บท 96: Newcomer's Tournament VII - Gang Bo's Path.
After Mei Ling's match came a match between one of the other new disciples that had entered with them, a rather plain looking boy without much notable about him, he was apparently from a long-time cultivation family that had struggled to produce good heirs the past few generations.
And unfortunately, this generation wasn't stellar either it seems, after a long struggle against the older disciple he ended up losing, many watched on as he left the stage with a gloom filled face, his eyes not even leaving the ground.
Unfortunately stories like this were common, cultivation families didn't have the support of a large organisation like a clan or sects, they relied on the power of its members alone to stand out in the world of cultivation; It's the reason many families wish to establish clans by absorbing other families or working in hand with them, if they don't their blood may run thin and their talent dissolve into the nothingness of time.
Moving on, the next match was coincidentally the other young man that had entered the sect with them, the one that had made an offhanded comment about Gang Bo earlier on.
He was also from a cultivation family but one that was actively rising in the world that goes by the name of 'Ming'.
The boys name was Ming Shi, he had short brown hair and grey eyes that contained a world of doubt, desire, and envy.
His fight was in line with all of the others, he had fairly easily dealt with the older disciple with a relentless pursuit, he used a long thin sword that resembled a rapier along with a technique that created short, ranged slashes from the tip of his sword, his expert use of the technique and combat tactics earned him some praise from the crowd which he smirked at.
When he returned to the tent he gave Gang Bo a clear glare of challenge, then promptly got upset because Gang Bo didn't even know he was there to pay attention to him.
Unfortunately for him Gang Bo wouldn't have care in the first place, even more so now because the next match that was happening was his!
…
'You know what happens if you don't get 1st right?'
Gang Bo remembered the words his master left with him and felt an urge and pounce on the stage before he was even called and begin knocking people out left and right.
Truthfully, he didn't know what would happen; Because it would probably be far beyond what his imagination could think of, and so he dreaded it, he was adamant about winning after hearing that line.
Ever since he was taken in by Rong Jia three months ago he had been barraged with a world of new things he had never heard or seen of before, she taught him all sorts of things about cultivation, a lot of it went in one ear and out the other but some of it stuck, at least the most important things.
She even said when it came to comprehending the techniques she taught, he was one of the best she had seen which made him happy, he was finally good at something.
Of course that praise came along with a lot of work afterwards both physical and mental, he was made to take all sorts of pills and bathe in all sorts of weird salves, he personally didn't even understand what they were and many names of plants or resources were thrown around that he couldn't even remember a tenth of, at those times he couldn't help but remember his young friend that would have been overjoyed at all these new things, he felt they were a bit wasted on him.
But when he expressed his thoughts to his master, she scolded him.
"Fool, this is your potential, your future, your chance to take a step forward and no-one else's" She said, reminding him that he was his own person, his future was also limitless as long as he wanted to move forward.
It was true, he had kind of forgotten that.
Ever since he was a child, he was a large boy; His mother had trouble giving birth and was left feeble because of it, his father was a farmer that worked hard all his life, when he was born his father said they'd been blessed, a child that would carry on their own farm with a body built by the earth itself.
He was never very smart, but smart enough to carry out farm work and labour, he lived a fairly peaceful life in his younger years with two loving parents, he quickly grew accustomed to helping out everywhere, even in the village near them he became well known as great physical labour, though his occasional short temper had earned him the moniker 'Boar' among them, named after he proudly boasted that his parents had said he resembled one, for some reason.
The first hint of change in life came after the death of his mother passed away, her feeble body had lasted long enough to see her son grow into a teen and couldn't last any longer, she passed away peacefully beside her husband and son.
The second change came after that, his father had been a lot less energetic since the passing of his wife and thus struggled with farm work, leaving more and more of it to Gang Bo, that in itself wasn't bad, however what came after was the turning point.
The village was raided, the farm was set alight as well as their home, luckily the bandits were stopped mid-way by soldiers from Rockfell, but the damage was done; Both him and his father had survived yet were left without a home.
They moved to another village after an arduous journey and used what little money they could scrounge together from the burnt remains of the farm to buy a small house, from there Gang Bo worked hard to earn money for them to live together as his Father struggled to come to terms with what happened.
His entire life's work, gone up in flames, gone forever.
His health entered a downward spiral, he seemed to age many years over a few months, and it never stopped, eventually on his death bed he asked Gang Bo a question.
"Son… is there anything you want to do?"
Gang Bo stared at him blankly, completely lost on how to answer, he couldn't.
"You should find something; it will help you live a full life." He passed away shortly after.
As he dug his own father's grave his last words laid on his mind.
'What DO I want to do?' He asked himself.
He had always been happy working to help his family that he hadn't thought of doing anything else, the feeling of moving his body and being rewarded was plenty for him.
But now his family was gone.
So what should he do?
He carried on with his usual labour work for months after his father passed, yet something felt wrong to him, he felt hollow like he was missing something, the satisfaction was no longer there.
And so he took his father's advice, he began looking for something he wanted.
He went to different kinds of jobs, from smithing, crafting, cooking, sewing, dyeing and everything else in between, he tried them all and failed spectacularly at a lot of them, in the end it was clear to him that he was only suited to manual labour, his hands were too big and clumsy for fine work and his mind was too rigid and simple for intellectual work.
Then one day the village came under attack once more, it was a smaller bandit group of around 10 people but even that many people with bad intentions was enough to cower a village of normal people.
Except Gang Bo.
He felt anger for the first time.
After all wasn't it this type of person that ruined their farm, that caused his Father to be like that?
He picked up a large harvest scythe and ran at them screaming, causing them to scream in turn, he swung it knocking multiple of them down and injuring another.
They all ran away immediately after, it seemed that they were mere paper tigers and ran at the first sign of violence, either way he was hailed as a village hero that day, and because of it an idea was whispered into his ear by someone.
That he could become a mercenary with his strength, he could fight off people like that and do good while making money.
At first he questioned whether that was something right to do, but he was assured it was fine. He set out soon after, heading to the capital Rockfell to learn more about this mercenary business, it was there he formed a team with four friends and for more than 5 years after he lived such a life.
Yet even then he never found an answer.
'What do I WANT to do?' He asked himself.
He had realised his mistake, his father wasn't telling him to find a job that suited him, it doesn't matter how much he looked he would never fill that hole that had formed in his chest, that feeling of satisfaction would never return this way.
Because it wasn't because of the work that he felt that satisfaction, it was the smiles of his parents that he was supporting with them that were the source.
He had to find something he truly wanted, something that would make him happy.
After the events of Greengate's beast invasion he was left at the crossroads in his life once more.
His heart hurt, the four friends he had made, the four comrades he had fought besides for years had passed, he had witnessed their deaths with his own two eyes, yet it wasn't as bad as when he lost his parents.
Maybe it was because they weren't truly close, only together for the money; Maybe it was because he felt he was only of use as brawn, and that without that he wouldn't even be here? He didn't know.
But he looked down at a pouch in his hands, the coins inside were the lump sum of his comrades lives and his own.
He could go ahead and retire with this money, maybe grab a nice house in Rockfell and live peacefully for the rest of his time, who knows maybe he would discover a hobby with all the free time he had afterward.
But…
'Do I want THIS?' He asked himself.
It was then that he was approached by a sword like man that went by the name of Chao Shi, he had heard Gang Bo was a 'friend' of Shu He and came to talk to him.
He was informed that the young child was leaving far away, and that if he wanted he could go with him.
He felt dumbfounded.
'I'm not that close with him, am i?' He thought to himself, he had made himself a recipient of the child's medicine a couple years back and since then had plenty of conversations and encounters with him, he could remember feeling envious that the child seemed to know what he wanted in life, that he had the smarts to do things.
But he also remembered how pleasant those times were, how he felt like he wasn't speaking to a mere acquaintance.
'Maybe I am?' He paused.
And then he thought how young he was, and compared him to himself who was older when he was left alone, he then became worried.
'I care this much about him?' Even he was surprised.
He paused and spent some time thinking before asking the sword man a question.
"Will I be able to find something I want there?"
Chao Shi smirked like a child that succeeded in pulling a prank.
"If that's what you desire."
Everything after that was recent history, he joined the sect, became a direct disciple.
And now he had found something he wanted, the moment his master had spoken those words he realised he had found it.
His path.
His body and mind shivered, his future, his potential; He wanted to see how far he could go along it.
And so he stood on stage for the first time, ready to show the world the beginning of his brilliance.
And… well.. there was another thing he wanted.
When he saw Rong Jia he couldn't help but be completely bedazzled.
But those thoughts would be kept under lock and key for a very long time.
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ShiroN3K0
ShiroN3K0 Sorry for the late chapter, haven't been feeling great.. mentally.
Will still try to get a chapter out every other day.
Thanks for reading as always!
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