Myriad Stars- A New Star Read online

  Wu Ji Chronicles - Book 1

  a NEW STAR

  M.Q. Kajack

  Wu Ji was 16 old this year.

  He’d been called all sorts of things in his life. Trash, useless, waste of life, shitty, worthless… Wu Ji was fairly sure he’d been called every conceivably negative thing under the sun.

  Despite that, he could only recognize that he perhaps deserved some of the derogatory names. He was quite literally, useless. He was too stupid and lazy to study, and he was unable to cultivate. Not to mention, he was even too lazy and weak to work in the fields. His only redeeming quality was that he was a fairly handsome young man. He wasn’t the most handsome in the world, but it was enough to attract some young women.

  Sadly, when they learned of who he was, without fail, they would run for the hills. Wu Ji didn’t blame them, though. Whose fault was it that he was born this way, anyways? Not theirs.

  When Wu Ji was in his mother’s womb, his father had constantly dreamed of what his son could be. Yet, never in his dreams could his father have imagined that Wu Ji would grow into what he was right now… a useless and worthless man.

  The Wu Family was a small family. Wu Ji’s dad had been a soldier, but had unfortunately died in a war five years ago. Before dying, though, Wu Ji’s father had arranged an opportunity for Wu Ji in the military. Unfortunately, when Wu Ji had moved to claim this position, he’d been denied—why would the army take in a man who was so weak he couldn’t even lift a sword?

  Even if he’d been accepted into the military, Wu Ji couldn’t cultivate, so at most, he’d only be cannon fodder. And for such a weak man, Wu Ji was rather fearful of death. No, instead of looking for a way to earn his keep, he looked towards other reasons to continue living.

  Wu Ji’s head was full of dreams, perverted dreams. He always dreamed about being the most powerful and handsome man in the world, surrounded by countless beauties… but this was only a dream.

  Wu Ji’s mother was quite charming. She constantly received offers to remarry, or even to be the concubine for some or other noble. She rejected even the most generous offers, and her love for her late husband was something many admired. Luckily, most in the city treated her well, and respected her. Her son, though, was another matter. And there was nothing Wu Ji’s mother could do about it—after all, despite all her wishes, her son was truly useless.

  At the age of ten, most girls and guys would go through the process of awakening, something called the Myriad Stars Ceremony. This ceremony was done all over the world, perhaps even the universe. At the very least, it was the main ceremony by which humans learned to cultivate.

  The ceremony was quite simple. The children sat in meditation and tried to breathe the heaven and earth energy and connect to their Myriad Stars. The more stars you connected with, the more talent and benefits you had. No one knew what exactly the stars were, but it was said that in the universe there were many Myriad Stars and that any being born on the universe belonged to one of them. Connecting to your stars was the first step into cultivation and breaking the shackles of the mortals.

  An ancient teaching told that when people reached a certain level of cultivation, they will break the shackles of this realm and ascend to their Myriad Star. Of course, this was something told in ancient times. For the folks in the city this where just legends and tales to tell their children.

  When one connected to their Myriad Stars, they would receive the mark and blessing of the stars. The Star Mark was used to grade the children. Some stars and blessings that the children received were stronger than others. So, the rankings were given to the children to classify them based on their perceived talent and future expected strength. Usually, a 2-Star talent connected to two stars and received two blessings. By this logic, they couldn’t beat a 3-Star talent who connected to three stars and received three blessings. But there were also other factors to take into account such as age, bloodline, cultivation level, and more. So, it was not entirely impossible for a 2-Star talent to beat a 3-Star talent—it was just difficult.

  This was especially so, since after you connected to your Stars during the Myriad Stars ceremony, it was almost impossible to change them, unless one of your Stars had a Star Path.

  Some Stars contained a Star Path, and it could allow the user to grow in talent and the blessing it gave the user could change as the cultivator grew and improved. But this was an extremely special case. Even if a cultivator connected to a Star with a Star Path, it would be unknown if the cultivator would be able to access it. More legends the priest of the ceremony liked to talk about.

  Wu Ji was a 0-Star talent, something that had never ever been recorded in the history of the Empire. There were some who lacked talent who became a 1-Star talent, but 0?? That’s how he became the laughing stock of the city. Even the Gods mocked Wu Ji.

  Actually, it wasn’t Wu Ji fault. When Wu Ji was doing the ceremony all the Myriad Stars, all the billions of Stars, rejected him as if he was trash, a pest or something. He ended up in a corner, connected to a desolated Star, barren and full of holes. It barely resembled a Star. The Star didn't reject him like the others, but as it could barely be called a star, he’d been ranked a 0-Star talent.

  At that time Wu Ji thought that perhaps that Star had a Star Path that would give him a cool blessing or something but even six years after the ceremony, nothing special had happened to him. His old friends were already strong enough to kill Wu Ji with the lift of the finger. They commanded the power of thunder, fire, and other incredible powers.

  Essentially, Wu Ji was no different than a mortal, except for one small thing. His conscious soul could directly access that weird Star. This was something that was totally unheard of. But it was just a small thing. The star had nothing—only a small ball that he couldn’t reach. In the past years, despite everything that had happened to him, all of the names he’d been called, seeing everyone surpass him and leave him in the dust, Wu Ji didn’t give up and mediated each night in order to reach the ball. Each night, he was a step closer to that ball.

  Wu Ji estimated that in few more days he would finally be able to reach that ball. He hoped, really goddamn hoped that the ball would change his life. No, he believed it would. Otherwise, how could he have ignored for so many years those insults, how could he have faced his life without committing suicide? For him it was clear, something inside his mind to keep pushing him to reach that tiny ball.

  One week wasn’t long. He was patient.

  “Morning Mom!” said Wu Ji excitedly and with a huge smile on his face. Today, this night! Everything would change. He would reach that tiny ball.

  “Morning son, did something good happened? Oh! You’ve finally grown up; I been waiting for this moment. Good! Your mother will support you. Today is Miss Lan’s husband fighting tournament. Your father will be proud of you. s a man you have to fight! So, what if you can’t cultivate? My son will never hide!” Wu Ji’s mother was too caught up in her mood and failed to notice that her son’s face becoming gloomier by the second.

  For God’s sake mom, you don’t want your child to be alive anymore, do you? What the hell are you thinking? If I had known Miss Lan’s husband fighting tournament was today, I wouldn’t have shown my face at all… Guess I will have to take a beating again.

  Wu Ji’s thoughts were not without reason—in the past he had had to take some beating from other guys because of her mother’s enthusiasm. He’d been labelled as trash so many times that when his mother ever saw that he was in good mood, she always thought that Wu Ji was finally changing and striving to improve. Unfortunately for Wu Ji, goddess luck always liked to play with him. Each time he was in a good mood, there was always something great happening in the city so her mother always
misunderstood him. But as a filial son and as useless as he was, how could he deny his mother’s happiness. After all, she always took great care of him and she never forced to work either. So, Wu Ji went along with her mother.

  “Of course, mother! I will be the greatest man ever! What’s just Miss Lan, wait for me to bring home a few more daughter-in-laws for you.” Said Wu Ji with an awkward laugh.

  “Good! That’s my son! Remember son, three or four wives is already ok. That way your mom won’t be lonely when you go out to travel the world. Pay attention that the wives must accept each other and don’t force them, otherwise it will not work. Don’t forget to plant your seed in them so I can have a few grandchildren soon…”

  Wu Ji’s mother kept blabbing about her son getting a few more wives and ten sons and creating a great family. It has to be said that Wu Ji’s mother always been a dreamer girl, this had greatly influenced Wu Ji. Which mother wouldn’t dream about how tall a handsome and strong man will their child become!

  In this world where the weak fear the strong and where strong powerhouse rules it was quite common that powerful and influential people had several wives and concubines. Even some influential women had some men kneeling under their feet. Of course, you will need the power to maintain them or their love for you must be heaven-defying.

  Wu Ji’s mood was constantly changing while her mother was babbling, he couldn’t help but sigh while they reached where the tournament was located. Everywhere he looked people were staring at him with grinning faces.

  “I’m Wu Ji. 16 years old. I want to participate in Miss Lan tournament.” A plain and honest presentation.

  The judge raised his eyebrow, as he couldn’t figure out the other party’s cultivation and coupled with the lack of knowledge he had regarding the city in this barren land, he thought it was perhaps a Sect Cultivator travelling and passing by. So, he immediately welcomed Wu Ji and gave him a token, numbered 100. It was the last token.

  Sun Moon City’s folks were excited to see Wu Ji participating. They knew and respected Wu Ji’s mother but to them, Wu Ji was the worst son ever. It was good that from time to time he took a beating so that he’d grow up faster. The folks always thought Wu Ji had grown to be like he was because he lacked a father figure and the related disciplining. That’s why they didn’t alert the judge.

  Unfortunately, this time, everything went wrong. They’d underestimated the influence of Miss Lan’s beauty. She was the daughter of the City Lord and one of the most beautiful girls in the Empire. It was said that only the three most famous women in the empire could compare to her. The Princess of the Empire, the granddaughter from the Five Elements Sect and the elder from the Pill Palace. Due to this, there were many guys not from Sun Moon City who were participating in the tournament as well—but it seemed that everyone had forgotten about this point.

  Lady Luck didn’t help Wu Ji, either. His first opponent was a 3-Star talent called Mo Wen, at the Mortal Realm peak. Of course, only if one was above that stage could they tell Mo Wen’s cultivation. Mo Wen’s 1-Star Blessing was Fire. A Star blessing helped a cultivator cultivate in a determined path. In the case of Mo Wen, his first blessing was that of Fire, his 2-Star Blessing was Sword and his 3-Star Blessing was Wind. Overall Mo Wen’s blessings were quite balanced and made him a terrifying sword cultivator. He was considered a genius of the Empire, and was even an outer sect disciple of the Five Elements Sect. As such, he didn’t know who Wu Ji was at all.

  Mo Wen was nervous he couldn’t see the cultivation of the other party. For such an event to happen, there were only two options. The other party cultivated something that could hide the cultivation, or the other party’s cultivation was higher than him. He didn’t want to underestimate his opponent so he immediately cast a Fire Mortal Art to test the waters.

  “Stop!”

  A mixed yell resounded through the entire place, belonging to both the City Lord and Miss Lan. Sadly, it was too late. Their yell brought all the participants to stop fighting and look around for the problematic arena. The city folks were scared for Wu Ji—or rather, what Wu Ji’s death would do to his mother.

  “No!!!” Another piercing cry resounded. Wu Ji’s mother cry.

  Mo Wen wasn’t a bad guy, so he knew immediately what had happened. He’d misunderstood, the other party was just a mortal! Mo Wen immediately activated his mortal peak movement skill and slashed his sword toward his previous attack.

  “Come to me!”

  Everyone could see Mo Wen trying to slash the Fire Art he’d just cast. The slash managed to reach the Fire Art and cut its might in half, but unfortunately, half of the Fire Art still hit Wu Ji’s body. Any mortal would die instantly upon being hit by such an attack, and Wu Ji was no different.

  Wu Ji was engulfed by fire and sent flying dozens of meters, rolling along the ground until his body smashed against a wall.

  “Damn it!” Mo Wen eyes were red, his pale face clearly told everyone he’d tried his best. No one would blame him it—was an accident. Still though, he was a righteous young man, and he blamed himself.

  “Ji’er, Ji’er!” Her mother already reached her son burned body. Wu Ji’s limbs were hanging limply from his body, clearly broken. Much of his skin had burned away, and many of his bones were poking through. A gory image for any who dared to look at him. Half his face had been burned as well.

  “Do..n..t… Wo..r…rr…y … m…o…m… I..b..e…f…n..e” a slow breath came out of Wu Ji’s body. A whisper of a dying young man to please her mom one last time.

  Wu Ji’s body laid in a comfortable bed, though his half-burned face didn’t show any comfort at all. The fire had partially burned his face without mercy—his lips barely resembled lips, and it was clear from just a glance that one of his eyes was now blind, destroyed by the heat. One of his ears had been burned off, as well. Instead of his previously handsome appearance, he now looked more like a corpse. Still though, this didn’t stop Wu Ji’s mother, who softly caressed his face.

  Mo Wen was kneeling on the floor with a resolute look next to Wu Ji. The City lord, Miss Lan’s father had an ugly expression on his face. As for Miss Lan, her face was pale, and there was a trace of blood trickling down from the side of her mouth.

  “I’m sorry. This is all I can do.” Said Miss Lan to Wu Ji’s mother, with an apologetic face.

  It took a few moments for Wu Ji’s mother to find her words. “Will he die?” “My daughter did everything she could. She’s a 3-Star Talent, and her 3-Star blessing is Life. Unfortunately, her realm is not high enough and the Life blessing is too hard to come by. Perhaps if her realm was higher... but it’s unfortunate that this happened…” City Lord felt an eternal regret. He didn’t know how to comfort Wu Ji’s mother.

  Wu Ji’s father was their benefactor. Years ago, the proud soldier had gone through hell to save Miss Lan from a high-level Monster. If it hadn’t been for him, the City Lord’s daughter would have been eaten alive by that beast. This was actually one of the reasons why Wu Ji didn’t need to work. His mother worked under the City Lord as secretary—because of this the Wu family didn't need to work much to be able to survive and have some basic luxuries.

  Tears flowed down from Wu Ji’s mother’s eyes, as she understood the words of City Lord. This was a low empire; the highest talent they’d ever had was a 4-Stars talent and that had been centuries ago. Having Miss Lan, a 3-Star talent with Life Powers helping her son was already a miracle in itself.

  Never in his dreams would the City Lord have thought that the number one candidate to marry his daughter, would end up almost killing a mortal in the tournament. Mo Wen was actually the strongest participant, the most likely to win the tournament. Now though, his mind was in turmoil. A few years ago, while travelling with his master, he had seen and taken a fancy to Miss Lan. Today he had come to display his powers in front of his future wife, to show the world how mighty and genius he was, and how he deserved her as a partner. Yet, what had he done instead? Cripple a mortal in the f
irst round, nearly killing him? Hell, the mortal could still die—his life force was dissipating as time passed. Mo Wen’s mind was a mess—for him, killing a mortal was something that could be done if the latter had done something deserving it. He didn’t mind killing people, few in this world minded it as death was simply too common. But for righteous people, they needed a reason, a good one, otherwise they won't be able to have peace of mind.

  As time passed, those in the room felt that something was wrong with Mo Wen. Upon closer inspection, his eyes were even filled with blood. They resembled a crazy beast and indeed, he suddenly slashed himself with his own sword.

  Mo Wen had spilled blood again, his own.

  “I, Mo Wen, swear to the heavens to follow brother Wu Ji in life and death. If brother Wu Ji dies, I, Mo Wen will follow you to death. If I don’t fulfil my oath let my soul eradicate and never be reborn again.” The heavens trembled as if in agreement to Mo Wen oath.

  Miss Lan, the City Lord and Wu Ji’s mother stared dumbfounded at Mo Wen’s figure. Not only had he sworn such a vicious oath, taking Wu Ji’s conditions into account, but that slash had destroyed his face. Half his slips, his left eye, and even one of his ears had fell victim. Now, Mo Wen’s face looked like Wu Ji.

  Suddenly, the heavens trembled again! Someone was awakening! They stared at Mo Wen, and their bodies shivered.

  Mo Wen had become a 4-Star Talent, and had found a Star Path, allowing him to link to another star and get his fourth blessing. Blessing of craziness.

  Now they understood. That resolution, those crazy eyes Mo Wen had just then. Wu Ji was the reason a 4-Star Talent had finally been again born in this low empire, but of course, if Wu Ji died then Mo Wen would fall victim as well.

  The City Lord shook his head. Was this their fate? Finally, a talent had finally been born in this low empire, one that could help the Empire grow. A chance to break out from the constant oppression they faced. They were always the cannon fodder in wars, their population was the one that was always suffering. Always sending their young soldiers and cultivators to die to Monsters. He wasn’t willing!