Chapter 1

As the mist gradually faded, the first rays of the morning sun rose from the horizon, casting a pale white light over the once pitch-black sky. In the moment before dawn, all was silent. Standing on the hill overlooking the town, Misaki gazed into the distance, the scene serene and distant.

The town's early morning was always exceptionally quiet, the fresh air soothing the soul.

The mountain scenery delighted the birds, and the reflection in the pond emptied the mind; all was silent, except for the sound of children practicing.

Behind Sun Qiang, more than twenty young boys stood in a horse stance, their hands stretched out, striving to maintain their breathing. Each child harbored a dream of becoming a hero. Sun Qiang told them that to become strong, they must start with standing in a horse stance.

The town of Lanlin had a long history of practicing the horse stance, and Sun Qiang himself had once stood behind the elders like these young boys.

There were also rules for practicing the horse stance in Lanlin. Each generation of young boys would have a lead practitioner, the one who stood closest to the elders. This boy was undoubtedly the one who stood the longest, had the most standard stance, and was the strongest fighter among the young boys of Lanlin.

Sun Qiang took a deep breath, slowly straightened his body, and broke the town's tranquility: "Alright, that's enough for today. The rest of you practice your punches here. Sun Hao, come with me to the forge."

"Sure, Father," the lead practitioner, a boy behind Sun Qiang, stood up straight, his back perfectly erect, and respectfully responded.

The other children cheered in unison, and the town immediately buzzed with vibrant energy.

Sun Qiang's home was a quadrangle courtyard, but the ancestral blacksmith shop was not there; instead, it was a pharmacy. Sun Hao's mother, Wu Yuhuo, was the only doctor in the town. Seeing Sun Qiang and his son return, a happy smile appeared on her not particularly beautiful face.

After breakfast, Sun Hao took a deep breath, slowly assumed a stance, and began practicing his punches. The air seemed to become heavy and hot, interspersed with the sound of breaking air.

Inheriting his father's honesty and his mother's kindness, Sun Hao was the model child in the eyes of all the parents in the town—obedient, diligent, and studious. At a young age, he not only defeated children four or five years older than him to become the lead practitioner but also excelled in medicine and calligraphy.

After finishing his practice, Sun Hao walked to the family blacksmith shop.

When Sun Hao entered, Sun Qiang was swinging his iron hammer, forging with an apprentice, his upper body bare, his bronze skin gleaming with a faint red light, as if the fire in the furnace and the flames on the molten iron were drawn to him.

Sun Hao stood by, quietly watching his father work. His father told him that to learn blacksmithing, one must learn to observe—the rhythm of the hammering, the points of force, and the interaction between the family's Fire Technique and the fire.

Sun Hao watched intently for a while, then walked to the side, picked up his small hammer, closed his eyes, and focused his breath in his dantian, carefully feeling the essence of his father's blacksmithing. Then, he opened his eyes and said to the helper, "Uncle Li, give me a piece of molten iron."

"Clang, clang, clang..." The hammering became extremely rhythmic—strike, turn, strike, turn... The Fire Technique in his dantian began to circulate on its own, and the fire in the furnace suddenly flared up, burning more intensely and continuously sending small flames toward Sun Hao.

Sun Qiang had stopped working and looked at Sun Hao with satisfaction.

The Sun family's Fire Technique, when mastered, could resonate with fire, creating a rare affinity with flames. He hadn't expected Sun Hao to reach this level so quickly.

Sun Hao, as if sensing the flames around him, felt the flow of the flames as his hammer struck, and with a "clang," a thread of fire's power was hammered into the molten iron, merging with it.

"What's wrong with the fire?" an apprentice asked, puzzled, looking at the furnace.

The vigorously burning furnace had become completely silent.

Sun Qiang scratched his head, then a simple smile spread across his face. He smiled at the onlookers and said, "Who cares what's happening? Let's continue working. Let the little one practice on his own."

With that, Sun Qiang picked up his large hammer and called the workers to start.

"Clang," a loud sound as Sun Qiang struck a large piece of iron.

He paused, noticing that his son seemed oblivious to his actions, and a smile returned to his eyes: "Come, come, let's continue," "Clang," the sound even louder.

In the afternoon, while learning to boil medicine with his mother, Sun Hao felt that something was different today. The flames under the medicine pot seemed especially familiar. After boiling a few pots of medicine, Wu Yuhuo praised him, "You did well today. You have a good grasp of the heat."

Today, the pharmacy was not particularly busy. After helping his mother boil a few pots of medicine, Sun Hao planned to spend some time with his friends, going to Fangya Mountain to play and pick some herbs. But before he could leave, a commotion came from outside the pharmacy, along with hurried footsteps.

He heard someone shouting, "Doctor Wu, come quickly, come quickly, Qiangzi is injured."

Sun Hao dashed out of the pharmacy and saw several people supporting his father, walking quickly toward him: "Father, what happened? How did you get injured..."

Sun Qiang grimaced, "It's nothing..." but beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

The man supporting Sun Qiang was a robust man in his forties with sharp eyes.

Sun Hao's small face showed anger, and he called out, "Uncle Gu, who hurt my father?"

Gu Qiang said solemnly, "Just now, Qiangzi and I repelled the Feilong Bandit Camp."

"Feilong Bandit Camp? Again, the Feilong Bandit Camp," Sun Hao's eyes turned cold.

Lanlin Town belonged to Nank County of the Xia Kingdom, a border town with a location that no one cared about, making the surrounding area unstable. The Feilong Bandit Camp was a notorious bandit camp, only a day's ride from the town.

The enmity between the Feilong Bandit Camp and Lanlin Town had a long history, spanning over two hundred years. Sun Hao's grandfather had died fighting the former leader of the Feilong Bandit Camp, and his grandmother had passed away shortly after, unable to bear the loss.

Wu Yuhuo, while giving her husband a dose of medicine, frowned in confusion, "What happened? According to the usual, the Feilong Bandit Camp shouldn't cause trouble at this time."

Gu Qiang's face was grave, "This time, it's serious. It's said that the son of the Feilong Bandit Camp's leader, Qu Sheng, has been recognized by a celestial being and has obtained a celestial connection."

The news brought by Gu Qiang cast a shadow over the town and a dark cloud over Sun Hao's heart.

The Feilong Bandit Camp was ruthless, having wiped out entire villages in the past decade. If Qu Yougen gained power, Lanlin Town would be the first to be destroyed, and the Sun family would likely be wiped out.