being the crown prince. Seeing that Wudi held back what he was going to say, Tian Peng actually felt somewhat awkward and coughed a little before saying, "I need to attend training with Commander Sun." Glancing lightly at his third brother and not actually having big expectations, he continued, "Practice hard," and began to walk towards the gate.

"I will," Wudi said. Pausing and looking back at Wudi slightly shocked by the determination in his voice, Tian Peng nodded silently and left. Wudi now staring off into the distance in the dark courtyard painted a lonely figure but looking closer and you'd see determination unlike any other.

Coming back to his room, Wudi didn't even go back to chat with Old Li. As he entered, there was a nice smell that filled the air. Seeing the chicken and soup on the table, he knew that Old Li must have brought it by during his conversation with his brothers.

"Smells good, it seems they were extra generous with the herbs in the soup because of the lightning," Wudi thought as he picked up the spoon on the table and sat down. "At least they have a conscience, these herbs will actually be very useful in breaking through."

Wudi was actually very close to the next stage. Though he was still young, and actually very strong for his age, many only believed so because of his background. In comparison to his brothers at the same age, they were much further along than he was.

His first brother might be strict, but he really did mean well. Despite what his first brother wanted, he actually didn't have much confidence in his third brother. It wasn't that he didn't believe in his brother, it was just a stigma that had been instilled for a long time.

Everyone doted on Wudi and didn't expect much from him. His brothers were strong enough to take care of everything in the Empire for him. Even his father, who was very strict with his brothers, never made Wudi do anything. It was an odd situation, considering that Wudi wasn't a pauper and never expected special treatment. It just seemed that everyone was content with his brothers, as they were outstanding. His parents were already happy and didn't seem to have the ambition to push Wudi. His lack of speaking ability also made them love him even more. Even his strict brother, who made everyone around him work their bones into the dirt for the empire, never forced Wudi to do anything.

Wudi refused to let this dynamic continue. He didn't have a burning ambition to prove himself, but he had an unwavering desire to become stronger and to follow his heart. With this in mind, he sat down cross-legged and began to focus on breaking through.

Tian Wudi didn't feel quite right after sitting down. Others cultivated while in seclusion, but why? They were afraid of cultivation deviation. Wudi felt that he had a dao and needed to cultivate it, rather than just his body. Others didn't typically have a dao, but if, for instance, one had dao in medicine or forging, then why couldn't they break through while doing those things? Wudi knew his dao was tyrannical and he needed to cultivate in this manner. He believed that if one didn't cultivate while following their dao, then they would likely never achieve much. Wudi was true to himself and wouldn't conform to anything other than that.

Standing up, Wudi made his way towards the courtyard, leaving behind the confines of his secluded space. Meanwhile, outside the walls of his courtyard, his second brother, Fuyun, was perched atop a nearby peak, gazing up at the moon. However, his thoughts were interrupted by a deep sense of worry for his younger brother. Fuyun had a rare look of contemplation etched onto his face, which was against his nature as he typically did not worry about much.

Despite his lack of concern for the politics and theatrics of the empire's nobles, Fuyun had a soft spot for those he loved. Moreover, his mother had asked him to keep a close eye on his third brother. Suddenly, Fuyun felt a surge of strong Qi emanating from someone in the martial realm, indicating that someone was breaking through. Taken aback by this discovery, he averted his attention from the moon and cast his gaze towards Wudi's courtyard.

There, Wudi stood tall with a subtle glow surrounding his hand as he charged up his Qi, preparing to throw a powerful punch. Fuyun was astounded by the sight and had the impression that Wudi was an immovable mountain, unfazed by any force.

The scene before Fuyun was both shocking and incredible. Wudi was not only breaking through a bottleneck in his cultivation, but he was doing it while practicing a fist technique. This was madness, as it was common for cultivators to experience deviations by using their Qi while breaking through, and it was too easy to lose control of their Qi in this situation. Furthermore, for most cultivators, their entire focus would be on breaking through, but Wudi was dividing his attention between breaking through and forming his fist. This was unthinkable for most, as even the slightest deviation would cause their Dantian to explode, killing them instantly.

Fuyun had the intention to interfere, but at that moment, Wudi unleashed his fist. The glow disappeared, and the fist looked as ordinary as ever. However, it had a property that made one believe it could shatter all obstacles. The rock the fist was aimed at blew into thousands of tiny pieces, and in that very moment, Wudi broke through his bottleneck.

Stunned by what he had just witnessed, Fuyun whispered to himself, "One fist to shatter the rock and to shatter his bottleneck…" Fuyun began to smile slightly, feeling like he may have comprehended something significant, and thought to himself, "Perhaps I'm not the most talented in the family," while staring at Wudi who stood straight like a heavenly pillar, feeling the Qi and world around him.

AUTORENGEDANKEN
Undead_Darth

Posting five chapters today and hopefully everyday till I get to a decent number. Depending on how much I can write up I may even post ten today. Let me know what you think.

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