Five years after forming his body, Haziqa's cultivation came to a complete halt.
"What's wrong with me?"
"Am I sick?"
Haziqa wondered, anxiety creeping into his heart.
He quickly shook his head from side to side, dismissing the thought.
"I must be imagining things. I'll take today off and try again tomorrow."
The young man turned around and headed back home.
The next day...
"There's no progress at all!"
Haziqa shouted in frustration.
He covered his sweaty face with both hands. His eyes were wide open, and his breathing had become uneven.
Once again, he asked himself,
"What's wrong with me?"
He took a deep breath.
"No... I can't let the waves of despair swallow me."
"I'll definitely succeed if I keep trying."
He repeated those words day after day.
But nothing awaited him except disappointment.
Every time he tried to cultivate, he felt powerless, as though he had crashed into a wall with no summit.
"Failed."
"I'll try again."
"Failed."
"I can't give up."
"Failed."
"I think I'm close to realizing something."
"Failed."
"It's useless."
"Failed."
"..."
"Failed."
"Failed."
"Failed."
.
.
.
A year passed.
"Failed... once again."
A year defined by despair and failure.
"I can't keep delaying this any longer."
"I'll go find that old cloud."
Having made up his mind, Haziqa wasted no time. He packed his belongings and set off on a journey.
He wandered aimlessly, without a clue where to go.
Only one thing occupied his thoughts...
"How dare he deceive me?"
"I'll find him and beat him half to death."
...Yes.
Those were his thoughts.
After an entire year of helplessness and humiliation, the idea that he had been deceived had firmly taken root in his mind.
As his journey continued, Haziqa noticed something.
"I've been running nonstop for an entire week, yet I'm barely tired."
"And I'm as fast as a train."
"Are these the abilities of a cultivator?"
"No... that's not it."
"I still remember how slow the Cloud was when he chased me."
"But he could create lightning."
"There must be differences between cultivators."
Haziqa suddenly stopped running.
He looked around in every direction, puzzled.
"Something feels strange."
"I've spent days traveling, yet I've only encountered spiritual flames."
"Not a single spirit."
"Come to think of it... the only spirit I've met during all these years was the Cloud Spirit."
He grabbed his head and muttered,
"Am I an idiot?"
"How did I overlook something so obvious for all these years?"
"Have I really grown that accustomed to loneliness?"
He sat down on the ground, closed his eyes, and lost himself in thought.
"Are spirits rare?"
"No... my instincts tell me that's not the case."
"Where am I, exactly?"
"The Spirit World?"
Haziqa opened his eyes and continued,
"Forget it. There's no point thinking about something I can't prove."
He stood up and resumed running.
Time continued to flow.
"Has it been a month already?"
Haziqa wondered as he ran.
"I'm bored."
That was all he felt.
Meanwhile, somewhere nearby, someone else was thinking.
"Hmm... something is approaching."
"A spirit?"
"It'll probably just pass by."
He closed his eyes and continued cultivating.
A few moments later...
"Damn... it's getting closer at an absurd speed."
"Is it coming here?"
That was the only thing occupying the mysterious person's mind.
"No choice."
"I'll spread my spiritual energy and speak to him."
"I don't want any trouble."
The stranger released his spiritual energy and spoke directly into Haziqa's mind.
"What is it that you seek, stranger?"
Haziqa was startled by the voice echoing inside his head.
"What's this? Telepathy?"
Then he replied,
"I'm just traveling around. I didn't mean to disturb anyone."
The stranger answered coldly,
"You are disturbing me. Get lost."
"Oh? Look at this bastard."
Haziqa's anger shot through the roof as he replied,
"And does this place belong to your mother?"
The mysterious man flew toward Haziqa at full speed.
The two finally came face to face.
The atmosphere between them instantly became tense.
They were only a hair's breadth away from fighting.
But before either of them could make a move...
A mysterious guest intervened.