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Chapter 24 - Black Fist Gate

54th of Season of Earth, 56th year of the 32nd cycle


Newt slept poorly that night. Doubt haunted his soul, and he feared it might escalate into a heart demon. He almost gave up on going to Black Fist sect, only to realize that run...

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Chapter 23 - Silence and Dreams

46th of Season of Earth, 56th year of the 32nd cycle


Newt said nothing, because he did not know what to say. Elder Stronggrow had dedicated his life to the clan, sacrificing his own growth and cultivation to teach new generations....

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Chapter 22 - Meditation and Comprehension

46th of Season of Earth, 56th year of the 32nd cycle


“Teacher, there is something I wish to ask of you,” Newt lowered his gaze, his heart beating in his throat.

“What is it, Newstar? How can I help?” Elder Stronggrow...

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Chapter 21 - Blazing Salamander Ancestral Techniques

46th of Season of Earth, 56th year of the 32nd cycle


While three men wept, six others stared without saying a word. Two of them had the decency to look away in shame, but the rest were just waiting for the sappy reunion to finish ...

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Chapter 20 - The Clan

46th of Season of Earth, 56th year of the 32nd cycle


Newt’s whole body shuddered, his gaze glued to the blood pooling on the floor. Huddled against the mine’s rough rocks, he had dreamed about it hundreds of times; about killi...

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Chapter 19 - Decadent Traitor

46th of Season of Earth, 56th year of the 32nd cycle


Newt stopped before the closed gate, wondering why his clan had allowed vines to smother and conceal the fearsome ancestral guardian statues which flanked the main gate. They sp...

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Chapter 18 - Difficult Choices

43rd of Season of Earth, 56th year of the 32nd cycle


Spiritual energy gushed out of Newt’s twin spirit roots, flooding his body, reinforcing and nourishing it. He was still scrawny, ten weeks of slightly better diet barely keepi...

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Chapter 17 - The Perfect Realm

57th of Season of Fire, 56th year of the 32nd cycle


Cultivators defined the Perfect Realm as one free of heart demons, cultivated exactly according to its master’s wishes. Most cultivators ignored it, rushing forward, seeking po...

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Chapter 16 - The Unfriendly Spar

56th of Season of Fire, 56th year of the 32nd cycle


The only heart demons left were Newt’s old sparring partner and his uncle. Newt had not caught a glimpse of his uncle, and the fact scared him more than the velociraptors and B...

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Chapter 15 - Battling Velociraptors

55th of Season of Fire, 56th year of the 32nd cycle


Velociraptors’ howls washed over Newt’s body, shaking his bones. He tried to fight his irrational terror, but the fearsome shriek made his legs shaky, barely able to support ...

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Chapter 14 - Heart Demons

55th of Season of Fire, 56th year of the 32nd cycle


Common velociraptors, often shortened to simply raptors, were small dinosaurs humans had tamed for hunting and as pets. The real, non-spirit beasts barely reached Newt’s knees....

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Chapter 13 - End of the Three-year-long Nightmare

54th of Season of Fire, 56th year of the 32nd cycle


Newt sat in a dimly lit cave, staring at a wall he could hardly see. The jagged floor and debris bit into his butt, and the echo of a distant wind whispered into his ears.

...

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Chapter 12 - The Apex Predator

54th of Season of Fire, 56th year of the 32nd cycle


The pterosaur appeared less than thirty seconds after Magmin gave the warning. The behemoth had a wingspan of almost twenty feet, its body taller than Newt.

And yet, despit...

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Chapter 11 - Mighty Attack

54th of Season of Fire, 56th year of the 32nd cycle


Newt wanted to protest, to say he was not ready to confront the heart demon, but he knew Magmin would have none of it.

“Can we test my Magmin Scales one last time before ...

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Chapter 10 - Granite Crust

53rd of Season of Fire, 56th year of the 32nd cycle


Newt could not believe it, but he got the Granite Crust on his first attempt. The technique was identical to Magmin Scales, but instead of covering him in fire-aligned spiritual ...

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Chapter 9 - Fire’s Nature

51st of Season of Fire, 56th year of the 32nd cycle


Newt paid close attention to the interaction between Magmin Scales and the flames trying to burn him. It took several attempts and several long breaks to recover spiritual energy...

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Chapter 8 - Magmin Scales

51st of Season of Fire, 56th year of the 32nd cycle


“Do you think you can teach me Magmin Flame now?” Newt asked, but Magmin shook his head.

“No. You are a newt. You must first learn Magmin Scales, lest you burn yourse...

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Chapter 7 - Magmin Grove

50th of Season of Fire, 56th year of the 32nd cycle


Newt had slept for ten hours straight and woke up next to a pile of crystals. He devoured sixty before depleting the mound and closing his eyes while drifting into meditative tra...

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Chapter 6 - Third Eye

47th of Season of Fire, 56th year of the 32nd cycle


Newt closed his eyes and tried to focus on his third eye, the mind’s eye. He willed himself to observe the world through his glabella, but his world remained dark, with lava gu...

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Chapter 5 - Building Foundations

45th of Season of Fire, 56th year of the 32nd cycle


Newt knew a lot about cultivation. His father had expounded on the topic ever since Newt was old enough to understand his words. The realm was a blank slate, a barren wasteland o...

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Chapter 4 - Prodigious Expansion

45th of Season of Fire, 56th year of the 32nd cycle


Magmin graciously gifted Newt with a total of sixty-four spirit gems, and the youth devoured them voraciously.

“How much time does a spirit gem take to form?” Newt aske...

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Chapter 3 - Greetings Teacher

45th of Season of Fire, 56th year of the 32nd cycle

“What would happen if I grabbed one of those spirit gems and absorbed its energy?” Newt asked, gazing at the shiny pinecones with undisguised longing.

“I would bite you f...

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Chapter 2 - Enter Magmin

45th of Season of Fire, 56th year of the 32nd cycle

The gargantuan creature swept the forest with its gaze, but its bloodshot eyes failed to find prey. The monster screeched in frustration, sending shivers down Newt’s spine, before ...

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Chapter 1 - Twin Suns

45th of Season of Fire, 56th year of the 32nd cycle,

the day of summer solstice

The mine shaft was dim, illuminated by the dull glow of spirit gem detritus embedded into the walls. The dry air suffused with fine dust hampered Ne...

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