A waterfall, a hundred meters high.

The turbid stream rushes down from above like a herd of galloping horses, accompanied by a thunderous roar. One can only imagine the force of this waterfall.

A figure stands on the shore. Based on his build, he appears to be a boy of around ten.

Suddenly, he quickly strips off his clothes and jumps into the waterfall. After a slight hesitation, he struggles to situate himself atop a boulder under the waterfall, making a rather perplexing maneuver.

He sits under the waterfall.

Not two minutes later, the boy bursts out from under the waterfall, gasping for air. His face is white as a sheet, and his whole body has a faint reddish hue.

It's plain to see; the tremendous power of the waterfall has taken a toll on him.

After taking a moment to recover, he draws a deep breath. A flash of determination can be seen in his eyes. He jumps back onto that rock, allowing the rushing water to pound against him.

“Hang in there, Lei Gang. If you want to practice cultivation with brother, then you need to hang in there!" His booming voice resonates with the thunderous slam of the waterfall.

Two and a half minutes pass, a half-minute more than the last. He shoots out from the waterfall once again. Now, there are traces of blood on his back, his face extremely pallid.

After a brief respite, he plunges back under the waterfall.

Eventually, the sky faintly brightens to a fish-belly white. He crawls to the shore, weakly laying on the ground, greedily inhaling the fresh air. After a brief rest, he sits up, dries his body, and leaves staggering along a small path.

About five miles away from the waterfall, there's a small hillside village.

The village only houses a handful of families. As the sky begins to brighten, a few villagers start to emerge. Spotting the boy, they hastily greet him. “Lei Gang, you went to practice again, huh?"

Forcing a difficult smile, the young boy nodded and walked into the village. Enduring the heart-wrenching pain throughout his body, he took out some coarse grains and slowly sat down on a large rock, looking up at a tall mountain ahead, with a gleam of unusual light in his eyes.

"Big brother... the conditions set by Master are too difficult, but Lei Gang will definitely redouble his efforts," the young boy murmured in a low voice.

Before he turned twelve, he was supposed to meditate under a waterfall for an hour, but now... he could only meditate for two and a half minutes at most, which was a long, long way off from the target set by the master. This filled his clear, black eyes with worry.

The boy was named Lei Gang, just turned ten. Originally, Lei Gang, like other villagers in Lei Jian Village, lived a worry-free life. But half a month ago, an old man suddenly changed his life.

Lei Gang had a biological brother named Lei Mo, who was a year older than him. After their parents' death, the two relied on each other for survival. Their life may have been poor, but they were very content. But half a month ago, when Lei Mo was hunting in the mountains, he accidentally bumped into an old man. To everyone's astonishment, the elderly followed Lei Mo to Lei Jian Village, stating that he wanted to teach Lei Mo the path of spiritual cultivation.

This excited Lei Mo and Lei Gang to the core, they even thought they were dreaming!

The cultivators, as rumored, could live for eternity, fly in the sky and disappear into the earth. They could overturn the world with just a wave of their hand and kill people thousands of miles away. Such individuals existed only in the myths and legends told by the villagers.

Having dreamt of becoming a cultivator since childhood, the two brothers were over the moon when they thought the old man would teach Lei Mo cultivation. How could they not be stunned and excited!

However, just as Lei Mo and Lei Gang thought they were lucky enough to learn the Taoist techniques, the old man said, "Child, you have such strong qualifications that you are a natural talent for cultivation. If you're willing, I can take you back to the Immortal Path Gate and teach you the supreme cultivation techniques. However, your brother… his qualifications are mediocre. If you can abandon him, you can go back to the Dao Gate with me now."

At that moment, the brothers were stunned as if they had been hit by lightning. Without a second thought, Lei Mo instantly rejected the old man.

Nonetheless, the old man was persistent in taking Lei Mo, but adamant about not taking Lei Gang. In the end, due to Lei Mo's persistence, the old man set a condition – if Lei Gang could meditate under the waterfall for an hour before turning twelve, the old man would make an exception and take Lei Gang back to the Immortal Path Gate.

That's the reason why Lei Gang has been training hard since early morning.

As he stared at the peak of the mountain blanketed by clouds and fog, Lei Gang's body abruptly started to tremble, and his eyes were slightly clouded.

After a long while, Lei Gang sighed and staggered towards the tall mountain.

"Big brother..."

Near midday, Lei Gang finally managed to climb to the top of the high mountain. His older brother, Lei Mo, was practicing on this mountaintop. It had been half a month since he last saw his brother, and Lei Gang missed him greatly. Instead of going straight to the top, Lei Gang hid under a large tree, stealing glances in the direction of his brother.

Seeing the familiar silhouette who was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, Lei Gang felt a warmth in his heart. But then, he saw the elderly man in green clothing who was sitting next to his brother, Lei Mo, and felt a sudden awe.

Suddenly, Lei Gang’s body jolted, a flash of fear appeared in his eyes as they became evasive.

The elderly man sitting cross-legged in front of him suddenly opened his eyes. His muddy eyes were shining with a strange and fierce light, as if a sharp blade was stabbing into Lei Gang's heart and piercing through his soul.

"Huff..." Lei Gang felt as if there was an invisible mighty pressure in the air, making it hard for him to breathe. The color that had returned to his face vanished as quickly as a receding tide.

"Didn't I tell you not to disturb me unless it's important?" An aged voice that carried great dignity abruptly exploded in Lei Gang's mind.

Lei Gang's body shuddered, and he nearly fell to the ground, fear was evident in his eyes. His parched lips opened slightly as if he wanted to say something, but he swallowed his words instead.

A mixture of sadness and pain flashed through his eyes. He took one last look at the familiar figure ahead, then turned around, walking away with a sorrowful gait.

"Sigh, I hope you understand the difficulty and retreat. With your aptitude, it's impossible for you to enter a cultivation sect, let alone a celestial sect. Even if you sit under the waterfall for an hour, it's difficult to reach the stage of refining qi, let alone with your mortal body..." The elder sighed slightly in his heart. He took a look at the youth sitting beside him, a glint of expectation in his eyes, then slowly closed them again.

Coming down from the mountain, Lei Gang felt an unprecedented sense of loss.

In truth, he didn't care about cultivation. What truly made him despair was that if he failed to meet his master's requirements, he would be separated from his brother. Their parents had passed away due to illness two years ago, leaving then eight-year-old Lei Gang and nine-year-old Lei Mo to fend for themselves. His brother was the only family he had left in this world.

Lei Gang didn't know what the point of living in this world would be without his brother.

The injustice and unwillingness in his heart made Lei Gang even more determined to reach his goal. As soon as he returned to the village, he quickly finished his lunch and headed for the waterfall.