Cultivating a Failure

"Let's go Little Yu!" Falling Star grinned and put her arm around Yu Chang's waist. Before Yu Chang had a chance to react, Falling Star charged out the door and zipped past the reporters who were still waiting outside the registration office.

At this time Yu Chang didn't know whether he should laugh or cry. All that effort put into avoiding the reporters before and now they just ran right through them as if they were cherry blossoms floating in the wind. He shut his eyes tightly, unable to watch the mayhem that would ensue after Falling Star charged headlong through these low-level cultivators that stood no chance against her prowess. When the screams that Yu Chang expected didn't come he reluctantly opened his eyes. What greeted him was a shocking scene, to say the least. Yu Chang watched as Falling Star's slipped feet stepped on the empty air propelling them through the sky unhindered. Yu Chang stared at the face of his master, dumbfounded.

"What's wrong Little Yu?" Falling Star looked down at Little Yu who was staring at her with a weird expression on his face.

Yu Chang couldn't help but notice the boundless joy that twinkled in Falling Star's eyes that shone brightly with each step she took. He tried to reply but the words caught in his throat. 'This image of master, I have to remember always.' He filed away a mental image of Falling Star who at that moment appeared to be fully in her element. She was truly the queen of the sky in his eyes. After several minutes, Yu Chang finally found his voice, "Master, is the 'Crossing the Void' technique?"

"You know about that?" she responded giving Yu Chang a genuine smile that would melt even the sternest of hearts. "This truly is the best way to travel," she exclaimed. "Father taught me this technique many years ago. When you get to the fifth level, I'll teach it to you as a reward. If it weren't so eye-catching, I would always travel like this. Unfortunately, it usually has the unwanted side effect of attracting many admirers that stop at nothing to pursue me. I don't really understand why."

'I do,' Yu Chang thought. After seeing Falling Star fully let loose for the first time in front of him, even his heart yearned for her. The unrestrained joy amplified her already heavenly beauty ten fold, almost to the point of blinding the eyes. He knew better than to say anything though, by now Yu Chang was starting to grasp the sporadic nature of Falling Star and he didn't want to spoil the moment. "Master where are we headed now? You said yesterday that we had a lot of things to do."

"What do you mean? We're going to get ice cream! Did you really forget again?" Falling Star asked incredulously.

"It's not that I forgot, I just figured there might have been more pressing matters to attend to. Yu Chang sighed at the simplicity of his master's thought patterns.

"Nonsense. We can eat ice cream while taking care of other issues." After saying this, Falling Star slowed their progress since they were arriving near their destination, the very same area where their fates first intertwined. Remembering she had Yu Chang this time, she didn't directly fall out of the sky like she normally would, instead, she slowly descended on invisible stairs. After several minutes they finally reached the sidewalk. Now that they were on the ground, Falling Star removed her arm from around Yu Chang's waist and took up his hand in hers leading him off to the market street. "Come come Little Yu, the best shop is over this way."

Yu Chang inwardly wanted to cry. 'Master aren't you afraid of giving others the wrong idea, let alone what about giving me the wrong idea?' Yu Chang wanted to speak his thoughts but only voiced them internally instead and let himself be dragged off by Falling Star.

Within a few minutes, Falling Star had dragged him to a small corner shop. Inside an elderly looking couple stood behind the counter. Seeing this elderly couple, Yu Chang realized at best they were only level one cultivators. It is well known that level ones aged at the same rate as ordinary humans of the past, but will still at the least be able to live to about 140 years old. Even their current state was enviable in Yu Chang's eyes, although he has Falling Star as his master now, it is still possible that he will fail to become a cultivator. Being that he had said he would treat her, Yu Chang stepped up to the counter and ordered two vanilla cones. After paying, Yu Chang looked at his wallet and sighed, this treat used up the last of his spending money.

Standing behind him, the tall Falling Star was able to see Yu Chang's situation. "Don't worry Little Yu, so long as you stick by me you'll never have a need for money." She patted his shoulder lightly. "I only let you pay this time because no one has been bold enough to offer to treat me in a long time."

"That's all well and good master, but what if I fail in the end?" Yu Chang was unable to shake the thoughts he had upon first seeing the elderly couple.

"What's with all this pessimism suddenly?" Falling Star asked. "Regardless, success or failure, as long as you give it your all and push yourself to the limit, even if you fail in the end I won't abandon you."

This time the tears really did flow from Yu Chang's eyes as he looked up at Falling Star. He finally understood just how serious she was in taking him on. Up to this point, it felt to him like Falling Star took him in on a fleeting whim or as an apology for their first encounter, never did he realize that she was this serious about making him a cultivator. Taking the ice creams from the elderly man, he handed one to Falling Star. "Thank you, master, I promise I will give it my all then so you never regret taking me in."

Falling Star reached down and brushed the tears from Yu Chang's eyes and smiled. "Don't worry Little Yu, I'll never regret this decision. Besides, you're gonna go very far in the future, I already know the best way to help you."