Ninth In the World

Although Di Jiu wanted to pull himself together after Zhen Man’s departure, the memories of her beautiful looks and the apology she had given him before she left had drained whatever fighting spirit was left in him.

Di Jiu would have continued wallowing in decadence if it had not been for Qu Xiaoshu.

Ever since he had become a wastrel, Di Jiu’s only friend had been Qu Xiaoshu. Qu Xiaoshu had martial roots, but he did not like to practise martial arts. Instead, he would loiter around Pearl City with martially rootless Di Jiu. Although Di Jiu had not planned on becoming a bully, it was a fact that no one in Pearl City dared to bother him. Whenever Di Jiu and Qu Xiaoshu showed up somewhere, everybody would go out of their way to avoid them.

On a particular day two years later, eighteen-year-old Di Jiu and Qu Xiaoshu started drinking at a restaurant until they got a little tipsy. Di Jiu had seen Zhen Man, who had returned to Pearl City to visit her relatives. Zhen Man was with a handsome young man in white clothes who carried a long sword on his back.

Eighteen-year-old Zhen Man was more beautiful and refined than she had been two years ago. As she walked down the streets of Pearl City, her graceful silhouette made the entire city pale in comparison. Judging by the look in Zhen Man’s eyes, Di Jiu knew that he no longer existed in her heart.

The way she stood next to the young man in white made them look like a couple. The sight made Di Jiu’s heart ache, even though he knew that they were not meant to be together. As soon as he had seen the two of them together, he had realized that he had never gotten over her.

“This sucks… Oh, Jiu… If you had martial roots, 100 girls like Zhen Man would be throwing themselves at you. Come on, bottoms up…” Qu Xiaoshu stammered out. His eyes were half-closed as he lifted up another cup of wine and drank it.

Di Jiu did not drink. He suddenly recalled his initial motive for studying medicine. He had started studying medicine because he had been worried that he would not be able to pass the martial roots test when he turned 16 years old. He planned on looking for a solution for his martial roots problem through medicine. Why had he lost his original determination after failing the test?

He had been doing nothing but wasting his time for two years. Although his father had not said anything, Di Jiu was aware that he was disappointed.

What was the point of studying medicine for four years? Xiaoshu was right. If he had martial roots, he would have been up to Zhen Man’s standards.

As he watched Zhen Man walk away slowly, Di Jiu stood up. He finished the wine in his cup, lifted the cup and tossed it against the wall.

From that day on, that sentimental young man would not exist anymore.

“What’s the matter?” the intoxicated Qu Xiaoshu asked, lifting up his head. The waiter outside would not have dared say a word, even if Di Jiu had torn the whole place down.

Di Jiu sighed deeply. “I will stop drinking from now on. I must continue studying.”

Qu Xiaoshu was already snoring, so he was not capable of hearing a single word.

…

Di Jiu lived up to his words by beginning his endless medical research once again.

Nobody in the Ji Nation was qualified to be his teacher. However, this did not matter to Di Jiu.

Three years had already passed. During those three years, Di Jiu had made numerous attempts by using all types of herbs and experimenting with countless different formulas. He had failed to find a way to trigger his martial roots, but he had managed to obtain three formulas that aided martial arts practice.

Martial artists went crazy over these formulas, but Di Jiu did not give them to anyone.

Lately, he had been digging for medicine frantically at the Ji Bei Mountain. He had discovered a formula that could potentially trigger martial roots, and its main ingredient was Tibetan Sesame.

Was that a stone? Di Jiu bent over to pick up a grayish stone from the soil he had been digging up.

He had dug along the rhizome of Tibetan Sesame, but had not managed to uproot it. Instead, he had dug out a stone.

Di Jiu wanted to discard it, but the ice-cold feeling in his hand made him realize that this was no ordinary stone.

Perhaps it was a piece of ice jade, but Di Jiu thought little of its worth. Although the people in Pearl City thought of him as useless, at the very least, he had no need for money.

His father, Di Shan, who was the founding hero of the Ji Nation, was like a brother to the Ji Nation’s emperor, King Ming Yi. Four out of his five elder brothers had sacrificed their lives for the nation. His fifth brother had given his life to protect the emperor’s third son, and two of his elder sisters had married into the Ming Yi imperial family. The Di Clan was the richest and most honorable in the entire Ji Nation.

Considering his family background, how could Di Jiu ever be short of money?

“If this is a piece of ice jade, it will be worth my trouble today…” Di Jiu smiled bitterly as he wiped the soil away from the stone. He did not care about the money, but now he could at least say that he had achieved something that day.

Before Di Jiu could store away the stone in his pocket, a scary cracking sound came from the sky. Di Jiu was shocked. When he looked up, he watched in horror as a black rift appeared across the deep blue sky.

A bolt of pale gold lightning struck down from that black crack, landing right on his head. Di Jiu unconsciously closed his eyes as his face turned pale.

It felt like having ice water with an electric current poured down the top of his head. Di Jiu’s entire body turned chilly. He suddenly started to feel a little numb.

Am I alright?

Di Jiu lifted his head. The black rift was still in the sky. He unconsciously looked at the grayish stone. To his shock, he saw a pale gold filament on the stone.

Wasn’t this the pale gold lightning bolt that he had seen just moments ago? The shape was identical. Why had it been reduced to a small mark in the middle of a stone? He remembered clearly that the stone had not had that golden filament when he had first discovered it. Plus, his hand…

His wrist and arm had a faint trace of black dirt on them. He immediately felt like he had experienced an indescribable change. His mind had suddenly become crystal clear. Di Jiu had known all along that he was very intelligent, but he was certain that his brain had absolutely not been as clear as it was now.

This grayish stone was a brilliant item, and the golden filament on the stone was special. The golden lightning bolt had not struck him. It had landed on the stone and been assimilated by it.

Di Jiu was not in the mood to keep digging for herbs anymore. He wanted to take the stone home so his father could take a look at it and determine what it really was. He also had to report the black rift in the sky to King Ming Yi. He might not be able to contribute on the battlefield like his elder brothers, but he could help his country by reporting this incident.

What would he request from King Ming Yi when the King offered him a favor? He should request to leave the Ji Nation and visit the Lu Yuan Empire.

“Oh, Jiu. You need to flee immediately…” Di Jiu was still daydreaming when he heard an anxious voice behind him.

“What’s the matter, Xiaoshu? Why do I have to flee right now?” Di Jiu asked his friend, who was dashing towards him, unsure what was going on. His father, Di Shan, was a general. He was the second most powerful man in the Ji Nation. What reason did he have to flee?