Chapter 1: Five Years of Perseverance

　　Tianwu Empire, Shiyan City, The Yates Estate training grounds.

　　Dozens of youths, under the blazing sun, stood in line, all with excited expressions on their faces.

　　Meanwhile, some middle-aged men and women gathered around the training grounds, watching their children with extremely tense emotions.

　　Today was the trimonthly Xuan Gate assessment of The Yates Estate, personally overseen by the head of the The Yates Family Martial Hall, William Yates. All clan juniors under the age of fifteen could participate.

　　No matter how you usually performed, today’s test results would determine your and your parents’ future status within The Yates Estate.

　　Only those with strength would be valued by the family—an unchanging rule in any clan since ancient times.

　　“Mary Yates!”

　　A middle-aged man in gray leather armor, with a resolute face and piercing eyes, stood at the center of the training ground, holding a roster and calling out a name.

　　Immediately, all the youths participating in the test turned their fiery gazes toward a black-haired girl. The girl was exquisitely beautiful, about fourteen years old, dressed in a purple training outfit that accentuated her mature figure beyond her years.

　　Upon hearing her name, Mary Yates took a graceful step forward, slowly walked to the center of the training ground, and threw a pink fist directly at an ironwood stump.

　　“Bang!”

　　A dull sound rang out, and on that extremely hard ironwood stump, a rather distinct fist mark actually appeared.

　　“The fist mark is one inch deep. The right fist has successfully broken through the Xuan Gate.”

　　Hearing this result, Mary Yates showed a proud smile.

　　“Tsk tsk, this Mary Yates really is a genius girl. Half a year ago, her right hand hadn’t even broken through the Xuan Gate.”

　　“With this kind of talent, she might even catch up to Young Master Charles Yates!”

　　Exclamations of amazement came from the crowd, and the smile on Mary Yates’s face grew even brighter.

　　In the Tianwu Empire, martial arts reign supreme. Martial artists all aim to break through the five major Xuan Gates, using the yuan force refined in their dantian to impact the five Xuan Gates.

　　Everyone has five Xuan Gates, located in the four limbs and the brain.

　　Once a Xuan Gate is broken through, the yuan force refined in the dantian can surge into the gate, greatly increasing the attack power of the limbs and speeding up neural reactions.

　　When all five Xuan Gates are broken through, the martial artist truly embarks on the path of cultivation, reaching the Qi Creation Realm.

　　An ordinary youth, with a punch, can exert half a stone of force—about sixty kilograms. If a Xuan Gate is broken through and yuan force is used, one can strike with a full stone of force.

　　When all five Xuan Gates are broken through and the first level of the Qi Creation Realm is reached, the martial artist’s attack can reach two stones of force.

　　“Very good. In the next assessment, strive to break through the last Xuan Gate and reach the Qi Creation Realm!”

　　William Yates did not hold back his praise for Mary Yates.

　　Currently, Mary Yates was only one brain Xuan Gate away from breaking through. If she could break through the brain Xuan Gate, she could reach the Qi Creation Realm before turning fourteen. There were not many in the The Yates Family or even in Shiyan City who could reach the Qi Creation Realm before fourteen.

　　“Thank you, Uncle Yates. Little Mei will definitely work hard.”

　　Hearing William Yates’s praise, Mary Yates excitedly walked off the square, the peaks on her chest trembling and drawing attention.

　　Holding the roster, William Yates frowned slightly when he saw the name of the next participant.

　　“Next, Morgan Yates!”

　　As soon as he finished speaking, everyone around couldn’t help but look around, searching for Morgan Yates’s figure.

　　“Next, Morgan Yates!”

　　William Yates raised his voice, but still, Morgan Yates was nowhere to be seen.

　　“This collateral branch junior, it’s one thing to have poor talent, but this time he didn’t even bother to show up for the test.”

　　“He knows his own limits. Five years of Xuan Gate tests and not a single gate broken through. If he came today, wouldn’t he just embarrass himself?”

　　“Dragons beget dragons, phoenixes beget phoenixes, but the son of a loser is still a loser!”

　　Hearing the murmurs in the crowd, William Yates snorted coldly and said angrily, “Who says the son of a loser is still a loser? Morgan Yates may not have much talent in cultivation, but don’t use ‘loser’ to describe him and his father. If it weren’t for Quentin Yates’s outstanding performance in the Desolate Gate, would our The Yates Estate have its current status?”

　　The empire they lived in was the Tianwu Empire, one of the weakest among the countless empires in the Desolate Domain.

　　And the Desolate Gate stood as the most powerful sect in the Desolate Domain, an existence unattainable for any family in the Tianwu Empire.

　　Only those who truly became the empire’s top genius were qualified to join the Desolate Gate.

　　What no one expected was that Quentin Yates, in a certain battle, had his dantian destroyed by someone, and after returning to the Tianwu Empire, was hunted by many powerful enemies. Thanks to the help of friends, he was able to live a peaceful life in The Yates Estate.

　　The story of a once peerless genius thus ended in tragedy.