Thunk.
A small blade embedded itself within a thin tree starved of nutrients. Dried leaves the color of the soil around the roots surrounded the base of the skinny tree. Teal leaves flushed with life were sparse in the long branches sprouting from the object that may have been worth less than a log of wood.
This was one tree out of many within the Cyan Forest on the outskirts of the town known as Cyan Forest Town. As predictable from its name, each leaf, whether it was deprived of nutrients and life or it was still hanging on to a healthier tree full of life, had a tint of blue. The dim blue glow's cause is due to the notable water element coursing through the great river within the forest. It's both the source of water for the people living in the town and all living creatures that dwell within the forest.
This profoundly-touched water was key to helping with the natural progression of one's strength from imbibing it. The slight positive effect on cultivation speed is why those without a background who lived here could increase their strength to the Nascent Profound Realm, and even the True Profound Realm if they were talented.
It was a natural resource that accelerated growth beyond other cultivators in more backwater towns, yet it was only a small step up.
For those who make the mistake of drinking too much of that water with the thought that their progression would improve faster would fall into the pitfall of despair. Their strength would be crippled by their own greed, their ambitions swallowing their hopes whole. One's vitality and profound power would be diluted by excessive foreign energy coursing through natural waters.
Haste makes waste and too much haste can rob one of their future.
That's exactly what happened to this tree.
It took in too much water from the air and the rain. It over-hydrated and suffered from its instinctual greed for its food. The sin of gluttony.
Ignorantly gorging beyond what one's own station can handle.
The tree was barely hanging onto life because of that sin. It's a sin that the youth facing it has in common with it.
Thunk.
The continuous throwing of blades in its trunk, pulling them from the created holes, and repeating the process for hours. It was a repetitive process that went on every single day until the boy's arms could barely be lifted.
The boy's hands were discolored by years of wear and tear of handling objects that he never expected to be using for so long. Not just his hands, but his entire body was also a victim of the passing of time. Repetitive actions took their toll with time stretching for years.
Those minor scars were wounds of the past, contrasting the more recent purple discoloration on his face. The mark was a simple bruise that made the space near his eye swell up, slightly messing with his vision and also messing with his aiming.
Swish.
The miss was more painful than the dull thumping on his face.
"You waste! I took you in, so the least you can do is listen to my orders and do what I say. You little piece of trash. Now go and pick the right herbs this time!"
Taping down his large, unkempt hair were tight bandages wrapped around his head. The back was stained with something brownish-red.
The boy gripped the small tool in his hand, feeling the thumping in his chest. It lacked heat characteristic of anger, but it traveled to his throat, giving a feeling of suffocation.
He wanted to yell out all of his frustration.
Another knife flew from his hand.
Thunk.
The previous miss was nothing more than a fluke caused by a wane in concentration. But a failure was a failure nonetheless. He needed to make up for it.
He rubbed his bruise.
The young man breathed out, reaffirming his resolve with words of determination.
"This isn't pointless."
Thunk.
Another small blade hit the trunk of the tree in a space right below the first blade.
Liu Sheng was just a lost weak youth without the capabilities of gaining strength in the conventional way that the world dictated.
The Profound Way of the world that gifts every single person innate veins in their body to accumulate power with time and effort did not greet him the same way it greeted his peers. He lacked those special channels in his body, and as such, he lacked the ability to Cultivate.
He could not gain Profound Strength.
Such was a curse that marked him as a waste. The label made him feel even more like someone who didn't belong in this world. More proof of being a true outsider.
In a world where strength was everything, an individual without it was nothing more than the lowest of the low. That person's only worth would be to serve others so they would grace him in place of the world that didn't.
He didn't fit in here. His mindset couldn't adjust and neither could his body.
Practicing his skills was all he could do.
Practice makes perfect, but no amount of practice can perfect what doesn't exist. So what if he gets better at throwing weapons? It was merely born out of a fear of fighting up close against those who were physically better than him in every way. He had to defend himself, but he didn't want to get up close.
He needed to fight, but he didn't want to kill. He didn't want to shed blood and he didn't want to feel a person's blood on his hands.
He's a fool.
But to him, these foolish thoughts are the little remnants of his old home. He can't just let it go.
A more common person would simply give up pursuing strength if they didn't have the capabilities to cultivate. Profound Veins was the way of the universe as dictated by the Profound Way. Without those necessary veins, one wouldn't amount to even a dog. Even children could overpower Liu Sheng.
Indeed, it'd be smarter to just accept one's place.
But just as he couldn't give up his old thoughts and ideals, neither could he wholly reject the common sense of this world. Contradictions were born, so Liu Sheng could only ignore them and keep looking forward.
His thin limbs and malnourished body were even weaker than the average person who lacked Profound Strength.
He was looked down upon by everyone in the town where he grew up in. His peers, those younger than him, those older than him, and even his caretaker. They all saw him as nothing more than a piece of waste because he couldn't cultivate.
He had to make up for what he lacked. If he couldn't become a superhuman warrior, then he would just have to employ methods good enough to help him survive. Fighting at a distance, planning, poisoning, and all sorts of unconventional and indirect methods that would probably make him even lower in the eyes of the common person.
For a brief moment, he contemplated the idea of practicing further. However, that may lead to him overdrafting his body and missing out on valuable future practice because of a need to rest and recover.
One of Liu Sheng's blades balanced on his finger. It wobbled left and right, neither fully falling in one direction or the other. He nodded to himself after concluding today's practice.
"This should be enough practice for now."
The boy sighed.
He faltered every now and then. He got discouraged when he couldn't see noticeable improvement. He couldn't keep going forever with positive thoughts in his mind. He knew very well that his efforts might never bear fruit in the future.
There's progress being made.
This was his main method of combat, though it's not all he did for practicing. He at least made sure to condition his body with exercise consisting of push-ups, sit-ups, and jogging. That's the least he could do to at least make sure he could run away from danger.
In the past, he couldn't even hit where he wanted to. The blade would bounce off the trunk of more powerful trunks of wood because the trees were strengthened according to the law of the Profound Way. Even if he hit his target, it wouldn't even sink that deep.
Now, his throws are more accurate. The blades are hilting into the wood even if these aren't the strongest trees in the forest.
It's small progress, but it's progress nonetheless. Even if it's not enough, even if this progress won't take him all the way down. the path he wants to go, he's going to do it anyway.
He already decided a long time ago.
When he came to a world by taking over an abandoned stillborn, he had to live. His life was taken from him all too soon and he was thrown into a cruel world unlike anything he's ever experienced before. He didn't want to sit around and do the bare minimum just to survive.
Because he's a stubborn human being that wanted to truly live.
He has desires of his own and he wants to see them through. It might be pointless to someone else and it may even be stupid, but he still has to give it everything he has.
As long as there's a will, there has to be a way.
If it's foolish to do nothing and foolish to do something, then he would rather be a fool that does something in the end.
"I'll be able to go back in three days."
Liu Sheng collected all of the small knives and placed them in a large pouch strapped to a thin cord hooked around his waist.
The sun was beginning to set.
"According to the usual pattern Han is still upset and he'll be even more pissed tomorrow. After that, he'll start to cool down, and on the third day, I'll finally be able to go back without another beating. I need to camp out away from the river and closer to the town to avoid wild animals."
He was prepared.
The bruise on his face decided his plans in the coming days.