《Blue Star Cultivator》


 1 Chapter 1 History and the Presen

    Breathing slowly and with his eyes wide open, Hartley laid on his improvised bed made of straw and beast pelts, with both hands behind his head he stared at the ceiling of his crudely built cabin in deep contemplation.


    Laying statue-still and bare-chested in the silence of the shabby cabin, thin beams of unwanted sunlight invaded through countless holes in the rickety structure built on a flat piece of rocky land at the foot of a mountain.


    With bright spots of sunlight dancing over his body, he couldn''t help but think of the years he had survived the vibrant horrors of the mountain while living in the small hole-riddled wooden cabin, he knew that soon, he would be leaving this place that he had called home for most of his life.


    Scratches and bruises decorated his thin muscular upper body and his muscles felt tired and sore. His training had been hard, relentless and non-stop in the danger-filledregion where life and death was decided within seconds.


    Two years ago, a great disaster that almost took his life had turned into a fortuitous encounter that would change his life, the result being him finding a mysterious artifact in the mountains that allowed him to freely manipulate gravity.


    As an orphan from the Lou clan who had often been shunned by his peers, Hartley was banished to live in the shabby wooden cabin on the outskirts of the mountain from a young age, often entering the mountain filled with nightmarish fierce beasts capable of devouring and tearing grown men to pieces. Hartleyhad honed his survival skills by necessity and truly came to understand the law of the fittest in this place where death seemed more likely than his next meal.


    Hartley''s clan of birth was the Lou Clan,which was one of many influential clans in the Waltham province, they had cultivated a long line of strong warriors and had built a foundation as one of the flag bearers for the region. Hartley had no memory of his mother or father and was treated like the dirt of the clan, if he didn''t have the surname Lou, maybe they would have banished him to the wilderness a long time ago, instead he was allowed to live in the outskirts of the dangerous beast-filled mountain, many even expected him to be dead by now.


    He had taught himself to be self sufficient and had avoided the unnecessary confrontations with the conceited young lords, he would only venture into the populated town when absolutely compelled by his needs.


    The mountain became Hartley''s oasis the more he adapted to it. This place had sculpted him like a block of granite, carving out a will and determination within him that never slackened or wavered in his conviction to gain strength and control his own destiny. Visitors were rare but Hartley didn''t mind as long as no one came to bother him with petty adolescent drama, which was the norm for youths his age.


    Hatley''s approach was different, he had opted to keep low-key and had forsaken the social relationships youths his age yearned for, rigidly sticking to a routine of training, eating and performing bodily necessities.


    As life went on as usual for everyone else, a black hair youth dressed in crude clothes made from the raw untreated pelts of beasts, was living a life of constant hardship and battles in the mountain, almost seeming to be forgotten by the world.....


    Recently Hartley hadbroken through to the 9th layer of houtian realm, this is the first realm for a cultivator and is known as the preparatory realm, this was a realm that built the foundations for future achievements and transformed the body to a vessel for elemental energy.


    Unknown to him, under the constant life and death pressure of his environment, he had pushed his body to the extreme limit of the houtian realm.


    His speed and endurance was tremendous, he could keep up with even the yellow striped wind leopard, maybe he was even a bit faster.


    He had hunted deep in the mountains on many occasions and by now killing yellow striped wind leopards was an easy task, most cultivators at his age could barely even catch up to one much less to even think about killing one of these wily animals.....


    Having tempered himself with countless battles for survival against the many species of fierce beasts roaming the outskirts, he had eventually trained himself to be calm even in the worst life threatening situations....


    .............Two Years Ago.......


    Wounded by a vicious Bear twice his size, a black haired youth staggered through the inner regions of the mountain, with desperation evident in his eyes the youth left a trail of blood and broken shrubbery as he crashed through the unfamiliar section of the mountain with a speed that defied his serious injuries.


    Gripping his bloody chest and constantly peeking over his shoulder in fright, the slim youth heard the chilling roars of the fierce beast as it bulldozed anything standing between it and its wounded prey, clumsily smashing through trees and uprooting the thick shrubbery, it rumbled forward like a natural disaster cutting a path through the darkening forest


    Injured, bloody and losing ground to the fierce beast, in desperation the youth summoned all his strength and hurled himself over a cliff in an unfamiliar part of the mountain to escape the killing blow and preserve his life a little longer.


    Landing face-first with a splash in a small pool at the bottom of a precipice, the frustrated growls of the animal echoed out above for what seems like hours before retreating, the youth stared at the blackness with a sense of impending doom not only was he injured, the fall had knocked him silly, most likely leaving him concussed.


    Hartley laid motionlessly in the darkness with ragged shallow breaths, moans escaped his lips as pain seared through his chest which had been slashed open, leaving blood pouring freely from the wound staining the crude pelts tied to his body as clothing red.


    It felt like death had surrounded him and was reaching out its spindly hands to pull him into its bosom, Hartley had given up all hope, suddenly there was a bright blue light flickering and blinking like a fire fly in his peripheral vision. Somehow he found the strength and began crawling to the light. Bleeding and cramped with pain, it took almost an hour for him to reach it.


    At first he thought it was a way out of the cave leading to somewhere where he could find some unlikely help.. it was a long shot but hope kept him plowing forward.


    Finally reaching the source of the light, it almost broke his mind to find out that the bright light wasn''t an exit, it was just a small blue stone emitting a strong hazy blue light which seemed to glow even brighter in his presence.


    Disappointed, he let out a final scream of anguish as all hope disappeared and he collapse next to the strange stone embracing his death unwillingly. In what he had thought were his final moments, his weakness, thirst and hunger seem to mercilessly attack him, gnawing at his consciousness that was fading into darkness, his unfocused eyes radiated with deep despair and regret....


    Suddenly the light started to float, brightening the cave with a soft blue hue like a full moon..


    His eyes refocused, opening wide with fear as the strange light made a beeline towards him, circled around him twice, then with a whooshing sound and leaving wavy ripples in the air, it shot straight towards his chest.....


    Hartley thought it to be some kind of parasite or predator that had waited in the dark for an unsuspecting prey and prepared himself for a painful demise, thinking how unlucky he must be, to have escaped death by the black bear only to be food for some weird parasite.


    As he was prepared for the pain, surprisingly the opposite happened, instead of the excruciating pain he was expecting, he felt warmth and comfort as if he was back in his cabin, laid in his straw bed and wrapped with fluffy beast pelts.


    His hunger and thirst that had been torturing him for so long receded and he felt a sliver of strength returning to his limbs.. unknown to him he had been laying motionlessly in the cave for 2 months.


    Eyes that were transformed to the color of sapphire fluttered open as a light breeze caressed his face, a feeling of strength had returned to his tall thin frame as he was greeted by a throbbing pang of hunger in his stomach, sitting up and taking stock, temporarily having no idea where he was, memories of a vicious encounter came flooding back.


    Hartley nervously clutched at his chest and checked the wounds, to his absolute shock his life threatening injuries were all healed leaving three lines across his tanned skin.


    He also noticed that he could see almost perfectly in the pitch black cave, the animal furs he was wearing were ripped to shreds and hanging from his body but he was not cold at all.. he actually felt comfortable.


    He got up and looked around and every movement he made was greeted with gentle splashing sounds.


    He was lying soaked in a cave lined with ankle deep water, he could hear the occasional sound of water dripping slowly from the ceiling in the quiet oval shaped cave.


    The stony face of the cave walls were covered with countless algae-like green moss and herbs were growing out of the many cracks scattered throughout the cave, immediately he recognized the abundant herb.


    It was a short vine-like herb with a red stem growing out of long narrow green leaves, every crack in the cave-wall seemed have hundreds growing out.


    These were called lion candy and he had seen them in the market on one of his infrequent trips into town, these were very expensive and were used to recover energy and strengthen the body of low-level cultivators.


    Harley couldn''t even dream of getting his hands on these herbs in normal circumstances, usually only the young lords of the clan could afford these for their training as these were rumored to be very hard to find.


    Creating splashing sounds with every step, which seemed to echo in the empty cave, he moved over and picked 2 of the herbs, removed the red sapling and put it in his mouth.


    instantly his body was like a desert that had its first drop of nutrients in years, his hunger was abated and he started to feel energized.


    After consuming three more a feeling of strength radiated from his body and his bones began to make popcorn-popping sounds.


    Remembering the incident with the blue light when he had first entered the cave, he removed the raggedy animal fur he was wearing, with his upper body bare he began inspecting his chest.


    Next to his healed scars, there was a small tattoo looking like a blue star over his heart that he hadn''t noticed before, it was strange but he didn''t feel like examining it in detail right now.


    Bare chested and with a splash accompanying every step, he headed for the exit.


    Fifteen minutes later he was back at the place where had landed, the dark green colored water here was just a little bit deeper than in the cave and vaguely reflected the sharp ragged rocks of the cliff up above, lookingup he could see the blue sky which had a smattering of fluffy clouds.


    There was a 500 meter jagged cliff-face forming a semi circular dead end. The formidable cliff seemed impossible to climb, or very difficult without any tools to say the least.


    Hartley tried to climb the cliff a few times but could barely find any purchase to grip the slimy rocks, met with failure he then returned to the cave in frustration.


    For the next 3 days he tried everything he could think of for a conventional way of getting out, he tried to make a rope with grass but it was very weak and he had no hope of finding enough to make a rope the length he required, even if he could make the length, it wasn''t going to be strong enough to support his weight for a 500 meter climb. He ate lion candy herbs daily and trained some basic fist techniques he had learned back in the orphanage.. each time he swung his punch the air in the cave scattered with a whoosh it felt very powerful. He went into a routine of training and eating lion candy.


    After a week he felt a strange sensation,his body has strengthened immensely so he thought this strange feeling was just his strength multiplying by leaps and bounds but it was not just brute strength, it was a feeling of being able to control everything within a fifteen meter radius.


    He could some how feel even the tiniest ripples in the ankle deep water. He was beginning to feel a tingling sensation in chest where the blue light had entered.


    Captured and awed by this feeling he finished practicing his fist technique and sat down cross legged in the water then concentrated.. there was something at the edge of his consciousness but he just could not connect to it after sitting still for fifteen minutes, then there was a bang in his head and he finally connected with the strange feeling.


    He could actually somehow see the inside of his body and the space where the blue light was. It was a Star, Saphire blue in color. He knew only Xiantian experts could see their inner daintan in their bodies, he was so shocked..He calmed down and started to look around in amazement. Up til this point he had not been formally trained in any martial school, he was self taught with numerous battles with fierce beast so he could eat.


    As he looked around there was a bright blue book under the star, he moved in consciousness closer to the book, on the cover were words that read.. Blue Star Gravity Sutra. He willed the book open and started to read. The first page stated only people talented and chosen by the blue star fragment could practice this sutra.. he inhaled a deep breath. Was he talented?


    He read the first 20 pages and could not open anymore pages after that but he learned the basics gravity manipulation, star feet moving technique and star fist and the first part of cultivating blue star power.


    The star fragment in his body was basically infinite and he had to draw the power from the blue star and make it is own until he could completely assimilate the star with his body..He found out that at this point he was in the houtian realm and could cultivate to the God realm with this cultivation technique..


    He had no clue how scarce a cultivation technique that could bring one to the God realm was, many experts in the Waltham province would start a war over such technique.. but he wasn''t stupid he knew this had to be kept a secret..


    Two months went by in the blink of an eye and he had cultivated religiously and ate almost every single herb in the cave, he was now houtian level 5 and had mastered the star fist technique and movement skill up to the third of 5 levels.


    With the basics of gravity manipulation, he could control the gravity in a 15 meters radius with him at the center.


    He could change the gravity at will up to 10x gravity or could go to zero gravity. He stood up ate the last of the herbs in the cave and prepared to leave.


    As he walked out the exit of the cave and faced the cliff-face that had seemed impossible to climb 2 months ago, he took a deep breath, Hartley was now a changed boy from the kid that fell down all that time ago, his eyes were now a beautiful saphire blue, his hair was messy, wrapped around his handsome features in a disheveled manner, his tall skinny frame now had an aura of power.


    Hartley''s body had been nourished by the Blue star fragment and he had been eating rare herbs for breakfast lunch and dinner..


    He was morphed into an unbelievably powerful young man even more powerful than the young lords in Waltham province who had been training and nourished since young.


    He looked at the cliff, bent his knees and exploded like a bullet 40 meters up the front face of the cliff,


    the turbulent wind made his figure look distorted and blurry leaving water molecules splashing, spraying and spreading in all directions behind him.


    His bare feet touched the jagged cliff, he willed gravity to zero and pushed off in the opposite direction leaving cracks on the cliff-face and sending pebbles falling to create broad ripples across the surface of the water below. Gaining leverage he shot himself another 100 meters upwards and towards the other side of the semi-circular cliff-face, as soon as his feet touched, he pushed off with all his strength in the opposite direction again, this time sending a massive shower of pebbles, rocks and dust downward towards the dark green waters.


    Hartley shot straight towards the opening at the top with a whoosh, squinting his eyes in the wind as he shot out of the opening with a beautiful ark and squinted even more when he entered the glaring golden sunshine that he had not seen in months.


    He landed in a crouch with one palm directly on the ground and stayed in that pose for a few seconds before his eyes acclimatized to the bright sunlight.


    Inhaling a deep breath before standing up and looking around, gravity around him went back to normal and he made his way out of the mountains back to his cabin.....


    ..........The Present.........


    For these two years Hartley had had great progress in his practice, he was now wearing the furs of the yellow striped wind leopard, since he had broken through to the ninth realm of the houtian, he was heading back deep into the mountain to hunt and would be delighted if he would run into that black bear again. Even though Hartley had not been enrolled in any martial school he had learned a lot from the blue Star book and had been cultivating blue star power religiously. He was at the Houtian 9th realm at the age of sixteen some martial artist spent their lives at this level without moving into the Xiantian realm...


    Hartely moved through the mountains swiftly and quietly making swift progress, in 3 days he had left the outer part of the mountain was approaching the inner parts, he started to be a little more cautious moving forward.


    If anyone were to see him now they would think he was just some kid with a death wish who didn''t know the difference between diamonds and horse shit..


    He had no armor and his only weapon was a hunting knife. Dressed in self made leopard fur clothes tied to his body with dried grass, he made his way deeper into the mountain, the terrain got more bumpy and steep but he moved like water flowing over a stone.


    When it was dark he stopped and set up camp. The handsome youth had run into numerous beast but dealt with them easily. He made a fire roasted some meat ate and drunk from his canteen, after putting out the fire, he climbed a tree sat crossed legged and started to cultivate.


    The wind moaned and howled through the night, the rustling of leaves and the occasional roar of a fierce beast sounded out in the darkness. Deep in the night suddenly his eyes flicked open, he instantly jumped 5 meters high and 10 meters back, the limbs of the tree shook violently and as a result loose leaves began swirling to the ground,as he landed there was suddenly 6 deep claw marks where he was sitting just a moment before, splinters flew off the bark of the tree with a grinding scraping sound... There was suddenly a red wolf in the space formerly occupied by Hartley.


    He stared at the beast, it was the first time he was seeing this beast, if he had not mastered basics of gravity manipulation he might have been caught off guard but now he could subconsciously sense every detail in a 15 meter radius..


    The stealthy Red wolf growled angrily, it could not believe such a soft target had escaped it. It had some intelligence and it knew the more formidable humans would be wearing shiny armor and carrying long swords, these were very dangerous when wielded by a true expert. But this late night snack had escaped his well honed hunting skills, it was rather embarrassed..


    Hartley tensed, he stared straight into the eyes of the Red wolf, he was experienced enough to wait for the Red wolf''s next move. The wolf jumped down from the tree and slowly circled around....


    Then BAM! it catapulted forward leaving dust and dry leaves swirling , it was leaping through the air and covered 5 meters in the blink of an eye, it was now only 5 meters away from Hartley, it could almost taste the appetizing flesh of the human stood before it.


    Suddenly it was as if the beast was traveling through thick porridge, its speed reduced drastically, it was confused and growled angrily.... Then a fist approached the side of its head in a blurry blue flash..


    Hartley had sent 10x gravity slamming down onto the Red wolf like a mountain dropping from the skies, it lost so much speed that it almost fell from the air, Hartely then pushed off with his right foot, dirt scattered on the floor sending pebbles flying everywhere leaving an imprint of his foot in the soft earth, his muscles that had been training under the restriction of 10x gravity for 2 years looked like iron cables wrapped around his slim body as he arrived at the side of the Red wolf leaving an unstable after image of himself standing in his gravity field.


    He threw a right handed star fist at the side of the Red wolf''s head, it landed and at the moment of impact, he released his gravity field.


    The Red wolf flew back in a blur like a bullet with the impact of the punch, growling out loudly as it smashed into a tree the width of a human thigh, making leaves and thin branches scatter and swirl in the air, the beast was blasted through the tree creating a shower of wooden splinters accompanied by the loud sounds of broken bones, it rolled to a lifeless stop three meters after passing what was left of the tree, half of its face disintegrated into a bloody pulp with one eye missing, blood was running from its mouth and the bone in its back shattered into splinters, it didn''t even look like a wolf anymore, it now resembled a red cotton ball.


    Hartley walked over with steady careful steps, took out his hunting knife and stripped the fur, it was the first time he had seen a beast like this, the fur might be worth something. After that he used his knife to dig around in the half shattered wolf''s head and took out something that looked like a red crystal, this was a beast core, he placed it his pouch with the rest and kept moving.


    After hunting in the mountains for days Hartely''s backpack was filled with furs and his pouch had beast cores in all shapes sizes and color. He was returning from the mountains and was almost leaving the inner area when he heard a gigantic roar! he hurried to see what was happening.


    Silently he approached the area of the disturbance and saw the black bear killing a huge wild boar with a powerful slap from it''s front paw.. Hartley''s eyes brightened, it was the Black bear from 2 years ago...

 2 Revenge?

    Crouching quietly in the under growth of the forest, Hartley was looking straight at the black bear... He was trying to gauge its strength, He felt a tinge of disappointment because the Bear standing in front of him, the one that had motivated him so much, was only at the 8th realm of Houtian. Little did he know that the Black Bear was one of the only Fierce Beast that could fight above its sub-realm.. The Giant Boar it just slaughtered was half step xiantian, meaning if it had understanding like humans it would have likely stepped in the xiantian realm time ago...


    Hartley stood up and carelessly swaggered his way down towards the black bear, How could he lose? He was at the peak of the Houtian realm, this was bound to be quick and easy.. On this day he was about a to learn a lesson that would preserve his life in the future..."There are always people or beast that can fight above their realms or sub-realms"... Realms and sub-realms are not the be all and end all of a battle, skills and application of skills are more important... He learnt this the hard way...


    Five minutes later Hartley was sent crashing through a tree...he puked a mouth-full of blood with eyes wide as saucers and sweat pouring off his forehead, he could not believe what had happened....He had pushed off leaving several after images in his wake and appeared behind the Black Bear and nonchalantly applied his 3rd level Star fist..His fist collided with what could only be described as a sheet of reinforced steel, his whole right arm went numb, he tried to quickly retreat but before he took the 4th step backwards, the bear had swiftly and skillfully closed in on him...His mind froze with disbelief, before he could make his next move he had already been sent flying releasing a scream like a virgin girl being molested.


    The Black Bear was sending shrubbery and stones flying from beneath its legs as it thundered its way towards Hartley, every time its thundering legs stomped onto the ground, it made a thumping sound which produced small vibrations through the earth, shaking leaves loose from the surrounding trees . Hartley stood up, his body was aching but no serious injuries or internal injuries were there, if anything his pride had been ripped to shreds.. He hadn''t put the Bear in his eyes but now the only thing in his eyes was the sight of the Brutal Bear''s silhouette increasing in size as its hefty legs plowed into the earth, sending dirt flying as it steamed towards him. He applied 10x gravity pushing down on the Bear which slowed down its speed, in the meanwhile he backed up 15 meters which was the maximum distance from which his gravity field would still affect the bear...


    The Bear roared and struggled, it was scared out of its wits, you have to understand that the reason this bear could be rampant in this area of the forest was because it had absolute defense in the Houtian realm...Only xantian level creatures could injure it, but now there was this tiny insect using some abnormal technique from 15 meters away and making it actually feel pain.. The Bear wasn''t the only one scared, Hartley was sweating bullets as well, he had used his Star fist 3rd level to turn boulders as big as 10 meters into dust and debris but couldn''t even leave a scratch on the bear using the same technique.


    Hartley with gritted teeth rushed forward again and started going blow for blow head on with the bear, it was slowly getting used to the extra gravity pushing down on it s huge body while Hartley was pushing his own body to the limit, if he couldn''t kill the bear, he was going to use it as a practice partner to temper and improve his techniques.. The more they fought the more he improved, to the point where his punches could move the bear 2 steps back, sweat dripped off his body as he exerted his full power with 10x gravity pushing down on both their bodies. (he is not immune to his own gravity field)


    Hartley had absolute speed advantage but the bear had absolute defense.. Now he was pushing his star-feet movement technique to its absolute limit while under the stress of 10x gravity and fighting what seems like an undefeatable entity. His eyes started to glow brighter, somehow he had started to feel similar to his first encounter with the fragment of the Blue Star..

 3 Half Step Xanthian

    There was an explosion inside his body again.. the star fragment in his chest started to supply more and more star power throughout his limbs, his speed and reflexes got faster, his eyes got brighter, he could now see every minor detail of the battle like it was in slow motion. This was not just his senses being enhanced, it was actually him manipulating time in his gravity field...


    Because Hartley was self taught he had not realized that the steps to becoming a xiantian realm expert began with the understanding of the elements one had the most affinity to.. Some how this lucky bastard had understood time and space manipulation, something that could make the gods jealous.. Unfortunately for him he had just scraped the surface of understanding the concept of time and space..


    The Bear was going crazy, it now had a tingling feeling, this was someone who it could hurt it now, Hartley was seeing every strike from the bear in slow motion he adjusted his movement technique to only make minute movements to dodge each slash of the bear''s claw by the closest margin, he then countered and punched out with is Star fist technique, this time there was a faint blue glow surrounding his hands, it landed on the stomach of the bear pushing it back 6 meters. its hind legs left 2 trenches in the ground with dirt and dust flying, it slid back in an unstable manner for the last 3 meters..


    "Star fist level 4"


    The bear turned around fleeing in panic...Hartley retracted his gravity field and let it leave, it couldbe said that without the bear he would still be weak, 2 encounters with this Black Bear had directly lead to him becoming much stronger and unbeknownst to Hartley right now, in the future that black bear was going to be the symbol of his power ...


    He started to leave the Forest realizing he was a bit conceited, his pride was taken down a notch but his experience and battle knowledge had gone up a notch. He was determined to leaved the outskirts of the Forest and dominate the world of cultivation becoming a name for all to remember..


    But the lessons he had learnt in this forest which he did not even know the name of, was to be his foundation on his long road to immortality..


    Three days later Hartley returned to the Shack at the foot of the mountain, for the past 3 nights he hadn''t had a wink of sleep, he had been cultivating Blue Star power religiously. He had strengthened his foundation at half step xiantian, he was just a thin line away from being a full fledged Xiantian realm expert but no amount of brute force could get him there, the key to stepping across the line was understanding.. He was once again laying on his bed looking at his ceiling... he had outgrown this environment.


    On a secluded mountain in the Loud clan two elders were having a conversation.


    "How is he doing?" asked an elder sporting a hooded robe.


    "He turned up a week ago and he is still alive in the mountain which defies belief," answered another cloaked figure.


    "Hmmn, don''t forget who his mother was, he might be special" said the first elder while scratching his beard distracted by his own thoughts..

 4 Back to town

    Hartley started to gather his thoughts, he had been stranded here for years and he was to turn 17 at the end of this year, the only thing he was sure of , was that his name was Lou Hartley, He remembered Lou Shan an elder in the tribe saying his name was a bit..... "Western".....


    What ever that meant!! over the past months he had collected so much furs and beast cores that he was sure he would earn some coins but exactly how much he had no idea ...


    IN the golden rays of the morning sunshine there was someone dressed in yellow striped leopard clothes, you can tell this person made it himself because it was not very well cut and stitched, it was in fact held together with some sort of dried grass.


    The tall slim youngster had a head of disheveled raven-black hair hanging all over his soft facial features with a skin tone that suggested he had been exposed to the sun for a prolonged amount of time during his short life. His blues eyes contrasted with his tanned skin making them even more striking than usual and his eyebrows grew straight across each eye giving him a peaceful and calm look over all..


    Hartley traveled with a big pack on his back and this wasn''t even half the stuff he had hidden away in his shack, he entered the outskirts of town and made his way towards the center where all the shops were located, people milled around, some busily made their way through the streets as if late for an appointment while others browsed casually, checking out what the merchants had to offer.


    This was in the Waltham province where the Lou Clan was the top clan, Hartley doubted anyone would recognize him as a part of the Lou Clan, technically he was but in reality he didn''t have any feelings of filial piety towards the clan of his birth, as he reached the areas with more people the more stares he got, he held his head high and he continued forward paying no mind to the looks of derision, laughing or snide comments..


    As he passed a small alleyway he heard someone say "Hey Wild man what you got in that pack?"


    A blond haired youth followed by four other youths of similar age started laughing and pointing as they made there way in Hartley''s direction.. Hartley did not slow down or speed up, he just kept going at his same pace, paying no mind to these wanna-be bullies.


    "Hey you" shouted the blonde, his face contorted with rage..Before he could say another word Hartley chimed in and said "Let me guess, you are about to tell your name, your Clan''s name and the name of some Elder related to you" Hartley looked over his shoulder without stopping and finished by saying,


    "I have no time for a dick measuring contest with you kids be gone or I will make you" ... Hartley turned his head and started looking forward like that was the end of that..


    The blonde youth''s name was Lin Chin and he was from the LIn Clan, he did indeed have a uncle who was an elder in the Lin Clan, he had used this to bully and abuse people with the name of his third rate clan.. Lin Chin was boiling with rage he was in the 5th layer of the houtian realm and he was humiliated by some uncivilized mountain man. How could he have it?


    "Break his legs and throw his pack over the river" he said to his 4 accomplices. He was just about to inform Hartley who he was and what he was about when he remembered Harley''s prior comment... he gritted his teeth in rage..


    Four small fries approached Hartley with swords drawn... Now that Hartley was a half step xiantian expert he could control gravity for 30 meters with him as the center, pushing it away from or bringing it towards himself in addition to bringing it slamming down from the heavens in an orthodox manner, he could also manipulate the force of gravity from zero-gravity to 20x normal gravity..


    Hartley made a motion like fanning away flies with his hand and released 10x gravity towards the 4 lackeys without even looking back, the force swept towards them like a brisk wind, gravity pushed back all 4 guys at once, lifted them parallel to the ground and sent them flying back 15 meters where they finally collided with a shop front, turning it into a display of broken wood-splinters and shattered-glass sending the valuable wares of the merchant flying everywhere.


    When the crashing sounds ended, the four youths laid prone, their injured bodies scattered amidst the wreckage with the shrieks of disbelief from the shop owner in the background, the youths moaned and looked at the back of Hartley, shivered then passed out from fright and pain in equal measure.


    LIn Chin had his mouth agape, he did not sense any wind element or earth element being used, he wanted to pee and poo at the same time, he himself would find it impossible to defeat his four lackeys with one strike.


    As people started to gather in shock and bafflement, Lin Chin turned around and with the highest speed he could achieve, made his way out of there without even once looking back in the direction of his four friends or the wild mountain youth he had looked down on, the youth with the large pack on his back kept going on his merry way neither hurried or flustered. To him, it was just another experience in a long list unpleasant experiences he had had in the province.

 5 Am I Rich?

    Amidst the hushed voices and finger pointing, Hartley made his journey uneventfully towards the center of town, he had many things he wanted to buy, but first he had to know how much the materials he were carrying was worth..


    He went into the general armory store first...


    "Welcome sirrrrrr"....the red haired girl behind the counter dragged the ending of her words as she stared at Hartley, Hartley smiled, cupped his fist and bowed from the waist respectfully,


    "I am Hartley and i am here to sell some materials if you are interested"


    "Ahh Yes Yes"


    The red haired girl stammered....


    "Sorry for"....


    There was an awkward silence..


    ".no need" Hartley waved his hand and started unpacking some pelts. Hartley had no idea how pelts were graded so he just took out the ones that were easier to kill.


    The red haired girl finally calmed down and introduced herself as Zhi Ruo, Hartley nodded and continued... Zhi Ruo eyes bulged when she saw 4 perfectly intact yellow stripe leopard pelt.


    One has to know the yellow stripe leopard was one of the fastest low level fierce beast, it is very difficult to capture or kill it with its pelt intact...


    Zhi Ruo grabbed the 4 pelts and immediately inspected them thoroughly and then offered 5 gold coins each....


    Hartley squinted his eyes not knowing if the price was good or bad. Zhi Ruo gritted her teeth and said "6 GOLD!! and that''s it"...


    Hartley smiled and said "thank you Sister Ruo," she blushed red like a beet, looked at her toes and said "thank you"...


    Hartley left the store with 472 gold coins.


    In the Waltham province 100 copper was 1 silver, 100 silvers were 1 gold and a thousand gold coins was a gold card...He had traded most of his pelts but he still had the half step xiantian Giant Boar that was killed by the Black Bear.


    Hartley left the armory asking himself "Am I rich?" He remembered from his days in the orphanage that commoners could live frugally on tens of silver for a year, and here he was in possession of almost half of a gold card... If the Lou Clan realized they set him up on a gold mine, they would probably puke blood..


    Next stop the apothecary: Hartley had dozens of beast cores which can be used to make potions talismans and can even be used to cultivate. Some experts could use the cores to directly cultivate but it was a better choice to have it broken down and turned into medicinal dans, this way the expert would have less impurities circulate through the body which would weaken it over time, sometime if one had too much impurities, it would negate any strength gained from crossing to a higher sub-realm.


    Although he doesn''t know it right now all these beast cores are useless to Hartley because he is cultivating Blue Star energy and not an elemental energy. After entering the small apothecary building, one could smell medicinal scents wafting through out the building, it gave a soothing and energizing effect.


    There was a white haired elderly man sitting behind the counter, after Hartley entered he squinted his eyes and then went back to normal.


    "What can I do for you young man?" The white haired man asked..........


    Hartley went in there not knowing the ranks of beast core but came out knowing how to recognize the different ranks a beast core possess, he ended up selling 8 rank 1 cores 5 rank 2 and a rank 3. Hartley left the store with over 1600 gold coins added to his 472 from earlier, a wide smile brimmed across his face, he really was rich..


    Right before he left something caught his attention..... it was a Blue ring floating in a display case it was rather plain but because of Hartley''s affinity for the Space and time element he was immediately drawn to it, He pointed at it and asked, how much? The old man with white hair giggled and said 1200 gold... Hartley did not even hesitate he paid for it right away and left.


    After Hartley left, there appeared and man in black Robes, his face was well hidden, " Who is he?" The white haired old man answered "I don''t know, can''t remember seeing him before." The person in Black robes was thinking, while saying "Strange I feel like his aura is one step away from Xiantian realm but he has no elemental affinity that I can recognize. interesting." he then disappeared from the spot leaving behind a slight rumbling sound..

 6 A thin Line

    Hartley left the apothecary and headed straight for the Weapon smith.. The long shadows of the evening were now casted across the center of the city and the lively atmosphere had died down. He still had over 800 gold coins on him and was overjoyed.


    Now he could bring back the rest of the stuff from his shack in his Space ring he thought to himself. He entered the Weapon Smith and bought a black bladed sword for 120 gold, it was a top quality product, black steel was renowned for its durability, some even say a good quality black blade could even hold its own against a genuine spirit weapon, how true that was, Hartley had no idea, that was what the weapon smith had told him.


    Hartley also got himself a set of 6 throwing knives also made from black steel, the workmanship wasn''t too bad either. At this point he was a bit hungry, he wanted to find an inn and get something to eat and a bed for the rest of the night, if it was any other point in his life, he wouldn''t dare even think about an inn but now he had some coins he was going to spoil himself a little.


    The rude pointing and whispering from the locals had somewhat died down by now but as he was making his way around asking directions for an inn, he was mostly shunned by the superficial residents, some thought it was beneath them to be seen conversing with someone dressed in home-made clothes while some didn''t even respond, they held their heads straight and went about their business as if the wild looking youth was an apparition.


    Sighing in frustration Hartley was beginning to think the wilderness riddled with fierce- beast weren''t as savage as these people, then someone called to him.. He glanced back and there was someone standing in front of the armory shop waving him over, it was Zhi Ruo, she had bought a lot of pelts earlier..


    After coming over Hartley respectfully bowed from the waist and answered " Sister Ruo" she once again blushed and started talking,


    " I heard you were looking for an inn I can recommend my Uncle''s inn, its just at the edge of town,"


    she then quickly asked


    "Why have you not processed those yellow striped leopard pelts you are wearing?" People passed by and gave the red hair girl funny looks when they saw her comfortably chatting to the wild youth.


    "I have no idea how to do it" replied Hartley with a helpless shrug.


    Zhi Ruo put one hand on her hip and pointed her nose towards the sky while bragging "I not only make the best armor, I also make luxury robes for the Lords and Ladies of clans round the Waltham Province." She looked at Hartley with a bit of disdain before continuing, "you have one of the most sought after pelts attached to you with grass.. If you pay me 3 gold coins I will process those pelts for you and make a couple of robes"


    Hartley respectfully bowed and quickly replied, "then I will have to bother Miss Ruo." he paid her on the spot and got directions to Zhi Ruo uncle''s inn and headed off.


    Two hours later he was sat cross legged in a small room cultivating Blue Star energy, he had opened another 20 pages in Blue Star Gravity Sutra book. He had a faint blue aura rising around him.. HIs daintan had a flickering blue star, the light from it suffused through his daintan all around his body and integrated with his bones and muscles.. At this point Hartley''s physical body was also half step xiantian realm. He knew now after reading the last 20 pages, that what he needed most was enlightenment.


    As he sat there as steady and un-moving as a mountain, there was a gravity pulse coming from his body which seems to synchronize with his heartbeat. Everything in the room which wasn''t tied or nailed down floated up for a second when he inhaled before gently setting itself down once again when he exhaled.


    Zhi Lian was Zhi Ruo''s uncle, he was sat behind the bar looking up at the ceiling. There was dust coming down on his customers heads, not many noticed it but he noticed the weird pattern of dust fall, he had been staring at it for a few minutes wondering if his mind was playing tricks on him.


    The thin screen of hazy dust swirled through the yellow candle light flickering on the counter, it was alternating between free falling from the ceiling then the next second, he swore it was rising upwards again.


    His mind ran towards the wild looking youth he had rented the room to earlier.. The youth had thick pelts tied to his body with straw.. "What is he doing up there?" Zhi Lian could contain his curiosity no more, but just when he was going to have a look, his niece came through the door and funnily enough she was asking for the wild youth.. She had a package in her hand she said she had to deliver.


    Back in the room on the 1st floor of the inn Hartley was so close to stepping across the line, it was palpable. Eyes closed, concentration at its maximum. Hartley was feeling a sensation of time, Time was timeless, it could be manipulated just like gravity, it was starting to fee malleable like something he could mold, just when he was about to try and manipulate time he felt someone approaching his door, he opened his eyes and the blue aura surrounding his body disappeared. Ten seconds later the door knocked and he opened it..

 7 state of Focuss

    Hartley was greeted by Zhi Ruo holding a package standing at his door, "come in" he said.


    Zhi Ruo came in and handed the package to Hartley, she then said "Go try it out and see if it fits, I rushed it a bit but I think it came out good considering the short amount of time."


    Hartley nodded and went back into his bedroom..


    After opening the package he discovered 2 beautiful yellow robes, embroidered with a Capital H right where the breast pocket should have been. Hartley changed into the lose fitting robe, stood in front of the full size mirror in his bedroom and swept his hair back with his right palm, he looked around and found a piece of string to tie his hair at the back then inspected himself, he was taken aback, he looked like a tanned version of one of those young lords of the Luo clan he despised so much during his younger days.


    He returned with his hair tied neatly with the simple string, he pranced into the living room with his arms spread..


    Zhi Ruo stared...


    she couldn''t stop staring, the wild youth she met earlier always had a mysterious element to him, but now he was standing in front of her, back straight and with those striking blue eyes staring directly at her.... It sent a jolt through her body, she blushed and tried to get out of there as quick as possible but Hartley held onto her wrist gently while saying.


    "Thank you Sister Ruo," her body went stiff, she forced a fake smile while still looking at him, stammered out a few words and then left in a flustered manner.


    Zhi Ruo stopped 5 paces from the door to catch her breath, she didn''t think the wild youth would have been so strikingly handsome, she blushed once more just thinking about him and then left.


    Hartley had a wry smile on his face, he had not had much interaction with other people for the last couple years so he was genuinely thankful for Zhi Ruo''s help...


    The strange thing was, he still felt a bit of an unknown feeling when thinking about her. "Hmm?" He pushed the thought to the back of his mind and continued to cultivate....


    It was a quiet night, the occasional sound of a horse would travel through the night every now and then, the candle sitting on the wooden table had burned all the way to the end and extinguished itself in the liquefied wax that was collected and cooling in the candle holder. Hartley was diligently cultivating Blue Star Energy...He was on the cusp of getting back that familiar feeling.


    BOOM!!!


    The front door was blown to smithereens by a orangish and red fire ball projectile, it headed straight for Hartley....


    Hartley squinted his eyes in concentration and BAM! another explosion went off, the only difference was this time the explosion was inside Hartley''s head, no one else could have noticed it.


    Hartley had broken through the first stage of time manipulation.. This was called "State of Focus" where Hartley could control the flow of time within 30 meters radius. Hartley was facing a fireball which was about 4 meters in front of him and closing in at a rate of knots, he could feel the sweltering heat emitted by the flames. His eyebrows started to be singed.


    Hartley cried out "State of Focus" within his heart and every thing around him started to move in slow-motion, he then dodged to the side with blue star essence instinctively covering his body from neck to toe like a suit of armor..


    If viewed from the outside, all one could see was a stunning fire-ball enter the room leaving a ripple of shimmering heat glaze then the youth who sat crossed legged on the bed seem to have teleported off the bed 7 or 8 meters to left with some kind of blue qi around him..


    The fireball crashed into the bed with enormous flash of orange, that whole side of the room had turned to splinters and fire eliciting screams from the adjoining room.


    Hartley scrambled to regain his bearings before finally sensing 2 people moving within his 30 meter range, it was unlikely that these were the guys responsible for the fireball but they were that person''s accomplices circling with cross-bows, ready to execute anyone fleeing the inferno.


    Hartley activated zero gravity


    Everything not tied down began to float upwards including the 2 people on the other side of the wooden wall.. Hartley deactivated zero gravity which made everything start to fall downwards, the furniture in the room clattered down to the floor and splintered in chaos along with the 2 screaming and frightened targets.


    Hartley used "Gravity Repel" on two of his throwing knives, this was a move that pushed gravity away from Hartley parallel to the ground and could be used on specific items as well..


    The 2 knives flew out like bullets with an unstoppable momentum, The weapons went through the wooden wall with no resistance then accurately penetrated the 2 people in dark robes on the other side of the wall... went through both of them and ended up handle deep with a thud, quivering in another wooden structure across from the inn.. These people fell to the ground, their robes stained with a red patch, their faces shocked...They were dead, they just didn''t know it yet.

 8 Xiantians donst grow on trees

    There was an audible yelp from the front where the first fireball had entered the room..


    The person in the dark robe was about to unleash another fireball but was also affected by the zero gravity, he lost balance, floated up 5 meters and fell back down flat on his face when the zero gravity was deactivated.


    After seeing his two lackeys dealt a death blow in an instant he was thankful for his stealth technique..


    The opponent surely was also a xiantian realm expert, and a very powerful one by the looks of it. What has the Lin Clan gotten him into? how did they make an enemy of a xiantian realm expert? The assassin just could not understand.


    He was given a 1000 gold to assassinate a wild mountain man who had entered the central area of the Province earlier in the day.


    Never in his wildest dreams would he ever imagine running into a xiantian realm expert..


    Xiantians don''t grow on trees after all.


    Hartley had instinctively broken through the xiantian barrier gaining instant enlightenment under the pressure of life and death, his power had increased four fold, the stifling heat in the room was now like a massage.


    Now when he concentrated, he could sense and apply his gravity field 120 meters with him as the center, he could now also slow down the flow of time to a quarter of its normal speed within this 120 meters and could control as much or as little as he wanted within this space, meaning he could manipulate gravity only 1m around him to 120m around him.. This would give him huge flexibility when applying his skills and as he learned the hard way, application of skills was the key to dominating any battle...


    Blue star energy was surging through his body, his physical body had also followed through the xiantian door. Ordinary weapons could not hurt him now, in fact anything short of spirit weapons were useless against him.


    Hartley punched out a section of wood and made his escape from the building hearing a commotion as people woke up and attempted to put out the blaze before the whole building went up in smoke.


    Disappearing from the inn, Hartley was swallowed by the shadows of the dark, his sapphire blue eyes shone like an emergency beacon before becoming normal again.. He was trying to pin point the position of the third assailant, who was the mastermind, he set his jaw in determination and concentrated.


    The person in Dark robe decided to neatly slip away in the commotion. There was just too much he didn''t understand about the opponent, he couldn''t sense any elemental energy on the person yet he was intimidatingly powerful, he decided not to risk it and leave. His Stealth technique has seen him come and go as he pleases through the years, this should be not different, right?


    Wrong!! Hartley crouched in the dark and pushed his concentration to the max, he was picking up faint fluctuations of energy within his field of operation, at first it didn''t feel like a person it was so faint but Hartley followed his instincts and followed the fluctuations in a north-western direction leaving the center of the Province.


    He kept his maximum distance away from the fluctuations and kept vigilant biding his time.


    As soon as they were in a more forested area Hartley applied 30x gravity slamming down towards the ground.


    Dust swirled and trees immediately snapped in two with a crunch, ejecting a shower of splinters in the process before laying flat on the earth leaving an imprint in the dirt, the sound reverberated through the forest sending the birds and nocturnal animals skittering towards safety in panic...


    Hartley approached the fluctuation he was following to confirm who it was. It was exactly who he thought it was, someone in a dark robe with his face hidden, the man of medium height was sweating bullets, his legs trembling as the fleeing man could barely take another forward step.

 9 Petty

    "Who are you?" Hartley asked coldly.


    The person in the robe timidly said, "we have no prior malice between us fellow xiantians."


    "What?" Hartley asked aloud as he walked towards the dark robe person,


    "No prior malice yet you attacked me in bed?"


    As he was closing in, the dark robe person made a final desperate attempt at another fireball


    WHOOSSHH!


    A orange and red fireball appeared on his right hand then swiftly made its way towards Hartley. Hartley used "State of Focus" to slow down time and adjusted his body with minute movements so the fire passed by barely an inch away from him. He didn''t need to worry too much about the heat this time because his physical body was now also in the Xiantian realm.


    From the robed person''s perspective, he saw an optical illusion as if Hartley had just nonchalantly walked through the fireball unharmed.


    He gulped down a mouthful of saliva as his adam''s apple moved up and down on his throat. He was scared shitless and started to confess that it was the Lin Clan who had put a hit on Hartley.. He quickly admitted that the uncle of the Lin Chin, Lin Wulai had sent a rushed messenger over with an order that a wild man had violated his clan and should be dealt with as soon as possible. He even paid upfront.


    Information on the target was limited but it was confirmed he should not be that big of a problem. Hartley was thought to be just a level higher than Lin Wulai''s nephew.


    Hartley wasn''t a vicious or blood thirsty person but he had tempered himself many times over, fighting for survival, his instincts told him that this person, even though he seems pitiful at the moment, would be a huge danger to him if he was to walk free. He had learned these lessons from experience so would not take them lightly.


    His right leg pushed off the ground creating spiderweb cracks beneath it.


    He reached the robed person struggling with the effects of gravity, Hartley''s right fist shot out like a snake towards the person''s chest. The dark robed man felt a terrible pressure of danger, he exerted all his strength putting up both arms in the shape of an "X" in a desperate attempt to block the incoming punch..


    Puuuffff!!! Crack!! Crack!!


    when a fist enshrouded in bright blue aura came into contact with the arms of that person, all one could hear were the crunching sounds of bones being shattered and when the fist eventually made contact with chest of that person, his heart exploded as his chest was caved, the man was catapulted back 10 meters, pitched on the dirt and rolled around a couple times before coming to stop without breath.


    He was dead.


    Hartley looked back towards the south thinking about how petty the Lin Clan was. He searched the body of the dead person without even looking at his concealed face, took the space ring and headed south shaking his head. Some people will never learn unless you show them..That''s why seeing is believing.


    The next morning there as a handsome young lord dressed in a yellow loosely fitted robe with a embroidered H on the right breast pocket.


    His hair fluttered in the calm morning breeze as his strikingly blue eyes looked towards the Lin Clan, if one was to look closely they would not see the expected anger or rage but a guarded confidence.

 10 sCut the craps

    Harley walked with a stoic expression towards the Lin Clan...


    The clan was situated on a flat piece of land which stood in front of a small mountain range. It was early in the morning and there was a crisp fresh breeze slowly running over the land, he had barely paid any attention to the tranquil, greenery of his surroundings on his journey to the central regions.


    But now that he was stationary he noticed there was a natural beauty about the region. Putting that to the back of his mind, Hartley shouted out across the Lin clan premises reinforcing his voice with his blue star essence.


    The elders of the Lin Clan were all assigned different duties and overall, they were responsible for guiding the next generation towards becoming stronger so the clan could evolve and be promoted into a 2nd or 1st rate clan by the time the elders came to the end of their life cycles.


    It has to be known that the Lin clan was only a third rate clan relegated to the outskirts of the central area, sure they were lauded in this outer section, but in the eyes of people in the know, they were nothing more than frogs with make up on, pretending to be mighty while lauding over the commoners of the region ..


    The sun swept across the landscape as all the younger family members of the Lin Clan were training or preparing for a busy day ahead, LIn Wulai was in his quarters having some fun with one of the servant girls, he was pressing her down underneath his body, her little face twisted and blushed as she let out unwilling moans.


    Just as Lin Wulai was approaching a climax, he was disturbed and taken out of his rhythm by a powerful and disrespectful shout coming from the region of the front gate.


    "Dogfaced LIn Wulai, wash your neck and come out here so we can settle our enmity which can only be resolved by your death"


    This sentence reverberated through every section of the Lin clan..


    With a gloomy face Lin Wulai abandoned his early morning pleasure trip and donned a robe with a face contorted in rage and anxiousness, he made big strides heading towards the front gate, The gate was only half open when Lin Wulai got there, "Open the gates" he commanded.


    The gates opened to reveal Hartley standing ram-rod straight with sunshine bathing over his body producing a short shadow at his side, the Lin clan disciples were all gathered behind a man who looked to be in his forties, he had streaks of white splattered throughout a head full of blonde hair, a long curved nose was his most discernible feature as he made his way forward..


    Lin Wulai looked at the handsome young lord standing outside the gates and was truly baffled as to how he got on the wrong side of this lord.


    Lin Wulai was not sure if the young lord was from one of the stronger clans in the central parts of the province, so he swallowed his pride, respectfully bowed from the waist and asked.


    "What emnity could my humble self have with you young lord?"


    "Cut the crap" Hartley answered,


    "I am here for your head and that of your good for nothing nephew."


    By this time about 6 elders had gathered among the swelling crowd, one stepped beside Lin Wulai looked Hartley up and down then said


    "listen young one my Lin clan is not somewhere you can come and run as rampant as you wish."


    Hartley ignored the elder and looked directly into the eyes of Lin Wulai and slowly said "my beef is only with you, the next person to interrupt me will not have a head to speak with."


    The unknown elder hissed in rage, unsheathed his sword and shouted


    " you insolent Bastar..."


    there was a blue flash....


    A head flew a meter in the air and floated like a leaf falling back to the earth in slow motion, paralyzing the witnesses gathered with fear.


    Blood gushed upwards like a red ruby fountain and fell back down like rain in the surrounding vicinity, LIn Wulai and the disciples at the front were drenched like a rat in a sewer with the blood of the elder. The elder''s body fell like a rice sack and sprawled gruesomely in front of the crowd while his head rolled gentle in the dirt a meter or two away from the blood-stained carcass.


    Being situated in the tranquil outskirts, some of the disciples had never seen this level of violence before, some retched up the breakfast they had eaten minutes ago while others gasped in shock, some simply stood there trembling unable to make a sound.


    Hartley snorted through his nose with a scowl, "hmph".....


    Lin Wulai, soaked in blood was stunned, he stood there as the scent of the elder''s blood went up his nostril and settled in his lungs, he had no idea what just happened, the young lord was standing at the same spot and seemed to not have moved.


    He began to frantically look around to see if there was a sneak attack. The faces of the disciples was ripe with fear, they had the utmost confidence in the elder but ended up being baptized(figuratively) in the blood of that elder.

 11 Gravity Steps

    The disciples of the Lin clan legs turned to jelly, what they had witnessed on this day shocked them to the core, some even fell to the ground on their butts looking into space with a dazed expression,


    Lin Wulai too was in a daze, he could sense the disparity between the Elder and the Young lord, which could only mean one thing, since the elder was at the 9th realm of houtian.. to not even know how he died meant that the young lord was a xiantian realm expert.


    To step into the xiantian realm is the first step on the journey of immortality, the age which one enters the xiantian realm, will be the age that person will look for the next 200 years, so even though the youth standing in font of them might look young, he might actually be older than an elder.


    Meanwhile everyone was looking around flabbergasted with fear but there was one person who was making his way to the back mountains as quick as he could.


    Lin Chin''s face looked like he had swallowed a pepper, he had recognized the face of the young lord at the last moment before the death of the elder, he was shocked out of his mind...


    It was the wild man who he had convinced his uncle to assassinate, his mind almost exploded, he had to find a safe place to hide.


    He had been so embarrassed that day when his four lackeys got defeated by one move and he had run away in fear with his tail between his legs that he was having nightmares.


    His ego would not let him ever let go of the situation, his face had been slapped in front of everyone in the central region of the province, how could he rest until the shame was avenged..


    In truth Hartley had no idea what the name of the guy who had tried to throw his stuff in the river was, that had been pushed to the back of his mind, that event was one of many Hartley had had to deal with during his life.


    Feeling energy fluctuations of a single person escaping towards the back mountains of the Lin clan, Hartley locked on to the person and moved quickly to intercept, he did not need to manipulate time because his pure physical strength could flash 30m away in a second.


    After a couple flashes he caught up to a blonde haired youth desperately making his way over rocky terrain..


    Hartley recognized the blonde youth, and like an epiphany everything seemed to start making sense. A spoiled brat that was cuddled and pampered by the elders in the Lin clan to the point that he could convince his uncle to pay 1000 gold for an assassination because his pride was hurt. That thought quickly flashed though Hartley''s mind...


    Hartley returned to the front of the Lin clan 20 to 30 seconds later, he held a bloodied decapitated head in his left hand as he appeared in front of the still dazed and lifeless looking disciples of the Lin clan.


    Lin Wulai bawled out in terror as he recognized the blonde haired head in the hands of the vicious monster that had showed up to the Lin clan this morning, there was nothing he could do to possible fight against such a monster, all he could do in his grieving was shout obscenities at the young lord and accuse him of being the devil incarnate.


    After Lin Wulai had been talking gibberish for a while, Hartley flicked his wrist and floated over a piece of wild boar skin with marks on it.....


    Lin Wulai caught the boar skin that floating over to him with both hands and then looked at the markings on the make-shift paper with tears dripping onto the boar skin, his eyes increased to the size of oranges when he cried out


    "YOU!!"


    That was when the weight was taken off his shoulders and his head floated away without being able to confirm that the young lord in front of him was the wild mountain man his nephew had told him about, Hartley left the boar skin stained with tears and blood laying next to the elder''s headless body...


    After leaving, Hartley was headed back to his shack at the foot of the unknown mountain, during his return journey he wasn''t as rushed, he took his time to practice star sword technique with his black blade sword, he was also working at movement using zero gravity.


    This movement technique was more suited for long distance travelling, if he could get the timing right, theoretically he could decrease resistance by travelling with less gravity around him, the problem was, with less gravity, once one lost forward momentum then one tended to float a bit upwards losing straight line speed in the process.


    Hartley figured out that if he applied zero gravity around his body the split second he pushed off with his right foot and kept his momentum for 100m or so before retracting zero gravity and then stepping with his left foot repeating the split second timing for applying zero gravity , he could flash 1000m effortlessly.


    Hartley practiced this technique and reached the shack a day later, he wasn''t sure about his future plan, he might make his way to the neighboring Calabar province to attend the Martial training institute.


    He already had over 1400 gold coins in his space ring plus some useful materials from the dark robe assassin, as he was contemplating..


    Suddenly a sword light came at Hartley''s neck, the sword itself was blazing with a red fire, the heat given off easily more than double that of the fire ball Hartley faced days ago. "State of focus" everything slowed down..... Zero gravity applied just around Hartley''s body as his left foot pushed of the ground propelling him back 100 meters in a straight line. The spot he had been standing a millisecond before exploded with a deep pit raining down dirt, stones and dust in a radius of over 30 meters.

 12 Lou Chingham

    Hartley stood 100 m south of the spot that had just been destroyed, he stood still, everything was ghost-quiet.....


    Clap! Clap! Clap!


    The silence was broken by slow applause from the attacker. Hartley squinted his eyes into two slits as a out of shape elder person emerged from the dust that was settling. The person was about 1.8 meters tall and had a somewhat round belly, dressed in blue robes with the insignia of the Lou clan which was a black rose, printed on the his breast area. He had a tinge of white hairs growing through his bushy beard, he held his head back and guffawed.


    "Hartley, do you know who I am" asked the elder.


    Hartley was momentarily taken aback and remained silent, he thought he had been long forgotten and maligned by the clan of his origins, he simple had no attachment or feeling of belonging to the Lou clan, but to hear the elder use his name so casually gave Hartley a uncomfortable feeling in his stomach.


    "I am Lou Chingham a cousin of your late father, and that attack was a test of you abilities, did you think turning up town with a fortune in fierce beast pelts and beast cores would go unnoticed in the clan especially when that person is using such a unique name. I have been assigned to bring you back to the clan so you can be cultivated as a future pillar of the clan."


    Hartley remained quiet being extra vigilant, he did not have any particular care for the Lou clan and did not intend to be a tool for their development.


    Lou Chingham kept a smile plastered across his face and then said


    "You are a talented young man I have to admit, not many elites in the clan would be able to dodge my spinning fire sword technique, but you have been at the foot of this mountain for so long, Do you know what country you are in? do you know apart of which continent? do you know the political climate? The Lou clan has always respected and treasured strength the most and with your talents you will not be mistreated and at the same time learn the things you can''t in this remote area."


    Hartley himself knew that the knowledge he had gained was only about this small territory. He had not been interested in the wider workings of his surroundings but now things were different because he was about to step foot on his journey of domination, The Lou clan wanted to use him.. But he also realized he was a frog in a well looking at the sky. He needed a foundation of knowledge as well, he wanted to see how others cultivated as well as the relationship between the elements and cultivation. Hartley decided to return the the Lou clan.


    The clan of his father!


    Standing there looking majestic in his yellow robe, Hartley cupped his fist and bowed from the wasit and said "Elder has convinced me, I will turn up 3 days later I still have things that needs taken care of." Lou Chingham was over the moon with happiness, he too respectfully bowed from the waist and said "then so it shall be"

 13 The Lou Clan

    Hartley gathered all the pelts and beast cores he had stashed in the dilapidated cabin.


    With the sun peeping over the crest of the mountain and shining its warmth on his back, Hartley stared at the cabin with mixed feelings, when he was banished to this mountain this rickety cabin had been his only refuge. He had made countless repairs to the rickety structure that looked like it could collapse at any moment but this was still his home, the only one he had ever known, he was damp in the rainy months and cold in the winter, but it was still his home.


    He turned and composed himself..


    He had to make a trip back to the central regions to sell the items, he also wanted to see Zhi Ruo, he had left the night of the attack when half her uncle''s inn was destroyed by the assassin, even though it wasn''t his fault he still felt a slight tinge of guilt because Zhi Ruo had helped him out when others had ignored him.


    Ever since he had broken through the xiantian barrier he had not had a chance to cultivate and consolidate, he had spent the intermediate time chasing the assassin and dealing with the Lin clan before making a trip back to his shack and meeting Lou Chingham.


    What happened in the last 3 or 4 days was like a blur and he could finally assess what had happened.


    Hartley thought back to the robed assassin and how weak he seemed to be even though he was also a xanthian realm expert, his physical body seemed to be lacking, in fact it could be described as fragile.


    One punch finished him. Hartley came to the conclusion that the robed assassin was really weak. Maybe he himself was a bit overpowered but he couldn''t gauge his strength unless he had more experience in combat with people at his own level.


    What Hartley didn''t realize was that his body had been tempered under immense gravity restriction for so long it was now second nature to him, one has to realize that Hartley was not immune to his own gravity field, him being able to move around naturally under the restrictions of 30x normal gravity was a testament to how strong his body unknowingly has become.


    He was also intrigued by the stealth technique of the robed assassin, he was only able to sense these small fluctuations because the robed assassin was out in the open and not around other people giving off their own fluctuations.. it would have been impossible to pick him out of a crowd of experts.


    Hartley sat crossed legged in the sun and began his cultivation session, now that he was going to enter the Lou clan he had to know more about the blue start fragment in his chest.


    When the fire ball exploded in the inn he had instinctively protected his body with blue star essence like a suit of armor.. He used his inner sight to explore his dantian and was amazed to see a blue star shining bright in a separate space that looked like a whole new world inside his his daintan.


    His consciousness had turned into a miniature version of him self and he was sitting cross legged on a flat piece of grassland about 120 kilometers circular in shape, it was the same dimensions as his gravity field in the outside world except this was kilometers and not meters..


    Hartley sat outside his cabin and was surrounded by blue aura, and in his dantian the mini version of himself was also surrounded by the blue aura.


    As he breathed in and out, the light circulated around him and started to glow even brighter. Hartley willed his consciousness to open the Blue Star Gravity Sutra book, there were no new pages so he reread the previous 40 pages available.. he now had more understanding at the application of his gravity field.


    Opening his eyes with a bright blue glow, Hartley realized it was mid-day, he got up and went to wash up and donned his second robe made by Zhi Ruo, it was basically the same as the one before but this one was new and unblemished.


    Standing at a stream Hartley could sense every movement within the circumference of 120 meters, his new understanding of his gravity field enabled him to apply gravitational forces to any single item within his range, he looked at a fallen tree branch and applied zero gravity to only this branch about a 1m long, it instantly floated up 10 meters and hovered there until Hartley deactivated his gravity and it fell back down to the floor with a small thump..


    Hartley flashed 1000m away in the blink of an eye using his long distance movement technique he had developed called gravity steps.. this technique used the aid of zero gravity to decrease wind resistance to multiply top speed in a straight line...


    Hours later he stepped into the armoury store ran by Zhi Ruo.... Zhi Ruo saw the strikingly handsome young man enter the store, he had left a massive impression on her, when she had delivered the robes she made for him and he had donned the said robes, he was so handsome that she lost her cool and had to make her way out of her uncle''s inn as quick as possible..


    Later she found out there had been an intense battle at the room he was located in and he was missing since then, she was worried for the young man but there was nothing she could do to affect the situation, when she saw him enter the store, it was like a burden had been lifted off her shoulders...


    She pouted and feigned anger..


    "What are you doing here after destroying my uncle''s inn?"


    Hartley responded "Sister Ruo it wasn''t my fault, I was attacked by an assassin and didn''t have time to make amends", he bowed respectfully then walked up to the counter and handed her 500 gold coins then said "this is compensation for uncles inn, I''ll be heading the Lou clan now."


    Zhi Ruo watched as Hartley left, there was so much emotions entwined in her heart, she was glad to see he was alright and sad he was leaving so soon...


    Two days later Hartley showed up at the gate of the Lou Clan with a belly full of nervous energy...

 14 Entering

    There was a big sturdy looking double gate made of metal, this gate was approximately 20 meters high and 10 meters wide, there were guards posted to the side of the gate where there was a smaller human sized gateway cut into the big gate for conveniently moving back and forth without having to open the massive gate.


    There was a well built outpost building that looked like a hut outside the gates where guards in white robes with the black rose insignias embroidered on it were milling about, these guards looked relatively mature, not like students or disciples. it was relatively early in the day and sunshine was cascading across the hut-like building and splashed onto the red metal gate.


    As Hartley was approaching the gate a couple guards holding long red spears with silver spearheads alighted from the outpost building and sternly shouted,


    "stop, who goes there? What business have you got inside the Lou clan?"


    Hartley standing there in his exquisite yellow custom robe with a capital H embroidered on the right breast pocket, with his black shiny hair tied back with a simple string showing off his delicate looking facial features with emerald blue eyes as deep as any tropical ocean, bent at the waist cupped his fist and respectfully replied, "Lou Hartley here to see elder Lou Chingham.


    The guard that had earlier spoken was a tall sturdy mature man, almost pushing a height of 2 meters, he looked Hartley up and down squinting his small beady eyes.


    A pang of jealousy surged through his intestines, he had never seen or heard of this young man claiming to be apart of the Lou clan and could not hold himself back from uttering "Imposter!"


    With a menacing face he commanded


    "break both your hands and legs and crawl away from here and you will be allowed to keep your life" he snorted coldly with a righteous look on his face which was pointed to the sky, then finished by saying "impersonating a member of the Lou clan is a serious offence, I''m letting you off lightly"


    A look of surprise flashed on Hartley''s face then quickly disappeared, his first interaction with the Lou clan in so many years was like this, it didn''t bode well as to what was lying behind the big metallic gates, if guards were behaving this rampant even when he had requested with the name of an elder, how would the behavior of the prideful young lords be? He had planned to keep a low profile gaining access to the educational facilities but this guard had forced him to change to his plan "B" as soon as he had arrived. Yes he wanted to keep a low profile but he would not live under the foot of another human being.


    Hartley waved his hand like he was shooing away a fly and said in a discontented voice, "Just go and get the elder and be quick about it." The burly guard face lighted up like a Christmas tree, now was his chance to teach this pretty boy a harsh lesson, he made a stance with his left leg forward and his right leg back, his spear pointed forward assisted by wind element, the spear as if it had a mind of its own dived at Hartley like a serpent, contorting and curving unpredictably with the assistance of the wind elements.


    Hartley too was delighted at this outcome he had switched to his plan "B" which was to subdue all stumbling blocks with absolute strength, all petty schemes and qualms shall be washed aside with absolute strength. Hartley did not use state of focus, he simply stepped forward into the range of the spear and used his minute movement dodging technique to evade the first 3 stabs of the spear while still walking forward, the 4th move of the spear was a wide arc horizontal slash. Hartley quickly moved back one step and to the side a little and the spear passed harmlessly, now the guard was wide open..


    Hartley took one forward step and appeared right in front of the guard whose eyes went wide with disbelief, he casually slapped the guard with his open right palm....The guard spun around like a top and flew out with a clang as he crashed into the metal gate, the sound rang out like the first stroke of the morning bells in a catholic church, the guard fell to the ground and half the teeth on the left side of his face turned to powder as he spat out blood while shouting "Schill shim, Schill shim" with a hysterical look on his face... pointing at his partners at the outpost building.... No one could understand what he was saying..


    After witnessing the confrontation the other guards wanted none of it and sprinted through the mini gate cut into the big gate, they had heard when Hartley mentioned the name of Lou Chingham so the smart guard went straight to get him...


    When Lou Chingham appeared at the gates after a short while the leader of the guards was hunched beside the big metal gate in the fetal position sprouting the unrecognizable ramblings of a mad man.


    Lou Chingham smiled at Hartley, bowed respectfully and said "sorry this elder was not here to receive you" Hartley also smile then bowed from the waist respectfully and replied


    "no worries"


    Lou Chingham ordered the main metal gate to be opened and they both entered the Lou Clan

 15 Settling in

    The open blue sky lauded over the scenery with specs of white clouds scattered throughout.


    Hartley could see miles in every direction, there were hundreds of houses built a mile from the main gate.


    Lou Chingham pointed out that these buildings were where the outer disciples and servant disciples lived. Servant disciples did the everyday menial tasks of the clan while waiting to get a chance to be promoted to the ranks of outer disciples.


    As they passed the many houses and approached a more secluded area, Lou Chingham mentioned that this was where the inner disciples stayed, here they had more luxurious houses built with private courtyards and training facilities. The surroundings were lush with greenery and the whole place had a peaceful serene vibe to it.


    Lou Chingham kept pointing out the nuances of the way the clan operated, at the end of year competition the worst five inner disciples would be demoted and the best five outer disciples would be promoted. Keeping a constant 200 inner disciples at all times, inner disciples had access to more and bettter quality of medicinal dans for training and could go out on mission to gain clan points to attain martial scriptures.


    Martial scriptures were techniques held by the clan and could be accessed by people who had enough clan points to buy them. Gold was literally useless when it came to buying medicinal dans and martial scriptures in the clan. Martial scriptures were graded from rank 1 to rank 5.


    Rank 1 being the least powerful while rank 5 were the most powerful. As they made their way to the mountains in the distance, they passed disciples wearing different colored robes.


    People wearing white robes were those who had not made it to the peak of the houtian realm before the age of 22, they would be kicked out of the clan unless they chose to stay on and work for clan as guards and the grunts of their small army.


    The servant disciples wore brown robes, the outer disciples wore blue robes, the inner disciples wore yellow robes and the core disciples wore red robes.


    They leisurely traveled while Hartley took in the scenery, he had lived in the clan for the first 6 years of his life but had no recollection of it at all. They approached a building at the base of a mountain, He was informed by elder Lou Chingham that this was called the Stellar mountain and 5 core disciples were based here throughout the mountain, but it was unlikely to meet them because they spent most year trying to gain enlightenment in closed practice.


    There were 3 other mountains which housed 5 xiantian realm expert each, but Lou Chingham didn''t go into details. All core disciples were already xiantian realm experts and they were the back bone of the clan. The building was 3 stories high built with bricks. Lou Chingham brought him inside the building to a room on the frst floor, where they were greeted by another slim white haired elder with white eyebrows crawling an inch or two down the side of his face.


    Even though you could see his age from his outer appearance he still had youthful eyes.


    "This is elder Lou Chang," Lou chingham introduced.


    Hartley made a respectful bow towards Lou Chang and said


    "this young one greets the elder."


    Lou Chang smiled waved his hand casually and said


    "no need to be polite in front me, please sit"


    Lou Chang was in charge of all the arrangements in Stellar mountain and Lou Chingham was one of the elders of Stellar mountain. A yellow robed female inner disciple came forward and poured the tea while staring at Hartley, smiling he received the tea and gave his thanks..thinking (a week ago I was drinking out of a pond now I"m being served tea, how times have changed) the female inner disciple retreated from the room and closed the door.


    Lou Chang looked at Hartley and asked


    "do you want to become a core disciple on my stellar mountain."


    Hartley replied humbly "yes" but thinking to himself didn''t you guys recruit me?


    After a while Lou Chang asked another question


    "even after all you have gone through?"


    Hartley was visibly taken aback by the comment and again replied "yes"


    Lou Chang suddenly clapped his hands and said "then so it shall be, I will make you a provisional core disciple of my Stellar mountain, only the Patriarch can fully enroll you but he is in closed door practice right now and no one knows when he will be out"


    Lou Chang give Hartley a token so he can get his robes, a spirit weapon, some dans and a martial scripture and welcomed him, before Hartley left Lou Chang had one more question.


    "what layer of the xiantian realm are you right now"


    Lou Chang could tell that Hartley was a xiantian expert but could not tell what layer because Hartley had no elemental affinity. Hartley himself had no clue, so he just guessed and blurted out "first" Lou Chang didn''t answer and just shook his head in contemplation.


    After they left the building Lou Chingham carried Hartley up the mountain towards a house about halfway up, it was very spacious and had a big courtyard with private training facilities and a spring off in the distance it was quiet and secluded with sounds of birds chirping every now and then, it was far cry from the cabin he had just left, but there was something missing, it didn''t feel like home.


    Hartley took the keys cupped his fist and asked Lou chingham about the layers in xiantian realm..


    Hartley was informed that the xiantian realm had 9 layers and every layer one attained was more powerful than the layer before it. After the 9th layer of the xiantian realm then one would strive to enter the Saint realm which itself had 9 layers, after that was the God realm then the High God realm and after that no one was sure..


    Lou Chingham taught Hartley how to recognize what layer xiantian someone was by sensing the residual aura that left there bodies based on the element that one was affiliated to.


    It was a simple trick and soon Hartley had the hang of it and could now clearly see that Lou Chingham was a 4th layer xiantian, Hartley himself was a 2nd layer xiantian on the verge of entering the 3rd layer, but others couldn''t recognize it because he had no residual elemental energy leaking.


    Lou Chingham left and Hartley got settled in, he was under no delusion how he felt, he still had no feelings of camaraderie for the Lou clan this was just a shameless means to an end....

 16 Aidonia

    After settling in a month flew by in the blink of an eye, Hartley had collected three new red robes with the black rose insignia.


    He chose a short red sword which was half the length of the black sword, this was a genuine rank 1 spirit weapon,Lou Chingham had given him the run down about spirit weapons, they went from rank 1 to rank 9 and above that was divine weapons, he told Hartley to not neglect his weapons because weapons were also apart of one''s strength.


    He also got a dozen high grade medicinal dans for circulation and opening up blocked veins but they were useless to him, he took 3 of them and they basically had no effect whatsoever, he dashed them in a corner of his space ring and forgot about them.


    Hartley had stepped into the 3rd layer of xanthian realm and consolidated his cultivation but still could only control 120 meters around him, his gravity manipulation had improved a lot as he could now apply gravitational forces to a single pebble within a radius of 120 meters.


    He was practicing his star sword technique with dual blades now and could apply gravity to each blade, zero gravity applied to one of his blades would make it as light as a feather and with minimal wind resistance, the sword would move as fast as lightning mimicking a person with affinity to the wind element or he could apply 10x gravity to the blade during a slash or a chop making the blade come down with the pressure of a mountain dropping out of the sky.


    In his experiments when he chopped a boulder with 10x gravity applied to his blade it would literally turn the boulder to powder and when she slashed with zero gravity applied to the blade it would slice through like a knife through tofu leaving a smooth cut like a mirror.


    He was still experimenting and coming up news ways to apply his powers.


    He also did some research into the way the elements were used in battle.


    The fire element enhanced one''s attack power whether on a blade or through the air as a projectile...The wind element gave its user and advantage in speed, it could be applied to movement speed or the speed of attack..The earth element offered massive defense and zero gravity would not affect experts with earth elements once they used it as an armor. The water element was a mix of speed and precision, experts with the water affinity would flawlessly integrate different skills in there battle and would flow with precision, the down side was they usually had low defense, so people with water affinity would always try and get their hands on powerful armor.. The final element is the wood element and people with this affinity can easily cure themselves and others.


    Hartley realized that cultivating the blue star energy had none of the down sides of the other elements, he himself didn''t know the true characteristics of the blue star energy, the blue star fragment in his chest would provide infinite energy until it was fully integrated with his body, so he had no need for beast cores or medicinal dans.


    All he had to do was cultivate and try and gain enlightenment. One has to know that many heroes of the past had to be an expert in forging weapons, refining medicinal dans, forging their bodies, making talismans and mastering a soul spell.... All Hartley had to do was cultivate and find creative ways to aplly his skills, he was truly lucky.


    Hartley also developed a habit of going to the library every afternoon and reading books, gathering information in his memory banks, through reading books he learned that he was currently living in the country of Aidonia.


    This country was situated on the continent of Aldora. The continent of Aldora had many small countries and 3 prominent countries. Aidonia in the south, Sasko in the west and Buju in the north were the prominent countries.


    The smaller countries were affiliate countries which were attached to one of the prominent countries. There were advantages and disadvantages to being an affiliate country, affiliates had to pay a certain amount of their natural resources as tax to the prominent country and in turn get protection from invasion of other armies, fierce beasts and the beast tribes of the barren lands in the east.


    The Barren lands in the east were lands devoid of natural resources, it was made up of mostly deserts. The beast tribes are a humanoid species, a cross between man and animal, they have survived in the barrens lands for centuries sometimes raiding other small countries on the outer periphery of the barren lands.


    Due to this reason the Prominent countries have experts stationed in affiliate countries close to the barren lands all year round. The prominent countries also has the right to appoint kings and queens of the affiliate countries if they so wished but mostly it was incumbent on the affiliate countries to govern themselves.


    In the country of Aidonia the Waltham province was situated in the mountainous western region of the country, it was a relatively big province neighbored by the Calabar province..The Capital of Aidonia is Dauncehall which is the home base of the king of Aidonia King Yulan.


    Not much is known publicly about King Yulan rumors say that he is a Saint realm expert but that couldn''t be confirmed especially by the books of the library in the Lou clan....


    Hartley had collected his martial scripture as well, he chose a kicking technique called typhoon kick, it was only a rank 3 technique but Hartley was lacking a good kicking technique so he chose it. When Hartley received the martial scripture he noticed it looked similar to something he had in his space ring, upon further inspection he discovered it was the aura conceal stealth technique that was in the robed assassin space ring, he quickly started to cultivate and because he had a neutral aura, he could now pretty much hide his whole aura and appear as a normal mortal.


    He also just had some small success in cultivating his typhoon kick, it was a technique based on using the legs to dish out offensive kicks at maximum velocity. Hartley stood up and slim powerful body made creaking sounds, he had been cultivating this whole month it was time to head back into town.

 17 No time for petty squabbles

    It was an overcast day, the dark clouds looming on the horizon gave the mountain a dreary grey atmosphere.


    For the past month on the Stellar Mountain, Hartley had made intermittent trips to the main building at the foot of the mountain.


    He wasn''t expecting it to be as peaceful as it had been, but that was mainly because he was on a secluded part of the mountain and had not explored the surrounding, so he had not run into the other 5 core disciples on stationed there.


    He made his way down the mountain wearing red robes, his hair was loose and framing his face in an unkempt manner.


    Entering the main three-story building, he headed towards the 2nd floor, on the second floor there was a mission board where core disciples could choose a mission to undertake, earning clan points and gaining real world experience in the process.


    There he met the inner disciple girl that had poured him tea when he had arrived , her name was Zhang Shisu and she was somewhat of an assistant to Lou Chang, she had a curvy body and her robe seem to hug her curves showing them more vividly, she had hair the color of straw, and dark obsidian eyes and an almost perfectly white smile.


    From what Hartley could tell she was around 20 and at the peak of the houtian realm, one step away from the xiantian realm, if someone didn''t reach the peak of houtian realm before 22 it was unlikely for that person to move into the xiantian realm.it has been done before but it was very rare.


    The houtian realm was the preparatory stage on the journey to immortality.


    This was where one would make their physical body a vessel for elemental essence.


    Hartley had only recently learned these things on his regular trips to the library.


    Zhang Shisu made a habit of staring at him whenever he came to the building, Hartley being someone with no prior experience of female relations made nothing of it. Hartley greeted her politely and addressed her as Sister Shisu which made her blush and look away in shyness.


    There was another person on the second floor looking at missions on the board, he couldn''t help but frown when he saw the ineraction between Hartley and Zhang Shisu.


    He was one of the five core disciples on Stellar mountain and he too was in his twenties with green eyes, dark hair and a mouth full of donkey-like teeth, even with his lips completely closed his teeth would protrude out visibly.


    Being a 3rd layer xiantian realm expert with strong wind elemental affinity he rarely put people of his age-group in his eyes...


    But right now Hartley was a real eye sore in his eyesight..


    His name was Lou Lee and ever since Zhang Shisu has been assisting Lou Chang, he had made regular trips to this building to have conversations with her. In her mind these were just innocent conversations but in his mind he was on the road to marriage.


    Lou Lee made his way over visibly annoyed and grinding his overgrown teeth, "Are you the new provisional disciple?" He barked in an aggressive manner, "Yes so what?" Hartley answered.


    Lou Lee pointed his finger at Hartley then said


    "You haven''t earned your spot on this mountain, you haven''t been tested, no one knows what rock you crawled from under, on this mountain strength is king. How about a duel on the Martial Stage to prove you are more than a dolled up warrior."


    Hartley waved his hand dismissively like he hadn''t taken anything said by Lou Lee seriously, then said.


    "I have no time for petty squabbling with shallow people, if it is not a life and death battle then what''s the point, just be on your way."


    Lou Lee''s face went red with rage, this no-name guy was not putting him in his eyes, he looked at Hartley viciously and said.


    "Good, good good." repeating himself thrice before continuing,


    "I challenge you to a life and death battle seven days from today, do you dare accept?"


    "What''s there not to accept?"


    Hartley replied nonchalantly as if life and death meant nothing, which in turn got Lou Lee even more riled up. He then turned around after glancing at Zhang Shisu who was looking at her toes and left fuming with even more anger.


    Hartley wasn''t planning on making any friends or staying on Stellar mountain for the long term, he also had no interest in becoming an official core disciple of the Lou clan, he would slit the necks of those who opposed him regardless.


    He had read many books in the library which was the most important thing to him, now he had a foundation of informational knowledge he didn''t have before, he couldn''t care less about what happens in the Lou clan...


    Hartley stayed around a while longer looking at the mission board but nothing peaked his interest so he said his goodbyes and left a guilty looking Zhang Shisu standing looking at her toes.


    Hartely rented a horse at the stables inside the Luo clan and made his way to town, the most common method of travel for the people in Aidonia was by horse or carriages drawn by strong wild beast which were slower than horses but were suited for travelling longer distances.


    Soon Hartley left the vicinity of the Luo clan and retracted his aura.


    On an unknown mountain in the Luo clan, 2 elders in dark robes were having a conversation:


    "What do you think about him?"


    asked one of the elders, this was the elder who had appeared in the apothecary shop when Hartley first went to sell his beastcores.


    "I don''t see anything special about him, to me he''s average at best."


    replied the second elder,


    "Hmm, I don''t know, there is something about him that intrigues me that''s why I had Lou Chingham bring him back."


    said the first elder.


    The second elder responded with a frustrating look,


    "But he has been under close surveillance for a month and has yet to show any outstanding abilities."


    The first elder leaned back in his chair and said "patience, remember his mother is from that place, he has her blood running through his veins. Send a team to test him out, if he dies so be it."

 18 First date

    Hartley traveled at his leisure for the entire journey into town, by now there were long shadows crawling across the scenery, people were still busily going about their business, there were kids playing in distant alley ways, the over all atmosphere was still lively.


    Hartley dismounted from his horse held the reigns and walked towards the busier sections leading the horse. As he reached the armory shop he tied the horse to a wooden post and entered.


    Inside the shop were a few customers milling around and looking at wares, this shop was mostly for custom armor but there were a few ready to buy pieces on display around the shop, there was a slim girl around 20 years old with shoulder length flaming red hair, Hartely stood quietly and waited for her to deal with the prior customers, he gazed on as she moved daintily behind the counter and into a backroom.


    As if he was caught under a spell, he couldn''t stop from staring, admiring her slightly slanted eyes small nose and pink lips which seemed to be painted on by the brush strokes of a devine artist.


    Hartley came back to his senses, he was stood there statue-still, there was a funny feeling inside his loins, He was actually aroused.


    When he was weak and living at the foot of the deserted mountain he had seen some ruffians bring a woman close by and had their way with her, he never understood why they seem to take so much pleasure from making the woman scream and moan.


    That memory was pushed to some distant corner of his mind but he just now had a flashback. For the first time in Hartley''s life he blushed with embarrassment and as he looked up.... His and Zhi Ruo eyes met and his blush went from his neck to behind his ears and onto his cheeks.


    He had just had his first teenage awkward moment.


    Zhi Ruo had finished tending to her customers and then noticed someone standing still at the back of the store, he had the striking blue eyes she would never forget, dressed in red robes with a black rose on the right breast, his eyes were out of focus like he was standing there only in body, his mind was far far away from here so she waited patiently...When his eyes regained focus, he blushed all the way to his neck, Zhi Ruo hadn''t expected that and involuntarily let out a slight giggle.


    "How can I help you today" Zhi Ruo asked as she regained her calm.


    Hartley had no particular reason for coming, he fumbled around with a response in his mind, then he remembered he still had the giant boar pelt that the Black Bear had killed on their last encounter.


    "I came to see if you can make a soft armor from this pelt" Hartley replied and proceeded to remove the pelt from his space ring.


    Zhi Ruo looked curiously at the pelt and Hartley walked forward and handed it over. Zhi Ruo appraised the pelt and exclaimed,


    "thi is a half step xiantian Giant wild boar pelt, but it isn''t intact. I can probably salvage enough of it to make a one piece under armor for you but it will cost you 25 gold because the processing procedure is rather complicated."


    Hartley bowed from the waist and said "thank you sister Ruo."


    She then went to the back and put the pelt away and returned, Hartley awkwardly tried to make small talk and then asked if she was free to have dinner at the one of the restaurants. She blushed and then told him to wait in the shop while she finished up for the day. Hartley waited patiently and when Zhi Ruo returned, she was wearing a one piece long green slim fitting dress, she wasn''t as curvy as Zhang Shisu from STellar mountain, but she did have curves.


    Hartely watched as she glided across the room towards him, he noticed her two firm peaks slightly bouncing up and down as she walked.....


    Now it was about dusk and the orange purplish sun was peaking from behind an overcast sky, the clouds were painted with an orange color as long shadows descended down in the backdrop making a surreal scene of natural beauty that one wouldn''t notice unless they took time out to look.


    At the entrance of a restaurant there stood a couple, one wearing a red robe and the other wearing a long green dress that hugged her body like a mother protecting a newborn.


    Above them was a beautiful red signboard caligraphed with the words "Dragon Stew Restaurant." They entered the establishment and were immediately greeted by a courteous waiter on call. Even though Zhi Ruo was older than Hartley, he had a mature aura about him that didn''t look out of place.


    They were escorted to the second floor and seated in the middle row, it was relatively empty and they settled into a table with two chairs. Hartley didn''t know much about restaurant quality food. He had survived his whole life on roasted meat, fruits and herbs, so he asked Zhi Ruo to order all the delicacies on the menu. They talked as Hartley tried all the dishes and drank a jug of sake prepared by the staff. As the evening progressed Hartley was in bliss and he had reverted back to a normal male teenager with a crush on a girl....Hartley''s face suddenly went serious, there was an overwhelming sense of danger coming from all directions...

 19 The Dragon Stew Restauraunt!

    Hartley could sense 5 xiantian experts approaching from multiple directions with ill intent, He was nervous, not because he feared them but because Zhi Ruo was here. He immediately stood up and slammed in his right palm on the table, BOOM!! the table turned to dust, it was going t be a hindrance to movement in a tight space,with a shocked look on her face Zhi Ruo coughed from inhaling the wooden dust, but before she could catch her breath, ZOOOM!


    Hartley applied gravity repel to her body which sent her moving to the left at a fast pace, she flew out about 25m before Hartely tried to counteract the speed of her movement with "gravity attract", this was a move where Hartley could use the force of gravity parallel to the ground to bring things towards him, providing the item wasn''t tied or nailed down, it worked! and it slowed down her momentum enough that as she hit the wall of the restaurant she didn''t break any bones, she only fainted..


    Hartley was worried about her but didn''t have time to be fully concerned with her at this moment.


    A 2nd layer xiantian expert came over the banister at the far end of the restaurant and moved so quick in Hartley''s direction that he left shadow images in a straight line behind him, his feet barely made a sound on the floor.


    The Bottom half of his face was masked ninja style, he had green eyes and was a wind element expert. Hartley had fought his whole life against fierce beast who all battled head on, but in a fight with another xiantian expert, they won''t just brainlessly move forward in a head on battle unless they were very confident to win with their first strike..


    Apparently this guy was very confident. As the wind element expert was closing in from the front, Hartley sensed fire element fluctuations from behind and a fireball projectile was released, aimed at his back.


    The timing was superb, the fireball would arrive right after the wind element expert made his first strike, so if the strike was blocked he could use his overwhelming speed to retreat in case the fire ball exploded on contact with the target, the guys seemed to have tremendous understanding between themselves, not to mention the other 3 had not shown themselves yet but Hartley knew they were lurking, this combination move was just to test the waters.


    What they didn''t know was, these waters were Shark Infested!


    STEP 1..... Hartley immediately went into "Sate of Focus" for him time was flowing only quarter of the


    normal speed, he could now see fully every minute detail, he saw the wind element forming at the


    feet of the dark robed wind expert as he took each step, he could see the fluttering of the robes as it moved against the wind resistance in the natural air.


    STEP 2....


    . Hartley applied a 10x gravity field in a five meter radius around himself, if the gravity was any stronger the second floor might collapse into the first floor.


    STEP 3...


    Out of nowhere a long black blade appeared in his right hand a and short red blade appeared in his left hand. The approaching expert had his sword held in a two handed grip at his right shoulder pointed forward with the sword horizontal to the ground prepped for his killer strike.


    As the assailant entered to within five meters of Hartley, his eyes bulged in surprise, his speed halved as he fought against a more dense gravity pushing down on his body, he executed his killer move anyway, this was a move designed to leave no room for dodging in any direction for the opponent. "Die!" a single word fell from the mouth of the masked attacker as he stabbed forward with his sword, it multiplied into six sword lights aimed at six different parts of the body, one couldn''t differentiate the sword light from the real sword, it was basically like six different swords stabbed forwards at the same time.. In his state of focus, Hartley could clearly see the six sword lights heading for his right kidney, his left kidney, his heart, his left shoulder, his right shoulder and his neck. CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG. The chatter of metal rang out in the room accompanied by bright sparks...


    With zero gravity applied to both blades, Hartley''s swords swam out like a dragon and parried 3 strikes with his short-blade in his left hand and 3 strikes with his long blade in his right hand as fast as lightning, a series of sparks exploded everywhere amidst the clanging sounds of metal, that wasn''t all, the genius of this move was he parried the strikes on his left side towards the left and the strikes on his right side towards the right, which made all the sword light rush harmlessly to the outside of his body and completely broke the momentum of the attacker and left him standing wide open with his real sword dangling in a harmless position with his eyes dazed in disbelief...


    STEP 4.....


    Even though Hartley was now a 3rd layer xiantian in power, his physical body was still only 1st


    layer xiantian...but it was enough...with his right leg shrouded in a blue aura, Hartley executed a front step kick which brought a gust of swirling wind from nowhere blowing away dozens of tables and chairs clearing the 2nd floor of most obstacles.


    The furniture clattered and broke into splinters when they collided with the walls of the restaurant leaving a thick fog of wooden dust in the air. Hartley had just executed a typhoon kick... when the sole of his right foot made contact with the chest area of the dazed opponent, he flew backwards leaving after images with the sound of broken bones echoing through the now empty 2nd floor.


    In the blink of an eye he flew through a wooden wall at the front with a miserable scream and collided with the beautifully crafted Dragon Stew Restaurant signboard and his body exploded into a mist of blood while the signboard turned into a firework-show of red splinters and blood raining down on those at the entrance of the restaurant and those unlucky pedestrians below.


    Back to Hartlely, as soon as the kicked had landed on the wind element expert, the fireball had reached his back, he used gravity repel on the fireball which slowed it down just enough for him to use his minute movement dodging technique and slipped passed the fireball, even though it didn''t touch him, the immense heat of it scalded his right shoulder and took a layer of his skin with it towards where the wind element expert was headed..


    The people milling around on the road outside the restaurant, witnessed something flying through the front wall of the restaurant leaving a ragged hole behind, then colliding and exploding along with the signboard producing a loud crash sending splinters and droplets of blood raining down on the unprepared people below, this started a chaotic scene with people desperately scrambling away from the restaurant''s entrance, a second later another big explosion shook the building with a flash of yellow that removed the entire front wall of the building....


    The screaming and horse neighing outside rose to a crescendo at this point, everyone was in a panic to escape this terrible place before the next explosion which could be any second now, people standing on the street could see unhindered into the second floor of the restaurant, where there was now no front wall.


    All of this took almost 4 paragraphs to explain but from the time Hartley smashed the table he was sitting at, to the time the front of the restaurant exploded, it was only 4 seconds in real time. Hartley had just erased a 2nd layer xiantian expert with wind element affinity in 4 easy steps..(Maybe he should put on a seminar..lol..)


    Now that the 2nd floor was cleared of the annoying obstacles (tables and chairs), he could now use gravity steps, this was his technique that applied zero gravity around his body with precision split second timing to decrease air resistance around him to multiply straight line speed exponentially.


    He flashed to the back of the restaurant where the fire element 3rd layer xiantian expert had fired the fireball from. He flashed 30 meters in 0.000001 seconds, that was practically a teleport. .....

 20 Baptized

    The 3rd layer xiantian expert with fire affinity was a little surprised to see his comrade dispatched and his fireball dodged so easily.


    The battle had literally just started and they were already down a man. This kid had some skill, taking no chances he activated his fire armor and a sword with purple-fire billowing on its blade appeared in his hand,


    This time he had pulled out all the stops. This was his rank 3 spirit sword, One has to know that local clans like the Lou clan could only have access to mostly rank 1 and rank 2 spirit weapons, Sects would have anywhere from rank 1 to rank 5 spirit weapons and only people working for the royal family would have weapons above rank 5.


    This expert too had his lower face masked ninja style but he had white hair spilling out the hood of his robes meaning he was older and more experienced than the wind element expert that just died.


    The yellow armor of licking fire around his upper body gave off a blistering heat, not as much as the fireball he had just casted but this heat could keep even 2nd layer xiantian experts from engaging in close combat with him...Too bad he was piss out of luck today because Hartley had just appeared out of nowhere and was already engaging him at close quarters.


    Hartley knowing that time wasn''t on his side as the other experts could pop up at any time, forcing him to leave Zhi Ruo unguarded for the moment, he was worried she might be attacked in her vulnerable state, oh lord what would he do if she got hurt, he didn''t even want to think about it.


    He had to take them down as quick as possible and get her somewhere safe, his heart was really nervous though he would never let it show on his face.


    He still had state of focus active and this guy wasn''t going to win any speed contests, but he could still feel a dangerous vibe from that blasted purple sword, the heat of the opponent armor was more than bearable with his xiantian physical body he did not need to use blue star essence as an armor. he applied his 10x gravity field in 15 meter radius this time entrapping the expert, the expert''s movements became labored like he was wading through waist deep mud. Hartley pushed off with his left foot, the concrete floor exploded with small concrete pebbles flying out in all directions, there was a 3 inch deep impression of his foot left behind on the floor, he appeared beside The expert on the left side away from the dangerous sword.


    Hartley slashed out with his red short sword trying to cut him at the waist with one move. Even though the expert was struggling with his movement and sweat was rolling down his forehead and evaporating as soon as it fell in the direction of his armor, he was still an experienced 3rd layer xiantian, he quickly switched his sword to his left hand and made a back handed slash, the swords collided with a clang and a shower of sparks bloomed, Hartley was pushed back three steps, his left hand numb and spirit sword was vibrating out of control.


    Hartley quickly changed his plan and applied 10x gravity on his black blade in his right hand.


    He positioned himself for a full frontal assault, the opponent only had one sword, he was going to overwhelm him with numbers, Hartley again pounced forward towards the opponent handicapped by his gravity field, he slashed diagonally from low-left to high-right with his the short red spirit blade in his left hand making the opponent defend, this was his plan.


    Harley wanted him to commit to defense. The 3rd layer xiantian did exactly as expected and slashed downwards to meet the short sword coming upwards, again the two swords collided with a shower of red and purple sparks, but this time Hartley was prepared and exerted all the strength combined from his physical body and the blue star essence within his body, he would not allow himself to be pushed back even an inch, the clash was a draw and both stood at their same position but now there was a overhead strike chopping downwards from Hartley''s black blade in his right hand.


    The Black blade was falling down with the pressure of a mountain falling from the sky and the opponent''s feet sank 3 inches deep into the concrete as spiderweb cracks danced around his feet.


    The fire element expert quickly recovered his strength and pushed his sword in a horizontal position up to meet the black blade coming down, the fire element expert was thinking that the black blade sword looked like a normal sword from the mortal world but why was it giving off such pressure he had a bad feeling, but was still confident he would ward of this strike, he was now thinking of his escapes routes and when were those bastards going to step in and help him.


    BOOOOM!!! The two swords collided and both shattered like glass thrown against a rock, with a magnificent show of pyrotechnics that lighted up the whole second floor in a soothing purple glow.


    The expert stepped back and puked out a mouthful of blood as he screamed out in disbelief, but Hartley would not let him off, again he slashed diagonally from low-right to high-left with his short sword imbued with zero gravity , Fwoosh! it went through armor, tissue and bone like it was paper.


    The triangular shaped upper half of his body with the head attached flew up like a kite with broken strings, splattering blood everywhere, the separated body made a sputtering sound like the gearbox of an old eighteen wheeler truck as blood gushed out in pulses, the lower half of his body stumbled back 2 steps and then dropped with a thud.


    This time Hartley didn''t even try and escape the falling blood, He allowed himself to be baptized in the blood of those who ruined his first date, and he would ruin their lives in return....That kill only took Hartley 2 clashes with the opponent.


    He had adapted to the situation and changed tactics mid-fight and achieved victory, application of skills was key part of any battle, but he had also lost his black blade in the process, he quickly retrieved one of his throwing knives in his right hand and rushed back to the center of the room when the last three xiantians finally made their move.

 21 sRuo Ism sorrys

    The final three xiantians that appeared were support experts, meaning the fire element expert and the wind element expert were supposed to be pressuring Hartley serving as the vanguard force and then the support team would step in and lend support to smoothly finish him off with precision from the sidelines.


    There was a 1st layer xiantian expert with the wood element affinity, she would take care of any wounds inflicted on the others, she was holding a green whip with thorns all over it, the other was a earth element 1st layer xiantian expert, if one of the vanguard was struggling or suffered any injuries, he would step in and tie up the opponent with his incredible defense until the team member can be healed and rejoin the battle, the third was a water element 2nd layer xiantian who was a specialist bowman, if the opponent was tricky he would be the artillery for the others to keep the opponent on his heels.


    Their battle plan was for these 3 to guard the exits to make sure the opponent doesn''t escape easily, but once the battle starts they should join in as quickly as possible.


    They were vigilant in their duties as they guarded all possible escape routes making sure no one came to provide assistance, the target was after all the member of a local clan.


    Ten seconds into fight they heard two huge explosions upstairs and decided that the opponent was going to stand his ground and fight so they decided to leave their post and quickly join in the main battle.


    The earth element expert and the wood element expert came up the stairs at the front of the second floor while the water element expert approached through the utility stairs at the back.


    When all three were on the second floor they could not sense any xiantian fluctuations, all they saw was a mortal teenage youth dressed in red robes covered with blood splatters all over his face and clothes, the water element expert who approached from the back was shocked speechless when he saw the gruesome sight of the elder''s body split in two, the bottom half around five meters from the top half, sweat started to flow down his back when he grabbed a long brown wooden bow from his shoulder, notched an arrow and prepared to fire.


    Hartley saw two experts from the front and one from the back, the strongest one was the one at his rear who was preparing to fire an arrow, even though they started to immediately take action, in the eyes of Hartley who was still in state of focus, their actions were painfully slow..


    Hartley threw out the throwing knife in his right hand, this knife was also made from the black steel, the same material used to make his black sword, he applied 20x gravity repel on the knife and it flew out like a shell leaving the barrel of a howitzer.


    The water element expert had notched an arrow in his bow when a black light flew towards him at the speed of light leaving visible ripples through the air, he released the arrow he had prepared, but before it could travel five meters the black knife collided with the silver arrowhead creating blinding white sparks which forced the water element expert to close his eyes for a split second, but the black knife didn''t stop there, it carved right through the middle of the arrow shaft, each half peeling away in the opposite direction, the water elemental expert didn''t even get a chance to open his eyes again when the black knife ripped through his heart with a squelching sound and went through his back followed by a spray of red, then continued on to be stopped ten meters away in a thick wooden beam.


    After Hartley had thrown out his black knife, he then flashed forward using gravity steps again like a teleport, in an instant he was face to face with the last two 1st layer experts, instinctively the earth element expert activated his earth armor, a brown layer of light covered him from toes to neck, as he shouted for the wood element expert to be careful.


    The petit girl wearing a yellow dress was in the motion of slashing out her whip when Hartley applied zero gravity to her body making her lose her balance with a surprised scream and float upwards, hovering ten feet high.


    Hartley immediately used his star fist technique and punched towards the earth element expert with blue lights surrounding his right arm, the man tried to move backwards but was a tad too slow, the punch landed squarely on his chest with a loud thumping sound forcing him back five steps while he puked out blood with a scared look in his eyes.


    All of these experts had worn a mask on the lower half of their faces, so one couldn''t see the frightened looks on their faces when they faced Hartley, not even the elder who was the fire elemental expert was immune to it.


    As soon as the wood element expert was regaining her bearings, Hartley deactivated his gravity and she started to free fall, Hartley then rushed to the right leaving cracks on the surface of the floor and delivered another star fist, her delicate body had no way to cope with such a brutal hit, she flew out of the building through front wall that was missing, did a couple barrel rolls and landed dead as a fish in the middle of the street below, by this time the street was relatively empty no one wanted to stick around for the show after the first two explosions, some people had gone as far as miles away from this area by now.


    At this point the earth element expert could give two fucks about the rewards for this mission. In pain he squealed like a pig that had just figured out what the butcher''s knife really was made for, with wide eyes he turned around and tried to make his way out of this god forsaken slaughter-house.


    Breathing with wild ragged breaths, he willed his injured body forward towards the open front of the building, scrambling towards the salvation of the road below, but before he could take his fifth step, a red short sword imbued with a blue glow slashed horizontally across his waist in a smooth line from mid-right to mid-left, the momentum of his forward movement took the upper half of his body out of the building and onto the street below, the lower half was left in the building with entrails and organs spilling out like an open coin-purse falling to the ground and shedding its valuable content.


    He had made it out of the god forsaken slaughterhouse, but only half so.


    Hartley had made fast work of these three!


    Hartley was breathing heavily, even though the fights were ended quickly it still took a lot out of him, he came out of state of focus and WHOOSH! time was running at its normal pace again, making Hartley''s belly churn with nausea.


    He had a quick dizzy spell but gritted his teeth, shook his head and forced it back. He desperately ran over to the corner where Zhi Ruo was. When he reached her, she was awake and shaking, hugging her knees.


    She had seen the encounter between Hartley and the last three experts as plain as day, she had awakened in a place she could not recognize, her mind could not fathom that this was the restaurant they entered earlier.


    Hartley was covered in blood and approached her slowly, tears falling down his cheeks, all he could say was "Ruo I''m so sorry" He repeated this phrase three or four more times and lifted her up the way a newly wed husband would carry his wife across the threshold still saying "Ruo I''m so sorry."


    She burst into tears and buried her face in his bloody chest, He flashed away immediately....


    Half an hour later a dark robed elder turned up on the second floor scratching his chin in bewilderment. It was an absolute massacre, not even the chairs and tables were spared, the most luxurious restaurant in town had turned to a derelict building in less than fifteen minutes.

 22 A New Pleasure

    It was night time in a house about twenty miles from the central region of the Waltham province, there was a half moon sitting lazily high in the middle of the sky, it was giving off a warm blueish glow to the surrounding trees and foliage.


    The humble two bedroom house had a small courtyard that was bathed in the hypnotic glow from the moon. Two people were in the bedroom on the west side of the house that faced the back mountains in the distance.


    One person was sat on a soft bed with blankets made of fluffy animal pelts, a sweet fragrance permeated through the entire room.


    Hartley was sitting on the bed with his upper body naked, Zhi Ruo was stooping in front of him with a mid sized wooden bucket by her feet filled with warm water, she had a soft piece of cloth that she was dipping in the bucket and using it to clean the blood from Hartley''s upper body and face.


    Fortunately for the youth, none of this blood was his own.


    She displayed a shy blush every time she reached out and touched his body, moving the cloth up and down gently scrubbing away the stubborn dry blood before dipping it again in the water, turning the water in the bucket a deeper shade of red each time she dipped the cloth in it.


    Hartley was looking in her eyes as she helped him clean up, she still had on the slim green dress from earlier which was now stained with multiple splotches of blood.


    "I''m sorry, I''ve even ruined your dress. I promise to get you a new one."


    Hartley said this with a sad, regretting expression on his face, Zhi Ruo didn''t answer and just kept wiping at his body.


    "Are you mad at me?"


    Before she could answer Hartley continued.


    "I understand. The first time you met me your uncle''s inn got destroyed and now this."


    Hartley spoke frettingly with a voice filled with worry unable to keep still as if he was sitting on needles.


    Zhi Ruo held a stern expression in reply.


    "Its ok, I''m not mad, but why are so many people trying to kill you? and are they all xiantians? Have you stolen some kind of treasure?"


    Hartley released a long sigh.


    "I don''t know, the first time was an assassin sent by the Lin clan, and now these guys just popped up. I am a orphan who lived my whole life at the remote back mountains and only just left there a couple months ago. I can''t imagine what i have or who I''ve offended."


    Zhi Ruo stayed quiet and didn''t ask anymore personal questions. Zhi Ruo finished helping him clean up and was about to carry away the bucket but Hartley stopped her by gently holding her wrist, her body went stiff, she was so nervous her back was sweating.


    Hartley leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Ruo I want you, I have wanted you ever since i met you in town, at first I didn''t understand the feelings in my chest but now I do, I''ve never had any friendships in my life, please don''t reject me Ruo"


    Hartley pulled back his head and looked her in her chestnut brown eyes containing fine speckled highlights, with a pleading look.


    Zhi Ruo didn''t say anything for a while, she looked him in his eyes, the silence seem have stretched out for eternity before she nodded a shy affirmation to him with a blush on her face.


    Hartley stood her up and kissed her, he now understood what the ruffians in the forest had did to that woman. He slipped the dress from her shoulders and it fell down like a waterfall wrinkling on the floor, he removed the rest of her undergarments and lay her down on the sweet smelling soft bed then pressed her down under his body, kissing her neck and lips, intoxicating himself with her natural feminine fragrance, he had gone inside her.


    Zhi Ruo had one tear rolling down her eye from the pain but at the same time she moaned out in pleasure. She closed her eyes and took it, knowing that this was the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. On this night the two had formed an unbreakable bond for a lifetime.


    Hartley spent the next 3 days in bliss, he had no intention of returning to the Luo clan just yet, even though he had only been there for a month he was sick of that place, he had no fondness for that environment and now he had found happiness for first time why the hell would he leave.


    Zhi Ruo went about her daily duties as usual, Hartley stayed at her house and cultivated until she returned. Hartley had now found something he enjoyed even more than gaining strength through practice, and every night when Hartley closed the doors she would come to bed with a blush on her face.

 23 Seven days

    In these last three days spent with Ruo Hartley had come to know of her origins more in depth.


    She was not a native of the Waltham province, she had migrated here with her father from the Duancehal province which was the capital of Aidonia and her father was somehow involved with the royal family, he must have been a soldier or something of that ilk, Hartley wasn''t sure because he couldn''t get her to open up about her father in much detail.


    On the journey to the Waltham province she had lost her mother by a savage bandit attack, upon reaching the Waltham province her father bought the house that she now lives and set up an armory shop in the central regions where she apprenticed under him for years until he peacefully passed away.


    Whether through sentiments or just not being able to face the room of her late father, she had kept it as it used to be when he was alive, Hartley didn''t want to snoop around but couldn''t help himself from having a look.


    The room had a simple wooden work desk and an old chair, the bed covered with worn pelts and a layer of dust was sitting at the far corner of the room, there was a collection of tobacco pipes hung neatly on the wall, overall, it was pretty simple with none of the luxuries one would associate to someone who had been in the employment of the royal family.


    On the fourth day, Hartley had asked Ruo about getting a sword for him in town to replace his black blade that was destroyed, Hartley was staying low and didn''t want to enter the town in the next couple of days since he couldn''t be sure why he was attacked and Zhi Ruo had been running her shop as usual without any sign of trouble, he thought that might be the best option for the time being.


    He hadn''t forgotten about the death battle he had agreed with Lou Lee and it was time to start preparing himself.


    Since entering the Lou clan he hadn''t spent much money, his only expenditure was renting a horse, with his space ring still holding over a 1200 gold he thought that should be enough to get a decent long sword.....


    Hartley discovered that Ruo was already 20 years and only at the 7th layer of the houtian realm, he wanted to give her the medicinal dans he had gained when entering the Lou clan but wasn''t sure if it would hurt her body. He mentioned it in passing but she didn''t seem concerned about it, she thought cultivating was too boring, her passion was in creating clothes and armor.


    Hartley tried to convince her otherwise, if she didn''t step into the xiantian realm she would only have the lifespan of a regular human, he would be alive long after she was gone, Hartley couldn''t have that, so he cut one of the medicinal dans in four equal pieces and told her to take one piece and cultivate in the morning for the next four days which she agreed to after a long debate.


    On the fifth night when Zhi Ruo returned, she brought back a package which she handed to Hartley and told him to have a look.


    It was a thin and flexible under-armor made of what seems to be leather.


    Zhi Ruo had finished the soft armor from the Giant Boar pelt, it was pretty comfortable and once he was wearing it, he hardly noticed it after that. Zhi Ruo went into her father''s room and came back with an old looking wooden long box, when she came over and placed it before Hartley, laughingly he said,


    "it''s ok Ruo, you don''t need to provide me with a dowry, I am already willing."


    She pouted, gave him a death stare and commanded "open it" as if she was a commandor and Hartley a lowly troop, when Hartley opened the long box there was a sword inside.


    it was about 2 foot long and the blade was a bright silver color, it appeared as if someone has been polishing the blade daily for the last 20 years, it had a sleek black hilt carved with designs for a better grip. Hartley wasn''t an expert in spirit weapons but from what he could tell it was at least a rank 2 spirit weapon.


    Hartley looked enquiringly into Zhi Ruo''s eyes, she said "it was my father''s, I want you to have it."


    Hartley took up the sword and swung it around a little bit, the sword had some weight but it was comfortable. After playing around with it like a kid with a new toy he placed it back into the wooden box and put it away in his space ring saying


    "Thank you Ruo" while bending at the waist respectfully.


    "Now we have to get married, since I have collected your dowry,"


    Hartley said while laughing, Zhi Ruo threw a piece of cloth that was lying around at his face, and with a pout turned to leave while saying


    "You are not allowed in my bedroom tonight."


    Hartley''s face went livid with fright.. sweat started rolling down his forehead...he ran behind her saying "Ruo I"m sorry for saying stupid things, it won''t happened again." she didn''t even turn around, she kept her nose pointed in the sky and hmpphh....


    On the sixth day Hartley returned to the the Stellar mountain, he was once again wearing his red robe, he wasn''t particularly on friendly terms with anyone inside the clan, so he made his way pass the crowds of busy disciples and up the mountain to his house and started cultivating... Tomorrow would be the seventh day, and that was the day of the life and death battle.

 24 The Battle Stage

    ON the day of the life and death battle, Hartley was sat cross legged on his bed surrounded by a sea of swirling blue lights with his eyes closed, he sensed that 80 meters away someone was headed towards him, after opening his eyes blue light illuminated the room and then disappeared suddenly, he got up and leisurely strolled outside and saw Lou Chingham making his way up the mountain.


    When Lou Chingham arrived, they exchanged greetings, Lou Chingham then started intimating to Hartley that Lou Lee was the grand child of a very respected elder and the seriousness of the situation.


    "If Lou Lee were to be killed by you the ramifications might be very serious, the winner of a life and death battle has the right to let the loser keep his life, for the right compensation ofcourse."


    Lou Chingham said all this with a pleasant and caring smile on his face, and was about to say something else when Hartley interjected,


    "and if he wins, he will let me keep my life?"


    Hartley looked Lou Chingham in his eyes with a pleasant smile plastered across his own face.


    Even though Hartley had chosen to return to the Lou Clan with Lou Chingham, he didn''t trust him. Hartley knew that if he wants to ensure his life in the short term, he had to be as strong as the elders of the Lou Clan.


    Knowing that it would be highly unlikely for an elder to intervene and save his life if he was in a life threatening situation on the battle stage, the only thing he could rely on was his own strength but the opposite to that scenario was true as well. He knew that if he was winning, an elder would certainly step in to preserve Lou Lee''s life or even try and kill him outright.


    Hartley wasn''t worried about the likes of Lou Chingham, he knew he could defeat the pot belly man. It was the others that he didn''t know about which slightly worried him..


    Lou Chingham''s smile turned to a gloomy frown and he replied


    "I know you have done things all on your own to this point, but sometimes discretion is the better part of valor."


    Again Hartely interjected with the same smile on his face,


    "So if someone wants to kill me, I can''t kill him? what logic does that make in a clan where strength is treasured?"


    Lou Chingham replied with a bit of irritation in his voice this time,


    "You are important to the Lou clan but if you make enemies of certain elders your path will be ten times as difficult as anyone else, the price of your medicine dans will be tripled, you might not be able to get any high rank martial scriptures or spirit weapons, if they didn''t try to kill you outright, the rocky road and the smooth road leads to the same destination why not choose the smooth road?"


    Hartley cupped his fist bowed from the waist and said "thanks for you advice." in a somewhat rude and dismissive manner.


    Lou Chingham swallowed down the words he was about to say and left the mountain with a gloomy depressing look on his face and made his way towards another mountain, he trekked all the way to the top where there was a person sitting cross legged on a prayer with his back facing Lou Chingham, before Lou Chingham had any chance to make any greeting, the person asked "What did he say?" without turning to face him.


    Lou Chingham looked at the floor nervously and replied,


    "he didn''t say yes and he didn''t say no either, but he is a stubborn youth, no telling where his limits are."


    The mysterious person balled up his right hand into a fist and spoke to no one in particular.


    "We lost 3 core disciples in that stunt at the restaurant, now if we lose another one, what will we tell the Patriarch when comes out of closed door practice? arggg" he gritted his teeth and shouted "LEAVE!"Lou Chingham immediately scrambled away...


    The mysterious elder then muttered under his breath,"he killed three of the strongest disciples on Violent mountain in minutes, that stupid grand-son of mine stands no chance."


    Hartley didn''t even put Lou Chingham''s speech in his eyes, as far as he was concerned that was the blabbering of a lackey, right now to Hartley, Lou Chingham was just a glorified message boy.


    The first three layers of the xiantian realm is known as the early phase, the next three realms is known as the middle phase and the last three is known as the late phase. Hartley wanted to break through to the middle phase as soon as possible, it would be even better, if he just conveniently broke through when he needed it, but that was wasn''t how the world worked, even though Hartley''s path was lot easier than others who had to take missions and earn clan points to get medicinal dans and high ranked beast cores to cultivate and still find time to gain enlightenment, all Hartley needed was enlightenment but he had to be patient, it was a process that couldn''t be rushed.


    Hartley headed for the main battle stage, he hasn''t been there before but when Lou Chingham was showing him around when he first entered, he had pointed it out to Hartley. As Hartley came round a bend he saw the battle stage.


    A huge circular elevated stage stood in the middle of a flat piece of land, the stage itself was hundreds of meters in size, it was designed so battles can be fought between close combat specialist and long rage specialist at the same time.


    What surprised Hartley was the crowd that had turned out, it was as if Lou Lee had made this battle known to the world. There were thousands of people milling about, there were some in blue robes, yellow robes and even some in red robes, there was an abundance of brown robe servant disciples preparing refreshments, and the white robed people were making sure everything was under control.


    Hartley never expected this, he casually made his way to the stage, holding his head high, back straight and his chest out. There wasn''t any commotion, people hardly knew him, he blended into the crowd and made his way towards the stage.


    Soon after Lou Lee made his way towards the stage with a solemn look, he greeted some people and waved at others, with his red robe fluttering in the gentle wind, he made his wayto the stage, when he saw Hartley the hate in his eyes boiled over, as he said,


    "good, you showed up, me and you sharing the same sky for even one more day is absolutely intolerable, today you shall be my stepping stone, you can be proud."


    An elder of short stature donning a fluttering black robe jumped onto the stage, this was an elder that Hartley had yet to meet, his name was Lou Pangie, he stood in the center of the stage with his black messy hair flowing down pass his shoulders, with his dark beady eyes he stared at Hartley and then Lou Lee saying.


    "These two have irreconcilable differences and are to partake in a battle of life and death on this very stage, the winner shall be the one left standing at the end, the winner has the right take the loser''s life or he can demand suitable COMPENSATION!"


    He enhanced his voice while saying the word compensation giving a slight glance at Hartley, Hartley was unconcerned..."Now take the stage" he instructed.


    Hartley not only had an advantage in speed and ease of cultivation, he also has one more advantage that no one else has, he does not succumb to the theory of gaining something with the right hand but losing something in the left hand.


    Which means, most people when they cultivate a powerful move, they are only able to use it limited amount of time in batlle or when they used it, they would be left vulnerable.


    From the battle logs that Hartley had read in the library, most battles consisted of experts fighting a struggle battle and then using their trump card at the end, snatching victory from defeat.


    Hartley could use all his moves at his leisure, there was no time limit on state of focus, he didn''t need to save mana, the star fragment power rushing through his heart was infinite....


    Elder Pangie looked at both fighters and said "FIGHT" before jumping down...

 25 Patriarch

    Even though Lou Lee was conceited, he was also thorough, he had tried to gather as much information as possible during these last 7 days.


    He assumed Hartley to be a 1st layer xanthian who had affinity to a mysterious element, his grandfather had also put a file together, but the information was still sketchy, Lou Lee''s grandfather couldn''t imagine why Hartley was so favored by the higher ups, he was approached by a messenger from higher up and given an assignment to put together a good team and lethally assault Hartley to test his prowess and it didn''t matter if he died in the process.


    He recruited a couple strong combat specialist and added three reliable core disciples to carry out the mission.....The team was wiped out in minutes and they still hadn''t gained any concrete information other than that he is fast and uses dual blades one short one long.


    The information about the team being wiped out was top secret, but Lou Lee was warned that Hartley was very strong. Lou Lee took heed of these warnings but he still couldn''t understand how a 1st layer xanthian without a proper elemental affinity could truly be of any threat to him.


    There were two people stood facing each other on the main battle stage of the Lou clan, both wore red robes, one had a set of donkey-like teeth protruding downwards from his upper jaw and green eyes contaminated with hate. the other had striking blues eyes and a tranquil look like he didn''t have a care in all of Aldora.


    Of course one was Hartley and the other Luo Lee.


    They faced each other at the center of the stage sporting serious expressions, Hartley armed with a silver bladed long sword in his right hand and a red sword about half the length in his left hand, Lou Lee had a dark colored halberd about 5 feet long, it had a sinister double axe blade and a long spear like tip.


    The halberd was a cross between a battle ax and a spear, it could control distance while still being effective in close quarters. Lou Lee retreated ten meters and slashed out wasting no time, he had been yearning for this match for the last seven days, the blade of his halberd went in a smooth motion from low-middle to high-middle in a uppercut-like slash.


    The halberd produced a flash of green forming wind blade about 6 feet tall in an arc shape like a bow fully drawn, the wind around the stage was whipped up into a frenzy as the blade cut into the floor of the stage and swiftly made its way towards hartley, the power of the 3rd layer xanthian expert was on full display as the crowd reacted with excitement.


    The wind element blade produced strong tornado-like gusts, spitting out dust and debris in all direction leaving random bits of rock strewn in its wake.


    Members of the audience erupted with noise and started to make bets as to how long the battle would last, some were adamant that this would be over in the first exchange and tried to quickly place their bets to cash in on a sure win.


    People and even elders in the crowd who didn''t know Hartley''s capabilities nodded their heads in approval and appreciation for the impressive first strike.


    Hartley squinted his eyes, set his jaw and stood there like a mountain, resembling a small boat in a turbulent deep ocean as his hair danced and wriggled in the wind, he entered state of focus and did a full 360 degrees turn, elegantly dodging to the right, avoiding the blade by inches while firmly moving through the wind.


    Lou Lee didn''t really expect that first strike to land, that was a set up for his second strike, which was a overhead strike from high-middle to low-middle chopping down in a straight line leaving blurry green after images of the weapon..... he had dashed forward immediately after his first strike was completed, the halberd in his hands was glowing bright green as it descended intending to split Hartley in two like firewood on the chopping block.


    There were ooohs and aaahs throughout the crowd as they witnessed Luo Lee smoothly transition from his first strike to his second, it was an elegant display, almost resembling an artistic ballet.


    Hartley now had a little respect for Luo Lee''s skill...But only a little...


    Hartley used minute movement dodging technique to slip back to the left, the blade passed so close to Hartley that the hairs on his arm were shaved off, but it was all in his calculations.


    Hartley''s counter move was to calmly stab his silver blade in his right hand directly at the face of Lou Lee. Lou Lee''s eyes squinted in concentration as he moved his head to the right making the sword whizz over his left shoulder, this was also a set up strike by Hartley and Luo Lee had fallen into his trap, hook line and sinker.


    With a sudden movement Hartley calmly flicked his wrist to the left and the flat of the silver blade slapped the lower jaw of Luo Lee with a Powww! that echoed out with the distinct sound of metal meeting skin.


    A collection of teeth clattered out of Luo Lee''s mouth and spilled in all directions like a handful of corn thrown to the chickens, he was thrown rag-doll style 5 meters to the left with a bloody mouth, momentarily losing control of his halberd.


    Lou Lee scrambled around trying to regain his composure, the pain of a dozen teeth being extracted at once caused the youth to become frantic but there was a shadow beside him getting bigger and bigger, the flabbergasted Lou Lee looked up just in time to see Hartley dropping down 10 meters from the sky with his silver sword pointing downwards while his shadow on the ground expanded.


    Blocking out his pain Luo Lee managed to just scramble back enough when Boom! The sword of Hartley touched the ground and rocks and debris exploded 10 meters upwards and outwards in a circular pattern like a blooming flower.


    Lou Lee wasn''t caught directly but was pushed further back by the splash damage with panic in his eyes and dust in his mouth.


    The last strike from Hartley had produced a thick dust curtain, Luo Lee was stumbling back when Hartley came through the curtain of dust as neatly as if he had just exited a tent.


    Lou Lee reversed the grip on his halberd preparing a defensive strike when something strange happened, dust flew up and the stage shook once violently making the dust swirl upwards then Lou Lee''s body was as heavy as lead, he could hardly lift the halberd.


    Hartley had activated a 15x gravity field with a radius of 5 meters around his body when he was in range of Lou Lee, the panic stricken Lou Lee was trying to strike but seemed like the was moving in quick sand, never one to miss an opportunity, Hartley crouched low and mercilessly flourished a smooth strike with his red short sword in his left hand from low to mid-left, fwoosh, there was a trail of blood as Lou Lee right leg flew into the crowd like a missile, knocking over a small crowd of disciples.


    An elder situated in the stunned crowd screamed "save the leg, save the leg, it can be reattached as long as it is done within a day."


    Obviously he had forgotten this was a battle to the death.


    Lou Lee cried out in pain with his bloody mouth and arduously used his halberd as a crutch to support his weight hopping backwards in pain and panic, he didn''t get far when Hartley''s gleaming silver blade in his right hand sent another beautiful flourishing strike from low to mid-right....


    Lou Lee''s other leg flew out into the crowd on the other side of the stage, taking out another group of disciples. The quiet crowd gasped in shock, many with their mouths hanging open.


    Lou Lee fell with a plop, writhing and screaming in agony, Hartley moved forward to strike again but there power fluctuations coming from his back, a fist glowing white leaving vapor trails that resembled a steaming kettle approached breaking the sound barrier, as the fist extended there where white halos wrapped around the hand like steel bangles from elbow to wrist, each halo bigger than the one behind it.


    A sonic boom sounded, Hartley quickly activated his blue star essence as an armor and braced himself, the sneak attack struck his back sending him skidding pass the downed Lou Lee along the stage, Hartley stabbed his silver sword into the ground leaving a trail of yellow sparks as he came to a stop 20 meters later.


    There in front of the prone body of Luo Lee stood the elder Lou Pangie, with a twisted face he shouted


    "you vicious animal, your blood thirst knows no bound, someone has to keep you in check."


    Hartley stared at the elder, this was not out of his expectation, but Hartley thought to himself "so this is the power of a 5th layer xanthian."


    Hartley was feeling pain right through his upper body even though his blue star essence armor and his soft under-armor had negated most of the hit, it was still hurting like crazy.


    Elder Pangie shot towards Hartley''s position again, with no weapons in hand he wanted to rip Hartley apart with his bare hands, when elder Pangie was ten meters away Hartley swung out an extravagant strike with his silver sword, everyone witnessing his actions thought Hartley had lost his mind in fear, he was bound to get one hit killed when he finished the strike and left himself wide open.


    Elder Pangie eyes brightened in glee as he saw what can only be described as an inexperience youngster losing his mind, he continued forward knowing he would arrive after the strike, this was like a lobster jumping into a boiling pot of water and then jumping out onto a platter, serving himself up as a delicacy. "Too easy"


    Midway through his strike, Hartley''s sword started emitting a strong blue aura, elder Pangie still wasn''t worried as he moved forward...until.... something weird happened, Elder Pangie face contorted with disbelief and panic, he had lost control of body as it shot forward faster into the path of the strike..what the fuck..


    Hartley had purposely executed his strike early causing Elder Pangie to drop his guard and start salivating with glee then he used one the moves he hardly used in battle, GRAVITY ATTRACT. It made Elder Pangie body shoot into his strike, his sword connected right above the hip of the elder and with an explosion of sparks, the silver sword was momentarily stopped by a high rank armor but it still went 3 inches deep into the elder''s hip.


    Lou Pangie screamed in pain as blood gushed from the wound, it wasn''t enough to kill him but it was enough to frighten him to death.


    With worry in his eyes the elder grabbed his wounded hip and hopped backwards a couple of times grabbing Lou Lee from behind, gripping under his armpits and hopping backwards in escape..


    Hartley shouted


    "me and you spending another day under the same sky is intolerable"


    He threw out two throwing knives with gravity repel. 2 black lights approached the fleeing duo rippling the air, one aimed at the elder and the other aimed at Lou Lee, the elder activated a white steaming armor which rippled like water, leaving vapor trails dancing around his body.


    Lou Pangie punched out towards the knife approaching Lou Lee who was in shock and screaming out his lungs this whole time.


    The knife which hit the elders white armor shattered leaving circular water like ripples, the other knife was shattered in front of Lou Lee by the elder''s punch but there was a shower of black fragments created which were still under the influence of gravity repel, they continued on in Lou Lee direction, one small piece pierced through his left eye making him scream louder than he had ever screamed, the other piece went through his neck splashing blood on the elders armor and face.


    Luo Lee who has been screaming for the last five minutes, was finally quiet. The elder disappeared off stage with his grandson''s dead body. Stunned silence!! Then a voice sounded as if from nowhere and at the same it was everywhere , the sky darkened, it was like all sounds in this entire world muted, The voice stated "Hartley come and see me." All elders in the surroundings dropped to their knees and saluted to the distant horizon "Patriarch"

 26 A western name

    The crowd slowly dispersed in hushed whispers, while propping their necks to the see the back of Hartley leaving the area, no one around really knew who Hartley was, they paid attention to the handsome youth who had just defeated a 3rd layer xiantian and his grand-dad who was a 5th layer xiantian, in the eyes of the shocked disciples, Hartley appeared to be only a normal handsome youth who could pull of miracles in battle.


    One person had her eyes glued to the back of the youth, she was Zhang Shisu, and she knew the altercation was because she looked favorably towards the handsome youth and Lou Lee could tell.


    Even though she wasn''t interested in Lou Lee, experts who had some attainments always seemed to be possessive towards the females in the clan, they would act as if they owned the females they fancied, even if the feelings were not reciprocated.


    Zhang Shisu knew this and had always kept a neutral tone when dealing with such disciples in order to not send out any unwanted signals but it was the opposite when she was dealing with Hartley, somehow her interest in him always manifested itself in her behavior, to her disappointment, he never seemed to have the same interest even though he greeted her as Sister Shisu on the occasions they met.


    At first she was hoping that Lou Lee would spare his life, but now she was happy, not only was he alive but he had gotten rid of Lou Lee, sort of like killing 2 birds with 1 stone. A wry smile appeared on her face as she drifted from the area with the other disciples.


    Lou Pangie made his way back to the Violet mountain with his grand-son carcass, he had rage in his eyes and tears falling down his cheeks, he inwardly swore an oath that his grandson will be avenged at all cost.


    His beloved son had died fighting for the clan and the only thing left was his gran-child. He had doted on the boy since young and allowed the boy to run rampant as one of the young lords of the clan. He didn''t care what Lou Lee had done, he would protect him with his own life, paying compensation when needed and taking lives when called for.


    As he went up the mountain he couldn''t help but sob loudly like a grieving widow, his grandson''s corpse was not even intact, his legs were missing and in his hasty retreat he didn''t have time to locate them, there was a bloody hole where his left eye used to be and his skin was pale blue from all the blood loss.


    His beloved Lou Lee had crossed over to the other side in absolute agony.


    After the incident at the Dragon Stew Restaurant he had wanted to stop the duel before it happened, but Lou Lee had broadcasted it all over the clan, if he had backed out, he would have been a laughing stock, but if he lost and paid some compensation, the situation could be salvaged, he had no choice but to try and intimidate Hartley before the duel but he had no idea where Hartley was and the youth only turned up right before the duel so he sent Lou Chingham to have a talk with him, "that worthless bastard" he thought, he couldn''t help but be cross at Lou Chingham as well.


    As he entered his courtyard all kinds of plans of revenge were swirling in his head, he was imagining the ways he was going to slice Hartley while keeping him alive, but what Lou Pangie didn''t know was, that he himself would be dead before the morning bells rang at first light.


    Hartley had returned to his courtyard after the duel, the elders had instructed him to get washed up and prepare to go and meet the Patriarch, Hartley knew little about the patriarch, when he projected his voice at the battle stage it gave Hartley a scared feeling, it was the feeling of being insignificant against someone who had power to destroy the whole world.


    Hartley washed up and put on a new robe then sat crossed legged analyzing his performance on the battle stage, he was satisfied with his performance against Lou Lee, but he was careless letting himself get sneaked attacked when he was expecting a sneak attack. He had wanted to finish Lou Lee quickly and had diverted all his concentration to do so, he was lucky Lou Pangie didn''t come at him with a weapon, his only advantage was that no one could read his power level, so because he just turned up a month ago everyone was assuming he was a 1st layer xiantian just starting out.


    He had to make adjustments to keep aware of his surroundings even when he was going all out against a single opponent in front of him. After he processed the events of the day he started to cultivate his blue star energy again, in his daintan there was a miniature Hartley sitting cross legged with eyes closed and blue aura surrounding his little body, he was still on a flat piece of grass land 120 kilometers, the only difference was now there were trees randomly growing, there was now a little pond at the far end and the grass looked more lush and green. Hartley''s was approaching that line between 3rd layer and 4th layer xiantian, again he could feel like he was at that thin line but couldn''t step across.


    A couple hours later two people approached Hartley''s courtyard, Hartley opened his eyes with the usual blue glow and went out to meet them. These were elders he hasn''t met before, but in reality he had met one of these elders before he just didn''t remember because it was so long ago. Both elders wore black robes with hoods obscuring their faces, They asked if he was ready, he nodded and they led the way.


    They came down Stellar mountain and went pass all the habitable regions in the clan headed for the far end of the clan grounds which looked like a wilderness, after travelling for a couple more hours they reached a mid-sized mountain in the middle of nowhere, there were no buildings, outposts or guards here, it was so far away from the main part, it actually seems like they had left the Lou clan.


    "Here. Go up"


    said one of the elders as they pointed him towards a winding dirt track that led towards the top of the mountain.


    On the dirt track, there were overgrowth the size of a human man on both sides, big trees blocked out direct sunlight, creating sporadic splotches of light mingled in shadows showing the path ahead.


    Hartley noticed there were many thorny bushes growing that only had black roses blooming, there were no green leaves around the roses, only thorns and stems which made them stand out as an amazing spectacle, if one paid close attention, these roses were the insignias on the robes of all Lou clan members.


    After half an hour Hartley reached the top and among trees there was a leveled piece of land with a humble old wooden cabin built near a spring, there were frogs croaking and birds chirping, you could hear the sound of the leaves as the trees swayed from side to side in the wind, overall it was a very calming atmosphere.


    When Hartley reached the door of the cabin, the door swung open and in the cabin there was an old man with no aura sitting on a prayer mat, he was very thin and could be described as skin and bones, he was not very tall either, he had a head full of white hair and wrinkles which seemed to be carved with the knife a sculptor decorated his sagging skin.


    He opened his lively brown eyes jumped up and said


    "Come in, I''ve made some tea"


    there were only a table, two chairs and a prayer mat inside the cabin, the simple wooden brown table had matching color chairs, on the table in the middle of the cabin were a solitary teapot with steam coming out of its snout, flanked by two ceramic cups which were empty.


    As Hartley stepped in, the old man smiled and said "you''ve grown."


    Hartley respectfully bowed and said "this one greets the elder" the old man said "no need for that, just call me Patriarch Lou" Hartley nodded as the old man instructed "sit."


    They sat down facing each other in silence the old man sipped his tea and a look of bliss appeared on his face, Hartley also sipped his tea, it had a soothing aroma and a sweet smooth taste.


    "You must really hate the Lou clan"


    said the old man suddenly,


    Hartley stayed quiet for while then answered,


    "If you hate unfairness, you will hate the Lou clan, not even in a death battle can one find fairness in the Lou clan, so the answer to that question is simple."


    The old man sighed, he stretched out his feeble looking right hand to the side like his fingers were wrapped around someone''s neck, he then said


    "The rules of the Lou clan has been passed down for countless centuries, one cannot break them as he pleases."


    Hartley could hear a faint voice pleading and begging for forgiveness, the voice sounded familiar, it was the voice Lou Pangie, and then the old man twisted his hand, there was an audible crick sound and the voice went silent.....


    With thoughts of vengeance swirling through his mind, Lou Pangie, whose face seem to have two permanent tear drops falling, was sitting in his court yard beside the body of his grandson wrapped in white sheets, suddenly the void opened up in front of him and a hand reached out and grabbed his neck like a vice-grip around a bolt, he heard the voice of the patriarch saying something about rules but he was so frighten that he couldn''t clearly make out what was being said, in his panic all he could do was beg for his dog of a life, but begging was futile, he was dead seconds later.....


    Hartley was scared out of wits as well, even though he hadn''t seen what happened he could make an educated guess, sweat ran down his back.


    The old man sighed for a long time, then said


    "You remind me of your father so much.....Have you ever wondered why your name is so different from everybody else''s?"


    Hartley had a childhood memory of his uncle saying his name was so western, but he didn''t know what that meant, and still didn''t know what that means.

 27 Origins

    "There is a myth about a place that exists far far away from the Aldora continent, it was said that if one left this continent and headed in a western direction for 100 years they would get a glimpse of this place and even after glimpsing it.


    It would take another 100 years to step foot on it. That myth has died down now, most people living today would not have even have heard of it, in fact me and your Uncle Shuan are probably the last persons alive who knows of this myth.


    The old timers before me said that place is called Diyu and it is on a higher plane than the mortal world, people there were born as xiantians or saints. It is said that no one from the mortal world has ever actually met someone from Diyu, but I have! your father and my brother died for that person, and that person gave you your name, when you were born she insisted on that name for you." said the old man with a melancholic look on his face.


    CLANK!


    Hartley fell off the chair he was sitting on with his mouth wide open, unable to speak. Hartley didn''t believe a single word said by the old man, Hartley thought this was a ploy by the old man to brainwash and use him.


    Patriarch Lou looked at Hartley and with a long sigh, again he started to speak.


    "Your mother''s name is Gwen and she was from a large sect in Diyu called the Time Keepers, the direct decedents of the Time Keepers was affiliated with no elements, their affinity was with time itself, as I look at you I can see you also have no affinity with the elements, so maybe you can right now, or maybe in the future, be able to affect time, that is because of your mother''s blood running through your veins."


    Hartley''s head almost exploded, sweat running and dripping off his forehead like he had just had a long night session with Zhi Ruo. Hartley was wondering if the old man could notice the blue star fragment in his chest, but apparently he couldn''t and with Hartley hiding his aura no one could, not even a half step saint realm expert like Patriarch Lou.


    Hartley''s mind was running a thousand thoughts per second, wasn''t it the blue star fragment that gave him power over time? now he wasn''t so sure, when he first got the blue star gravity sutra book, it did say, only someone naturally talented could cultivate it, was he naturally talented? or was it his bloodline?


    The patriarch then told Hartley the name of his father, it was Lou Quin and the name of his grandfather was Lou Chu, he said he wasn''t going to tell him anymore right now, because he would be in danger, this had to be kept an absolute secret because the people from the Time Keepers sect would kill him on sight if they got wind of his origins, not only him maybe the entire clan, even though the likelihood of the Time Keepers sect coming back to the mortal plane was extremely low.


    What the patriarch told Hartley was the absolute truth, but he didn''t tell him this from the good of his heart, he told him because he would need Hartley''s strength in the upcoming years if Hartley developed time manipulation to a decent level.


    The Patriarch had seen the people who came looking for Hartley''s mother that time, and no one in the mortal realm could exchange one blow with them.


    They could cast a domain and within that domain they could, pause, slow down, and rewind time. Some could stop time in their domain, cultivate for years inside it and come out twice as strong as they were a second ago.


    The patriarch had a flashback of a demonstration Hartley''s mom gave him, they were casually chatting and the next thing he knew, she was tapping on his right shoulder, when one fought against someone with the power over time, they would not be aware that time was being manipulated, he shuddered just thinking about it, you wouldn''t even know how you died when battling those guys.


    Though the patriarch didn''t think Hartley could get to the level of those guys because he had mixed blood.


    Patriarch Lou had calculated this long ago, he had arranged for Hartley to be abandoned at the remote mountain just in case the Time Keeper sect learned of his existence and came looking for him, this would ensure that they wouldn''t find him in the Lou clan, but kept him near enough that if he developed to be as powerful as his mother, he could be of some benefit to the Lou clan.


    The patriarch would need him in the future so he decided to gamble and bring him in closer now. " That''s why your name is so unique" said the harmless looking old man before he sent Hartley away.


    Hartley left the Patriarch''s mountain with more questions than answers, Hartley had no memory of his parents, so he couldn''t feel sad for them, it was as if they were things unrelated to his reality, he felt guilty because right now he still couldn''t feel anything for them.


    Hartley had always depended on himself, he had had no teachers or guides on his short journey. When he was fourteen and fighting regular battles with the fierce beasts in the nameless back mountain, he had noticed that he hadn''t developed any elemental affinity but he had pushed the thought aside thinking it was because he had no one to teach him, it turned out his origins were special but Hartley could take no solace from this, he still wished he was a normal kid doing normal things.


    By the time Hartley returned to his courtyard it was already dark, he decided to spend the night in the clan and go see Zhi Ruo tomorrow. Hartley calmed his emotions and sat cross legged and began to cultivate again but this time he would concentrate on time, the story Patriarch had told him was convincing but he still had a head full of doubts.


    The last time Hartley was at the thin line between sub-realms he had been pushed over the edge by the stimulation of the assassination attempt at the inn...


    In Hartleys daintan there was a mini version of himself sitting crossed legged in concentration, he was covered in blue aura, this time it was not still and calm as it usually was, it was writhing and roiling around his body like a giant snake trying to constrict his movements.


    In the outside world the blue aura was behaving in the same manner sending occasional flashes of blue throughout the room, his muscles bulged and moved around like there were a dozen snakes slithering under his skin, it looked quite painful but Hartley''s face was peaceful and serene, under the constant bulging and moving of the blue aura through his body, a couple hours later his physical body had passed the threshold of a 2nd layer xiantian.


    Hartley hadn''t noticed the upgrade of his physical strength because he was on to something else. This feeling..... He had felt it before in the inn. Time was timeless, again there was a gravity pulse coming from his body which synchronized with his heart beat.


    Badum Badum.


    Hartley could hear his own heart beating as loud as a drum beating in his ears and everything in the room floated a meter off the floor.


    Badum Badum....


    it was like the blue star fragment was trying to combine with his blood, after another hourHartley opened his eyes which were shining like a lantern in the dark room, everything was frozen, the dust particles floating around froze in place and every piece of furniture was floating a meter off the floor frozen in suspended animation. The color was drained from the room leaving everythinga monochrome tone, the room looked like a piece of art drawn only in black and white.


    Even though Hartley was lucid and his thoughts were in real time, he couldn''t move his body, he fought to move his right hand and when it started to move, his nose started to bleed, he was frightened and tried to stand up with all his might, when he finally stood up, a line of blood flowed down his nose and onto his upper lip, it then dripped in slow motion towards the floor.


    The droplet of blood falling to the floor was the only thing moving in the room.


    When the drop of blood finally splashed against the floor, everything crashed to the floor and Hartley had a massive headache and passed out immediately.

 28 4th Layer

    The sweet sounds of birds chirping.....


    The trees and shrubbery dancing back and forth rhythmically in the gently wind.....


    The sun at its highest point in the sky producing shortened shadows...


    People milling about with their daily duties, the traders traded, the workers worked....


    The rivers fed into the oceans which produced waves which were akin to a living being with its own temper....


    Armies moved forward to engage in battle, while healers healed the wounded....


    The fierce beasts fought for dominance over their territory in the wilderness...


    Lovers laid together to produce the next generation....


    The world continued to rotate around the sun and moon, life continued at full speed because time would stand still for no man....well...except one.....


    Hartely had awoken at mid-day, his headache had died down and there was dried blood making a short slim track from his left nostril to his upper lip. He remembered what had happened before he passed out the night before and had been experimenting with the feeling for an hour now.


    He had finally made that step across the thin line to be a 4th layer xiantian.


    Hartley could make the world around him go monochrome at will for 2 seconds and then it would disappear, he had to wait another 10 seconds before he could cast it again but the things he could do in that 2 seconds got him excited.


    He now had a gravity field which was 300 meters in radius around him, his physical body was now a 2nd layer xiantian, his star fist maxed out at level five but his star feet movement technique which he didn''t use too much, was only at the fourth level.


    In experiment Hartley tried to activate a gravity field only in the room and then turn the room monochrome, but it didn''t work, or vice versa if he applied a gravity field, he could not turn the room monochrome. What Hartley was ignorant about was that this move that he called monochrome was in fact the buddings of the domain that the Patriarch had seen all those years ago.


    This seed of a domain that Hartley had cultivated was only a 15 meters radius dome with him in the center, anyone caught in his domain, time would pause for them without their knowledge for a duration of two seconds.


    Hartley could freely move around in there and where ever Hartley popped up in that dome, to the outside viewer it would seem like he had maneuvered at the speed of light without their knowledge.


    Hartley went out and captured two dozen flies and brought them back inside his room, he scattered them around the room, then activated monochrome... the color bled from the world around him, and the room burst into vivid black and white detail, he stepped off using star feet movement technique.


    Every time the sole of Hartley''s foot touch the ground there was blue sparks created, he moved around as quick as he could, using his throwing knife to cut the wings off the flies that were frozen in position with their wings stationary, when the world regained its color, fifteen flies dropped to the floor squirming around and nine flies were still roaming around without a care in the world.


    Hartley was a bit disappointed, he had neglected his star feet technique in favor of gravity steps, but gravity steps could only move in a straight line, to maneuver around the room and get to all the flies he had to use star feet movement, he had to use it more to get it to level five.


    The difference between a early phase xiantian and a middle phase xiantian were immense, now Hartley could feel power surging through his body and he had also opened another ten pages in the blue star gravity sutra book.


    The book instructed him how to get his physical body stronger by using blue star essence to cultivate his muscles and bones, he also learned how to manipulate gravity around his body without activating a gravity field so he could move on vertical surfaces as if it was level ground and extend his vertical jump distance then hover in the air for a couple seconds.


    Hartley washed up and walked down the Stellar mountain with long shadows at his back, it was evening and he had been cooped up for the whole day, he stopped by at the three story building at the foot of the mountain and went to the second floor to have a look if any new missions were posted on the board.


    Zhang Shisu wearing a red dress and her hair loose approached him and he greeted her as Sister Shisu, she blushed and greeted him politely, and began to ask where he went when he left the clan why he didn''t even come back at nights, now Hartley had a awkward blush on his face as he tried to explain where he was and what he was doing at night...


    He was saved by elder Lou Chingham who had entered the room with a stiff look on his face and told Hartley that elder Lou Chang wanted to have a meeting with him on the third floor.


    Hartley said his good byes to Zhang Shisu and left with Lou Chingham, Lou Chingham kept quiet and had a plastic smile plastered to his face for the whole journey.


    Lou Chingham assumed that Hartley had killed Lou Pangie and he was scared shitless, he was the first to discover Lou Pangie''s dead body, Lou Pangie had his neck twisted to the back with blood running down the side of his lips, the scary thing was the fright and shock that was pasted onto Lou Pangie''s face, there was a horrible smell when they tried to move his body because Lou Pangie had made a horrible mess in his robe.


    The overbearing Lou Pangie had not died with a shred of dignity.


    Lou Chingham was wary of Hartley''s feelings towards him because he was the one Lou Pangie had sent to intimidate Hartley. They reached an office on the third floor and Lou Chingham breathed a sigh of relief as he showed him in.

 29 Bandit Hunting

    Sat in a luxurious looking padded chair, Lou Chang was behind a long wooden desk as Hartley and Lou Chingham entered the office, all three exchanged greetings then Lou Chang invited them sit on a pair of padded chairs on the other side of the desk while he had his head down shuffling through some parchments on the desk.


    Lou Chang found the one he was looking for then got straight to the point and began to speak.


    "Hartley there are four mountains with core disciples stationed, they are Stella mountain, Violet mountain, Archane mountain and Cyclops mountain. Each year there is a set amount of missions assigned to each set of core disciples to complete."


    He shuffled through a few more parchment and continued without lifting his head.


    "These missions are usually only done by a team of core disciples assigned to a certain mountain, we currently have no missions assigned to the Stellar mountain but Violet mountain is short handed at the moment so they have requested three of ours to join them and complete their assignment."


    Lou Chang finally lifted his head to see if Hartley had any questions, Hartley stayed quiet so he continued.


    "Under the leadership of of Lou Tai from the violet mountain you are to link up with two fellow Stella mountain disciples. You, Lou Rylai and Lou Ang will execute an eradication mission, a week from now you will link up with them at an inn situated in the Cosmos region on the road to the Calabar Province, there you will need to seek and destroy a bandit gang that has been wreaking havoc against businesses of the Waltham province. This mission should be simple enough, We usually complete these missions by ourselves to get more resources for our mountain but this time we will split the proceeds and clan points, any questions?"


    Hartley shook his head, he understood the mission.


    "Then that''s it, and take care" Lou Chang finished then went back to fiddling with the parchments spread across his desk.


    Hartley left the building and rented another horse at the stable, he had to pay 10 gold for the last one he rented because he lost it on his first date which he paid without batting an eyelid surprising the stable boys.


    Hartley left the Lou clan thinking it was time he bought his own house away from the Lou clan, he still had a lot of sell-able items in his space ring, he was planning on checking out house prices.


    Hartley reached the armory store just as Zhi Ruo was closing down business for the night, he tied the horse to a wooden post dismounted and made his way inside, when he entered there was no one present but Zhi Ruo who was in the back, he went up to the counter and shouted "delivery!"


    Zhi Ruo heard him and quickly came out, she feigned anger when she saw him, pouted and said


    "you still remember me, where have you been? wasn''t your death match yesterday?"


    Hartley smiled and said "I''m sorry Ruo but something came up and I couldn''t make it back, did you miss me?" She didn''t answer but she came from around the counter and began to thoroughly check his body for injuries, when she discovered none she breathed a sigh of relief, she had thought something had happened to him when he didn''t return yesterday and it had been weighing on her mind, she hugged him and said


    "I''m glad you are ok, I was worried."


    Hartley planted a tender kiss on her forehead and said "sorry I didn''t comeback yesterday" He then proceeded to tell her what happened...


    Twenty miles from the central regions of the Waltham province, in a humble two bedroom house isolated from any neighbors. There were two people in a bedroom.


    One spouse was complaining to the other,


    "why can''t we do it Ruo?"


    Hartley complained with a belly full of grievances,


    "I told you, during a certain time of the month a woman''s body is not well" Zhi Ruo said while giving him the death stare, "just go to bed" after hearing this for what must have been the hundredth time Hartley was still confused.


    "What''s wrong with your body Ruo? are you injured? did you get into a fight with someone? who''s been bullying you?"


    Hartley machined gunned a plethora of questions in one breath, With a scalding blush on her face Zhi Ruo replied


    "its ladies'' stuff, Hartley please just leave it at that"


    Hartley frowned and got a little bit closer, touching her shoulders tenderly then saying


    "come on, let me just put in the tip just one time"


    Zhi Ruo''s face flashed with anger and she rolled around in the bed and delivered a kick to Hartley''s pelvis sending him rolling out of the bed with a look of surprise, he crashed onto the floor and sprawled out with his modesty exposed to the night air.


    Zhi Ruo then angrily said "either come to bed and sleep or stay there and play with your self for the rest of the night!"


    With a snort she turned back around and covered herself with the soft sweet smelling fur.


    Hartley felt wronged, he crawled back into bed keeping a clear distance between himself and Ruo and fell asleep. In the morning when Zhi Ruo went to make the breakfast, Hartley just sat there hugging his knees, eyes red with puffy bags under them looking like a poodle who had been beaten by its evil owner.


    Ruo saw this when she came in with the food, she sighed..... went over and kissed him on his forehead saying,


    "Hartley you wouldn''t know this because you haven''t lived with a woman before, at a certain time of the month every woman goes through lady stuff and it makes them moody, you know I love you please forgive me for last night."


    Harley''s face brightened and he said "Ruo why can''t you tell me about this lady stuff?"


    Ruo''s face blushed as she ordered "EAT!"


    Hartley did not continue to argue this time...


    The days came and went and these days Hartley would ask if Zhi Ruo had any lady stuff before he would climb into bed, everything soon went back to normal, Hartley informed Ruo about his plans to buy a house somewhere remote, he asked her to ask around because he had to take care of his mission in a couple days, he gave her every thing of value in his space ring for her to keep and start selling, except for the medicinal dans he had to save those for her, she had made a lot of improvement and was now approaching the 8th layer of the houtian realm, with these pills she should be able to reach the peak of the houtian realm before she reached 22 years old.


    Hartley wasn''t worried anymore.


    The day quickly came for Hartley to leave, this was his first time really leaving the Waltham province, he used the horse he rented started his journey on the long road to the Cosmos regions.

 30 The Cosmos region

    The Cosmos region was a no man''s land, situated geographically between the Waltham province and the Calabar province, neither province wished to pump money into this rural region which was devoid of any natural resources and was rife with random fierce-beast attacks all year round.


    The cost in money and man power to make it safe for people to live was too great and the returns too little.


    Because of this, it has become a haven for criminals. The people wanted for serious crimes in either province will most likely be found here and over time this place developed into a small town in its own right, there was a well built two story inn and a variety of small shops randomly scattered around and crude huts or tents could be seen off in the distance.


    The main road used by citizen and merchants to travel between Calabar province and Waltham province was only 5 or 6 miles away, so this place was the unofficial headquarters for bandit activity in the region.


    Bandits would usually rob small timers or innocent travelers and leave the big merchants or people who look like they might have some kind of esteemed background, the backlash if they overstepped their mark with these people would certainly be heavy handed.


    The Bandits operating in the region knew that if either province dispatched experts to suppress them, it would cause lengthy disruptions to their operations or even losses of lives to them and their comrades so there was an unannounced and unofficial understanding between officials from both provinces and the undesirables in the cosmos region.... until now.


    Recently merchants traveling on the main road have been attacked and killed or have gone missing along with their goods worth thousands of gold. After a spate of incidences like these the Baron of the province had ordered missions with hefty rewards for the eradication and dismantling of the bandit operation.


    It was spiraling into a big issue because the people being robbed and killed were big contributors to the economy of the Waltham province, merchants had to be confident that the people they are paying taxes to can safeguard their lives and their investments or they would start new business ventures in other parts of the region where they felt safer.


    The Baron knew that if the merchants stopped doing business or relocated to somewhere else it would leave a economic hole to be refilled by other merchants, but convincing new merchants to start businesses would be impossible if the old ones were killed at will by lawless bandits en-route to delivering their goods and services.


    Merchants were greedy people by nature but even greedy people needed their lives more than money, so they would try to find a place where they could keep both their lives and their money....


    There was a black haired youth about 1.8 meters tall making his way towards the Cosmos regions, his hair was tied backwith a simple piece of string, he wore grey loose robes looking neither haughty nor thrifty.


    On a trail flattened by regular foot traffic with the trees on both sides swimming in dense foliage that could hide a possible ambush, the youth was mounted on a black horse as it canteredat a moderate pace moving northwards.


    The sun had just dipped behind the horizon bringing a hint of darkness to the already gloomy region but he was almost at his destination.


    Hartley had dealt with several small fries trying to rob him of his possessions on his journey, but they had been dispatched easily enough.


    Hartley finally pulled up to the make-shift town which was very lively. Even at this early hour drunken men staggered through the street ranting at passing people, shady characters were trying to fence merchandise that were obviously stolen and random fights broke out between several people making the ambient sounds of the make-shift town a chaotic mix of screaming and arguing happening everywhere.


    This was a lawless town and the law of the fittest was in full effect. In this part of the world only the bones of a civilized community existed. Trash heaps and human waste were left out in the open resulting in a foul odor dancing and wafting through the entire town as dirtied women stood in alley ways offering their services to one and all seeming to not notice the stench.


    Hartley brought his horse around the back to a shed camouflaging itself as a stable and paid a couple copper coins for it to be brushed and fed.


    He then made his way into the inn that had a bar serving drinks and food on the first floor, it was only half full but the boisterous atmosphere would put plenty of full bars to shame, men were laughing and drinking with women sitting on their laps, the smell of the liquor hit the senses like a hammer when walked fully in.


    Hartley made his way over to a table and before he could sit someone shouted


    "boy come over here and sit on my lap, such a good looking youth. Are you lost? well come and tell uncle all about it."


    A burly middle aged man sat about ten meters away with a sinister grin on his face accompanied by three companions eyed Hartley up and down while licking his lips as if he was about to devour a delicacy.


    These really were the deviants of society, a place where one could say something as shameless as this and no one would bat an eyelid was truly an eye opener.


    Hartley flashed over in front of the burly middle age man, who in fright let go of the mug he was drinking from, before the mug could crash to pieces against the floor, the top half of his head was separated and sailed away with a line of blood pursuing it, a silver flash had sliced from just below his eyes cleanly through to the back of his head.


    Remnants of the man''s brain splashed across the table, onto the man''s companions and in their cups. The inn suddenly went quiet as all eyes turned to stare at the handsome youth.


    Hartley stood there with a long silver sword in his right hand pointed to the floor with a line of bright red blood running down to the tip then fell to the floor drip by drip.


    The three men at the table scrambled backwards out of their chairs, eyes bulging with a their faces full of blood and brain fluid but before they could make their escape, they were interrupted by a shout from Hartley.


    "You two" he said as he pointed at the men, "clean this mess up" and then pointed at the third man he said "you get rid of his body."


    One man struggled away with the decapitated body while the other two scrambled to get rid of the blood.


    Hartley flashed the excess blood from his sword and placed it in his space ring then went and sat down in a chair at a table like nothing had happened, the lively atmosphere returned to the inn immediately, these scenes were nothing new to the people who resided here.

 31 The meeting

    After sitting in the raucous inn for a while, a a well built man aged about 25 wearing a blue robe approached and sat in front of him without any greeting, he smiled with perfect symmetrical white teeth.


    The man who was a head taller than Hartley had dark short hair and eyes as dark as a pool of black ink,


    "I am Lou Tai and I''m in charge of this mission," he said and cupped his fist, he then showed a token provided by the clan signifying a core disciple.


    Hartley cupped his fists and then produced his own.


    "The others are already upstairs we are having a meeting, you are the last one to arrive, let''s go ." He then led the way and Hartley followed.


    In a spacious double room on the second floor of the inn which had two beds positioned next to the opposing walls,there were already three occupants inside patiently awaiting the arrival of the last members of the team.


    The door opened with a long squeak shattering the silence of the room as Hartley entered in front of Lou Tai.


    Lou Ang and Lou Rylai who were both core disciples of the Stellar mountainwere sat quietly on the bed at the right side of the room a couple meters away from each other gazing in different directions, on the bed to the left , sitting comfortablewas Qin Li who was the other core disciple from the Violet mountain.


    Everyone identified themselves as the team got introduced and acquainted pretty quickly, Lou Rylai was a woman with long black hair, a slim body, pale skin, and dark eyes.


    She was a wood elemental at the 2nd layer of xiantian realm, she was from the Stella mountain and


    seemed shy and reserved, seeming to be a woman of few words.


    Lou Ang who looked about the same age as Lou Rylai was the other core disciple from theStella mountain, he had an air of haughty arrogance, he was a typical young lord who hardly put anyone in his eyes, believing himself to be above others who weren''t raised and groomed to be the young lord of the clan. He was an earth elemental 2nd layer xiantian realm expert.


    Apart from Lou Lee this was the first time Hartley had met other core disciples from the Stellar mountain


    Qin Li, like Lou Tai was from the Violet mountain and Qin Li was a wind elemental expert also a 2nd layer xiantian.


    Hartley had a good impression of Qin Li from their small interaction, for someone to become a core disciple in the Lou clan without being a direct descendant or a branch family member, one could imagine what he had went through, he was older than the rest at around 30 and had worked himself up from a servant disciple which was a feat almost comparable to a miracle.


    The meeting started promptly as they proceeded to discuss their tactics and strategy moving forward with the mission.


    Hartley was uninterested in the mission planning and left it for Lou Tai to form a plan but with Lou Ang who disagreed with everythingand put forward his own supposedly superior suggestions at every turn, the meeting went on much longer than it should have.


    Lou Tai was the one placed in charge of this mission and he would have the final say, every now then he gave questioning looks at Hartley, wanting the handsome youth''s input but was disappointed when the young man was uninterested, he was impressed after seeing the life and death battle Hartley had fought against Lou Lee and was even able to fend off a attack from Lou Pangie.


    As an experienced expert with plenty of real world experience Lou Tai had witnessed the nuances of the fight and knew that the youth had won with graceful tactics and not just brute force.


    Two hours later the plan was finalized, In Hartley''s opinion the final plan should have taken no more than fifteen minutes, they had decided to go out and patrol the main road where these attacks have been taking place, capture and interrogate bandits until they got a lead.


    In a search and destroy mission, the searching was always the hardest and it was proving to be the case in this instance. They had camped out along the main road between the provinces about a thousand meters apart to cover more road, Lou Tai had ordered them to capture at least one and kill the rest of any bandit gangs operating on the region...


    On the first night of the mission Hartley found a spot in the sector he was supposed to operate in, now that he had the power to just walk up vertical surfaces, he just walked up a tree about 20 meters tall and sat in cultivation through the night, staying vigilant on the look out for bandit activities.


    The team would returned to the inn in the daytime to investigate further, trying to gain more information from the regular patrons of the businesses and pedestrians who frequented the area.


    This went on for a days without success.


    The routine of camping out during the nights and investigating during the days went on for five days. On the night of the fifth day, Hartley was cultivating in tree when he heard a sharp shrill scream of awhistle in the darkness of the quiet night.


    It was a signal from one of the core disciples, the Lou clan had provided special signal whistles which could be heard from miles around.


    Hartley flashed away and rendezvous with Qin LI who was in the sector closest next in line to him, Qin Li pointed to the south and they both flashed away towards the others. Hartley matched his speed with Qin Li and he arrived at the scene that the rest that had gathered about ten minutes later.


    They arrived to see bodies and body parts scattered around and the wreckage of a Carriage layingupside down with one of its wheel still spinning back and forth slowly with an annoying squeak.


    A slim disheveled figure in dark robes was tied to a tree weeping and coughing, while Lou Ang who had a gleeful look on his face was cutting flesh from the man''s bloody arm yelling "TALK" every now an then. Lou Ang seemed to be having the time of his life, he was secretly hoping that man would hold out for a long while.


    Lou Rylai sported a squeamish look on her scrunched up face and looked away at times, while the others stood back and let Lou Ang enjoy himself with his demented idea of fun.


    The prisoner''s weakening screams of pain swelled out into the dark night,the sweating man held out for while and every time he was about to pass out Lou Tai would call the squeamish Lou Rylai forward to heal the bandit for a bit so he would remain conscious, after a series of bone-deep cuts were inflicted from shoulder to elbow and salt applied to the ghastly wounds the man finally broke to the disappointment of Lou Ang.


    The bandit coughed up the information the needed...

 32 Assaul

    Squish! Hartley crushed a bug underfoot as he made his way through the forest accompanied by four other core disciples, they were making their way on foot towards a bandit camp about 20 miles north-west in a thick forest.


    The undergrowth had made it a harder trip than it had to be, but Lou Tai had decided to approach off the beaten path, which turned out to be a good decision as they had taken out several bandit scouts patrolling in the vicinity. The bandit prisoner had given a detailed description of the position and defense of the camp, he was then granted a quick merciful death by Lou Tai in return to the complaints of the sadistic Lou Ang who wanted to carry on.


    According to the information, the camp was located in a valley between two hills, which would be easily passed if one was unaware of its existence.


    It was almost dawn and the dark skies had turned a shade lighter, it would not be long before first light. Lou Tai a fire elemental 3rd layer xiantian made the others stop and gather when they were in sight of the bandit camp.


    The hideout was nestled between two gently rolling hills filled with vegetation and stretched towards what seems like a valley down below.


    On the flat between the hills was a sizable structure built from wood, it was a sturdy building enough to house many people, behind the sturdy looking building in the front, was another building much smaller and suspiciously this building had no one guarding it and no bandit activity within a hundred meters around it, standing there in isolation, it almost resembled a holy shrine.


    The entrance to the hills from both sides were guarded, stationed there were teams of men wearing dark robes blending in the night. The guards to the south were the most attentive they seem to be always on alert while making their rounds.


    The others were undisciplined men lounging around joking casually just doing the job for the sake of it.


    There were several bruised and battered merchants tied to a thick wooden beam located in a place at the far right of the camp with an abundance of hay and horses tied to wooden poles looking like an improvised open air stable.


    The weary merchants had looks of hopelessness and despair as fright and regret were plastered across their faces.


    Lou Tai whispered as he gave his final instructions


    "I will approach from the south with Qin Li who will protect the merchants and attack from that direction while you three approach from the north where they are more lax, eradicate them all. The majority of these bandits are houtian realm, I can sense a couple xiantians but we should be able to handle it, take care and watch your back, lets head out."


    After Lou Tai and Qin Li left, Lou Ang immediately thought he had just been promoted to leader of the second group, he started to issue orders when he was cut off by Hartley who said "I''ll see you down there," without even looking at the sadistic bastard, he flashed away from the two towards the guards at the northern entrance.


    With a disapproving snort Lou Ang watched Hartley''s back disappear then walked towards the entrance of the valley with Lou Rylai, who had a neutral expression...


    Hartley slashed out with his silver sword with a wide sweeping horizontal arc from wide-right to wide-left.


    Geysers of blood burst into the sky as the heads of a quarter dozen guards dawdling lazily on the northern entrance flew down into the valley, it was about a fifty meter drop to the flat land down below.....


    Three decapitated heads hit the ground and bounced up a couple inches, staining the ground with spots of blood, before rolling away in a random pattern.


    A shadow on the ground quickly enlarged as Hartley dropped from the sky and hit the ground like a mortar round........ Boom!..... sand and dust flew upwards, chips of rocks went flying away in every direction.


    When the swirling dust settled and visibility cleared, Hartley was crouched with his empty left hand flat on the floor, his right hand extended straight to the side with a long silver blade reflecting the thin slivers of blue light in the approaching dawn.


    The youth lifted his head to look straight ahead with shining blue eyes. It was a heroic pose which frightened the bandits as they rang out the alarm in panic.


    Blue streaks of lights flashed as Hartley ran into the crowd of unorganized bandits using his star feet movement technique pushing it to the limit, this was an opportunity to try and push this technique to max level, blue sparks exploded from under Hartley''s feet when it hit the ground, imprinting deep footprints, scattering dust and dirt in his wake.


    A red short sword appeared in his left hand as he proceeded to chop these mostly houtian realm bandits like vegetables, blood splashed in all directions and limbs went flying in the screaming chaos.


    The bandits who thought they were smart decided to jump ship ran towards the slope leading out of the valley where they were greeted by the sinister face of Lou Ang.


    With a brown glow covering his body from neck to toes, both of his fist extended to twice the normal size with a layer earth essence, the vicious man punched people to bits with a sadistic glee as they exploded into blood mist.


    Lou Rylai was in a staggered position a hundred meters to his left cleaning up the stragglers with a pair of daggers. Swish! every time she slashed out her dagger a bandit head would fly away. The soil in the valley had its fill, fertilized with blood as the bandits bawled with grim faces of desperation.....


    Then pandemonium struck.! A piece of the large wooden structure in the middle of the valley exploded with a bang! producing a flash of orange and yellow flames. The shock-wave swept the horror stricken bandits off their feet. In desperation they tried to surrender and were met by the sharp edges of cold blades.


    Two xiantians in the smaller isolated structure had nonchalant looks on their faces, the bandits outside were expendable and they had already served their purpose, in fact the death squad outside were doing them a favor by taking those bandits off the wage bill.


    A 3rd layer xiantian with earth element, who had a head full of white hair, a full white beard and a handle bar mustache, had a twisted cigar leaned at one side of his lips, wisps of bluish white smoke rose upwards from it as he stepped into a little room at the back.


    He opened a trap door on the floor and made his way down a small set of steps underground into a cavern like space. At the far end of the cavern like space, sat a middle aged man in black robes, he was cross legged in cultivation.


    In front of him there was a T shaped cross with a flimsy looking merchant tied to it, he was hollering in pain as wisps of black smoke-like tentacles were dragging his soul from his body, half of his soul was exposed to the naked eye while in the clutches of the black tentacles. If one looked closely they would notice that the merchant''s body was not making a single sound it was his exposed soul screaming in terror


    The middle aged man opened his eyes with an annoyed look showing black pupils and black sclera, without looking back he said "hold them off, I need more time"

 33 Assault 2

    After sweeping through the bandit camp, the five core disciples regrouped at the improvised stables at the far right, Qin Li went and released the captured merchants, as soon as their bonds were broken, the merchants started hysterically rambling, screaming that there was a black devil in the shrine building eating the souls of men, with horrified faces they ran bare footed towards the exit of the valley, cursing their creator for not giving them more legs.


    Lou Tai then shouted "be on guard the xiantians are coming out"


    The two xiantian emerged from the small building, one of medium build and average height with white hair and white beard, his mustache and beard were divided by a sinister grin, he then gave his instructions to the other black robed 3rd layer xiantian with wind affinity, who was slim and tall with blonde hair, he was a younger looking man, he had a plane face with no emotions visible.


    "Kill the merchants, leave no witnesses"


    said the white haired earth element xiantian.


    Small cyclone-like winds formed around the ankles of the lanky plane faced man, stirring up debris and dust which circled around his body, he then shot off in the direction of the merchants leaving a shadow image standing in place where he was a half a second ago.


    Hartley reacted the quickest and shouted out "I''ll stop him" as he too disappeared with a flicker. The exact head count of the merchants were just about eight and they made their way over the slope and entered forest breathing heavily but no matter what, they were determined to not stop moving forward until their last breath was expended from their bodies, this place was an evil sight that they would not forget for the rest of their naturals lives.


    They had seen others tormented and died in agony with the screaming of their soul in corporeal form sucked into the evil man''s body, they would rather die from exhaustion.


    The wind element expert came up the rear with a shining two handed heavy sword.


    The merchants at the back took a look over their shoulders and ran with panic into the people at the front of the narrow path leading out of the forest.


    The shrubbery to the side in this part of the forest was so thick, that they dared not risk entering it and getting trapped, all they could do was to try and move forward faster.


    The wind element expert slashed out his heavy sword which produced swirling winds and a horizontal green wind blade which moved forward shearing off the trees and shrubbery, leaves and bits of wood flew out in all directions as the wind blade which was aimed at killing all the merchants in the narrow path in one go, lashed forward.


    Ten meters in front of the wind blade, blue sparks exploded from the thick shrubbery at the right side of the forest and out came a black haired youth holding dual blades.


    Hartley had caught up to the wind element expert with gravity steps, but had to enter the forest with star feet technique which gave the plane looking man a chance to get off the first attack, Hartley could have attacked the man''s back and killed him when he was vulnerable but Hartley had an acute sense of curiosity as to why the merchants were so spooked when they were released and why the opponents were determined to kill all witnesses.


    What had they witnessed? Hartley''s silver blade in his right hand now had a beautiful blue aura surrounding it, he applied 20x gravity to the blade, he did a mid-crouch and with his left hand holding his red short sword pointed backwards and a little behind his body, he slashed with his right hand from mid-left to mid-right with a long flourishing horizontal blue flashing ark.


    The strike connected with the green wind blade and pushed it to the right and off into the the dense trees where everything in a coned shape exploded for a distance of 20 meters, stirring up strong winds and fluttering the robes of both combatant.


    The debris of leaves, wood bark and tiny sticks fell back to earth like a rain storm. After witnessing Hartley saving he lives of the merchants, the lanky man with a emotionless face moved forward whipping up the debris that just fallen.


    With an explosion of blue sparks at his feet,Hartley stepped forward to meet him head on. One sword with a blue aura and the other green clashed in the forest.. BOOM!


    The clash was so fast and violent... that it produced a shower of multi-colored sparks and a translucent bluish-greenish dome around both fighters for a split second, which then exploded out flattening a circular pattern around them, all trees and greenery were now just brown earth looking like it was tilled by very enthusiastic farmers this morning.


    The merchants scrambled away for their lives in shock as debris inflicted minor injuries on their bodies. The lanky blonde haired man for the first time showed emotions, as his face twisted in pain and he was pushed back 3 steps, the place between his thumb and index finger started bleeding.


    Hartley''s physical body was a 2nd layer xiantian so he had no such side effects. The man with a grim look on his face switched to a defensive stance holding he sword pointing upwards and out in front of his chest with his right leg slightly behind the left..


    Hartley smiled, in a situation like this, offence was one''s best defense, to be in a stationery position right now was just inviting death.


    Blue sparks exploded from his feet again as he closed the distance with three steps and slid to stop in front of the lanky man, with a twist of his wrist the red short blade sliced at the man''s left knee, then the silver blade in his right hand slashed at his right shoulder.


    The lanky man struggled to block the first strike and get his sword back up in time to parry the shoulder strike, but he barely managed it as another shower sparks exploded out...


    By this time Hartley had already, with the aid of negative gravity applied to his red short sword, aimed a sweeping horizontal strike at the man''s left waist again.


    With grim look of desperation and concentration the lanky brought his sword down diagonally to protect his left side, while the lanky man was in desperation Hartley took a quick long stride to the right and slashed out with his silver blade again, now with a savage grim look on his face the lanky man brought his sword up to block in panic, but this time he was blocking in the wrong place and his head had already been sent rolling on the newly tilled soil, fertilizing it with a shower of red.


    Hartley''s strike with his red short sword was never meant to kill the opponent.


    It was always a distraction to make him defend the maximum area possible with his heavy sword, in his defensive stance there was a limit to how much space the heavy sword could cover.


    With that quick stride to the right that Hartley made, the maximum area to defend had become impossible and he lost his head after a quick four strike combo that ended with what looked like a simple slash to the untrained eye.


    The merchants were relieved, they gave Hartley their thanks, updated him about the events that occurred in the bandit camp and then went on their way.

 34 The cloaked devil

    Hartley confiscated the space ring of the blonde lanky man then made his way back to the bandit camp....


    The first rays of sunshine cut through the hazy dawn making the surroundings a bright blue supplemented by a thin yellow glow.


    Hartley had made light work of the blonde haired lanky man within a few exchanges and returned to join the others, up until this point, he had not been pushed, he was a 4th layer xiantian after all, a mid phase xiantian was a difference of heaven and earth when compared to an early phase xiantian, but Hartley knew one should not depend on realms and sub-realms so he had continued practicing his star feet technique and increase his battle experience by not using his full strength.


    From the crest of the hill he looked into the valley to see his fellow core disciples battling against the white haired earth elemental 3rd layer xiantian expert.


    A sheet of brown elemental light would appear whenever an attack approached his body, it shielded him from harm and he kept moving around the valley managing to avoid taking two simultaneous attacks at the same time.


    Lou Rylai approach to the battle was that of an assassin, she was lurking around the edges of the fight, looking for the opportunity to one hit kill the middle aged man. The white haired man had keen battle awareness, so he would not give up such an opportunity.


    Qin Li had the speed advantage and was constantly maneuvering to block the white hair man''s retreat while swinging his battle axe clashing with sparks against the brown sheet that appears when the man was in danger, the man wasn''t attacking, just evading to the best of his abilities while gripping a white needle-like fencing sword in his right hand.


    Lou Ang shouted loudly from pure frustration, "stand and fight you coward, I''m going to carve you to shreds when I get my hands on you" as he too dashed forward with a blood thirsty look on his face and everyone in the group knew he really would take great pleasure shredding the white haired man to bits very slowly.


    Lou Tai''s leadership on this mission had been abysmal, with a bit of organization they could have trapped the enemy long ago, through this whole mission his interaction with the group had been minimal, he had always chosen to pair up with the one person he knew which was Qin Li and had left the rest of the team to their own devices, he might have assumed that the other three being from Stella mountain would have a familiarity among themselves.


    Hartley who was meeting him for the first time, upon seeing the behavior of Lou Ang had no desire to interact with him and Lou Rylai must have been equally as repulsed by the arrogant, sadistic man that she was non talkative through-out the whole mission.


    All of this led to fragmented tactics within a fragmented team, each person acting as an individual within the framework of a team chasing the glory of claiming the kill. Hartley had looked into the eyes of the merchants while listening to their story and he wholeheartedly believed them.


    There was something or someone sinister in the shrine-like small building at the back but he could not sense any aura which made him even more wary of the threat...


    Hartley pushed his gravity steps to the limit down the slope to the valley, tantamount to teleporting into the valley from thin air, he shouted "everyone back, let me deal with him, stay on guard."


    Lou Ang snorted angrily replying "how dare you try and claim a kill belonging to me?"


    Hartley had no time for this twerp, so he ignored him and shouted to Lou Tai "there is something in the small building, be ready." Hartley then laid eyes on the white haired defensive specialist he pushed the power of a 4th layer xiantian to its limits, strength surged through his body like a sudden rush of wind.


    Lou Tai heard Hartleys voice and could tell something was urgent, since Hartley had returned after chasing the other xiantian, Lou Tai thought Hartley had gained inside information after defeating the opponent. He then immediately ordered "everyone fall back and take up defensive positions around the small building."


    Hartley unleashed his power without restraint, he used gravity steps to flash out teleport-like to within range of the white haired man, he then immediately entered state of focus and activated a 20x gravity field around both of them.


    The white haired xiantian 3rd layer expert knees buckled and his feet sunk 3 inches into the dirt. As he struggled to adjust to the gravity field, his eyes opened up as wide as saucers because he now felt a strong sense of danger he hadn''t felt before. His dependable defense had been impregnable against experts at his own level and even a little higher, the confidence he gained from toying with the four xiantians for the last few minutes shattered as sweat rolled down his back like a broken pipe.


    Hartley made his way towards the opponent empty handed, a dense blue aura coiled around his right hand from shoulder to wrist, roiling and writhing like a thick blue serpent, slowly oscillating like a drill bit.


    With a stomach full of nervous energy the white haired xiantian wobbled forward and put his all into a sword thrust as he struggled with the weight of tonnes slamming his body down into the dirt, earth exploded upwards and cracks appeared under his feet, his forward thrust produced a whistling sound as it headed for the chest of Hartley.


    Hartley in state of focus, saw this move as clear as day and used minute movement dodging technique and side stepped to the right, slipping past all the gaudy commotion stirred up by the sword strike...


    Bam!..... Blue concentric circles appeared in front of Hartley''s right fist as he broke the sound barrierwith a rumbling sound, the brown sheet of light that protected the body of the expert splashed away in all directions like a bucket of water thrown against a wall, the fist landed in the region of his right shoulder sending the white haired man rifling backwards, his right arm separated from his body and was flung out to the right t as fast as a bullet.... "Star Fist level 5"...


    With a wailing moan of pain the man collided with the valley wall which exploded with a dust fog as he was rebounded five meters forward, again Hartley appeared in front of the half dead man who had blood gushing out of his right shoulder like a volcano erupting, before he could hit the ground he had to bare another star fist level 5 ...


    it was too much for one man to endure.... the right side of the top half of his body was mangled like a fierce beast had chewed on it.. he thundered into the valley wall and went 10 meters in, creating a human like cavity. This would be the man''s tomb...


    After Hartley easily dispatched the expert the other core disciples had chills running down their spine, the impregnable defense that they couldn''t breach, had been shattered like eggs falling among rocks, the handsome youth stood there in a heroic pose for a couple seconds as the dust blew across his silhouette fluttering his grey robes as the rays of sunlight emerged from the east painting him in a yellow heroic hue


    Suddenly the earth started shaking and a rumbling noise came from underground. The small building exploded, wood and wood chips flew out everywhere, when the dust settled a dark cloaked man about two meters in height stood in the center of the ruined structure...

 35 The cloaked Devil 2

    The dark cloaked man had a hood covering his head, his face was a cavern of darkness, it was as if there was no head under the cloak''s hood just darkness. Everyone reflexively took a backward step as the man appraised the environment and evaluated the people stood before him, his stare stopped on each individual for just a split second.


    He had an aura of black surrounding his body, it looked like a heat haze in the middle of the summer months which made the outline of his body seem blurry.


    The man had no aura of power but a creepiness overcame all in his presence. He had the aura of death wreaking off him like the pungent scent of the unclean.


    Tingles ran down Hartley''s spine, unlike the rest, he had heard about the things this devil had gotten up to, but hearing and seeing were two different things and now seeing this characterfor himself, Hartley was in no doubt about the evil the merchants had spoken about.


    The dark hood stopped turning his head and faced the direction of Lou Ang, then a croaky voice like metal grinding against metal spoke


    "What a deliciously evil soul you have got, I want it."


    Everyone looked on in puzzlement, then a black as jet sword appeared in the right hand of the cloaked man. He made a simple thrust forward. Whizzz!a black sword lightflew out curving one way then arching the other in the shape of an ''S'', Lou Ang who had a brown light protecting his body from neck to toeseyes bulged as he flung himself to the left in evasion.


    The black sword light with the thickness of about an adult''s wrist crashed through the brown screen protecting Lou Ang without a lick of resistance.


    Lou Ang was moving to the left in a desperate attempt to avoid the strike but he was too slow,his body went rigid when the black sword-light left a gash on his right shoulder. The sword light behaved more like a whip than a conventional sword technique.


    Blood trickled down Lou Ang''s shoulder to his elbow then dripped down towards the dirt, the black sword light then went taut like a fishing line reeling in a strong fish,everyone gasped as they sawa pale ghost-like replica of Lou Ang being pulled forward from his body attached to the weird sword light.


    Lou Ang''s body stood ramrod straight as the ghost like apparition was being pulled from his body by the black sword light which now eerily resembled a black shadow tentacle, Lou Ang''s real body didn''t make a sound but the ghost-like replica being pulled out screamed and wailed with gut wrenching sounds like a wraith being punished in hell by the devil himself,that scene left sweat pouring off the other core disciples like a a fancy water fountain.


    What was happening beforeeveryone''s eyes was unfathomable, in a panic and with eyes glazed with fright, Lou Tai started to frenetically blow the signal whistle given by the Lou clan, he was blowing the thing like it was a life saving device.


    Lou Rylai clasped her hands while backing away with slow steps, reciting "Holy Matriarch have mercy, Holy matriarch have mercy" her voice cracking like a panicked goose.


    Qin Li was no different the fright on his mature face made him look like a different person altogether while he too took slow steps backwards.


    Hartley while also in mild shock, pulled himself together, retrieved one of his last two throwing knives left in his space ring and threw it out with gravity repel applied, the black knife shot out at the speed of light towards the cloaked man. The cloaked hood turned towards Hartley while his whole body morphedinto black smoke and floated 5 meters to left, releasing Lou Ang as the knife flew harmlessly pass and off into the distance.


    Lou Angfell smack on his butt as the ghost like replica of him slammed back into his body, now Lou Ang''s real body started screaming in terror and trepidation at the top of his lungs, his hands raked through the dirt as he scrambled backwards on his butt, eyes literally as big as a saucer, he had a look of madness over his face as if he wasn''t aware of his surroundings.


    Hartley shouted in a loud voice bringing everyone back to their senses "everyone prepare to retreat" the cloaked man slowly looked into their eyes and replied "do you think it is that easy to just walk away after killing my followers?" he cocked his head to the side at an angle as if he had asked himself a question which stumped him.


    Hartley retrieved both his swords, this was serious, he felt in mortal danger. If the forest was open space he would have flashed a thousand meters away from here in a single breath already and leave those from the Lou clan to their own fates. He had a good impression of Qin Li but not enough to die for, if only he hadn''t neglected his star feet movement technique he regretted.


    Even so, he was still working his mind for escape routes, he would rather slice his own wrist before having his soul eaten.


    Apparently Hartley wasn''t the only one thinking about a quick escape from this devil,Every one''s neck snapped around looking in every direction, making calculations in their minds. Hartley gritted his teeth and shouted


    "Lou Rylai quickly heal Lou Ang and fall back"


    Lou Tai was still blowing the signal whistle, he must have been hoping for a rescue squad. Hartley knew they were twenty miles into the forest and hundreds of miles from the Waltham province, the leader Lou Tai had lost his marbles, he would be of little use in the upcoming battle.


    As Lou Rylai moved in the direction of Lou Ang, the cloaked man made his move, with lightning speed he blurred into a black shadow and appeared in front of Lou Ang, Lou Rylai backed off in fear without dare attacking the devil standing in front of her.


    The cloaked man said "I''ll save you for later, I want to take my time with you." he then punched out with his left free hand blasting Lou Ang away about ten meters. Lou Ang shrieked in pain, white bone shards showed, poking out through his collar and right shoulder mixed with bright red blood squirting out and staining his robes, Lou Ang took a look at his right shoulder, then his eyes rolled back leaving only the whites showing and he fainted.


    Hartley made his move, he flashed over in front of Lou Rylai and slashed with his silver blade, a slash from middle to high-right, the cloaked man blurred and move to his left, Hartley''s silver blade passed through thin air as the cloaked man reformed from his blurred state a couple meters away and thrust out his black blade, Hartley deduced that if the black sword light drew blood it would also try and capture your soul.


    The sword light wriggled like a livingthing, letting out howls and screams of the damned. Hartley went into state of focus, slashed diagonally from low to high-rightwith his red short sword and parried the black sword light with a clang, the black sword light shot pass Hartleys left shoulder and traveled about 3 meters before curling back aiming towards his back.


    Hairs stood on end on the back of Hartley, he used gravity steps and maneuvered himself 3 meters pass the cloaked man, moving with gravity steps to such a short distant was no different from a teleport, he then produced an overhead strike, his silver blade with 20x gravity applied, the sword chopped down with the pressure of mountains.


    The cloaked man blurred and moved just as fast, he was now where Hartley had just left. Hartley''s sword touched the ground and it exploded flinging away the fainted body of Lou Ang.


    Lou Tai ran off in the direction of the forest still blowing that blasted whistle. With a frantic face Lou Tai was often peeping over his left shoulder with wide eyes. The cloaked man moved in Lou Tai direction, Hartley moved behind him just as fast and slashed out horizontally with his red short blade glowing blue. The cloaked man blurred to the right five meters, stopping his forward momentum.


    Lou Rylai now made her move in the opposite direction from Lou Tai, she too disappeared into the north of the forest faster than she had ever moved in her life.


    Qin Li stood his ground and approached the battle between Hartley and the cloaked man hoping to give his support in the battle.


    Hartley quickly formulated his battle plan, From the exchanges between him and the cloaked man, he had figured out the blurred state of the cloaked man was just a dodging technique and not a long distance movement technique... this was important.


    Hartley applied his maximum 300 meter gravity field of 30x gravity, Qin Li fell to his knees with a scream, the big wooden building standing in the middle of the flat valley, had its 3rd floor collapsed into its 2nd floor, which then collapsed into the first floor which then flattened with an explosion of dust.


    The horses at the make shift stable all fell on their side flat and couldn''t get up. The cloaked man visibly slowed. Hartley''s red sword glowing blue slashed at the slowed target, he blurred and movedfive meters to this left. Gravity didn''t affect his blurred state but he could at most move about ten meters in that state and Hartley hadanticipated that, in fact he was counting on it.


    Thecloaked man re-materialized and swung out with his black sword, this time sending out two tentacle like black sword-lights. Hartley knew this meant the cloaked man was fearing for his own safety now.


    This moment was exactly what Hartley was waiting for. Hartleyreleased his gravity field which immediately released the pressure on Qin Li and the horses, then within a split second, the color bled from the world around them, everything now resembled a pencil sketch on white canvas.


    The scene froze in front of Hartley''s eyes.


    This was monochrome, the seedling of Hartley''s time domain, this was when time would come to a complete stop 15 meters in radius around Hartley for 2 seconds. The double black sword-light froze as it reached out.


    The world exploded with detail. Feverish, creepy, mind-bending detail. Hartley could see every dust molecule in its frozen state and there wasn''t a sound to be heard, everything was silent. Blue electric streaks exploded around Hartley''s ankles, the blue sparks in a monochrome world made a drastic contrast between Hartley and the muted frozen world.


    Hartley reached the front of the cloaked man frozen in time and with both swords glowing an Sapphire blue, he swung a high horizontal slash with his silver sword, aimed from high left to high right aimed at the mans shoulder, as soon as the blade touch the man''s shoulder time restarted and the blade went through him without resistance, then his red sword swung from mid right to mid left going through the man above his waist.


    The cloaked man body separated, both of his hands fell to the ground as the top part of the man''s head and shoulder flew away, there was not much blood spilling, then the second strike separated his mid section leaving a black aura swirling out of his body with howls, shrieks and screams before quickly rising to the sky in a black column of light..

 36 Exodus

    The black light swirled a mile into the morning sky while the screams of the tortured souls howled out into the still peaceful early morning of the forest, the fierce beasts stampeded in the opposite direction of theblack light, A sadness emanated through the atmosphere as the released souls scattered and turned into dots of black lights which faded from existence never to visit the river of reincarnation, those unlucky souls lost forever.


    The dust slowly settled on thedevastated surroundings, every standing structure had been flattened. It wassomething from the apocalypse framed by a golden hazy sunshine, body parts were strewn everywhere, the bandits had been wiped out, it would be a miracle if any escaped. Lou Ang had awoken bleeding and was still uttering under his breath with wide eyed madness. Lou Ang would never be the same after this, his evil soul had attracted a higher evil and he had experienced being almost harvested.


    "I can''t believe we made it out of that in one piece" said Qin Li, he walked over to Hartley in relief and patted him on the right shoulder. Qin Li had a lot more questions he needed explanations to, but knew Hartley was not obligated to answer them so he pushed them away for now. He was really interested in Hartley after seeing his demonstration of strength.


    He could relate to Hartley''s history as it was similar to his own but now was not the time to dawdle.Hartley''s mouth twitched a little, he was unusedto being casually touched by someone invading his personal space. Qin Li pointed at the bloodless body separated into 3 pieces,up till now they couldn''t see the person''s face, there was still a dark and blurry outline of a head under the cloak."That creep scared the shit out of me, I don''t even want to be around his body, lets get out of here" Hartley nodded his head in agreement and then walked forward and removed the mans space ring . Qin Li made some bandages, wrapped Lou Ang''s injuries and made their way back through the forest.


    Everyone in the Cosmos region and the immediate surroundingshad witnessed the hair raising evil black light column off in the distance with the eerily spooky howls of the tortured souls. When they returned to the small town, it was abuzz with activity, people were frantic, asking if any one knew what took place out in the forest. A group of half naked merchants had passed by earlier and left immediately bringing frantictidings of a black devil eating souls.Peoplewere saying that it was a bad omen and were preparing to leave, takingtheir chances withimprisonment in the official provinces.


    Hartley and Qin Li with the injured Lou Ang on his left shoulder made their way to the inn.


    CREAK! The door to the double room squeaked open, exposing a sullen looking Lou Rylai sitting on the bed at the far end, Lou Tai was sat on the floor with his back against the wall, knees up and his head bowed between them. They had reached the inn about half an hour ago and decided to wait for an hour to see if Qin Li shows up. As far as they were concerned, Hartley''s soul was the dark cloaked man''s breakfast and Lou Ang his dessert.


    Qin Li entered with Lou Ang across his shoulder, the occupants of the room swiveled their heads in his direction and quickly jumped to their feet. Qin Li placed Lou Ang onto the bed on the right side of the room and was immediately bombarded with questions, Qin Li remained quiet until Hartley entered the room to the shocked surprised expression of Lou Rylai and Lou Tai. Lou Tai with his mouth agape looked at Hartley, he then turned his sight to the floor, he had fled when Hartley engaged the opponent, even though he wasn''t a shameless person, he was scared witless to the point of blowing a useless whistle through the whole encounter and finally the desire to preserve his own life broke his will to stay.


    Lou Rylai too had taken the opportunity to flee, she too looked at Hartley with a slight shameful blush on her face. Hartley knew what they were thinking, he had no ill will towards them. He himself was looking to escape. Hartley waved his hand casually and addressed them with a small smile "no need, I would have done the same thing." He pointed his chin at Qin Li and said "only this guy was dumb enough to not recognize a life saving opportunity." Hartley had a wide mocking smile on his face as he looked at Qin LI who also burst into laughter. Hartley had had a good impression of Qin Li from the start and him staying til the end was stupid but also endearing.


    "Lou Rylai, heal Lou Ang and everyone pack up and lets leave soon, we need to report back to the clan." Hartley issued a series of commands and everyone obeyed. Strength was idolized and Hartley had proven his, Lou Rylai formed a translucent orb floating above her right palm then went over to Lou Ang and touched his back, with painful groans the exposed bones sticking out of his skin slithered back under his skin and the skin closed together leaving a little blood still running from the slit on his shoulder.


    Lou Ang''s eyes were glazed over and he was still uttering incoherent sentences under his breath. When they left they still had to carry Lou Ang because although his physical injuries were healed, he was still mumbling non-sense while looking into space. Tying Lou Ang''s leg to the stirrup of a horse afterplacing him in the saddle, They set off.


    While the core disciples from the Lou clan left the Cosmos region, others were only just entering. A man with a scar running from his left eye down towards the side of his neck turned up with 3 xiantian in tow. he pointed two towards the bandit camp and he himself went towards the make-shift town. Two hours later they regrouped and reported to the scar face man, "Fu Xiao and Fu Luang died at the bandit camp, Fu xiao space ring was taken and we can''t get to Fu Luang''s body which is lodged ten meters into the valley wall, the compound was flattened, there were no survivors andFu Faxi died in a devastated part of the forest, his space ring was also taken. The scar faced man''s pupils darted to the upper left corner of his eyes while he stroked his beard in contemplation, musing aloud "What the hell happened out there?"


    The Lou clan core disciples had by now caught up to the carriage with the freedmerchantsusing it to make their way back to the Waltham province, it would take a day and Hartley sent Lou Rylai on ahead carrying the inebriated Lou Ang to report to the clan first. Him and the other two would escort the carriage safely back. The merchants were crammed into a carriage designed to carry four people, they had doubled the capacity because none of them would stay a single second longer in the vicinity of the Cosmos region.When they saw Hartley they respectfully hailed him. Hartley gave them a sense of safety they haven''t felt in what feels like years.


    Hartley dropped back and traveled a hundred meters behind the carriage as the rear guard. The merchants traveled through the whole day, eating dry rations, there was to be no unnecessary stops during the journey back. The2 six legged beast pulling the carriage could carry it all day without a break, but the speed wasn''t impressive. At dusk the Waltham province was in sight....

 37 Teamwork

    With their home province visible in the distance, a sense of relief washed over the group, all had been tense expecting the worse, What the merchants had witnessed was harrowing. Some of them were knowledgeable people who knew a thing or two about martial scriptures, they knew what the dark cloaked man was using was a forbidden death technique.


    The use of the dark arts to harvest people souls has been outlawed on the Aldora continent, all three prominent countries had agreed to thissince the days whena devilish clan had wreaked a trail of destruction across the affiliate countries, snatching peoples soul as a cultivation device. It had cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of people before all three prominent countries on the continent formed a coalition to crush the sadists once and for all..


    Now if someone was even suspected of practicing the forbidden dark arts, they would be put to death and their clan disbanded. The practitioner''s closest kin would be put to the sword also, to stand by and watch the dark arts gain footing on the continent was a crime in and of itself.


    Hartley did not lethis concentration lax, he knew from his experiences in hunting that, the moment you feel the most relieved can also be your most vulnerable moment. Trailing a hundred meters behind the carriage, he picked up some unusual fluctuations. Hartley''s eyes glowed bright blue as he pushed all his senses to the limits.. He then flashed away a hundred meters ahead and quietly said to Lou Tai "we''ve got company, Three 3rd layer xanthians about 200 meters back on the main road."


    Lou Tai felt a sense of shame about his prior performance and wanted to make amends. Qin Li walked around and joined the quiet conference and asked "What''s the play?" Qin Li had a lot of confidence in Hartley, he had stayed to the end of the battle with the cloaked man unlike Lou Tai andhad seen Hartley slice the formidableopponent like an overgrown vegetable, the man had been sliced so fast he couldn''t react.


    Qin Li eyes had bulged when Hartley had just appeared in front the man, slicing him whilehe was in the middle of executing a sword move. Hartley looked Lou Tai in his eyes and asked "Are you up for this?" "Yes" Lou Tai replied with a serious determined look on his face, Hartley then said "give me the signal whistle." ...


    Hartley sent the carriage ahead and theypicked up positions on the main road. Lou Tai and Qin Li was 20 meters behind,a 3rd layer xiantian wind elemental approached slowly, the opponent could sense the two xiantians behind Hartley. The wind expert had a long spear held pointing forward as he took slow, careful steps, he was eyeing the positions held by Qin Li and Lou Tai like a tiger sneaking up on its unwitting prey.


    When the man was five meters from Hartley, Hartleyblew the signal whistle twice, two short sharp screech of the whistle rang out into the silent dusk. Lou Tai immediately stood up and punched out with his left fist.


    Orange and yellow billowing flames quickly formed around Lou Tai''s fist, heat singed the green leaves of the trees around him, the scorching flames as big as a basketball lighted up the surrounding like a bulb.The projectilemade shadows dance behind itas it shot towards the man inching menacingly forward on the left side of the street.


    The man had a calm persona as he stood up from his crouch and prepared to take evasive action. A fireball casted from 25 meters away when an expert has a clear line of sight was an useless to someone at his level.... or so he thought.


    Before the man could move Hartley applied a 20x gravity in a 10 meter radius, the man''s feet sank down into the packed clay which constructed the main road, he grunted in surprise as he struggled against an invisible force pushing down on his body, the fireball casted from 25 meters away arrived in less than a second and the man had spent that whole time struggling against the artificial gravity.


    In the end the struggling man managed to do just enough for the fireball to slip pass under the armpit of his outstretched left right hand, graze his ribs, then went whistling into the trees on the left side of the main road. The trees exploded with a flash of yellow, leaving a blaze thatlighted up the twilight casting long shadows across the street.


    The expert wasn''t unblemished though, he screamed out like a virgin being unwillinglyviolated, from his lowest rib to his armpit and a portion ofthe underarm of his biceps had been burnt charcoal black, gripping his spear with trembling hands he saw blue sparks exploding from the other side of the street, Hartley had been pushing his star feet technique to the max and there was an improvement, it wasn''t level 5 but now when Hartley moved there was a blurred blue linetrailing behind his feet.


    Screaming in pain the man pushed his spear in the direction of the shadow approaching from the right. Hartley swung his silver blade in his right hand like a backhanded tennis stroke holding a pose on the follow through. The flat of his blade slapped the dark spearhead with a massive Clang! making the spear-shaft bend like an Olympic pole vaulter, when the spear-shaftstraightened, the butt end of the spear rifled into the man''s mid section cracking a dozen ribs with a crunching sound, sending him reeling backwards, puking blood and into the flames left by the detonated fireball.


    Hartley blew the signal whistleonce and Qin Li and Lou Tai stepped forward and advanced to the sound track of the man''s miserable screams coming from the fire, they advanced pass Hartley and moved ahead with vigilance.


    The scarred face man who was a 5th layer earth element xanthian watched the whole 5 seconds of the confrontation and could not help but being impressed, he wondered why his comrade found it so hard to dodge the fireball, he had full confidence the man would easily escape harm, so he didn''t interfere and at the same time he could see the capabilities of the opponents.


    He had personally gone to inspect the wreckage of the banditcamp and the forest. He came to the conclusion in his mind that there must be a late phase xiantian involved in the assault. Upon further investigation he found out a group of fairly young people had left the Cosmos region after the incident.


    With the mission he was entrusted, he could leave no stones un-turned, so he gave chase only barely catching up before the group had entered the Waltham province. He still had his doubts but he would rather kill 100 innocents rather than letting 1 guilty escape...

 38 Headed back

    In thetwilight of dusk, which was like the perfect state between day and night, not quite dark and not quite daylight.A high yellow flame was still licking and spitting in the trees to the left of the main road,burningtimber collapsed amidst the intense heat of the inferno.The scent of burnt meat wafted through the air like a jovial family picnic, Qin LI and Lou Tai stopped ten meters in front of Hartley forming a triangular formation.


    The scar faced man appeared in the middle of theroad with another 3rd layer xiantian to his left. He casually took slow steps towards the trio from the Lou clan. He had a angry anxious sneer on his face, "You don''t know what you''ve gotten yourselves into" he said with a shout "now you can come back with me willingly or die here, thenmy friend here willcapture those merchants"


    Hartley responded "that''s not going to happen. Who are you and what do you want?"


    "Who I am doesn''t matter and I want to complete my mission which means none of you can leave, now come with me, I won''t ask again." Scowled the man.


    Hartley had no time for deluded people, the man was outnumbered and still acting like he had the upper hand, again the whistle blew twice and Lou Tai unleashed another fireball.


    "Fools! not one of you shall leave here with an intact body!" said the angry scar faced man, his skin turned the color of the dirt he was standing on, his right foot stomped down and a brown earth wall two meters wide and five meters high quickly roseup in front of him, the fireball thundered into the earth wall with a loud explosion and a flash of light. The earth wall shook but stood firm, it then silkily fell back to the floor like sand through a hour glass and disappeared.


    Hartley moved forward leaving a blurred blue line and his robes flapping behind him, The expert to the left of the scar face man made a move towards Qin Li, Qin Li slashed out his battle axe with an overhead strikesending a lightning quick green wind blade slicing at the man as he retreated a couple steps.


    Lou Tai quickly engaged the scar face man with his long sword, his body with an armor of yellow fire from waist to neck. The scar face man retrieved a huge hammer and took up his battle stance, he held the handle of the hammer with his right hand over his left hand as the hammer leaned diagonally in front of his right shoulder, Lou Tai casted a fireball and rushed in behind it...


    The man attacking Qin Li was a 3rd layer water element xiantian, he effortlessly sidestepped the wind blade, his robes fluttered as he advanced pass the residual gusts of wind, his moves flowed like liquid as he feinted right then left and attacked from the right crouched with a low upward strike from his short sword.


    Qin Li had reacted to the opponents prior feints so he was off balance stumbling backwards facing the short sword strike, he pushed his speed to the limit, his axe glowed green as he slammed down his axe diagonally from high right to low left to intercept the smooth strike. As soon as the axe made contact with the short sword, the man rotated his sword in a quick circle, with a clang the axe was parried to the side leaving Qin Li wide open, the man then followed with a smooth and quick left handed fist glowingbright white into the chest of Qin Li, sending him tumbling across the dirt as he cried out.


    Qin Li flew pass Hartley who was making his forward towards the scar face man and struck up a cloud of dust as he wailed by, tumbling and rolling. Hartley''s primary target was the scar face man but now he had to switch targets because Qin Li was obviously over matched....


    Qin Li came to a stop behind Hartley, he then struggled to one knee and shook his head to shake off the pain, his left shoulder was dislocated,he punched it with his right fistwith a loudgrunt through his nostrils, his shoulder popped back into place with a bone wrenching sound,the pain shot through him like a bolt of lightning. Qin Li screamed through clenched teeth as sweat washed over his face. He needed both hands to rejoin the fight, his battle axe was not a one handed weapon. He got up and fought through a dizzy spell and stumbled around disoriented for a few seconds before regaining clarity.


    A deafening explosion sounded out as the hammer of the scar face man dug a deep pit into the road sending fist sized pieces of clay out like lethal munitions, Lou Tai was struck on his armor in several places but the clay just melted away without doing much harm. Earth elementals usually did not have high attack power but this guy was breaking the conventional rules. The only saving grace for Lou Tai was that the man''s movement speed and attack speed weren''t exceptional and could be manged if he was careful.


    Lou Tai played a game of cat and mouse as he danced in and out of the hammer''s range trying to get in his own attacks, the problem was, the man had impeccable defense. An earth wall would stop all fireballs and the man''s skin had transformed into some kind of earthen armor.


    Hartley changed direction and intercepted the water elemental expert moving towards Qin Li, he stepped forward his blue eyes calm and unworried. In a single smooth motion he lashed out his red short sword in his left hand. This time both of Hartley''s hands had a blue aura writhing and roiling from his shoulders to the tip of his swords like a serpentoscillating in a clockwise direction.


    Hartley had seen the first exchange between this expert and Qin Li, he knew the opponent was very versed in using soft to control hard, he could use the force of his opponents strike and guide the opponent''s weapon where it would leave the opponent the most vulnerable. Hartley''s left blade stabbed forward, the water elemental expert took a side on stance and tried to rotate his sword out to the left on contact...


    When the swords clashed it was like a missile had detonated on the mans short sword, a blue glow exploded into the dusk air exposing both fighter''s silhouette as sparks flew out from both swords, the man stumbled back, his sword arm numb from shoulder to fingers, not giving him time to evenbreathe Hartley executed a quick overhead strike with his right handed silver sword in a quick follow up while the man was stumbling back, the expert pushed up his sword and tried to parry the strike out to the side again.


    This time as soon as the swords made contact Hartley lowered his hips and rotated his sword in a circle faster than the opponent, then pushed his sword upwards high and to the right with maximum strength, the short sword flew out of the opponents hand and disappeared into the forest. Hartley then took a step and a half to the left circling around as the wide eyed man was off balance and executed his typhoon kick, his right leg lashed out leaving blurry blue shadow images as it made crunching-contact with the man''s back sending him flying forward screaming in horrible pain from a broken back and headed in the direction that Qin Li was...


    Qin Li had just shaken the rust out of his head, his confidence was taken down a notch in one exchange with the elegant water element expert. He clasped his hands around his axe and headed back towards the action...his eyes then widened with glee as if a pie just fell out of the sky..The man that kicked his ass a few minutes ago was screaming in pain and flying towards him absolutely defenseless, Qin Li gripped his axe, it glowed bright green and he chopped out as the man was about to fly pass, The man screams abruptly stopped as his top half was separated from the bottom, both halves flew pass Qin LI leaving a trail of blood, inner organs and entrails scattered about the main road.


    Qin Li muttered under his breath, "nothing like an easy kill to get your confidence back up, now time for that other bastard." He went to join Hartley and Lou Tai...


    BOOM! WACK! KABOOM! The scar face man''s hammer turned anything solid it came it to contact with to splinters, dust and pebbles..The problem was he was too slow and his strikes too predictable, as the scar face man swung at Lou Tai, Hartley popped up behind him like a phantom and struck out a powerful strike at his back with 20x gravity applied to his silver sword, BOOM! the earth wall appeared again guarding the man''s back but it was shattered, the silver sword went onto slash against his back launching him rolling on the floor, Lou Tai and Qin Li quickly surrounded him and got in their attacks but they couldn''t break through the man''s stone skin.


    The scar face man got up with a look incredulity on his face, there was blood running down his back, his robe was shredded where the strike had landed, it had been a long time since someone had broken through both his earth wall and stone skin in one strike, not since he was in the third layer and sparring with his master. Now he turned to face Hartley giving his back to the other two, slowly backing away disregarding the two at his back as sweat was dripping down his face, a genuine fear could be seen in his expression.


    He made an executive decision there and then, even though this mission was important, it could never be as important as his life, he had to preserve his life and with this young man in front of him,it would be matter of time before the three opponents wore him down and executed him in the streets like some common criminal.


    Hartley was surprised, that strike would have turned a boulder 20 meters high into fine powder, this guy is tough thought Hartley, The man then turned into sand and fell to the ground and disappeared, he materialized a hundred meters in the direction of the Cosmos region. Lou Tai and Qin Li dashed after the man and Hartley shouted "stop, let him go."


    They both stopped with unwilling looks, "its been a long mission, lets not chase him back to the Cosmos region." Technically Lou Tai was in charge and he could have pulled rank, but he turned back and so did Qin Li. With the man obviously reluctant to battle any more, Hartley led the group to catch up to the merchants and headed towards the Waltham province..


    The scar face man too had a unwilling look on his face, how was he going to explain that he was repelled by the youngsters and lost two experts. He headed back in the direction of the Cosmos region soon after...

 39 A means to an end

    A carriage laden to capacity rumbled on through the dark night, the creaks and squeaks of the protesting carriage bringing the now weary-looking merchants continued towards the Waltham province. Hartley still held his position a hundred meters behind. Lou Tai and Qin Li flanked the carriage on both sides


    When they were 2 miles from the Waltham province, there came the loud rumblings of horse hooves coming in their direction, Hartley could now sense several xiantians approaching at a fast pace through the forest. He flashed forward and rejoined with the group... Approaching on the main road was a squad of fully armored soldiers and alighting from the forest were some elders and core disciples of the Lou clan that Hartley didn''t recognize.


    "What happened, are you guys ok?" a tall man in a suit of shiny armor that glistened under the faint moonlight inquired as he rushed ahead of the squad to inspect the occupants of the carriage. The merchants with blood shot eyes had a look of relief as they all competed to recount their experiences at the bandit camp and pointed out Hartley as the young lord who had saved their lives.


    The man came over to Hartley and bowed respectfully,"I am Chen Xia, the captain of the guard unit assigned to the Baron''s estate" Hartley returned the greeting after the man introduced himself, at this point the elder from the Lou clan hurried over saying "Lou Rylai made a serious report about the suspected use of dark arts in the cosmos region."Lou Tai then confirmed "I think so too, the man had an evil aura, the likes of which could give one nightmares."


    "Thank you for saving our merchants" said the Chen Xia, then added "time is of the essence we need to head to the Cosmos region to investigate and gather the evidence. The Baron will contact you later" The Lou clan elder shook his head in silent agreement.


    The patter of horse''s hoofs sounded again and faded into the dark night as Chen Xia left with a majority of his soldiers accompanied by the Lou clan members, he assigned six soldiers to escort the wagon and the team back to the Lou clan for debriefing.


    At the building at the foot of the Stella mountain, a roomful of people were gathered on the third floor, Lou Ang was seated and still mumbling gibberish, several people had tried to communicate with him since he returned but up to this point he has not spoken one cohesive sentence..


    Looks of pity and sympathy could be seen in the eyes of those who had interacted with him, those who had experience could tell that his soul was injured. It would take an expert at the Saint realm with treasured medicines that didn''t often appear on the mortal plane to heal him.


    Hartley had no such pity for him, it was a lucky break for Hartley and the others that the cloaked man was attracted to his evil soul, it gave them forewarning of what the man was capable of.


    Lou Rylai sat quietly in a chair as her eyes constantly flashed towards Hartley, she hadn''t known him before this mission but the youth''s bravery in front of the devil had impressed her to no end.


    Present in the room were the representatives of the Baron''s estate, they had spread parchments, ink and a quill on a table and prepared to take notes. Lou Chang, Lou Chingham and other elders in black cloaked robes were presiding over the debrief, they took their positions in the center of the room looking over the crowd.


    Lou Chang stood up and asked Lou Tai to recount the events of the mission, the representatives of the Baron''s estate began to take notes as Lou Tai gave his rendition of what happened down to the finest details, he then pointed out Hartley as the one who had defeated the black cloaked man and he handed over the man''s space ring to Lou Chang. Hartley had stripped the space ring of most of its wealth, then gave it to Lou Tai on the journey back. The ring was ripe with riches but Hartley hadn''t taken it all, he left some along with all other items that would serve as evidence.


    The people in the room looked at the handsome blue eyed youth with respect and disbelief, not many at his level had exchanged blows against the practitioners of the dark arts and lived to tell the tale. Hartley credited his luck in the fight against the dark cloaked man as he played down the fight. Qin Li had a strange expression, he had seen the battle and luck wasn''t what he saw, he was puzzled as to why Hartley did not claim the bulk of the credit for the mission, there were a lot of clan points on offer.


    The grueling meeting was adjourned after what seems like hours and everyone went their own way, Hartley wasn''t too keen on spending the night in the Lou clan so he flashed away towards Zhi Ruo''s house.


    There were complex expressions on the elders faces after everyone left, "How did he do it?" asked one dark cloaked elder, the other mused for short while and said "Now I see why the Patriarch has so much belief in him."


    There was a single light dancing at the tip of a candle in the bedroom, Zhi Ruo had long been prepared for bed until she heard foot steps outside, this was not a common occurrence in this secluded area, she grabbed a sheathed hunting knife from a table and crept silently to the front door,


    "its me Ruo" came a voice from the other side, she immediately recognized the voice and opened the door. There standing in grey robes was the handsome blue eyed youth she had fallen head over heels in love with.


    He had left for more than a week now and she couldn''t help but wonder... with eyes radiating love, she threw herself into his arms and hugged him close.


    "You''re back, how was your mission?" before Hartley could answer she rested her head on his chest and said "I missed you" Hartley stroked her hair as if petting a canine saying"of course I''m back, you should have more faith in me,"


    she pouted a bit and revealed her beautiful smile.. "it''s not like that"


    Hartley looked into the eyes of his first love, even though he was more mature than anyone his own age, the fact was, he was still a teenager and not even he was immune to the fear, anxiousness and trepidation for a boy transitioning into the realm of being a man, it took a different type of strength. He had thought that strength was the only thing that mattered for most of his life and now looking at Ruo and the feelings she riled up in his heart, he discovered there was more..


    Hartley now felt he had the knowledge he had yearned for, it was now time to forsake the clan that had forsaken him. Even though he had shamelessly returned to the clan, it was only a means to an end.No longer was he going to accept being boxed in. He was the weak bird pushed out of the nest and forced to fly by instinct and now he was about to soar through the skies..

 40 Preparations

    Birds chirped as the world was greeted with a picturesque scene of sun rays lashing out from the east. The many trees off in the distance rocked and bowed gently as the morning breeze sung a calming lullaby. Hartley had a contented smile as he sat cross legged in the front yard.. Zhi Ruo had been in a great mood last night. They had romped through the night barely getting a wink of sleep.


    He was now searching throughhis space ring and examining the spoils of war, The coins from the cloaked man were enormous he hadn''t even tallied up the numbers yet, but this was sure to be in the tens of thousands.


    Zhi Ruo came over and lovingly hugged him around his neck from behind, he opened his eyes, which were closed and distracted by the contents of the space ring.


    "Ruo" he said in a serious voice with his back facing her, after a few seconds elapsed he continued "I don''t want to spend my life in the Waltham province." he then unclasped her hands from around his neck turned around and looked her in her eyes from his seated position. "I am going make my mark on the world, and I want to do it with you by my side, you are my woman now and I will be yours forever. I want you to come with me." Hartley then retrieved a package from his space ring and handed it over to her..


    Zhi Ruo received the package looking at him with a slight blush, she opened it and looked at the item for a short moment, it was a long elegant slim fitting blue dress made from the finest materials, Hartley had picked it up on his travels through the Cosmos regions. When they had camped out at nights, they would return and spend the days in the make-shift town. Hartley was having a look around the town and this dress in a storefront had caught his eye. The moment he laid eyes on the dress it brought his mind to Ruo "Its to replace your green dress that I ruined, that was the first promise I made to you" he said with a wry smile.


    Ruo delicately stroked her hand down the dress, her breathing went ragged and shelooked at him with teary eyes, she didn''t care too much about the dress, it was a minor issue in her eyes. It was the promise he had made her the very first night she had laid with a man. "Of course I will follow" she said, her voice cracking with emotions, as she lost control and a single tear rolled down her left cheek, just like that first unforgettable night she had spent with him.


    Hartley reached out and wiped the tear away with his index finger saying nervously "Ruo don''t cry, I know one is not enough but I swear i will get you more, this was the only one they had that I thought you would like."Zhi Ruo rolled her eyes and playfully hit him on the chest saying "idiot, it''s more than enough" she then placed her head in chest and they embraced closely, time seem to have have stopped in that moment as the morning breeze continued to singits perfect lullaby.


    ................A month flew by quickly...........


    And Hartley''s preparation was going smoothly, he had returned to the Lou clan once in this time, he had seen Qin Li and bid him farewell in a subtle way but he didn''t talk of his planned departure outright. The merchants had also come looking for him on several occasions. They had the luck of randomly running into him on that day. They showered him in praises and handed him a space ring full of riches in appreciation.


    Hartley had now quietly amassed a massive amount of wealth, truth be told he didn''t save the merchants because of his righteousness. He had saved them from pure curiosity but he wouldn''t say that out loud, he shamelessly accepted their rewards in a most humble manner.


    The days after, there was a stir about the Fu clan from the Calabar province. The Baron''s investigation had led to the identification of the dark cloaked man. He was Fu Xiao, an elder in the clan. The Fu clan was a mid sized clan from the neighboring province of Calabar. The Baron had quickly mobilized his troops and headed towards the Calabar province backed by delegates of the Royal family stationed there. It was rumored that a suspected dark arts practitioner had escapedalong with an elder, the rest of the elders were put to death and the clan disbanded.


    The people that escaped were none other than the scar face man who had battled with Hartley on the main road and his master. His master was practicing the dark arts in secret along with his disciple Fu Xiao, the Fu clan at large had no idea of these happenings, when the scar faced man had failed in his mission to suppress the evidence and kill the witnesses. They had fled beforehand leaving the innocent unknowing members of the clan to face the harsh punishment in their stead. The Fu clan elders had been put to death still trying to figure out what the Baron was talking about but there was no explanations that could change their fate.


    Hartley in these daysstayed hard at work cultivating and preparing for his departure from the Waltham province, he found out however that just upping and moving was more complicated than he had thought at first..Zhi Ruo had been selling the remaining items he had given her before he left for his mission. She also had to sell her wares in the armor shop and trying to find a buyer to take over the business. Hartley was going to travel by carriage and was looking to hire a driver for the long journey. He was going to wander across the lands and hone his skill on his way to the capital. He wasn''t in a rush to get there, he had mapped out the scenic route for him and Zhi Ruo to enjoy, he wasn''t planning on rushing there and becoming a lackey, by the time he got there he wanted to be on par with strongest there or even stronger. Strength was the key, there were bound to be opportunities for him to put himself on the map, he just had to be strong enough.


    The Patriarch of the Lou clan was sitting on a prayer mat in his old hut on top of the mid sized mountain he stationed himself, another elder was present sat at the table in the middle of the room, "What should we do now?" asked the man, The man was Lou Shuan, Hartley''s uncle. He too had seen the strength of the people from the Time Keepers sect. He was so scared after witnessing the ease with which those people could slaughter even the most talented and powerful people of the Aldora continent, an unimaginable fear had blossomed in his heart.


    He was now nervous that if Hartley were to reach those levels...sweat dripped down his back.. "Let him go" the Patriarch answered in a feeble voice, he sighed for a long while. He now regretted banishing the boy, but he couldn''t bring himself to kill his brother''s grandchild. Maybe in the coming months and years he could win back the boy''s trust with the information he possessed about the boy''s heritage.


    "He is with that girl, I don''t even think she knows why her father fled the capital" the Patriarch mused as his eyes glassed over in deep thought.


    "Nudge Qin Li towards him, he is the only person from the clan the boy seems to truly have a rapportwith, if he is willing let Qin Li follow him on his journey, they both have similar backgrounds but Qin Li is loyal to the clan, maybe he can be an influence on the boy in the future."


    The patriarch then closed his eyes in meditation.. Lou Shuan took this as his cue to leave and left.

 41 The Journey begins

    Hartley negotiated a beautiful carriage from the Baron''s estate for only 500 gold.


    Chen Xia, the captain of the guards, had given him a great deal because of Harley saving the merchants which made the Baron breathe a sigh of relief, it had the shine sheen of polished wood with intricate carvings decorated around the side panels, it hadfour wheels padded with rubber for a smoother ride on bumpy surfaces.


    The interior was spacious and could carry four. Hartley made custom adjustments to the comfortable seats and cushions so they could cultivate while travelling. The windows and the doors had beautiful white drapery which could be drawn over the windows for privacy or just to look sophisticated.


    Hauling the carriage were a pair of the finest wild beast. Wild beast are beast that have no beast cores, they are more docile than fierce beasts and can be easily tamed and bred for domestic purposes.


    These were called thunder bulls, theyresembled rhinoceros and they had a thick carpet of brown fur, horns on their forehead, well built sturdy bodies and thick legs, these beasts could carry a carriage at a steady pace for days without food or water.


    Hartley had been trying to hire acoach driver for the last week, the local coach drivers he had asked to do the job weren''t willing to take the long, dangerous journey to the capital, he was now considering driving the coach himself.


    Over the following days Zhi Ruo told Hartley that there was a person coming to the shop everyday just sitting and waiting and would ask for Hartley, she said the person didn''t seem dangerous but it was starting to creep her out.


    The next day he went to the armory shop to check on Zhi Ruo and make sure she was in no danger. In the shop was Qin Li sitting at a corner as Hartley entered, Qin Li got up and turned towards him with a broad smile.


    Hartley was surprised to see him there


    "What are you doing here?" he asked as he greeted him suspiciously.


    "You haven''t been back to the clan in a while, I asked around and found out..."


    Qin Li had a sheepish embarrassed look on his face as he answered.


    "What''s the matter?" asked Hartley sternly.


    Qin Li moved around and fidgeted for a bit before answering


    "I heard you were looking for a coach driver..I''m available"


    Hartley''s eyes squinted as he listened.


    "Since your performance for the last two months, people have been paying attention to you, I just happened to hear from the whispers around the clan that you are preparing to leave the Waltham province and I decided to come."


    Hartely snorted.. "Did they send you here to spy? people who mean me and Ruo harm will not end well"


    Qin Li put both handsin front of him, palms out and fingers up, quickly saying


    "no, no its not like that, Hartley I''ve seen your power" he said with a serious and honest face, "you have the strength of an elder at such a young age, I think you will go on to be a very influential person that makes history in the future, I want to be apart of it" He sighed


    "I too desire to break the shackles of my upbringing and travel the world, when I heard the whispers on the mountain and I couldn''t let this opportunity pass. I''ve already told the clan I am going to adventure the world"He then exhaled a long breath.


    Hartley knew his preparations weren''t exactly secretive, he expected people to figure it out eventually, he thought about it for a while, having another expert on the road was a plus, but he could not risk putting Ruo at an arm''s length away from a potential threat.


    On the other hand he had always had a good impression of Qin Li, he couldn''t allow himself to trust him fully but he couldsome what relate to the Qin Li''s circumstances and the fact that he was having a hard time finding a coach driver.


    After deliberating in his mind for a while he said "Alright, meet us here in two weeks." Qin Li smiled and bowed respectfully as if he was addressing an elder of the clan.


    The end of the year was quickly coming up and the weather had started to get a bit more chilly, The winds howled as dusk descended earlier than usual.


    A beautiful dark carriage was rumbling along, disappearing from sight on the deserted main road pulled by a pair of majestic beasts.


    Their thick fur swayed to the whims of the wind as they maintained their speed easily dragging along the carriage. On the driver''s position was Qin Li, seated under the canopy that protected the driver from falling rain and hot sun shining, he wore a thick robe made of beast fur, he sat still in his position as he eyed the long ahead road towards his destiny.


    Inside the carriage Hartley was sat cross legged in cultivation, Zhi Ruo sat on the opposite side looking absolutely bored.


    Hartley opened his eyes with a flash of blue glow and jumped over to her side and kissed her neck saying "Ruo you need to cultivate as well, if you don''t reach xiantian realm then your life span will not be as long as mine".


    Zhi Ruo had now passed the 8th realm of houtian with the aid of the medicinal dans Hartley had provided, within in a couple months she would probably push into the 9th realm and work her way up to the peak.


    Zhi Ruo weren''t as dedicated to cultivating as Hartley was, she had her business to run and other duties through out the day, added to the fact that she found it excruciatingly boring.


    She had sold her father''s shop, a place she had spent many years honing her skills in armor making along side her dad. She had many fond memories of that place and had given it up without a thought for the handsome youth sat beside her, she didn''t regret doing it but with the long boring hours of travel on board the carriage, she couldn''t help but wonder what the future holds.


    Hartley hugged the unusually quiet Zhi Ruo and whispered, "it will be ok Ruo, believe in me" she rested her head on his shoulders without saying a word.


    The carriage traveled forward through green flat lands, rolling land was visible for miles in all direction, they had now exited the mountainous region of the Waltham province, they had passed the Cosmos region and was on the main road moving towards the Calabar province. It had been an uneventful day. They had passed a trickle of people going to and fro, they stopped and set up camp when it was dark. The carriage was parked off the main road to block out the wind as they had the first of many meals under the stars, Zhi Ruo still had a mind of full of internal thoughs as she retreated to sleep in the carriage as the other two camped outside taking watch duties through out the night.


    Hartley left Qin Li on watch and flashed away about 500 meters into the flat lands, the grass and shrubbery grew waist high here, the ground was uneven andin a spot there were blue sparks moving at right angles and then swiftly changing directions. Hartley had applied 30x gravity to his body and was pushing his Star Feet technique to the limits. He now knew the importance of being able to navigate in tight spaces at maximum speed. Hartley would continue like this for the rest of the journey.


    After two days of travel a city wall crawled into view in the distance, it was comparable to the Waltham province''s in size. Hartley hugged Zhi Ruo in excitement after hearing Qin Li''s message, Zhi Ruo hugged him back, she finally had the semblance of a smile on her face..

 42 Verbena distric

    The sounds of hoofs hitting the cobble stones echoed out, the ambient sounds of the crowd buying, selling and gossiping covered the area like a blanket of noise.


    The carriage moved slowly through the tight paved streets of the Verbena district. This was the commercial district of the Calabar province, Hartley and company had moved through the odor riddled slums and shanty towns of the province earlier in the morning.


    The locals had mistaken them for nobles who lost their way. Children ran along beside the carriage calling "young lord please bless us with thy mercy, give us anything you can spare."


    Zhi Ruo had a face full of sympathy as she beckoned Hartley to give the kids a few coins, by the time they had exited the slums Hartley had given out silvers equivalent to 2 gold coins.


    Zhi Ruo had a happy smile as the grateful kids in tattered robes ran to the broken down shops to buy bread and dried meat giving their thanks with grateful looks."Thank you" whispered an emotional Zhi Ruo.


    Hartley just hugged her with a smile. Even though the Waltham province had their share of poor commoners, there were no such ghetto regions. Hartley couldn''t help but think that if he was born in this province he might have been one of those children. The comparison between the commercial district and the slums were truly an eye opener, the definition of the haves and have nots.


    As their carriage trotted through the prosperous commercial district they saw a mid-sized compound with about a dozen heads suspended on spikes in the front yard.


    A sign written with black letters read "Practitioners of the Dark Arts" people passing paid no mind to the grim scene as they went about their daily life. Hartley looked at the heads flanked by the single sign, remembering his encounter with the cloaked man.


    The streets were flanked by sturdy stone buildings, shops, inns and drinking houses. The patrons went in and out with wide smiles, a stark difference between here and the slums.


    Qin Li steered the carriage into the front of an inn, the stable boy, a youth about 12 with dirty knotted black hair, rushed out seeing what he thought were nobles. He said "sir are those thunder bulls?"Qin Li gave the boy a smile saying "quite right young man," the boy had the look of awe in his dark eyes, " I will take good care of them" Qin Li handed over 2 silvers to the boy.


    With shining eyes he looked from side to side surveying the surroundings for witnesses. Then carefully put the coins away in his robe like a precious treasure, hopped onto the carriage and steered it in the direction of the stables.


    Qin Li honestly had no idea how to take care of horses or wild beast, he was a 2nd layer expert after all, when had he needed to preen and feed horses or beasts? He had made himself a coach driver for fear of not being able to accompany Hartley otherwise.


    They checked into the inn, it was a nice big establishment with four floors called the Verbena inn, with expensive furniture and fittings. It had snobby well dressed people loitering around. Seeing the three, some people stared a little but nothing untoward was said. They clearly also had mistaken the trio as nobles. Zhi Ruo and Hartley had the same room on the second floor while Qin Li had a separate room across the hall.


    Zhi Ruo had a long bath and changed into her beautiful body hugging blue dress, even though it was a little windy she would not miss a chance to wear her beloved dress. Hartley washed up, feeling refreshed he donned one of his new robes and took Zhi Ruo for a walk around the town, Qin Li opted to remain behind and cultivate, he had to take every opportunity he could to improve on this journey.


    Hartley''s hair was now cut neat and short above his ears, in the boredom of the carriage Zhi Ruo had resorted to grooming his hair, she was proud of her handy work and would sneak glances at him every now and then. Hartley dressed in a brand new dark color robe with gold embroidery cut a majestic figure with his stunning diamond blue eyes.


    He walked beside the slim curvaceous redhead who wasn''t to be outdone in her own right. They sauntered around the area, "lets go in there" Zhi Ruo pointed towards a shop. Hartley followed as Zhi Ruo dragged him forward while she clasped his right hand in hers. It was an armory shop..


    Across the counter stood a man with not more than a couple dozens strands of hair left on his head, he was a plump middle aged man who had a permanent happy expression glued to his face. "Good morning youngsters, what can I do for you" the man said smiling, Zhi Ruo pointed out a piece in the shop and asked "is that a genuine rank 3 armor? what materials was used in the process of refining the metal, did you use the hundred strike hammer technique?" The man was shockedmomentarily, smiled and started telling Zhi Ruo about the forging process.


    Hartley stayed out of the way and let them converse while he looked around, he was happy to see her glow with excitement and was thinking about buying some materials for her to continue making her armors while they traveled and that was when a tall man dressed in a yellow robe pushed the door and entered the store along with two older looking white haired men, his eyes widened when he saw the striking figure of Zhi Ruo.

 43 Surname Huang

    With wide eyes and a salivating mouth the man swaggered his way over to the counter followed by the two white haired men and stopped inches away from Zhi Ruo.


    "Oh hello, I haven''t seen you around here before," said the tall man with sharp features, along nose and a grim smile. "I''m the young master of the Huang clan, who might you be?"


    Zhi Ruo eyebrows scrunched up in disgust.she took a couple steps back saying "I don''t care who you are or who your little shit of a clan is" she answered with fire in her eyes, "how dare you" answered the yellow robed man. He stayed silent for a while then stated "You are lucky I like a woman with a bit of feistyness" he smiled.


    The plump man behind the counter had a discontented face and greeted the young man "young master Huang, how can I be of help?"


    The tall yellow robed man didn''t even put the man behind the counter in his eyes, waving his hands casually saying "no need can''t you see I''m making a new friend today."


    The plump bald man set his jaw, he had liked his conversation with the high spiritedred haired girl and now this animal of a young lord wanted to violate her, his heart was telling him to make a move but his head was thinking about the consequences after. Not to mention running a business in the Verbena district in future would be impossible.


    This young master Huang had quite the lustful reputation among the people of the Verbena district, stories has been circulated around town of the man''s shameless acts of sexual violence against defenseless women, he would have sex with them while slicing pieces of their flesh from their bodies in glee and after days of being his toy, some would emerge from the Huang manor with a spaced expression, staying in this vegetated state for long periods time while the young master just moved onto the next one.


    Hartley stepped over with quick hurried steps, saving the plump man from making a rash decision. He took Zhi Ruo hand and led her towards the exit without saying a word, steam was coming out of his ears as he gritted his teeth. He was planning on not getting involved in a fracas. At this time the tall yellow robed man retrieved a fan and started fanning his face, when he saw Hartley intimately take the hand of the beautiful red haired woman, raged boomed in his heart, "wait," he said "I will give you a thousand gold, leave her with me and come get her at the Huang clan manor about dusk."


    The white hair men nodded their heads in commendation, like chicken pecking at corn saying "young master is a reasonable man, he could have just taken her but instead he offered reasonable compensation. It is truly your honor to have met such a young master today, hurry up thank the young master boy."


    Just as he was going to exit the door of the shop Hartley stopped and slowly turned around, eyes squinted and teeth gritted. He spoke and the words fell like cubes of ice "You," he growledwith irritation bleeding into his words while pointing at the young master. "Kowtow a hundred times and beg her forgiveness and pray to the creator that she forgives you." Hartley was finding out slowly from his experiences that these shameless malevolent people are everywhere and such people would have to be dealt with mercilessly..


    "Heaven has got free admission but instead you are tearing down the doors barring hell!" one of the white haired men shouted aggressively. The young master kept fanning himself and with a smile and said "aren''t you overestimating yourself just a little, I have given you some face and yet you refused my good intentions. Don''t blame me for being cruel. I will have her for two days now" he said as he pointed his chin to the sky still fanning his face, acting like he was doing Hartley a favor.


    Hartley''s face regained a tranquil and serene appearance, the soft creaking of his tendons was audible while making a fist with his right hand. He tried his best to restrain himself from instantly killing the pompous bastard standing there with a mocking smile.


    The puzzling thing for Hartley was that none of these guys were even as strong as a core disciple of the Lou clan, where did they find the gall to be this brazen in public. Hartley in his rage had forgotten that he kept his aura completely hidden subconsciously. If Qin Li were present these people would not have dared to make trouble. The white haired men were nothing in Hartley''s eyes, one a 1st layer xanthian the other a 2nd layer, the young master still at the peak of the houtian realm, If he so desired this would be like butchering chickens....


    ......Night at the Huang Manor....


    A dark figure blurred through the night appearing at the back wall of the Huang manor, the masked person found an unguarded section of wall and walked up the 20 meter wall as if it was the floor.


    Once perched on the wall the dark figure jumped down into the manor.


    Yellow light from torches mounted on the outer walls danced, creating a mesh of moving shadows, offering an inviting oasis for one determined to be in the dark. A gurgling noise of someone choking on their own blood sounded as the dark figure approached the main building of the clan, leaving a trail of dead or dying guards hidden in the shadows.


    With lithe nimble steps the masked dark figure entered the main building of the Huang clan, a tall expert just happened to step around the corner and meet face to face with the masked dark figure who had multiple blood splotches on his dark outfit, his eyes went round and the color drained from his face, he opened his mouth to call out in alarm.


    Before a single sound could exit his mouth, a fist surrounded by a bright blue glow thundered into his throat. His Larynx was shattered, the man dropped clawing at his throat, trying to draw a single breath of air through his crushed windpipe and rolling around on the concrete floor before becoming still, his body twitched twice, his surprised lifeless eyes stared at the ceiling with the horror of knowing death was at hand but could not be prevented. A hopeless stare....


    The dark figure paid him no further attention and moved into the building, skillfully walking up the vertical wall on the left side of the hall, after four or five steps the figure transitioned to running on the ceiling.


    IN a corridor on the third and final floor of the main building of the Huang manor, a dark figure dropped from the ceiling making a thud, all stealth had now been abandoned as the figure emerged from the dark, shocking the two on-duty guards holding spears at the entrance to the corridor. A red shortblade appeared in the dark figure''s left hand, with a flash of blue, one guard head went rolling showering the other in blood. The dark figure made a move running for the other guard. The remaining guard frightened and in panic moved backwards and screamed at the top of his lungs while pushing his spear forward.


    The dark figure running in a straight line towards the guard suddenly veered to the right after three steps and ran along the right hand vertical part of the wall like a spider, easily out flanking the guard, quickly jumping from the side wall and landing behind the man, he then proceeded to slowly cut the man''s throat like a sadistic killer enjoying every second of his kill while the guard wheezed and gurgled his last breath.


    The dark figure then kicked in the door of the master bedroom, with a blue flash the doors splintered into fragments not bigger than a baby''s wrist. Bits and pieces flew all over the floor leaving dust swirling and splinters flying.


    The dark figure had partly entered the room when two 4th layer xanthians lunged at him from opposites sides, others couldn''t see it, but they both froze in time and their heads flew off in the direction they had been coming at him from, geysers of blood erupted as both headless bodies fell to their knees with a thud, making a surreal scene akin the devil entering his domain amidst a guard of honor from the kneeling headless blood-spewing corpses.


    "Who are you?" asked the remaining occupant of the room, he was an elderly looking man with white hair and a fluffy beard, small in stature and somewhat overweight. "Who sent you?" he asked as his voice cracked and his hands shook. Then the dust in the room flew up again and a force pressed down on his body that he couldn''t explain, it felt as if he there were heavy iron chains dragging his body down to the floor.


    The elder with the fluffy beard had never been this scared before and couldn''t refrain from releasing all the contents in his bowels and bladder..he had defiled himself in front of the predator, hoping to make his meat not look so desirable. With dust swirling and an eerie silence....tap...tap...tap.


    The dark figure walked slowly over towards the man as if he was enjoying every single second of this. He stopped in front the soiled elder and said the first words he had said since entering the manor.


    "You and your people have offended and tried to humiliate someone very special, that person have absolutely not forgiven a single one with the surname Huang and so I can''t forgive a single one with the surname Huang either".


    The dark figure then slowly pushed his red short blade into the man''s left eye, the crunching sound of the sword slowly breaking through the man''s eye socket and entering into his brain were drowned out by the man''s screams that only stopped when the sword exited through the back of his head...

 44 Your oath will be upheld

    In a forested region close to the Huang manor was aperson tied to a broad tree in the dark shadows of the night, a dark figure approached the man like a phantom emerging from the shadows removing the mask he had donned for the best part of the night, revealing himself to be a slim and sturdy handsome blue eyed youth, standing about I.8 meters with neatly cut black hair .


    It was none other than Hartley , the captive man who was dressed in yellow robes, had tears running down both cheeks, making a couple clean tracks through the soot and dirt that now stuck to his face..


    He was trembling as he had flashbacks of seeingthe two elders who had made him feel invincible in the Verbena district both killed by one punch each like manged dogs in the slums. He had refused to kowtow and ask for the beautiful red hair woman''s forgiveness.


    Then this normal looking mortal youth showed his unbelievable strength. Scared witless he immediately fell to his knees kowtowing and asking for the forgiveness ofthe youngmiss but she swore an oath to never forgive a single person with the surname Huang. The killer then dragged him out to the forested area close to the Huang manor and knocked him out and he woke up tied to a tree..


    Hartley came up to the sorry lookingfigure crying , pissing and shittinghimself at the same time. He pleaded "I''m sorry, I''m sorry....If you let me go you will never see me again, I will leave and find the most remote corner of the earth to live out my days. please ancestor let me off this one time." With a stern malicious look, Hartley stared into the man''s eyes and replied with slow blood curdling words "none with the surname Huang shall be forgiven and you are the last one left." The yellow robed man bawledout like a newborn being slapped on the rump,"Help!" he shouted himself hoarse as he called out for a saviorin the secluded forest but none would hear or come to his rescue on this night..


    Qin Li awoke to the slightly muted commotion outside, he washed up and came downstairs to take a look. He wasn''t sure if Hartley was planning on leaving the Verbena district today or in the coming days according to what Hartley had originally said they were in no rush to reach the capital.


    Coming out of the inn he could hear the hushed discussions among the people, the strange thing was no one wanted to speak aloud. Qin Li saw the stable boy near by and summoned him over with a copper coin and asked "what''s going on in the town kid? what is everyone discussing?" The stable boy swallowed his saliva and looked left and right then replied in a low voice with his right hand covering his mouth "people think the dark arts users are back in the district, they must have come for revenge last night because the Huang clan manor has been razed to the ground," he paused and gulped again "not even the layer 4 xiantians were spared and all their heads are now on spikes in the front yard of the manor."


    Qin Li knew that the dark arts users didn''t really to need to cut people''s head off, an intactand mutilated body could be robbed of its soul, but if the head was cut off, the victim would die too quick. So Qin Li ruled out that possibility as soon as he heard it.. Qin Li had taken all this time to catch up on the cultivation he missed while driving the carriage, so he had no idea when Hartley returned with Zhi Ruo and left again.


    Hartley soon after came down to the first floor of the inn and met up with Qin Li. "Lets have some breakfast in the eating area," said Hartley while hugging a quietZhi Ruo. She had no idea what Hartley had done at the Huang manor last night, she had witnessed him punching the elders to death and the plump shop keeper came out in shock and helped to remove the mangled bodiesfrom the shop while Hartley took the young master away with the promise of the shop keeper to never mention the situation in the future. Of course the plump man promised without a second thought with sweat running down his back.


    " Let''s have some delicaciesthis morning and after we will do some shopping here, I think we will stay here for a week and then be on our way," Hartley said with a slight smile. He had made a lot of money from the space rings of the people in the Huang manor, he had some precious beast cores and weapons to sell along their journey guaranteeing that money will not be a big issue for the next couple of years. He sighed, the only way to quick riches was killing and robbing his enemies he thought.


    Zhi Ruo picked up the weird atmosphere among the locals and soon it became clear what had happened as Qin Li informed them of the rumors milling around the town. She had a small startled surprise as she looked at Hartley with her mouth slightly open.. Hartley whispered to her "Ruo that''s why it is important to cultivate diligently on this journey because on our way to the capital there will be many like them looking to bully a beautiful woman, we have to be prepared to tackle these obstacles." He had a solemn look on his face and added "any oath you make along the way as long as it is within my power it will not be in vain" she looked at him and with a serious face said "I understand".


    "We will buy some materials and equipment for you to practice producing armors along the way so you will not be so bored. I am sorry I overlooked these things and didn''t make make proper preparations on your behalf" said Hartley lovingly as he hugged her close. "I love you" said a blushingZhi Ruo. Now all doubts about her decision had been washed away like seashells on the beach, she now had a determined look brandishing on her face.


    Delegates from the Royal family turned up to investigate the rumors, while Hartley and Zhi Ruo made their preparations. Qin Li spent every single minute to improve his power. The days passed by in a blur..

 45 Sparring: a foreign concep

    Fwooosh! Qin Li retaliated with a horizontal slash, his axe shone with a neon shade of green like the leaves of a mature daffodil plant in spring time.


    With sweat pouring off his forehead he pushed his speed to new limits, turned on the ball of his right foot and reversed the grip on his battle axe, the double bladed weapon with each blade the shape of a half moon transitioned into a diagonal uppercut strike from low-left to high-right bringing swirling winds and a dust cloud spinning like a cyclone around him.


    The move looked majestic but the opponent stepped to the right and with another forward step with wind fluttering his robes, he was through the beautiful slash.


    As Qin Li was almost at the end of this strike and planning his next strike, a silver flash with microscopic precision hit the handle of his axe.


    The force of the counter strike caused Qin li to over rotate 180 degrees, stumble and expose his defenseless back to the opponent and that was when Hartley landed a kick right on his butt sending him sprawling among the shrubbery, losing his axe in the fall as it clanged away across the floor and into the shrubbery.


    Qin Li stood up with a puzzled look, blades of grass were in his mouth, knotted in his hair and falling from his body making him look like a disheveled forest elf.


    "Your moves are too fancy, too much useless movement and unnecessary flair, it leaves massive gaps and if your opponent is quick enough you won''t have a chance to recover. I''ll give you this though, if we were on a performing stage in a drinking house you would probably get the first prize but in a real life and death battle you would probably lose your head"


    Hartley had a mocking smile on his face while he critiqued Qin Li''s battle style. It has to be known that Hartley was only using his layer 2 xiantian physical to compete with Qin Li, who was also a 2nd layer expert.


    Qin Li forced an embarrassed smile, "this is how we were taught, everyone in the...." before Qin Li could finish Hartley retorted "what you were taught is an artistic performance not suited for life and death. sure you would probably trounce challengers at or below your level but you would be easy pickings for anyone even slightly above your level. On this journey you might have to face opponents a little stronger than yourself as you found out with the water element xiantian expert on the main road that routed you within one exchange."


    Hartley now had even a bigger more mocking smile on his face.


    Qin Li''s shoulders sank in depression, Hartley couldn''t help but laugh out loud when he saw the lifeless look on Qin Li''s face, it was as if someone just learned that something they regarded as a priceless treasure turned out to be nothing but horse shit..excuse me.. horse manure.


    Hartley had come to respect the hard work and dedication of the 30 years old Qin Li, he had taken every opportunity to cultivate, everyday he gulped down his meals in two bites and went back to cultivating which really irked Zhi Ruo. After she prepares her meals she expects to hear compliments of how delicious the food was and Hartley never disappointed but this vagabond Qin Li would gulp down his food and go back to cultivate without a single word. Sometimes Zhi Ruo would turn her nose to the heavens and harrumph in dissatisfaction but that didn''t bother Qin Li in the least.


    Hartley really wasn''t being cruel in pointing out the deficiencies in Qin Li battle style, when they left the Calabar province a few days ago, Qin Li had mentioned something foreign to Hartley and this was the concept of sparring. Hartley had never fought anyone or anything he didn''t intend to kill before. Qin Li explained it as something which would expose their strengths and weaknesses in combat without the threat of losing their lives, Hartley was intrigued by this concept and decided to partake.


    Hartley to his disappointment soon found out that there was nothing he would learn about himself from battling Qin Li, Qin Li''s battle style was more of a performance than fighting.


    It seemed like fighting came second and looking flashy came first. Hartley had never been formally trained but had experienced the brutal battles with fierce beats all his life and now it was looking like a blessing in disguise, if he was taught the style that Qin Li exhibited every time he picked up his weapon, Hartley would probably be a bag of bones in the mountain by now.


    "Wash up and come and eat" Zhi Ruo said while scrunching her nose. "Why do you boys have to sweat so much?"


    Zhi Ruo was laying out the steaming hot food on a make-shift table as the duo went off to a little spring and washed themselves. They all ate dinner in the waning sunshine of the Autumn evening. While they ate Zhi Ruo was staring side eyed at Qin Li as he ate normally this time. "The food was delicious Zhi Ruo" Qin Li made the surprising statement and a blooming smile blossomed on the face of Zhi Ruo, her flame red hair and pale skin radiated pride as she nodded at Qin li.


    "What should I do?" Qin Li asked Hartley after dinner with a pleading look. Hartley smiled and got up and they both started a next sparring session. This time Hartley started to teach Qin Li how to simplify his techniques.


    The trip continued like this for the next couple of days with Zhi Ruo cultivating to the best of her ability and then using her make-shift table to process pelts and make armors, The boys sparred regularly as Qin Li started to improve and Hartley attempted to close the gap to the 5th layer.


    An open plane at night....


    Hartley left Qin Li on watch and snuck into the carriage where Zhi Ruo slept. He stripped down and climbed sneakily onto the bed saying "Ruo its me" in a soft whisper. Ruo turned to face him with a shy blush. "Hartley we can''t, Qin Li might hear us" Zhi Ruo whispered back. "Come on Ruo its been three days, I''m gonna go mad if can''t touch you tonight."


    Hartley sweet talked as he inched closer and closer.. Hartley rained kisses on her neck, Zhi Ruo lost her shame for a second as she expelled a soft moan. Then she quickly pulled herself together and said, "you can stay and we can cuddle but nothing else." The color drained from Hartley''s face and as he was about to protest.


    "Remember that night I had lady stuff?" Zhi Ruo reminded in her serious voice. It sent shivers down his back, how could he ever forget lady stuff night?. With a long face Hartley cuddled her in the dark. If he could see her face he would have seen her blooming smile of victory.

 46 The road to the Pembroke province

    A pair of thunder bulls rumbled on under a grey sheet of an overcast sky, the chilly winds howled and swirled in a unpredictable pattern, buffeting the beautifully crafted dark carriage making its way along the clay packed main road north of the Calabar province.


    They were now about a week''s travel away from the Pembroke province. The surroundings now morphed from flat green grasslands into overgrownbrown trees ten or eleven meters high. The occasional fierce beast could be seen roaming through a twisty maze of trees but didn''t venture down to the main road to cause trouble.


    The Pembroke province was an under developed place. The roads grew rougher the farther away they went from the Calabar province and the closer they got to the Pembroke province, themore thesigns of ambushes and running battles became evident. The broken trees, dark scorch marks and scattered splotches of bloodstains that decorated the pothole riddled street, told its own story about the brutality of this area.


    While gathering information back in the Calabar province, Qin Li had learned from the stable boy that the road to the Pembroke province was considered very dangerous by the locals. The dirt stained stable boy was very puzzled why nobles with no military escorts would dare set foot on the long road to the Pembroke province, they would only prove to be a juicy dinner for the merciless bandits rumored to operate in the area.


    After traveling fora while the carriage came to a sudden complete stop.


    "Hartley come and have a look at this"


    Qin Li''s voice entered the cabin of the carriage as Hartley was sat motionlessly beside Zhi Ruo, both in deep concentrating while cultivating.


    Hartley''s eyes opened and a visible blue glow illuminatedthe entire cabin, this was the brightest it had ever been and wasmade even more vivid by the grey overcast day. Hartley had made great progress in these last days and would soon approach the thin line between sub-realms.


    He exited the cabin walked around to the front of the carriage and hopped up to sit beside Qin Li.


    "Whats going on?" Hartley questioned.


    Qin Li pointed to spot about 20 meters ahead, two dead men were rotting in the middle of the street, arrows sticking out of their mangled flesh like needles in a pin cushion,a black swarm of flies were lazily crawling over the corpses buzzing noisily while others just flew in idle circles around the two gruesome bodies.


    "Do you think its a trap?" asked Qin Li.


    "I don''t know, I can''t detect anyone within 300 meters of us." Hartley responded.


    "Move forward carefully and be prepared to defend the carriage on your side, I will take this side"


    Hartley said as he concentrated on his surroundings. They moved forward while enduring the almighty stench, the smell of the half rotted bodies hammered into their nostrils threatening to make them empty the entire contents of their stomach.


    Qin Li somewhat unskillfully maneuvered the carriage and beasts around the dead bodies inadvertently running a wheel over one of the bodies laying prone on the left in the process.


    The flies scattered in all directions with a loud chorus of buzzing. More innards spilled out of the body making the unholy stench multiply at least three folds.


    Then the loud sounds of Zhi Ruo vomiting out her guts came from the cabin, after hearing the retching sounds Hartley could no longer hold down the contents of his stomach either, he cocked his head to the side and puked up everything in his stomach with water running out of his eyes.


    Qin Li shook the reigns vigorously andcommanded the beast to move forward at a faster pace, in the end he too involuntarily wretched up his lunch before they had completed their escape from the swirling flies and awful smell.


    The carriage rumbled and bumped up and down as they made their escape from the range of the stench.


    After another hundred meters Qin Li slowed the carriage down to normal speed again and let out an audible sigh..Hartley looked back in the direction of the bodies and said


    "I hope you find peace in your nextlife."


    Zhi Ruo poked her head out of the carriage and gulped in the fresh air as if she was suffocating, her face was ghostly-pale, she couldn''t even find the words to complain.


    Their speed slowed as the journey continued on the bumpy road. After roughly half a day''s travel, Hartley picked up the rumble of horse''s hoofs coming their direction.


    Six silhouettes mounted on horses appeared off in the distant leaving a dust cloud in their wake as they headed in Hartley''s direction, as soon as the riders noticed the carriage they eagerly headed over with glee as if they had hit the jackpot.


    The riders came to stop spread across the width of the road.


    "Stop!" shouted a tall slim suave looking black haired man who took his position at the front.


    "Ruo stay in the carriage"


    Hartley turned his chin towards the cabin and instructed.


    "OK" came Zhi Ruo''s response.


    "Well, well, well. What have we got here boys?" the suave man''s voice echoed as the carriage pulled to a stop.


    "Stay calm these are probably just the scouting squad, when I make my move you make yours"


    Hartley whispered to Qin LI.


    "Those arrows stuck in those two bodies back there are probably from these guys, they intend to kill us no matter what demands we negotiate with them keep that in mind."


    Hartley quickly relayed his deductions to Qin Li.


    "I am surprised to see nobles brave enough to travel around these parts" the suave man exclaimed with a chuckle.


    "Boys today we have the honor of meeting these esteemed lords, hopefully your manners are up to par, don''t not leave a bad impression, we would surely lose face."


    The five mounted men exploded in raucous laughter at the man''s latest statement.


    "Who''s in the carriage? come on out and meet the boys" shouted the man.


    A thick heavy cloud passed over the sky making the overcast day a little darker. Hartley''s eyes bore into the suave man''s eyes unrelenting


    "Who is in the carriage is none of your business, if you got no more matters then be on your way." Hartley snarled.


    The suave man laughed,


    "Look you little snot nose punk,he spread both his arms wide apart while turning his head subtly pointing out the surroundings.


    "This not the lord''s manor where you can prance around all high and mighty, this...."


    the man paused before continuing"is the real world. Around here we chew and spit out your type."


    Hartley smiled "There are always consequences when you least expect it, that''s the way of the world isn''t it?"


    The man burst out in loud laughter as he looked at the determined look on the youth''s face.


    "You truly have some balls young man." he smiled at Hartley and said "I can make one of you live but that person has to join our Crimson bandit gang" he then turned his attention to Qin Li and spoke.


    "Hey bodyguard I can see you are a 2nd layer expert, if you kill your young master and the people in the carriage then hand over their riches, I promise you I can find a spot in the gang for you. We are always on the look out for experts. what do you say? no longer would you have to grovel like a dog at the whims of this young master" He smiled as he offered Qin LI a life saving deal


    Now it was Qin Li''s turn to burst out in loud laughter...


    "No thank you, I''ll take my chances with the" he scrunched up his brows then completed his statement


    "Young master"


    Hartley ignored Qin Li''s jibe and then without regards for the six people at his front he said to Qin Li so everyone could hear.


    "This 3rd layer wind element expert should be great practice for you, lets see how quick you can take him down."

 47 Qin Lis improvemen

    The atmosphere of the bizarre stand-off suddenly changed to a serious and sinister state palpable to all present, as the ripe smile which was plastered across the black haired man''s face all this while was replaced by a twisted evil scowl.


    "You surely will die with big regrets" he barked. He then used his hands to quietly relay signals to the men behind him.


    In a trained fashion the men dismounted smoothly from their horses and retrieved bigblack cross bows strapped to the packs on their horses.


    All five bandits behind their xiantian leader were men at the peak of houtian realm, they would no doubt be significantlystronger than an average adult, but their real strength was their precision teamwork, coupled with the powerful crossbows they wielded, they posed a significant threat.


    In the right circumstances they could even be a threat to 2nd layer xiantians.


    The men moved in a practiced fashion as if they were military personnel, all leveled their crossbows, took a step forward and immediately took aim.


    One could tell they had done this many times before as they had perfect synchronized coordination. The choreographed team moved as one entity, the move of every man matching the moves of the man beside him.


    Zip Zip Zip Zip Zip!


    The sound of five black metallic bolts released at virtually the same time made a uniform whistle as the air born volley of projectiles closed the distance between Hartley, Qin Li and the carriage.


    With sublime timing the team of five didn''t even confirm if the arrows had reached their marks, they dropped the heads of the crossbows to the floor, braced their right legs on the metallic bow and started winding up some sort of pulley to reset the tension in the bow-string so they could reload another bolt in the shortest time possible.


    It was an impressive display of discipline,


    "Are these guys really back-bush bandits?" Hartley had to seriously ask himself as he used his elbow to nudge Qin LI, signalling it was time to make his move. "Be careful" Hartley felt at this moment he had to give Qin Li a reminder to not be careless or underestimate the opponents.


    Inan instant explosion of blue lightning sparks Hartley blinked out of existence from his seated position on the carriage...


    He appeared immediately on the road, in the empty space between the bandits and the carriage. Flashes and crackles of blue lightning swam around his body brightening the overcast day and leaving blurry after images as he moved.


    Hartley swiftly interceptedthe five bolts headed towards the carriage, it appeared as if five different replicas of Hartley all made a slash with a silver blade in their right hands.


    All of his night training had paid off, Hartley had finally reached Star Feet technique level 5. The clanging sounds of metal clashing sounded out as all five arrows disintegrated into a shower of bright white sparks illuminating the dark overcast day likesudden streaks of lightning .


    The five bandits had eyes as wide as startled horses, the youth''s surprising speed and nonchalant sword slashes had distracted them putting them off by a second on their reloads. They sensed the immense threat the youth posed and with military discipline one bandit gave a swift order, four fell back a couple meters in a defensive formation behind one who had just completed his reload.


    He raised his black crossbow again...Hartley''s legs exploded with wriggling lightning-like blue sparks that spread all the way up to his knees, the floor exploded, leaving a roiling smoke-like and unstable after-image on the spot he was standing.


    Hartley appeared in front the man who was poised to fire his second arrow, the wind flapped at their robes when Hartley produced a punch with his left free hand. A serpent-like blue aura wrapped around his left arm and twisted in a life-like fashion, as his fist moved forward, producing rumbling sounds like and avalanche of sturdy boulders rolling down a mountain, the bandit to his credit gritted his teeth and fired off the arrow at close range.


    The arrow touch Hartley''s left fist and exploded into bright white sparks, the bandit let out a loud scream as the fist quickly filled his vision..


    BOOM! his head disappeared from his body in an explosion of fleshy bloody chunks and bone shards as small as pebbles.


    The last four bandits finished their reloads and backed away step by step, two in front and two behind, fear was apparent as they were now unwilling to take an unsure shot, while yelling out to each other in chaos, trying to formulate a new battle plan.


    Hartley wasted no time and entrapped all four bandits including their horses in a gravity field and applied negative gravity, they finally lost their military discipline as they all screamed out with terrified shrieks mixed with the loud neighs of the frantic horses, they quickly floated 10 meters high dropping their weapons in fright and flailing their arms as if they were birds trying to regain some semblance of balance.


    Hartley now premiered the final move he gained from the Blue Star Gravity Mantra book, he jumped 10 meters high to match the bandits and stood their stably as if he was still on solid ground.


    The final move from the book allowed him t extend his vertical jump and hover in mid air for 2 seconds. He applied 20x gravity to his silver blade and slashed out a vicious horizontal strike, sending a long silver streak whistling through the air.


    Hartley fell back to the earth with a majestic pose andlanded facing the battle between Qin Li and the black haired man....well it was supposed to be a battle... but they were both looking at Hartley slack-jawed as body parts of men and horses rained back down with a thump thump sound as it hit the ground.


    The thick suffocating smell of blood wafted through the air as numerous bloody pools formed on the clay road that was saturated with blood.


    The horse of the black haired man had escaped the slaughter, it cantered off in a neighing in panic back down the road they men had approached from.


    The black haired man had exchanged blows with Qin Li for the full five minute it took Hartley to dispose of the team he had spent so much resources equipping and training.


    He looked at who he assumed was a pampered young lord with disbelief. He was sure the handsome youth was just a normal youth...How?...To add insult to injury, he thought he would quickly wipe the floor with this 2nd layer xiantian who had the audacity to attack him, he found out to his dismay that he, a 3rd layer xiantian was evenly matched with the opponent.


    Then he had an epiphany there and then... He might actually lose his head today.. the thought sent chills down his spine, when had he ever had to worry for his safety in this region?.


    While the man was distracted in his thoughts, an axe glowing a bright neon green chopped at his waist from mid-right to mid-left with a whooshing sound as it picked up all the dry leaves and dust laying scattered around in a windy swirl.


    The man got his sword up in his right hand to block just in time, producing green sparks as he was forced to take a couple steps back. The black haired man retaliated with a fast strike aiming at Qin Li''s heart, his sword also glowing green but a darker hue, leaving a green blur in its wake.


    Qin Li could now see as clear as day all the unnecessary movements in the man''s technique.Qin Li easily blocked the flamboyant strike with a another burst of green sparks. The man transitioned to the his next move, and by his posture and unnecessary flair, Qin Li read his movements beforehand.


    The overhead chop came just as predicted.... Painfully predictable for one who experienced regular sparring lessons with Hartley. Qin LI easily turned aside to avoid the strike which produced a massive wind blade as it descended downwards. Qin Li pushed his axe upwards while stepping to the left, the wind blade slashed through the clay on the road producing a crater with an explosion of pebbles and dust where Qin Li just stood.


    The axe then collided with the sword at an angle forcing the black haired man to over rotate and lose his balance...Qin Li smiled in his heart, he had painfully learned this move from Hartley.


    A green glow wrapped around Qin Li''s ankles as a cyclone like wind-swirl appeared at his feet, he continued in a circle to the left quickly putting himself behind the opponent and unleashing a mercilessly efficient strike from high to low in a straight line down into the man''s right shoulder..


    Qin LI pulled out his axe and a gush of blood shot in an arc a meter into the sky. The man hollered out in a ear splitting scream of pain as his sword hand was now only connected to his body by a thin layer of skin. His sword hand dangled uselessly as the wide eyed man prepared to make a run for it..


    Hartley who had been watching the battle nodded his head in appreciation. He smiled as he saw the man was about to make a run for it....


    But would he be allowed to just waltz away as he liked?

 48 The outcome

    The big bad xiantian bandit leader now looked like a pitiful fox caught in a trap, his proud face now showed a painful grimace awash with sweat as his dark robe was stained red, the blood from his almost decapitated arm sputtered down his side, sending the warm liquid splashing all over and freely spilling onto the clay of the main road, he looked at Qin Li with evident fear showing on his face.


    His steps started to wobble as a wave of dizziness passed over him, the blood loss was starting to affect his coordination. He disengaged from the battle and activated his wind element armor in a last ditch desperate attempt to flee the scene..


    A green glow now enveloped the man from his waist up to his neck. As his hopes of surviving this encounter started to wane, the man attempt to save his life by escape, the wind elements swirled and gathered around the man as he gulped down a lungful of air and made wobbly unsteady steps desperately increasing his speed and distance in the opposite direction of the two monsters.


    All the knowledge he thought he knew about the cultivation world had now been shattered, he was running for his life, hoping to escape from a 2nd layer xiantian and a mortal youth as he was overcome with the niggling sensation that death was getting closer and closer and soon he would be within the grim reaper''s grasp on this grey overcast day.


    "How could this be? wasn''t this impossible?" he asked himself as he tried to put as much distance as possible between himself and his pursuers.


    Just when a seed of hope was germinating in his mind, the blue eyed, black haired slim youth appeared in front of him as ifout of thin air and landed a punch on his chest, his wind armor shattered without resistance.


    His right arm which was dangling all this time finally separated from his body as he was sent flying backwards and landed in a dust cloud.


    Knowing that escape was impossible, the black haired man abandoned all hope of survival by escape and put all his hopes in negotiating.


    Painful groans escaped his lips as he looked at the two people approaching slowly.


    "It''s not too late" he said "I am apart of the Crimson bandit gang my name is Hung Cheyan, we can let by gones be by gones."


    "Is that so?" A smiling Hartley stood over the man.


    "Yes we even have support from some important people inside the Pembroke province, I can admit my wrongs and pay you some compensation," the man played his final card appealing to the greed of the youngster.


    "Name your price and if I don''t have it all with me right now I can retrieve it if you give me some time"


    The black haired man spoke with a desperate look on his face, hoping he could make a deal with the two.


    "Hartley!" a pale faced Zhi Ruo left carriage at this point and ran over to Hartley quickly checking him for injuries.


    "I''m ok Ruo, no need to worry" Hartley smiled and stroked her hair.


    Ruo stood by his side and took a look at the pitiful one armed man lying bleeding in the dirt.


    "Wha, What do you say?" the man stuttered, hoping for a good result.


    "The bodies of the people you used to mark your territory, did you give them a chance to pay compensation?"


    Hung Cheyan gulped as he heard the question from Hartley.


    "You are not from here so you don''t understand" he said, "its always been like that." before he could make further arguments, the young man cut him off.


    "Then why should you get to pay compensation for your life? Hartley asked in a loud and serious voice staring at the man with eyes devoid of feelings.


    Hung Cheyan had no reply so he stayed quiet..


    "You''ve left the bodies of travelers to rot in the road to mark your territory, so where would we be right now if we lacked the strength to defeat you and your team of bandits?" Hartley snarled at the man as he turnedlooked at Ruo who was a bit frightened, he held Ruo''s hand and said to the man.


    "It is only fair that those who come looking for you should also smell your decaying corpse before they find you."


    Hartley took Ruo and started to walk away but with his back turned he said to Qin Li over his shoulder


    "Take his space ring then remove his other hand and both legs then tie him to a tree, if his luck his good he might survive the birds and get eaten by a fierce beast, if his luck his bad then he too will become a rotten stench beside this stretch of hellish road that he created."


    Hung Cheyan started his pleading and cries for mercy as Hartley ushered Ruo towards the carriage. A battle axe appeared in Qin Li''s hand as he carried out the gruesome instructions given.


    The days passed as they made their wayover the bumpy terrain and towards the Pembroke province. Qin Li had some questions about how on earth did Hartley get those bandits to fly in the sky? and how did he fly up to meet them ten meters in the air?


    He was itching to ask Hartley but didn''t find the time because after the incident with the bandits Hartley spent much more time with Ruo, helping her with her armors, cooking and cultivation and combat training..


    They rumbled on towards their destination without anymore unforeseen events.

 49 Zhi Ruos elemental affinity

    Deep into a cluster of twisty brown trees off the main road Zhi Ruo and Hartley prowled over the soft ground that had patches of green grass and scattered dead brown leaves everywhere.


    Every now and then the chilly wind would gently sweep away some of the dead leaves with a rustling sound like a rattle snake.


    Hartley was one step in front of Ruo as they moved forward in a low crouching posture, they were hunters stalking prey. Hartley stopped, held up his right fist, then two fingers pointed to the sky and finally he pointed his index finger forward. This was a sequence of hand signals Hartley had taught her in the last couple of days.


    With Zhi Ruo''s new found dedication towards cultivation, she had flown pass the 8th realm of houtian and had broken into the 9th and final realm of houtian. Hartley had estimated it would take her months but come to find out she actually had some natural talent. Granted she had been supplementing her cultivation with pieces of high ranked medicinal dans given to core disciples of the Lou clan, but still this was an amazing achievement.


    Hartley didn''t know it yet but Zhi Ruo''s father, the man whose silver sword he had been wielding ever since the death battle with Lou Lee, was also a talented cultivator and held the post of a bodyguard in the Royal family for many years.


    A love triangle forced him to flee the capital but that was a story yet to be revealed and wouldn''t come to their attention until much later on in their adventure....but lets not digress.


    The hand signals just passed on by Hartley was to signify that there were two targets straight ahead. After discovering Ruo''s quick cultivation Hartley had decided to start her combat training immediately and slow down the journey to the Pembroke province even more. Hartley had a collection of space rings and one of these space rings had a collection of weapons gained along the way.


    He had laid out a plethora of weapons on the floor of the carriage and asked Zhi Ruo to chose one she liked, she chose two.


    Ruo had taken a pair of beautifully crafted black assassin''s daggers, they looked like rank 2 spirit weapons but Hartley wasn''t sure, he himself hadn''t learnt how to rate spirit weapons as yet.


    Hartley had spent countless hours in the last couple of days teaching Zhi Ruo the most efficient basic strikes he had learnt through trial and error in the back mountains of the Lou clan.


    Downward diagonal, upward diagonal, horizontal and vertical strikes.


    The building blocks of his self taught technique.


    "Strike in a fast straight line towards the target without any embellishment" he had told her.


    Her strikes were perfect in rehearsal but now it was time for her to try and get her first kill.


    Zhi Ruo''s eyes were wide with nervousness, she was wearing loose grey robes with one of her best soft fitting armors she had made on this journey protecting her under the robe.


    She silently crept behind Hartley as the two low level fierce beast came into view. She gulped down her saliva and calmed her nerves. Hartley waited for her to come alongside him and then whispered.


    "I''ll take the one on the left, you take out the one on the right, I will be right there with you at all times, don''t be nervous." he flashed her a calming smile and added "concentrate on the movement technique i showed you."


    She looked him in the eyes and took a deep breath, there was no one on this earth that she trusted more than Hartley.


    The targets were two type of wolf-like brown creatures. They had sharp claws and thick fur, the fierce beasts moved slowly sniffing the floor as they scavenged for food.


    Two figures dashed out of the cover of the trees and assaulted the fierce beasts. The beast on the left immediately lost its head with a silver flash followed by a gush of blood.


    The remaining fierce beast saw Zhi Ruo approaching and swiped its front claws at her, she elegantly danced to the side avoiding it. Zhi Ruo had a face full of concentration as she made a quick horizontal slash leaving a bleeding cut on the side of the wolf-like creature, it howled out loud and with reddened eyes rushed forward, its jaws wide open exposing dozens of sharp teeth. Hartley moved closer to intercept the fierce beast just in case...


    Zhi Ruo still had a mask of concentration on her face, she instinctively made quick small steps almost on the tip of her toes, to the right looking like a ghost gliding over the soft earth and patchy grass. The beast flicked up a tornado of dead leaves and dirt as it flashed pass snapping its jaws shut in attempt to dismember a piece of Zhi Ruo, it ran into and small tree which toppled over as Zhi Ruo landed a left handed horizontal strike on its rump.


    It was a deeper cut this time causing the fierce beast to howl out in pain again.


    Hartley let out a sigh of relief as he stayed close to the battle ready to intervene at a moment''s notice. Then something amazing happened... After exchanging another few attacks and leaving bloody marks on the creature each time, Zhi Ruo looked more relaxed and a dull white glow covered her daggers as she left deep wound on the creature''s body.


    She had water elemental affinity, "no wonder she moved so elegantly" Hartley mumbled to himself. The wolf howled and collapsed to the floor as Zhi Ruo connected with an elegant right handed diagonal slash from low to wide-right which opened up a huge gash to its under-belly.


    It fell kicking up a storm of dust and dead leaves as it wailed in pain.


    The wolf-like fierce beast laid there panting and wriggling trying to get back to its feet, but it was futile. its eyes lost focus as it bled and panted heavily unable to move. Zhi Ruo''s face lost the look of concentration and she too slumped to the floor breathing in big gulps of air. She looked at the beast with her eyes teary . Hartley came over and stooped beside her, he stroked her hair as she let her emotions go.


    "Its ok Ruo," Hartley whispered. "It would have killed you if it had the chance."


    Zhi Ruo just sat there and stared at the creature as it expended its last breath on this earth. Hartley hugged her.


    "The good thing about fierce beasts is that they will always show their intent to kill you, unlike humans who won''t always do so."Hartley whispered once more as he held her close for a while longer before letting go.


    After she collected her self he looked her directly in her eyes and asked "how do you feel now?" Zhi Ruo wiped her eyes as she stood up and answered, "sweaty, really sweaty."


    Hartley tilted his head back and let out loud laughter he wrapped his arm around her shoulder as they both made their way back to camp. Zhi Ruo had sheepish look on her face as she stole glances at Hartley, she was proud, not that she had killed the beast, but because she could see how proud Hartley was.


    Hartley was truly pleased with the effort Ruo had made in such a short time, he couldn''t wipe the smile off his face, She might not be able to reach his or Qin Li''s level of strength, but he was relieved she would at least be able to defend herself competently in the future. He started to plan a new training regime for her.

 50 Sharing a secre

    "What would happen if I tossed up this stone about one meter high," Hartley asked.


    Zhi Ruo rolled her eyes. "It would fall to the ground" she confidently stated.


    "Are you sure?" Hartley had a mocking smile.


    "Of course, What''s going on Hartley? you brought me all the way out here to ask if a stone would fall to the ground?"


    It was a sunny but windy day and Hartley had carried Ruo deep into the trees where there some open space. After a few successful fierce beast hunts Hartley decided that she was ready to strengthen her body.


    Hartley walked over and kissed her on the lips and said "watch".


    He took a step back and let go of the stone in his right hand, the stone then slowly floated upwards and stopped.


    "Holy Matriarch, How?" Zhi Ruo had her mouth wide open . Hartley laughed and the stone fell back into his hand.


    "You are the first and only person I have showed my powers outside of battle Ruo" said Hartley.


    Ruo was still mouthing the word "How" with an incredulous look on her face.


    "Its only gravity Ruo, I can control it within a certain range, and I want you to train your body with gravity weighing you down. It will make you improve your techniques in a very short amount of time."


    Ruo said nothing and just stood there looking at Hartley in amazement


    "Ruo I think techniques and application of techniques are more important than realms, the person at a higher realm has more power but if that person can''t land a hit with that power it is useless."


    As Hartley started to lecture, Zhi Ruo was paying rapt attention with fascination apparent on her face.


    "The bandit leader we encountered four days back was a 3rd layer xiantian and Qin Li is only a 2nd layer xiantian and yet the bandit leader was wounded almost losing an arm and resorted to fleeing in panic for his life. Sometimes combat is not about who is stronger, but more about who is smarter, more creative and more prepared."


    Zhi Ruo let out a breath she didn''t know she was holding in. There was silence for a short while


    "What should I do?" she then asked.


    Hartley smiled, "just practice your basic strikes for an hour every day with me."


    With an excited face she retrieved her black daggers and replied "OK."Hartley smiled and nodded his head. He applied a 5x gravity field around himself and Ruo, her petite body wobbled and then she steadied herself, with her legs slightly shaking she looked at Hartley for instructions.


    He said concentrate on precision and speed the power will come later on. Hartley then nodded his head and said "begin."


    Ruo began her practice for the day, her strikes under the influence of the gravity field looked almost in slow motion. After half an hour, she was pooling in sweat, all her strikes started to look labored and raggedy and all her movements had a slight tremble to them, Hartley released the gravity field.


    "That''s enough for today," sweat was streaking down face and crashing to the floor,Zhi Ruo''s eyes looked a bit glazed, she had visibly expended all her strength, looking as if she could slump to the floor any minute.


    Hartley went over and picked her up, as he looked down at her in his arms he smiled, "don''t worry you''ll get used to it soon, don''t give up" she rested her head on his chest breathing unsteadily.


    Blue lightning-like sparks cascaded around Hartley''s legs as he blinked away in an instant leaving an after image of him holding Ruo.


    The carriage was now only two days away from Pembroke province, the road was beginning to get more lively, there was now people passing by more regularly, farmers with open wagons loaded with goods were now seen going up and down the main road, there were more pedestrians and people riding horses.


    Even though they were so close Hartley didn''t rush, they took their time and got in more training, Almost nightly Hartley would accompany Zhi Ruo to hunt fierce beasts and followed a rigid routine of cultivating in the day.


    Qin Li had been seeing less and less of Hartley as the couple made their excursions into the trees, he used the time to cultivate and waited patiently, the fact that he was driving the carriage had robbed him of precious cultivation time so he didn''t mind getting a chance to catch up and improve his own strength.


    Hartley had revealed one of his secrets to Ruo, even though he liked Qin Li, he didn''t trust him fully yet so he had skirted around Qin Li questions, acting like he also was trying to figure out what happened to the bandits.


    Qin wasn''t stupid, he could tell what Hartley was doing so he backed off and didn''t asked any more questions for the time being. The next three days sped by as Hartley and Ruo kept to their rigid training routine.....


    The rattling sounds of the carriagewheels against the cobble stone road rang out in the dull sunshine of the late Autumn evening as it moved forward approaching the gates of a new province.


    Hartley and company had finally made it into the Pembroke province, they arrived atthe southern gate earlier, there was a long chaotic line of people waiting to enter the province with provisions of all sorts ready to be sold and bought.


    They had another lucky break as again they were fast tracked to the front and allowed to enter after paying the entrance fee for nobles.


    Hartley didn''t mind people assuming they were nobles even though it was a bit shameless, it was also less of a hassle.


    The atmosphere in this province felt tense from the minute they entered, everything was muted and even though there were lots of people minding their business and milling about. There was a hush in the air.

 51 Zhi Ruos athletic body

    The clapping sounds of the thunder bulls'' hoofs on the cobbled road came to a halt at the inn, this area was the Rema district, the equivalent of the Verbena district in the Calabar province. Only a lot less affluent.


    This was the business sector, pedestrians moved up and down and private carriages rattled, shook and bounced in and out of vision down the cobbled streets. The streets were lined with shops and restaurants on both sides. There was hustle and bustle but it was a lot less energetic than other places Hartley had been. It was if the residents were preparing for some kind of a storm.


    The sun glinted off the stationary dark carriage which by now had a look of being used for many miles, the polished dark wood now had a thick layer of dust obscuring the intricate carved patterns on the side panels.


    Hartley looked at it with a frown as Qin Li hopped down from his position, "can we have this thing cleaned and polished?" Hartley asked Qin LI "I don''t know I''ll see if the stable boys can do it." Qin Li replied.


    The flame haired beauty, Zhi Ruo joined them shortly after with a long sigh,


    "I need a long warm bath, its been so long" she yearned, Hartley smiled and asked, "can I join you? I feel so dirty" he gave her a cheekywink. She looked at Hartley with a stern blushing face and harrumphed to the sky.


    The inn that they chose was a two story stone building grey in color. The outside of the building looked as weather beaten as a grape turning into a raisin, it had scratches, peel marks and discolored botches on the paintwork in abundance.


    Qin Li called the stable boy over and gave him instructions, tipping the young boy with a silver coin, they boy''s face brightened in delight as he gave a respectful bow from the waist and carried the dirty carriage towards the back of the inn.


    A white haired shriveled old man looking older than god himself was sat behind the front counter at the inn, his skin sagged with endless wrinkles around his gaunt cheekbones as if there was no flesh between his skull and his skin.


    His clear eyes brightened as he saw the trio approach the desk. He got to his feet.


    "I''m glad to see there are still some nobles left" he said.


    Harley had no idea what the man was talking about.


    He asked "are there rooms available?" "yes, yes...ever since the the friction between the Hung clan and the Tiger mercenary guild,business has been stifled," the talkative old man continued with a long sigh "all this for control of those wretchedgold mines, blessings can really turn out to becurses,and the royal delegates will do nothing because their cut is the same no matter who is in control of the mines." his face radiated a look of sadness, then he snapped back. "Ah the second floor is empty, how many rooms would you like?"


    In his heart Hartley rolled his eyes, wishing the man would just rent them the rooms without the unnecessary info dumping, if he gave the old man the chance he would probably start talking about the state of the province again..


    "Two will do" Hartley snapped, Hartley wanted to get away before the old man talked him to death.


    "I see, I see,"the old man repeated. " That will be" he stopped and did some mental calculations "Two silvers per night including meals."


    Hartley agreed right away. The old man had a surprised look, with business this bad he was expecting hard negotiations. He now regretted not asking for more.


    Hartley snatched the keys and completed the business faster than a pretty whore in the Cosmos regions and made his escape from the old man as if he had stolen something, voicing from the hall "can you send up some hot water?"


    The old man shook his head in confirmation, but Hartley didn''t see as he was already quickly climbing the stairs with Qin Li and Zhi Ruo.


    On their journey so far through the Pembroke province, they had seen an unusual high amount of mounted soldiers in full suits of metallic shiny silver armor including helmets.


    "That''s weird, its like they are preparing for a war" Zhi Ruo hadcommented. Hartley didn''t pay it much attention at the time, he wasn''t interested in the local politics, he was planning to stay here a week to recharge and eat some delicacies in the local restaurants, but the Hung clan rang a bell in his mind.


    "Wasn''t the leader of the bandits they had dismembered name Hung as well?" Hung Cheyan did also say there were important people supporting the bandits in the Pembroke province. Hartley pondered then push the thought from his mind.


    Qin LI as usual chose the room across the hall from Hartley and Zhi Ruo, Hartley escorted Zhi Ruo to the other room and locked the door with every lock available on the door, he had a mischievous smile from ear to ear as he looked at Zhi Ruo''s body from head to toe.. "Ruo with all the training and hunting, we haven''t had time to ourselves lately and now your body is so athletic"Ruo eyes bulged with a scarlet blush she rushed into the bathroom, "Hart..Hartley we just got here, lets get comfortable first."


    At nightfall they emerged from the room, Hartley had a smile so broad you could barely see his eyes, He couldn''t help but think about the way he had pressed down the beautiful Zhi Ruo''s athletic body under him for the whole evening...He was still a teenager and every now and then hewould show his real age and this was one of those occasions. Zhi Ruo held her head down, every time she raised her head and saw that smile on his face she would uncontrollable blush. If she had not complained of hunger he probably would still be at it she thought.


    Hartley knocked Qin Li''s door and asked if he wanted to join them for some delicacies at the local restaurant, Qin Li accepted the invitation and they all left the inn, Hartley walked pass the front desk as fast as possible afraid the old man might start retelling stories about his youthful days. He shuddered as he imagined it,they made their way to a restaurant only fifty meters from the inn.


    In the empty single floor restaurant illuminated by many flickering candles sending shadows across the tables, Hartley was sat next to Zhi Ruo with Qin Li across the table. As far as they could tell, the restaurant was clean, and on the table lay a traywith the remnants of a wild beast leg, some potato-like vegetables, and a bit of gravy-soaked black bread. They were stuffing their faces in a gluttonous fashion with all the delicacies on the menu in a state of bliss.


    Clack clack clack, men in heavy metal armor entered the restaurant making a loud clankingsound with every step forward. The silver armors gleamed a yellow reflection from the dancing candle light. They sat at one of the empty tables not too far away from Hartley and his group. One of the tall soldiers removed his helmet setting free a shower of blonde hair. The handsome man looked over at Hartley''s table after a short while he quietly came over to Hartley and company.

 52 Tiger Mercenary Guild vs The Hung Clan

    The tall handsome blonde man, stopped in front of Hartley''s table and made a respectful bow while cupping his fist. "I''m Xiaou Xie vice captain of the Tiger Mercenary guild and I came over to say you''ve made the right choice by staying in the Rema district, I promise we from the Tiger Mercenary guild will do all that we can in protecting the citizens in the upcoming skirmishes."


    "Huh" Hartley had gravy running down his chin and was baffled. Qin Li and Zhi Ruo were also taken aback by the man''s statement. "What are you talking about?" Zhi Ruo chimed in. The handsome man squinted and looked at them closely for while before pointing to the empty chair beside Qin Li, apparently gesturing for permission to sit. Hartley nodded in consent.


    The man sat down rather easily despite the fact he looked like he was wrapped in metal box from neck to toe. "I take it you are new to town and have no knowledge of the happenings?" he asked, Hartley shook his head still holding a piece of meat with both hands as if he feared the meat would run off. The man sighed "well, you''ve chosen a bad time for a visit. The Hung clan from our neighboring Mountain View district isabout to wage war with the Tiger Mercenary guild located here.


    "What! a real war" Qin Li blurted out with a mouth full of food. Xiaou Xie looked at Qin Li with furrowed brows, thinking that this bunch of nobles really cared not for the eating etiquette practiced by the snobby nobles. The thought left his mind immediately as he had no time to ponder such trivial matters.


    "Yes and no" replied Xiaou Xie, the number of combatants are far less than a real front line war but the aim of both sides is to eradicate the other just like real war."


    "Shouldn''t the delegates from the royal family based in this province step in and stop the blood shed between neighboring districts" Qin Li asked, Xiaou Xi sighed.. The dispute was caused by a stretch of hilly land between the two districts called No Man''s Land, it is a barren stretch of land good for nothing, our guild got the rights to mine the land a few years ago. Others thought it was just throwing money away. Recently a good amount of gold was discovered in one of the mines and a possibility of moregold in the other mines.


    "And that''s when the Hung clan popped up to claim the land as their own" Hartley finished deducingwhere the story was leading. Xiaou Xie nodded. The delegates called it petty politics and are unwilling to get involved leaving us to sort it by ourselves.


    "They threatened to slaughter all nobles in support of the Tiger Mercenary guild which would automatically be those nobles still here when they come. Most of the nobles packed up their business and left through the north gate and headed north to ride out the troubles." With a serious look he continuedthe wealthy can easily migrate but when they left their protection left with them leaving the district in a vulnerable position, The poor have to find their own way of dealing with the oppression that will come from the Hung clan.


    "That''s why the atmosphere in this district is like a funeral ceremony, quiet and really somber." Zhi Ruo stated. Xiaou Xie smiled. "Yeah I thought you guys were one of the few nobles left in the district and came over to thank you for staying. Now that I have found out that is not the case, I would advice you to leave as soon as possible." He got up from his chair, bowed again and was about to leave, "Thank you, and don''t worry about us we will be fine" Hartley said with a bright smile. Xiaou Xie nodded and returned to join his comrades at the other table. He couldn''t help but feel sorry for Hartley and his group, he assumed they didn''t know how serious the dangers were.


    .....................LATE NIGHT AT THE INN.............


    Hartley sat cross legged on the floor while Ruo slept peacefully on the soft bed, Hartley had a strange but familiar sensation, it was the sensation he felt every time he was at the thing line between sub-realms. In his consciousness there was a mini Hartley sitting cross legged on a 300 kilometers plot of land that now was a place of inhospitable peaks, sharp cliffs, and deep lush greenjungle with a bright Blue Star shining down bright on the land making every minor detail visible.


    It was developing into his own mini continent but right now it was more like an island. As he inhaled and exhaled a build up of thick blue aura like thick smoke obscured his body. The star tatto on his chest which hadn''t shown itself since he advanced to the xiantian realm was now shining brightly. The real Hartley sat in the dark room had thick smoke-like blue aura wrapped around his body like an extra robe pulsing and flashing like a light show with each breath.


    The star fragment hidden in his chest fed an enormous amount of blue star energy into Hartley''s body and heart, blue steam-like tendrils rose from his body as if his skin was boiling in blue water. Badum. Badum. His heart started to beat loudly in his ears. Time slowed to an eight of its normal speed. Badum Badum his gravity field synchronized with his breathing. Every time he inhaled, everything in the room, including the bed Ruo was sleeping on,would rise half a meter off the floor and when he exhaled everything would gently land back in its original position.


    Hartley was one step closer to assimilating the blue star fragment with his physical body which was now 3rd layer xiantian. From now on, he was at a point where physical exercise could no longer improve his body. To bring his physical body into the mid-phase of the xiantian realm he had to depend on enlightenment and breaking through the rest of the layers in the xiantian realm.


    Inside Hartley''s consciousness the land started to expand,another 300 kilometers of barren sandy land was added aroundthe developed areas. Looks like it would take a long time to develop the extra land.


    Hartley opened his eyes and the whole room lighted up like it was daytime again, Time was eight times slower. he had automatically entered his advanced state of focus, the light quickly faded away. He stood up and his body made loud popping noises like fire works on new year''s eve.


    Hartley looked at Ruo, checked if she was sleeping and then walked next to the window at the far side of the room, opened it and then dived out, before he could hit the ground with a loud explosion, he hovered in the air for 2 seconds and then gently landed on the ground outside the inn. Hartley was now a 5th layer xiantian.

 53 Top 600

    A bright grey-whitish full moon peaked from behind the gloomy clouds of the dark night.


    The fluffy dark clouds brought down rain like sheets of mist to the ground. The moon had a dull greyillumination which made the night seem hazy and dream-like. Raindrops rapidly hit the cobble stonesproducingflecks of water splashes which reflected the dull moonlight for a millisecond then disappeared like a fleeing firefly.


    The soft murmur of the rain and the ambient sound of the gentle splashes made for a cold tranquil calming atmosphere.


    Hartley stood ram rod straight on the empty street staring ahead, clumps of wet black hair was stuck to his face as streaks of water raced down from his foreheadto his chin and dripped onto his soaked dark robe. From the soles of his feet to his knee transformed to a dull blue color as if his feet were now made of hard crystal. Tendrils of thin smoke-like mist rose from his legs wriggling a couple centimeters upwards then disappeared as thin blue lightning sparks would intermittently appear and crackle across his blue legs.


    He dashed forward! The gentle explosion of air left behind a dry spot of 5 meters in radius where no raindrops penetrated, stood in the middle of the rain-less spot was a life-like after image of Hartley standing straight and staring forward.


    By the time the after image faded away like smoke in the wind, Hartley was stood three kilometers away in a remote place facing the high walls of the Pembroke province. His Star feet technique had surpassed his gravity steps by three folds and he could change direction at any time.


    He stood still, closed his eyes and concentrated, he could now sense 600 meters around him, he could sense any movement or sound as if he was standing right next to what was happening. That''s because the range of his gravity field have been doubled to 600 meters and he could now apply 40x gravity, the downward pressure of such a force could crunch a giant tree to splinters. Hartley''s eyes flicked open suddenly.


    All the color drained from the world, the raindrops and splashes all stopped in place. Twenty meters around Hartley, the monochrome world was in a state of suspended animation, everything could be seen in exquisite details, from the water molecules separated at the end of the splashes to the oval shaped ripples on each drop of rain as it fought the wind resistance on its way down.


    Hartley, the only mobile thing in this black and white portrait felt like the only beingthat existence on the mortal plain.He started counting mentally. One..... Two..... Three... Then whooosh! all the dark hazy color returned to the world, the ambientnoises of the rainand splashes on the floor could now be heard again .


    Hartley''s budding time domain rangehad increased by 5 meters and the duration increased by one second. As of now Hartley had just stepped onto the lower rungs of the top echelon experts in the country of Aidonia. he might be able to squeeze into the top 600 right now. It was an amazing unknown achievement baring in mind that he was round about 17 years old and the Aidonia country had a population of about two hundred million people.


    In reality Hartley should not be compared with people on the mortal plain, because of his mixed blood and his origins he should be compared ot people from the higher plain of Diyu. In Diyu he would be one of the weakest in his age group, fortunately he had time to amass his strength on this plain and his speed of progress assisted by the blue star fragment was tremendous, so there''s a chance to catch and match people from Diyu in the future.


    He flashed forward and appeared back in the dark wet empty streets of the Rema district. He sent out his awareness to see if there was anyone watching, when he confirmed there was no one watching he walked up the wall of the hotel to his room window and returned.


    The following days passed peacefully as Hartley and company rested and recharged for the next leg of their journey. With the looming threat of the attack by the Hung clan, activities in the Rema district became less bustling. The streets still had many pedestrians and private carriages but not as busy as it was when they first arrived.


    It was the fourth day since they had arrived in the Rema district Zhi Ruo still cultivated her knife strikes under the constraint of Hartleys gravity field in the privacy of the inn and had been improving steadily, they cultivated together and used the rest of the time to frequent the shops and restaurants where they were greeted with wide smiles. The uncertainty in the air had caused people to not be as generous with their spending, causing head aches for the managers.


    "What are you looking for?"A blonde girl a head or two shorter than Hartley came over with a perfect flirtatious smile. She was about Ruo''s age and wearing a tight pink dress which hugged her curves. Her massivetwin peaks stood pointing forward and portions of pale flesh could be seen bulging out of the neckline of the dress. "I...I..I" Hartley awkwardly tried to answer andnot to look at the woman''s chest, but somehow his eyes always drifted back to the region.


    Hartley''s body went rigid as Zhi Ruo came over and grabbed onto his arm like she was marking her territory, she stood close to him clinging onto his arm, "He''s here helping me to pick out some dresses"Zhi Ruo answered nonchalantly whilepointing her nose to the sky. She was obviously not putting the girl in her eyes. It was now the blonde girl''s turn to be awkward as she forced a fake smile at Ruo while glancing at Hartley sheepishly.


    "There is a red dress at the left corner at the back, I would like to see it."Zhi Ruo ordered just like a real snobby noble. The blonde awkwardly looked at Hartley hoping he would say something.


    "What are you waiting for"barkedZhi Ruo, the girl immediately got skipping to the back of the store.


    Ruo then turned her head to give Hartley the death stare and through gritted whispered "Just you wait."


    Hartley''s eyes bulged and he made a big gulp "Ruo..Ruo I did nothing" he pleaded. "Oh yeah...what were you looking at? it weren''t her face was it?"Ruo accused.


    Hartley knew he was busted so hejust stood there and accepted Ruo''s death stares as he watchedRuo givingthe blondegirl the most spiteful run around like a spoiled princess.


    These normal moments with Ruo when she actedjealous and overbearing made him smile, over the past couple of days as they had been shopping he had seen more and more of these moments. From her glow of joy when she purchased the dress sheliked to the puppy eyes she gave him when she picked out clothes for him that he didn''t like.


    Now for the first since leaving the mountain Hartley wondered if it was the right decision, could he had just stayed in the Waltham province and lived happily ever after with Ruo?. Did he have the right to drag his beloved across the country through countless danger? Was his desire to make his mark on the worldimmature? Was he selfish? Was this quest just the dream of a boy who didn''t fit in? Now that he was with Ruo didn''t he finally find somewhere where he fitted in?


    He was awoken from his introspection as Ruo yanked his right arm and led him out of the store at a brisk pace still giving him death stares.

 54 The red haired Goddess

    The door slammed with aresounding boom leaving the door jam and the window panes rattling long after the door was closed.


    "Lou Hartley!"


    Ruo spat through gritted teeth. From today onwards Hartley would come to find out that she only addressed him as Lou Hartley when she was really annoyed, her chest heaved up and down as she animatedly pranced around the room in disgust.


    She fixed him with the death stare for what must have been the hundredth time today.


    "I swear to the Holy Matriarch if I catch you peeping at another girl''s chest again I will gouge your eyes out" she shook her little fist as her red hair danced around the contorted features of her face.


    She finally stoppedpacing and stood hands akimbo. Another death stare occurred. Then she stammered "That... that...that WHORE!" the word exploded with venom out of her mouth.


    Hartley couldn''t help but laugh at her last outburst. He then pulled himself together and put on his most pitiful face as he saw a flash of annoyance on her face.


    "Ruo I was just minding my own business and she came to show me some dresses for you."


    "Was she showing you that whore dress she was wearing?" Hartley knew not to answer that and stayed silent.


    In that cute manner of hers, she turned her nose to the sky and snorted a loud hmph before heading to have her bath. Hartley now resigned himself to the fact that he might not even get to sleep on the bed tonight. He couldn''t help but release a long depressed sigh


    Later that night Hartley sat cross legged cultivating on the floor of the bedroom, Zhi Ruo turned with a face of annoyance,


    "So, are you not coming to bed tonight?" she asked. "Am I allowed?" Hartley asked in a meek voice.


    Zhi Ruo''s tone softened drastically.. she sighed "Hartley come to bed, I might have over-reacted earlier." Hartley knew notto confirm or deny that.He carefully climbed into bed leaving a clear distance between them.


    Zhi Ruo blushed and scooted closerthen started kissing him with a passion he had never seen before. Before longhe was pressing down her athletic body underneath him whileshe moaned and groaned in pleasure. All he could think was. "maybe I should look at other women''s breast and get her riled up like this more often."


    The next morningHartley sat up on the bed and couldn''t help but ask with aserious face "Ruo are you happy?" the thoughts of him dragging her along for his own selfish reasons hadweighed on his mind."Is this about the shop yesterday?" Ruo answered "I already told you that I over-reacted""No Ruo its not about yesterday, its about the whole dangerous journey, do you feel we would have been better off staying in the Waltham province?"


    She squinted her eyes, raised her pale right hand and gently caressed the left side of his face, with a serious face she said "if you are having doubts its normal Hartley, you are not a sand puppet after all. It would be worrying if you cared for only your cause, doubts assures me that you have other considerations outside of your ambitions."


    "The decision I made to conquer the world by your side I will never regret, When we fled the capital with my dad and mom I was sleeping when we came under attack. my mom died that night,"as tears ran down her face she continued " The helplessness that I felt that night has stayed within my mind ever since then, until I met you... That helplessness is gone when I''m with you Hartley."Now I feel we can control our own destinies and not live at the whims of others and besides, I am not from the Waltham province, even though I grew to love the place. That''s not where I belong, I belong anywhere you are."


    Zhi Ruo leaned in and planted a loving kiss on his face, "Don''t worry about me Hartley, I promise I will not become a burden on this journey, shafts of sunlight entered the room through the half open window and gave the early morning scene a natural yellowish glow, Hartley opened his mouth to assure her, but he could find no words. He hugged her closely and took in deep breaths...


    Qin Li as usual used all his time on cultivation, he was about to reach the thin line between sub-realms and was pushing himself. He still found time in the evenings to join the others for dinner but that was it as far his outdoor activities wentduring this break. This was the fifth day they had spent in the Pembroke province and within the next two days they would leave and head north towards the Wawrika province. The attack from the Hung clan had not come and Hartley was hoping to be long gone before the two sides clashed.


    On the seventh morning The trio came downstairs in the inn, Zhi Ruo was wearing an elegant all white dress which flowed all the way down toher ankles, Hartley and Qin Li both wore thick brand new black robes with golden embroidery. Even though Qin Li had not been around the town shopping, Ruo had bought plenty clothes for the boys. Herhair was loose and flowed down to her shoulders, a stark contrast between the lily white dress and flame red hair. Hartley returned the keys to the shriveled white haired man at the desk. He was disappointed to see them leave and went into a soliloquy about nobles taking responsibilities and not abandoning the common people.


    Hartley sighed and listened to the last lecture of an old man, it was likely that he would not see the man again. After the old timer finished Hartley bowed from the waist and cupped his fist respectfully and said "Thanks for the wise words inn keeper" The old man smiled and nodded, satisfied that he had imparted enough knowledge to the youths today. Out side the inn Qin Li signaled the stable boys to bring the carriage around.


    The carriage rumbled out, The dark polished wood was gleaming in the sunshine, the intricate carvings on the side panels could once again be seen in all its splendor. There was not a particle of dust on the vehicle, even the wheels which were banged and battered on the rough roads towards the Pembroke province were now smooth and the rubber lining on the wheels replaced. Hartley was impressed. Qin Li had paid the stable boys to take care of it. He too was satisfied with their effort, he paid them and they left with bright happy faces.


    They finished double checking everything and was about to leave, surprise..surprise, the rambling sounds of hoofs came from the distance and heading towards the commercial district. Hartley put his palm to his face, if not for the old man''s lecture they might have made it out..sigh.. no use crying over spilled milk.


    "Get out the way you gawping peasants" a man led twenty armored soldiers on horse back as he lashed out at the pedestrians. Chaos ensued as every one on the streets were ducking for cover, and ran inside the open shops. The man with his face under a bright silver helmet with a nose guard running down the top of the helmet to the end of his nose bridge smiled a proud toothy grin as he witnessed all the crowd disperse in frantic panic.


    The twenty man squad slowed down their horses to a trot. as they made their way proudly up the main road like peacocks unimpeded. Hartley, Qin Li and Zhi Ruo stood beside the beautiful carriage expecting the men to pass and head further on their way. Halt! the man held his right fist up to the sky and all the horses behind him came to a sudden stop. "You lawless scums" the man pointed in the direction of the carriage. "You are supporting the bandits of the Tiger mercenary guild and your punishment for such disregard of law and order shall be severe. The benefits you have reaped shall be returned ten folds."


    "You, you and you arrest them!" the men chosen for the easy task of rounding up three nobles slid from their saddles and marched forward leaving the clanking sounds of heavy armor resonating on cobble stones through the now empty streets. Swords drawn and faces hidden under shiny helmets, they callously approached the three. Oneof the men eyed up Zhi Ruo lasciviously and increased his pace so he could have first choice of prisoners.


    The man intended to man handle Zhi Ruoand get his quirks in before the others.


    Hartley was just about to put an end to the whole fracas by teaching these three a lesson in pain, when a ghost like figure swept pass him with two black blades drawn. The hems of her long white dress fluttered over the ground like the wings of a humming bird. With her feet hidden under the hem of her long dress she moved as if she was sliding across a frozen plain of ice.


    The soldier who had taken the lead eyes widened in delight, this was perfect. In apprehending her, he was planning on putting his hands in places eyes couldn''t see, When Zhi Ruo was in range he tried to grab her with his left free hand which bore a shiny silver gauntlet. Tap, tap tap..Three quick steps and Zhi Ruo smoothly glided pass the man''s left hand like smoke in the wind and fluidly transitioned into a high horizontal blade slash with her right hand. The black blade blurred and her slash slammed into the helmet on the mans head with


    and explosion of sparks under the bright sunlight sending him flying to the side and he rolled on the floor for another five meters.


    The shiny helmet twisted to the side on the man''s head resulting in the nose guard biting deep down into the bridge of his nose which sent blood running down the front of his face, he howled out in pain and rolled around a little more trying to dislodge the helmet''s nose guard from deep in his nose.

 55 Zhi Ruos timing

    The scraping sounds of metal armor against the cobble stones were drowned out by the painful howls of the panic stricken soldier, he was now finding it hard to draw breath through his clogged nasal cavity. The cut was so deep that blood was flooding down his nostrils making his waling cries a pitch higher transforming his voice to a falsetto. Qin LI turned and looked at Hartley with his jaw on the floor. Hartley flashed him a knowing smile. Qin Li smiled wryly back at Hartley and turned to watch the show.


    The curdling shrieks of their comrade made the other two soldiers stand in place. The simple task didn''t seem so simple anymore. They raised their swords with new found wariness. Yes their mate might have been careless but he got his ass thoroughly handed to him on a plate. Holy Matriarch, how was he ever going to step foot back inside the barracks. His fate was sealed even if he got up and slaughtered all three of the offenders.


    In the competitive environment of the soldiers camp, being nonchalantly slapped down by a weak looking female in front of the whole squad was a sure way to be assigned latrine cleaning duties for the next year. To make matters worse he was laid on his back screaming and wailing like he was about to give birth. The leader still mounted on his black horse with a shaggy tail barked "Disgraceful" as he looked at the foot soldier wailing, he pointed at the other two "you two get her and kill her if she resist" The embarrassment was so bad that he dared not send any more of his troops, he''d just have these two kill the woman to save some face.


    The men inchedforward carefully under the gaping stares of their comrades and the leader who was a 3rd layer xanthian. Zhi Ruo stood elegantly with both daggers pointed towards the ground. She could only see the men''s cold irises approaching slowly, After Hartley had expressed his doubts earlier, she felt shehad to show off her skills and assure Hartley of her commitment to his ambitions of dominance over the country first and then the continent. It was time to show the things she had been working on privately with Hartley.


    Hartley was nervous, she had taken down the first soldier easily enough, he had trained with her so he knew she would not easily be defeated by anyone under the xanthian realm, but he wasn''t sure if she wass ready to face two fully armored soldiers. IT was time for him to step in. Again, just as he was about to make his move, she held her right fist up signalling for Hartley to stay back. She pointed her nose towards the sky and did her trademark snort."Hmph... Let me handle this" she smiled.


    Hartley did have his misgivings but if she said she could handle it he would trust her words,he prepared himself to step in and handle the situation if needs be. In all honesty her spicy personality was one of her traits that Hartley had fallen in love with. Even though he wasn''t experienced in the field of relationships, from what he saw in society, women were usually docile, almost the property of their husbands. Zhi Ruo was different she wasloving and gentle and at the same time feisty and fiery and when she showed her overbearing side, not even Hartley wanted to be on the wrong end of it.


    The shiny armors gleamed in the morning sunshine which doused the surroundings with its warm bright light, a cold autumn wind simultaneouslydanced through the empty streets as if at war with the warmth of the sun. The men moved, clank clank clank, they splitfive meters apart planning to attack in a pincer formation, if Ruo committed to fighting with one soldier the second would attack her unprotected back. The soldiers were all men with no hope of reaching the xanthian realm. They had long since passed the age of expiry for making it to the peak of the houtian realm. The only way for them to make a name for themselves was by traininghard, achieve some merits on the battle field and move up the ranks of the clan they were attached to maybe landing a spot with a noble, this was a golden opportunity to get in the good books of their commanding officer.


    The man on the right came at Zhi Ruo, she now had the look of concentration on her face whenever she fought or trained. Zhi Ruo was now beginning to understand the miracle of Hartley''s gravity field, she had gotten used to moving in 5x gravity while training, now moving in normal gravity she felt like a tiger with wings unleashed against rabbits.


    She daintily moved to meet the challenge, the man laden in iron was moving so slow he might as well be moving backwards. The silver blade glinted as the man slashed horizontally aiming at her waist from right to left. This was the moment of truth for Hartley, sweat washed over his body as he prepared to intervene...it wasn''t needed, Zhi Ruo raised her left dagger only about a quarter the length of the long sword and met the silver threat with a clang and with exquisite timing she moved the dagger in a circle and stepped left. The result was an explosion of sparks as the man lost control of his sword and stumbled leaving him wide open but she didn''t force an attack due to the protection of his armor instead she whirled on the ball of right foot and glided two quick steps back to the right and caught the man on the left sneak attack with exquisite timing and parried it also leaving him stumbling back as he over rotated,the impressive co ordination and a complex double angled parryperformed by Zhi Ruo left everyone watching amazed. There was murmurs coming from the squad thanking the Holy Matriarch that they weren''t the ones being embarrassed. The leader sat uncomfortable on hishorse with his exposed eyes red with rage, he was about to lose all face today without even facing a single person from the Tiger Mercenary Guild.


    This was what Hartley and Zhi Ruo was working on in training, on the main road in the Cosmos regions Hartley had met a 3rd layer xanthin with water elemental affinity, the man only used a short sword and was very adept in using soft to control hard. This was the concept that Hartley thought best suited her. She had shown great speed and precision, but her physical strength was lacking so she had to use the opponent''s strength against them added to her elegance in movement, it was like watching a ballet.


    As the second attacker stumbled back while half turning Zhi Ruo stuck close to him like stink on shit and crouched then stabbed upwards with her dagger. There was a ripping sound as she pulled back her dagger from under the man''s armpit, he screamed as blood stained the right side of the man''s pristine spotless armor. Before he could disengage she rotated her blade and swept it viciously to one side of the man''s helmeted head with a huge clang the man went sprawling on the cobble stones, making a racket as he rolled over and over before coming to a stop.


    Zhi Ruo turned with a smile to face the other soldier, "now its one on one" she said but at this exact moment the commanding officer gave a signal to someone in his squad. A man about 2 meters tall rushed out from the soldiers, his shoulders as broad as the length of two adults standing side to side, his armor must have used at least double the amount of metal used on an average soldier. Armed with a axe double the size of Qin Li''s . The man made a beeline for Ruo.


    Suddenly there were two Hartleys, one stood next to Qin Li and one delivering a lightning fast punch to the chest of the Brute of a man. The hartley standing next to Qin li wriggled in the wind and began to disperse. The Hartely in front of the giant man had his fist moving forward, the skin on his hand from his fist to his elbow was now a dull blue, there were wisps of steam like white smoke roiling upwards. As his hand moved forward bright white concentric circles formed, his hands went through the circles like a train exiting a tunnel and BOOM! silver shrapnel flew into the squad of soldiers.. It was pandemonium, horses railed up on their hind legs neighing and braying, men screamed in horror as the hail of shrapnel sliced through armor like a knife through butter. Chaos! Panic!.... Not even even the commanding officer who was a 3rd layer xanthian fire elemental expert escaped unscathed, pieces of shrapnel flew through his upper arm and his horse was laying dead.


    Hartley stood in the pose which he delivered the punch. There were no signs of the big brute, no blood, no bones, no flesh, nothing remained at the spot he was a couple seconds ago. Again there were two Hartleys. One stuck in a punching pose and one standing next to Qin Li, the Hartley that was in the punching pose slowly faded away with the wind. The commanding officer gave the order to retreat which was like heaven to the soldiers ears, they quickly made their way back the way they had come, some on foot some, some with missing limbs and some still had intact horses as they disappeared from view quickly, leaving behind bodies of horses and men and some chopped off pieces of armor with body parts still inside.


    Hartley quickly went over to check Zhi Ruo, even she had her mouth wide open in awe.. He looked at Qin and said "lets go we''ve lost enough time already." The carriage clattered down the street as people poked their heads of buildings inspecting the mess left behind.

 56 Qin Li comes clean

    Winds howled over the sparsely vegetated lands. Flecks of white snow danced through the air, accumulating on the floor and creating a white blanket thrown over the landscape.Ascar face man stood on the crest of a Hill, the cold wind rippling his robes as he looked out over the long road to the Wawrika province. "Is that him?" a hazy cloaked dark figure asked. The cloaked man shimmered in darkness, wreaking in the aura of death. The scar face man answered "yes, he caused quite a stir in the Pembroke province". "He''s such a thorn, can you take him?" asked the cloaked man. The blustery winds howled as the scar face man took time to think. "Maybe fifty fifty.""Hmm" the dark cloaked man groanedthen disappeared.


    A layer of snow clung to the carriage rumbling down the now white surface of the road, leavingtwo wheel tracks crawling behind it for a two or three metersbefore beingflawlessly covered again after a few minutes. In the dreary grey day, the trio riding on board was now just hours away from the Wawrika province, forZhi Ruo who was sat next to Hartley wrapped in layers and layers of thick fur, they couldn''t reach fast enough. The cold didn''t bother Hartley and Qin LI who were in the xiantian realm but Zhi Ruo, who had in the past month made it to the peak of the houtian realm could feel it down to her bones.


    After leaving the Pembroke province they were chased by a group of revenge crazed Hung clan members, they had to give up on that idea real quick after coming into contact with the merciless wrath of Hartley once more.... Unknowingly Hartley had rendered great help to the Tiger Mercenary Guild, they secured the gold mines from the weakened Hung clan.Xiaou Xie the vice captain of the guild heard the reports and made a mental note of the three nobles with unbelievable bad table manners that he had met at the restaurant.


    Hartley now could not ignore the relationship between him an Qin Li any longer, there was still a tinge of mistrust in his soul but he had come to respect Qin Li even more. He had driven the carriage diligently through the rain and snow without a peep of complaint, that made Hartley a bit torn in his heart. Was he being paranoid? His instinct!..he had to trust his instinct, it was what got him this far. Why wouldQin Liwho was a xiantian expert sacrifice so much cultivation time for no apparent gain, it felt a little suspicious.


    The high wall of the Wawrika province appeared in view, the snow coveredwall stood around 20 meters high and ran off into the distance giving the illusion of the wall blending into the background of white. From the ground the smoke-like condensation of the on duty guards breathing could be seen high in the Guard Towers dotted at regular intervals along the wall.


    The carriage pulled up to the large gates of the provinceand were received by guards in thick white hooded fur robes matched with shin high boots , gloves and a piece of fabric that protected the bottom half of their faces. Again the few people present outside in this kind of weather who were impatiently waitingto re-enter the province were moved to the side by guards to make way for the carriage.


    The men politely exchanged pleasantries with Qin li, who at this point had snow flakes clinging onto his facial hairs forming small icicles stretching downwards. The guard collected the entry fee of Three golds and ushered them through the gate and into the province.


    A majestic panorama of snow covered buildings of all sizes spread outin every direction, the landscape was an overwhelming sight, this was different from every other province Hartley had visited thus far, roads spilled out in every direction like noodles thrown on the floor, littered with private carriages and wagons moving in and out the maze of frozen roads. This was the most developed province Hartley had ever seen. This was the central region of Aidonia, the further north one headed in the country the more developed it was. Nobles who were assigned lands in places like the Waltham province considered it more like banishment. The more influential Counts Dukes Marquis and Viscounts all had their bases in the north of the country.


    They asked around and located an inn amidst a cluster ofbuildings, space was a premium in this part of town. The buildings were crammed together leaving small alley ways that could not fit a carriage. The quaint three story building flanked by smaller shops on both sides gave one the impression of a stone box divided in three parts.


    Zhi Ruo let out an audible sigh of comfort when they entered and the warmth from the prominent fireplace crackling in the left side of the first floor, washed over her pale skin, wiping their feet on a raggedy old door mat to get rid of the snow clinging to their boots, they made their way in.


    Hours Later...


    They had as usual two rooms on the third floor, Zhi Ruo was now fast asleep wrapped from head to toe in thick furs on a soft feather bed.


    Hartley smiled and left.


    He knocked on Qin li''s door across the hall and was invited in immediately. A streak of yellow light from the lamps in the hall invaded the dark room through the open door and ran across half of Qin Li who sat crossed legged on his bed when Hartley entered.


    He stood there staring at Qin Li before asking "Qin Li, why are you here?"


    Qin Li returned Hartley''s stare with emotionless eyes. "What are you talking about? This inn?"


    "Don''t act stupid."


    Hartley looked around and located a chair in the corner of the room next to an old table. Hartley sat down, looked straight at Qin Li and continued.


    "Sometimes when you see something that looks like a fish and smells like a fish and guess what? its flapping around like a fish. It might just be a fish" Hartley stated as if he was now a wise old teacher who had seen the world many times over.


    "So who''s the fish?" asked Qin LI.


    Hartley smiled "You! It strikes me odd that someone who started out as a servant disciple in a foreign clan and worked his way all the way up to become a xiantian expert through pain staking dedication,just ups and throws it away to become a lowly carriage driver, sacrificing all that hard work.."


    Hartley stopped and looked at Qin Li with a serious expression.


    "The funny thing is after observing, you are still as dedicated as ever to cultivation, which means you did not actually abandon your cultivation, so that begs the question: Why?"


    Qin Li replied "I wanted to break the shackles of my upbringing and change my fate is that such a bad thing?''


    Hartley mood changed immediately he had no more use for subtleword games right now.


    "You turning on up the eve of my departure was suspicious enough but now we are in the central regions of the country, the stakes from here on are going to be high. I will not continue on with someone I don''t trust, I was waiting for you to break and get tired of driving that carriage through all types of weather. I am impressed with your dedication towards your mission, but now this is where we part ways either as friends or enemies its your choice."


    Qin Li flashed a nervous smile. "Its not what you think, I''m not on a mission" he paused, noticing Hartleys furrowed brows, he continued.


    " After the mission in the Cosmos region, I was elated I got a bunch of clan points and had obtained more resources that I could ever have earned in five years, it was odd because the amount I got was way more than I was suppose to. Then Some higher ups in the clan who I have never seen before came to me and told me you were special and the future of the clan depends on you, because I have been so loyal to the clan the resources was for me to cultivate and accompany you on your journey through the country, my instructions was to just be a good friend to you. That''s it...Just be a good friend."


    "Patriarch Lou" Hartley murmured to himself, why was it so important for them to anchor him to the clan he wondered. This was a ploy to somewhat ensure that Hartley would not turn his wrath onto the clan in the future but why did the Patriarch who was a half step saint think it so important to maintain some sort of influence over him. The gears in Hartley''s mind was working overtime but he still could not figure it. He pushed the thoughts away and asked "Then are you?" "Yes, but not because I was instructed to, but because you saved my life twice. I will always show loyalty and gratitude towards those who have shown kindness to me."


    Hartley was a good judge of people and could tell Qin Li was being sincere. He left the room with a head full of questions.

 57 The scar face man appears again

    It took a couple days for Hartley to start moving freely through the district, the more complex layout of the roadways, with a constant stream of carriages and pedestrians trudging through the packed snow of the walkways and the distanceto be traveled made navigating around the district a bit more complicated than the provinces they had visited before this one. After two days of walking around elbow to elbow with the always busy traffic of people andmemorizing some unique land marks he was much more comfortable.


    The were staying in district 6, The massive Wawrika province had a total 23 districts and all were named after numbers. District 6 was in the southern half of the province filled to the brim with snow covered stone buildings. There was no specific commercial district, everywhere was bustling with a variety commerce from houses of healing to fortune tellers and restaurants.


    They hadbought doubled lined robes made of thick fur for Zhi Ruo from one of the shops so that she wouldn''t beaffected by the low temperatures when she accompanied them to the restaurants in the cold evenings. The stagnantsnow laying on the walkway complained with crunching soundsat each step as the trio made their way through the now half-empty streets towards today''s chosen eating spot. On the way in, they were first greeted by the smells of the delicacies being prepared then they were greeted by the attendant in uniform and shown to a secluded corner of the one story building. The brown interior walls hadsix lit candles in candle holders mountedon each side wall and a black chandelier hanging down 2 meters from the high ceiling with 12 candles blazing with small yellow flames casting a shadow of the chandelier itself across the tables in theroom.


    Again as his habit dictates Hartley had Zhi Ruo order all the delicacies on the menu, he then turned to Qin Li "I guess we need to find a professional coach driver now, if I''m going to have a friend I might as well have a strong friend." Qin Li smiled and answered "I guess so."Zhi Ruo swiveled her head to look at both men. "What''s going on?" Hartley replied to her question as he looked to where the kitchen was, his impatience for the food showing on his face. "I think its time we got another coach driver to give Qin Li more time to cultivate." She looked at Hartley with suspicion, she obvioulsy thought there was something deeper to the story.


    As the food arrived dish by dish they all started eating, Hartley with chopsticks held right to his face asked "Ruo you are from the capital right, how does one become an actual noble?"


    Zhi Ruo daintily finished her food and wiped her mouth with awhite napkin provided on the table. "Why? do you want to be a noble now?"


    Hartley brought his right hand up to cover his mouth as he finished eating a mouthful then said "Why not? everything is so much easier when people believe you are a noble."


    "Well the basic way is to get conferred a title of knight or higher by a baron" said Zhi Ruo. "A glorified lackey" said Hartley..


    Qin Li burst out laughing and food from his mouth flew everywhere..


    "Sorry, sorry" he held up his hand as he got the death stare from Zhi Ruo.


    "How else" asked Hartley.


    "Well you can also get a title from the King or one of the princes for outstanding services rendered to the country."


    Hartley sighed, "All basically lackeys" The waitress then came over and removed the empty bowls from the table, skillfully packing them inside each other with clanking sounds then headed off the kitchen again.


    "There must be a more dignified way" Hartley said.


    "Well you can just start your own country" Zhi Ruo replied sarcasm dripping from her voice.


    Hartley had a narrow view of how things worked. If he had to suck up to kings princes and barons, how long would it take to dominate the country, what Hartley didn''t know was that he was thinking of politics in its raw form, and it would be an essential ingredient for success. As he was thinking this Qin LI chimed in "why not just skip the noble part and go straight to being the strongest in the country. for now if people think we are nobles just don''t correct them but we ourselves won''t directly claim to be nobles."


    "The strongest in the country" Hartley mused slowly, how long will that take. There seems to be no easy solutions. "Why not start here?" Qin Li said. "What do you mean?" Hartley asked. Qin li laid down his chopsticks into his bowl. "This is biggest and most prosperous province we''ve been to so far and the weather is going to be bad for the coming months, instead of travelling north in a freezing carriage why not use this province as our first base andstart building our influence of power, we can start small by taking over a underground crime guild." he picked up back his chopsticks and continued eating. Zhi Ruo looked at Qin Li,she now had a tinge of new found respect, there was no way she wanted to go any further north in this weather.


    They continued on as the trio ate and talked. When they left, they headed straight for the inn. A movement to the side immediately caught Hartley''s attention, the slight shift of a shadow flew towards their direction.


    Hartley leaped out diagonally ahead of of Zhi Ruo, his hand turned blue, waves of squiggly white steam curled off around his hand as he threw a punch at a sneaky black light , the stealthy black bolt turned to bright white sparks . crunch crunch crunch..ice crunched underfoot and the condensation of theirbreathing was visible looking like puffs of smoke emitted every few seconds, a high pitched laughter came from the distance ."cover Ruo" said Hartley. Zhi Ruo now had her knives drawn. They were at a T intersection of frozen roads. They were approaching the adjoining street that ran right to left so they had 2 blind corners to cover.


    Hartley had to be proactive he pushed his awareness to 300 meters and detected every single movement and sound within the vicinity. They were two small stone buildings around the left corner, two men had taken up positions there. The right corner only had one single person who was not hiding. That person was standing in the middle of the street cackling. The shooter was on the same street as the trio, on the roof of a small building, Hartley didn''t put the man in his eyes, he was the weakest threat. Hartley first had to figure out if it was a trap to lure him away and separate them, so he paid no attention to the man on the roof reloading his crossbow.


    Qin Li''s axe appeared in his hand as he shouted confidently "Take out the crossbow man, I can protect Ruo for at least 10 seconds" Hartley didn''t answer he just stood there until he wriggled and began to fade away, the Hartley therewas only an after image, the minute the words left Qin LI''s mouth he was off in the direction of the shooter, he didn''t need ten seconds.


    Hartley moved towards the house with the shooter, both legs were now a solid blue, to match his already blue hands, white steam curled off his legs, squiggled and went upwards while blue lightning sparks crackled around his legs, zi zi zi. With both arms and legs transformed into steaming blue, Hartley had vapor pouring off him like an overheated radiator. The shooter had never seen someone move this fast before, all he could see was the trail left in the white snow. He was confident he would have a shot as the target had to stop for a split second to tear down the door, that was his opportunity to make a name for himself, he was instructed to be very very careful when dealing with this opponent, but the man fell into the simplest of traps.


    Hartley reached the two story building in a split second and without breaking strides he ran straight up the front facing wall, he jumped upwards placing the shooter facing him five meters below himself while Hartley was five meters back from the building as he hovered for a second as if standing on stable ground.


    A silver sword appeared in his right hand the blade immediately turned to a solid blue color as if it was made that way, white steam roiled and wriggled around the sword which came down onto the shooter producing a bright blue flash similar to a wind blade.


    It vertically dissected the man andbuilding like a frog in a laboratory with and explosion of snow dust and stone chips the whole building began to collapse with a rumble. The man had died hypnotized by awesomeness, while Hartley executed the moves the man was staring slack jawed at what he was witnessing and died in awe without lifting a finger to defend himself.


    Four or Five people ran out of the building panicking shouting something about an earthquake. They ran in all direction leaving chaotic footprints in the snow.


    Hartley regrouped with Qin Li and Zhi Ruo, that exchange if you can even call it that had only cost Hartley four seconds, the expected attacked hadn''t come.


    "Stay close Ruo" Hartley instructed as the inched their way onto the intersection. The people hiding to the left between the buildings were not visible. The person standing to the right was the scar face man, Hartley, Qin Li and Lou Tai had fought with in the Cosmos region.


    Immediately Qin Li saw the man and as cold as the temperature was, he started sweating down his back, his eyes kept glancing in all directions looking for the dark arts user who had escaped with this man.....

 58 Evil?

    Four people were standing face to face on a carpet of ice as darkness silently crept over the lairing world of white, the breath of winter exhaled its cold uncaring winds over everyone on a now mostly empty long intersection stretching out in three directions.From the contorted hatred that filled the face of the scar face man to the extreme vigilance and focus of the trio who were in battle stance, the few people who happened to be passing quickly made their retreat far away fearing any accidental implication.


    They could somehow sense the murderous intent enveloping the stand-off between those standing on the frozen road. Bustlingsounds of wagons rattling and crunching through ice accompanied by the chinking sounds of bowls and pans as residents prepared dinner in the densely populated stone buildings created the ambient sounds of a district that never fully sleptbut the most prevalent sound here was the cackling of a madman.


    The scar face man stood in the middle of the ice covered world with glee as if he was Boreas the winter god. He finally stopped that wretched low pitch imitation of laughing as he pointed an index finger at Hartley. "Boy, we meet again, our last encounter left a black stain in my heart, now I can finally dispel those demons. I will make you suffer unimaginable horrors while I take revenge for the destruction of my Fu clan" He spoke red eyed with spittle flying out into the cold air as the condensation of his breath created a fog due to the speed of his breathing. He inhaled deeply to calm his emotions and stoodstill, everything on the road was now quiet except for the weeping sounds of the frigid winter winds moving around and over the surrounding stone structures....


    With an unworried expression Hartley replied "the last time you ran away like a stinking rat, the skin on your face must be thicker than a thunder bull, for you of all peopleto shamelessly stand here and talk in such a manner." A gust of wintry frigid wind blew over and ruffled Hartley''s black hair, fluttering across his dark robes."Leave now and live or stay here showing off and die," said Harley, who was only stalling for time so he could make a decision, he dared not commit to fighting with the scar face man and leave Ruo and Qin LI at the mercy of the two 3rd layer xiantians hiding in the stone building 100 meters to his right. His other concern was the dark arts user said to be the master of the one he had killed in the Cosmos regions, he could sense no further people with mal-intent but could not be sure.


    "Good, Good, Good," with twisted rage the man repeated himself while givingthe trio a death stare, though It was nothing compared to Zhi Ruo''s, "The young should be overbearing, I admire that".... The man went into a speech as Hartley had expected, Hartley now whispered to Ruo with a loving look in his eyes unbefiting a battlefield "Ruo no matter what happens next, I need to you know I had no choice. I am not an evil person but I will sacrifice anything for your safety." Before she could respond Hartley turned to Qin Li and said "I need you to bring her 120 meters back the way we came in 0.9 seconds. Can you do it?" Qin li shook his head in puzzled affirmation.


    Hartley was a 4th layer xiantian the last time he clashed with the scar face man, he hadn''t usedany of his skills overtly, the fact was that anyone who had seen Hartley''s gravity field or time domain was now dead. So the scar face thought Hartley was just a very strong and skillful sword expert in the xiantian realm. He couldn''t exactly measure Hartley''s strength but that slash he had taken to the back told him all he needed to know. Scar face dedicated all his time to training his techniques and cultivating these past months, he was still a 5th layer xiantian but he had much more confidence this time around.


    Hartley gave the signal, with a whoosh a green light wrapped around Qin Li''s feet, small bits of snow swirled around him in a circular pattern, snow splattered in every direction with each step as he scooped up Zhi Ruo, blurred and moved back towards the restaurant they had just visited. The scar face man laughed in delight as he saw the desperate attempt of escape, he too gave a signal and two 3rd layer xiantians finally showed themselves in pursuit of Qin Li and Zhi Ruo. The scar face man was confident his subordinates would chase down and kill the two trying to escape within one breath.


    He could not wait to see the heart break on Hartley''s face and then he would put hartley out of his misery and avenge the Fu clan. His plan was coming together perfectly.


    With eyes trained on the delightedscar face man, his eyes were glowing blue with concentration as he watched the two xiantians chase after Zhi Ruo and Qin Li. As soon as Qin Li and Zhi Ruo passed the threshold of a 120 meters with the 3rd layer xiantians within a tenth of a second from coming into contact with the fleeing duo. Hartley applied 40x gravity 100 meters around him...The downward pressure of mountains slapped down onto the surface of the earth like a natural disaster.The rumbling sounds of the densely packed stone buildings imploding into themselves with a boom reverberated through district 6. Hartley himself staggered and spat out a mouthful of blood, the chasing duo of xanthia experts fell flat to the ground with a loud crunch 20 meters from Zhi Ruo and Qin Li, white bones pierced through multiple positions on their legs painting the pure white snow scarlet, simultaneously ribs cracked like twigs, impaling them from within and punctured their lungs making breathing a laborious task, they wailed and squealed in pain begging the Holy Matriarch for forgiveness from this heavenly force as they were pushed down into the ground as flat as pancakes. The snow within this 100 meters radius packed down onto the earth 3 inches lower than the surroundings with spider web cracks crawling out in all direction to the edge of the gravity field.


    The scar face man wobbled taking slow steps in a zig zag pattern wide eyed, scared and confused, he managed to activate his stone skin which cracked like a real rock leaving blood trickling down all over his body soaking his red robe as his feet sank down deep into the snow. Hartley himself who had a 3rd layer xiantian physical body had a hard time moving through 40x gravity the wind was expelled from his lungs as he struggled to catch his breath. With the two chasing xiantians disabled Hartley released his gravity field took a deep breath and shot towards the scar face man leaving a life-like after image in his place. The scar face man too recovered his breathing, stomped down his right leg and a column of earth with small specks of snow spilling off the sides rose up 5meters high and 2 meters thick, it formed into a fist and smashed towards Hartley whistling through the air. Hartley was caught unaware,crossed his arm in a x, took the hit to his chest and went tumbling across the ground revealing the brown color of the road as he mowed through the snow.


    A crescent moon started to creep low in the sky highlighting the silhouette of destruction. It was like an earthquake measuring ten on the richtor scale had hit the hundred meters around Hartley, cracked roads and dusty rubble was all one could see in the populated flattened vicinity.Waves of screams from dying civilians who resided on the premises of the surroundingstone buildings could be heard half amile away, it was a chorus of agony which sent chills down the spine of anyone who heard it. The vividfright on Qin Li''s face as he stood 20 meters away from the destruction could not be hidden. "What would Hartley not sacrifice for this woman?" Even himself? Qin Li had to ask internally. Zhi Ruo had heard about men through out the long history of the Aldora continent who had wanton disregard for human lives. This couldn''t be Hartley, could it? She held her head down as sparkling tears ran down her cheeks under the dull moonlight. It was her fault, if she had not been in danger Hartley wouldn''t have...she couldn''t bare thinking of it. The survivors of the man-made disaster were crying in sadness as they dug through the debris with bare bloody hands trying to save trapped loved ones.


    Blood flooded into the lungs of the two unknown 3rd layer xiantians laying in agony wallowing around in their own blood like pigs in mud as they slowly drowned in it, now and then coughing up mouthfuls of the red liquid with gurgling sounds. As their eyes scanned the devastated landscape washed in dull moonlight.Regret! that was the prominent feeling in their hearts. What had they gotten themselves into? This opponent was Thanotos himself. "The God Death."


    Hartley didn''t even notice the loud ,chaotic, panicked and grieving screams which wailed out like a siren in district 6. he had put all his feelings in a box and was only left with his instincts and pragmatism, of course he wouldn''t murder civilians for kicks but when Zhi Ruo was faced with life threatening danger all thoughts of holding back went out the window.


    Hartley bounced back to his feet as quickly as a yellow striped leopard, now with both arms and legs transformed into a dullblue with roiling tendrils of steam rising upwards, a red short sword in his left hand and a long silver sword in his right hand appeared. "Advanced state of focus" Hartley murmured within his heart, all the specks of snow which were dashed out in all direction from Hartley''s landing now moved eight times slower as they fell back down to earth in super slow-motion. Hartley moved again leaving multiple after images


    The scar face man was genuinely scared for his life now, with bulging eyes he almost shit himself when he saw the multiple life like images of Hartley approaching at light speed. His battle hammer appeared in his hands as he stomped down his left onto the floor, this time 2 columns of earth raised, the bottom stayed attached to the ground the top of the columns formed massive fist one punched from the left and the other from the right with scar face man in middle, hammer at the ready. The two fist landed in the cluster ofafter images and detonated the snow covered floor with a loud boom sending earth snow and rocks flying everywhere under the dull moonlight. It was a good move, it would have defeated most but Hartley was not most.


    He came flying through the screen of dust and snow from the left of the opponent, swiping a reverse strike with his short red blade in his left hand from low right to high left. The scar face man gritted his teeth, roared andswung his hammer powerfully down from overhead in a straight line. As the hammer head came down and connected with the blade, it made a loud clang drowning out the miserable cries of the injured civilians. Hartleypunched his red blade forward to divert the opponent''s weapon and in doing so the red blade cracked and wobbled with a whirring sound.Hartleytook half a step to his rightlining himself up fully with the overhead strike, then unleashing a swift strike from middle to high right. The stone skinned man''s hand holding onto the out of control wobbling hammer disintegrated into nothing sending the hammer flying end over end into the rubble of one of the stone structures, the structure exploded into fine dust ending the wailing and moaning coming from the injured occupant underneath it.


    The scar face man stumbled back in shock looking at his right arm missing from the shoulder down. Hartley gave him no quarter as he brought his silver blade now turned to a solid blue with steam roiling and writhing upwards, down with an overhead strike onto the man''s left shoulder.


    His whole upper body exploded like a training boulder down to the waist, blood flew everywhere as the bottom half of his mutilated corpse dropped to the snow staining everything red. Hartley circled around his victim to observe the blood splotched mess and admired his morbidly gruesome work in satisfaction....

 59 Crime guild

    When the dust settled, the pale light of the crescent moon revealed unprecedented destruction the likes of which never seen in District 6 barring a natural disaster. Hartley winced in pain as he made his way towards Qin Li and Zhi Ruo, it seems he had a couple cracked ribs on his right side. Zhi Ruo rushed over as she saw Hartley emerging in a shredded and blood stained robe from the flattened destruction like a bringer of death accompanied by themiserable shrieks and wails of pain from those still trapped.


    With tears running down her cheek she checked over Hartley noticing the bruises on his abdomen.She asked in an unsteady voice as if to confirm her disbelief. "did you?" she couldn''t finish her question as her eyes panned over the scene of the stonestructures all razed to the ground as the heartless winter winds howled out its cold lullaby over the now bloodied and homeless survivors crawling around through the rubble.


    The unnaturally stiff expression on the usual emotionless face of Qin Li told of his own terror, he now looked at Hartley unable to hide the fear from his eyes. Hartley''s voice cut into the atmosphere of gloom as he staggered forward "Lets go, the dark arts practitioner could still show up, I''m sure he''s based somewhere in this province."


    Zhi Ruo wrapped her arms around his waist in support still often glancing behind her as they took the longer route back to the inn.


    Qin LI and Zh Ruoi sat with somber faces in a dark room with a single lit candle standingon the table in the center of the room, the yellow flame at the tip of the candle seemed to be the only thing in a good mood as it danced around in all its splendor sending an ironic shadow over Hartley, obscuring his features making the other two wonder if they really knew him. They had retrieved the carriage and moved further north into district 6 under the cover of darkness and checked into an inn , no one talked, the atmosphere all the way to the inn remained gloomy. Zhi Ruo quietly cleaned an bandaged Hartley''s midsection. Hartley could not understand what they were so somber about, hadn''t he made it known before he made his move that he had no choice?. He had grown without the love of parents and extended family, Zhi Ruo was his first and only family and Qin LI his only friend.He had to secure their lives even at the expense of the random people who meant nothing to him, to Hartley they were insignificant.When he was fighting for survival in the mountains, no one had cared if he lived or died. He had grown to reciprocate that feeling to all except for Qin Li and Zhi Ruo, he wasn''t a sadistic person or did he want to be but at the same time he wasn''t bogged down in the swamp of morality to the point where he would sacrifice himself or his people for the sake of saving strangers.


    Qin Li and Zhi Ruo now knew what Hartley was capable of, not only in strength but his willingness to use that strength without concern for the innocent by standers. Sensing the other''s guilt, Hartley did his best to appease them by wearing a somber expression of regret but he knew deep down that he didn''t feel for those people and would do the same or worse if Zhi Ruo was in mortal danger. Zhi Ruo had to unwillingly accept Hartley''s methods, she had grown with the love of both parents and many friends so she couldn''t be numb to the suffering of others even if those people were strangers to her.She had a glimpse of what Hartley would do if something were to happen to her. He would probably take it out on the whole world. She had to be strong enough to stay by his side and anchor Hartley on a more compassionate path.


    The fall out from the incident now dubbed the "phantom earthquake", was being investigated by the delegates of the Royal palace based in the Wawrika province. The devastation witnessed by the investigators left them shocked in surprise, the destruction was in a perfect circle about 100 meters in diameter and not a single structure had even a sidewall left standing within that circle.They gathered the bodies of the thirty odd civilians, the hammer and the bottom half of the scar face man who was suspected to be 5th layer xanthian expert along with the mangled broken bodies of two 3rd layer xanthian experts. They came to the conclusion that this was the doing of a late phase earth element xanthian expert, someone who could manipulate the earth to collapse buildings. How he could have destroyed that amount of real estate in that short amount of time left them truly baffled. They had outright dismissed the surviving accounts of a heavenly force pushing everything to the ground as just traumatic ramblings from the survivors but they did take down the description of Hartley and his group before they left, just in case.


    As the days went by Hartley rested and recovered, Zhi Ruo had found a apothecary with healing dans, Hartley was happy with the result of the rank 1 dans and quickly recovered in two days. Hartley decided to go with Qin Li''s suggestion and stick around in this province and ride out the worst of the winter months. He had an inkling he would run into the dark arts user most likely in one of the underground crime guilds, if his influence increased to a certain level there was bound to be a gigantic clash. The dark arts user would no doubt be formidable.


    Where there is prosperity there will also be abundant opportunities forcrime in the shadows, travelling around with clothes clearly not in the winter style of the province made Qin Li a prime target for pick pockets looking to take advantage of someone who didn''t know the ropes. He didn''t resit and willing let himself be taken advantage of.


    Qin Li went out daily and followed the pickpockets back to their base of operations. These pick pockets were scrawny under fed youths black with soot and dirt all who went back and forth to an unremarkable two story stone building stood blending in with all the other unremarkable stone structures standing around it. This was the headquarters of the small crime guild that had been profiting in the shadows, small operations like these knew not to make too much noise for fear of the local guards.Qin Li had learnt over the course of a week that there were three captains who over saw the day to day operations of the the crime guild who then reported directly to an unknown guild master in the shadows.


    One held responsibilities over the pick pockets and prostitutes int the area, the other was in charge of intimidating and collecting protection money from the local merchants and made sure they paid there taxes to the guild on time and the last was the enforcer who was in charge of a rag tag street army who went to deal with the people who owed money for a prolonged amount of time.


    With Qin Li thoroughly scouting out the surroundings Hartley was ready to make his move.

 60 The new guild master

    On another grey day in the Wawrika province, a big fat man almost as wide as a double door sat at the table in a an opulent room painted blue with pictures of mountains hanging on the wall behind him, the wall to his left was bare and to the right a copper statue of a naked woman gone a little green with atmospheric oxidization was mounted half way up.


    The room was filled with stone coloredexpensive furniture and the man had two shy looking under-aged girls scantily dressed sat at his side who dared not touch a single morsel of food on the table. The man whose neck couldn''t be seen separate from his chin which roiled like the waves of the sea with every minute movement he made, had a white food-stained napkin stuck to his chest as he gobbled down a table of full of delicacies pig-style using his hands, four or five children dressed in tattered robes sat on the floor to the side and gulped down their saliva as they watched the well dressed manwith wide eyes while rubbing their hands to keep warm on the stone floor. The man groaned in delight as he swallowed mouthful after mouthful of food.


    "How much" he asked the blond hairedyoung man about seventeen who stood patiently ram rod straight before the table. With a nervous tremor the boy answered "Sir, we''ve had some trouble with some strangers, they took the package and told us to tell you they are coming for a meeting today."


    "WHAT!" the man stood up suddenly, the table flipped over from his sudden movements, the two girls scrambled back in fright as all the food on the table spilled out in all direction causing an abstract mural of food stains on the pristine concrete floor.


    The man was a 1st layer xiantian...or had been, who knows if he could even jog at this point... obviously he had taken the first step to immortality and could still crush mortals with a slap of his fat clammy hands. He wascontrolling this small crime guild and paying off a few of the local guards andhad gained the position which he used to eat himself into deathly obesity and molested the orphan girls.


    "You worthless trash, why the hell am I paying you for? why is not this person''s head on a platter before me" he raised his hand to back hand slap the boy stood in front of him.


    The door of the building opened slowly as a voice sounded out in the room.


    "Stop, any injuries inflicted on my subordinates shall be returned ten folds,"looks of surprise was evident on the children''s faces as there heads turned to gaze upon the black haired stranger. The fat man stopped his actions midwayas he eyed up the intruder evaluating the threat level he posed.


    The man had loved the lavish living the profits from his small crime guild had brought him over the years but he was smart enough to keep the building which housed his headquarters in a poor neighborhood keeping the outside just as unremarkable as the others around it. The fear of the strong predators in the eco-system of the criminal world was enough for him to not even venture outside and show off his ill gotten wealth often.


    "You dare?" the man shouted as the fat on his body jiggled in concert.


    "You have two choices" said the stranger, "you can stay and be a secretary overseeing my guild or you can just die right here right now." there were hushed conversations from the children present as they had never seen anyone talk to the guild master in such a manner.


    "I have connections in the city guard, you won''t last a day if you go against me," The stranger let out raucous laughter before bringing himself to answer.


    "You actually think the city guards care about you? as long as the bribes keep coming they won''t care who is in charge, in fact i might just double the bribes and have them butcher you for me."


    The experienced fat man had survived many winters by bullying the weak andpledging allegiance to the strong whilepatiently waiting and serving without judgment of whomever it was that had come to power.


    In his former more powerful guild he had done exactly the same before breaking away from the north under disguise and starting his own little band in the south where he could satisfy his lust and greed. This guild was precious to him but he could still play the long strategic game if needs be.


    "Ryu Hang" he shouted, "kill him!" the wily fat man was sending up Ryu as a guinea pig to test the true strength of the stranger, the youth looked mortal but his cautiousness would never allow him to be callous. You don''t survive the things he''d survived without wits, if the man had impressive strength he would just pledge his loyalty to the stranger and wait for his chance to stab him in the back and regain rightful control of what he had built up over these years.


    The look on the handsome stranger''s face darkened as he read the fat man''s intention like a book.


    "I had planned on letting you live and run the guild as my secretary because I have no interest in running the day to day operations of a guild but I can see your cowardly sinister side, the weeds have to be cut from the roots and so I have changed my mind."


    Ryu Hang, the blonde lanky youth stood there conflicted, if he didn''t act and the stranger was defeated by the guild master he would be in forpainful torture at the hands of the guild master in the upcoming days, and if the man could defeat the guild master then he would no doubt be killed in the confrontation. "Do you know the daily operations of the guild?" the stranger turned to Ryu Hangwho was distracted in thoughts. "Ye.. Yes sir" he answered while guiltily glancing at the guild master.


    Rage...unfiltered rage roiled up in the stomach of the guild master, "you fucking traitor," he shouted with froth formingat the sides of his lips as he addressed the youth across the overturned table.. He raised his right hand which now had a dull brown color glowing around it, and attempted to kill the youth with one blow. The youth raised his hands in a futile defense, sensing his end.


    Then like a sorcerer, the stranger had multiplied into two, one was in front the lanky blond hair youth and the other was right there still standing at the entrance which then slowly evaporated like plumes of smoke. The wide eyed children had never seen anything like this before, they stared on with their little mouths agape.


    A simple punch then effortlessly landed on the helpless fat man''s chest which sent him crashing through the wall behind him and without losing any momentum he flew across the bedroom pass dozens of pitiful girls, lying in rags, or naked, most of them likely in the same spot the fat man had molested them that morning on the ground and rifled through the wall which led to the back courtyard of the house where he crashed to a rolling stop on the snow covered pavement cracking three or four of the exquisite concrete tiles laid on the floor, he croaked his last breath and went still.


    There was a deafening silence as the children stared at the stranger who looked no older than Ryu Hang. "Get his space ring" the stranger instructed Ryu Hang, who was brought back to reality.


    "Yes sir" he said as he skipped to the first order of the new guild master.

 61 The Roving Wasps

    Three people sat behind a table in a lavish bedroom on the second floor of the headquarters of the now named Rikers guild. Qin Li had given the new name to the guild, Hartley didn''t know why or what the name meant but he didn''t care. Qin LI obviously sat beside Hartley and Zhi Ruo as Ryu Hang introduced the other two captains.


    After hearing how the fat guild master was dispatched with the flick of a wrist, they had immediately fallen in line. Their situation in the guild was very privileged compared to the others, so they would be the last to rebel or have any objections to the new guild master as it was in their best interest to keep the status quo.


    "This is Biyu Jie," Ryu Hang introduced a pretty young woman who greeted Hartley with a blushing and enchanting smile before saying "Welcome guild master". "She is the one in charge of our brothels and the pick pockets," this was considered in the guild to be the most inconsequential position as everyone knew how she came to this position .... Zhi Ruo now dressed in a black elegant leather long dress which hugged her body, revealing her curves, looked at the young woman who stood there day dreaming. Through squinted eyes she sized up Biyu Jie before turning her eyes to look at Hartley''s reaction. Hartley nodded his head and turned his eyes back to Ryu Hang without paying the pretty blonde young woman any attention. This pleased Zhi Ruo as she huffed under breath with discontent at the young woman obviously trying to flirt with Hartley right in front of her face.


    Biyu Jie was a very experienced guild member who had survived in this harsh environment while remaining single which was unthinkable in the underground world of crime. Women usually latched themselves to one of the stronger men in their guild for protection, kept their heads low and hoped for the best. Biyu had avoided that, she was much more ambitious than most and she had done and was willing to do anything it took to survive and gain the power she desired. She had placed herself in the good books of the fat guild master and obtained her current position by often visiting his bed chambers at his request at night.


    She looked at Hartley with bright eyes as she sensed a great opportunity to further consolidate and promote her standing within the guild, if she could get close to Hartley who was a much more desirable man than the stomach churning former guild master, she could make use of the unspeakable shameful acts the former guild master had asked her to perform at nights that he had enjoyed so much.


    She might, in pleasing Hartley as much as she had pleased the former guild master, achieve her goal of being the most powerful subordinate in the guild. She justified it to herself as only using the assets she was blessed with and thought herself one of the lucky ones. She had willingly been taken countless times by the fat slob but the other younger girls would wail in pain as the guild master took them and they had nothing to show for it in the end, she consoled herself knowing that she had gained some power out of her ordeal and set her eyes on Hartley.


    Ryu Hang proceeded with the introduction of the middle age man stood beside him. "This is Wan He, he is the one responsible for enforcing the will of our guild in the region, mobilize our stronger members to defend from or attack other guilds and collect the outstanding debts owed to the guild when someone refused to pay." The black haired middle age man sporting a few wrinkles at the corner of his dark eyes, who was the same height as Hartley with wide sturdy shoulders, bowed respectfully at the handsome youth sat across the table. "This one greets the new guild master he said." Hartley nodded and said nothing.


    Wang He was at the peak of the houtian realm and had fought his way up to this position showing some wisdom and at times applying merciless strong arm tactics. A former soldier in another province, he had trained to the hard to achieve peak of houtian but didn''t manage to find enlightenment and step across the line of immortality. He would have been a useful soldier but his prospects in the army was stunted by his inability to become a xiantian expert, he would forever be a foot-soldier so he had returned to his home town and settled down, making a name for himself as someone who should not be messed with. He was then recruited by the xiantian expert who ran this small guild and was given a high position and paid handsomely.


    After the introduction Hartley looked at Qin Li and asked "So what''s our next move? I will not be as involved in the running and will leave you to make most of the major decisions as it pertains to the guild. Me and Zhi Ruo''s time will be spent mostly cultivating in preparations fro the next leg of our journey." Qin Li looked at the captains then after a moment he said. "First we swallow up the other small crime guilds in our vicinity, then we establish a network of spies, using the former pickpockets... Wan He interjected immediately. "It''s not wise to unite the small guilds, the reason why guilds like these choose and operate within a certain limited area is because it won''t attract more attention from the local guards and stir up the criminal underground because one who can unite a certain amount of guilds will be seen as a powerful threat to the more powerful guilds and they will not allow such a threat to grow unhindered." "Hmmm" Qin li hummed while scratching his chin in deep thought. "Which is the strongest guild in our vicinity" Hartley asked.


    Ryu Hang answered. "The Roving Wasps, they are based about a hundred kilometers to our north, they control the merchants and the trade routes into the north, if one wants to do business with the northern section of the province they have to pay a tax to the Roving Wasps to move their goods safely along the roads leading to and from the north."


    "Perfect! then we just take over the Roving Wasps and insert one of our people to control it."


    Hartley said this as if it was easy as A B C, the three captains looked at each with bulging eyes while shaking their heads, the youth was strong but he was certainly inexperienced in the underworld, they uniformly had this thought.


    "Sir I know you must be a xiantian expert but the Roving wasps also have xiantian experts..Three to be precise, it would cost a lot of our men if we were to go up against them, even if we won we would be too weakened and would be ripe for the picking when other guilds find out." Wang He said this in a quick hurried manor as if he was trying to save Hartley from making an arrogant mistake.


    Hartley waved his hands casually and replied, "no need to worry."


    By the time the reddish winter sun was declining over the horizon the next day, dead men and pieces of dead men dripped blood onto the snow, the remnants of a vicious and gory battle were strewn before a lavish manor, the atmosphere within the usually lively manor was deathly silent.


    The two huge gates leading into the manor were closed and a twenty meter wall snaked around the property blocking out the prying eyes of neighbors and passer byes.


    All the men still alive within the walls of the manor had thrown their weapons to the ground and knelt with one knee pressed into the snowy ground, they faced the four story stone structure which had statues of lion-like beasts crouched in an attack posture on both sides of the path leading into the manor in obedient reverence.


    The kneeling men had looks of disbelief and reverie as they all gazed upon the two people stood in front of the manor, one holding the still dripping decapitated head of the xiantian expert who was their now dead guild master, the youth stood there majestically wearing a dark robe with not one single blemish.


    The other was an older looking man dressed in a similar robe who stood a couple paces behind the young blue eyed youth holding the gruesome trophy away from his body so the dripping blood wouldn''t tarnish his garments.


    "Open the gates."


    Two men got up and scurried to adhere to the order of the youth. After invading the manor like phantoms in the shadows, instead of sneaking into the manor and assassinating the occupants, the youth and his companion had stood at the entrance and called out the the guild master.


    The men had quickly gathered around to defend the manor leaving no escape route for the intruders, they witnessed the older man duel with their guild master to a stalemate, then the other two xiantians in the guild joined forces with the guild master to eliminate the threat of the older man.


    That was when the unassuming youth stepped forward and sliced all three to ribbons, staining the snow covered ground with globs of blood and body parts. The most loyal members of the guild rushed forward to avenge the guild master and were sliced by the youth as easy as slicing vegetables leaving a maelstrom of body parts and blood laying on the snow.


    After that, the will to fight was non existent from the other members, they all fell to one knee with pale faces and quickly pledged allegiance to the unbelievably strong youth in the hopes of not offending such a monster and praying to the Holy Matriarch that he wouldn''t wipe out the whole guild.


    The gates opened and about a dozen people walked in under the setting sun which lighted the up the bloody splotches on the white snow covered surroundings in a yellowish glow, once they too got a glance at the scene their mouths hung open at the sight of the kneeling guild members and the decapitated flesh lying on the snow stained red.


    Among the people Zhi Ruo made her way over to the side of Hartley and lovingly checked over him, then took her place at his side.


    Biyu Jie eyes glistened with envy as she and the other captains stood and waited for their orders.

 62 Cheating

    Qin Li stepped forward to greet the captains and lieutenants entering the manor, who also dropped down to one knee in the snow as soon as they fully entered in "rise" came the command from Hartley.


    The reverent guild members all stood in silence as they waited for the command of Hartley, to them right now, Hartley was a martial god who could reign over the whole Wawrika province. Hartley pointed with a straightened index finger to Qin Li and said "his orders are my orders,"then looked at Ryu Hang and said "you shall put things in order here."


    Ryu Hang''s face shone with shock, he stammered and tried to get out some words. "I am not qualified to...."


    Hartley waved his hand casually cutting off Ryu Hang''s words, he then took Zhi Ruo to explore the lavish manor stood behind them leaving Qin Li to reorganize and integrate the guilds.


    The decadent manor had all the lavish accessories of a duke, the interior of the main hall on the first floor was made ofexpensive stones cut and laid to form exquisite walls and the floor was as shiny as an oil slick, Hartley hadn''t even seen some of the things in there before.


    Oil paintings of exquisite women dressed in royal garments hung on the walls and luxurious fluffy beast pelts lined parts of the floor keeping the stone floor warm as the main fire place in the middle of the room spat and crackled. Hartley led Ruo and inspected every luxurious room one by one, he pushed out his awareness to cover the whole building and even discovered some secret rooms.


    Hartley entered a small dusty room located in the basement which was out of place with the luxury of all the other rooms, the room looked as if it had been sealed for a long time, after slicing through the thick metal door with his silver sword, the tiny darkroom exposed its contents after Zhi ruo took a candle from the hall and entered behind Hartley. There were about 8 chests made of old iron with signs of rust sitting proudly on the chests covered with a layer of dust.


    As he opened each chest, Zhi Ruo mouth fell open, even Hartley could barely keep calm, he discovered gold and gems packed to the brim inside, the glow of the treasure illuminated the room with rainbow colors as he searched through the various chests. The Roving Waspstruly had a lucrative business going. Hartley helped himself to the contents from four chests, placing them into his space ring until he had no more room to carry another coin, he then loaded Zhi Ruo''s space ring and had Qin Li control the final two chests. For the last couple of months Hartley had hardly ever thought about money, his spoils of war filled at least 6 space rings and now he had the biggest profits he had ever seen.


    Hartley was truly on the road to great influence now with all these riches he could even raise an army if he so chose. The days passed by quickly as Qin Li reorganized the guilds, Hartley made his head quarters the Rikers guild, he had chosen to stay in the degenerated neighborhood in the unremarkable two story building shying away from the limelight of the gaudy four story manor.


    The guilds operated as usual without the outside world knowing of the take over that happened in the last few days, the guards got paid, the pick pockets worked their assigned area and the whores serviced the lecherous men at night. Hartley didn''t desire to save each and every orphan in a bad situation, all he could do was make sure they were clothed and fed properly for the time being. In the event that he needed man power he would probably recruit some of them to work for him directly but for now he just went with the flow.


    The grey skies and swirling snow outside accompanied by the howls of the wind that whistled against the wooden window frames of the building was a typical winter''s day in the Wawrika province, Hartley had gotten used to it and developed a routine of cultivating,meeting with Qin Li and dealing with minor problems before taking Zhi Ruo to dinner in the restaurant at night time.


    Zhi Ruo was on the verge of entering the xanthian realm by now, she never neglected her cultivation even though the empathy she had for the children made her go out of her way to offer her help.


    On this day Hartley was by himself cultivating in one of the lavish rooms on the second floor, Zhi Ruo had all the kids gathered in a warm room on the ground floor where she taught them to read and do some basic maths.Biyu Jie sensingthis was one of the only times Zhi Ruo had been away from Hartley''s side during the past few days,made use of the opportunity and went to knock the door of the room Hartley was cultivating in.


    The room brightened with a bight blue flash as Hartley opened his eyes , he knew who was on the other side of the door and was puzzled, why would she be here? anything to do with the organization of the guild would be handled by Qin Li.


    "Come in" Hartley answered. Biyu Jie, the slim blonde busty young woman wearing a long thin yellow dress as if the temperature had no bearing on her, entered smiling while giving a respectful bow.


    "Guild master I haven''t seen you around the guild in the past couple of days, is there anything I can do to make you happy?"


    Hartley was even more puzzled, he stood up with furrowed brows and asked "what are you talking about, I have no time for idle talk right now go see Qin Li if you have matters to discuss..."


    She approached closer with a serious yearning look in her eyes, she then whispered, "I can help relieve your stress sir, let me help you."


    While facing Hartley she slowly moved forward then dropped down to her knees as if she was going to beg for mercy but instead she whipped away the front of Hartley''s robe and started to make slobbering slurping noises, Hartley''s eyes bulged with surprise, he almost retrieved his swords but then his body went as rigid as a wooden plank as he stared down at Biyu Jie performing an act he had never experienced before, he couldn''t help but let out a moan of pleasure as he reacted to the wet stimulation on his lower part.


    This pleased the shameless Biyu Jie to no end. This was what the former guild master had loved the most, in his satisfaction he had even made her a captain and by this point she had performed it so many times, she had become as skilled as one of the high level whores in the local brothel.


    Hartley stood on the tip of his toes wide eyed and watched until Biyu Jie finished, she gulped down the evidence, stood up and wiped her mouth with the back of her right hand smiling.


    "I hope I have pleased the guild master," Hartley said nothing, feeling a shameful blush on his face, he just pointed to the door with a cold expression, disappointment flashed across her face as she quietly left the room.


    No wonder she''s a captain Hartley thought to himself, he was confused as to why he had let her finish, he wanted to stop her but for some reason he had to admit he had enjoyed it which disappointed him even more, was it his inexperience with women or was he just selfish? his mind immediately went to Zhi Ruo, guilt washed over him like sweat on a summer''s day.


    What on earth would he tell her? if anything. She would surely slice Biyu Jie like a vegetable if she caught wind of this, he wasn''t feeling too safe himself either. In Aidonia it was not uncommon for men to have multiple wives or partners, it was actually quite normal for the most outstanding men to have multiple loversbut Hartley had a special connection with Zhi Ruo and wasn''t interested in acquiring a gaggle of women, certainly not Biyue Jie anyway.


    After the incident Hartley left strict instructions not to be disturbed and avoided Biyu Jie like the plague over the following days, sat cross legged in the second floor room Hartley''s body had turned all blue from neck to toe, white steam roiled upwards and crashed into the ceiling then snaked outwards towards the window, the windows steamed as the whole room began to resemble a bathhouse.


    Everything was silent inside the room, the ambient whistling noises of the wind against the window frame disappeared leaving only a peaceful atmosphere. Hartley on a whim had activated his advance state of focus, time inside the room was now moving eight times slower than outside. He had tried to cultivate in this state numerous times before, now the guilt of cheating had stressed him so much that he had pushed all his concentration to the limit and was now able to maintain his advance state of focus while he cultivated. Inside Hartley''s consciousness a shining blue mini version of himself was sat cross legged in a clearing situated in a dense forest of trees 20 meters tall.

 63 Viscount Sanzu

    The mini replica of Hartley resembled a blue diamond shining and gleaming brightly among the greenery of the forested area, giving a blue hue to the nearest trees surrounding him. The Blue star sitting high in the sky shone down over the land mass as it overlooked Hartley''s inner world like a deity.


    The desolate outer areas began growing small patches of emerald green grass at a speed visible to the naked eye, the sandy outskirts of land slowly transformed from barren and sandy to fertile and green. Small streams formed like veins across the land as the landscape was carving itself into something more hospitable for life.


    If one had a bird''s eye view of Hartley''s inner world, it would look as if the inner 300 kilometers were a green luscious forest and the outer 300 kilometers was a sandy barren desert, this slowly started to change as the grass bloomed and small shrubs grew up to the size of a human toddler with tufts of green scattered and invading all across the barren desert-like region.


    As usual Hartley''s heart beat began to synchronize with his gravity field, in the room Hartley floated 5 meters off the bed and hovered there.


    Badum Badum, for a moment a flash of blue light brightened the room, spilling under the door and leaking out into the hall then disappeared again as everything in the room floated stably upwards in slow motion.


    Badum Badum, Hartley''s heart rate slowed to a crawl but every time his heart would beat, it sounded as loud as a drum in his ears, blue light would then be kindled in the room as if a spark was set ablaze among dry timber.


    White steam roiled and twisted around his body behaving like smoke, tendrils of the white smoke-like steam escaped under the door, entered the hallway and disappeared without trace.


    The process continued for eight grueling hours from Hartley''s perspective...


    His skin returned to normal, the steam pouring off his body slowly disappeared as he was once again sitting crossed legged on the bed, time once again ran at its normal pace.


    Opening his eyes the room went blue for a millisecond then returned to normal as if nothing had happened and the sounds of the whirling wind whistling against the wooden window frame returned.


    Glancing outside the window Hartley was shocked to see it was still daylight, he was sure it was supposed to be well into the night but promptly remembered he was cultivating in advance state of focus, his cultivation session was eight hours but in real time only an hour had passed. Hartley was pleased this meant his cultivation was now eight times faster than it used to be, he was now at the thin line between sub realms at any moment he could enter the 6th layer, this was a relief. At least something good came from his emotional turmoil and instability from his encounter with Biyue Jie .


    Leaving the second floor Hartley went to find Zhi Ruo, she was on the ground floor as usual reading stories to the children who were rapt at attention, looking like normal children once again. He waited until she had finished, went over hugged and kissed her in front of everyone present, Zhi Ruo blushed scarlet and looked at him side eyed, "whats going on with you today?" she asked. Hartley smiled hugged her and replied "lets get Qin Li and go have some delicacies, we''ve been cooped up here too long."


    She smiled and didn''t disagree, the children groaned out their displeasure at Hartley who had hijacked their mentor for the day, Zhi Ruo smiled and left them the book for them to try and read it on their own.


    They both went and got the tired looking Qin Li from his room in mid cultivation, he had thought it would be simple running and integrating the guilds but now felt that he had received the short end of the stick as Hartley and Zhi Ruo took a hands off approach to the running of the guilds, Qin Li was stuck with all the annoying and time consuming day to day activities of running the guild, he now wondered if his suggestion to settle down and build influence was the right decision for himself. Hartley and Zhi Ruo dragged the unwilling Qin LI out of his room and made their way towards one of the local restaurants.


    They chose a restaurant specializing in sea food and in his guilt and introspection Hartley was about to cross the snow covered street lost in his thoughts... The close tumult of swift hooves and the shrill squeaking of carriage wheels brought him back to reality with a slight startle. He looked up to find himself faceing the white rolling eyes of a majestic black fur-covered wild beast, mud gouting from beneath its hooves as it plunged through the snow covered street towards him with reckless abandonment.


    By reflex Hartley flung himself out of the way feeling the wind on his face as the beasts thundered by, the carriage drawn behind it pitching wildly as it came to a complete screeching stop 20 meters later. Qin Li gave him a puzzled looked as if to ask if he was feeling well, Hartley replied with a subtle nod of the head and Zhi ruo wrapped her hands around his waist sensing something was amiss.


    Snow swirled in the air, stuck to his face and melted on his cheeks as he stood stock-still staring down the road at the exquisite white carriage pulling to a sudden stop.


    Hoof beats pattered as Men in silver armor riding sturdy horses covered in thick leather for the winter months came storming from the other end of the road, then swarmed around the trio.


    All the civilians in the area rushed away taking refuge off the the street and out of sight, the audible murmurs from the hidden people seem to come to a consensus that these people wearing robes and armors imprinted with the insignia of two eagles standing beak to beak represented Viscount Sanzu, a direct delegate of the royal family based in the Wawrika province.


    The people held puzzled hushed conversations baffled by the fact that the men of the Viscount had turned up in the south of the province, people in the south usually didn''t see the viscount or his men too often as they were based in northern more rural parts of the province. The door on the white carriage slowly opened, like synchronized swimmers two men dismounted off their horses as smooth as liquid and went to hold the open carriage door to chaperone the occupant out of the carriage.


    A tall pump middle aged man slowly emerged, his hair neatly cut with flecks of grey standing out in the predominantly black head of hair, the man a head or two taller than Hartley and wore a bright red robe lined with 5 inches of puffy white fur on each lapel extending all the way around the neckline of the garment.


    The two robust knights flanked the man as they escorted him in the direction of the trio, pointing saying loudly "they match the description of the ones at the phantom earthquake my lord."


    The man squinted his eyes as he approached casually, Hartley could now see that the man was wearing a pair of golden gauntlets which a gave a thick yellow back-glow onto the man''s clothing.


    He gave a signal to all of his armored men and they orderly made way to the side opening up a straight path to the trio standing calmly on the walkway, the well dressed man smiled and like breaking the rules of physics, the overweight middle aged man moved towards them leaving life-like after images in his wake.

 64 Viscount Sanzu part 2

    In the grey light of a winter''s day in the Wawrika province Hartley stepped forward to meet the man''s fist glowing with a golden light, Hartley''s hand hidden under his dark fluttering robe transformed blue, with precision Hartley''s punch careened into the incoming punch, the snowflecked air roiled and wriggled as the two opposing pressure collided..


    BAM!


    The golden glow around the man''s hand dimmed visible, he took a step backward just as his after-images faded away like smoke in the wind, Hartley''s feet sank ankle deep into the hard snow with a crunching sound, Qin Li held Zhi Ruo who had her pair of black daggers drawn and ready and backed up ten meters as the snow swirled around both men in a cyclone-like pattern reducing the his visibility of the scene to zero, he took no chances and protected Zhi Ruo, who of course would not go willingly..


    The man looked at Hartley and smiled. It wasn''t a vicious murderous smile but a smile that radiated how impressed the man was that Hartley had pushed him back. The man''s eyes shone with excitement and a boyish thirst for competition that defied his age.


    "You fat bastard!" screamed Zhi Ruo as she broke loose from Qin Li''s grasp and rushed forward flanking to the left ready to assault the lone man.


    Qin Li rushed forward summoning his axe but he was concentrating more on the armored soldiers instead, ready to defend their own flanks in the event of a sneak attack.


    As the swirling snow drifted away and visibility was restored Hartley held up is right fist "it''s o.k. Ruo." her graceful movements came to a halt, she huffed in frustration and stepped back to guard the flanks with Qin Li.


    Knowing now that the man didn''t have murderous intentions Hartley too got riled up with competitiveness, his eyes shone bright with anticipation. Having been disappointed countless times sparring with Qin Li Hartley looked forward to this exchange.


    The plump man waved his right hand signalling for Hartley to join him in the middle of the street, Hartley didn''t need a second invitation, he strode out with long steps facing the man in the middle of the street with unbridled confidence.


    A subtle signal from the plump man and the organized soldiers moved like clockwork and separated into two equal forces and blocked off each end of the normally bustling street not allowing any one to interrupt, heads could be seen peeping through windows as people who recognized the plump well dressed man informed the less knowledgeable. "That''s Viscount Sanzu" the name was uttered in hushed tones throughout the buildings.


    Two opponents stood on a mock battlefield of hard packed snow. The plump man dressed in his lavish clothing circled left and right adopting the side on stance of a classic boxer keeping his left foot in front at all times, moving like a crab on the beach. With his left hand held against his left jaw plastering half of his face in a golden glow, his right hand dangled loosely by his waist.


    The man''s smooth movement defied belief for one so out of shape. Hartley stood with shoulders square on, facing the plump man who had made himself as small a target as possible.


    Small snow flakes landed on their shoulders in silence, the two exchanged no words.


    Tap! Tap! The man took two exquisite steps forward across the ice leaving after images, even Zhi Ruo was impressed with the grace of the man''s movement. His left hand held by his left jaw catapulted into a forward jab, the blurred golden glow came cannoning towards Hartley''s face, Hartley used minute movement dodging technique stepping outside the jab to the left.


    Viscount Sanzu took two small steps to his right cutting off the angle of retreat and at the same time bombed a right hook as he was pulling back the jab, The man was definitely experienced. Hartley threw out an efficient left straight with the least wasted movement possible an met the man''s glowing hook.


    Boom! golden sparks erupted, the force of the two fist colliding swept clean the snow underfoot exposing the original brown road, Hartley stumbled back, he was fighting with only his 3rd layer xiantian physique and star fist technique.


    Viscount Sanzu stumbled back as well then rushed forward with lithe graceful steps laughing with wild glee as if he were a child on his name day. The viscount fired back with a three hit combo, giving Hartley no room for rest.


    Right hook, left hook then a right uppercut aiming at the gut, these punches were executed so fast the viscount''s hands left glowing gold after-images in the cold air. Hartley squinted in concentration, taking the Viscount a little more serious and pushed his minute movement techniques to the limit stepping through the punches as if he was a ghost, countering with a simple straight right hand at the viscount''s face, the viscount gasped in surprise and as the punch was about to land on his jaw he used one of his special techniques..


    The viscount''s left hand changed trajectory and stretched like elastic and landed a golden punch to Hartley''s midriff at the exact moment Hartley''s right fist landed on his jaw.


    The ground rattled and they both went sprawling across the snow imprinting a long trail twenty meters apart.


    "My lord!" an armored soldier dismounted from his horse and was about to rush towards the viscount. Viscount Sanzu sat up with a swollen and bruised jaw, blood running down his nose and he billowed with laughter while raising his hands stopping the soldier. Hartley also sat on his butt looking at the crazy middle aged man laughing, serves me right for fighting on his terms he thought as he winced holding his ribs, the same rib injured while fighting the scar face man. I must protect my midriff better he thought as he got to his feet.


    A translucent glow appeared around the man''s face as he walked towards Hartley, the swelling and bruising disappeared from his face leaving it looking like he hadn''t been sparring, he approached Hartley.


    "Young man I have been looking for you" a translucent water-like ball appeared in his right palm when he reached next to Hartley and he pushed it into Hartley''s midriff, the pain instantly disappeared and Hartley felt strangely comfortable.


    "Sorry....I cheated," the man said with a sheepish mischievous look, "forgive me I''m old" he said and burst into another fit of laughter.


    Hartley just looked at the man who was a 4th layer xiantian expert with wood elemental affinity and shook his head.


    Viscount Sanzu pointed towards the restaurant and said "lets eat, it would be a shame to come all this way and not have some delicacies." Hartley nodded and walked towards the restaurant, Qin Li and Zhi Ruo rushed over checking Hartley''s body as if it was her treasure.


    "Who is this fine young miss?" the viscount asked. "This is my wife to be," Hartley answered not missing a single moment to butter up Zhi Ruo after what happened between him and Biyu Jie, she blushed not saying anything.


    The restaurant was soon cleared of all patrons and people who had taken refuge from the fight, the only people left inside were the waitresses, the chefs and the manager. They took a seat in the empty dining hall and soon all the dishes began to be placed on the table.


    "Why are you looking for me?" asked Hartley while gobbling down some food. Taking a sip from the hot beverage in front of him, for the first time the viscount put on a serious face.


    "I had reports of a major incident in the province involving someone," he looked around and lowered his voice and continued "someone who was close to a dark arts user, when your descriptions came through I thought you might just be lucky to survive that encounter, then we had rumors of major movement in the underground crime world and guess whose description came along with that report?"


    Viscount Sanzu sipped his tea again. "I came personally to see if you three are just always lucky or do you have some substantial strength?" "What if its the latter?" asked Hartley. Viscount Sanzu placed his steaming cup on the table and looked at Hartley " I want you to become one of my knights."


    "A glorified lackey you mean?" the man tilted his head back and guffawed his chin wriggling. "no you misunderstand" the man said he took another sip of the boiling contents in his cup and said "I will be totally honest, I am using you."


    Hartley reacted with a frown, the man held up a hand, palm facing forward suggesting for Hartley to calm down, he then continued.


    "You are on the way to the capital right?" Hartley nodded, "I can see you are going to make great waves and by the way you introduced yourself and your friends, I can tell you are not nobles even though you look the part."


    Hartley impatiently waited for the punchline to the man''s argument and it showed visible on his face. The man sighed then mumbled under his breath "Aww the young always seem to be so impatient nowadays" his head jerked as he snapped back to his original argument.


    "My suggestion is for you to become an honorary knight in my service, you won''t be bound to my will you will only hold a title of knight of the Sanzu house. That will make you a real noble and will protect you from other nobles in the capital because they won''t be able to order you to do anything, the etiquette of the aristocrats means that one noble cannot order the knights of another, a knight is only obligated to carry out the orders of his lord not even the king could give you an order directly, he would have to find me and only I could give you a direct order, but you would only be one of my honorary knights free to roam, so in essence you would be a freelance noble.


    The only down side to you would be that you are required to carry the token of the Sanzu house to identify yourself." the man then let out a long breath and had another sip of tea.


    Hartley looked to Qin Li who now was his trusted strategist, Qin Li nodded his head and said "That does solve the problem of us getting into the lower ranks of nobility for the time being, we could raise a small squad and have our own manor in the capital as genuine nobles, but whats in it for you?" Qin Li looked at the man sipping his tea without a care in the world.


    The man revealed a broad smile from ear to ear, "Your achievements!.... they will get me back on the map" he said, "I have been banished to this part of the country for a long time now." he sighed which sounded more like a groan of pain this time. "If you make the waves I am expecting you to make in the capital then naturally I will be called back and might even get promoted to a higher title based on the strength of my supposed subordinate, but of course you will only be a honorary knight, we''ll just say you are some long lost distant cousin of mine, that way you won''t be bound under any of my transgressions and I in turn can ride on your coat tail back into prominence. If I get conferred the title of count or higher then I will automatically make you a Baron or a viscount if there is enough lands to grant in the capital."

 65 Spring

    White fluffy clouds crouched on the horizon decorating the blue skies, the dull grey of the heavy winter days were fading away, dripping water and bird chirps could be heard in the mornings as the layer of white that had blanketed the scenery for the last months, began its slow thaw as the natural cycle began its slow crawl towards spring. Even though it was still nippy, the temperature had gone up enough for people to start shedding the thickest layer of fur they had donned for the past few months.


    After taking root in the south of the Wawrika province for three months, Hartley had reaped a boatload of benefits, he was now officially a noble, a knight under Viscount Sanzu and a long distant relative in pretense, the viscount himself had tried to trace Hartley''s origin as he knew the other nobles would try and discount his supposed ties to the Sanzu estate.


    Nothing came back, Hartley wasn''t officially registered as one of the Lou clan in a any official Royal documents. Patriarch Lou had deliberately kept Hartley''s existence off any documents in the Lou clan because of his special origins. Hartley could in theory claim to be from anywhere and it could neither be proven or disproved unless someone got in direct contact with Patriarch Lou.


    The revenues he earned through controlling the northern trade routes had netted him even more riches over the time spent in district 6, after putting in place a hierarchy to lead the guild in his absence, he was prepped and ready for the next leg of his journey finally.


    Qin li had converted some of the young pick pockets from the crime guild into spies hidden from the world in plain sight, they had taken an oath of loyalty to the guild and were given funds then sent out to infiltrate society and live a normal life among the people.


    They would then gather general information about the happenings in the other districts and secrets pertaining to other nobles, Qin Li''s thinking was they might even stumble onto something Hartley could use as leverage. The children had been converted to loyal followers of Hartley''s group even though Hartley had little interaction with them personally. They were none the less won over by the kindness Zhi Ruo had showed each and everyone of them during her time at the Rikers guild. She had taught them to read and write and paid them enough money so they could save up and do something else with their lives if they so chose, she had given them something they had lacked from birth and that was hope.


    Hartley was leaving in a couple of days and he was taking Ryu Hang as his new carriage driver, there was something about the youth that Hartley liked, he was a hard worker and dedicated, even though they were both the same age somehow it seems like Hartley was decades older. Biyu Jie was transferred to the Roving Wasps headquarters where she was placed under Wang He, Hartley could imagine how she would have Wang He wrapped around her fingers in months but he wasn''t worried, she was warned in no uncertain terms of the consequences of betraying the guild.


    It was time for them to move on. Qin Li through sheer determination had finally broken into the 3rd layer. Hartley was now waiting for Zhi Ruo to breakthrough from half step xiantian realm, the time spent in district 6 had been very productive overall.


    A luxurious white carriage being drawn by two majestic looking wild beast moved through the thawing snow on a main road that led further north away from the Wawrika province, escorted by six fully armored mounted soldiers, three led the way while the other three followed behind talking and laughing in a jovial mood as the springtime evening sunshine glinted and bounced off their shine silver armor.


    After leaving the province of stone buildings they were finally back on the open road flanked by scattered patches of trees on both sides which got more and more frequent the further away they traveled. Some still glazed white as the ice slowly melted. The carriage was twice the size of the former carriage Hartley used to ride in, The dark carriage he had obtained from the Baron of the Waltham province was a spectacular sight to see when he was in the southern regions of the country but once they entered the more prosperous central areas packed with luxury, his old dark carriage was now like a farmers wagon compared to the carriages of other nobles.


    The white carriage and escorts were gifted to Hartley by Viscount Sanzu suggesting he might as well look the part of a real noble, Hartley shamelessly accepted the gifts without reservation. Ryu Hang sat in the driver''s position holding onto the reins as the carriage created a slushy mud sound as the wild beast made tracks through the thawing snow, Hartley who had his eyes closed as if he was dosing off sat next to Zhi Ruo who had her head leaned against his shoulder. Qin Li was sitting crossed legged on a the cushion seat facing the loving couple. They had been going at a steady pace for the past two days making their to way the next province they had to pass enroute to the capital.


    Suddenly Hartley whose eyes were shut, opened with a blue flash, his vibrant blue eyes glowed in concentration. "Hold on to something" he barked loudly. Hartley immediately activated a gravity field 20 meters around the carriage and its escorts then applied zero gravity.


    The carriage instantly floated upwards unsteadily with wheels dripping wet mud back down onto the surface of the slushy road. Qin Li lost balance and tumbled around in the spacious interior in surprise, Ryu Hang lost his balance on the driver''s seat and almost fell off but at the last second managed to cling on to the side of the carriage for dear life. The wild beasts hauling the carriage howled out in panic echoing out into the empty air as Hartley held on to the screaming Zhi Ruo.


    After the carriage floated up for a few seconds a volley of black bolts looking like a swam of flies came whistling through the air and under the carriage, most passing by harmlessly but several crashed against the underside of the carriage and clanged against metal wheels creating bright white sparks before reaping a shower of splinters jerking the carriage around in mid air.


    The carriage slammed back down into the mud with a thump a few seconds after, shattering the pristine windows sending broken bits of glass flying everywhere, some showered the occupants inside the carriage and some pieces landed outside of the shaking carriage.


    The violent collision with the ground shook Ryu Hang free and spat him about 5 meters away from the carriage where he rolled and groaned in the mud. Qin Li regained his balance in the still rattling carriage, the panicked wild beast attached to it were all trying to flee in different directions contributing to the turbulent non stop rattling , Qin Li shook his head to regain his orientation and saw Zhi Ruo still in the carriage with a look of absolute shock on her face, Hartley was already gone.


    Hartley flashed outside the carriage mapping out the situation, the three guards at the front were the first to regain control of their neighing panicked horses as they landed. Hartley pointed to a spot about thirty meters up the street where there was a small muddy mound with thick shrubbery, that was where the attackers had laid in wait.


    "Suppress them!" he shouted and then ran over to inspect Ryu Hang. Drawn swords caught glints of sunshine as the armored men made their way over to where a dozen men were reloading their crossbows. Hartley wasn''t concerned for the safety of the soliders, they were fully armored and well trained as long as they made it over there before the men reloaded they would be safe enough.


    Of the three armored soldiers travelling at the back, two were thrown from their horses and were now dismounted, they ran to grab the reins of the panic stricken horses and attempted to calm them down. The one still mounted drew his sword and rushed ahead to reinforce the others galloping off.


    Suddenly Hartley got an eerie feeling prickling the hairs on the back of his neck, he grabbed Ryu Hang and threw him back onto the hard carriage driver''s seat like a rag doll, the blonde hair youth screamed in pain as he landed. Hartley had no time for sympathy, he shouted "get them out of here!"


    Ryu Hang gingerly stretched forward to grab the reins, he shook it a couple times and the frightened wild beats started to calm down but at the same time the floor behind the carriage rippled like it was liquid and about six black smoke-like tendrils the width of a common sword burst from the earth flinging out muddy dirt and broken rocks then rose to about eight meters before curling forward bringing with it the loud screams of tortured and tormented souls.


    Still trying to reassure their panicked horses, it shot towards the two soldiers twisting and wriggling like living creatures.

 66 Confrontation

    One tendril rammed through the back of the soldier on the left and exited through his chest with a spray of red, he looked down in disbelief at the wriggling smoke-like tentacleprotruding from his chest.


    The horse stood next to him again entered into panic mode and tried to flee but before it could move, it toofell victim to a black tentacle, it was run through from its rear end and the tendril exited the left side of its neck.


    The horse neighed out loud as it was suspended like a suckling pig over a camp fire.


    The creepy tendrils yanked back with force and a screaming ghost-likereplica of the impaled soldier started to be pulled from his shiny armor. The man''s soul screamed out a horrific miserable sound which traveled through the region like a harsh wind.


    The second soldier was shocked with his mouth hanging open looking at his squad mate''s horrific ending, with desperate urgency, the man wrapped in glistening armor tried to flee with his own legs abandoning the panicked and unresponsive horse,the remaining four tendrils twisted like black snakes and made a beeline for the man and horse skewering them both in the blink of an eye.


    The second soldier''s screams were even more gut wrenching, he was impaled with multiple tentacles as his soul was harvested even more quickly than the first.


    The screaming made Ryu Hang forget about all his pain, the wild beast pulling the carriage didn''t need any instruction to get away from this place as fast as possible, they bolted forward rumbling through the mud with loud clopping sounds.


    Qin Li had exited the carriage leavingZhi Ruo inside, he had seen this before but this time the unseen enemy seemed to be way stronger than the one they faced in the Cosmos region.


    Hartley looked at him and said "protect her"green lights danced around Qin LI''s ankles as he flashed away, chasing after the carriage without saying a word.


    A slim hunched-back figurewalked out from the tree line. The hooded man had no visible face only darkness, a darkness that weaved around him like a suit of armor bringing the stench of death with it.


    His dark aura shimmered around him and his dark discolored hand beckoned towards Hartley as if he was inviting his grandson forward.


    "You''ve killed my best two apprentices, now come and kneel before me ...Join me and we can conquer this mortal plain together or you can surrender your soul and die, make your choice now."


    Each word he uttered had echoes of painful screams as if someone was screaming the same time he was talking.


    Hartley did not answer, his body language made it abundantly clear he didn''t even intend to exchange words, he was ready for combat.


    "So be it." came the man''s voice once more.


    The floor again rippled and churned like boiling water, black smoke-like tentacles erupted from the ground and rose witheerie wails and moans, leaving horrible craters dotted on the ground. A dozen tentacles the width of a fist curled downward towards Hartley.


    Boom! mud splashed everywhere as chunks were ripped out of the road, each time the black tentaclecrashed into Hartley it turned out to only be an after image. Hartley pushed his level 5 star feet movement technique to its maximum agility within the tight spaces of the tentacles which looked like trees in a forest rising around him.


    "Submit!"


    The hunched-back man barely visible under the shimmering dark aura that surrounded his body shouted in a voice that sounded like a painful scream.


    Hartley dashed forward towards the man, his short red sword which was usually in his left hand was now replaced by a a similar sized silver sword. His battle with the scar face man in district 6 had damaged the red sword so he had to replace it with one from his collection this was a rank 2 spirit weapon, a little stronger than his original red sword.


    His fist clasped tightly around the long silver sword in his right hand as he emerged from the forest of smoke-like tendrils, he was now like a blue ghost with vibrant white tendrils of smoke rising upwards from his body, he delivered a wicked forward thrust. The cloaked man''s shimmering body turned to smoke and change position as if he was teleported diagonally ten meters backwards and to the left, wasting no time the cloaked man fired a fist at Hartley from fifteen meters away.


    Another black tentacle shot forward from his outstretched fist, curled and arced towards Hartley who had to activate his advance state of focus. Everything approaching Hartley was now moving eight times slower.


    Sweeping the short silver sword in his left hand from lowto mid-left, the silver short sword imbued with zero gravity met the ghostly tentacle like lightning and with a massive clang the tentacle wriggled and was diverted to his left accompanied by horrific screams.


    Blue lightning sparks crackled around Hartley''s feet, his robe fluttered as he moved to the right leaving a few after images, the ground rippled again like a stone being thrown in a calm lake.


    Instantly six more tentacles behaving like smoke erupted from beneath the earth sending big chunks of earth exploding outwards in all direction.


    The intricate web of black tentacles created a mesh formation as they darted down back towards Hartley. Hartley''s brows became slick with sweat in an instant, his eyes squinted into slits, he invoked zero gravity on all the chunks of earth that was exploding outwards.


    The random chunks of earth that were all falling down back to the earth from different heights, started to float upward again, Hartley hopped onto the nearest one and then onto the other in front of it at a higher elevation, He hopped four times in the blink of an eye like he was climbing a make-shift stairway and hurdled over the mesh of black tentacles landing with a forward roll on the other side.


    The hunched back d man couldn''t help but be impressed by the quick fluid maneuver.


    "Join me!"he exclaimed again with a shrieking tone to his voice.


    Hartley paid the man no mind, before the big chunks of earth could hit the ground again Hartley used gravity repel on them, the chunks fired at the speed of light towards the hunched back man leaving a trail of wet mud. The man immediately turned ghost-like dodging to his left, the chunks decimated the trees off in the distance with a loud crash as the tentacles behind Hartley fell back to the ground like water,and smoothly retreated back underground without a trace.


    Hartley activated a 30x gravity field a hundred meters around him entrapping the man as he moved forward in a flowing fluid motion, the man stumbled and his legs dug into the wet mud, for the first time the man''s body lost the dark shimmer and looked more human-like even though his face was still just a black outline.


    When Hartley was within ten meters of the stumbling man, three humanoidblack apparitions about two meters tall, looking like living shadows left the man''s body and screeched towards Hartley with horrific wails, not hindered by the gravity field they reached and slashed out their sword shapedhands at Hartley''s throat in the blink of an eye.


    Hartley used minute movement technique to skillfully dodge the blurry slashes as he retreated backwards from the onslaught, He moved quickly to the left in a semi circle leaving a plethora of life-like after images trying to isolate a single apparition while the cloaked man struggled with the heavenly force pressing down on everything...


    The opportunity came when one of the apparitions broke away and attacked, Hartley was waiting for this, he applied 20x gravity to his long silver sword in his right hand, took a step forward and executed a uppercut strike whipping up a gust of wind and dust as his robes fluttered in the chilly winds of the spring evening. Hartley''s eyes bulged as wide as saucers in surprise, the massive momentum of the sword passed through the dark figure without any resistance as it dispersed like smoke and reformed to the side with a forward thrust of its own sending the swirling dust from itself and back towards Hartley.


    Hartley left deep cracked footprints in the soft ground as he struggled to dodge to the side, the blackhand of the dark figure went through Hartley''s fluttering robe, his clothes charred black and crumbled like ashes blowing away without catching fire leaving his naked blue figure scrambling away in fright.

 67 Confrontation part 2

    The settingsun hid behind fluffy pIllows of clouds turningthem peach in the late spring evening, loud screaming, galloping horses and explosions were audible on the deserted stretch of muddy road two days north of the Wawrika province,the shadows of the scattered tall trees grew long inching eastward by the minute, meanwhile Hartley was engaged in battle, the escorts provided by Viscount Sanzu were also locked inbrutal slaughter against the crossbow men, the four armored soldiers charged their horses in a tight organized formation towards the unarmored squad of men swinging their heavy swords in mighty arcs, cleaving off the limbs of anyone too slow or unlucky enough to be in the way.


    Blood splashed across horses and armors as the first half dozen men who had abandoned their crossbows, now armed with swords made futile attempts to battle mounted soldiers in close combat.The rest scattered and fled in chaotic panic, screaming expletives as they tried to reorganize and retreat to preserve their lives, every now and then one was able to get off a single bolt from his crossbow, unfortunately for them running and aiming a crossbow reduced the accuracy making it almost impossible to hit the target...


    The relentless pursuit of the mounted soldiers continued as the damaged white carriage made its way north still rattling through the mud at a brisk pace. Zhi Ruo sat in a daze, broken glass still scattered across the seat beside her as if she hadn''t changed position all this time, shock still apparent on her face, she had said nothing from the time Qin Li had caught up and boarded the carriage. "He''ll be safe." Qin Li assured her in an almost whisper like manner of speech. He looked back at the road they had traveled in deep pensive thought.He of all people knew how powerful Hartley really was but this time he also had his share of concerns. Ryu Hang grimaced and grabbed his left shoulder from time to time as he held the reins and steered the carriage forward to the rhythm of the wild beasts clopping hooves but after hearing the horrible screams, he was actually glad he could still feel so much pain. It meant he was alive and in better condition than those two soldiers, sweat still ran down his face as he shuddered....


    Ever since Hartley had left the back mountains of the Lou clan, he had dominated the battles he had fought, sometimes he purposely hadn''t fought with his full capabilities just to increase his battle experience. Even when he had found himself in a disadvantageous situation he had never felt as if his life was at massive risk. Since meeting the black bear years ago, this was the first time he was truly scared of the outcome of a battle, this was the gritty reality of his current predicament...


    The cloaked man had hoped to capture or recruit Hartley as one of his personal disciples but after experiencing and seeing the power of this young man first hand. He now knew that his former apprentices hadn''t died unfairly. He hadn''t felt danger like this in a long time, he even had to use his trump card. The three shadow demons he had been refining had to be released to fight the boy, he was now in a weakened state as he fought against the downward pressure, his feeble form was being pressed down into earth so much that he had to drop to one knee making a deep indentation into the mud. Under his cloak his face was now that of a sweating old bald man, full eyes sunken in on a gaunt slim face with leathered wrinkled tanned skin was now exposed as his true appearance. This boy had to die now, trying to capture or recruit by force someone like this was like standing on a wobbling chair and wrapping a noose around your own neck, if the young man got any stronger than this....


    Jaws clenced and brows scrunched, Hartley''s naked body now shrouded in a curtain ofblue stumbled and staggered like he had ingested one too many jug of wine, his vision tilted like a small boat on the rough seas as he tried to regain his balance, swivellinghis head and seeing the dark silhouettes dashing towards him trying to take advantage of his vulnerable situation, his eyes burned blue emitting a brighter glow, the blue aura shrouding his body too became a few shades brighter winds whirled outwards as even more white steam coiled and twisted upward from his body.


    The muddy ground sucked at the sole of his boots as he moved left.


    The closest shadow creature that he had tried to desperately disengage from a second ago, lunged forward swiping its sword shaped hand from wide left to wide right, the quick horizontal slash left a black line flashing behind the path of the sword-like hand with a whooshing sound. Hartley''s feet got enough purchase in the mud to instinctively perform a back somersault, the deadly sword-like arm knifed through the evening air with deadly intent and whistled beneath him. Space itself wobbled as if the void would open up then and there, it then faded away again. Plop! Hartley''s two feet slammed into the mud five meters back from the shadow creature still in its crouched posture finishing the follow through of its strike.


    As soon as his feet was back on solid ground, the other twoshadow creatures had outflanked him attacking simultaneously from the right and left, at this point he had to choose his poison. He dodged to the left using his minute movement technique to its maximum potential barely managing to avoid the blow. This was a bad decision, probably the first time in battle he had miscalculated. Hartley wanted to keep his gravity field trapping the cloaked man active, the problem was, his gravity field and his time domain couldn''t overlap. If his gravity field was active he couldn''t use his time domain and if his time domain was active he couldn''t use his gravity field, this would be an important lesson for his struggles against the Time Keepers sect in the future.


    His unwillingness to release the cloaked man cost him. Theslash from the right crashed into the small of his back, and explosion of blue sparks burst out into the air, the blue aura surrounding his body dimmed to a duller shade. "AHHH!"Hartley screamed out in horrible pain as he was sent tumbling on a tour through the mud and foliage creating a mini crater where he landed sending bits and pieces of mud flying everywhere losing his short sword in the process as it flew off to the left and stuck quivering into a tree, somehow he had managed to keep hold of his long sword without impaling himself. Even though the blue star essence combined with his 3rd layer xanthian physique had protected him from the bulk of the strike, there was still a scar running across the width of his back, it was charred black emitting the smell of burning meat. Before he could come to a complete stop the three shadow creatures were pouncing again from three different directions determined to finish him off.


    Hartley had no choice but to release his gravity field and immediately activate his time domain, he called it "monochrome" the colors bled from the world 20 meters around Hartley. all noise ceased to exist, the world around Hartley was now a quiet black and white artwork, every detail visible as everything came to a sudden stand-still. Mud particles came to a stop in mid air, frozen in time along with the three shadow creatures with outstretched arms lunging at Hartley only meters away.


    There was a funny occurrence, the frozen shadow creatures now looked like smoke with a obsidian-black crystal resembling a beast core the size of a pigeon egg suspended in each of their head regions glowing with a dark light.


    Hartley''s time domain would collapse after three seconds, he gritted his teeth and breathed hard through his nostrils as he got to his feet, fighting the excruciating pain with pure will power. He took the first second to take stock of his surroundings. He quickly looked around and noticed that he could actually see the face of the cloaked man who actually looked like a week and feeble human now. That face! it looked so familiar, he was sure he had seen that bald gaunt face somewhere before. Time was of the essence he had no time to ponder such things right now. Tick.. Tick.. two seconds had passed Hartley came up with a new strategy, he decided to gamble. Before the third second, he placed himself behind the shadow creature that inflicted such pain on his body, gripped his remaining long silver sword in his right hand and channeled all the power from the blue star fragment in his chest into the blade, it immediately turned blue with white steam snaking upwards from it. Tick.. Tick.. Tick..Hartley jabbed the sword in the head region of the shadow creature, with a whooosh time returned to normal, all noises returned and the mud particles started their downward descent to the floor.


    Hartley immediately flicked his wrist upwards where he estimated the crystal should be located. The sword flew through the top of the shadow creature''s head creating a loud explosion. Bang! for a split second everything went black as a curtain of black light escaped from the thing''s head, formed a column and disappeared into the evening sky. All three enemies made a horrific sound, you could hear the captured souls howling like dogs boarded-up in a hot house in the middle of summer. The cloaked man dropped to his knees and held his head, he bawled out like a wolf giving birth then recalled the two shadow demons back to him, they rushed straight into his body and once again he had that shimmer of darkness, his face was a cavern of darkness under his hood again as he disappeared from the spot immediately obviously trying to escape now.


    Hartley was never going to let him off that easy. Hartley didn''t think the man could travel 600 meters in a second so as soon as the man blinked out of existence Hartley re-engaged his gravity field to its maximum limits. A gravity field 600 meters in diameter, with 40x gravity applied slammed down like a mountain dropping from heaven, cracking creaking noises rang out as every tree in the vicinity laid down flat like nap time in a children''s nursery. Hartley stumbled around a bit, the pain in the wound on his back reignited like a fire was passing through his whole body, he had to take time to retrieve one of the rank 1 healing dans he had left and swallowed it. it took a few seconds before he could move again so he retrieved his short sword. Hartley pushed his awareness to cover his whole gravity field and picked up the fluctuations of the cloaked man about 500 meters to the west where all the trees now laid flat. Nursing a wound and fighting against the pressure, Hartley''s speed was drastically reduced so it took a dozen seconds to get there, the dark shimmer once again disappeared from thecloaked man and his feet were sunk ankle deep in the soft ground as he struggled to stay upright. As soon as Hartley made his appearance, the man had no choice but to release his shadow demons, the two shadow demons unhindered by the gravity field rushed at Hartley but this time was different, he knew the secret. he maneuvered smartly so as to not get outflanked and patiently circled around isolating the first one, under the influence of advanced state of focus he swiped out his first set up strike with the short sword in his left hand from mid right to mid left. As expected the horizontal slash passed through the shadow, it turned smoke-like and reformed to the left, the process happened eight times slower so Hartley timed it to perfection and used a high horizontal slash as soon as it reformed smashing the crystal and dodging at the same time. The bald headed man and the last shadow demon howled in pain again after another dark explosion, which made Hartley easily finish off the last shadow demon.


    Hartley snarled and circled the whimpering bald man, blades held downwards. "Do you know who I am..." before he could finish this useless statement, his head went went flying off, there was no blood. The bloodless corpse fell to the ground and twitched a couple times before it laid still.

 68 The Hagley Province

    Darkness crept over the now quiet lifeless landscape, Hartley stepped out of the treelinewhich now had no trees standing upright and headed back onto the aftermath of a main road left filled with craters, potholes and two dead bodies encased in bright silver armor. Hearing hoofs cloppingagainst the soft muddy road Hartley looked up to seefour blood stained silver armored soldiers trotting on their horses at a slow pace coming in his direction.Theescorts had returned to the scene of first contact where the carriage was ambushed after routing and chasing the team of crossbow men for two or three miles and were now flabbergasted to the see the bodies of their comrades and a scene that resembled a war zone blasted by heavy artillery for hours. They had rushed away before the battle had started with the cloaked man so they had no clue what had happened here.


    Hartley now wearing a normal grey robe with his hair in a sweaty mess sticking to his face in clumps asked "Where is Zhi Ruo? is she safe?""Yes young lord, we held back the ambushers allowing the carriage to pass safely and it headed north with Qin Li on board, they should be safe as long they haven''t encountered a second ambush enroute mi lord."the man who had advanced the furthest of the four horsemen thumped his right fist against his left breast in salute as he answered. Hartley breathed a sigh of relief not just for Zhi Ruo''s and Qin Li''s safety but also the fact that this saga with the dark practioners was over. He didn''t want to be looking over his shoulder for these soul eaters in the future, expecting them to pop up at every turn, he then started pondering where he had seen the old man... Still it didn''t return to him so he let it go and dealt with more pressing matters. Hartley pointed at the man who was obviously the leader, "whats your name?""Yang Yi sir" came a quick response, Hartley nodded at the man and said "well done" Yang Yi then bowed while still sitting on his horse replying "thank you sir."


    Hartley thenpointed to the two dead soldiers and said "lets bury these brave men before we leave, it''s the least we can do for them. When we reach the next province,we will send word back to Viscount Sanzu and have their families taken care of.""Yes sir" all four answered in unison as they dismounted and carried the dead men into a piece of flat land off the main road and found a spot. Hartley who followed behind stepped forward when the men had laid down the bodies, he stomped his right foot on the ground and created a deep crater then walked ten meters away and created another crater big enough to receive the soldiers'' body. It took less than ten minutes for the soldiersto perform the funeral rites asking the Holy Matriarch to carry the men safely to the river of reincarnation. Hartley didn''t have the heart to inform the men that the dead soldier''s souls had been devoured and lost forever, so he stayed quiet until the end.


    A light breeze wafted through the windowless white carriage rattlingnorthwards on the dark road, Zhi Ruo hugged herself as she sat on the back seat with tearful out of focus eyes, Qin Li sat on the seat facing her, head bowed with a look of concern. It had been more than a hour since they had fled, Hartley had instructed him to protect Ruo, he was now having second thoughts. He wanted to double back and see what was going on, his mind was conflicted and he was preoccupied with thoughts of the worst case scenario then suddenly he shouted "Ryu Hang, stop the carriage." The carriage decelerated and then came to a stop.Two seconds later a blue flash dissolved into the dark night and Hartley stood at the door of the carriage, Ruo''s head swung to meet the eyes of Hartley....crystaltears immediately fell down her cheeks as she rushed to open the door and scampered out. She then buried her face into his chest and released loud sobs. Hartley rained kisses on the top of her head while rubbing his hand through her red hair, he winced a few times but didn''t reveal his injuries knowing it would worry Zhi Ruo more.Qin Li jumped from the carriage with a questioning look in his eyes as he looked at Hartley. Hartley nodded and said "its over, we''ll camp here tonight and regroup with the remaining escorts when they get here tomorrow then make our way towards the north again."Ryu Hang soon hopped down from the drivers seat and joined the other three in silence just looking and wondering if Hartley really had the strength to kill whatever was back there.


    Three days later a white muddy carriage flanked by four mounted escorts in silver armor, the light glinted and ricochet off the shiny surface of the armor as theyentered into the Hagley province drawing quick stares from the passing public. This was a province even more lavish and prosperous than the Wawrika province, it was filled with stone buildings but not as cramped, everything was spaced out and there was still trees and greenery to be seen in the background. Women were dressed in colorful gowns seen only in paintings back in the Waltham province as they went about their daily duties. Men were also dressed in exquisite robes,loaded wagons andpristine carriages streamed in and out of the province, the bustle of this province didn''t seem as hectic as the other provinces. People just went about their business in a quiet and reserved manner.Ryu Hang directed the damaged and dirtied carriage up the broad streets lined with red cobble stones akin to a red snake winding through the entire province which had singledetached buildings creating an alley way after every building.After an hour they passed a massive building surrounded by a ten meter high wall. The sign on the black double metal gates to enter the front of the building read "Hagley Martial School."They went further into the province before finally finding an inn the size of a mansion. It was a six story light brown building with a black triangular slate roof stretching up making the building look even taller than it was.


    The stable boys wearing smart uniforms came and got the horses from the escorts and the muddy carriage whisking them away from the front of the building like they were eye sores that brought shame to the establishment as soon as Hartley and his group entered the building leaving Ryu Hang to pay for the repairs and tip the young men. There were lots of pompous people dressed as nobles turning their noses up towards the ceiling seeing Hartley''s current attire. Hartley had no time to even notice as all he wanted to do was rest up, restock and leave after a week. Seven rooms were booked and paid for on the second floor and everyone disappeared into their rooms.

 69 6th Layer Xanthian

    Screams echoed in the hallway of the third floor, the sounds of rapid footsteps drumming against the descending steps of the staircase became louder and louder as it approached the downstairs lobby. Frantic and panicking, people rushed from the stairway exit and out the front door of the inn complaining in fright that a ghost has taken refuge on the third floor, swearing to the Holy Matriarch that they will never again in this lifetime visit this place. Customers drenched in sweat, eyes wild with fear, some even half dressed jumped in their carriages and escaped without paying their outstanding fees or collecting their belongings from the inn as if their lives depended on being as far away as possible from here . The puzzled and scared look of the black bearded manager could not be hidden as he ordered some stable boys to go up and have a look not daring to go himself. The people complaining were not bumpkins they were nobles passing through the province headed to the capital and not just onebut a group had the same experience, the manager had to take note, as silly as it sounded he had to take some form of action.


    The two stable boys dressed in black robes trimmed with white lining at the sides made their way carefully onto the third floor, beads of sweat ran down their foreheads as they tip-toed shoulder to shoulder through the long empty hallway, each wishing the other would take the lead. Shafts of sunlight knifed through the open doors of the abandoned rooms creating yellow spots of sunshine on the white walls opposite. They could hear the muffled sounds of people outside going about their daily duties and wished they were the ones on the other side of these walls, they popped their heads around the frames of the open doors, eyes darting back and forth confirming nothing suspicious before they moved on. The process continued until theboys reached the end of the corridor and breathed a sigh of relief. They wanted to leave as quick as possible and was about tomake their way back to report to the manager who had stayed at the foot of the stairs on the second floor.


    Screams of terror suddenly exited from both youth''s throat, unexpectedly they had helplessly floated up to right beneath the ceiling flailing their arms and legs like youngpigeons pushed from a nest high up a tree, their arms and legs knocking against the ceiling and the terrible shrill screams made the manager at the foot of the stairs wash in cold sweat, he wasn''t about to go up and risk his life for a couple stable boys. He turned and ran down the stairs, descending two stairs with each step and disappeared out the front door as quick as a 6th layer xanthian wind elemental expert. After a short while the youths gently floated down to the floor again but before they could flee a couple steps,in terror they floated up to the ceiling once more kicking and screaming again.


    Situated below this stretch of corridor was Hartley''s and Zhi Ruo''s room. Hartley sat eyes closed and crossed legged on the floor, his body was bright blue from neck to toe, faint white wisps of steam, almost translucent, wriggled around his entire body. During the process of assimilating with the blue star fragment: Hartley had evolved fromhaving blue lights wrapped around his hand when he threw a punch, at the next level his skin would turn a dull shade ofblue while emitting tendrils of smoke-like white steam and now Hartley''s skin was bright blue with faint white wisps of steam, barely visible dancing close to his body but didn''t rise upwards as it did before. Hartley had now entered the 6th layer of the xanthian realm. A seventeen year old boy more than half way to being a saint realm expert, if others could see Hartleys cultivation level right now there would be shock through the entire country of Aidonia.


    Zhi Ruo had taken Qin Li and the four escorts shopping leaving Hartley to rest andcultivate. Rewinding and reliving the battle he had with the cloaked man in his mind, he had unexpectedly found enlightenment during this session while meticulously analyzing his mistakes and the moves he should have used. He wasn''t aware of what was going on outside at the moment. He breathed slowly and every time he inhaledevery piece of furniture around him in the room would float up to about ceiling height like the two stable boys above him and every time he exhaled everything would gently come to rest on the floor again. It continued like this for another fifteen minutes before Hartley opened his blue eyes. A blue flash lighted up the room and disappeared like a lightning flash. Hartley''s skin turned back to normal, only now his usually tanned skin was pale white and could rival a female who had been pampered her whole life, even the black burn scar on the width of his back had disappeared without a trace, it was as if Hartley was a new man. He hadn''t noticed it yet andstood still not aware what had taken place outside. The stable boys, finally released from their roller coaster ride ran wide eyed without stopping, occasionally looking over their shoulders glancing at the piece of corridor in terror like that part of building was possessed.


    One hour later the manager returned with around six people following and the two stable boys still trembling leading the way, word had spread about the happenings on the third floor of the inn, so by this time a crowd had gathered on the first floor some people on thehigher floors had also come to the first floor scared that what happened on the third floor would also happen on the higher floors, even though no one was completely sure about what had happened. The man behind the black bearded manager, dressed in a fine lily-white silk robe swaggered through the crowd. "make way, that is an elder of the Hagley Martial School," people whispered. The elder was a middle aged man, short and slim his face was clean shaven but he had long raven-black hair wrapped in a bun on the top of his head secured with a gold hair pin in the shape of a dragon. He led the students behind him dressed in black robes, towards the third floor and disappeared from sight along with the manager.

 70 Another restaurant destroyed part 1.

    People jostled and crowded at the entrance of the inn, all were interested in knowing what exactly took place inside but none were eager to enter and find out first hand.Hushed speculation-filled conversations ensued as the idle men, women and children present, yammered on about their wild theories of what had happened inside. There were mentions of people being possessed, while others were spreading rumors of the inn being haunted by some long lost soul unable to re-enter the river of reincarnation, some went as far as saying that an army of dead had awoken and had taken the occupants of the inn as hostages, this drew beads of sweat onthe foreheads of the more gullible among the crowd, especially the children. An opportunistic man wearing a dirty cloak, half eaten by moths, even started to charge people to deliver the blessings of the Holy Matriarch upon them. The man then proceeded to spout gibberish while waving his hands around incoherently and collected a copper coin each from the more superstitious people in the crowd. The chaos died down after a while and the man left the area grinning, having earned himself a healthy profit.


    Zhi Ruo and Qin Li flanked by the four armored escorts, whom she had never seen without armor no matter how early she encountered them, returned to the inn and were greeted with the sight of the stragglers of the original chaos forming a thin crowd still converged at the entrance in the bright afternoon sunshine milling about aimlessly and peeping through the inn''s front door. With a frown she made her way through a path opened up by the four escorts and entered into the inn amidst a chorus of frantic warnings from the crowd, she paid no mind to the gibberish and silliness and ascended the staircase leading to the second floor passing some weird young people dressed in black led by a man dressed in white, tip toeing around in the corridors. The world have gone mad today, she thought in her mind. Qin Li and the escorts were giving each other quizzical looks as they all disappeared in their assigned rooms on the second floor.


    The pale and tender skinned Hartley had now entered into the peak middle phase of the xanthian realm, one more breakthrough and he would be in the late phase, which consisted of layer 7 through to layer 9. A blue replica of Hartley, now half a meter in height, was sat crossed legged in middle of a lush green forest which itself was located in the middle of a circular plot of land mass about a thousand kilometers in diameter. Over half of it was a picturesque scene of natural beauty untainted by any living creatures. Mountains, rivers and forest had developed under the ever present glare of theBright blue star sitting high in the inky black sky shining down like a sun, giving the region a blueish hue and anever ending daytime cycle. This was Hartley''s inner world, the bigger this world became the farther the range of his gravity field would grow. His consciousness swept through the land like a gentle breeze, he could see that the newly formed land at the outer edgeswas as barren as a desert. This time he wasn''t too worried because his cultivation speed was eight times faster than it used to be.


    In the outside world, the real Hartley opened his eyes, his lips curved into a thin smile as he wrapped his fingers into atight ball creating a fist that made popping sounds as he squeezed his knuckles together, he could feel that his physical strength had been increased almost three folds, strength surged through his entire body making him feel more energetic than ever, his physical body had made the step into the middle phase of the xanthian realm, his physique was now a 4th layer xanthian, meaning if he fought with just fists and kicks like a mortal, he would still be as strong as a 4th layer xanthian. His body had been rebuilt inside out, he gained an inch in height and the muscles on his thin frame were more defined and flexible. Hartley''s awareness now stretched to cover a kilometer which was also the new size ofhis gravity field that could now apply 70x gravity onto the face of the earth. He couldn''t even begin to imagine such adestructive force. He could now in theory wipe an entire district off the map, he was awalking artillery unit.


    Before Hartley could conduct any further research into his new level of strength, the door handle made a noise dragging him back to his senses, the door opened and Zhi Ruo, the red haired beauty, entered dressed in a light lavender colored gown stretching down to her ankles. The beautiful garment hugged her body and was made of fine silk and had a light sheen that glistened whenever it interacted with the natural light source peeking through the window behind Hartley, making her look like a born noble woman. Hartley couldn''t help but stare, she twirled around a couple times on the spot in happiness asking "do you like it?" Hartley said "yes, it is very appealing" with a cheeky wink, He couldn''t help but feel a pang of guilt in his stomach but certain secrets had to be suppressed forever. Zhi Ruo then stopped, she was the one staring now, with short elegant steps she rushed over to Hartley and cupped his face with both hands as if holding fine jade, caressing his pale tender looking skin. "How?" she had a blush as she looked at the majestically handsome man up and down. Hartley laughed while taking a closer look at his own hands and noticing the difference for the first time. "I had a breakthrough in my cultivation, that must be the reason." he said as he shrugged helplessly. He then pulled her in close whispering "Ruo I have so much energy now" a blush spread all the way down to her neck as she interpreted his intentions.


    The daylight gradually melted away beyond the horizon, the elder from the Hagley Martial School could find nothing suspicious about the stretch of corridor the stable boys were scared of and trembled every time they were near its location. The bearded manager went back to the front desk cursing his luck, the reputation of the inn was in tatters as rumors of ghost and haunted souls had spread through the local area, he sat there looking depressed, he still had to pay the elder from the martial school 20 gold coins and combine that with the fact that a number of customers had fled without paying carved an almost permanent frown across his face. Hartley still had no clue about this as he enjoyed himself with Zhi Ruo on the second floor. Qin LI, as usual, cultivated.


    At dusk Hartley wearing a brand new black silk robe embroidered with circular patterns stitched in with red silk threads, went and invited everyone to go out to a restaurant and have some delicacies. Even though he invited the four escorts, he didn''t particularly trust them as he suspected they might be spies here on the behalf of Viscount Sanzu, due to this feeling he had not gotten close with any of them, in fact he only knew the name of the leader Yang Yi. Hartley was secretly celebrating his breakthrough but he hadn''t informed anyone of this fact only Zhi Yu knew, so Hartley wanted to eat at one of the best restaurants in the area, they asked around a bit, oddly the manager was no help as he just sat around looking in space and shaking his head giving no response, Ryu Hang who had been out all day arranging for the repairs of the carriage, couldn''t help but frown and shouted at the manager in disgust, there was no response. The lights were on but no one was home.


    On the second floor of a lavish local restaurant called the Flying Cow, two long wooden tables were pulled together at a corner facing two stained glass windows to create a larger tableresembling a buffet line, the pleasing smell of fine cuisine lanced through the air and bombarded the nostrils of the diners in the almost full to capacity dining hall, There were still a few empty tables scattered through out the lavish settings that Ryu Hang had discovered just by the crowd entering the premises. Covered silver pots and steaming bowls were abundant down the length of the table and the waitresses were bringing more, taking away the half empty dishes and replacing them with other delicacies amidst the clanging of the ceramic bowls. The other diners on the floor looked over at the party of eight at the right corner of the room gobbling down the food like starving beast, this elicited frowns from the prim and proper nobles on the floor as they turned up their noses in disgust.


    At this exact moment the patter of footsteps rained on the ears of the occupants as multiple people ascended to the second floor. Almost all heads spun to stare in the direction of the team of people who just entered. It was five students plus the elder of the Hagley Martial School, their eyes surveyed the dining room scanning slowly from left to right. "Master Lingwei, should we leave and find somewhere else? It looks like there''s no space here." A student dressed in a black robe that stood a pace or two behind the elder said as he noticed the empty tables were scattered around the room so if they wanted to dine here, their group would most likely be scattered across the room.


    Offhandedly Master Lingwei waved his hand saying "no problem, we''ll just ask some people to leave so that we can sit together, this is the best restaurant in the area and we just made a lot of gold coins. Lets order some wine and delicacies then celebrate. We are from the Hagley Martial School No one would dare..." he said the last sentence with a sneer. The black hair and clean shaved man of short stature dressed in a pristine white robe slowly made his way down the middle of the floor followed by a trail of students dressed in black robes, back straight and chest out as proud as a peacock, the occupants hailed him by name with respect in their voices hoping that the distinguished elder would not embarrass them by demanding their tables, he gave them a slight nod and moved on, audible sighs of relief could be heard as he passed each table.With squinted eyes, a frown took form on the face of the elder, everyone in his presence had shown proper respect except for a party of eight sat at a corner gobbling down food and drink without giving him so much as a second glance.


    "You unrefined swines," the elder said with a face full of contempt as he pointed to Hartley''s double table. To Master LIngwei this group looked like a spoiled young master and his entourage not putting him in their eyes, trying to stomp on his prestige. "Get out," he shouted with a red face, then gave a signal to the waitresses posted by the entrance of the kitchens "we''ll be taking this table, clean it up quick and prepare it for us." The waitresses scampered off into the kitchen and returned with the manager after a few seconds. "So its you master Lingwei," a round faced podgy man said as he took quick strides out into the dining hall, before the man even reached him Master Lingwei shouted in irritation, "I want them out, we''re having that table for a special celebration tonight." he pointed towards Hartley''s group, hands shaking with irritation at how long it was taking to get his way.


    The podgy man gulped as Master Lingwei identified his targets, the table in question had spent lots of gold and kept the staff busy all night, this was what the manager loved most. Making lots of money and getting his money''s worth of labor from his lazy staff, those people had even tipped the waitresses with gold coins making them enthused and worked faster than he had ever seen, it had to be known that Master Lingwei highest tip was a silver coin if the staff was lucky, but this was Master Lingwei from the Hagley Martial school, he had no choice but to kick out the cash cows. How ironic he thought,he had named the restaurant The Flying Cow.


    Ryu Hang and the four escorts looked around nervously as the whole restaurant was silent waiting for the eventual embarrassment of the nobles who had no manners. Hartley, Qin Li and Zhi Ruo kept on eating without uttering a single word not fazed in the least. The podgy manager marched over to Hartley''s table and started to stutter out a few words, "hmm hmm gentlemen and ladies.. I mean lady," the man talked nervously as he rubbed both palms together."I''m sorry to inform you that...." At this point Hartley''s head flicked up in annoyance, he gave Qin Li a silent signal while he ducked down his head to continue eating again. The podgy man was standing on Qin LI''s side of the table, Qin Li stood up as fast as lightning without even knocking over his own chair and landed an open palm slap on the right jaw of the podgy man, a loud sound of PA! exploded through the air, the man rose a meter in the air parallel to the brown concrete floor as if he was levitating, spinning horizontally as he flew backwards clanging into a neighboring table, the diners at the table scrambled away screaming out in horror as the manager crashed into the chairs and tables setting off a chain reaction of bowls and chopstick flying away in all directions, the podgy man rolled to stop on one of the flattened table with his face in a bowl full of soup, making gurgling sounds as if he was drowning in the yellow savory liquid. People scrambled to help the man from drowning in a bowl of well-seasonedsoup that had been cooked to perfection. Aweak-hearted woman dressed in an elegant red gown sat nearby, screamed and grabbed her chest with both hands, her eyes bulged and she fainted at the sight, knocking even more ceramic bowls onto the brown floor, the sounds of smashing bowls echoed around the quiet room. Not even Master Lingwei had expected such a scene to happen in front of his eyes, his mouth was wide open dripping drool, his shock suddenly turned to fury, that slap to the manager''s face was like a slap to his own face.

 71 Another Restaurant Destroyed part 2.

    A collective gasp of shock escaped the throats of almost all occupants in the restaurant, the Furious Master LIngwei pointed at Qin Li, with a face as red as an apple he said. "You..will..pay...for...that!" Speaking each word through gritted teeth with short pauses in between, it took all his willpower to not dash over there and attack the audacious group there and then. Qin LI just stood facing the elder and his students as if they were inconsequential, "Who is this young handsome lord, do you think they came from the capital? why are they not scared?" Quiet conversations started kindling through out the room as people were now curious about who were in the party to so openly step on the dignity of Master Lingwei. Of course Master Lingwei caught wind of the hushed discussions andthis fed and swelled the hate in Master Lingwei''s heart for this group of people to bursting point.


    The four escorts wearing black surcoats over their silvery armor, with a design of two red eagles facing each other beak to beak set diagonally from shoulder to waist, stood up and made there way out into the open, visible to all. After being invited to dinner by Hartley, Yang Yi had instructed the escorts to dress in the full regalia of Viscount''s Sanzu, usually being invited to dinner by the viscount meant they would stand guard at the table all night officially dressed but to thier happy surprise they were allowed to sit and enjoy all the delicacies and wine with Hartley and the others. Master LIngwei recognized the emblem worn by the four as being from a noble house with relatively high position among the hierarchy of aristocrats.His expression was sour, "Leave!" he glanced around at all in the restaurant. The sounds of chairs scraping against the concrete could be heard in the relatively quiet restaurant as the customers scurried to leave like mouses escaping from cats. With help of some of the men the waitresses were able to take the knocked out manager and leave with the rest. Master Lingwei was determined to punish these bastards, if not publicly then privately would suffice. If any problems occurred it would then be his words against theirs, with the backing of the Hagley Martial School, what was there to fear?


    At this point Hartley stood up and wiped his mouth with a white napkin belching in the process and made his way around to the front side of the table where Qin Li stood . Zhi Ruo and Ryu Hang alsostood and followed.Hartley looked at the eager faces of the students stood behind Master Lingwei, shook his head in disappointment and uttered "a dead tree gives no shelter, hiding behind someone and bullying others is one of the most shameless acts but when that person is unable to bully others for you, you will be like naked babies thrown out in the wild." The tempers of the students flared, they were the best of their generation and had been treated with the utmost respect since being chosen by the Hagley Martial School. "Let us deal with them Master Lingwei" one student shouted out. "They are only a bunch of people at the peak of the houtian realm with one 3rd layer xanthian among them, how dare they behave like this in front of us." The students had all summised the puny strength of the opposite group, in their minds apart from Qin Li no one else was even in the xanthian realm. The weakest of the students was a 1st layer xanthian, and the rest were 2nd layer xanthians.


    Hartleythen turned his focus to the scowling Master LIngwei, "the Holy Matriarch frowns on the wasteful, don''t waste your life and those you are responsible for if you don''t know the immensity of the world and the experts in it."


    Hartley suddenly pushed off with his left foot, the brown concrete floor beneath it exploded from the sheer kinetic force of his forward move, there was a rumble till the room vibrated and the walls inside cracked , rock chips flew into the air and showered back down. before the scattered rock pieces could hit the ground Hartley used gravity repel to sling the debris forward, the empty space wobbled like the rock chips were about to rip through the dimension itself, moving at a velocity which turned these harmless pieces of rock into something akin to ballistic level lethal projectiles. Everyglass window on this floorexploded outwards, sending broken glass raining down outside the premises drawing loud screams and panic from outside. The improvised projectiles moved forward in a cone shape destroying every piece of furniture it came into contact with in a cloud of dust, accompanied by loud explosion as if a 50 caliber rifle was being fired down range.


    All of this happened in a split second, Master LIngwei had never seen a tactic like this before, he was even more surprised at how powerful the seemingly mortal young lord was, sweat soaked his brows as he pushed his 5th layer xanthian cultivation to its maximum and dodged to the right leaving his students at the mercy of the incoming hail of concrete chips. Some of them managed to produce their elemental armors around their bodies but the impact force of the debris swept them off their feet like a bowling ball strikingstanding pins and sent them careening away crashing through a dozen tables and chairs in a tangle of limbs.


    Qin LI realised Hartley was even stronger than before, he needed no instructions to get out of this shaking building, he scooped up Zhi Ruo and shouted at the escorts and Ryu Hang "We have to leave before the building collapses. The escorts were dragged back to reality by Qin LI''s shout as they stood there shocked into statues with mouths wide open watching the spider web cracks on the walls creep further and further. Ryu Hang was watching with awe, he knew Hartley was powerfulbut didn''t know that he could make a building wobble like this with just one move in a split second,With a green glow Qin LI disappeared down the stairs with Zhi Ruo looking over his shoulder at the blurred image of Hartley. The escorts followed with Ryu closely behind.


    Master Lingwei didn''t even have time to notice people leaving, in all honesty he wasn''t even concerned with the outcome of the students that were sent wailing away in pain 20 meters to his left, his plate was full at the moment. AS he dodged to the right Hartley had blinked out view and appeared again infront of him, the empty space where Hartley appeared rippled and oscillated like a stone thrown into pool of water standing upright. Hartley''s speed was warping and contorting space and his movements made loud sonic rumbles as he was breaking the sound barrier with ease causing the building to vibrate, shaking loose pieces of stones from everywhere.A Heat wave surged out in a circular pattern with Master Lingwei at its center, yellow flames with a tinge of red wrapped itself around Mast LIngwei''s upper body. Every piece of furniture remaining in the room turned to grey ash and fluttered through the air like butterflies as Master Lingwei tried to put some distance between himself and Hartley in panic, Hartley then diverted his attention away momentarily and made a sharp turn towards the students.


    The weakest of the students cried out in horrible pain because his skin began to scald, he ran at full speed and threw himself at the side wall of the building in a desperate attempt to leave the inferno. He burst through the wall in a cloud of dust and fell on the streets outside with a loud thud passing out immediately. The other students knew what Hartley had said about standing behind others and bullying was true, they truly had no idea what to do, they were like lost puppies in the wild, the heat was stifling they too needed to flee but the space beside them rumbled and contorted and the young lord they had so desperately wanted to beat was right beside them. One punch ...two punches...three punches...four punches.. Hartley came flying throughmid air, performing spins and punches that looked balletic as each move seamlessly blended into the next, the haunting cries of the students jolted everyone gathered outside to the core as half dead people came bursting through the walls of the second floor likedetonated tank shells sending dust and debris raining from the sky as the unlucky peoplelanded hard on the street cracking cobble stones before passing out whimpering like abused dogs.


    Master Linwei was relieved for a moment then stared wide eyed when he saw what happened and could not bend his mind around this mortal youth, not only did the heat not effect him, he just slapped away four 2nd layer xanthians like they were domestic animals. A meter long black staff appeared in his hand. he twirled it around stylishly like the rotors on a helicopter, just as expected, they youth appeared out of nowhere again, the building wobbled again and a wall collapsed kicking up a storm of dust.Master Lingwei knew that running away was not an option in this fight, the kid was just too fast, he had to land a meaningful hit and injure the youth then quickly make his way out of this place before it was flattened.


    A long staff now set ablaze with yellow fire writhing and roiling around it gave off a bright yellow hue in the dusty surroundings as it was swung down diaganolly from high right heading to low left. Abright blue fist withsmall white wisps of steam which clung closely to the hand,giving it a glowing white outline, came up at an angle to meet the staff.Master Lingwei had a feeling of glee as he saw the mortal youth trying to fend of his rank 2 spirit weapon with his bare fist, finally he felt like he had the upper hand. There was a loud bang and then a bright yellow flash, the staff held by Master Lingwei turned into black metal flakes as the meter long staff disintegrated causing long lacerations across Master Lingwei''s palms making blood run freely. Even though he tried not to, in the end he still bawled out in pain because the next instant a short left hand hook had landed right on his ribs ousting his flaming armor like a candle blown out by the wind, crushing the right half of his rib cage. He cannoned across the floor spitting out a mouthful of blood and crashed through the front of the building collecting the Flying Cow sign on his way down to the street.


    Hartley had not intended to kill the man and his students but injuries like these would leave them bed ridden for months not to mention the cost of the healing dans it would take for them to make a full recovery. That was the final straw for the creaking building as it started to collapse around Hartley. Hartley activated his time domain, monochrome.. the color bled from the surroundings and everything stood in suspended animation as all noise ceased to exist. This time Hartley''s time domain spread out 30 meters around him as he started to count in his mind 1...2...3...4....5....6.... and then whoosh everything returned to normal as Hartley disappeared.


    Hartley walked over to Qin Li, Zhi Ruo and the rest in his black robe which now looked grey due to the build up of dust, Ryu Hang and the escorts looked at him with worship in their eyes as they witnessed the second floor of the building collapsing into the first which left a mushroom cloud of dust rising upwards, Qin Li and Zhi Ruo had been somewhat used to his miracles by now, so they just smiled and greeted him. The crowd had gathered around the people from the Hagley Martial School and paid little attention to Hartley and the rest and they quietly left the area.

 72 Putting on a show of migh

    An assortment of birds flew through the sky of the spring morning, chirping out their joyous melodies, skipping from tree to tree drinking in the wind and warmth of the sunlight on their merry journey above. Beneath the birds, in the bright sunshine of the Hagley province, the area was buzzing with stories of a handsome young lord and his entourage. The gossiping public loudly discussed the events of the past day, the outcome being a well respected elder of the Hagley Martial School and five studentswere beaten half to death and thrown out of a popular restaurant frequented by the nobles, not only that but the restaurant was utterly destroyed. There were even some jokes being banded about how the distinguished elder had plopped around like a fish when he landed on the cobble stones, some laughter rang while others dare not behave this brazen.


    A white hair man with sharp features, a long nose and grim scowl, dressed in a golden robe sat on the back of a sturdy grey horse leading four others dressed similar to him, they made their way through the streets towards a certain inn. The scowl grew more twisted on the man''s face as he heard the local chatter, shame rose up to his throat like bile from his stomach, he was tempted to slap some of these gossiping commoners to death. This event was a black mark on the Hagely Martail School, one of their instructors was in a coma and five promising students incapacitated, the situation had to be put right as soon as possible. Soon people recognized the group and went silent as the men passed leaving only the sound of horses on cobblestones, the men rode in silence with somber faces and disappeared from view. These men were some of the strongest from the Hagley Martial School, probably the strongest in the Hagley province, it was blasphemy to think someone could thrash an elder from the school and put his half dead body on the street for public viewing without some type of retaliation, the Hagley Martial School would be a laughing stock otherwise.


    Back at the inn, the bearded inn manager had a good night''s rest and was just coming to terms with the events over the last couple of days, he had lost a lot of money and the prospect of future earnings after the ghost incident was looking dim, bringing him to the brink of having a nervous breakdown. He sighed as he took his position at the front desk, hoping this whole debacle would smooth out itself in the days to come. At that moment his attention was drawn toclopping hooves coming to a stop at the front entrance of the inn, the manager breathed a sigh of relief as he saw five people dismounting from majestic looking horses. At least there are still nobles willing to stay here he thought, but the men did not enter as expected, the white haired elder stood outside the entrance and shouted, "Come down here and face your punishment for daring to put your hands on members of the Hagley Martial School, We know who you are and if you are not here in five minutes we''ll bring down this building with you inside." the voice reverberated not only through the inn but also in the surroundings as if amplified by a speaker causing a clamor of people to crowd around in discussion, waiting for a show. The crowd grew larger and larger by the minute as word of mouth spread through out the region, this pleased the elder, he didn''t really want to destroy the building, he wanted to thrash those scoundrels half to death in front of a crowd and regain some face for the Martial School, re-establishing its untouchable authority in the province.


    After hearing the words of those men outside, the bearded inn manager face turned into a look of terror, How can his luck be this bad?


    Hartley sat up in bed, there was a rustle of cloth as Zhi Ruo slid up behind him and wrapped her arms around him pressing her naked breasts against his back, a look of concern evident on her face, "don''t worry I expected them, men like these with grand reputations always seem to be drunk with the illusion of power" said Hartley with a serious expression on his face that seemed to be sculpted from hard granite. Zhi Ruo rested her head on his shoulder for a short while saying "and you''re not?" Hartley''s hard exterior cracked, he smiled and said "Ruo, believe me I know my limit."Hartley''s awareness had picked up the men downstairs, these were powerful men but Hartley thought it was about time he showedsome of his own power, he got dressed in a black robe and came out into the hall where he saw Qin Li, Ryu Hang on the others dressed and waiting. Hartley stopped them, "I''ll take care of this situation, don''t worry about it." Qin Li wanted to refuse but saw the stony look on Hartley''s face so he shook his head and returned back to his room, the rest followed suit and Hartley made his way down the stairs.


    As the white hair man and his companions waited impatiently among the flocking crowds, the front doors of the inn opened and a handsome youth sporting a black robe with his black hair tied back appeared before the men, the youth looked mortal and obviously the men had heard enough stories about the handsome young lord. "What is it you seek?" asked the youth.


    "First of all, who are you? Identify yourself" the man asked not politely but not too overbearing either, a golden token appeared in Hartley''s hand with two intricately carved eagles facing each other beak to beak. He held it up for the crowd to witness, the glowing token drew gasp from the locals, "I am Sir Hartley, a knight of Viscount Sanzu" Hartley said nonchalantly. One had to be valued by a high ranking noble to be given a golden identity token. There was also silver tokens and bronze tokens given to people who had contributed with great deeds towards a certain noble house but a golden token was usually reserved for close relatives or those truly cherished by a certain noble.


    "You think you can hide behind your identity as the lackey of a viscount?" huffed the white haired man. "You think that gives you the right to have your followers attack members of our Hagley Martial School?" Anger seeped into the white hair man''s voice as he spoke loudly so the crowd could hear every single word of his. "Water miles away is no good for putting out a flame in front of you. Drag him over here and beat him half to death, then go and search for the rest of them." The leader instructed the man beside him while waving his hands nonchalantly. He had heard of Viscount Sanzu and knew he wasn''t stationed in the Hagley province, as long as he didn''t kill the young noble it could be explained to the delegates of the royal family stationed in the Hagley province as a misunderstanding, knowing that the nobles had their own factions and squabbles.


    The man who stepped forward looked of a similar age to the leader, he was a head or two shorter than the white hair man, broad of shoulders with a stocky build. A 6th layer xanthian with the earth elemental affinity, of this group he had the most formidable defense. A black rectangular shield over half the size of the man appeared fixed to his left hand, he could easily crouch out of sight behind the thing and be invulnerable to attacks that couldn''t break the shield. In his right appeared a shorter than usual lance with a blunt tip, this type of weapon was used to batter one''s enemies into submission. Moving forward with slow short steps, the thought that the person stood in front of him was responsible for the injuries inflicted on Master Lingwei and his students didn''t cross the man''s mind, none of the injured had awaken yet to make a report of what had happened inside the restaurant.


    Hartley smiled in his heart, he was going to use this brute to make an example. The man closed the distance methodically to Hartley smiling then leveled the lance and charged forward behind his shield. When he was only a meters away from Hartley and thrusting the blunt tip of his lance forward, the color bled from the world, the chatter of the onlooking crowd disappeared everything was frozen in time, all details were emphasizedin a stunning black and white rendition of the surroundings. Monochrome was activated, Hartley''s time domain could now last up to six seconds but he didn''t need that long. Hartley easily maneuvered himself at the man''s defenseless back and struck out a merciless punch. His fist turned blue with a white glowing outline, as it moved forward the space in front of his fist became unstable and wobbled the air, time snapped back to normal as the fist connected with the small of the man''s back with a loud crunch, shredding a portion of the golden robe he was dressed in, sending the pieces glittering through the air like fire flies as it glinted in the sunlight and slammed him into the ground with a massive eruption of rocks and dust, the windows and doors of the inn made a rattling sound as itvibrated along with the shaking of the ground.


    The man rocketed face first onto the massive shield and skidded across the cobble stones like a canoe travelling down a stream, disappearing in a fountain of yellow sparks as the shield grinded against cobble stones, sliding pass the gaping audience before coming to rest 100 m later, the clanging of the shield was then replaced by howling screams and frantic cries of "I cant feel my legs." A horrific crater appeared on his back where the punch landed, not a single drop of blood was spilled but it was obvious to those who saw that the mans spine was crushed to powder. He would probably never take another step in his life.


    If a pin was dropped in front of the inn right this second it would echo like a bomb in the silence of the large crowd and saucer-eyed group from The Hagley Martial School. Hartley was stood right in front of the inn illuminated by the bright sunshine looking at the white hair man as if he had no cares in this world.


    A million thoughts ran through the mind of the white hair man, he sent no one else forward. Without understanding of exactly what had happened he was hesitant and couldn''t risk another disastrous injury. Truth be told, he didn''t even think he himself could defeat the shield bearer with a single move, the shield bearer possessed the most formidable defense among the group and for him to be dispatched so easily left him wary.From his perspective the shield bearer had the young lord in his sights but just as he was about spittle the young lord on his lance, the shield bearerwas being punched in the back as helpless as a new born calf without any sign or indication that the young lord even used a movement technique. Red faced with embarrassment he ordered two of his men to fetch the injured elder, placing the already injured man over his horse like a sack of rice as the man wailed uncontrollable, the group then retreated in fury. He had to do some research, maybe the young lord was in possession of a divine weapon. Sweat trickled down his face as they left the area as quick as possible with gritted teeth under the stares and discussions of the gathered crowd.


    Hartley didn''t stop them, he just smiled and returned into the inn while the birds overhead continued to chirp their merry melodies.

 73 Breakthrough

    Under a surge of blue skies, mottled clouds driven from the north congregated and slowly moved to the south-west, The sun was partly hidden behind the puffy clouds but warm sunshine still knifed down to the ground in splotches.The vista of an endless blue sea foaming and frothing with waves looking like ripples over smooth velvet, laid to the west and on the right, scattered tall trees stood amidst patches ofstanding water in muddy fields decorated by dried brown weeds and small red and purple plants that bowed in reverence as the wind swept over them, the sounds of waves crashing into the rocks of a cliff side could be heard but was hidden from view by a steep drop.Large birds flew against the clouds and small ones against the trees gliding and circling from sea to land, their screeches and squawks became the normal ambient sounds of this part of the world, to the point that after a few hours one ceased to notice the sound.


    A white carriage journeyed across the landscape, having been repaired by the smiths and glass workers of the Hagley province and restored to its former glory, moving at a decent speed along the well-made road. Flanked by the four escorts who took their usual positions gleaming and laden in their shiny armor, with the addition of a big black crossbows now attached to each rider''s horse as their black surcoats was blowing gently in the wind on their journey northwards. Two trotted in front and two trailed behind having conversations but never letting their guards down. Hartley had decided not to tarry in the Hagley province any longer. They left the province five days prior, even though the Hagley Martial School hadn''t made any attempts at intimidation or openly tried to force a fight, he had come to understand the pride of men. Embarrassment as small as a mustard seed would drive prideful men to seek vengeance from the shadows if it couldn''t be achieved openly.


    Instead of exposing his group to these inevitable actions like a sitting duck too proud for its own good, he had decided to bring forward his time table and leave ahead of schedule. Hartley had purposely not killed a single member of the school because the Royal family had a policy to conscript the most talented in the Martial schools around the country and put them in their army to be sent to battles overseas, from battlingthe beastmen tribes of the barren east to protecting valuable affiliate countries from the encroachment of the other prominent countries. They would be sent to their deaths or return a hero and be given a position in the aristocracy. These students were a valuable commodity for the Royal family, Killing them would be like not putting the royal family in his eyes, so for now Hartley wanted to keep things simple, if not for this, they would have been uprooted.


    At first the road to the Cassia province where they were headed was well travelled with merchants bringingtrains of wagons packed with food and fabrics escorted by dozens of well armed mercenaries to and from the hagley province but for the last day, the travelers they encountered had thinned to single travelers on horse, or on a wagon from time to time but rarely on foot, typically well armed and distrustful of others. The road from the Hagley province to the Cassia province connected the central regions of the country to the north and was the route taken by merchants travelling southward,provingto be a lucrative stretchfor Bandits who operated in large groups preying on the merchants who were under prepared or had tried to cut costs by not hiring enough mercenaries, there was also the occasional fierce beast that popped out of the marshes and attacked, these were hunting beasts, large and as lean as lions but with broader shoulders and jaws set with razor-like fangs and much faster, covered in a dirty brown colored fur, unsuspecting and careless travelers would be dragged into the muddy fields in the dark hours of the night. Hartley had had to deal with them once or twice during night time when they set up camp off the road, but at his level these were no threat.


    OnThe sixth day of travel, the carriage crested a hill with the sun still high in a clear sky, even though they could see and hear the sea from three days before, this was the closest they had been to it. "STop the carriage" came a command from Zhi Ruo, Ryu Hang positioned the carriage off to the side and brought the rattling carriage to a complete stop. Zhi Ruo said nothing as she exited the carriage dressed in a long white gown fitted loosely to her body which danced around in the wind as she made her way across a grassy meadow and towards a rocky mound overlooking the sea. Hartley and Qin Li followed behind silently as she led them about 200 meters off the road and to a rocky cliff. She breathed deeply as she stared far out across the sea in melancholy seemingly not noticing the constant screeches of birds or the fishy odor that wafted through the air propelled inland on the sea breeze, the waves lashed and roared below as it crashed against the sharps rocks on a pebble filled beach.


    Hartley came up and stood five meters behind her without disturbing, this was his first time seeing the endless ocean in all its splendor. The sea spread out before him like a massive rippling velvet sheet as far as his eyes could see, birds squawked and dived down disappearing in the water for few seconds before bursting upwards again, some emerged with a fish trapped in the claws and some didn''t. Qin Li came up and joined him and together they looked over the sea which was like a living creature in slumber.Zhi Ruo''s breathing became tranquil and she couldn''t help but to close her eyes andsit cross legged on the brown rocks soiling her white gown with dirt, Hartleys eyes widened as she was enveloped in faint fog-like white aura. She had finally found enlightenment.


    Beads of water speckled and snaked across her body extracted from the moisture in the damp air, water droplets danced around her body twisting and turning as it glistened like crystal under the rays of sunlight forming a stream as thick as an arm stretching out to about a meter which then coiled around her upper body and circled as if it had a mind of its own. As the limpid stream got bigger and sunlight passed through, it created a colorful array of light like a rainbow around Zhi Ruo. It was a beautiful scene, as if she was in a rainbow cocoon."Tell them to set up camp and wait for our return." Hartley whispered to Qin Li as he watched over the still form of Zhi Ruo sat on the stony cliff. Qin Li nodded anddisappeared in the direction they had come. Hartley sat quietly and pushed out his awareness protecting her from any disturbance.


    Only when the sun began to sneak over the horizon to the west producing a slight red did Zhi Ruo finally open her eyes, a glowing white aura poured over her body swirling and writhing around her silhouette as her shoulder length red hair danced in the wind behind her, matching the blood colored sunset. Soon the aura disappeared and Zhi Ruo came towards Hartley smiling with dainty elegant steps as if she was gliding across the ground without touching it. "Congratulations" said Hartley with a beaming smile of his own, "I was lucky" she replied as Hartley hugged her and ran his lustful eyes all over her body. Zhi Ruo had made the first step across the threshold of immortality, she was now a 1st layer xanthian with water elemental affinity.


    The dark silhouette of Hartley soared through the moonlit night followed closely by the flapping white gown of Zhi Ruo whose elegant steps seemed like fluid liquid moving over the terrain, Hartley had taken her out training in the quiet night to assess her capabilities leaving Qin Li on guard duty back at their make shift camp. Beneath them the ground was soft and muddy as they came to a valley clogged with trees, their branches outstretched and weaved together to create an almost impenetrable wall of forestation. Hartley who had matched his speed with Zhi Ruo skidded through a gap in the treeline without breaking stride and navigated through the dense trees, Zhi Ruo elegantly flashed behind him leaving white ripples on the muddy floor in her wake, She was a natural at movement and moving through the densely packed woods proved to be a simple task. Hartley glancing back was impressed. The forest became more lush blocking out the moon light as they moved over and around bushes and small trees with dead brown leaves under them, leafless vines,


    lifeless in appearance twisted and stretched out like gnarly fingers on the soft forest floor that crunched like egg shells underfoot if stepped on.


    Eventually they came upon a rocky clearing with moonlight seeping in through gaps in the canopy of the forest, raining down shafts of blue light dousing half dozen fierce beast clad in brown fur, standing a meter tall on all four legs moving forward crouched in an attack posture releasing throaty growls ready to pounce, they came to a stop "be careful" said Hartley, Zhi Ruo nodded then a shake of her head sent


    shoulder-length red hair flipping back over one shoulder, her black pair of daggers appeared in her hands, wrapped in white aura she moved forward like a ghost gliding over the ground on her own accord thrusting her left blade out in front and rotated her hand quickly up high and turned the blade down in a diagonal slash with a black flash to intercept the claw that came slashing at the speed of light, with a howl of pain the decapitated right claw went flying away with a line of scarlet blood behind it. In a fluid effortless transition she then brought her right hand blade horizontally across the neck of the howling beast before it could retreat and sent its furry head with two rows of razor sharp teeth following behind its claw.


    Hartley blinked into existence beside her and punched out, blasting away a beast flying towards her from her blind side, it landed in a pool of its own blood and twitched before laying still, with short dainty steps she circled to the left leaving faint ghost-like after images, black daggers caught winks and flashes of moonlight as they rose and fell in smooth efficient movements leaving horrific injuries on the wailing beasts, in a few minutes two more beasts lay dead in the mud. The remaining beasts turned tails and ran head first into the dense foliage, crashing through it leaving sounds of broken sticks sending a shower of swirling leaves down to the forest floor. Hartley went over and kissed her forehead. "You are as powerful as a 2nd layer xanthian" he said with a smile. She returned the smile then turned her nose up and snorted "I''m sweaty now, lets go." They retrieved the beast cores, and smoothly left the scene.

 74 Cassia Province

    On the tenth day of traveling towards the Cassia province, Hartley finally figured out why the travelers on what should be a busy stretch of road teeming with merchants had thinned to such a degree.


    It was a cloudy day but sunlight poured down through the gaps in the white fluffy sheep-like clouds, the wind whipped around, kicking up blusters of dust and dead leaves and sent them swirling across the the road.


    The salty and fishy scent of the sea blanketed the area alongside the sounds of the roaring waves of the sea that rumbled in and outat slow intervals.


    The group were now a little more than two days away from reaching the Cassia province, about 200 meters ahead Hartley had picked up suspicious movements, with his awareness pushed to the maximum, he sensed the movement of men and wagons being transported off the road towards a stretch of land deep into the muddy forest to the east and out of his range of awareness. Sat opposite Qin Li on the padded seat Hartley''s eyes flicked opened with a customary blue flash but a frown remained plastered to his facial features, Qin LI could also sense the suspicious movements ahead and he too broke from his state of cultivation.


    "Whats happening?" Qin Li dressed in a red robe asked. Hartley shifted in his seat as he answered, "I think those up ahead are bandits, looks like they have been kidnapping the merchants and leading them into the forest." "No wonder the road has been so empty of late,what should we do?" asked Qin Li in concern.Zhi Ruo who sat next to Hartley in blue dress similar to the one Hartley had bought way back in the Cosmos region,had remained silent thus far, shejoined the conversation. "Lets just go with the flow for now." Hartley answered with a nod and then gave out instructions to Ryu Hang and the escorts.


    "Halt!" a voice boomed through the afternoon air,drowning out the squawks of the sea-birds.Ryu Hang brought the carriage to a halt fifteen meters away from a group of 20 men, the foremost five wore heavy armor liveried in the style of the Royal family, consisting of a red breast plates engraved with a rose still on its stem with a single leaf on the right side halfway down the stem, silver spikes ran up and over the shoulders of the gardbrace and the rest of the men beside them wore normal robes of mis-matched colors with swords sheathed in tattered leather scabbards attached to their belts, in front of them there were a few thick logs stretched across the width of the road, designed to impede and make the progress of any wheeled vehicle impossible.


    "We represent the Royal Yulan family, and are instructed to check for bandits coming or going along this road, we will conduct a proper search of all wagons or carriages and confiscate any hidden contraband that may be onboard." A tall armored man stepped forward and gave out his instructions in a practiced rehearsed manner. Unlike the other four armored men stood at his side, this man wore no helmet, he had a head full of scruffy brown hair and an eyepatch over his left eye.Hartley sat inside the carriage, couldn''t help but laugh, bandits robbing people under the guise of searching for bandits.


    Behind, the group of bandits waited in disciplined ranks murmuring between themselves softly. Hartley''sfour escorts maneuvered to the front andgrouped shoulder to shoulder in front of the carriage, Yang Yi ran his eyes across the bandits stood behind the blockade of logs, pointing a finger at the eye patch wearing leader he said, "impersonating royal officials is a crime that can be punished by death, did you know that?"


    Yang Yi had been given a rundown on the situation by Hartley before they reached the road block, so he knew these men were impostors, he thought the sooner these men knew that they weren''t fooling anyone, the sooner they would make a hasty retreat.The helmless leader scoffed at those remarks, "So what?" he said with his chest puffed out andfire in his eyes. "Do you think you can escape?" He continued, tell us the names of the houses you are affiliated to and come with us, a ransom note will be sent and if they pay within two days you will not be harmed."


    SHING! swords were being drawn by all on the bandit''s side of the blockade, horses whinnied as the four mounted escorts drew their swords in response, they were at a slight disadvantage because they couldn''t charge the group of bandits but they were still confident in their ability to tackle the likes of these men. "Yang Yi, take your men and fall back" came swift instruction as the carriage door swung open. Yang Yi and the escorts grabbed the reins of their horses, turned and fell back behind the carriage.


    Hartley alighted from the carriage in a black silk robe with his growing hair tied back in a pony tail with a simple string, he stood at the door and elegantly held out a hand and helped Zhi Ruo out the carriage like a prim and proper noble. With Zhi Ruo standing by his side Hartley turned to face the bandits, the leader wearing the eye patch, single eye lit up like a star, these two looked like they would fetch a pretty penny he thought to himself, while he stood there feeling pleased with himself and calculating the asking price he would set for their ransom. Whoosh! There was a flash thatproduced a concussive shock and a rumble that shook the earth and reverberated through their bones. The logs blocking the road was there no longer and came showering down like a water fall of wood chips and splinters around the screamingbandits sprawled on their backside grabbing their heads with ears bleeding. The scruffy brown hair man wearing the eye patch had a vain pop up on his forehead that wriggled like a snake as hewas gripped around his neck by Hartley''s right hand so tight he was now a light shade ofblue in the face.Hartley stoodeye to eye with the man at the spot he had been by himself a second ago. Hartley had broken the sound barrier and used his typhoon kick at the same time to explode the logs to pieces, the loud rumble caused the eardrums of the bandits to explode like soft tomatoes before he had even reached the leader, disorientated and in pain they were impotent in this battle.


    "Where are the merchants and their goods?" asked Hartley in a slow emphasized cadence that portrayed that he would not ask a second time. The man immediately spilled the beans like an open can falling off a table. Hartley didn''t mind slaughtering these scum but was mindful that Zhi Ruo would be opposed to him slaughtering a bunch of people in the houtian realm who were no threat to him. After making sure he had memorized the information of the location of the hostages he said "Scram! and if I see or hear of any of you nimcompoops up to this in future, your endings will be painful....very painful." The men scrambled away in panic, some, like the ones wearing armor found it hard to get back on their feet so they scurried away on all fours like animals put to pasture.


    Hartley had inquired about the merchants taken as hostages, not because he was so righteous that he wanted to right the wrongs of this world but because this was a great opportunity to replenish his wealth, he couldn''t say something as shameless as this out loud, so he pretended to care. He still had tens of thousands of gold coins but he wasn''t sure how much money it would take to get up and running in the capital, the further north he had gone the more expensive things became.


    He relayed his plans to go and rescue the merchants and Qin Li volunteered to make the trip with him immediately. Zhi Ruo volunteered as well and as Hartley was about to say something in objection, she gave him a look that said, try if dare, Hartley immediately abandoned the idea of asking her to stay and instructed the escorts to accompany Ryu Hang and the carriage further up the road and camp at night fall.


    After moving 3 kilometers west into the forest the trio climbed over a steep ridge and from this vantage point, they could see down into a shallow valley wherethere was a field of tents, to their right they valley narrowed to make a manageable entrace to the site, in the middle the valley was at its broadest and this was where the tents were located and to the left they valley met a v shaped cliff that ran up above the valley casting its shadow over half of it.


    There was roaming patrols but these were unorganized and left enough gaps that an army could stealthily pass through and be upon the camp before anyone was the wiser.Hartley pushed out his awareness and surveyed the camp and found there was no formidable opponents within, a couple 2nd layer xanthians would be the only resistance in this camp.


    Directing Qin Li towards the 2nd layer xanthian and Zhi Ryu towards the hostages, Hartley made his way to the biggest tent situated 200 meters away from the cluster of tents. Inside the tent a thin black hair middle age man was having a whale of a time with two beauties, of course these beauties were hostages awaiting the payment of their ransom. After finishing with the first one, he left the dejected woman lying on the floor, tears streaming down her face as he moved towards the second quivering woman. Suddenly, he lost control of his body and flew forward for few meters where something grabbed at his arm and he was yanked forward violently, dragged pass the pale-skinned beauty quivering with a tear stained face on the floor and through the wall of the tent made from some type of beast fur. His face collided with a fist and was destroyed like a horse stepping in its own shit. Hartley had used gravity attract to bring the man forward within range and then simply punch through the tent and dragged him outside. The middle age man didn''t have the time to scream before his face turned into mush.


    The frightened women screamed as they backed away from the hole in the tent, seeing blood splutter in the air. Hartley popped his head into the hole with a friendly smile trying to calm down the women and said "Its ok, you''re safe now, I''m here to rescue you." The women then released loud sobs especially the one who had been violated minutes before, she held her head down in shame and cried. Hartley retrieved one of his personal robes from his space ring and threw it to the naked woman. Then took and checked the dead man''s space ring, a smile sprung on his face, the best job in this world would be a bandit hunter Hartley thought to himself, the man''s ring had more than a hundred thousand gold coins and a lot of other precious materials. This ring also had more space than his own, but he wouldn''t be so brazen as to wear a bandit leader''s ring around so he placed the ring in his own space ring. That was a really lucrative ten minutes of work he thought as he took the women and escorted them back to Qin Li and Zhi Ruo.


    Hartley didn''t care too much about the logistics of the hostages, Hartley reunited them with their wagons and pointed the way back to the road, of course some merchants came over and thrusted rewards of value upon him which he didn''t even consider refusing. After giving their thanks the women rescued by Hartley hitched a ride with one of the merchants and left the valley. Hartley regrouped with Ryu Hang and the others quickly as they had only reached five kilometers away from the spot of the ambush.


    The ocean and it sounds gradually faded as they traveled inland, on the twelfth day of their journey the Cassia province grew larger in their sights. The Cassia province was large indeed, some three or four times the size of the Hagley province. Hartley had never seen anywhere so large; too wide to be framed by the eyes without swinging one''s head to pan back and forth, its walls meandered out for what seems like miles coming to stop where the sea met a cliff. When they reached the main gate, though, it was no wider than the gate to the Wawrika Province. Hartley was about to enter and thought hopefully his stay here would be a lot smoother than the last province. This was the penultimate province on their journey, there was only one province left between them and the capital after this one.

 75 A Warm Welcome

    Entering the Cassia province on a warm sunny day, Hartley had planned to keep a low profile and make his way to the capital, little did he know that his journey to capital would be lined with blood and bodies.The southern gate of the Cassia province was different from other provinces they had entered before, usually they would be fast tracked as nobles and given leave to enter and exit at their own accord.


    When they arrived at the open gates, everyone had to be searched and identified, even the nobles weren''t immune to this treatment. There was a separate line that catered for the nobles to make things a little faster and more convenient for the more pampered part of society, soon it was their turn to enter, they paid 2 gold coins for each person traveling in the group and entered. Men dressed in shiny armor with gold trimmings conducted a thorough search of every carriage entering, they did a professional job and were very polite to the nobles, which couldn''t be said about how they treated the common people in the other line.


    Hartley Zhi Ruo and Qin Li all exited the carriage and were chaperoned towards a man sat at a bench with a parchment jotting down names and validating identity tokens.As soon as he showed his identity token, there was a clamour of people murmuring and staring, Hartley paid no mind to it, held Zhi Ruo''s hand and walked with the others including the now dismounted escorts who held the reins and guided their horses forward.


    An armored man ran to check the parchment and then ran away to another building to report to someone, by the time the search of the carriage was finished, Hartley and company had walked about 300 meters into the Cassia province looking around inquisitively like tourist, noticing the double masted ships visible in the golden sunshine coming in to the docks that could be seen a couple kilometers to their left. Ryu Hang slowly cruised the clomping carriage towards Hartley and the rest, he too was in awe at how developed the Cassia province was, buildings made of stone spread to the north as far as eyes could see. The roads here could accommodate four lanes of traffic and the roads wove around in every conceivable direction one could see. Then there was a sudden disturbance and four people in armor accompanied by a man dressed in blue, who had streaks of white running through his shoulder length hair, overtook the carriage on foot and seem to be heading towards Hartley and the rest, Ryu Hang increased the speed of the carriage to keep pace with the men.


    The clinking of armor came clopping across the stone floor behind Hartley and company who were still sight seeing, the men overtook them and blocked their path forward. "YOU!" the person dressed in blue stared at him with wild hatred. "you dare come here as an affiliate of that traitor Sanzu". the man of medium build gave of strong fluctuations of fire element, he was the peak of the layer six xanthian, suddenly Hartley could feel mal intent but he didn''t think in his wildest dream that the man would attack a noble in broad daylight, but was proven wrong immediately.


    With a whoosh the man punched out both hands and two fire balls came bolting towards the group, these were so quick and gave off so much heat that beneath the path of fireballs it left two thick lines of burnt stone turning to ash. Hartley elbowed Qin Li with his left hand so hard it broke a couple ribs and sent him flying out of the path of the fireballs, he then activated advanced state of focus and scooped up Zhi Ruo then dodged to the right, one yellow fire ball with a tinge of orange crashed into two of his escorts turning them to ash without even a scream and the other produced and enormous explosion when it crashed into and swallowed the carriage that was coming up behind the group, sending one wheel thirty meter into the sky. When the debris landed Ryu Hang was nowhere to be seen.


    The earth rumbledsending out a shockwave of solid earth like like a wave moving forward across the ocean as Hartley gritted his teeth, tossed Zhi Ruo to the side and moved forward with deadly intent, everything shook like an earthquake, people screamed and ran around in panic as buildings wobbled and walls collapsed. Hartley didn''t take his shining blue eyes of the man, his swords appeared in hands, he used his long sword in his right hand which was now a solid blue color surrounded with a white glow, as he reached the man who had stumbled backwards along with the armored men that accompanied him, in a split second a slash from low-right to high-left was launched and as soon as that strike was finished, Hartley transitioned immediately into a slash form low-left to high-right, the two slashed emerged simultaneously forming a blue x shape that extended outwards as it blasted the man in blue at point blank range and flung the four that were with him somewhere out of sight, no one could tell if they were dead or alive.


    The man in blue was sent flying back with a scream of disbelief, the top half of his robe was shredded to dust and silver flakes burst into the atmosphere and drifted down to the earth as slow as snow flakes in the winter.The man''s life saving armor had preserved his life but turned to metal filings in one exchange. Eyes bulged and the man puked out a massive amount of blood when he landed ten meters back and created a crater the size of a swimming pool in the middle of the road. Hartley had a manic desire for blood, the only thing that could quell his anger at this point was seeing the blood of this guy running in the streets.


    There was a rumble which sounded like the earth itself was growling like a tiger when Hartley moved forward again but before he could reach and attack the man, two people burst into existence from his flanks, one wrapped in white aura and the other in green. The man in the crater shook his head rigorously to regain his wits, with his desire for blood Hartley''s attention was directed soley at the man in front laying in the crater, that resulted in him being outflanked on both sides with surprise attacks, he didn''t care.


    Hartley transitioned into his time domain as smooth as butter over a hot pan then took a second to evaluate. Every thing was now as quiet as death, the world a frozen picture in black and white and Hartley was the King here.The first physical interaction with an enemy would release his time domain, he couldn''t just activate his time domain, freeze people and walk around nonchalantly cutting off their heads he would be undefeatable under the skies if that was the case, the first person his sword came into contact with would release his time domain which could only be reactivated ten seconds after. The two people on his flanks were about five meters away from him in the middle, which means they were ten meters apart.


    Hartley positioned himself two meters away from the one to his right, applied negative gravity to his long blade and slashed a semi circular strike from high-left to high-right aimed at the man eight meters away to his left... Whoosh, with intricate timing his longsword sent a slash in the shape of blue a crescent moon , the blue sword light whistled across the eight meters sending the man''s head flying up two meters off his shoulders, then whoosh time went back to normal as the follow through ofhis actual blade went through the neck of the man who stood two meters away from him, sending the second head into thesky in synchronized timing with the first. The two unknown men died in their attack posture, unfortunately for them they lost their heads before they could execute even one attack.


    The man laying in the crater shaking his head had just regained his wits, when his two subordinates pounced from both sides trapping the target in a pincer move, then with wide eyes the man watched their heads fly up into the silhouette of the sun, blood spurting from the headless necks like fountains of ruby. They fell with a thump, the rumbled continued and the youth moved towards him cracking the earth and leavingweird contortions and wobbling of the space around him like he was bout to rip through demensions.


    This was no joke, his two subordinates were experienced 5th layer xanthians who were charged with protecting him from the shadows, the man activated his 6th layer xanthian cultivation to its limit.A storm of fire flared out from the crater in a fifteen meter radius, melting the ground turning it into an ankle deep river of lava.People screamed in horror, some were permanentlyblinded by the flash of yellow and orange, the stone work on the buildings 20 meters away began to turn black and blew away like sand in the wind. The people who had been there received scorching injuries over their skins as they all panicked and ran as fast as their feet could carry them away from the region but some unfortunate people who were blinded ran towards the flames and turned to bones as their flesh was incinerated in seconds. Qin Li with his third layer cultivation could easily withstand the heat from about 30 meters he looked around and located Zhi Ruo and with winces of pain went and got her and the two remaining escorts then fell back a safe distance. There was nothing he could do now to affect the battle he had to just hope Hartley would come out on top.The temperatures rose violently, this was really a warm welcome to the province.

 76 A saint?

    Pained cries rained over the area, confusion was abundant, people caught on the south side of the conflict rushed to the leave the province through the open gates and flooded out like ants running down the road towards the Hagley province, the people trapped on the north side of the battle rushed further north into the Cassia province like displaced refugees along the roads that led anywhere but here.


    A dozen men wearing silver armor trimmed with gold, inched forward to find out what was going on, four of their strongest and most skilled soldiers had left earlier along with their master who was the captain of all guards in the province, the earth had shook several times and there were loud explosions that shook the slates loose from the roofs of buildings around them, sending black slate tiles crashing against cobble stones. They had made their way halfway down the main road whena bright flash of yellow erupted and temporarily blinded the men, after staggering around for few seconds their visions slowly cleared. Sitting in the middle of the street was a bright yellow sphere shining like thesun had fallen to the ground, the men shied away and shielded their eyes in as much panic as the civilians, a wave of heat swept over the land immediately, the heat was tremendous, making their lungs burn as if they had inhaled fire, gasping desperately for air they felt like they were about to be cooked in a casket of iron armor if they took a single step further forward.


    They wanted no part of what was going on up ahead and retreated in unorganized chaos just like the civilians had done before them.


    After dispatching the two enemies,Hartley was only ten meters away from the man lying prone in the deep crater when there was bright flash of yellow and orange, the surroundings changed into a yellow inferno trapping him inside a sphere that seem to have descended from the depths of hell itself, in response Hartley''s whole body immediately turned to abright glowing blue from head to toe asthe heat bathed his body, his fluttering silk robe burnt away and disappeared without a trace, every strand of his beautiful raven-black hair turned to ashes, leaving a bald blue figure stood in a backdrop of vicious molten yellow and orange


    Hartley felt uncomfortbable tingles of heat surging through his body as if it was traveling in his bones, the space ring on his finger turned to a glowing red like it was about to melt into his blue skin, the swords in his hands were protected by a coat of blue aura but even those seem to be making a sizzling noise and emitted white wriggling steam, at this point the star tattoo on his chest shone brightly giving his body an angelic glow. His eyes shone brighter than ever and a comfortable feeling returned to his body bringing the ring back to its normal appearance and his swords once again turned solid blue with a white glow around them.


    The middle age man inside the sphere could not believe his two eyes, he had used this trump card to fry his unsuspecting enemies like a strip of bacon over the years, he couldn''t fathom that someone who had appeared mortal in his eyes, could not only withstand the heat but also wasn''t running in panic. trying to leave the vicinity of his sphere. This was a martial scripture from the capital that not many had access to and over the years he had honed his skill with it to a high level. The youth was using some type of element he had never seen before, and it looked it was effective against the fire element. He had a scowl of disappointment on his face, he had wanted to kill this noble and his group as a lesson for everyone to see because they dared to show up with the token of that traitor but he had instead tasted the power of the youth who could destroy a rank 3 spiritual armor with one strike. The last thing he wanted to do now was engage this youth in close combat, when the youth was about to come at him he took precautions and activated his flame armor.


    A Bright blue shining silhouette of a human figure streaked across the yellow inferno creatingmore rumbling sounds and sending magma splashing in all directions behind him in his wake. Before he could reach his target, a field of fireballs the size basketballs intercepted him directly and also spread out to cover his predicted escape routes, two from the left, two from the right, and two directly aimed at him. The fireballs seem to have doubled in speed and made a warbled sound as they blurred towards him.


    Even with his advanced state of focus active, Hartley was having a hard time getting out of the way of these projectiles.


    The half dressed man whose hair was somehow still intact was whizzing around inside the sphere like a humming bird on steroids, insta-casting fireballs at will from awkward angles. Hartley realized the glaring deficiency in his own battle style, it was the lack of long range techniques. Once he had reached a certain level he had totally abandoned the use of his throwing knives and evolved to be a close combat specialist.


    Now he was mostly on the defensive, dodging a swarm of fireballs from an opponent who had felt his power up close and chose to keep the battle at long range. Each fireball dodged, flew out of the sphere like a bullet and decimated a building with a huge boom, turning it to rubble as Hartley pushed his minute movement technique its limits and after the fourth volley of fireballs that came at him from every conceivable angle, he broke through that limit. Hartley was now utilizing advanced minute movement technique.


    The bald headed figure of Hartley blurred with ghost-like movements, he was making subtle adjustments so fast that it didn''t seem like he was moving at all and yet still the fireballs just zipped past him to end in an explosion and most likely wrecking a building somewhere off in the distance.He finally began to close the distance but as soon as he made any progress the man would just zip away even faster, expertly controlling the distance of the battle. Hartley knew battleslike a girl knew her mother''s best cooking recipes and he realizedthat within this sphere the man was fighting way beyond his realm, he was a sixth layer xanthian just like Hartley but his speed was so fast within the sphere that it would be next to impossible for Hartley lock him down manually.


    It was time to rectify the situation with brute force.A titanic invisibleforce of 50x gravity fell down from the heavens and slammed onto the earth around the sphere, sending lava splashing up a meter high, the blindingly bright yellow and orange sphere dimmed a couple of times like it was about to collapse but a dull diluted version of the original remained standing. The surprised man lost most of his speed as his foot dug deep into the lava like he was a nail being hammered from above, he stumbled around in confusion for a couple of seconds before turning to face the blue streak that was coming straight at him.


    The man''s dark irises bulged to the size of pigeon eggs, he couldn''t comprehend how Hartley was so fast under these restrictive conditions. Hartley did lose a bit of speed but his physique had recently been upgraded to the 4th layer of xanthian realm and he just seconds ago had a breakthrough in his minute movement technique, the speed he lost in these conditions was insignificant.


    The glee in Hartleys eyes could not be disguised, he wanted to slice this asshole to ribbons and he was going to enjoy every single second of it, there was a searing hatred in his heart for this man who he didn''t even know and had only met minutes ago and yet it felt like he had a lifetime of hatred stored up in his chest that was going to burst him to pieces if he doesn''t violently vent it out.


    Hartley reached him a flash, The man stumbled around like there was concrete in his shoes, and a weapon appeared in the man''s hand, it was a metal umbrella about a meter in diameter in its open position, without pause Hartley unleashed a flurry of attacks with blows so fast and heavy that the sparks went dancing and skittering across the surface of the twirling umbrella like a blacksmith beating iron into shape on an anvil, the man staggered back, looking like a rat caught in a trap by its tail. He wanted to say something but there was no room for negotiation and he could tell just by the look on the youth''s face. The man knew he was outmatched, it was like he was playing tennis on a court the size of a football field.


    Hartley pulled back and recomposed himself, the struggling man counter attacked by pitifully thrusting the umbrella forward, blades opened up around the outer edges of the unorthodox weapon that begun to spin rapidly clockwise with a whirring sound, he tilted it forward at the end of his thrust hoping that he could catch Hartley by surprise and cut him in half like a chainsaw.


    Hartley stepped left and swatted the spinning umbrella with his long blade in his right hand, blue and yellow sparks gashed out like a spring shower, the man over rotated and with a blue flash of light, Hartley''s short blade in his left hand came crashing down with a barbaric swipe on the man''s right hand holding the umbrella . The stupid umbrella went flying away with half of the mans right hand.


    SSSSS... The man''s blood turned to steam that floated up as it gushed out against his flame armor,with another slash, the mans left hand went flying, this time his screams could be heard half a mile away, the flame elemental sphere collapsed exposing the two combatants but the man was still trapped in Hartley''s gravity field, there was no escape. Hartley savored the moment and made more slices through the mans flesh as if he was a 3 star chef filleting a tuna fish. The blood that gushed out turned to steam that went straight up as soon as it fell into the lava pools or came into contact with the flaming armor. Hartley finally quieted the man by lopping off his head and felt satisfaction to his bones.


    Hartley released his gravity field as the man''s body was boiling in the pit of lava and was about to leave to go check for Zhi Ruo and Qin Li when they sky suddenly went dark like a solar eclipse, he heard a voice, "you vicious evil creature, you will not leave here alive." Hartley''s head swiveled around frantically, he couldn''t see who the speaker of the voice was. After the voice sounded reality cracked in front of Hartley''s eyes, it was like a tv screen had cracked open and one could see the inner workings of it. Hartley saw a man''s eyes as plain as day, it felt like the man was miles away and yet still he was right there in front of Hartley, he shivered and sweat ran down his back, was this a saint level opponent?

 77 Fate

    The Sun that had sat proudly on its golden throne high in the sky had been overthrown, it was now replaced with an inky black featureless sky giving off no warmth. Hartley felts chills as the sweat slithereddown his back like snakes made of ice, drawing an involuntary shiver from the usually calm and fearless youth. Hartley could see the a dark outline of a person but the only clear features he could make out was the eyes, those two triangular shaped eyes with obsidian-black marbles sitting in the middle of perfectly white sclerae was a sight he would not easily forget in his lifetime.


    Hartley was staring through a crack that was hard to explain, it was like looking through a long straight tunnel and seeing a small circle of light at the end of it and your perception would lead you to believe that it was far away.But at the same time it was like there wasn''t a tunnel and he was looking directly at the outline of a person stood in that circle of light right there in front of him. Hartley gulped down a mouthful of saliva to relieve his parched throat. On this spring day, atthis hour, at this minute, Hartley felt like an ant at the foot of a God, staring up at a being whose power his mind could not understand as something possible.


    " I shall Return you to the ninth circle of hell, you Devil Spawn, where you and your kind can stay for eternity, never to re-enter the river of reincarnation," the growl of a voice came again and the black outline of a human sent out a nonchalant, almost friendly punch, those black pupils sitting in the pearly white eyes stared at him fixedly with no emotions, expectingthe words spoken to be final law.


    Hartley couldn''t fathom the power of the person in front of him but he wouldn''t just lay down and die, not even for a God.Hartley activated advanced state of focus which he had disengaged subconsciously after his battle, hoping that it would still give him a milisecond of extra time. Without waiting to verify the results of that experiment he activated his time domain. Monochrome was in effect immediately, advanced state of focus had given him just enough time before the punch entered this side of the void. The color bled from the world around him, everything froze and he could see the mind bending details of everything. It was like the black shadow was stretching its hand through a window and peering through that window Hartley could see small details of the background. What he saw through the window behind the dark figure was trees, mountains and greenery.


    He couldn''t see it very clearly but the little that he could, he knew... He had grown in mountainous environment for most of his life, the dark figure must be many miles away from this coastal province which had next to no mountains and yet still he could just reach out and touch Hartley.


    The dark fist which wasn''t any different in size from a normal fist entered into Hartley''s time domain and came to a sudden halt, frozen like everything else. Hartley''s imagination had run wild and he was expecting to see a fist that was as big as the sky, so seeing the normal fist surprised him a bit.All that aside, his immediate problem was that he had used 3 seconds of the time available to him in his time domain already, even though he stopped the fist, that was only temporary. He only had a total of six seconds, another three seconds and his time domain would collapse and he could only reactivate it after a ten second interval. If the man was determined to kill Hartley, which he clearly was, those ten seconds would be like a soldier without a rifle running across an open field attacking a machine gun encampment. There was no hope of surviving such an engagement.


    With no other option he could think of, Hartley positioned himself carefully at the very back edges of his thirty meter domain, if he stepped one foot out of it, it would collapse immediately. The rest would be left up to luck and timing, For the first time in his life Hartley closed his eyes and sent a prayer to the Holy Matriarch, the six seconds was coming to an end, it could be the last six seconds he spends on this plane.


    Hartley''s fate was going to be decided by two factors, one was timing and the other was good old fashion luck.That final second before the time domain collapsed, Hartley had lived a whole other life, in that one second his mind had raced a million miles per hour. He thought about Zhi Ruo, was she alright? What would become of her? Would she find someone else? would she be happy? He thought about Qin Li, about Ryu Hang , the Lou clan, who was the Holy Matriarch? If he had lived differently, what if he was accepted and lived the life of an arrogant young lord bullying the commoners....would he be in this situation now? And many other thoughts of this ilk.


    Whoosh! time snapped back to normal and the unassuming, underwhelming punch moved forward 2 meters onto Hartley''sside of the crack, small spatial cracks looking like black lightning crackled and hissed around the fist, a catastrophic force was sent forward at Mach 5. To put this into context, Mach 5 was five times the speed of sound, Hartley could make buildings wobble and walls collapse by just moving at Mach 1 his speed was very close to Mach 2 but it wasn''t technically Mach 2 yet. So this destructive force that was executed in the most nonchalant way, was almost three times that of Hartley''s, one could imagine if the man was to actually put some meaningful effort into his punch, how terrible would that be?


    Under the influence of state of focus Hartley could see and react the very instant the fist moved forward and at that moment he executed a standing jump with all the strength he could muster and flew like a scud missile forty meters vertically up in a straight line. Since entering the 6th layer of the xanthian realm Hartleys 10 meter vertical leap was now a 30 meter vertical leap. The extra effort of a 4th layer xanthian physique accounted for the extra 10 meters in height. His timing was perfect as he managed to rise above the brunt of the force just in the nick of time. The rest would be up to Lady luck now. Hartley hovered at this height for a split second, the force of the simple dark fist that was devoid of any special technique, uprooted and swept away everything in front of it, the rubble of the destroyed buildings and every building standing up to 200 meters away were all swept away like a tsunami of concrete, rocks, cobble stones , horses, carriage and any and every other solid object that was standing in front of the fist. Hartley looked down and could see the devastation being swept forward before he heard the rumbles and crashes, that means even the rubble of destroyed buildings were moving faster than the speed of sound, but when the sound did arrive, it was like ten volcanoes erupting around him. His bald, naked body was still a bright shade of blue because he hadn''t had a chance to leave the crater with boiling hot lava and change his robe.


    Even in this state where he was at his peak, there was a line of blood running down his left ear and onto his neck. He went temporarily deaf and could only hear a ringing sound like he was stood under the Great Bell of Dhammazedi and ten people were banging it with giant hammers at the same time. The residual power of the fist flung him forward behind the katamari-style rumbling wave of devastation, when it finally came to a stop Hartley crashed face first into in with an explosion of dust and rocks flying out everywhere, he tunneled about 2 meters down into it before coming to a complete stop. He puked a mouth of blood all over his chest as he climbed out and staggered on the rubble, his blue figure looked extremely dim now. He was punch drunk like a boxer that had fought a brutal 12 rounds and probably had a slight concussion, seeing doubles, he looked around at the dark skies in confusion and when he clocked his surroundings, he was stood on a pile of devastation that was 50 meters high, he looked forward to see a rectangular shape of land that looked like it had been plowed by really dedicated farmers.


    "What!" the voice sounded shocked. "You puny ant dare to defy me!" hearing the voice that sounded like rolling thunder brought Hartley back to his senses and the stark reality of his current predicament. Everything happened so quick it was barely five seconds and the man was punching out another of those punches again, this time with way more vigor. He was a a sitting duck. This time winds swelled and roofs as far as 300 meters away were ripped off and sent flying like kites, Hartley started to move to his left as quick as he could in a final futile attempt to dodge his fate.


    Then suddenly the black inky sky cracked like a mirror and shattered with a loud bang, the sun was visible again sitting high on its golden throne as it retook jurisdiction over the blue skies, sending warm golden sunlight over the scene, the winds died down and a calm returned. The crack in reality where the dark figure with the haunting eyes stood was becoming translucent. A second more playful voice sounded out as if it was coming from everywhere at once, but this time there was no crack in reality or spacial rifts, the owner of the voice was nowhere to be seen. There was just a cheery voice."Song Zemin, you need two attempts to kill a mere mortal now? Oh dear!! look how far the mighty have fallen" The voice cackled like a young child seeing a clown at the circus for the first time. "Do you even have any face left to walk among the half-saints and saints of this continent?" asked the voice again in a playful ridiculing tone.The dark figure occupying the crack in reality was now identified as Song Zemin and he fumed in boiling anger "Kang this is our territory, you can''t intervene!"And then another playful answer came from Kang, "I can and I am, so let it be known that this young man is under my protection from now on." As Song Zemin was fading away with the crack in reality he shouted "I''ll report this matter to Prince Yulan" the words were growled out as if said through gritted teeth, The voice of Kang cackled again like a mischievous child proud of his bad deeds.Then everything was back to normal, maybe normal is not the word to describe the devastation on which he stood but from the predicament Hartley was in just few moments ago, he was so happy to see that crack in reality gone, that he would gladly accept this as normal.


    The cheerful voice sounded again, "Not bad, not bad young man"....followed by a giggle. "If you head north 500 kilometers into the province and find where there is a fresh water lake surrounded by willow trees by nightfall tomorrow, I will tell you whats going on. Whether you choose to go there or even find it, is all up to your fate." with another giggle the voice disappeared. Fate? Hartley thought to himself just hearing the voice of the cheeryman called Kang was fate.

 78 Meeting Kang

    Rays of golden sunshine shone down on the unnatural rubble that was stacked 50 meters high like a landfill in the middle of the populated town, there was a deathly silence and at this elevation one could only hear the eerie howling of the wind as it made its way over the newly formed barrier, whipping up massive whirls of grey dust-clouds that swirled and billowed like smoke as it rose towards the blue sky in columns. Atop the rubble Hartley fell to his butt with a plop in exhaustion and relief, he was feelingas weak as a newborn calf with trembling limbs. He breathed in and out, not minding the dust as he sat on the rubble of destruction like a junkyard king. Having just been on a roller coaster ride of emotions he took a couple of minutes to compose and gather himself. Hartley could remember an incident he had witnessed what feels like ages ago. He had been there when Patriarch Lou had cricked the neck of Lou Panjie by just reaching out, and now he had been on the receiving end of a similar exchange and had somehow lived to tell the tale.


    After a few minutes of silence, murmurs and screams began to emerge in the surroundings as people returned one by one to see the carnage that was wreaked and what remained of their beloved southern border town, just minutes ago they had fled one of the most developed places in Aidonia and when the explosions and rumblings had died down for a while, the bravest among the civilians had returned to find what looked like 200 square meters of freshly tilled farmland and a landfill sitting where buildings once stood proud in a bustling commercial part of town, only the Holy Matriarch herself could tell the death toll of the innocent civilians buried alive or swept away within the rubble. Hartley pulled himself together and decided it was time to leave.


    Retrieving a healing dan and a new black robe from his space ring, he swallowed the dan while he got dressed and moved to the south side of where the crack had appeared, on this side was unblemished and relatively unaffected as it wasn''t in the path of the punch of SongZemin. Hartley could sense fluctuations of Qin Li and Zhi Ruo and shouted out Zhi Ruo''s name at the top of his lungs in panic, his voice rang out over the mainly empty area and soon four people emerged from near the open gates that was now abandoned by all guards.


    Zhi Ruo recognized the voicebut didn''t recognize the bald headed person using the voice. It was an awkward reunion as everyone stared at Hartley''s new look, Zhi Ruo came over and lovingly touched his bald head while staring into his eyes, "It''ll grow back," he said as he took her into his embrace.


    "We''ve lost Ryu Hang and two of the escorts, they died without even leaving their corpses behind" said Qin Li in a sad tone as he walked forward holding his ribs with a slight grimace of his face. Hartley took a deep breath and looked into the sky, he felt tension worming under his skin "may they find peace on their journey to the river of reincarnation, but unfortunately there is not time for funeral rites now, we have to head north before we run into any more trouble." he said this with strained emotion. Yang Yi suddenly barged into the conversation. "Sir.... Sir are we still moving north?" he obviously had had his fill of this adventure, he would love nothing more than returning to the comforts of the Wawrika province and abandon this quest to reach the capital. Hartley gritted his teeth to stop himself from strangling the man while he shouted "What did Sanzu do, Why were they calling him a traitor?"


    The two escorts took a step back as they both noticed that Hartley didn''t address Viscount Sanzu by his title, their faces went pale, they knew Hartley''s power and knew that they had zero chance of surviving if Hartley attacked them in anger.


    "Si.....Sir we have no idea, we are just guards." the men said nervously.Hartley sighed knowing that this wasn''t the time or place to go into details about what had happened. He put one hand around Zhi Ruo''s shoulder and the other up to and over his scalp, as if running it through thick long raven-black hair, forgetting for a moment that in fact his head was now bald.


    Hartley turned and headed north with his arm wrapped around Zhi Ruo''s shoulder, Qin Li followed closely behind. Hartley said over his shoulder without looking back "leave if you wish....."


    An hour later four people commandeered a carriage and left the original occupants frustrated and seething by the side of the street, shaking their fists at the disappearing carriage in a fit of anger, to the red faced owner, it was like watching gold coins grow legs and walk away.....


    Hartley sat lethargically on the rear seat of the dark carriage that was dragged along by a pair of huge white wild beasts, swallowing another rank 1 healing dan as he stretched his hand forward andpassed four of them to Qin Li who sat opposite to him facing the back window of the carriage. Qin Li swallowed one of the dans with appreciation as he massaged his ribs, wincing at every touch.


    Zhi Ruo was snuggled up beside Hartley resting her head against his shoulder quietly. The carriage rumbled forward with Yang Yi sat at the driver''s position. He had decided to follow Hartley after deliberating with his squad mate for a short moment. The other escort chose to take his chances on the road back to the Wawrika province, it would be a long and dangerous trek for a lone person but compared to the danger going further north, the man felt going south was the safer option for himself.


    The quartet had made their way on foot for a kilometer before seeing a carriage ripe for the picking, Hartley was strapped for time so decided to just take it. After all that he had seen and been through earlier in the day, worrying about the feelings of the owner was the last thing on his agenda. Once one stood before a crack in reality and survived, how can he ever truly feel safe again, knowing that he was never truly out of the range of such an attack.


    For the rest of that day they made their way north on the wide highway-like road, stopping periodically to inquire about the lake surrounded by willow trees and rushed forward non-stop.


    In the afternoon of the following day, the carriage was steered onto a stretch of flat grassland and traveled west for a while, making tracks as the carriage wheels mowed two thin lines over the green terrain. From the information they had gathered, there was a lake in this region, Hartley stretched out his awareness to its maximum range of 1 kilometer and scanned the area and at the same time give Yang Yi instructions on where to go.


    The carriage came to a stop beside a small tree-studded hill to the right, in front, the small lake lay wedged between four giant willow trees that bowed over the lake as if in worship, their bright green leaves drooped down to floor like cloth spread on a wash line, making it almost impossible to the make out the individual leaves. The trees had thick dark bark at the base and grew upwards twisting with smaller branches in the shape of what looks almost like lightning stretching out.


    The afternoon sunshine shone down, hitting the face of the dark waters of the circular lake andreflected a flood of gold light, sending it dancing across the surface of calm water that had many ripples due to a steady wind that blew over the area. To the left, the grassland rolled out to the edge of a ordinary small forest.


    Hartley hoped this was the right location, they made camp and waited...


    Several hours later a carriage rumbled through the green grasslands just like Hartley''s stolen carriage had done earlier, the incoming carriage was matt black and made fully of metal, the wheels had an intricate suspension system with springs and axles and moved over the terrain absorbing the impact of the uneven surface easily. At first glance it looked like it weighed a ton. but if one were to look closely, they would see special runes carved along the lower sides of the carriage. These were wind elemental runes which had a lightening effect on the carriage decreasing the burden on the wild beast pulling it.


    Without saying a single word, a tall silver hair man wearing armor hopped down from the driver''s position, sun glinted of the golden breast plates and the metal rings on his armor jingled as he walked to open the carriage door signallingfor Hartley and the rest to get in.


    They traveled northwest for the next 3 days without the silver hair man exchanging even a single word, Hartley began to think the man was either a mute or he didn''t put the group in his eyes, so they kept to themselves and didn''t attempt to instigate any conversion with the man and so the smooth ride of the carriage continued until it pulled up to a high wall about 10 meters. The guards at the gate let the carriage through without a word. High overhead , birds flew in bomber patterns through the air, squawking in the warmth of the sunlight that produced long shadows in the late evening of the spring day.


    The carriage went about 500 meters down a well made road flanked by well trimmed hedges about two meters high and pulled up to their destination that drifted into view as the sandwich of green, that enclosed them from the main gate disappeared and revealed the majestic building that was a castle made of white stone. Spires at different height rose up high as if to salute to sun above sitting atop the multiple windowed towers that sprang upwards in perfect symmetry. There were other mansions dotted around on the massive piece of real estate but this castle was the center piece.


    The silver hair man with his clinking armor jumped down hitting the ground with a puff of dust and silently led the group through the mostly empty castle. They were brought to a big room for refreshments served by serving girls dressed in black and white uniforms before being ushered up several flights of stairs and into a room with multiple glass cases containing wooden carvings.


    "Ahh you made it" said a cheerful voice sounding like notes played by a flute. An old man sat drinking a glass of milk behind a wooden desk, his hair and his robe was the same color as the content within his glass, his sprightly brown eyes sparkled when he looked over at Hartley and the rest. Hartley heard the man''s familiar giggle, the man placed the cup down and picked up an unfinished wooden carving of a carriage and began skillfully whittling away the wood with a carving knife that was sitting on the table, humming a tune while paying no attention to his guests for several minutes, flakes of wood fell to the floor andbefore long a small pile of sawdust gathered. The white haired man held his latest creation up to the light and inspected it from several different angles. He sighed then put it down saying "the angle is not right, not right" A flash of disappointment surfaced on the man''s face producing wrinkles at the edges of his eyes.


    He swung his attention back to Hartley, "Do you know who I am?" asked the man. "I think you are Kang" Hartley said,then that familiar giggle sounded again. Hartley introduced himself and the others to the man in reverence. This unassuming man who looked mortal was responsible for saving his life and Hartley showed the utmost respect to the eccentric man.


    The man inspected Hartley with his eyes saying "interesting...interesting, you appear to be mortal but you are not are you?" Hartley didn''t hide anything and told the man about the stealth scripture he had taken from an assassin when he first became a xanthian and had subconsciously hidden his aura ever since.


    "You''ve placed yourself in quite a position."The old man said. Then he and Hartley proceeded to have a conversation as if no one else was present.

 79 A traitor of the kingdom

    A heavy sigh with a shake of the head in pity, a giggle of amusement and some carving of wood thrown in between. The eccentric nature of Kang was on full display as the man switched from one emotional state to another. Wedges of triangular sunlight beamed through the high windows of the the room and glanced off the glass cases that stood erect at each side, filling them with a golden glow of natural light which highlighted the carefully placed wooden sculptures within them liketrophies on display. Hartley could smell the freshly cut grass and could see glimpses of the manicured lawns through the slightly open stained window from where he stood rapt at attention, sponging in the nuggets of information offered by Kang.


    The aristocracy of the capital was split into factions of support for either the eldest Prince, Prince Dong Yulan or the second prince, Prince Jian Yulan, each were positioning themselves to be the next to sit on the throne as King Yulan prepares for his second attempt at ascending to a higher plane, King Yulan has been at the peak of the saint realm for over a hundred years and has one foot in the God realm, if he was successful this time, there would be a power struggle whether the king named a successor or not. With the king out of the picture neither prince would accept the other sitting atop the throne they both coveted for so long.


    From their conversation, Hartley learned that the man who attacked him at the southern gate was the guard captain of the province, a man loyal to andpersonally appointed by the eldest Prince to oversee the interests of the eldest Prince and those aligned with him. Even though on the surface, people appointed to carry out out these duties were supposed be neutral, the eldest prince had found a way to get his loyal servant assigned to the position and in control of the important southern gate and docks.


    The Cassia province was a strategic point that linked the north and the capital to the central and southern regions, the person who controlled the flow of commerce through the Cassia province would be in a great position to recruit the nobles who would in turn have unimpeded commerce between the north and south and at the same time stifle the other rival nobles making them use alternate and more expensive trade routes. The southern half of the province was vital, it contained the docks sogoods, weapons and armor could be shipped down to the docks of the Cassia province and sent by road to the south, drastically cutting the distance that goods needed to travel and be protected. The nobles would gain more wealth and the prince would gain more power by having command of their forces.


    Viscount Sanzu was a smart strategic noble, skilled in the art of politics who came up under the wings of the eldest prince, he had made a name for himself and was promoted to a Viscount, a title conferred to him by the eldest Prince but for some unknown reason he had turned coat and switched sides to support the younger Prince which caused a huge fall out, he was now a sworn enemy of the eldest prince.


    Even though King Yulan didn''t concern himself with matters of the world on a micro level, he had left strict orders that nobles should have a code of conduct and could not just kill other nobles of high ranking as they pleased, No one would dare disobey a direct command of King Yulan and so Viscount Sanzu was framed andbanished to the Wawrika province as a compromise by the eldest prince.


    The second prince was pragmatic in nature and only truly valued those who had accumulated huge formidable forces or those who had high personal strength, Viscount Sanzu didn''t fall into either of these categories so the second prince didn''t fight for him to stay in the capital as vigorously as one would expect an ally to do. This was where Hartley fell into the Viscount''s calculations, if Hartley made waves and showed his strength, then Viscount Sanzu would be valued again, enough to be called back to the Capital as an adviser to the second prince.


    Hartley had not only shown up with the identity token of Viscount Sanzu, he had killed the guard captain hand picked by the eldest prince himself to stifle rival nobles, the replacement for the position of guard captain could not be guaranteed to be a staunch supporter of the eldest prince, this would be of great benefit to the second prince. Hartley had entered the province for less than a weekand had thrown a spanner in the works of the eldest prince, this was sure to earn the eldest prince''s hatred for a lifetime.


    Hartley couldn''t help but be annoyed with Viscount Sanzu, the man had sent him into the mouth of the beast without warning, he now realized how naive he had been, he had been granted a noble title in exchange for some achievements, at the time it had seem like a simple matter but Viscount had withheld the fact that he would also inherit some mighty enemies. Viscount Sanzu had played him like a pawn, this was not something Hartley would forget. Kang then told him that Song Zemin was a half-saint who supported the eldest prince from the background and never usually got involved with personal fights.


    The guard captain was well protected for one who wasn''t a noble and still Hartley sliced him to ribbons, Song Zemin must have seen his potential to be a future threat and was trying remove that threat before it blossomed into something more serious.


    The eccentric Kang just happened to sense the spatial fluctuations and decided to take a look out of pure boredom and curiosity, he saw a mortal youth somehow escape death at the hands of a half-saint, something that was almost impossible in his prior experience. Kang excitedly described Hartley as being abnormal as his brown eyes sparkled with glee like a kid with a new toy and that was what made him intervene. Hartley didn''t know whether to take that as a compliment or insult, but knowing Kang, it was honest. Hartley intrigued Kang because Hartley''s elemental affinity was something he hadn''t seen before and Hartley had the most precise timing he had ever seen, he had not even seen experts in the saint realm with such exquisite timing. He didn''t know that Hartley''s time domain and state of focus made it easy for him to execute what seems like split second precision moves to the outside world but Hartley could execute these moves at will.


    Then Kang turned his head to look at the quiet Zhi Ruo who stood at Hartley''s side lost in her own thoughts. "What a tangled web." he said and giggled like a shool girl.


    "It must be fate, it must be!" the white hair man exclaimed, drawing puzzled looks from Zhi Ruo, Hartley, Qin Li and Yang Yi.


    Kang placed both elbows on his desk, almost spilling his half glass of milk, the contents slushed around in the glass as it pitched left and right before settling down without spilling a drop. Kang repeated her surname, murmuring "Zhi ,Zhi." as if he didn''t noticed the glass sat on the table, lost in his own world of thoughts. He snapped back, then continued like a father telling a story beside a camp fire.


    "There was once aprincess who had fallen in love with one of her body guards sworn to protect her life with his own, its rumored he had flaming red hair and was a great warrior trusted by the second prince, this body guard already had wife and daughter so the faithful man rebutted all the attempts of the princess to woo him away and in a fit of jealousy and frustration the princess issued an order to have the wife and child of the man killed but that bodyguard got wind of the plot and fled the capital with his family in the middle night, there was a skirmish and in the end the wife was killed and the father and daughter disappeared and was branded as traitors of the kingdom."Kang looked at Zhi Ruo with pity and a long sigh, "well, that''s the way I heard it. I''m sure the story was more complicated than that." he commented


    Zhi Ruo''s top lip was quivering and her eyes welled with tears, Hartley held her close without saying a word. "Ahh... fate! it must be." Kang said to himself almost whisper-like.


    The wedges of sunlight were already starting to fade from the room, the golden glow was turning orange with a tinge of red reflecting Zhi Ruo''s mood as the tears slowly navigated down her pale cheeks in slow motion, a single tear would stop at the end of her chin for while, reflecting the sunset before it fell to the ground, she stood staring forward with her eyes out of focus not making a single sound or sob.


    By the time they left the meeting with Kang it was already dusk and darkness was approaching over the horizon as the sun sneaked out of sight. Kang recommended that they stayed in one of his mansions and not even think about traveling towards the capital unless they improved their strength by leaps and bounds, for the first time all day he had a serious expression and told them it would be suicide to even think of traveling through the province in the next couple of weeks. Kang gave instructions for the serving girls to get the War mansion ready....


    In a bedroom on the second floor of a well furnished mansion, there were impressive murals, mostly of battlefields painted on the white walls, the wall facing the bed depicted a chaotic battle of knights with lances mounted on horses wrapped in armor skewering helpless infantry soldiers likekebabs. There were quiet sobs coming from the bed which lasted most of the night. Hartley held Zhi Ruo through the night and comforted her without a single impure thought ever crossing his mind.

 80 Spiral circulation and Compressed circulation

    The next few days went by in a blur, Zhi Ruo went into full time cultivation. Hartley thought it was just her way of dealing with the grief of finally knowing what exactly happened when her family fled the capital, in a way this would give closure to her childhood ordeal and she could now point her anger in the right direction.


    AsZhi Ruo went through her sessions of cultivation she realized she had never felt this motivated, when she thought about it, she realized that she couldn''t remember ever having felt so determined, so secure in her belief, so happy that she had met Hartley and had embraced the path of cultivation. She felt a tiny frown and remembered how safe she had felt in her mother''s arms, she felt so cared for and in no danger at all. Her mother had to be avenged and she was going to do it.Zhi Ruo sat in the bedroom of the War mansion staring at the depiction of war painted on the walls.


    Hartley had toured the massive estate of Kang under the lemon-like sun which lauded over the grass and trees, The well kept grass seem to stretch out for miles, there was a mini forest far to the east. The scenery looked like a painting which an artiste had painted meticulously taking pains to not put a brush stroke wrong. There were five mansions plus the white stone castle, The mansions were a kilometer apart and placed as if they were the points on a compass with the largest one in the middle, Hartley and company were staying in the most southern one that Kang had called the war mansion, the theme of this mansion was in fact war.


    Some of the walls were painted withimpressive murals, mostly of battlefields, other walls painted white, supported huge racks of old weapons, a lot of spears and knives, swords and shields, pikes and maces, bows and arrows all arranged neatly hanging on the walls or in piles that sat neatly at the corners of certain rooms as if they were a substitute for furniture.


    Hartley had only seen Kang three times since he had been on his estate, the last time he saw him, Hartley gave his gratitude towards the man, but couldn''t help feeling apprehensive about the situation, so Hartley had offered to pay a fee for the use of the mansion, which was refused with a giggle. After his experience with Viscount Sanzu Hartley didn''t expect anyone to help him for free, there was always an hidden agenda even if one couldn''t see it. As if he was a mind reader Kang smiled and asked. "Are you wondering what I want in return." Hartley didn''t want to be disrespectful to a saint and nodded his head in answer. "Well....I have no need for coins and I certainly don''t need the bustle of a noble position...." He laughed and looked Hartley in the eyes. "This is me helping out someone like myself with abnormal potential. maybe in the future I can have a powerful ally."


    Hartley had a sheepish look, when did he become abnormal like Kang?....


    Dust puffed and drifted with every step as Hartley moved across the sandy floor, closing the distance between him and the black metalic humanoid shape, his fist flew forward turning into a bright shade of blue with a white glow and connected with a loud metalic clang. The punch landed on the right side of its chest, the black humanoid figure staggered back for about four steps, There was a small crack on its shoulder area which quickly started to repair itself and soon the training dummy was back to normal, looking brand new.Hartley gaped at the defense of the self regenerating training dummy.


    It was shaped in the same dimensions as an adult human but without a face, just an oval shaped featureless head.


    Hartley was standing on the sandy floor in the huge circular training ground at the rear of the Stone castle, there were a few people sparring in hand to hand combat while others went through weapons training slashing their weapons against the training dummies. Men cheered and encouraged others in the lively environment as loud clangs accompanied by sparks skittered through the air. Thepeople training mainly made up the guard force stationed on the massive estate, there were some 1st layer xanthians mixed in with some men at the peak of the houtian realm.


    A sudden familiar giggle sounded from Hartley''s back.... Hartley turned around to see that Kang had snuck up on him, without a greeting he said "your move was very efficient and streamlined" Kang paused then continued. "A good technique, quite good... but they way you use your elemental power is very crude....very crude indeed."Kang said this while shaking his head in disappointment. "You use your elemental power like a hammer trying to peel an orange, it is brute force and nothing else, just like the way your punching technique is very efficient and streamlined, so also should be your power manipulation...look... and pay attention."


    The tall thin white hair man dressed in a pristine white robe that flapped as he walked over the dusty training ground without his steps producing any swirls of dust, approached the training dummy, Hartley immediately engaged his advanced state of focus and squinted his eyes determined not to miss the most minuscule of details.


    This was a saint realm expert giving him pointers, he had never had anyone teach him anything before so this was an opportunity he would not miss. Kang walked over to the training dummy and nonchalantly raised his index finger, green swirls quickly wrapped around the finger and he brought it forward to the chest of the dummy ....Bang! pieces of black metal went flying out the back of the training dummy leaving a hole the size of a pumpkin, the dummy did not even stumble or take any steps backward, it just stood in the same spot sporting what would be a very painful and fatal wound.


    The training ground turned quiet as everyone stopped training and paid attention to Hartley and Kang, the pieces of metal that sprayed across the sand quickly turn to black liquid and raced back across the sand to the training dummy, crawled up its body quickly filling the hole on its chest and was again standing there without a scrath, it was reminiscent of a scene from the movie terminator 2.


    Kang turned to Hartley and asked "do you see now?"


    Hartley nodded his head while he concentrated on every detail he had just seen. "That''s called spiral circulation" Kang said. "Use all the elemental power that would have escaped as residual energy and focus it at one spot.


    The most important aspect of it is to not have any power leakage at all. The concentration of all that power on one spot can penetrate even the toughest of armor and beast hide."


    Kang turned back to the newly formed training dummy saying again "pay attention." Once again he moved his index finger as if he was only pointing towards the training dummy, a green disk-like aura, about the size of a gold coin went forward from the base of his finger, as soon as his finger was about to come into contact with the dummy, the green disk pulsed forward..... a bang even louder than the first one echoed around the training ground.


    There was a shower of black metal as the top half of the dummy turned to metal flakes that reflected the bright yellow sunlight. There was gasps and sharp intakes of breath from the onlooking guards, some even dived for cover on the dusty floor fearing shrapnel would come their way, they had trained with these dummies for years and had never seen anyone even chip a piece of metal off one of them.


    All the way down to the upper thighs of the dummy was scattered into shardslike someone had kicked a freshly made sand castle apart on the beach, leaving only the two black metallic legs standing. Pieces of the training dummy started to pool together like black liquid, it started to re-form but this time it was a very slow process.


    "Ahh, that was fun" Kang chuckled to himself, turning back to Hartley he said "that was called compressed circulation. I think if you live long enough you might even surpass me in that technique....The important aspect to that technique is timing,, with that one you have to coil all your elemental power like a spring and release it at the right time, release it early and its nothing more than a brute strike assisted with elemental energy. Release it at the right time and it turns into a blast wave, giving three or four times the damage output for the same effort"


    Hartley eyes brightened in awe..he bowed from the waiste in a very respectful manner and said "thanks for showing me senior."Kang cackled like a hyena for a while then replied, "no need, no need. You would have figured it out eventually, its just that your foundation in power manipulation is very bad, I take it no one has taught you?""I have never had a teacher before." Hartley answered with a bitter smile. Kang''s eye widened as he said "That''s a good thing, that''s good indeed." He flashed a smile then continued, "most people learn techniques developed by other people and practice those techniques for years but those techniques will never be as powerful when used by a person other than the one who invented it.


    This way you can start with a clean slate and experiment until you evolve it into something that is tailored for yourself. You should start by trying to move you elemental power to your will, this first step is the hardest, and there is no universal method as everyone seem to have different experiences when it comes to controlling elemental energy."Pah! Kang clapped both hands together like he was getting rid of the dust from a hard day''s work. "Well then young man, its up to you now, its time for my milk." He then disappeared from view.

 81 One breakthrough leads to another

    Song Zemin dressed in white stood outside his courtyard in the pink dawn, his hands folded behind him and his back hunched lazily as he stared at the dark outline of the rolling hills.


    The trees swayed back and forth like a group of Hawaiian hula dancers and the fresh crisp morning breeze traveled across the landscape with the soft rustling sound of leaves.


    Contemplation was vivid on his sagging tanned face.


    The youth was of no significance he had told himself countless times but something nagged at him, a memory of a horror that was imprinted in his very soul. The youth was a proverbial ant in his eyes, he should be of no concern to someone like himself who was at the peak of the xanthian realm and had one foot in the saint realm, but the way the youth had escaped his blow gave him a flash of danger.


    A danger similar to the one he had felt all those years ago when those three people had come to the capital, they had threatened to destroy it unless an unknown woman was returned to them. Some of the best experts the country had to offer had come to the aid of the capital and challenged the intruders, they soon fell at the feet of the strangers like wheat beneath ascythe.


    No one could exchange a single blow with them, It was a chilling experience that brought sweat to his brows even now.Back then he was only a mediocre expert, an over confident and pampered 3rd layer xanthian accompanied by his mentor who was a 3rd layer saint, his mentor confidently challenged the most arrogant of the three, stating boldly that he was there to defend the honor of the fallen even it cost him his life.


    He witnessed his mentor unceremoniously split in two within a second. His severed body laying on the cobbled ground almost ridiculous in its horror, the revolting stench of blood turned his stomach, he stood there like a gawping statue looking at the ground gulping down the blood of the mightiest man he had ever known, from that time till now he hadn''t cared about honor ever again, the scene flashed back in his mind and he shuddered. The way the strange man had moved that day was similar to the way the youth had appeared in the air and dodged his attack, it wasn''t exactly the same but it was similar enough.


    .


    This was an event the wider public didn''t know about and was covered up and kept secret by King Yulan, who publicly claimed the attack was carried out by a hostile saint from a neighboring country.The King was the only one to speak with the strangers and after, those three strange people left toscour the whole country searching for the mystery person, scything down any who stood in their way and eventually left. No one knew who they were, or who they were looking for, or if they had found her. Song Zemin closed his eyes for a while and inhaled a lung full ofthe fresh morning breeze.


    The youth had to die, if for nothing else but his peace of mind, even if he was just being paranoid and seeing danger where there was none, the good would have to suffer for the bad...


    He wouldn''t dare invade the estate of Kang so he had given instructions for his people to covertly watch the comings and goings from a distance. He wanted to know the exact minute the youth left Kang''s estate.


    The following two weeks rolled away as fast as a runaway wagon,


    Hartley''s hair had grown back to a decent length but he hadn''t made any headway in his pursuit of controlling his elemental power. The only thing he could do was reinforce his body and make it turn blue with the blue star essence.


    Zhi Ruo had returned to her normal self, she was a little more cheery and that distant look in her eyes had receded but she had transformed into a cultivation fanatic like Qin Li, who was now approaching the thin line between sub-realms himself, even though she was still only a 1st layer xanthian, the fluctuations she gave off was getting stronger by the day. She had insisted that her daily knife practice with Hartley be conducted at 15x gravity, three times what she normally trained at.


    At first she was struggling and couldn''t complete the full hour but after a few days she got used to it and it showed, she made massive improvements over a short span of time. She moved lightly, making no more sound over the floor than a breath of wind and her strikes became fast and blurry, shadow images of her black knives manifested with every strike and her precision increased by a large amount.


    It was impressive, the only down side was that, with her new found dedication for practice Hartley couldn''t press down her body under him as much as he would like, he couldn''t help but look on with a rueful smile.


    Hartley told Qin Li and Zhi Ruo about elemental power manipulation and explained in intricate detail what he had seen Kang do to the indestructible training dummy with the technique, they too were trying hard to have a breakthrough on that front but it was proving as hard for them as it was for him. What they didn''t know was that it wasn''t as simple as Kang had made it out to be, Kang was an abnormal genius who was one of the only experts in Aidonia to have achieved it before the saint realm, he could see Hartley''s potential and thought highly of Hartley so believed Hartley could achieve it as well.


    Yang Yi was at the peak of the houtian realm but had already passed the expiry date for stepping into the xanthian realm, there was nothing he could do in terms of upgrading his strength so he had to settle for upgrading his skills with the guards at the training field behind the stone castle. He quickly fell into a routine of daily training and challenging the other guards. He had been told by Viscount Sanzu early on that Hartley would rise up to be one of the top experts, at first he was skeptical but after traveling with Hartley for while he had come to believe it. This was his opportunity to latch onto the coat tail of Hartley and rise up to a dominant position, or so he thought.


    Hartley became more and more frustrated as the days came and went, he felt like a turtle hidden in its shell, he knew he couldn''t stay here forever and was thinking about moving on even if he didn''t make a breakthrough.


    One day after countless frustrations Hartley sighed, he stopped his training experiments and wandered around the estate to clear his mind, he found a secluded spot among the mini forest at the far east of the estate, he sat there under the shade of a tall tree, legs crossed and arms folded across his lap as his black robe fluttered in the stiff breeze, he stared out and admired the stunning layout of Kang''s estate.


    All his stresses bled away and tranquility calmed him. He closed his eyes as if he were in a trance and when he opened them again, everything was tinted with a slight hue of blue, to his shock he was in his inner world. He had only ever entered his inner world during his cultivation where he was represented by a small blue replica of himself but this time, he was there, the real him.


    He looked out across the chaotic mountains and streams, the flat lands and the barren desert-like outer areas. After seeing Kang''s estate an idea popped into his head, He stretched his hand forward and willed the mountain to move. The Blue star that hung high in the sky over his inner world began to shine brightly, the earth rumbled and shook, his eyes in turn started to shine brightly. His head started to hurt like it was on an anvil and an enthusiastic blacksmith was pounding away.


    He felt a strong resistance. Gritting his teeth in determination he willed the mountain to move as if he was a God in this world. Then after 15 seconds when he was washed with sweat, there was a loud crash within his mind, it felt like a dam had broken. The star tattoo imprinted over his heart shone brightly and his body turned to a whitish blue, his hair turned golden blonde and though he didn''t know it, it was the same shade as his mother.The mountain melted away from sight for a second and then emerged at the place he willed it to be. His blue tinted world felt different, it now felt malleable, it felt like something that was apart of him physically, something he could shape and mold like clay, he stayed there and arranged the land rivers and mountains the way he saw fit.


    Sat under the tree in the real world Hartley was gleaming blue like a star in the morning light. Hartley had broken through to the 7th layer of the xanthian realmlike a spear point through sheet-thin armor. Of all his break throughs, this was the easiest, in gaining control of his inner world he had also gained control of his elemental powers and in the chain reaction, broken through. He opened his eyes and looked around at the stunning landscape and a thought crossed his mind: he wondered if this landscape was Kang''s inner world. He quickly dismissed the thought as ludicrous and started to explore his strength.


    Sat between the vibrant blues and greens of grass and sky. Hartley was sheltering in the shadow cast by the canopy of a tall tree on the fringes of the mini forest. He could feel power burning through every single pore on his body.


    Eyes closed he lightly punched out and a blast of wind swept dust into the air, uprooting a patch of manicured grass sending it flying away towards the mansions.


    There was a sound like a whip cracking through the air, a vortex of swirling dark blue lines formed around his fist as it moved forward. This was his first attempt to execute spiral circulation. it wasn''t bad but he could tell it still had some power leakage.


    Hartley continued to experiment with the technique for an hour and then moved onto trying out the compressed circulation technique, he engaged advanced state of focus and tried different ways to coil his power, he found the way he was most comfortable with and threw out a testing punch at the tree that had given him shelter.


    The fist whined and whirred and gurgled its way through the air, heading for the sturdy tree, then there were two bright strobing blue pulses around Hartley''s fist, one after the other, precisely as it made contact with the tree....BOOM!!..... Every tree for 20 meters turned into to match sticks.

 82 The Might of a 7th Layer Xanthian

    Kang was perched on his wooden chair, eyes squinted and tongue hanging out to one side as he whittled away on a block of wood with his carving knife, the room was quiet only the occasional squawk of a seabird could be heard in the distance, flakes of wood fell to the ground as the knife delicately danced around with surgical precision. The sun was retreating from the purple skies and long shadows sifted through the large windows and across Kang and the cup filled with milk sat on the table, this made Kang hold the unfinished sculpture up closer to the window and leaned closer to the waning sunlight as he worked.


    There was a sudden Boom like a clap of thunder, the sound rolled and rumbled. The table vibrated and the milk in his cup swilled this way and that before settling down again, the vibrations was enough to throw Kangs carving knife off line. Kang sighed... he had made another mistake and ruined another block of wood... he accurately threw the unfinished carving over his shoulder where it was swallowed by the shadows behind him as it landed into a garbage bin with many similar unfinished carvings. Kang looked through his window with wide eyes, he then gritted his teeth and disappeared.


    Hartley stood in front of the mini forest that now looked like a nice haircut ruined by an obvious bald patch. The natural woody perfume of the destroyed tree barks suffused through the air, the shock on his face was even more drastic than Kang''s, he held up both hands to his eyes and inspected them as if something unfathomable had happened. His eyes slowly turned heavy-lidded and glazed, smiling slowly he rehearsed in his mind the test strike. Under the influence of advanced state of focus instead of releasing one pulse with precision timing on contact with the tree, on a whim he had used one pulse to collide with another pulse just before he made contact with the tree.


    He didn''t know what to expect, he thought the pulses might even cancel out each other and make the strike useless, instead it was like splitting an uranium atom, The weak punch did as much damage as he could achieve with his strongest punch before he had control over his elemental power. His breakthrough contributed to the power of the strike as well, a late phase xanthian was much more powerful than a mid phase xanthian.


    A group a people came running towards Hartley, armed and ready to repel any attack, led by the silver hair man wearing golden armor that had carried them here in the black metal carriage. He stopped ten meters from Hartley and looked around appraising the damage. For the first time Hartley heard the man''s voice "You did this?" his voice sounded like wagon wheels grating over gravel stones, it was a low gravelly tone. Before Hartley could answer, Kang appeared, "Why, why, why my beautiful trees.... to make beautiful carvings...." Kang looked out at the patch of stumps and his eyes welled up like a dam was about to burst.


    Guilt and a hint of shame washed over Hartley, he stepped forward and bowed from the waist and said "sorry senior I was experimenting with compressed circulation and lost control" Kang''s face snapped backin Hartley''s direction. "What?" his eyes opened wide "Already?" he looked Hartley up and down smiling persuasively, "tomorrow you and Goldie here can have a spar for our entertainment." Of course he was talking about the silver hair man with the golden armor, Kang''s mood swing surprised Hartley, the man was no longer mourning the death of his trees, instead he beamed, teeth gleaming like a happy child, clapping both hands repeatedly like a captured seal performing in the circus and looking forward with glee in his eyes.


    Everyone started to disperse as the darkness started to claim the evening as its own, but as everyone was moving Hartley heard a snide remark from the man in the golden armor, "truly scraping the bottom of the barrel" he had said through gritted teeth under his breath as he bowed from the waist and said "I''ll be off now master" to Kang. Hartly paid it no mind and acted as if he hadn''t heard but in his heart he was truly glad the eccentric Kang had set up such a short notice sparring match, he could figure out the might of a 7th layer xanthian and serve up some humble pie for the man who had looked down on them since the very first day they had met.


    Once again Kang looked at the destroyed trees and sighed, a sigh from his belly, one full of regret. "Lets walk young man" he said. The wind blew his hair gently and their shadows started to melt away into the thick shadows forming on the grass. Hartley fell in step beside the man as they made their way back in the gloomy evening. "You did it quicker than I thought you would," he said as he walked with his hands behind his back looking for the first time in Hartley''s memory wise and dignified. "So do you understand the theory behind spatial cracks?"


    "No." Hartley replied honestly. Kang smiled and all the petulant child-like behavior he had displayed for the loss of his trees disappeared, he had a serious look on his face as he began.


    "This is a physical plain." Kang panned his head from side to side to indicate the surroundings. "It is the weakest plain and can be manipulated with elemental energy easier than most, once one is powerful enough they can rip holes in the very fabric of it. Once one opens a hole in the fabric of space itself, that is called a spatial crack, the plane in turn tries to bring back balance and maintain the integrity of the plain by automatically forcing them shut with massive amounts of black energy."


    "But if you are skilled enough or have an affinity with space you can use cracks in space as a tool to shorten distances, communicate with others from long distances or attack from long distances. The greater the distance one tries to launch a spacial crack the more the plane fights to return balance making it dangerous and unstable, the duration it can stay open for also decreases. Trying to travel long distances through a spatial crack exerts massive stresses on the physical body but if one is strong enough and powerful enough the distances that can be traveled is almost infinite. This is the concept of ascending from the mortal plain, but that''s a lesson for another time."


    "Usually people who attack through cracks only attack those weaker than themself. Because a counter attack would destabilize the crack and give the person who opened the crack a wicked backlash."


    "Look" Kang''s hand moved forward from behind his back and there was a black circular spatial crack roiling and rumbling over his outstretched palm, it was very distinct and easy to see even in the gloom of the evening.


    "There" he used his left hand to point at a spot that was rumbling and shimmering. "If you are attacked by someone using a spatial crack, don''t ever attack the person on the other end, even though your perception is showing the person standing right in front of you,


    Your attack will have to travel the full distance that person is away from you, in other words if someone opens a spatial crack and attacks you from a mile away, if you try and attack them directly your attack would have to travel a full mile through the turbulent space crack before it reaches them while they can attack you like you are an arm''s length away."


    "Always attack the unstable parts of the crack, even the most skilled experts with an affinity to space cannot fully stabilize a space crack, there are always weak areas." He used his index finger on his left hand and poked the weak spot of the crack and it rumbled violently then puffed out of existence."


    Kang walked with Hartley all the way to the war mansion schooling him with essential knowledge before saying his good byes and disappearing....


    It was bright, hot and dry, the sun glinted of the golden armor of the silver hair man who Kang had referred to as Goldie, he swaggered out to the middle of the dusty training field to the applause and cheers of the guards.


    Kang was sat comfortable on what looked like a lawn chair under a gazebo, there was a small table in front of him,


    he leaned forward to pick up a glass of milk and sipped it as if it was whisky.


    He had arranged this sparring match to test out Hartley, he knew the youth was capable but not to what extent.


    It was odd that he was a saint realm expert and couldn''t tell precisely the strength of Hartley, when the youth didn''t deliberately hide his aura, it appeared as if he was only a 3rd layer xanthian, Kang knew he had to be stronger than that but didn''t ask. Every expert was entitled to their own secrets.


    Hartley left Zhi Ruo, Qin Li and Yang Yi at the side of the training field and made his way through the raucous guards, his shadow loomed behind him as strode to meet the smiling and overconfident Goldie.


    One day, not too long ago Goldie had been instructed by Kang to go a pick up some important guests, Goldie had suggested that such a job should be given to some of the normal guards, a flash of anger had swept by on the face of the usually immature Kang, he made no further complaints and complied.


    After making the three day journey, he had discovered an unimpressive youth and a couple of low level xanthian. He was so angry he couldn''t even bring himself to speak, he had resented them ever since that. The disdain he felt as a 6th layer xanthian towards Hartley''s group was palpable.


    Before Hartley reached the middle of the training field he stopped and turned towards Kang and gave a respectful formal bow cupping both hands and saying "senior." Kang smiled and nodded his head. Goldie burned with violent intent, he couldn''t wait to wrap his hands around Hartley''s neck and teach him a lesson.


    What no one in the training field could have or would have predicted, was how short of a battle this was going to be.


    The two combatants lined up ten meters apart, the crowd went silent and waited for Kang''s signal


    Fight! came the command from Kang.


    There was an explosion of brilliant green, dust swirled two meters high as Goldie flashed forward using an open palm technique aimed at Hartley''s chest, his right hand made several images as he pushed it forward and rotated it in a small circular pattern, everyone in and around the training field was dazzled by the flashy move, it looked as if Goldie''s one hand had transformed into six, cacophonous


    cheers erupted around the grounds.


    Without hardly seeming to move, Hartley letGoldie crash past like a rampaging bull in a bullfight against a skilled matador, before he even realized that he missed his target,


    Goldie was already twenty meters pass kicking up a storm of dust as his golden figure wrapped by green aura glinted under the sunlight.


    The people watching in the sun-lit surroundings moved their heads following the trajectory of Goldie, but when they looked back again. Hartley was still stood there untouched, black robe fluttering in the dusty wind created by Goldie.


    Hartley moved.....There was a loud rumble, the dust swirled like mixing cream into a cup of coffee....The airflow around him wobbled like jelly,the space around the outline of his body groaned as if it was about to implode at any second... The space finally shattered, it felt like every atom in his body was being ripped and torn. He was surrounded bya riot of dark shimmering colors.


    Scared out of his mind Hartley engaged his time domain immediately, the pain went away in a flash and he stood there looking around in bewilderment, he was inside a thin dark mesh structure like a tunnel, he could see everyone on the other side of the tunnel frozen in their pose,


    Hartley kept a count in his mind of the seconds that had elapsed in his time domain, he had walked around in the tunnel for the first five seconds and found out that the tunnel would curve to his will like his inner world. Anywhere he wanted the tunnel to exist he just had to think about the destination, another five seconds went by and his time domain was still engaged.


    It finally dawned on him, This was a space crack, not only that it didn''t exert any pressure on his body when he was in his time domain.


    Hartley''s mind went back to the job at hand, he would explore in greater detail later, he willed the crack to exit behind Goldie. At this point he had his time domain engaged for fourteen seconds and counting.


    Everything was quiet in the training field, Goldie had just flashed pass and the youth made his move, the guards stood watching as the youth disappeared and reappeared behind Goldie and delivered a punch with two bright blue flashes, a debris fountain of golden specks flew fifty meters into the sky twinkling like a quiet display of fireworks, if Song Zemin had seen this, he would have definitely been reminded of his mentor''s demise.


    The naked body of Goldie rose ten meters and was sailing away like a kite. Kang with a shocked face scrambled out of his lawn chair, knocking over his glass of milk and stretched out a hand, the air itself rippled and Goldie''s body floated down gently, he placed a robe over the naked body of his disciple and they both disappeared. Leaving a stunned training field as quiet as a broken t.v.

 83 Journey to the North Gate part 1

    Sat behind his wooden desk Kang sipped milk from his cup then said, "I could see your unique potential from that one exchange wtih Song Zemin but it seems even I have under estimated you Hartley,"for the first time Kang addressed Hartley by his name, it was a subtle declaration of respect.


    How could Kang not know about Goldie''s resentment towards Hartley and his followers, he had set up a sparring match on a whim hoping that Hartley would give a good account of himself and at the same time teach his snobby disciple a lesson on not judging an opponent just based on their perceived realm. Kang didn''t expect for Goldie to be humbled with in one exchange.Kang sighed, Goldie''s wounds weren''t life threatening and would heal with time but the wounds to his pride were a much more serious matter.


    "Sometimes long life isn''talways a blessing,"Kang said as he looked at Hartley sat in a wooden chair across from him.The room was bathed in bright sunshine and the sweltering heat crept in through the large windows making the temperatures unusually high for a day in spring."You remind me of my elder brother you know, he too was a genius at a young age," Kang exhaled and a deep sadness could be seen on his face, His usual playful demeanor no longer existed.For the first Hartley saw a glimpse of the real Kang, the man who Hartley had put on a pedestal since meeting him had disappeared and in his place, there was a white haired man with wrinkles sculpted along his features, a man who looked old and weary. A feeling of sadness radiated from his very aura, Hartley guessed that his child-like behavior was a coping mechanism for his sadness.


    Seeing a promising young genius was nothing new to Kang, he had seen his share of geniuses fall and rise, he''d seen his own brother fall, a person he had loved and looked up to, a person who had meant more to him than a thousand years in the saint realm. Now Kang looked at Hartley who reminded him of his brother and that opened the emotional old wounds he''d thought were gone.


    He sighed, "one can lose their humanity in viciousness but one can''t survive without it, it''s a necessary evil in the world of cultivation and you''ve proven you''ve got the stomach for it with such a ruthless display...but even so, I fear your journey ahead will be a arduous one, the enemies you''ve inherited will strike in the open and from the dark and there are still things you need to learn before tackling the dangers ahead. I''m a saint of the Aldora continent and have long since passed the stage of meddling in the affairs and squabbles of this world, anything you achieve will be with your own hard work."Hartley nodded his head in agreementas a weight was lifted off his shoulders, he''d half expected to be reprimanded but was instead complimented for his viciousness.


    He spent the next few weeks learning from Kang, training and getting prepared for the next leg of his journey. He didn''t once see Goldie on the remainder of his stay at the Kang estate but every guard he encountered behaved very politely and usually hailed him with a formal bow.


    There was a gentle wind in the tranquil mini forest, Hartley stood with a face full of concentration among the criss-crossed shadows projected by the trees. Taking a deep breath he threw out his knife with gravity repel and watched as it sped away then his eyes shone blue, he applied gravity attract, the two forces countered each other and for a split second the knife stood still in mid air then suddenly the suction force of gravity attract made the knife fly back towards Hartley at the speed of light, his eyes bulged, there was no way he was going to attempt to catch it, he dodged neatly to the left and it stuck quivering into a tree behind him.


    Hartley was experimenting with a set of 6 leaf-blade throwing knives he got from Kang, the black knives had flat broad blades sharpened on both sides with no hilts, it was like a piece of metal shaped like a knife. These were rank 2 spirit weapons with exquisite balance and thanks to Kang Hartley could now appraise the level of a weapon properly.


    Next, he activated his advanced state of focus. Since entering the 7th layer of the xanthian realm his advanced state of focus had improved, time was running ten times slower than usual in this state, Hartley had used this coupled with his advanced minute movement technique in his battle with Goldieto dodge Goldie''s wild charge with consummate ease. He threw the blade out and it was easier to control. It spun and zipped through the air and as he got more adept at utilizing gravity repel and gravity attract in tandem, his control over the weapon got better really quickly.


    After a couple hours of experiments he threw it out and it hovered at shoulder level with blade pointed forward one meter in front fo him, he was applying gravity repel and gravity attract in equal measure. Then suddenly the knife flew out like a bullet as he disengaged gravity attract, it whistled, arced and curved around the maze oftrees under Hartley''s control, leavingflashes of black light in its wake before returning and hovering a meter in front of Hartley. Hartley was happy with his progress, this would address his long range capabilities for the time being.


    As the days progressed, Zhi ruo was getting ever closer to the boundaries of a 1st layer xanthian, her skills in combat was now to the point where she was now capably sparring with Hartley, of course he was taking easy but her skills were unmistakable.


    Hartley took refuge in the shade of a tall tree and sat down crossed legged to cultivate and digest the results of his throwing knife training. it was now in the evening hours, suddenly in the cool of the trees he picked up an explosion of wind elemental energy in the distance, he spread out his awareness that could stretch 2 kilometers now and then a big smile appeared on his face. Qin Li had broken through, it was time to begin the final thrust of their journey....


    The wind screamed between buildings andwailed through the streets like a torturedsoul, its whistles swayed the distant vegetation back and forth with dusty blusters, then it would calm down to a whimper for a while before stirring up again in a whizzing temper. It was approaching the summer months but today the sun hid behind grey fluffy clouds and the wind had free reign to lash out at all in its path on this overcast and grey day.


    Two and three-story stone buildingsrose on either side as a matte black armored carriage was making its way north on the cobbled road, faces could be seen peering through windows watching the unusual carriage which was pulled along by four dark colored wild beast that resembled small elephants.The smell of baking bread wafted through the air on the wind, Hartley and the others were still in the Cassia province headed towards the north gate on board the armored carriage which was gifted to them by Kang.There they would exit and head for the Papine province, the final stop before they headed for the capital.


    As soon as they had left the estate of Kang, Hartley could tell that they were being followed by a group of experts, the experts had followed patiently and showed no signs of making a move. Hartley informed everyone of the possible ambush and kept heading north until it was dark, they managed to find and check into a rundown inn for the night.....


    The cobbled streets echoed with the footsteps of a squad of assassins headed to exactly where Hartley and company were, they had been given orders to exterminate the target with extreme prejudice, each member of the eight man team was at least a 5th layer xanthian, they weaved their way skillfully through the narrow streets and approached


    Under a blanket of darkness, the assassins came into the square entering the front of the dilapidated two story inn, dressed in fully black attire and had masked faces, they''d heard the youth should not be under-estimated. The wide-eyedinn-keeper made no attempt to stop the men, he tried to back away and exit but was rewarded with a dagger through the heart for his troubles and left on the ground dead as a door nail in a pool of blood. A masked man checked the register for the last guest to arrived and then gave a signal.


    The rickety stairs groaned under the weight as footsteps from multiple people thundered downon it and made thier way quickly to the second floor to engageand eliminate the target. Navigating the stairs of this old inn had thrown all pretense of stealth out the window, it would bea miracle if they could still catch the target by surprise.


    Hartley merged into the shadows at the side of the room, he had long been prepared and was near the door. helooked over towards Zhi Ruo unhurried and calm which in turn relaxed her, she fell back to the rear of the room in the darkness. Suddenly something crashed against the door of the room, loosing dust and shaking the floor as the door splintered to pieces sending a spray of wood chips into the room. A rectangular block of candle light invaded the room from across the hall where there was a half burned candle still mounted in the candle holder.


    The silhouette of two black-robed men filled the doorway amidst the rising dust. One strode in towards Zhi Ruo, he could obviously detect her elemental fluctuation, sword out, and held pointing forward in his right hand,he marched in with menace not noticing the shadow at one side. There were two blue flashes and the man wasn''t there anymore.A boom sounded and the inn rattled like an out of control carriage. There was a huge puff of dust, bits and pieces were falling from the ceiling and there was even fragments of a dark robe swirling around through the air falling slowly to the ground.


    The remaining dark figure stood at the now door-less entry to the room saw a large hole in the wall to the adjoining room, a naked couple was covered in blood as they shrieked in terror and ran for the exit, decorating the wall beside their abandoned bed was now a messy splotch of blood surrounding another large hole with a blood-stained skeleton sprawled on the floor of the room nextdoor.


    .


    The remaining assassin''s brain couldn''t fully register what his eyes were seeing, he raised his heavy crossbow and fired into the dusty room, discarded it and immediately a white sword was in his hand. Clang! There was a flash of white sparks which illuminated a female form for a split second, then she was swallowed up by the shadows again.


    The man looked around in panic, the female wasn''t the primary target and wasn''t the overwhelming threat that the youth was, a green aura surrounded his body and he wildly thrashed his sword through the darkness unable to detect any other fluctuation in the room except for the female.


    There was a rumble and the floor shook and vibrated, dust and debris came pouring down from the ceiling, there was a blue blur and another colossal crashing sound, thick suffocating dust jumped from the floor and swirled through the yellow candle light. The man disappeared back through the door which he had entered and was now nothing but a blood stain on the cracked stone wall of the hallway, the candle light flickered this way and that before extinguishing, flooding the hallway with darkness. "Stay close, lets go," he said to Zhi Ruo. Qin Li was already headed in the direction to the six remaining assassins.

 84 Journey To The North Gate part 2

    Amidst the noisy ruckus and rumblingsof the building,the inn keeper''s daughter emerged bleary eyed from a room at the back of the first floor, the first thing she saw in the lobby were two naked people drenched in blood screaming at the top of their lungs running frantically out the exit and disappearing out into the moon lit night.Thinking the old and poorly-maintainedinn was finally going to collapse, she dashed for the exit in panic, after three strides she tripped over a dark figure laying face down behind the front desk.


    As her eyes adjusted to the dark, she could somewhat recognize the prone figure, she quickly crawled over to the figure on all fours on the slippery and wet floor.


    She slipped around on the wet floor before she finally managed to turn over the figure....she screamed in terror at her shocking discovery, the wetness she had felt and was wallowing in was the blood of her father whose lifeless eyes were staring towards the ceiling, she could not see his injury but the chest region of his robe was soaked, even though she couldn''t see clearly she knew it was his blood. With wide eyes and in shock, she wept and screamed as she shook his body as if she was trying to wake him from a deep slumber.


    In disbelief she crouched down hugging andweeping over her father''s body, suddenlythere was a loud boom, dust filled her mouth forcing her to cough involuntarily and by reflex she used her bloody hands to cover her ringing ears. A dark blur flew over her head, the wind it generated fluttered her night-robe and exposed her pale legs. Confused and panicked she whipped her head around just in time to see the blur crash into the front wall with another ear ringing boom! opening up a ragged hole beside the exit letting in more moonlight into the building. The thing that crashed through the wall was a man dressed fully in black including a black ninja-style mask which hid all his features except for his eyes. He pitched violently on the cobble stones outside leaving a bloody trail and rolled around a few times like a rag-doll before coming to a stop... an eternal stop, the man didn''t move again....


    Sat in his dark room across the hall from Hartley and Zhi Ruo''s room, Qin Li gripped his ax tightly, he had picked up the fluctuations of the two approaching assassins and sat calmly as they breached the door and entered Hartley''s room, he paid them no mind and sat at ease. Earlier Hartley had instructed him not to intercept any assassins trying to enter his room, instead he should concentrate on the experts outside. After two huge explosions that wobbled and rattled the old building down to its foundation, the hostile fluctuations in Hartley''s room blinked out of existence like flipping a switch to turn off an electric lamp.


    Qin Li then rushed into the dark hallway that had a thick bloody odor and made his way towards three dark figures ascending the stairs. A bright green aura lighted up the hallway and wrapped around Qin Li legs, he cannoned forward reaching the first figure in no time. Qin Li''s ax glowed neon green as he delivered an overhead strike from high-middle to low-middle at the dark silhouette in the lead, a silver sword burst into bright yellow flames, further illuminating the hallway, the lead figure silently pushed his sword wrapped in fire upwards horizontally to meet the swift ax... The two weapons collided with a boom, sparks bloomed upwards and outwards hitting the ceiling and rained back down around the combatants like colorful green, orange and yellow confetti, the walls cracked, the ceiling creaked then a section of it fell down between the two as they separated producing a screen of dust.


    Qin Li stumbled back three steps, the assassin wasn''t weak but he was forced back a step too, the other two dark figures behind moved smoothly around the lead figure like water flowing around a rock and entered into the curtain of dust. The experienced experts wanted to take advantage of Qin Li''s stumble and limited vision to end the confrontation with one strike then move on to the next target...


    Hartley ushered Zhi Ruo down the dark corridor and was just in time to see the green explosion of light produced by Qin Li, Hartley didn''t increase or decrease his speed, he kept a steady pace and remained vigilant, after a few seconds there was a loud sound of weapons clashing and yellow and green sparks flew everywhere then dust shrouded the scene. Seeing Qin Li stumbling backwards, a black leaf-blade throwing knife appeared in Hartley''s right hand, even though he couldn''t see the attackers clearly, he could read their intentions and fluctuations.


    A black light thrummed past Qin Li''s shoulder and darted into the haze of dust, one of the dark figures broke protocol and roared brandishing his daggers and was about to lunge towards Qin Li, he was still roaring and took a step forward, when a black light flew past him in the thick milky dust, the assassin''s roar turned into a surprised welp similar to a frightened puppy as his determined roar went quiet just a fast as it had started. The black light turned tightly in the narrow confines of the hall making an invisible semi circle, producing a whistling sound as it slowed just enough to arch and avoid hitting the walls.


    The black light returned to Hartley and the form of the leaf-blade throwing knife floated in front of him, there were three dull thuds within the dust and a spray of red. Hartley stretched out his hand and retrieved the blade back into his space ring. Hartley and Zhi Ruo reached Qin Li''s side as the dust began to disperse, he could hear an audible sigh of relief from Qin Li who still had a funnel shaped green lights dancing around both legs...by coincidence a sixth assassin ascended the stairs just in time to see the dust give way revealing the gruesome sight of the three assassins separated into six pieces laid at the top of the stairs like sodden red sacks.


    The masked man soon realized what the almost unrecognizable lumps on the floor were, every hair on his body stood upright in fright and his eyes enlarged to the size of saucers, these were top notch experts that had been slaughtered like common pigs, he was then distracted by a loud female scream followed by moaning and wailing downstairs, that made the atmosphere even more spooky. He turned to try and escape, the men laying on the floor in pieces were much stronger than him, if they could be dispatched in such a manner he knew he had no business even thinking about fighting these people, he was half way down the creaking wooden stairs when space distorted around Hartley''s body after another two blue flashes the assassin was sent flying over the head of the mourning inn keeper''s daughter and through the front wall.


    There were only two assassins left outside and if they knew what just took place inside, they would both grow wings and fly away.

 85 Journey To The North Gate part 3

    "This one might be trouble," said an assassin in a nervous shaky voice, he was visibly shaken at the sight of his squad mate being spectacularlyexpelled from the inn through itssolid front stone wall followed by a debris-field of dust and broken stones, the figure dressed identical to himselfplopped onto the cobble stones like a dead fish ten meters away from him under the dim moon light, there were no groans of pain or calls for help, the body was a bloody mess and hadn''t moved a centimeter since coming to a stop, it was obvious he was dead. The nervous assassin was about ten meters away from the inn''s entrance in the dark shadows of the opposite buildings. The naked terror in his exposed eyes could not be disguised, it was a stark contrast to the shiver of excitement he had felt at the start of night when he embarked on his first hunt with the senior assassins.


    "Lets not jump to conclusions" said the second assassin stood in the dark beside him, "we don''t know what''s happening inside, lets just hold our positions and stick to the plan for the time being." He too was nervous but as a more experienced assassin who had gone on many missions, he was able to control his feelings and remain calm on the outside but on the inside his stomach curdled with a sense of mortal danger, only the discipline acquired during his training and trying to set an example for the younger assassin kept him there waiting for the return of the squad.


    Though the target was said to be strong, six mid phase xanthians should be able to easily overpower and kill the target, he couldn''t understand why there was a struggleon the first floor, all fighting should be on the second floor inside the room of the unsuspecting target, losing a team member in that situation was not uncommon and could be considered as collateral damage during the course of a missionbut the current situation was way too strange, he kept his eyes peeled on the entrance of the inn as he awaited the return of the surviving squad members.....


    After descending the rickety stairway which creaked in protest at every step, Hartley, Qin Li and Zhi Ruo stopped for a moment offering silent condolences to the distressed woman on her knees crying and sniffling over the dead body of a tall man. The smell of blood tickled their nostrils as the dull bluemoonlight crept into the building through the ragged hole next to the door and made the lobby bright enough to see the scarlet pools of blood and the numerous bloody foot prints laying on the concrete floor.


    Hartley immediately picked up the fluctuations of the final two assassins outside, they were in a small alley directly facing the inn.The remaining two weren''t very experienced. If they were, they would have noticed that all the elemental fluctuations of their squad mates had disappeared from the building and now the only xanthians inside the building were Hartley, Qin LI and Zhi Ruo, who knows what they were thinking about to not notice this detail.


    "There is still two outside in the alley across from us," said Hartley as he approached the door. "Lets deal with them quickly and be on our way." Qin LI and Zhi Ruo nodded their response and prepared to rush out with Hartley.


    Even as the assassins watched the inn''s entrance with anticipation, a huge swirl of dust and a loud sonic rumble was detonated in the darkness, before they had time to take a breath, a black hair youth dressed in black robes had flashed across the short distance from the entry of the inn to their position in the alley, not far behind him was a red hair woman dressed in white who moved as if she was gliding on thin air and a man with green cyclone-like aura wrapped around his feet whipping up even more dust and dirt into the chaotic maelstrom of dust left in their wake. Ignoring the assassin on his left Hartley threw out a punch towards the assassin directly facing him utilizing spiral circulation in battle for the first time.The blue energy in front of his fist was spinning like a pin wheel rotating around a central point of a blue circle, lighting up the dark alley like a disco ball and produced a whooshing sound as the youth''s robe and hair fluttered in the residual wind produced by the technique.


    The nervous assassin was the target of this attack and as he scrambled to retaliate, he produced a brown earth elemental armor from his neck to his waist, he was also trying to get his sword up in defense but he was way too late.


    Seeing the vicious attack initiated by the youth, the more experienced assassin saw this as his golden opportunity to eliminate the youth, even if he had to trade his partner''s life in return, in a smooth flowing motion, a dim white aura wrapped around the assassin''s silver sword as he swiped down in a straight line aiming at Hartley''s head.... Hartley paid this strike no mind and put his faith and his life in Zhi Ruo''s hand.


    There was a muffled thump, then a loud clang!, then a boom and finally a scream of pain.....


    The muffled thump happened when Hartley''s fist connected with the chest of the nervous assassin, a split second later later the Clang happened when Zhi Ruo''s right dagger which was now wrapped in a white aura intercepted the sword of the assassin on the left of Hartley producing a huge burst of white sparks that illuminated the entire alley, fine white circular ripples all radiated out from Zhi Ruo''s feet. She then stepped forward with her right foot and rotated her dagger in a swift and smooth motion breaking the assassin''s balance and sending him stumbling back while losing control of his sword, which dangled uselessly to the side.


    The boom that happened produced a shower of blood, bone shards and inner organs which flew out the back of the nervous assassin and splashed all over the floor behind him with a sickening squelching sound, he stood unmoved at the same spot as he looked down in shock to see a hole the size of grapefruit had penetrated his earthen armor and his chest, before he could make a sound the life went out of his eyes and he collapsed on the spot.


    The scream happened when the off balance assassin on the left who was in no position to defend himself after his clash with Zhi Ruo saw a neon green ax heading for his waist, he screamed at the top of his lungs in blood- curdling terror as his blood spluttered everywhere. Qin LI''s ax bit deep into the man''s waist and came out the other side in a smooth line from mid-right to mid-left, flinging the top half of his body at least a meter away from the bottom half, spilling innards and organs all over the alley as the masked assassin emptied his bowels involuntarily, this ended the assassin''s desperate outcry and brought back silence and tranquility to the dark alley. The aftermath of the encounter was truly gruesome. The familiar bloody scent mixed with the rancid smell of shit rose up in the alley, it was enough to make a billy goat puke, the wild foxes were bound to have a feast before the break of dawn.


    "That was too reckless," Zhi Ruo complained as sweat ran down her forehead, she pouted and punched Hartley on his shoulder in a playful manner to show her annoyance, there was a distinct look of distress on her beautiful face, she truly had not expected Hartley to give up the notion of defending in hopes of her or Qin Li defending his vulnerable flank for him. Hartley looked her in the eyes and with a smile hugged her closely then whispered in her ear, "I trusted you to be there for me Ruo, that''s all" She took a deep breath and calmed herself then nodded, she was happy that he trusted her with his life but couldn''t help wondering what the results would be if she wasn''t dependable, the thought sent shivers down her spine.


    Hartley waved his hands and there was a slight ripple in the air, he then spoke, "its over now, come down and prepare the carriage, lets leave as soon as possible." This was a trick he learned from Kang, it was the simplest way to use a slight space crack for communication.


    Back in the inn Yang Yi held a long sword with both hands as he stood in the shadows at the back of his room, the door was barricaded with every piece of movable furniture available, even the kettle was hoisted atop the mess at the door. He then looked around in fright as he heard Hartley''s instruction as if he was there in the room, "Yes sir" he answered nervously and proceeded to move the blockade at the door...


    Clop clop clop, the feet of the four beast dragging the armored carriage moved in unison like a well drilled platoon as Hartley and company made their way further north, the wind had calmed down from earlier and the night air was fresh and crisp, a lantern was placed on a stick which extended outwards a few yards so Yang Yi could navigate through the dark night with the help of the the dim moonlight. Yellow flickering candle lights started to appear in random windows and black silhouettes of heads could be seen peaking out from behind curtains, it seems the ruckus had awakened lots of people who wouldn''t dare venture out to investigate.


    After the group traveled for about four hours Hartley''s awareness picked up another group of people headed their way, they were 2 kilometers away and wasn''t a immediate threat so they continued on their journey towards the north gate, he decided to just keep going, they would probably be there sometime in the evening of the next day.

 86 Pentagon Formation

    The next day was bright and clear, the provincecould be seen stretchingsharply behind the carriage as far as the eyes would allow as the carriage entered a uphill section, buildings and lines of roads stood out as though drawn by a legendary artist, gleaming in vivid colors like new paint on a canvas. The carriage traveled through the night and only stopped for ten minutes every four hours, it was now the evening hours and the sunlight reflected off the cobble stone road as the seemingly tireless wild beasts clopped forward to the astonished stares of the local people going about their daily business.


    The chasing group behind were constantly frustrated as their pursuit took the pattern of a yoyo, every time they cut the distance to the carriage they were forced to stop and rest for fear of riding their horses to death, only to have the distance open up again, it was like a long distance race between sprinters and marathon runners, the sprinters had burst of tremendous speed but the marathon runners could hold a steady average-speed over a prolonged periodnegating the quick burst and even gain an advantage over longer distances, the pattern repeated itself through out the day until the carriage entered on the uphill section, this cut the average speed of the carriage dramatically...


    The 20 meter walls and a huge double black gate were in sight of the carriage, they were within a kilometer of the northern gate, the sun was dipping behind a slope off to the right leaving a shadowed stretch of road.The carriage was now within the sights of the chasing pack, this was the closest they have been to the carriage all day, they desperately stormed forward unwilling to let this opportunity slip through their fingers. This was a mission of top priority given to them by Song Zemin.


    Before long the passengers of the armored carriage could hear the patter of hooves against the cobbled road, it was close and getting closer, with a sigh Hartley said, "they''re here, 5 xanthians and around twenty mortals."If these people saw the ending of the squad of assasin from the night before and still pursued with this determination, they were truly tearing down the doors to enter hell Hartley thought to himself.


    The carriage rolled to a stop and the five xanthians leading the troop of men stopped 20 meters behind, after a short while Hartley and Zhi Ruo alighted from the right side of the carriage and Qin Li from the left, they walked side by side to the rear of the carriage to face the group not giving any instructions to Yang Yi who stayed on the driver''s seat. The five men leading the group of armored soldiers were all middle aged, some had white streaks in their hair while others had a full head of white hair, they all wore orange robes with a rose on a stem stitched in with black thread on the right breast. They could have raced here by themselves using their movement technique, but for their plan to work each of them needed to be at their peak state.


    "Sir Hartley of the Sanzu house" said a white haired man as he maneuvered his horse a couple steps forward, "we are here to arrest you and bring you back for questioning by the eldest prince," as he spoke, two armored soldiers dismounted and came forward carrying a full set of black iron shackles which seem to have dry blood and rust spots all over. There was a distinct sound of the heavy shackles rattling and clanking as both men struggled to carry the device forward as they dragged it across the cobble stones. "We don''t care about your accomplices if you come without resisting they can leave but if you resist I promise they will be killed and your body will be dragged back and paraded through the capital as an example of what happens when a back-bush expert like you goes against the eldest prince."


    "I''m sure thats exactly what the eight xanthians who tried to finish me off last night thought as well, look how they ended up." Hartley said with a smirk.


    The man smiled as if Hartley said something mildly amusing, then with a dismissive snort he replied, "those amateurs, they couldn''t finish off a dinner! don''t feel too proud" disdain contorted the man''s features "don''t compare us to those bumpkins" this time he shouted in annoyance. "Make your choice!" the man barked impatiently. The confidence in the man''s voice made Hartley a little more vigilant, three of the five in this group were 5th layer xanthians and the other two 6th layer xanthians. Hartley was sure he could dispatch these guys with or without the help of Qin Li and Zhi Ruo. Why were they so confident?


    "Give my regards to the eldest prince, but I won''t be accopanying him anytime soon." said Hartley while waving his hands dismissively. The man on the horse smiled "I was hoping you would say that."


    IN a sudden movement the five xanthians jumped of their horses in five different directions and floated down to the floor like cherry blossoms inspring, they were arranged in a pentagonal shape, The trio of Hartley Qin Li and Zhi Ruo took up their battle stance but unexpectedly the opponents didn''t rush forward and attack, instead they kept a neat pentagonal shape as they landed in the space between Hartley and the armored troops behind, for the first time Hartley noticed that all five had different elemental affinities.


    As the opposing experts stood in a 2-2-1 pentagon formation with two at the back two in the middle and one at the front. Quickly a brown light flashed from one of the experts at the base to the expert directly across from him then a green light shot forward to the expertin front quickly followed by a white light from the expert positioned on the opposite side which connected to the opaque light that shot forward, all the lights converged onto the white haired man who had talked earlier, he was stood at the very front of the formation. He exploded with magnificent rainbow lights that gave an oppressive feeling of overwhelming power that swept over all, the horses of the armored men behind, whinnied chaotically before rising on their hind legs throwing off some of their riders as they attempted to flee.


    Eyes bulged, jaws dropped and sweat dripped, Hartley, Qin Li and not even Zhi Ruo who had spent time in the capital had seen this before, the hairs stood erect on the back of their necks as if the hairswanted escape from their follicles and flee this danger. Yang Yi couldn''t help himself, stood on the driver''s seat of the carriage and peeping over the roof at the events happening at the back, he saw the explosion of color and the suffocating feeling of power radiating from the expert, after gulping down a mouthful of saliva, he quickly sat back down and grabbed hold of the reins and started to shake them vigorously. The wild beast galloped forward dragging the carriage along clopping towards the sanctuary of the northern gate, leaving Hartley Qin Li and Zhi Ruo in his dust.

 87 Breaking the formation

    Bang! The rainbow-colored silhouette blurred out of sight and appeared in front of Hartley leaving a blurred lined of after images behind, throwing a right handed punch as fast as lightning. Hartely didn''t even have time to engage advanced state of focus, out of pure reflex his whole body turned blue as he answered with a left hand counter punch, the two fists collided producing a kaleidoscope-like explosion of colors with a Boom, wind and residual energy exploded outwards flapping the robes of the rainbow colored elder making the already agitated horses behind him neigh in panic.... Hartley was sent flying backward pass Qin Li and Zhi Ruo in a flash while releasing a painful groan as he landed a rolled around like a rag doll eight meters back.


    The collision jarred his hands, arms and shoulders, setting his teeth on edge and ringing his aching back as though it was a bell. The rainbow colored elder stood in place admiring his work with hands behind his back and his chin pointed towards the sky.


    The anxious screams of Zhi Ruo echoed out in the orange evening, she was being held back by Qin Li as she tried to shake him off and engage the elder in battle. By now the streets were emptied of any bystanders everyone had disappeared leaving the two groups alone of the stretch of road leading to the northern gate.


    On his hands and knees Hartley looked forward with blurred vision and a groggy head, he gritted his teeth and shook his head from side to side. For the first time in battle Hartley had been stimulated, his battle intent washed over the crowd present on the empty stretch of road, they gasped feeling the suffocating deadly intent, it was hard to explain what this battle intent was, it was like Hartley''s feelings had become something real, something others could feel jabbing at their souls like an invisible dagger. The armored soldiers behind the elders in the pentagon formation who were looking forward to seeing a show of might from the elders, faces went pale with fright, they retreated 100 meters back,some trembling and some even began considering deserting.


    "Oh, Blessed Holy Matriarch," Qin Li said in exasperation as he dragged Zhi Ruo kicking and screaming backwards away from the battle zone with a feeling that this stretch of road had now sunk down into the depths of hell.


    Hartley got back to his feet shakily, looking straight at the rainbow colored elder with a smile. "Submit! or you will all die here," the elder shouted with a voice of authority. Still looking confident."Protect her and head for the northern gate," Hartley said to no one in particular but Qin Li knew who he was talking to. "No!!" Zhi Ruo screamed at the top of her lungs crying while being dragged away by Qin Li still kicking and screaming, there was no way she would go quietly and leave Hartley here alone....


    After a while the retreating duo saw multi-colored sparks swirling high up into the orange-colored evening sky like a signal flare after a loud rumbling sound which sent tremors through the ground, Qin Li couldn''t help but be nervous while Zhi Ruo sobbed non stop.....


    The confident and conceited look was wiped from the rainbow colored elder''s face when he witnessed the space around the youth wobble as he made his move from about ten meters away,the fabric of space itself broke apart like a flash of black lightning, the youth disappearedand re-appeared again like a ghost at his flank armed with a long sword in his right hand and a short sword in his left hand.....


    Hartley exited from a spatial crack next to the rainbow colored elder applied a 100x gravity to his long sword in his right hand and swiped a vicious slash from low-left to high-right, the elder reacted quickly and slapped down an open palm towards the blade covered in a bright blue aura that was headed towards his ribs. Upon contact between the palm and the sword, the sword shattered into a million


    fragments in a ground-thumping detonation of swirling light and dust and a furiously blossoming cloud of multi-colored sparks that raced up into the sky, igniting the evening sky like lightning forks, shakingthe earth with asound like claps of thunder were descending from the heavens. The elder screamed out in surpise with a look of shock as he was sent airborne and flew eight meters back while spewing a mouthful of blood, the cobble stones underfoot blew away like grains of sand in a gust of wind leaving the surrounding 20 meters of street looking like a sandy beach.


    Hartley staggered backwith a numb right hand and ejected a mouthful of blood as well, feeling like his internal organs were rattling around but this was what he expected, from their first exchange Hartley deduced that the elder enveloped in the rainbow aura had power similar to a 9th layer xanthian. That sword strike wasn''t going to eliminate the elder, instead Hartley set his sights on the other four elders who had retreated to a safe distance still in a neat formation, each one glowing a different color.Before the rainbow colored elder even touched the ground, Hartley stomped down his right foot onto the sandy floor and produced a sonic boom as he headed at mach 3 straight for the elder glowing white. In theory the water element had the least defense so he was the first target.


    A vortex of swirling dark blue lines formed around Hartley''s right fist and rotated counter clockwise as he moved forward leaving dust exploding outwards preparing his spiral circulation technique. The rainbow colored elder landed and grunted in pain as he saw Hartley headed for the elders in the pentagon formation, he now regretted letting those two accomplices leave so easily, this was the perfect time to threaten the youth with hostages, he gritted his teeth regretting his over confidence at the start and flashed forward giving chase to the youth.

 88 Breaking the formation part 2

    The rainbow colored elder exploded with power that gushed out and blew away the cobble stones as he rifled towards Hartley who had arrived in front of the elder shrouded in a white aura, an elder in the pentagon formation shouted chaotic instructions as they moved backwards in unison desperately trying to buy a little more time so the rainbow colored elder could catch up.They knew that as long as they were feeding their elemental powers into the formation they were sitting ducks but if they stopped feeding the formation there wasn''t a chance in hell that they could fight the youth one on one and the rainbow colored elder would be considerable weaker.


    Hartley''s blue eyes burned with stubborn resolve, there was no way he was going to make this opportunity slip by, from five meters away he slashed out with the short sword in his left hand in a smooth horizontal strike from mid-left to mid-right. Whoosh!, the sword produced an arching blue light that flew out at the speed of light and clashed with the retreating elder, the blue aura exploded with a bang when it made contact with the white aura sending sparks flying in all directions and fluttered his tattered black robe, this caused the retreating elder to jerk and stumble which gave Hartley just enough time to appear within reach of the elder, he propelled his right hand with the swirling maelstrom of blue lights towards the elder''s chest


    The blue aura on hartley''s fist burned a trail through the protective white aura shrouding the elder like a shooting star across the night sky. Boom!.....


    a gush of red sprayed out the back of the white shrouded elder, the spiral circulation punch penetrated through the elder like an armor piercing shell fired from a tiger tank. The elder collapse to his knees with a miserable scream.


    You! exclaimed the rainbow colored elder as he caught up to Hartley a second too late, he lashed out with another punch which connected with Hartley''s unprotected back, after a muffled thump Hartley was flung across the floor creating a shallow trench across the ground as he slid to stop about ten meters away, but this time the punch was nowhere as powerful as the first one, even undefended, Hartley didn''t suffer any major injuries apart from feeling a throbbing ache.


    Hartley flashed back to his feet as swift as ayellow striped leopard with a few bloody bruises on his face, he smiled at the elder creepily, his blue eyes blazed bright in the waning light of the evening like a torch in the wind. Blarg!!! the other three elders still in the pentagon formation each spat a mouthful of blood from having one member of the formation forcibly removed... "How strong are you now?" Hartley asked the elder with a mocking tone.


    The rainbow cololred elder''s aura now dimmed drastically and he was missing a color from his aura, the overwhelming pressure that was radiating from his body was now gone... Fear..... The fear that radiated from the four mid phase xanthians was palpable now.


    The rainbow colored elder gritted his teeth in determination, this youth had to die, he was too strong at such a young age and he was on the opposite side of the eldest prince, the elder steeled his heart, he still had the power of a 8th layer xanthian even though they lost one person from the formation and the rest suffered a backlash,


    he still had enough power to finish the youth off..... or so he thought. Hartley could tell what the elder was thinking just from the look of desperation on his face, but that chance was long gone. Hartley had been stalling for time himself.


    Ever since he exited the spatial crack he was waitingfor the ten seconds of cool down to finish so he could engage his time domain again.


    "Die!!!" the elder shouted, Colors exploded from the elder as he was about to lunge at Hartley in a final life and death struggle, suddenly the color and sounds drained from the world around them, everything stood still in suspended animation and eerie silence, Hartley engaged his monochrome time domain and saw everything in mind-bending black and white detail, from the vicious determined scowl on the elder''s face to the bulging fear-riddled eyes of the ones left in the formation, Hartley could now see the lines of energy that connected all four elders, he took his time to study it just in case he came across others using this tactic.


    Hartley''s time domain now lasted 15 seconds and covered fifty meters,he used the first ten seconds to study the elemental power connections between the elders then nonchalantly made his way over to the nearest elder and swiped at his neck with his short blade....Whooosh! time returned to normal speed as the sword made contact with the aura shrouding the elder, it shattered like glass and the sword sliced through the vulnerable elder''s neck in a blue blur, his head went flying away with a fountain of blood chasing behind it as the other two in the formation puked up another mouthful of blood and staggered around like old drunk men leaving the pub at closing time. The white haired elder that was covered with rainbow colors returned to normal, the formation was truly broken now...


    The hairs stood on the elders neck, he was just about to go all out to execute the youth, then the next second the youth was ten meters away casually beheading another elder, it dawned on him now that he had missed his chance, he was now thinking about the best escape route, he knew he couldn''t return to Song Zemin either, he would be executed on spot for his failure.... BOOOM!! there were two blue flashes in the gloom of the evening and another elder turned to bloody mist with a miserable shriek.


    That was it! He had had enough at this point, the elder was about to lose his mind, he took off in the direction he had come from, Hartley smiled while he brutally chopped the final elder that was in the formation in two halves, in his weakened state he couldn''t even resist a baby with a stick right now... Then Boom Hartley caught up with the escaping elder 400 meters up the street, he was now back to being ameasly6th layer xanthian, he had no chance of escape. Bam! Hartley punched him in the back and he sprawled face first in the road, Hartley then stomped on both of his knees crushing them to powder then did the same to his elbows he layed on the road squealing like a pig while shouting "I was just following orders." Hartley flashed away and ran amok in the armored soldiers that came with the elders, geysers of blood sprayed upward from their necks and some turned to blood mist, amidst screaming and horses neighing it was truly like chopping vegetables. It was like a scene from hell, puddles of blood stained everywhere, in the chaos a couple escaped but Hartley couldn''t be bothered to chase them. Hartley returned to the squealing white haired elder with a horse and the black heavy shackles that was littered with bloodstains and rust that they had brought to use and parade him through the streets... The elder kept screaming words, but Hartley paid no heed to him


    Hartley shackled the elder then tied him to the horse.... clop, clop, clop, he made his way to the northern gate dragging the screaming elder across the ground behind him....

 89 Leaving the Cassia Province

    It was some time before Hartley made it to within sight of the northern gate, by now darkness had begun to set in, the screams of the elder being dragged on the ground behind were now feeble, his orange robe had been ripped to shreds by the friction of the road and he was missing skin in places where he had been dragged for prolonged amount of time. He whimpered incoherently, "I was just following orders, please just kill me." He had no use of his hands or legs and the punch to his back had shattered his internal bone structure, he was finding it very difficult and painful to even circulate his elemental power to protect himself ,the most he could accomplish was to turn his body now and then. Hartley could have used his movement technique and arrived at the gate in a flash but out of pure spite and hatred for the conceited elder, he had taken the scenic route, riding the horse at a steady pace to maximize the pain and torture inflicted on the elder...


    As Qin LI and Zhi stood nervously at the outpost of the northern gates with a contingent of armored soldiers led by a xanthian expert dressed in a hooded black robe which hid his face, every now and then Zhi Ruo would glance viciously at Qin Li, it was a silent accusation. Qin Li stood there helpless knowing that if something happened to Hartley she would never forgive him and knowing her personality she might even want to fight to the death with him.


    Yang Yi had parked the carriage at the side of the road with his head lowered, he stood as far as possible away from Qin Li and Zhi Ruo and dared not even speak after the looks of disgust he got from both of them, he was ashamed of his actions but he had followed Hartley for benefits not to sacrifice his life fighting against overwhelmingly powerful experts, sweat dripped down his back as he wondered what would happen if Hartley had really kicked the bucket.


    Soon everyone could hear the clopping of a single horse coming in their direction, because Hartley''s elemental fluctuations were hidden, everyone thought it was a single surviving soldier from the group that had assaulted Hartley''s group earlier, tears fell from Zhi Ruo''s eyes as she drew her two black daggers and prepared to fight to the death no matter who it was, as the horse came closer out of the gloom of the dark evening, everyone could hear the loud clanking of chains across the cobble stones and the faint weeping of someone begging for death..


    As the horse and rider exited the gloom and was illuminated by the last vestiges of twilight, A handsome black haired youth mounted on a black war-horse adorned with shiny silver armor came into everyone''s vision. The breath was driven from Zhi Ruo''s lungs and her knees buckled, she stared at the bloody bruises all over his face and histattered black robes that swirled in the gentle breeze, she almost fainted with relief as the tension that had gripped her washed away like a leafthat landed in a river. Qin Li didn''t show any outward emotions but inside he was just as relieved as Zhi Ruo, he felt guilty retreating from the battle, it was time for him to show his worth and not end up being a baby sitter for Zhi Ruo all the time, he decided he had to have a serious talk with Hartley after this incident.


    As Hartley got closer everyone could now see the shackled white hair elder tied to the pummel of the war-horse with a length of rope, it looked like he had been dragged like that for miles, his robe was so shredded he was practically naked. Large sections of his body including the left side of his face was cherry-red because the skin was rubbed away while being dragged.


    Yang Yi began to tremble and sweat ran all over his body like he was in a shower, wasn''t that the elder with the rainbow aura? the most powerful person he had seen thus far that caused him to flee in fear. Hartley was dragging him around like a dead pig while the elder begged to be killed. Yang Yi who had deserted Hartley, Zhi Ruo and Qin LI face went as pale as a ghost, he was so petrified he couldn''t even move a muscle.


    When Hartley reached the others and dismounted he was sick of the elder''s pathetic whimpering and begging for death, even though he wanted revenge he wasn''t sadistic, he stared at the elder with cold hard eyes then said, "When you plan to humiliate and kill others you should be prepared for others to humiliate and kill you." The elder just kept whimpering and begging for death not even paying attention to what Hartley had just said. Hartley then dragged the roped attached to the elder and the elder flew towards him.....BOOOM! one punch and the elder turned into a bloody mist, the shackles drenched in blood clanked and skittered across the cobble stones and the elder was nowhere to be seen.SSSSS. the squad of armored guards behind the expert in black inhaled a cold breath, Yang Yi almost shit himself from terror at the same time.Zhi Ruo stepped forward with red puffy eyes and tears still running down her cheeks, "I''m sorry I''ve worried you," said Hartley as he took her in his embrace, she still couldn''t stop her tears from falling, no one disturbed this moment between the two. After Zhi Ruo pulled herself together she stood at his side with his right arm draped over her shoulder.


    Hartley greeted Qin Li with his eyes and Qin Li responded with a slight nod then he looked around at all the soldiers and the mysterious expert standing in front. Pushing back the hood of his robe to reveal a shaved head with dark eyes glittering, the tall and tanned man stepped forward and bent from the waist toperformed a formal bow then said. "Anguo Chen greets Sir Hartley of the Sanzu house," Hartley felt like rolling his eyes every time he heard Sanzu''s name.. The shaven headed man produced a golden identity token with an intricate eagle carved into the circular token, the man continued, "I''ve been sent by Prince Jian Yulan to escort you and your followers to the capital and make sure you don''t run into any more unnecessary troubles."At this point in time Hartley didn''t care either way, his journey through the Cassia Province had been lined with blood and bodies and he had inherited some formidable enemies, it wouldn''t be a bad thing to have a smooth journey through the Papine province and then onto the capital, it felt as if Hartley had been on this journey for years.


    Hartley returned the formal bow to Anguo Chen and nodded in affirmation.


    Anguo Chen turned around and started to organize his troops who wore bright silver and red armor with an eagle emblem stamped into the right side of the breast plate. They had no choice but to start the journey to the Papine province as they were already at the northern gatewith no inns in sight and the guard outpost could only accommodate a dozen or so soldiers, Hartley, Qin Li and Zhi Ruo walked in the direction of Yang Yi who was trembling. Hartley had no plans to do anything to him he just wanted a comfortable ride in the carriage he got from Kang because he had aches and pains all of his body, but just when everyone was scampering around to get ready for the Journey, the skies suddenly turned pitched black as if someone had thrown a black towel over the world

 90 Song Zemin makes an appearance

    In the time it took for two hard heartbeats, the relief felt by all at the gate two seconds prior, turned into utter panic. The late evening sky which was dimly lit by an orangie twilight was now pitch black to the pointthat one could barely see the outline of the person they stood next to.


    Hartley''s heart was calm with not a shred of panic, he recognized the familiar aura, months before he had been in this same situation and was scared shitless, this time though, after the guidance he had from Kang he had grown not just by a sub-realm but also in knowledge.....


    The atmosphere smoldered with fear,horses and wild beasts panicked and struggled to break free and run wildas the nervous soldiers tried to prevent a stampede, Anguo''s vociferous instructions could be heard above the din of panic as he ordered each soldier to hold their position and calm their horses. The soldiers did their best to comply while staringwith trepidation into the blanket of seamless darkness.


    Then ten meters south of Hartley''s position, the darkness cracked like an egg, producing a grayish glow, then with a crackling sound there was a circular rip in the fabric of space about a meter off the ground revealing a dark figure whose only visible feature was his two dark pupils sitting in perfectly white eyes. Other than the gleaming hate-filled eyes, the person was just a dark silhouette stood there in mid air seeming to be far away yet still he was there seemingslightly translucent in full view of everyone present staring maliciously at Hartley,


    gasps of shock and horror echoed out from the surroundings, even Qin Li and Zhi Ruo who were stood next to Hartley were slack jawed with fear-filled eyes staring at the only point of illumination in their pitch black surroundings.


    "You vicious animal, today justice will be served for all the innocent blood you have shed." That horrible yet familiar grating voice sounded as if it was coming from every direction. It was none other than Song Zemin, Anguo Chen ran forward brandishing his golden token waving it in the air from side to side "Sir Hartley is now officially and affiliate of His Majesty Prince Jian Yulan." he shouted as if he was the prince himself.


    Song Zemin was Furious, he ignored Anguo words and treated him with utter contempt, he had lost an assassin team and five elders, his standing in the eldest prince camp had been considerable weakened. The capital was a place of cut throat politics even between allies, everyone was positioning themselves to accomplish their own individual ambitions and needed to use the strength of the subordinates.


    Song Zemin couldn''t micro manage his interests in the capital, he often had to enter closed door cultivation for long periods of time, him losing so many strong subordinates left his interests in the capital in disarray, right now he couldn''t give a monkey''s about Prince Jian interests, he was going to kill this devil and then negotiate with the young prince after the outcome, he was a half-saint after all, even though the young prince has his own backers he couldn''t imagine them being too overbearing over a youth that they haven''t even met.


    But Song Zemin''s bad day was about to get worse, Anguo chen got flustered as he saw Song Zemin blatantly disregarding the token of the prince and was about to deliver a deadly strike, his face paled, he understood that if Song Zemin really executed a strike they might all lose their lives without any chance of retreating or retaliating, almost everyone stood rooted to the spot like statues, their despair and fear rose to maximum levels, most were witnessing the power of a half-saint for the first time. Song Zemin pulled his hand back and the air shattered with a deafening rumble,stones and random debris fluttered through the air like a flock ofterrorized birds...


    The minute Hartley had seen the spatial crack he engaged his advanced state of focus, he paid no attention to what was being said and immediately started to scout the spatial crack which housed the dark figure to find the most unstable regions, he located four of five weak points in the spatial crack then chose the one closest to him. Song Zemin had said his piece and was just about to make a move when Hartley engaged his time domain and froze everything in place, he could now see the unstable dark energy roiling and writhing, he placed himself infront of the spatial crack, jumped and hovered two meters off the ground then concentrated and tried to deliver the most powerful punch he could muster using the compressed circulation technique.....


    When everyone was bracing for the impending strike from Song Zemin all of a sudden there were three bright blue flashes which lighted up sourrounding pitch black darkness like a flash of three consecutive lightning strikes. Then there was a massive boom and an explosion of dark energy that looked like someone had thrown a bucket of black ink covering the grayish glow to blot out Song Zemin, the inky looking dark energy contorted and roiled in an unstable manner before popping like a bubble and disappearing. Everything returned to normal as if nothing had happened. Hartley was standing right where the spatial crack was, the sky was back to normal, all the horses calmed down and all the airborne debris fell back down the ground like rain resulting in some soldiers skipping and dodging around, some ended up with superficial wounds and accepted them gladly knowing that they had escaped a disaster.


    Blarg! Song Zemin puked up a mouthful of blood as he crashed through the wooden wall of his house in the mountain leaving nothing but splinters in his wake and traveled outside into the tranquil greenery to collide with a hefty oak-like ancient tree, the tree jerked and leaves began to fall like green snow from the heavens as he ricocheted onto the floor leaving a gash on the trunk of the sturdy tree, he came to a stop under the tree as attendants who heard the commotion came rushing up the mountain....


    At this moment the white haired Kang was sitting at his wooden desk with both eyes closed, then suddenly they flicked open, "hahahahahahahaahahahahahah." His cackling laughter could be heard through out the whole estate. "Good, good, lets see if he dares try that again."


    Anguo Chen looked at Hartley with respect, he now understood why this kid was being recruited into the circles of the prince, he regained his composure then started to issue orders to the startled soldiers. Soon everything returned to normal and not one spoke about the incident as if they weren''t sure if it actually happened. Hartley, Qin Li and Zhi Ruo boarded the armored carriage with Yang Yi at the driver''s seat and made their out of the Cassia province and headed towards the Papine province.....

 91 Someone doesnst want him to reach the capital

    The following weeks slipped by without any major incedents beisdes a few minor scuffles with some bandits who fled as soon as they recognized the insignia on the breast plate of the armored soldiers escorting the black armored carriage that Hartley and his followers were traveling in.A few fierce beasts tried to sneak attack thegroup when they camped overnight only to become dinner the following day.


    Hartley took the time to cultivate and recover from his aches and pain, both Qin LI and Zhi Ruo also dedicated their spare time to cultivation on the long journey to the Papine province. With Hartley''s improved state of focus, his cultivation was now ten times more efficient than the average xanthian and he was already more than half way to the 8th layer of the xanthian realm, Zhi Ruo was at the thin line between the first and second layer and could have a breakthrough anytime while Qin LI continued his steady progress to consolidate his power in the 4th layer.


    Soon the Spring was transitioning into summer, the heat during the daytime was starting to rise and the golden sun usually sat high in the cloudless sky. As the road leading the Papine province got busier, the skyline of a majestic city appeared in their vision, buildings reached towards the sky and road networks snaked through the province in every direction, the province consisted of an outer section and an inner section separated by a wall but from what Hartley could see, the outer section of the province looked as affluent as any of the provinces he had been to so far.


    Merchants flocked to the city in droves, they rented warehouses and stockpiled goods to be shipped south, from here int the outer section of the province they could quickly travel down to the Cassia province and have the goods shipped to the southern regions, Hartley had inadvertently opened up massive new business opportunities for merchants who didn''t have a prayer of getting their goods shipped southwardbefore and had no choice but to take the treacherous journey by land, now, since the removal of the guard captain under the control of the elder prince, the opportunities for business had opened up to everyone, not just the cronies supporting the eldest prince and many merchants were trying to strike the iron while it was hot. There was no guarantee that when the next guard captain assigned to the Cassia province would allow normal merchants to trade freely using the sea route.


    Hartley and the twenty four escorts made their way into the province easily as Anguo Chen only had to wave his identity token for the gates to open and the people to give way to the procession of the second prince''s forces.


    Anguo Chen brought them to a walled private manor inside the inner section of the province, it was peaceful and the manor was situated away from any neighbors or main road, the comfortable days melted away inside the luxurious manner as everyone got back into a normal routine. Zhi Ruo got back to her girlish ways as Hartley would escort her down to the shops so she buy clothes and supplies, the gloom had lifted from her and she was back to her former self for the time being.


    On the penultimate day of their stay in the Papine province Hartley left Zhi Ruo cultivating in their room to visit a restaurant with Qin Li and two of the guards, as usual Hartley had ordered and ate a belly full of a delicacies and drank expensive wine, it was late evening when they left the restaurant.


    Hartley was having a trivial conversation with Qin while they passed a dark alley way, just as Hartley had turned his face to answer one of Qin Li''s questions, he saw panic on the faces of Qin Li and the guards.


    Hartly read the seriousness of the situation from their alarmed faces, Qin Li''s axe appeared in his hands glowing green, feeling the sudden danger Hartley quickly turned around, his body twisting following his long swordthat appeared in his right hand then snapping it out like a sidewinder snake coiling and striking at the incoming threat.Qin Li jumped forward, his body gushing out wind elemental energy temporarily turning the surroundings neon green, blowing away the two guards like dry leaves in the wind in the process.


    Clang! Hartley''s sword clashed with the dagger of a dark figure emerging from the shadows, the silent shadow gave off no elemental fluctuations as he parried the sword strike with his right handed dagger, a split second later green sparks erupted as Qin Li''s ax clashed with the second dagger wielded in the left hand of the sneak attacker, Qin Li was sent flying back five meters before landing in a heap still rolling away from the action. After stumbling back, the dark figure flashed forward from the shadows skillfullyand attempted a high horizontal strike with his right handed dagger aimed at the neck of Hartley. Hartley used his minute movement technique to retreat two steps avoiding the strike then entrapped in the figure in a 50x gravity field careful not to entrap the tumbling Qin Li as well. The figure yelped in surprise as he gave a spastic jerk, his legs wobbled as if he was a disorientated drunkard.


    Hartley''s next strike, which was a viciously efficient slash from mid-left to mid-right, tore into the black robes of the assassin, the kinetic energy from the strike was blocked by a high level body armor worn underthe assassin''s outer garments, yellow sparks flew out as the figure was thrown against the the far wall losing his pair of daggers which skittered across the floor with clanging metallic sounds. Even though the strike was blocked by his armor, the assassin''sinternal organs weren''t so lucky, the figure spat out a couple mouthfuls of blood one after the other while the gravity field was still crushing his body down into the earth.


    Recognizing that his sneak attack mission was impossible to accomplish at this point the assassin turned away and made an impressive gravity defying leap towards the roof of a nearby building, Hartley was impressed to see the assassin could jump so high even under the influence of his gravity field. Hartley immediately disengaged his gravity field, the desperate assassin glanced over his left shoulder only to find out that his leap was matched by the young handsome youth who now seemed to be standing in mid-air and had dark swirling blue lines twirling around his left fist like a pin wheel, the assassin was helpless in the air without any way to dodge or change direction, his only hope was that his armor wouldblock the punch heading for his undefended back then he coulduse the momentum of the strike to gain some distance away from the youth and disappear and escape within the dark network of alley ways.


    His shocked expression signaled a different outcome from what he had expected, the assassin heard a muffled thump at his back then saw the gory sight of his heart shooting forward out of his chest followed by a spray of blood and bone shards, he screamed like a scalded cat and that was the last thing he saw in his life as his lifeless carcass fell back to the earth with a thud giving rise to a small puff of dust.


    Hartly landed back on the ground elegantly. After the short fight Hartley was relived, when the figure first appeared without any forewarning Hartley thought it was another dark arts practitioner, but after the fight he realized it was a high level assassin using a stealth martial scripture comparable to his own.Seems like someone doesn''t want Hartley to reach the capital.

 92 Finally, The Capital

    "What?" Anguo Chen was livid as his eyes grew wide, the body of the assassin was tossed before him with a thud, standing in the lavish courtyard of the private manor, he received the report of the attempted assassination from the two bruised guards that accompanied Hartley and Qin LI earlier in the evening, the body of the assassin was stripped naked to reveal a thin middle-aged black hair figure with a gaping hole the size of an adult''s fist through his chest cavity and out his back, a line of dried blood ran from the left side of his lip to his chin, his face shone with a twisted look of terror that indicated his unwillingness in his brutal ending.


    The dead assassin had no distinguishing marks or any possession that would betray his identity, he didn''t even have a space ring, his only worldly possessions were his two dark daggers. "Scour the area, see if anyone recognize him, I want to know when he arrived and where he stayed." Anguo Chen barked orders at his men who rushed back in the direction of the town even though it was dark.


    Knock, knock, knock...."come in" said Hartley, the dark brown door swung inwards and Anguo Chen''s bald head glistened in the yellow lamp light outside as his lanky frame appeared within the frame of the door , with large strides he stepped into the room with an apologetic and perplexed look on his tanned face, Hartley wasn''t surprised, Anguo Chen had come to see if Hartley had seen or heard anything that would give him a lead in his impromptu investigation. The only clue Hartley had was that the assassin was using a highly effective stealth scripture, that in and of itself told Hartley that the assassin wouldn''t leave any careless evidence behind and chasing the man''s origins would turn out to be a wild goose chase but Hartley kept his thoughts to himself.


    Anguo Chen was befuddled that someone would have the audacity to attack someone under the protection of Prince Jian, Hartley wasn''t, true strength was the only deterrence in the world of cultivators, waving around someone''s token was enough to cow civilians, merchants and low level cultivators but the truly strong would not regard such things with the reverence others did, as was evident when Song Zemin was about to attack even after Anguo was waving the golden identity token like Moses parting the red-sea.


    "Should we still travel tomorrow or stay here and investigate deeper?" asked Anguo Chen after contemplating for a while, "no need, I doubt anything would change even if we stayed," Hartley waved his right hand dismissing the notion nonchalantly, at this moment Zhi Ruo glided into the room from the adjoining room, wearing a see through form-fitting night gown, her red hair was loose and dancing around her shoulders and her bouncy mid-sized peaks slightly bounced up and down as she strode, Anguo Chen''s eyes brightened for a brief flash then he looked away and stared at Hartley with a single bead of sweat running down his bald head, hoping that he hadn''t offended the youth..... "Ahem ahem," Hartley cleared his throat sheepisly as he stood up with a wry smile and stated that he had serious business to attend to and hurriedly ushered Anguo out of the room as if putting out a stray cat.


    "Lucky Bastard" Anguo Chen murmered under his breath as the door closed behind him and he made his way back to his lonely room.....Hartley then attended to his serious business... more times than once...


    Another two weeks fell from the calendar. Hartley was now at the thin line between the 7th and 8th layer of the xanthian realm, Zhi hadn''t found the inspiration to step into the 2nd layer and Qin Li was now a fully fledged mid phase xanthian expert. The group had traveled trouble free towards the capital, the anticipated attack hadn''t happened, maybe the miserable endings of the prior assassinshad something to do with it. The broad streets were filled and raucous, even miles away from the capital people were milling about like busy ants in their colonies. People had erected towns and shanty settlements outside the capital and went back and forth either working in the outer sections or selling goods and food gathered outside the capital.


    The sun sat calmly high in the sky of another summer''s day. The soft, golden hues sifted down out of the noon sky and wrapped around the blocky watchtowers of the city of Duancehall, armored soldiers stood at attention in deathly stillness on each side of the broad gate. Dense battlements jotted the almost never-ending walls, a few iron spears with decapitated heads on them were stabbed into the wall about halfway up, close enough for people to be able to recognize the features of the individuals perched on the pegs.


    The sunshine made the stones of the busy road leading up to the city shiny and golden. A lone carriage, matte black and hauled by four elephant-looking wild beasts, approached the city amidst the foot traffic and countless open wagons hauling merchandise of all description, under the escort of twenty-four silver and red armored soldiers sporting eagle insignia on their breast plates. People stood to the side and wagons pulled over and parked making way as they watched the carriage roll and clatter towards the gate while vehemently discussing with excitement the possible occupants inside the carriage.


    The group eventually passed through the gates with a few rudimentary checks from the person in charge. A sprawling vista of beautiful buildings of all sizes and colors and countless people opened up before everyone''s eyes, the awe inspiring sight of the capital gave Hartley goosebumps as he looked out of the window of the carriage.


    Butterflies were beating their wings inside his stomach, his palms were sweaty and his heart pounded against his chest, the province in front of him was the culmination of all his hard work, he hadfought battles and shed blood all the wayto reach the capital. This was the first step to achieving his goal to make his mark and plant his flag as a powerhouse in the country of Aidonia and he was finally here.


    Zhi Ruo reached out and took Hartley''s hand in her own and whispered "welcome to the capital" as she rested her head on his shoulder. Qin Li was twisting in every direction as his emotionless face tried to soak in all the sights. As an orphan from the Lou clan, he couldn''t help but feel proud to see the capital with his own eyes.


    The group moved west through the broad streets of the outer section of the province until it was dark, they then lodged at a popular inn for the night. The next morning they continued west until they came to the wall that separated the outer section of the province from the inner section. This time they underwent stringent checks, Hartley even had to produce his golden identity token provided by Viscount Sanzu.


    After another four hours of travel the group turned off the beaten path and headed towards a Castle on a hill.


    ...............End of Volume 1..........

 93 Politics

    ...................... Volume 2: Dominance...............


    The trio was led by Anguo Chen and flanked by the 24 armored soldiers as they were ushered into the main hall on the ground floor of the castle, this castle was named Windsor peak castle and upon entering one was blinded by the luxurious splendor, the floor was laid with pristine red and white tiles in perfect symmetry, the spotless tiles gleamed and sparkled when the light from the many high windows danced across it.


    Beautiful silk banners bearing the coat of arms of the windsor house fluttered down from the ceiling, embroidered with a shield and a sword stood side by side. The hall was sparsely furnished, only a long wooden table and a set of matching chairs were off to the side and out of the way.


    This was a stark contrast to the district that was located at the foot of the hill where the castle perched in proud splendor.The small district they passed at the foot of the hill was poor, with shabby unpainted rundown houses standing tightly packed beside each other, the people walked through thelittered streets with a look of hopelessness in their eyes. The crude wooden buildings creakedin the wind as the women who wore stained robes, fetched water, cooked and looked afterthe energetic children while the men were out tilling the endless fields off in the distance.


    Eventually the armored soldiers stopped and stood ramrod straight while Anguo Chen led Hartley Qin LI and Zhi Ruo forward towards a man sat in a throne-like red chair on a raised platform at the end of the hall, the man slouched lazily in the chair holding onto a map as if he wasn''t the least bit interested in the happenings of the hall before him, there were two veiled ladies dressed in white robes stood quietly behind him.


    "Sir Lingwei, I present Sir Hartley of the Sanzu house," Anguo Chen gave a formal bow as he made the introduction, the man dressed in a lilac robe and what seem to be blue knee-high stockings immediately had a scowl as he lazily shifted his sight towards Hartley, his eyes squinted to the size of a needle point.


    With a bright white smile Sir Lingwei sat up and said, "Are you willing to be a vassal of his majesty Prince Jian Yulan?," before he received an answer he continued "After pledging allegiance, we will assign your fief, I was thinking... he unfurled the map in his hand and mused for a bit... about 40 acres in the Hill Point Range, this is not hereditary land and you will hold the land for the next five years, if you manage to turn it into something that contributes to the prince''s power, then we will re-evaluate if you can keep hold of the land for another five years." he saidall this with glee. Anguo Chen''s face dropped, he had seen the strength of the youth, something was off, for them to want to send Hartley to the barren rocky mountain land of Hill Point Range was simple unbelievable.


    "Sir!" Anguo Chen exclaimed, then he was flashed a look by Sir Lingwei and he swallowed down the words he was about to utter.


    The calm Hartley dressed in a black robe made of silk asked "Where is Prince Jian and why am I here negotiatingterms with an overdressed butterfly?" Naturally Hartley knew where this was all stemming from, when he had traveled through the Hagley province he had thrashed an elder from the Hagley martial school named Master Lingwei, this fop sat before him must be of some relation and was trying to make things difficult. "You!" the man almost lost his temper as he fidgeted on the chair like he was sat on hot coals, he regained his composure, "you think anyone can just walk into the capital and have a meeting with Prince Jian?" he snorted "some people just don''t know their level."Without saying another word Hartley turned to leave the hall...


    Sir LIngwei''s heart fluttered, he was told by the commander above him to recruit Hartley under the banner of the prince but he had two reasons to stifle Hartley''s progress in the capital. The first was that Hartley had disgraced his uncle in the Hagely province and the second was Viscount Sanzu, Sir Lingwei''s value to the prince was as a shrewd politician and administrator, he was lacking in fighting strength but if Hartley shined brightly that would be a way back into the capital for Viscount Sanzu, who was also a shrewd politician and administrator, Sir Lingwei''s value would drop like a stone off a cliff-face if Viscount Sanzu wriggled his way back into the good books of the prince.


    In this uncertain climate, where King Yulan could ascend from the mortal plane anytime, his position and lifestyle was at stake, the cut throat nature of politics would mean that the pragmatic prince would cut all dead weight at the first opportunity and himself would be on the cutting board if Viscount Sanzu were to return in glory...He tried to cajole Hartley into pledging his allegiance with a better offer but Hartley left the hall with Sir LIngwei shouting at the youth''s back. Hartley couldn''t take this fop seriously, Holy Matriarch! he was wearing stockings for crying out loud...


    Three days later in an office clotted with shadows, a heavy boned sturdy man sat behind a wooden desk, his face was tanned and his nose twisted indicating it had been broken before, a burning candle at the far end of the table flitted light that barely illuminated the room. "What happened?" he asked in his gruff voice. "Sir Lingwei offered him forty acres at Hill Point Range....for five years."a surprising answer came from across the table.


    Commander Genk was a little bit shocked but he didn''t show it, "how strong is he?" the commander asked. "Sir, when I met him he was dragging elder Sushio behind his horse with a length of rope, by the time he got to us, the elder was begging for death and he obliged." Anguo Chen reported honestly. The commander with his course black hair exhaled sharply, "In times of peace petty politics will shine, but in times of conflict fighting strength is the most important thing, such a young a capable fighter will be a trump card in the years to come, he cannot be allowed to become our enemy, I will talk with the prince and find a suitable solution."


    "Yes sir," Anguo Chen stood up and made a formal bow before leaving.


    After the debacle with Sir Lingwei, Hartley and company had checked into a luxurious inn in the inner section of the capital, it had been a week since coming to the capital and Hartley was contemplating his options, he had the golden identity token from Viscount Sanzu so he was qualified to buy a mid-sized manor and start his base of operations, their stay had been peaceful but Hartley needed information. He wanted to know what condition Song Zemin was in and the strength of the eldest prince''s forces, that assassin back in the Papine province might have been sent by one of his people. What he needed now was a little time, he was on the cusp of a breakthrough and so was Zhi Ruo.


    As he sat cross legged on the bed a knock came at the door.

 94 Banque

    When Hartley opened the door he saw Anguo Chen standing there, behind him was a massive man, the tanned man could only be described as gigantic, he had course black hair matted to his head in no particular style with a nose as twisted as a pretzel, he stood there straight and upright like a spear.


    The bear of a man wore a military style robe with the eagle insignia of prince Jian printed on the left breast.


    "Busy?" asked Anguo Chen. "No come in, what are you doing here?"


    The two men entered the luxurious room, after entering, the gigantic man strode over to the window and lingered, looking out as if scouting out possible entry points for ambushers, after checking the window he made a satisfied grunt and nodded at Anguo. Hartley looked to Anguo with a puzzled expression, Anguo Chen shrugged at Hartley with a wry smile, this was something he had seen a million times. Hartley went and sat beside Zhi Ruo and raised his hand towards the empty seats inviting the men to sit. At this moment Zhi Ruo got up and left the room, she returned minutes later with a platter of snacks, "these are the specialty of the inn" she said as she placed the platter in the middle of the table, Hartley glanced at her with a smile, he loved when she was in full housewife mode, she gave him a stare then turned her attention to the men sitting across the table.


    "This is Commander Genk of Prince Jian first legion imperial army" Anguo Chen introduced.


    Hartley nodded and asked " how can I help you commander?"


    "I heard what happened with that Wuss Sir lingwei." he said then went on to intimate that he had heard of Hartley from one of his subordinate who spoke highly of his talent, he had recommended that Hartley be recruited and placed in a position where he could grow his strength and make contributions to Prince Jian but Sir Lingwei was playing petty politics for some reason, he had come to invite Hartley to a Banquet a few days later, there would be youngsters of the three Prominent countries of the Aldora continent and at the end of the banquet it was a tradition for the younger generation to exchange pointers. Most of the famous officers in the army had first made their name at such banquets.


    Even though the prince wouldn''t be there, there would be people high up in the hierarchy and if Hartled made a good impression it could raise his profile with the prince. He told Hartley that the prince had tunnel vision, the prince only saw strength or benefits aside from that, everything else was dead weight in the Prince''s eyes.


    After leaving details of the invitation the two men left.....


    Alighting from a classic open carriage drawn by two white horses was the most fantastically gorgeous creature, she wore her red hair tied in a bun at the back with a couple gleaming golden hair pins sticking out in opposite directions catching the light of the mounted lamp as they glinted. She wore a regal lose fitting long blue dress which twirled and danced as she moved, stepping out of the carriage to join her was a black haired youth with striking blue eyes, he wore an expensive black silk robe which made his pale jade-like skin stand out even more, the beautiful redhead cupped her hand around the elbow of the handsome youth and they made their way towards the hall hosting the banquet.


    There was a buzz of chatter as the couple walked in, earning stares from the capacity crowd inside, soon people came up and introduced themselves, nosily trying to identify the two. The handsome youth introduced himself as Sir Hartley and didn''t delve into any further details about himself or Zhi Ruo. The red hair goddess stood next to Hartley stayed quiet and smiled at the people coming up, she was not going to disclose her identity just yet.


    Soon commander Genk made his way out of a crowd to greet Hartley and Zhi Ruo, he nodded in approval towards Hartley with a smile, "welcome, I''m glad you guys made it." he said. "Thank you for inviting us," Hartley said while giving the barreled chested man a slight bow. Commander Genk laughed and said "no need to be so formal" as he led the way to their seats.


    Hartley and Zhi Ruo sat at the table with the high ranking official of the first legion imperial army, which garnered even more attention from the attendants of the banquet, the elders at the table looked inquisitively at the lovely young couple sat with commander Genk but didn''t ask. Soon the host of the banquet stood up and introduced the delegates from the country of Buju attending the banquet, an elder sat at the table of the Buju section nodded his head towards the host in appreciation, then the host introduced the delegates from the country of Sasko, an elder from their table also nodded at the host. The host then went onto to yammer endlessly about things Hartley cared little about, after a while the delicacies were served and Hartley finally starting to enjoy himself while exchanging stories with the good-natured commander Genk....


    Hartley was looking forward to meeting people from other countries, he knew precious little about the other prominent countries on the Aldora continent but as he paid attention to the groups from other countries his excitement was punctured and deflated like a balloon.


    At first Hartley was intrigued and excited to meet these youths from other countries but after paying attention to them he was sorely disappointed, they were all the same, a bunch of pampered and spoiled adolescentswho thought the world revolved around them because of their surname. Those looks they gave him as their eyes met occasionally, reminded Hartley of his days in the Lou clan, he could tell what they were thinking because he had no elemental fluctuations they could sense.


    The whole thing became boring as he watched youths strut around like self important peacocks.

 95 Shameless

    Soon the banquet was over and the crowd turned their attention to the exchange of pointers between the future generation, on the surface all three prominent countries had a peaceful existence but their paper-thin harmony was predicated on strength, behind the scenes the countries were locked in a brutal struggle to control the numerous resource-filled smaller affiliate countries. ,the more affiliate countries one controlled, the more resources, wealth and man-power that country would gain and eventually rise to be in a the dominant position among the three.


    These friendly matches were used to gauge the competence for the future generation of each country, sure enough a handsome blonde youth about seventeen strutted out from the Buju section, he stared at Zhi Ruo winking as he walked over to the table and stood in front of Hartley, he bowed formally in front of Hartley then said "please guide me fellowbrother." "No need, you''re too weak, maybe in ten years time we can exchange some pointers." Hartley waved away the youth as if chasing away a fly, Zhi Ruo cuddled up beside Hartley and giggled cutely at his words, which made theyouth explode in embarrassment for being looked down on, "how dare you talk to me like that you coward! if you have no stomach to fight then admit it in front of this beauty and this crowd full of your country''s people." Hartley paid no mind to the childish tantrum as he placed his elbows on the table and cupped his palms under his chin looking at the youth in boredom, the youth was barely a 2nd layer xanthian, he was barely qualified to shine one of Hartleys swords.


    Even though they were all of similar age; Hartley felt these young lords were like cubs scratching around in the safety of a cage while Hartley saw himself as a lion who had been on a blood stained journey to the pinnacle of a jungle when compared to them.


    The blonde youth''s face got redder than a tomato as he continued to throw insults, discussions broke out in the hall, and people were staring at Hartley thinking he was just a pretty boy who dared not fight, some people were even starting to feel a bit embarrassed for the handsome youth sat beside the commander. The elders sat at the table beside Commander Genk were looking at him side-eyed, wondering if the commander had brought a pretty flower up to the table of esteemed officials.


    A tall skinny youth from Sasko with an unremarkable face, stood up laughing as he mocked the blonde youth who was still spouting a tirade of insults, "since that guy from Buju was too weak how about we exchange some pointers?" The youth was proudly about to step forward when he got the same answer in the same manner, all his laughter turned to a frown and he too went on a tirade of insults, the youths of Aidonia sat in the lower sections, who were equally as arrogant as the visitors, stared at Hartley in ridicule, the exchange of pointers they were looking forward to was ruined, it was a chance for these youths to announce themselves as the best the country had to offer, but because Hartley was in the company of the strikingly beautiful red hair girl and the commander, he seemed to have garnered all the attention from the opposing youths.


    Five people had marched out to challenge one after the other and they were all refused by Hartley who sat looking bored. The arrogantyouths who thought themselves to be the best of the best, had misconstrued Hartleys action as him avoiding a confrontation at all costs and seemed hell-bent on challenging the handsome youth, they all wanted the glory of thrashing the weak looking youth in front of the stunning beauty that was by his side and slapping the face of one of Aidonia''s commanders at the same time. This was an easy opportunity to cement themselves as a future powerhouse, how could they let it slip by?


    At this point even commander Genk was looking at Hartley sideways, Hartley knew the man had invited him to the banquet in good faith, he didn''t want the commander to lose face in front of the other officials, he sighed. "Since you guys want to drop a boulder on you own feet you can come one by one or all together."clamor broke out in the hall as Hartley said these arrogant words, stood up and straightened his robe, then walked out onto the make-shift battle stage erected in the middle of the hall.


    The outraged youths were like hungry wolves smelling an easy prey but their arrogance wouldn''t let them come together, the blonde youth who was first refused, stomped onto the circular battle stage that was only about 15 meters in length, eyes red with rage he didn''t even bother with his former pleasantries, he just rushed straight at Hartley...


    .


    Bam! the youth flew of the stage squealing like a pig


    Bam! another youth came up and went flying


    Bam! one more went flying into the crowd...


    The crowd erupted in surprised and energetic discussions, "the handsome youth really was strong." "He was trying to save some face for our guests but they insisted on smacking their own faces," some people began to talk loudly with pride and excitement. All the youths who were about to step forward had grim faces and chose to stand in place, if they chose to go up there and face that monster after what they had just witnessed, they truly would have no brain cells left in their head.


    Hartley had blown the competition away in one fell swoop with sudden, fierce, effortless punches and even looked bored during the process. Soon no one dared to step forward, Hartley was about to leave the stage, he looked at the contingent of youths sprawled and nursing injuries and shook his head in derision as if he had regretted lowering himself to even mingle with these children, "Wait!" someone shouted, Hartley looked around to see a young man about twenty five, he was from Sasko and was wearing a blue robe as his dark eyes flickered cunningly, with a smile he walked up to the stage and bowed formally "Even though I am not from the younger generation I would love to exchange pointers with you since you haven''t been tested so far." Hartley looked over to commander Genk and he nodded, Hartley then nodded at the man....


    Stood ten meters away from Hartley, flames gushed out of the young man like a phoenix, Hartley could feel an intense killing intent radiating on the stage as soon as the man made his move, seems like this guy wanted to eliminate a future powerhouse in his infancy,Hartley''s eyes squinted in seriousness.The man was only a 5th layer xanthian so he was no threat but the mere fact that he was trying to kill Hartley was enough to enrage him. The fire element swirled around the man''s body making the temperature rise drastically in the hall, onlookers at the front took a step back, the yellow flames congealed on the man''s palms then extended half a meter outwards in a roiling sword-like manner giving off bright glaring yellow lights that caused some in the hall to squint, the man then raced across the small stage leaving yellow flame-like after images, he slashed down with a overhead strike from high-right to low-left,the path of the flame-sword seem to burn the air itself as there was a loud sizzling sound when it approached Hartley who hadn''t moved from his original spot.


    Hartley engaged advanced state of focus and then used his advanced minute movement technique, he took one short step backwards and two quick steps to the left, then dashed forward again as his body blurred delivering a bone-crunching punch that pounded onto the right side of the young man like a hammer coming down full force against scrap metal sitting on an anvil, the flame-sword disappeared with a sudden flash of light and fire element in the surroundings evaporated like a puff of smoke, all the heat suddenly disappeared from the hall.


    The man puked out a bucket-full of blood and screamed out like a cat getting its tale stepped on as he flew off the stage landing in front of the delegates from Sasko with a thud, like a sack of potatoes, if an x-ray was available, it would show that the man''s right sided ribs down to the right side of his pelvis were now shattered to powder. He made a few more wailing screams which echoed in the now shocked and quiet hall before passing out.


    The elder who checked the young man''s body scrunched his face and gritted his teeth in anger, on the continent of Aldora someone who could reach the 5th layer of the xanthian realm at the age of twenty five was considered and absolute genius among their piers and was bound to become a pillar of strength for their country, the young man laid out before the elder was now obviously crippled, this was a big loss, it was a disaster, the elder was responsible for this group of youths but after seeing Hartley''s performance he was shocked speechless, he had then encouraged the young man to challenge and kill Hartley before the youth became a powerful cultivator they would have to deal with in the future.


    The elder blinked out of sight in a split second... he then reappeared right in front of Harltey with his palm extended and glowing with a dull brown color, his hand seemed to have become the size of a basketball as wind swirled and fluttered Hartley''s black robe.


    Everyone''s mouth was open in shock as they watched the unusual scene, Commander Genk''s huge body bowled over the table, sending it screeching across the floor as he made a desperate attempt to intercept, Zhi Ruo danced away elegantly from the table that scattered all the content resting on its surface in the chaos with bowls flying everywhere, the other scrambling elders also maneuvered out of harm''s way,but it was already too late, Commander Genk couldn''t save Hartley.....


    The next thing everyone in the hall saw, seemed to defy logic...It was Hartley who was punching the elder who had sneaked attacked him....


    There was a singlepulse of strobing blue light like the flash of a camera and the elder was sent stumbling back five paces on the battle stage, he managed to stay on his feet as he forcefully swallowed down the blood that had climbed up into his throat. Hartley smiled then cupped his hands and made a formal bow towards the elder. "Elder, I didn''t know you also wanted to exchange pointers with the younger generation." Hartley''s voice sounded out clearly around the quiet hall, he then turned to face the shocked faces in the hall.


    "Commander Genk thanks for bringing me to this banquet so I could meet people from other countries to broaden my horizons and experience the thick-faced shamelessness practiced abroad."


    The flustered commander Genk who had knocked over a table was standing and staring slack jawed like everyone else.


    The elder on the battle stage grabbed his chest with his right hand and gave a painful and embarrassed expression "This child has no respect for his elders and is too vicious, I was merely trying to teach him a lesson. How are you going to punish him?" The furious elder roared at the commander.


    Commander Genk recovered quickly, he put his robust arms behind his back and answered "Elder Langzu this was the exchange of pointers for the younger generation and yet there you are standing in the middle of the stage right after one who also wasn''t of the younger generation had challenged and lost,"he shrugged helplessly "What can I do? everyone''s got two eyes to see and form their own opinion."


    It was a subtle suggestion by commander Genk to everyone present, that..... even after the two people went on stage to bully someone of the younger generation.... they couldn''t.... even as vicious as their intentions were.... they had still lost face.... now that they knew they couldn''t harm the youth, they wanted to borrow the strength of others to punish the youth... It was utter shamelessness!


    Elder Langzu turned around in fury, his skin would have to be thicker than the heel of an elephant for him to push this matter any further, he flashed to the table he was sat at, gathered up the injured young man and marched towards the exit along with the rest of his depressed gloomy-looking group, before he left he glanced back over his shoulder and gave Hartley a vicious stare before disappearing into the night.


    The quiet hall then erupted in raucous discussions, was this the birth of a future powerhouse for the country of Aidonia?

 96 Marriage proposal

    Hartley''s name rang like a bell tolling through the capital for the next several days, his name could be heard in rampant discussions across the land, people who were present at the banquet and had witnessed the fracas were saying that their eyes were blessed by the Holy Matriarch, they felt so lucky to have seen the emergence of a potential future powerhouse, it was like when someone bragged about going to watch a world class player in the bush leagues before that player became world renowned, it was a story to be passed down to their gran children in the future around a crackling camp fire.


    A tall middle age man with strands of white hair sprouting in his neatly cropped black hair like weeds in a garden, sat at his luxurious desk reading the contents of a folder, "the thick-faced shamelessness practiced abroad,"the man whispered to himself with a slight smile blooming on his handsome features.


    One of his subordinates had been adamant that the boy was special but the prince who sat in hisbrightly lit office with sunshine streaming in through the high windows, had thought differently, he couldn''t see any immediate benefits to be gained from the youth, but as a good-will gesture to the energetic commander Genk, he had offered his protection as a token of appreciation to the youth for removing the guard captain in the Cassia province. He had asked Sir Lingwei to find a place for the youth and left it at that, the prince had no doubt in his mind that the inexperienced kid would be gobbled up by the politics of capital and forgotten within months if not killed outright.


    But after the wave of euphoria and excitement that the youth had inspired in the masses of people across the capital, the prince had decided to have a detailed look at the youth, what he saw in the folder sat on his desk shocked him, making him immediately re-evaluate the pros and the cons of drawing in the youth a little closer. Rarely has the prince ever let sentiments get in the way of logical thinking, but he was seriously considering a gamble this time.


    The youth had blazed a trail of destruction across the country on his way to the capital, some reports weren''t confirmed but the youth even allegedly destroyed a cell of dark practitioners which by itself was an amazing feat if true.


    After his performance at the banquet, the prince was beginning to think maybe the youth could be of some benefit in the next 3 to 5 years when the king might ascend, at that point he would need all the strength he could gather, if nothing else, the youth could play the role of cannon fodder.


    The prince sat at his desk with a pensive look as he played out the scenario in his mind............


    Far in the east of the capital among the hectic political ramblings of the elder prince''s camp, another person was campaigning for the opposite....the immediate disposal of the youth whose name was ringing bells across the capital, Song Zemin who still hadn''t fully recovered from the backlash and was feeling lucky not to lose a body part in the turbulent eruption of dark energy within the spatial crack, was telling anyone who would listen that the kid was one of the biggest threats the eldest prince''s camp would face, of course, he didn''t inform everyone that him, an exalted 9th layer xanthian with a foot in the saint realm, had sent out squads of people to kill the youth who all failed and as a result his position was weakened drastically.


    Contrary to the beliefs of Song Zemin, everyone in Prince Dong Yulan''s circles thought this was the crazy ravings of a man who had isolated himself from the world for too long.


    They didn''t see the insignificant youth being of any threat in the immediate future, even though some were impressed by the youth''s performance at the banquet, they were privy to more information than the common man, the reports coming out stated that the youth had resisted the sneak attack of an elder.


    This was the biggest headline from the banquet but it was common knowledge that elder Langzu was in the lowest echelons of elders in the country of Sasko, that''s why he was one babysitting the youths at these functions across the three prominent countries.


    Technically the elder was in the 7th layer of the xanthian realm but everybody knew that he had used all types of external medicines to race through the layers of the xanthian realm, in reality he wasn''t stronger than an expert in the 5th layer, since Hartley didn''t defeat him and only resisted him after defeating youths of similar age to himself, they felt confident that the youth was nowhere as potent as Song Zemin was describing and didn''t put much credibility in Song Zemin''s words.


    To them, Song Zemin''s words werelike smoke in the wind.


    Prince Dong and his allies biggest concern right now was quelling the rebellious and disgruntlednobles and merchants who had pledged their allegiance.


    After the removal of the guard captain from the Cassia province, the profits from the shipping route offered exclusively to these nobles and merchants had been slashed by more than fifty percent, they were potentially going to lose hundreds of thousands of gold coins.


    Now that even riff-raff merchants had access to the southern shipping route, in their eyes the benefits of being under the umbrella of the eldest prince had disappeared, they didn''t need to subject themselves and their forces to his will anymore.


    This was a turbulent time for the eldest prince and these issues required his full attention for the moment, he was racking his brain trying to come up with ways to get another one of his vassals assigned as guard captain of the Cassia province but surely prince Jian won''t fall for the same trick twice, he might have to take the Cassia province by force.


    Hartley was the least of their concerns in the eldest prince''s camp, of course the eldest prince was intending to deal with Hartley who had caused so much chaos, but now he had more pressing matters to concentrate on, it was imperative that he got things in order as soon as possible and prepare his forces for the next 3 to 5 years.


    How could they know that by the time King Yulan ascend from the mortal plane they would be dealing with a saint.....


    Away from all the plotting and scheming, Hartley, oblivious to the current situation, was sat in the inn beside Zhi Ruo,


    "Ruo, this coming winter I will be 18 years old, I think we should get married at that point, I have no parents to give me permission and you have none for me to seek permission from, we will have our ceremony after the winter passes and tie our bond,"holding her hand and staring in her eyes nervously asking "what do you think?" Hartley had just made one of the worst proposal for marriage, it was more like a suggestion of marriage.


    Zhi Ruo didn''t mind, with eyes brimming with tears, she answered "yes" as she nodded her head like a chicken pecking rice from the floor, she then slid closer and hugged the man of her dreams for a long while before letting go.....

 97 A new beginning

    Stood by the window in the luxurious inn and staring out over the capital on a clear cloudless day with a sky as blue as an ocean.


    Hartely could see his faint reflection in the clear glass superimposed over the vast stretches of land and multitudes of buildings that looked golden under the bombardment of the relentless summer sunshine, from where he stood, everything seem to be within his reach.


    It felt like all he had to do was reach out and grab it.


    After his unorthodox proposal to Zhi Ruo, he was now thinking of where to start building his power, a power that would disregard petty politics and leave a legacy that would not be forgotten for centuries.


    "What are you looking at?"


    Zhi Ruo''s distant voice awoke him from his reverie, soon the beauty wearing a long red dress glided over and her faint reflection appeared in the glass next to Hartley''s, without saying a word Hartley watched as their reflections standing shoulder to shoulder in the spotless glasswere superimposed over the capital like deities looking down at their dominion.


    Zhi Ruo lingered by his side as she too stared at the breathtaking view,she quietly stood stock-still next to her fiancee with a feeling that no words were necessary.


    "Just thinking."


    Hartley replied after a while, then turned and planted a kiss on the forehead of the first lady of "House Hartley."


    It had been two weeks since the night of the banquet and most of the furore had died down, Hartley was now looking forward to setting down roots in the capital and begin his new journey.


    Commander Genk had come to see Hartley a week after the banquet, with a bright smile, the scruffy haired and broad chested man had broughta dozen bottles of wine and a letter from the prince, the letter had stated the prince''s intention to grant Hartely a hereditary fiefin the western part of the capital.


    Commander Genk had almost force-fed the cheap wine to Hartley in celebration, the man was so happy, it was like he was the one being granted a fief.


    Hartley could also tell that the commander had more to do with this decision than the man was willing to confess...


    After spending a limited amount of time with the commander, Hartley had figured out that the man truly cherished fighting strength and detested politics, even though he wasn''t stupid, Hartley had an inkling that the commander was a brawn over brain type.


    The land was granted to Hartley on the condition of him swearing fealty to Prince Jian and his fief was to be considered a reward for services already rendered, the letter also included the promise of a recall for Viscount Sanzu back to the capital.


    Hartley gave no objections to this news but he wasn''t jumping for joy either.... he was supposed to be one of Viscounts Sanzu distant relatives after all. All he could think, was that the sly bastard had actually achieved what he set out to do.


    All Hartley had to do was put his mark on the letter and it would be official.


    The decision of swearing fealty to the prince as a vassal or buying a medium manor and building his forces from scratch was weighing heavy on his mind, the truth was, Hartley didn''t know the first thing about administrative work or training troops, he had only concentrated on fighting his own battles and enhancing his own strength. Both situations had their pros and cons but what Hartley needed was time, so he had decided....


    Hartley stood looking over the humble manor, by his side was Zhi Ruo and Qin Li, they too stood with amazed faces as they looked at the rundown manor as if it was some kind of treasure.


    "What do yo think?" asked Commander Genk who stood to the side with a small troop of men twenty meters at his back.


    Hartley was quiet as he stared at a sight that warmed his heart, standing on a hilly bank where scattered tuffs of green grass dotted the brown earth, Hartley gazed at the distant hills erupting on the landscape like warriors protecting their domain.


    This was going to be his first home, he would have complete control of it and from here, he would start on the road to achieving his ambitions.


    "it''s perfect"


    Hartley replied to the big man, he breathed in the fresh crisp air as his eyes wandered over the peaks in the distance... .


    Hartley was now an official vassal under Prince Jian, he could now be shielded under the umbrella of the young prince, giving him time to gather his own strength, even at this stage he could be considered a powerhouse if he used his full strength but he had already made an enemy of the eldest prince and even though he would never settle for being a lackey, being a lone ranger in the circumstances would prove to be too troublesome and time consuming.


    His fief was in the western mountainous region which contained the coal mines of the captial , the revenue from these mines were to be split between the prince and House Hartley,even though it wasn''t a highly lucrative industry, Hartley still looked at it as the prince virtually giving away forty percent of his share because the prince would be taking sixty percent of the revenues as taxes.


    The previous person in charge of this region was a captain in the first legion imperial army who had been called back to the prince''s castle,Hartley was then handed the sprawling 50 acres of mines and flat lands to do with as he wished. This would come to be Hartleys first major base of operations, this land would pass to his sons and their sons cementing him as a permanent fixture in the capital.....


    The run-down manor sitting in the middle on the flat land was serving as the main building of the manor, several kilometers further back was the hilly and mine riddled back mountains, further to west were the crudely built wooden structures for theminers and their families and off to eastwas a underdeveloped forested area, commander Genk had mentioned that the forest on the east was infested with bandits, who used it as a concealed headquarters and the soldiers patrolling the area and securing the premises would remain as long as Hartley wanted them to.


    News of this spread quickly in the circles of aristocracy , people were stunned, the youth who had made a splash at the banquet for the younger generation, had received an official fief from the prince a week later, not only that, it wasn''t a fief in some back-water province.


    It was a fief in the western coal mining region of the capital. This made people sit up and take notice of the youth who everyone expected to be a major player in the affairs of the capital in the years to come.


    This was significant because anyone who knew the young prince knew that he had no time for dead weight, so everyone had to assume that the youth had enormous potential to have secured the prince''s favor.


    Yang Yi finally found a way to make himself useful, after the incident at the northern gate of the Cassia province, Hartley had hardly spoken a word to the man. Hartley had come to judge the man as a typical hanger-on, one who always wanted to partake in the benefits but would cowardly do anything to hide and secure their own life in the battle to obtain those benefits.


    Yang Yi knew a thing or two about administrative work and had quickly run around to get a crew of builders to rebuild the manor from the ground up, no one could have imagined that Hartley had so much gold coins and now he had found a reason to spend them. Hartley let Yang Yi handle a few errands as he was sure the man would return to Viscount Sanzu when he returned to the capital which would take a couple months at least.


    They spent the following days in the run-down manor and Hartley quickly found the gloom and doom of the miners, the serving staff and their families to be really uncomfortable. Hartley remembered seeing the same look of hopelessness in the eyes of the people in the small district at the foot of the hill leading to Windsor Peak castle.


    Having ordered the crude wooden structures to be rebuilt and replaced with proper stone buildings, Hartley was waiting for the work to start properly


    . He wasn''t the righteous type but the unhappiness that permeated through the whole manor was contagious, the whole place felt like everybody was trudging to the gallows to accept death.....


    Sure he could lock himself away, the solitude was nothing to him but this was a new beginning and with him about to get married, he wanted it to be a somewhat happy environment.


    Hartley had had a talk with the foreman of the miners who was an elderly white haired man, and told him of the plans to change the living conditions of people living and working in the region, the man had reacted rather unemotionally and underwhelmed, for him who had spent a lifetime digging in these mines, he had seen and heard too many lords come with these promises over the years in the hopes that the uneducated commoners would work even harder...


    Only as the weeks passed and the days grew shorter did the atmosphere begin to change as the people could see the crude wooden huts being knocked down and the foundations of stone structures were being dug..


    The summer passed quickly and the chilly winds of Autumn took its place....

 98 8th Layer

    There was muffled silence and stillness, Hartley''s quiet breaths were akin to thunder in these tranquil settings, in an open grass plane surrounded by large thick trees, Hartley with his hair now golden-blonde in color sat cross legged.


    Ever since gaining control of his inner world on Kang''s estate, he was able to enter it as himself and not a mini blue version of himself, the only difference between this Harley and the Hartley in the real world was his hair color.


    From a bird''s eye view, one could see jungles, mountains and rivers stretching for more than 3000 kilometers, this world, wild untamed, untouched and untainted by any other living being, had a bright blue star floating above it like a constant eye watching over everything.


    The bright blue glow radiated by the star, covered every inch of the land and reflected in Hartley''s piercing blue eyes which were unfocused in concentration. There was a deep rumbling from the ground beneath his feet, then came a whitish-blue glow around his body, its light sparkling and glittering making him look phantom-like in the blue-tinted world .


    In the real world Hartley''s body seem to be covered in ice-blue mist, it swirled and writhed around him as his hair danced up and down in the windless room. Hartley was within a room of the run-down manor, half of the manor had been knocked down and was in the process of being rebuilt, while the other shabby half was whereHartley, Zhi Ruo and Qin Li lived with some of the serving staff.


    The floor rumbled and the ceiling creaked, murmurs of panic and concern slowly spread through the manor but before matters could get out of hand, a calm returned to the room and the ice-blue mist dived back into Hartley''s body. He sat there unperturbed as peace and serenity returned to the manor, making those who were about to panic question if they had been hearing things in the night..


    Back in his inner world Hartley stood with a sparkling radiance surrounding him, he had finally stepped into the 8th layer of the xanthian realm, his physique had also been upgraded to the 5th layer of the xanthian realm.


    He could now be considered a genuine power-house in Aidonia and had transitioned from the 7th layer to the 8th layer in months, this was a feat only attained by others through decades of hard work and a commitment to long periods of closed door cultivation, it was no coincidence that those at the higher echelons of the xanthian realm on the Aldora continent were all elders sporting a head of white hair.


    Looking around at his inner world which felt more and more apart of his body, Hartley willed it to behave in the parameters of the outside world, this would serve him like a simulated training ground.


    He took a deep breath, raised his right hand and ice-blue lights swirled around it, it then stretched out like a light-saber taking the form of a sparkling straight bladed sword about 90 cm long, it looked no different from a blade produced on the anvil of a blacksmith.


    Hartley had been thinking about this since battling the young man from Sasko at the banquet, the man had used his flames to form a rough sword, it was a crude implementation but it gave Hartley an idea.


    Hartley then raised his left hand , ice-blue lights swirled once more then extended out to take the for form of a curved short blade about 40cm in length, once again this looked like a perfect blade and not an unstable interpretation of a blade, the blue blades made by his blue star essence looked like solid extension his hands.


    One of Hartley''s biggest advantage was the fact that he had infinite elemental powers, meaning the two swords could be used like normal swords with no fear of running out of power, he practiced a few slashes which produced whirring sounds then smiled.


    After an hour Hartley discovered that he could still change the characteristics of his elemental swords with gravity, by applying negative gravity he could make the blade as swift as the wind or by applying more gravity he could make the strike as heavy as a mountain falling from the sky, and the best part was that these elemental blades were strong enough to strike with 100x gravity applied without shattering to shards like a normal sword.


    Hartley struck out at a giant tree, with 100x gravity applied to the blade it shattered to dust with a boom, Hartley then willed the tree to reform and the wooden dust acted as if someone had pressed the rewind button on a dvd player and returned to its original form as if nothing had happened,


    he stopped then the blue blades disappeared with a flash.


    After further experiments he discovered his time domain, monochrome, could last 30 seconds and spread to cover 150 meters, his gravity field could extend 3 kilometers and could exert 125x normal gravity....


    The days came and went and soon the makings of a majestic castle-like manor began taking shape, Hartley had not cut corners on the cost and had invested over 50,000 gold coins, the manor was filled with an army of builders, busily moving back and forth, pounding, cutting and laying stones 10 hours a day.


    The residential area for the miners and their families was also beginning to take shape, some of the one story units were almost finished, there were smiles on people''s faces as kids in tattered clothes ran around playing while being scolded by their mothers not to disturb the builders, this was something unimaginable weeks ago.


    The gloom of the region had lifted and people were in high spirits, these commoners who served noble houses, sometimes have it worse than those in the Shanty towns erected outside the capital, they were usually at the mercy of the nobles and given the bare minimum to survive in order to boost the profits of the house, these people were seen as property of the noble houses that they served and at times treated worse than cattle.


    Hartley dressed in a black silk robe was walking hand in hand touring the premises with Zhi Ruo who was dressed in a long slim fitting green dress, Qin LI as usual was locked away in cultivation, this was the real beginning of their journey and Qin Li was determined to play a significant role.


    As they walked through the crowded walkways, the workmen and rag-clad commonersstepped aside for them, greeting them with a slight bow as they went by, armored soldiers were patrolling the forested area to the east, Hartley was intending to have a look at what those bandits were up to, but not yet.


    Touring the manor like royals Zhi Ruo smiled brightly at the people and would occasionally wave at some people Queen Elizabeth-style. Soon the white haired foreman came hobbling over,


    "my lord" he said as he ambled forward


    The chilly winds blew and ruffled his dirt stained robe, this time his eyes were bright with emotions


    he dropped down on a single knee in a knight''s salute, Crick! His back made an audible sound.


    His shoulders protesting in pain, age had crept up on him like an assassin in the shadows.


    Hartley stepped forward and hauled him up "there''s no need for that, what''s the matter?" the man glanced at the smiling Zhi Ruo, adjusted his dirty robe in a dignified manner before speaking nervously.


    " The last time I didn''t introduce myself properly, I hope I haven''t offended the young lord" Hartley waved his hand dismissing the thought, the man then continued with nervous mannerisms, "I"m Wong Lan, sir, the cold months are almost upon us and if you increase the working hours too much some of the men might not survive, we can work one extra hour per day anything more would be dangerous."


    The man had thought that since Hartley was investing and rebuilding the manor and even the residential area for the miners, he was definitely going to increase the working hours driving some of the men to their deaths.


    "Don''t worry about that, just operate as normal" Hartley smiled at the nervous elder, the man was startled, "thank you my lord" he said and was going to give a knight''s salute again, this time Hartley stopped him before he could start.


    "How long have you been here," Hartley asked "more than 30 years came the reply"


    "Do you know about the bandits in the east forest?" the man paused, sighed, then answered, "sir they are commoners who have run away from their duties with the nobles, no one will hire them so they resorted to banditry." Hartley mused... "Are they strong?" he asked "sir they soldiers used to say they are troublesome, whether that means they are strong or not I don''t know."


    "Thanks, come to the manor tomorrow and see Yang Yi, he will be dealing with the budget to get warm clothing for the winter." Before they man could convey his gratitude the handsome youth and the beautiful girl turned and left...

 99 Spatial cracks

    Under the twinkling stars of the night-sky a faint crisp autumn breeze blew across the scenery rustling the leaves on their stems and gently moving the shrubbery back and forth.


    The silence of the still night was suddenly broken by alow rumble, a spectrum of dark rioting colors erupted with a sharp thunder-like clap startling the nesting birds making them flee in panic, leaving behind loose leaves and colorful feathers fluttering down onto an empty grassland overlooking a small lake mirroring the crescent moon''s reflection on its surface.


    A person dressed in black emerged from the chaotic maelstrom of black energy a split second before it disappearedjust as suddenly as it had appeared , the person looked around in bafflement. "where is this?" he asked no one in particular as his head panned from side to side scouting out the strange terrain.


    After spendingten seconds in bewilderment surveying the surroundings, the person crouched like a tiger that was about to pounce on its prey, thentook a quick step forward, the ground exploded under his feet blurring his silhouette, the airflow around his body wobbled and distorted.


    Whoosh, with a flash of black, the fabric of space around the person shattered like glass as he stepped into the blackness once again and blinked out of existence as the dark energy disappeared without a trace, leaving tranquility behind once more....


    Since stepping into the 8th layer of the xanthian realm Hartley''s power had increased four folds, after countless experiments in his inner world he was using a spatial crack for long distance travel in the real world for the first time.


    In his inner world he had learned to open the spatial crack by moving forward with all his might, eventually he could do it with one single step forward instead of a running start like before,


    This was like colliding with the fabric of space itself and after practicing he could rip open the fabric of space with just a powerful first step.


    After opening the crack he would immediately engage his time domain, this would put him in a mesh-like tunnel which writhed with dark colors, everything would be frozen and colorless on the outside and the tunnel would function according to his will.


    He would then will the tunnel to go forward in a straight line while he used gravity steps to move forward like a light chasing after the tunnels exit, gravity steps was a movement technique he had invented way back in the Waltham province, it increased straight line speed exponentially and drastically reduced any resistance on his body.


    After countless experiments he had found that this movement technique of his own making, which he had abandoned because of its inability to maneuver in tight spaces was perfect for traveling long distances through a spatial crack.


    In his blue-tinted inner world he could move a thousand kilometers through the spatial crack before his time domain expired, and continue on for an extra ten seconds without the use of his time domain, because his 5th layer xanthian physique could now endure the atom-ripping pain the the spatial crack exerted on his body.


    What he didn''t know however was that a spatial crack''s inherent attribute would shorten distances in the real world, so tonight when he had used this self-made technique to travel a thousand kilometers through the spatial crack towards the Papine province.


    He had actually traveled two thousand kilometers in the real world, the simulations in his inner world hadn''t taken this enigma into account, that was a world where he set the parameters and had assumed that by traveling one kilometer in the spatial crack would be equal to traveling one kilometer in the real world.


    As a result he had over-shot his intended destination by a thousand kilometers.


    Oblivious to this fact Hartley had continued forward not sure what was going on, even though he could see the outside of the mesh-like tunnel, he was moving so fast that the black and white image outside the tunnel whizzed by without him being able to recognize a thing and he didn''t want to pop up in a populated area so he had chosen a route through the wilderness. Right now he was somewhere in the Cassia province.....


    There was another eruption of dark colors accompanied by low rolling rumbles and a thunderous crack, Hartley stepped out of the dark roiling spatial crack as it vanished, he was in the middle of nowhere, scaring the nocturnal animals half to death as they scampered away in panic.


    Hartley was just about to retrace his steps back to the capital and give up on the experiment when a voice sounded from nowhere and everywhere at the same time.


    "Hartley why are you floundering around like a fish on dry land, disturbing the animals and creating such a racket in the night?"


    Hartley who immediately recognized the voice, bowed from the waistand answered with an embarrassed smile.


    "Senior I was experimenting with spatial cracks and lost my bearings, I don''t even know where exactly I am."


    The laughter of Kang cackled out in the surroundings scaring away even more creatures.


    The man then appeared next to Hartley, there was no flashes of light, no thunderous clap in the air, no explosions on the floor, no nothing.... he just appeared as if he had been standing there all along. Hartley had to admire the elder''s skill and greeted him with a bow.


    The tall and slim white hair man who Hartley considered more of a father than anyone in this world, stood with his arms behind his back, looked Hartley up and down then shook his head and said, "Brute force!..... why are you always trying to peel an orange with a hammer?" shaking his head as if chastising Hartley.


    He then asked "How''s Qin Li and Zhi Ruo?"


    Hartley smiled, "they are alright senior, we''re just setting up in the capital, by spring we should be up and running.""Good." The man answered with a bit of pride on his face.


    Of course he had heard about Hartley''s performance at the banquet and he had been watching and ready to intervene when Hartley destroyed the spatial crack that gave Song Zemin a wicked backlash.


    "How long did it take you to reach this far?" Kang asked "about twenty minutes."


    Hartley replied, Kang was a little shocked but didn''t show it.


    "Good lets head back to my place for a cup of tea, we''re only five hundred kilometers away from my estate, you can be back in the capital before the first light of dawn,"


    It was Hartley''s turn to be shocked now, and he did show it on his features, never would he have imagined that he had made it so far out of the capital in twenty minutes and if he wasn''t so confused about what was happening, he would have been here far quicker.


    Kang reached out and grabbed Hartley''s shoulder and they both disappeared....

 100 Spell-weaving

    In Kang''s dimly lit carving room, Hartley sat across the wooden table from Kang holding a steaming cup of green tea, Kang helda cup of milk, swirling it around like a wine connoisseur before sipping the white liquid with childish satisfaction.


    Hartly couldn''t help but gaze at the view out the window as he sipped his tea and admired the silhouette of the pristine and serene estate, even in the darkness, Kan''s estate looked perfect without a single tree out of place.


    As he gulped down another mouth full of the sugarless tea, his mind wandered back to his experience of traveling with Kang through the spatial crack,with Kang touching his shoulder and creating an invisible bubble that negated the forces of the spatial crack on his body, they were like leaves blown by the wind as they weightlessly moved forward for two brief seconds, silently stepping out of the spatial crack and emerging in Kangs office.


    He noticed there wasn''t the chaotic riot of dark energy roiling and writhing inside the spatial crack made by Kang, the mesh-like tunnel was stable like he''d never seenbefore, he could barely pick out an obvious flaw as he imprinted the image in his mind.


    "You''ve made massive improvements since last time."


    Kang broke the silence as two candles sat at opposite ends of the wooden table ejected wedges of yellow light that danced rhythmically pushing back the shadows across the room.


    "Thanks to your guidance pointing me in the right direction ." Hartley replied.


    The white hair man laughed, then sighed.


    "It''s nothing to do with me, I think you are even more talented than my brother, you were going to figure those things out with or without me."


    Kang could still not believe how much the handsome youth had improved in a matter of a month or two, being able to use spatial cracks to travel long distances was a monumental achievement for any cultivator, usually it signified that one had stepped into the 9th layer of the xanthian realm and was on their way to being a saint. Before Hartley could say anything else Kang changed the subject.


    "Tell me what happened while traveling through the spatial cracks"


    Hartley recounted his experiences in the spatial cracks to Kang, obviously leaving out the parts about his time domain, the white hair man smiled, then placed his cup on the table. he then leaned forward with a quizzical look on his face.


    "You''ve got tremendous strength to be able to do what you did, but strength is not always the most suitable solution, most times a little finesse will take you much farther, why aren''t using your elemental power to assist you?Why are you always taking the battering ram approach?"


    Kang took another sip and placed his cup on the table again while Hartley had a sheepish embarrassed look, he wanted to slap his palm against his forehead, how could he not of thought of that..


    After that awkward pause, Kang then continued, "The closer you are to the Saint realm, the more important it is to find ways to gain maximum output from minimal effort.


    The more forceful you are, the more dark energy will be created in an attempt to counteract your actions. It''s a natural law as the plane will always seek to close spatial cracks and restore balance as soon as possible.


    Suddenly there were green lights swirling around Kang''s fist in a weird pattern, he pushed his fist gently forward and with a dull glow, his fist disappeared into the fabric of space without any disturbances or sounds, then reappeared in front of Hartley''s shocked face stopping an inch from making contact. "With practice and a little skill you can open spacial cracks without the black energy running too rampant."


    Kang retracted his fist, the candle light fluttered back and forth making the shadows dance over the walls and furniture.


    "You''re using pure brute force to shatter the fabric of space and causing the dark energy to behave in an unstable manner creating an almighty ruckus in the process.


    You won''t be sneaking up on anyone any time soon with that technique, try using a variation of the spiral circulation technique to slice through space instead of forcefully shattering it."


    He winked at Hartley and giggled, "that''s the finesse part and once you get the hang of it, you can glide through a spatial crack with the least amount of resistance."


    Kang then went on to explain the intricacies of traveling in a spatial crack with Hartley rapt at attention.


    "The stronger you are and the more efficiently you can travel through a spatial crack, decreases the ratio of distance in the crack compared to the outside world.


    The default ratio of a spacial crack is one to two.


    Meaning for every one meter you travel in the spacial crack equates to two meters in the outside world.


    The efficiency risesnaturally with one''s strength, but once you increase your efficiency traveling in the spatial crack,the distance traveled in the outside world increases even if your strength doesn''t, from what you have described I would assume your are traveling at a ratio of one to two, this is the worst efficiency possible and you''ll be fighting the dark energy every step of your journey."


    Kang took a sip of his milk while giving Harley a mocking look, the same look Hartley gave Qin Li whenever they sparred.


    " But if you increase your strength enough and learn to travel efficiently through the crack, you can in theory travel thousands of kilometers with only a single step through a spacial crack....."


    A question popped into Hartley''s mind and he asked it without reservations. "Can anyone control dark energy?"


    Kan paused, he made a quick gesture with his right hand as if drawing a letter in the air, the symbol that took shape a second later looked like a Chinese letter, it turned into a bright white sphere and illuminated the whole room as it floated towards the ceiling, then stopped and hovered.


    Hartley was slack jawed watching it.He had never seen or heard about anything like this before.


    "My brother once went tothe barren lands in the east, when he came back he told me of an ancient beast-men tribe who weren''t born with any elemental affinity, instead they used something called Spell-weaving to control all elements, it''s possible they can even control the dark energy, though I don''t know for sure."


    "That," Kang pointed at the bright source of light floating below the ceiling,"is a simplelight rune from spell-weaving, my brother taught me it along with the wind runes imprinted on the carriage I gifted you."


    Kang waved his hand and the light disappeared returning the room to being dimly lit by candles which left the room dark and gloomy compared to the impressive light rune.


    "The secret details of my brother''s adventure, I will share with you when you have enough strength." Kang concluded with a clap of his hand.


    The conversation went on as Kang imparted more technical knowledge to Hartley. A while later the conversation ended and Hartley bid his farewells to Kang.


    After leaving Kang''s estate the night was still dark, the sky had a crescent moon sitting high and the cool autumn breeze brushed against his face.


    Hartley couldn''t stop thinking about Spell-weaving, the concept of controlling and manipulating an element that you haven''t cultivated from birth blew his mind and not just one, all!


    The possibilities and uses for a power like that seemed endless, he pushed the thought to the back of his mind and stretched his awareness to its maximum of three kilometers and made his way into a secluded forested area where there were no fierce beasts lurking.


    He climbed up a tree, sat cross legged and entered his inner world...


    Fifteen minutes later his eyes flicked open with a flash of blue, he jumped down and landed in a patch of grass soaked in night-dew, he crouched in the posture he used to rip open the fabric of space and stepped forward.


    A thin sparkling ice-blue layer of mist covered his body and rotated around him like storm clouds, making his silhouetteindistinct and hazy under the dim light of the crescent moon, as his right foot touched the ground, rivulets of clear sparkling dew pooled into droplets as big as a bean and floated half meter around his body.


    With a dull blue glow and a gentle whooshing sound Hartley melted away leaving an empty space with a deep footprint and swirling leaves...


    This time when he entered the spatial crack he didn''t immediately engage his time domain, the mesh like tunnel seem calm and tranquil compared to before, it was nowhere near as stable as Kang''s but there were no riot of dark colors writhing and roiling in chaos.


    Kang had thought Hartley was just smashing forward through a crude spatial crack with just strength but the truth was that Hartley wouldn''t be able to move 100 meters in his former space crack without his time domain but now the exertion on his body was less than a half of what it used to be, it was still painful but actually bearable for a while.


    Hartley''s mouth curved into a smile...


    Moving at a ratio of one to four, Hartley flew pass the Papine province like a shooting star over the horizon and had to stop multiple times and re-calibrate his bearings to make sure he didn''t overshoot the capital.


    He felt a sense of freedom he hadn''t felt before, it was like the country of Aidonia was a door that had just been opened to him and nowhere was out of his reach..


    Walking over a ridge Hartley stared out at the flat lands stretching towards the green mountains, he walked slowly towards a half built manor with a bear embroidered in white on a black flag that fluttered in the breeze, the sky turned to a light blue color signifying the coming of a new dawn.

 101 Negotiations

    The cold wind blew at his face as Hartley guided his horse to a full trot through the groves of trees flanking both sides of the winding narrow path, the majestic creature''s black shiny mane flowed in the swirling wind that brought flecks of snow down to the earth on what was a grey overcast day.


    The black horse that was almost one and a half meters tall, exposed visible smoke-like condensation of its breaths in the cold air as it trekked through the claustrophobic trees .


    It effortlessly strode over the bumpy terrain that was lightly dusted white with a thin layer of snow.


    Loud clopping noises could be heard in the relatively quiet forest as its hooves made contact with the random stones embedded in the ground.


    This was the east forest of Hartley''s fief, today he was personally patrollingthe area, hehad ventured into the forest in hopes of finding and recruiting the runaway commoners who had turned to banditry in order to form a security force for House Hartley.


    Commander Genk had left his men posted at the manor and patrolling the area but they couldn''t stay forever, Hartley had to find his own solution eventually.


    The heavy winter snows would arrive soon and in desperation for resources bandit activities were bound to rise.


    Instead of having them harassing the citizens of his fief, he might as well recruit them, if they were not willing to be recruited and still insisted on harassing the people, he had to eradicate them....


    Stretching out his awareness to 3 kilometers Hartley made his way into the heart of the forest towards his targets .


    After another fifteen minutes the trees gave way to a plateau carpeted by weeds and shrubbery, there was a settlement of a half dozen crude tents made from fierce beast pelts off in the clearing.


    People on the plateau were suddenly spooked by the clopping hooves headed in there direction.


    "Stop!" came an order as a man dressed in what can only be described as rags shivered from the cold as he aimed an unsteady old almost antique crossbow at Hartley.


    Movements behind the man flashed into Hartley''s vision as the people in the tents began scrambling out frantically to support the lone man stood before Hartley.


    "How many people are there here?" Hartley asked the scraggy man, unconcerned with what was happening behind him..


    The man scowled,


    "None of your business, we''re not going back. Go back and tell whoever sent you that you din''t find us."


    Soon the man was joined by a rag tag bunch of under-dressed misfits armed with second-hand weapons from bent spears to rusty swords.


    Ignoring them, Hartley''s eyes focused on a big tent almost twice the size of the others in the center of the plateau, there had been no movement from within the tent, even with all the disturbance, no one alighted to check out the situation.


    Hartley smoothly dismounted from the black horse.


    The scraggy man took a step back looking seriously at theyouth before him, the quiver of his hands holding his crossbow betrayed the nervousness that his stern face tried to hide.


    With a bright flash, a wave of ice-blue mist spread out blinding the scraggy man and those rushing to his aid, dust and snow swirled in the air sending a cold wind against the man''s face.


    When the man opened his eyes the young man dressed in black was nowhere to be seen.....


    There was a slight ripping sound in the air,a hazy blue mist rotating vertically end over end appeared in the big tent.


    The swirling lights disappeared with a flash leavinga handsome youth standing in the middle of the tent.


    Two people gawked as they shuffled back,the sight almost paralyzed them with fear.


    Amiddle age man dressed in a descent robe compared to the others,rushed tohis left and stood defensivelyin front a younger woman.


    "Who are you?"the panicked man shouted with his arms outstretched to the sides shielding the brunette woman behind him.


    Hartley smiled.


    "I''m the new Lord of the western mountains,".....


    The man was Fu Qian and the woman was his daughter, they had fled from a noble house because the young lord wanted to have improper relations with his daughter.


    He was somewhat of a good fighter so he had banded together with others who had also fled from the land of nobles and formed a small bandit gang, they made their base deep in the thick forest and used gorilla tactics to stave off the constant harassment of soldiers who came looking for them.


    Since Fu Qian was the leader, Hartley offeredhim and the others the job of securing House Hartley for fair pay. Fu Qian was no fool, that demonstration by the young lord showed him what the alternative might be if he refused.


    ....


    Days went by with Hartley working behind the scenes to develop his fief, the days soon grew colder with snow flutteringwildly through the air.


    A black flag with a bear stood proudly on its hind legs , flapped vibrantly in the cold winds atop a castle-like three story manor whichstill had a few builders apllying the finishing touches to the building...


    This was the flag of House Hartley.


    Commander Genkand Anguo Chen showed up to the manor soon after, they brought a request from Prince Jian for Hartley to accompany the commander to a meeting about anaffiliate country under Aidonia''s rule.


    The affiliate country named Tivoli was a country rich with gemstone mines, the small country wasnear the region of the barren lands, locked between another affiliate country and the seacalled the East Gulf,the country had lacked military strength and had chosen to be an affiliate country under Aidonia''s rule a long time ago.


    Behind the scenes representatives from Sasko had stirred up the internal feud between the king of Tivoli andhis brother who was married to a noble woman from Sasko.


    Backed by experts from Sasko masquerading themselves as citizens of Tivoli.


    The king''s brotherwas trying to overthrow the king and change the allegiance of the country, his troops had made a push to capture the capital and was fended off by the loyal troops still at the king''s side but with the meddling from Sasko, who knows how long they would hold the capital.


    Of course Prince Jian couldn''t allow this to happen.....


    A cold wind blew, ruffling hair, robes and dresses, after alighting from a carriage Hartley stood before a grand castle. Soldiers patrolledwith their feet crunching on the ground in unison as they made their rounds around the grand grounds. Not far away, Anguo Chen and Commander Genk stepped from another carriage.


    This was the castle of Baron Hongtian situated in the central regions of the capital, as the group entered the grand hall, they were greeted by the twinkling lights from chandeliers mounted in the high ceilings.The hall was already filled with elders representing the two princesand delegates sent form Sasko.


    Hartley made his way to the seats where the groupsat with the commander and his subordinates.


    .


    All parties were at the negotiation table to have peaceful talks as a last resort before turning the country of Tivoli to a war zone for the prominent countries to duke out their differences. Tivoli had become a subtle pawn for thosewho had controlling interests in the natural resources of the country.


    The youngprince had put the commander and a few elders in charge of the negotiations and had asked for the commander to bring Hartley along and ease him into the politics of the capital and the three prominent countries.


    Present were representatives of the eldest prince as well as people from the country of Sasko.


    What ensued was a passionate discussion about the state of affairs in Tivoli.


    The representatives from Sasko insisted that the internal strife should play itself out and let Tivolidecide who they wanted to pledge their allegiance to after the fall out.


    Commander Genk who was opposed to that notion stood up and stated that the country is under the protection of Aidonia and will be protected at all cost, whether they accepted or not..


    "It''s obvious that people from Sasko have infiltrated the country and are putting pressure on the king." Commander Genk had slammed his hand on the table and blurted out vociferously rebuking those representatives from Sasko.


    Baron Hongtian who was representing the eldest prince didn''t care either way, though he would never outright betray his country, he was quite alright with putting up as much road blocks as he could for the youngest prince so he stayed neutral throughout.


    If the young prince lost the country of Tivoliand the revenue stream thatcame with it, thatwould be a damning indictment on his leadership, how could people confidently back him to be the next King of Aidonia in the coming years if he was shown to be incompetent.


    Hartley had been bored out of hismind this whole time watching grown men bicker like children, that was when Commander Genk turned and asked for Hartley''s opinion.....


    "Justgo and quell the unlawful rebellion taking take place and let the rightful king decide the future course of his country,the last time I checked which was this morning, the Flag of Aidonia was still flying over the capital. What right have outsiders got to intervene in our affairs.?" All this was said nonchalantly by Hartley as if it was the simplest thing in the world.


    Commander Genk who had been around politics and politicians for so long that he had almost forgotten what honesty looked like, smiled broadly while saying,


    "good lets go and have a look for ourselves, why not?".


    The delegates from Sasko seethed with hatred upon realizing who Hartley was and what he had done,they flashed him looks of hatred, what had happened at the banquet was considered a national shame. Elder Langzu had been severely punished for losing a promising cultivator and losing face in front of all three prominent countries....


    The meeting ended and everyone was heading out, some disappointed and some happy. Hartley wasn''t sure how to feel, he was only there on the request of Prince Jian.


    After leaving the Hall Hartley was making his way back to his carriage with commander Genk a few meters to his left, a young man from the Sasko delegation hurried to catch up to the black haired youth as he walked outside and intothe swirling snow.


    "One day I will wipe the the shame from our country with your blood," a young man dressed in a green robe scowled at Hartley from behind.


    Hartley was a true powerhouse now, he had no time for these immature ramblings, he turned, lifted his palm and used gravity attract, the manwas pulled to him like he wassteel and Hartley''s palm a magnet.


    The young man had Hartley''sstrong vice-like hand wrappedaround his throat lifting him off his feet before he even knew what was going on.


    Hartley put his face right up to within an inch of the young man''s face and spoke. "Show, don''t tell, a simple premise most struggle with, go home and molest your maids, this is the real world where strength speaks loudest."


    As he dashed the young man aside. He rolled away in a tangled heap of legs and arms through a patch of wet mud, when the now dirty young man came to a stop, he glared at Hartley with an evil scowl with his green robe looking more like brown.


    The guardian of the young man, who was an expert assigned to protect the man from the shadows, flashed forward towards Hartley in a blur, a vicious smile bloomed on the young man''s face as he had expected such an event, then after a blue flash, Boom!


    There was a rain of blood as the mystery guardian transformed into abloody mist that splashed across the face of young the man, staining him and the snow scarlet.


    The young man trembled in fright as splatters of blood decorated his face and pieces of flesh clogged his hair, turning his morbidtwisted scowl into a look of fright and fear.

 102 Setting Sail

    People scrambled to see what the commotion that was happening outside was about, what they saw was a young man covered in blood sat on the ground slack-jawed staring at Hartley in a trance as if he was hypnotized. Lines of sweat crawled down his forehead, raced over his brows and ran down his jaws in the low temperature outside the castle.


    A bushy eyebrow-ed elder rushed forward from the delegates of Sasko and stood in front of the frightened young man, he stared at Hartely with a menacing look,


    "You will pay for that," he said through gritted teeth, the man who was about 1.6 meters in height clasped both hands in front of his chest.


    The wind in the surrounding swirled around him like a tornado howling and whipping up the snow in a white funnel-like shape.


    "You dare!" came the voice of Commander Genk, his muscles bulged ashis broad body turned stone-like, he made his way forward, every step thundered against the ground like an earthquake, sending dirt and snow bouncing up and downon the surface of the floor then a gleamingtwo handed sword as big as a door appeared in his hands, the sword produced gust of winds to counteract the elder as he brought it forward like a lumberjack chopping wood.


    Dull light reflected off the metallic armor of the guards as they rushedto the area of the disturbance, just as the situation threatened to spiral out of control, there was a blinding yellow flash in the empty space between commander Genk and the elder from the Sasko delegates, a man who seemed to be made entirely from fire appeared engulfed in a yellow light, the snow on the floor melted away with a harsh sizzling soundforming a column of steam that rose quickly towards the sky, exposing the cobbled surface of the ground underneath his feet as the heat flashed outwards and over all present at the melee.


    Everyone paused for a moment, the soldiers then quickly retreated and cordoned off the area, keeping everyone at a safe distance, a din of discussions broke outandthe chorus of distant voices could be heard vaguely. Commander Genk stood his ground and the bushy hair elder stopped gathering wind elements.


    The man surrounded by fireslowly revealed himself as the fire around him gradually dispersed.Aman with the look of an experienced warrior appeared, the tall man had a white streaks in his hair andstood in the middle of the fracas separating both sides, looking dignified with his hands behind his back, the man was dressed inwhite and not a single speck of snow swirling down from the grey sky landed on his robe as his eyes surveyed the scene.


    Every single member of the delegates from Sasko sported twisted scowls of hatred on their faces.


    "What''s gong on? the expert in middle asked.


    The young man wearing a dirty green robe stained with blood sat on the ground while pointing a shaky index finger towards Hartley unable to get out any words due to his uncontrollable fright.


    "This animal butchered a memberour group right in front of us, thesafety ofour group was guaranteed by the prince, we demand equal punishment,"the bushy browed elder barked atthe new person on the scene. Hartley was unperturbed, he just stood smiling at the young man, at this point Hartley didn''t fear anyone below the saint realm.


    "Let me clear this up, elderXialong," said Commander Genk in a respectful manner as he greeted the man with a formal bow.


    Sir Xialong was a half saint representingPrince Jian, he wasn''t present at the meeting but he was watching over the surroundings to make sure nothing untoward happened.


    Commander Genk shouted for Anguo Chen who immediately forced his way forward.


    "Get me a list of the delegates present at the meeting," he ordered


    "Yes sir" Anguo Chen hurried back into the castle returning a short while later with the information, he handed the parchment to the Commander. Upon glancing quickly through the list Commander Genk smiled at the elder from Sasko.


    Commander Genk theatrically counted every member of the delegate from Sasko with his index finger, then counted off the names on the parchment in the same manner.


    "Fourteen! there are fourteen names on the list and there are fourteen delegates standing here, whoever that person was, he wasn''t on the official list of delegates, for all I know he could have been a spy smuggled in to infiltrate the meeting." Commander Genk said all this in an accusing tone..


    The faces of those from Sasko went sour, the man that was miserably punched to death was an elder assigned by the young man''sclan to protect him at all times. Just as the commander had said, his name wasn''t on the official list of delegates because he wasn''t there to take part in the meeting, he was there in the role of a body guard to his young master, it was a catastrophic oversight.


    "What?" the bushy browed elder from Sasko could not believe his ears.


    "If he''s not a delegate then his safety wasn''t guaranteed by the Prince, we have no idea who the man was or his intentions, I think this matter should end hereelder Chenglei." Elder Xialong said these words with a serene expression as if his statement were law before Elder Chenglei could go off on a tirade.


    The bushy browed elder Chenglei was so outraged that his hands started to tremble, he couldn''t even find words to utter. He grabbed the young man by his collar, hauling him up from the floor, turned and left with the rest of the delegates chasing to catch up to him.


    Elder Xialong took a long look at Hartley who showed no sign of being intimidated, the elder then disappeared in a flash of yellow.


    "That was a bit reckless," said commander Genk to Hartley, "you''ve slapped the faces of the people from Sasko yet again and gained yourself another life-long enemy, you have to be careful."


    "I''m sorry for troubling you," said Hartley with a formal bow.


    "Non-sense," Commander Genk said with a wave of his hand, "be prepared to travel to Tivoli withme, I''m sure the Prince will want you there."The big man bid Hartley good bye then boarded his carriage.


    Hartley looked back at Baron Hongtian who was watching from the entrance of his castle with a sneer, Hartley gave him a smile in return. He could tell the man had made no effort in controlling the actions of the delegates, in fact him taking such a passive approach, actively encouraged it. Hartley boarded his carriage and left.....


    Hartley and Zhi Ruo walked in, arms locked as they moved across the tiled floor in thereceiving hall on the first floor. Zhi Ruo''s movements was elegant and ghost-like making no sound as she lithely moved beside Hartley.


    She had finally broken through to the 2nd layer of the xiantian realm. Her skin now looked as tender and supple as a newborn, the red hair beauty smiled at the lustful glances from Hartley.


    Qin Li sporting a scraggly beardwas looking around the hall in wonder, high windows let a shower of natural light pour onto the grey tiles, chairs and tables huddled together in the corner of the room and a raised platform at the end of the hall hada long table clustered with vases and trinkets.


    The manor of House Hartley was finally finished and Zhi Ruo had added all her feminine charms to the decorations. Knowing that her wedding was coming up soon, Zhi Ruo was as frantic getting the manor looking just right.


    Hartley left Zhi Ruo to make decisions about the manor and Qin Li to make decisions about the security, he was in the midst of preparations for leaving the country of Aidonia for the first time.


    Hartley spent the next three days cooped up with Zhi Ruo who seem to have more energy than ever, On the fourth day he flashed to the Cassia province to meet Commander Genk who had prepared a ship with two thousand troops to make the journey to the affiliate country of Tivoli..

 103 Tivoli

    The rough seas roiled andlashed against the bow of the ship, winds ruffledand buffeted the swollen sails and the stern of the huge ship produced a broadfoamy wake stretching behind in the sea spitting out glinting white sprays.


    Droplets of cold water drenchedthe well drilledsailors wearinghooded thick waterproof robes , they were skillfully dragging ropes up and down the deck adjusting the sails on the main mast as the fat bearded captain overlooked from the bridge shouting out orders.


    Shrieking seagulls circling in the distance added to the voice of the loud baritone captainandthe sounds of the crashing waves weaved together to form the chaotic ambient sounds of the open sea.


    Three ships packed with menand supplies were headed east under fluffy grey clouds, the sky hada sliver of wintry sunshine struggling topeak out through the billowing greys,sending a soft yellow light glisteningoff the rippling surface of the violent swells.


    The ship lurched forward pitching and rollingas it cut through a barrage of waves, making Hartley unsteady on his feet. He had been on this journey only for a few hours and had yet to get used to the constant sea-saw motions , his stomach churned,threateningto disobey him and barf up its content every time the ship swayed and yawed.


    The bulky commander Genk smiled at Hartley''s obvious discomfort, dressed in a casual loose fitting black robe, he consoled as Hartley''s face lost its color.


    "Don''t worry it takes a few hours for everyone to find their sea legs, although some people never get used it no matter how much time spent on the ocean but I''m sure you''ll get over it soon."The man patted Hartley on his back not seeming to be affected by the unsteady ship and quickly strolled off pointing at people andbarking gruff orders.


    Hartley who had never been on the sea before inhaled the crisp sea breeze and was blown away by the grey violent seas stretching in every direction making it look endless until the line on the horizon met the sky.


    The ship was busy with men organizing equipment and making preparations, some sharpening swords, some shining their armor and some checking crossbows. Their seem to be always something to be done and the soldiers were always busy.


    Baron Hongtian sent a battalion of his men under instruction from the eldest prince on one of thethe supply ship. The men would be under the command of captian Bojin.


    Commander Genk had no choice but to accept the prince''s contribution knowing that it had more to do with politics than good intentions, if they swept away the opposing forces then it could be said that the eldest prince had contributed to the effort, if they lost then the eldest prince could say he only sent a small number of troops in support, the onus was on commander Genk and Prince Jian.


    The journey would take five days and on the second day Hartley had gotten used to the constant movement of the ship as he started to move freely around, he was given a private cabin by commander Genk which he used to cultivate and rest in preparation for the upcoming events.


    Finally on the fifth day the shipped reached the port, this was the largest port in the Tivoli situated just three kilometers outside the capital..Standing on-board the ship he could see the busy workers moving countless wooden boxes and barrels. Hartley was relieved to see the large port, even though he had gotten used to the ship he still preferred to be on land.


    Mooring lines were thrown out and the ship was pulled in and maneuvered carefully until docked at the pier.After docking the men smoothly moved out from the ships and went to secure the outer perimeter of the pier in case a sneak attack was mounted while the supplies were being unloaded. This caused minor scuffles with some soldiers and the disgruntled pier workers but the situation was resolved quickly.


    The men stayed for a day on pierto unload the supplies and men from the other ships.


    The next morning two thousand menwearing bright gleaming silver and red armor branded with theinsignias of the princes of Aidonia marched towards the capital drawing the attention of all the citizens as men walked four abreast through the tiny roads sending the place buzzing with a clamor of onlookers bursting with excited chatter.


    Out here in the east, with the deserts of barren landsonly three or four days ride away, the grip of winter''s icy hand weren''t as tight on the region as it was in Aidonia.The temperature was low but the snow was sparse.


    The countrylooked unassuming and un-threatening, filled with stone houses the color of dust, peoplewere rushing outside to get a glimpse of the army from the prominent country they were aligned to, a sight some would never hope to see in their entire lifetime..


    The drumbeat of horses clompingagainst the ground rang out as men on foot marched in front and men perched on horses rode at the back, it took a couple hours for the men to approach a


    weathered wooden bridge sagged across a narrow river splitting the north from the south and beyond it squatted dozens of gray stone buildings with a bushy treeline to the left.


    Having received urgent reports from the scouts, they found out that their was major suspicious movements in the surrounding area.


    Commander Genk didn''t want to get bogged down, he wanted to reach the capital as soon as possible so he was pushing towards the capital not wanting a premature battle.


    Hartley pulled up to the side of commander Genk, They were mounted on horses at the back watching the men cross.


    "Commander there is major movement coming our way from the front and off to the right." said Hartley in his ear.


    "Hurry up and get everyone across," Commander Genk barked his order, since they had already started crossing the bridge he didn''t want his troops to be split on both sides of the river.


    He then sent runners to front with orders for the men to prepare to defend. The men drew their weapons arranged themselves in a tight diamond formation, swarming the grey stone buildings for the best positions.


    When everyone made it to the other side of the river Commander Genk noticed Baron Hongtian''s men were nowhere to be seen.


    "Where is captain Bojin?" commander Genk asked livid with rage. they were in charge of securing the right flank.


    "He and his men have remained across the bridge sir" came the answer from one of the scouts.


    "Guard the eastern flanks" commander Genk shouted to his men, almost at the same time clashes of metal and desperate screams from injured or dying men came flooding from the right.


    Soon after, another scout came running "commander the right flank has been besieged by armored infantry they won''t hold for much longer."


    Commander Genk bristled with gritted teeth, "take two squads and reinforced the right flank he barked at one of his captains."


    As the captain was about to answer Hartley chimed in "let me take a look," the commander gave Hartley a grave look, Hartley answered it with a smile, "commander I will be ok, we can retreat if things turn bad."


    Commander Genk nodded.


    On horse back Hartley led two squads over to the right, when they were a hundred meters away what greeted Hartley was the sight of limbs and blood splayed randomly on the flat rocky terrain running parallel to the river,the two opposing forces were locked in an intense battle of life and death, commander Genk''s men were being pushed back gradually and about to be over run.


    Wait here, Hartley instructed the two puzzled squad leaders, then rushed ahead.The right flank had been decimated, there were only a few hundred men there fighting for their lives in desperate attrition while retreated slowly.


    The men were being swamped by numbers, some could see their fate and were trying to take an enemy with them, determined to make the enemy pay a cost in exchange for their lives.


    "Retreat" came a voice from their backs as two black lights flew into the crowd of enemy infantry men. The black lights whistled and curved as if they had a mind of their own, each place the light passed, there was a spray of red then followed the wailing scream of a soldier.


    The leaf-blade throwing knives were slicing through the enemy, forcing them to abandon their attack relieving the pressure on the retreating soldiers of Aidonia.


    As the relieved men retreated thankful for their lives, Hartley dismounted and sped pass them into the ranks of the assaulting troops.


    Hartleyapplied his gravity field, the force of 100x gravity that slammed down onto the earth shook the ground and everything seemed to quake.....Blarg! blood was ejected from the mouths of many soldiers dressed in metallic armor that were being crushed like cans.


    The screams of a thousand men rang out in horror, a chorus of misery flew from their throats in unison like a church choir in perfect harmony.


    The weakest had suffered from broken bones and internal injuries and were puking out blood and wallowing around on the floor unable to get up, some were staggering about in chaos trying to escape regardless of the direction even jumping into to river and sinking to the bottom in full suits of armor, while a few were still operating normally.


    A blue flash darted into the troops of men and the miserable shrieks got worse. Hartley moved as quick as light executing those staggering around, then turned his attention to those still able to move normally, the helpless and broken were laid flat against the ground wailing and moaning with their dying breaths.


    .Haiyuan was the commander from Sasko in charge of the King Brother''s troops. The reports of the calamity happening on the right flank quickly reached his ears.


    What? one man, echoes of astonishment rippled through his command tent.

 104 Carnage

    When the screaming and moaning died down to reveal the landscape, hundreds of men dressed in either leather or black metallic armor laid dead in wide eyed terror. The broken bodies of men were scattered across the land next to the river in a gruesome display of Aidonia''s might.


    In the end the appalling aftermath of the battle sent shivers through even the two squads posted a hundred meters away who had rushed over with Hartley. They could only stand slack-jawed as they witnessed the brutality of the scene.


    The shattered remnants of the rebel army tried to make their escape back into the treeline in groups of twos and threes, they trampled over the fallen banner of Duke Zixin (the king''s brother) that had beenheld proudly aloft as they had marched to destroy the enemy, now without a shred of concern, the footprints of desperate men desecratedthe dignity of that very sameflag as they skipped pass the bloody remnants of the flag-bearers in a bid to preserve their own lives.


    In the ensuing chaos mensankto the bottom of the river after opting to swim to the other side before the unknown butcher could put them to the sword. The loss of life and moral had broken the minds of the survivors. None of them cared where they were headed as long as it was not anywhere near here.


    The members of the first legion army broke from their stupor as the rebel army made a frantic attempt at escape, stood a hundred meters away,the two squads got into a spread formation andshowered the retreating rebels with a hail of crossbow bolts making the miserable retreat even worse.


    There was a group dressed in black metallic armor carrying shiny long swords clanking towards the forest, desperately trying to make their way into the tree line along with the rest of survivors who were scattered like ants dotted around the battlefield, in their tunnel vision, all they could see was the safety of the forest.... then whoosh!... a blue blur assaulted them from behind.


    They didn''t even see the lethal blow before fallingto their deaths, their helmeted heads rolling and clanging in random patterns as blood gushed against the rocky ground.


    This motivated the others making their escape to no end, they increased their speed not even daring to look back. The meticulously planned ambush collapsed into disarray as men screaming like little girls made their escape in every direction not even caring about the fierce beasts loitering in the forest.....


    The captain who had led the assault was mounted on a white horseat the edges of the tree line watching as half ofhis troops scattered in chaos and the other half laid motionless, the screams of the soldiers writhing in agony still echoed in his ears even though those screams had long since gone quiet.


    Stood beside him were six body guards, every single one in the 7th layer of the xiantian realm. All of these men were from Sasko and they all sported the same looks of anger, trepidation and confusion.


    "Captain lets fall back and regroup, these soldiers from Duke Zixin are not dependable, lets make a report to commander Haiyuan."said one of the bodyguards, he was a middle age man dressed in a red robe that looked out of place on a battle field, it was almost as if he was dressed for a casual walk in the park.


    The captain mused for a while then gritted his teeth, "Yes I think you might be right, bring me the head of that guy then lets head back."At least he could bring back a trophy in this catastrophic failure he thought to himself. The person didn''t seem to be giving strong fluctuations, he might just be a level or two stronger than these worthless soldiers.


    What they had witnessed from their rear position on the battlefield was someone nonchalantly walking through the stumbling troops and cutting down people like weeds.


    Hearing the terror of the men they could only assume that the men provided by the Duke were too weak.


    The man dressed in a red robe flashed away towards the figure dressed in black who was still harassing and killing the hapless soldiers as they tried to make their escape....


    "It ends here." the man stated, he was a bit surprised when the figure turned around revealing youthful features and a cold blue stare.


    Brandishing a rank 5 spirit weapon billowing with heat the man dressed in redwas seeking to end the battle quickly so he could retreat to safety with the captain before their identities were exposed.


    Heat swirled off the blade as the sword burned yellow. From about ten meters away the sword lashed forward bringing a sweltering heat to the cold winter day, a couple soldiers that were being chased by Hartley turned to ash and blew away as the yellow lights from the sword brushed pass them....


    The yellow sword light streaked towards the youth, then suddenly the rocky ground exploded under his foot as the calm youth took a step forward with his left foot and disappeared in a rumble, the space around him had rippled and imploded with a thunderous flash of black energy. The youth reappeared behind the man with two sparkling blue elemental swords in hand as the space rippled and cracked with black chaotic energy, shocking the man who had already committed to his strike and could only raise his yellow elemental armor from his waist to his neck but it wasn''t enough to save him.


    A horizontal slash from high-right to high-left with the short sparkling sword in the left hand of the youth crashed through his armor and sent the man''s head flying with a blue flash.


    Then a lightning quick downward vertical strike from his long sword in his right hand split the man''s head vertically in two equal portions. Blood gushed from the neck of the fallen body then the head separated in two and went in opposite directions. The yellow sword went clanging and skittering across the rocky surface of the ground, the figure walked towards the sword and it disappeared into his space ring.


    "What the?" The startled captain couldn''t believe his eyes, then there was a flash of what appeared to be blue mist around the figure in the distance, in a split second there was a ripping sound like someone pulling a zipper, the air rippled and a circular ice-blue mist appeared before their very eyes spinning end over end.


    A figure dressed in black stepped forward and the mist disappeared with a dull flash. Gravity attract... one bodyguard involuntarily came flying towards Hartley and was greeted with a booming right handed punch,two blue flashes strobed from the compressed circulation technique and the bodyguard exploded like a balloon filled with blood, not even given a chance to scream.


    Blood splattered and the white horse that the captain sat on, whinnied in fright and railed up onto its hind legs throwing him to the ground as the blood stained horse tried to make its own escape.


    The color then bled from the world as Hartley transitioned into his time domain immediately and everyone was frozen with panic stricken faces, the world around them turned monochrome then two sparklingblue elemental swords reappeared in Hartley''s palm with a flash.


    Whoosh!....Time restarted and two more heads went flyingspraying blood everywhere like an out of control fire-truck hose, the majestic white horse neighed and galloped off into the distance.


    The three men remainingfinally saw a glimpse of the person dressed in black, looking at the youth''s face, they finally felt the gut wrenching terror the soldiers had experiencedbefore them, those cold piercing blue eyes with not a single shred of emotion sent shivers down their spines.


    Drenched in blood, what the captain had witnessed on the battlefield all started to make sense, all he could think about was escaping with his life, similar to the thoughts of the soldiers under his command that were scampering off in every direction like a bunch of rats who were confronted by a cat.


    "Captain fall back!."A body guard shouted before launching himself at the threat, before he could take two steps forward the earth quaked and trembled, a gravity field measuring 60g''s slammed down entrapping the three men.


    The captain screamed in terror as his bones fractured with snapping sounds and he was forced face down into the rocky ground puking a mouthful of blood, the two 7th layer xiantians were startled and stumbling around in disbelief...Swish.... The sparkling long sword hacked through the bodyguard that was making his way forward, the strike was so quick that the man stood with disbelief written all over his face for a full two seconds before his top half separated from the bottom half of his body and slid to the ground with a gory explosion of blood.


    The final bodyguard who had watched five 7th layer xaintians killed in quick succession trembled in fear and his fate was sealed with a quick vertical strike.


    Hartley retracted his gravity field and released the pressure on the captain. "Please, please spare me me. I''m a noble from Sasko, my house will pay any ransom you request."


    The man wearing tight fitting leather armor trembled as he blabbered, Hartley grabbed him by the collar like a naughty puppy and used gravity steps to regroup with the two squads who were still firing bolts at the stragglers.


    Dashing the man mercilessly to the floor he ordered, "hog tie him and lets regroup with the commander."


    Even though Hartley had no official rank in the army, no one dared to not listen to his command, two men quickly tied up the captain and placed him across a horse as the group left, leaving a landscape from hell.


    More than 700 hundred men laid dead or dying in the carnage on the riverbank, not to mention those who had jumped in the river or those who had run into the jaws fierce beasts waiting in the forest, as soon as the melee died down birds flocked from the forest and plundered the bloody flesh of the dead. The sickening stench of blood, vomit and the emptying of bowels dominated the air.


    One of the bloodiest skirmishes in the history of the country of Tivoli ended and reports of the carnage flooded into to Commander Haiyuan who was seated fuming in his command tent.

 105 The King of Tivoli

    As news of the calamity happening on the right flank trickled through to the soldiers at the front, moral skyrocketed for the troops of Aidonia and at the same time moral sunk to its lowest for the opposing troops, rumors of a battlefield butcher had spread through the ranks like wild-fire.


    The unsettled enemy soldiers couldn''t help but be terrified upon hearing accounts of the carnage left on the river banks, they were all on edge hoping the stories were exaggerated.


    Thud! A pale-facedman in his thirties dressed in tight black leather armor was dumped before Commander Genk as captains and scouts reported the situation of the right flank.


    Even though he had the utmost confidence in Hartley, hearing the reports from multiple people left commander Genk stunned, he looked over at the youth standing nonchalantly, the youth returned his gaze and with a smile the commander didn''t bother asking any questions. No use in looking a gift horse in the mouth he thought.


    Turning back his attention to the prisoner tied and bleeding on the ground he smiled at the whimpering man, "I have some questions for you, if you lie even one time then...."


    Commander Genk worked his way forward towards the handful of grey stone buildings, entering one of the buildings he saw a family of five hunkered together in wide-eyed fear, he tried his best to reassure the family that they would not be harmed, that seem to make them even more nervous, all he could do was sigh.


    In the simple room were six of his captains and a scout peaking out a window into the distance. This building had the perfect vantage point to survey the surroundings.


    The interrogation of the captured captain had netted them vital information on the placements of the ambush set ahead, even he had not expected the terrified man to break so easily.


    Confirmation of the information had been done by the people in the room and various scouts. UP ahead were a crossbow squad and heavy infantry plus a squad of lance wielding cavalry, the bane of foot soldiers. It would have been a disaster had they been taken by surprise, he was confident they would have won the battle in the end but the losses would have been colossus.


    With the threat of a potential ambush hanging over every road leading towards the capital,commander Genk made a decision to nip the threat in the bud, the last thing he needed was to fight a protracted hit and run gorilla war.


    His next best option was to launch a counter ambush and have a decisive victory to shatter the capabilities of the rebel army en route to the capital. Hartley quietly shadowed the commander as he made his preparations, he knew very little about military tactics and was happy to learn through experience.


    After gathering all his captains It was late in the evening and Commander Genk sat at a table with a crude map, "I want you to take your men up this road and assault this position." he said as he pointed out positions on the map.


    Captain Bojin had a sour face, he and his troops were being sent as the vanguards of the counter ambush. This was sure to lead to heavy casualties for his squad.


    "Sir I thought I saw movement to the rear that''s why we didn''t cross the bridge with the rest of the troops, we were guarding from a possible attack and protectingthe soldiers back."


    Commander Genk waved his hand as if that was no issue,"forget about that," then he returned to looking at the map, "use a shield formation because the enemy is suspected to be equipped with a squad of crossbow men set up on the ridge."


    Captain Bojin stood there looking like he had something to say but didn''t know how to say it.


    "Dismissed, be ready in twenty minutes," said Commander Genk before turning his attention to the other captains who were having their own discussions.


    Captain Bojin stood there scowling without moving. Finally some of commander Genk''s true feelings towards Captain Bojin leaked out, with a bulging vein standing erect in the middle of his forehead, eyes wide and spittle flying everywhere he barked, "You have your orders, do you dare refuse your duty as a soldier of Aidonia?"


    The commander stood up abruptly knocking over a stool and towered above captain Bojin eyes wild and itching to break the captain in two with his bare hands for insubordination, how could he forget the casualties taken because this twerp was playing at politics in the middle of a battle. The room went quiet and captain Bojin retreated quickly and unwillingly began making preparations....


    Soon clashes between the two opposing forces rang out in the last throes of the evening sunshine as the two armies violently met beside the ridge.


    Commander Genk stepped into the roadhis robe whipping about in the wind, this time he was leading his men from the front. The commotion of swords clanging reverberated through the air in the chaotic battle. The screams of the dying was overridden by the volatile clashes of men and weapons, blood and severed body parts of both sides began to scatter around the battlefield making the ground muddy with blood.


    Stained red, the commander''s gigantic two handed sword gleamed and glinted crimson as it crashed through horses like thunder, cutting them in half and throwing their riders into the sky and back down landing with a crunch.


    Muscles bulging and skin stone-like, his steps thumped and shook the ground, crushing the skulls of the downed riders like glass underfoot as he charged forward into the oncoming mounted lancers with his elites pounding behind to catch up.


    The enemy had concentrated their infantry out of sight behind the ridge with squad of crossbow men at its crest in wait for the troops of Aidonia who would be marching up the bottle neck of the tiny road.


    The enemy cavalry were stationed in the trees off to the left, once the army was bottled up on the tiny road and taking bolts from the crossbow squad, they would crash into the panicked army at speed ensuring maximum damage.


    Captain Bojin and his men had rushed the enemy''s position on the ridge in a shield formation taking significant casualties from crossbow bolts while they climbed to the high ground and neutralized the threat, this allowed commander Genk to rush the enemy infantry in a head on clash with half of his troops.


    The other half under the command of Anguo Chen were making their way around the battle in the confines of the forest to attack from the back in a pincer attack.


    Hartley''s role was to enter the forest where the enemy cavalry were hidden and wreak havoc, after his performance on the river bank no one doubted his ability to single handedly butcher large amounts of the enemy troops. before the enemy even knew what was happening Hartley had eliminatednearly half of the two hundred strong mounted unit.


    Hearing the curdling screams of their comrades and thinking they were being attacked by squad of infantry men in the forest where their horse''s maneuverability was at its worse, what was left of the enemy cavalry streaked out of the forest and down the road in desperation, trying their best to make an impact on the outcome of the battle but they were hampered by the width of the road and could only attack six abreast,with one swing of his sword, commander Genk could easily nullify any charge sending pieces of men and horses flying in every direction in a horrifying display of power.


    The massive sword cleaved through flesh, bones and armor like paper, raining blood upon friend and foe and pushing back the enemy in panic.


    Just when the enemy''s will to fight was broken and they began thinking of escape, they found that Anguo Chen had outflanked them with the other half of the troops and they were being attacked from the back at the same time.


    The enemy was crushed between a hammer striking against an anvil before the first hour of the battle was complete....


    After cleaning up the gory aftermath of the battlefield and setting ablaze more than 800 dead enemy troops. They buried 200 of their own before setting off for the Capital camping over night out in the open before continuing their journey in next day.....


    King Zixen gawked like a child as he saw more than a thousand men lined up at the wall of the capital with blood stained armor glinting in the morning sunshine, the men wore silver and red armor with the insignia of Aidonia on their breast plate which the king recognized right away. The guards on the walls reported that a man as big as an ox had a golden token with an eagle carved into it. The king didn''t hesitate any further and gave the order to open the gate.


    The king came to meet the army with a dozen bodyguards in tow, with a bright toothy smile the white haired king who had wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and somewhat sagging skin greeted commander Genk.


    "It seems you had an adventure on your way here,"


    Commander Genk gave the King a formal bow, "yeah the people we''ve met on the way seems a bit aggressive." he said with a smile.


    The king guffawed, "come come, lets head back to the castle and get the men sorted, you must be tired.


    "Thank you, your majesty."


    The king waved his hand "no need to be formal with me, I should be thanking you."


    Hartley took this all in from behind commander Genk, he thought the king seemed genuine and jovial, a far cry from the cut throat and calculated politicians of Aidonia.


    Everyone then set off to the castle behind the king and his entourage.

 106 The Kings Dilemma

    The green, red and black flag of Aidonia rippled in the stiff breeze on a spire, next to it the proud blue and white flag of Tivoli bristled in the wind on the opposite spire sat atop a large stone castle behind tall majestic walls .


    The sun was high in the sky on a beautiful winter''s day in Tivolli. Workers were moving briskly around the grounds of the castle as a din of noise was coming from the main hall.


    Bowls and plates were laid out neatly on a long table, Commander Genk held two chop sticks that looked like tooth picks in his huge hands, with a eerie smile he slurped the noodles wrapped around the chop sticks with pleasure amidst the sounds of bowls clanking and hushed conversationsthroughout the hall.


    It had been weeks since the soldiers had enjoyed such delicacies, Hartley sat beside commander Genk and Anguo Chen along with the higher ranks of the army that came on this excursion. On the opposite side of the table, King Zixen sat beside the queen dressed in a white gown flanked by his son anddaughter on both sides with a few trusted aides filling out the table.


    The smell of food and wine filled the large hall which had dozens of Aidonia''s soldiers on the lower sections enjoying the cuisine, those who could not hold in the hall had to be satisfied with eating outside.


    Commander Genk gobbled his food and sipped violet wine from a mug without an ounce of decorum, Hartley who didn''t have the most elegant table manners at the best of times, helped himself to the food without thought of any etiquette. Both of them eating side by side in tandem drew astonished looks from the other side of the table.


    The two stood out likeeagles among pigeons, while gobbling down food Commander Genk said with a full mouth.


    "We''re here to quickly quell the rebellion, how do we deal with your brother your majesty?"


    The King put down his chop sticks and had a face full of mixed feelings, he thought long about the question before replying.


    "Thank you for coming and give my regards to the young prince when you get back," he sighed and after a short while he continued..


    "My brother is not a bad person, I think he has been misled by those people. If his wife hadn''t brought those people here to tempt him....he would have been...." The King had a tired look on his aged face and couldn''t even finish his train of thought.


    Despite the betrayal he still had love for his younger brother, he couldn''t help but wonder if this whole mess could be resolved without killing him.


    The prince, a handsome man inhis twenties dressed in a blue brocade robe chimed in without prompt. "He deserves death and even that is too light a punishment. I hope...."


    The young man displayed a hint of merciless hatred in his comment but before he could finish the king turned and stared at the young prince sternly with a pair of dark eyes, theprince then swallowed the rest of his statement and went back to eating daintily and quietly.


    The mood at the table quickly became somber as everyone slowed and started paying attention to the discussion.


    "Once the foreign influence is expelled from the country then my brother will come to his senses and he will be punished for his betrayal." The King said in a sad tone.


    With the profits from the gemstonemines the king had made a peaceful and fulfilling life for most of his citizens. Wars were relatively unknown in Tivoli, much less a civil war, a situation like this was unthinkable prior to this event, he just could not understand what drove his brother to commit these disgusting acts.


    Hartley kept eating quietly but he had to shake his head, the King was too naive, as long as the count lived he would prove to be a festering cancer in these lands. He has been bitten by the bug of jealousy and entitlement, it was obvious he wouldn''t stop until he was in charge of the country even if it meant sacrificing the people, he would rather be the ruler of a chicken coop than a subordinate in paradise.


    He was so blinded by his thirst for power that he couldn''t even see he was being used as a pawn by the people of Sasko to get their hands on the wealth of the country.


    It was evident from Hartley''s experience that the count would even sacrifice his brother, his brother''s family andthe citizens to gain said power.


    As far as Hartley could see, there was only one solution that would bring long term peace back to the country and that was to eliminate the count, as long as he was alive the people from Sasko would have a foothold in the country due to the count being married to a noble woman of Sasko. Hartley didn''t have the heart to say this out loud to the old King, he could see the genuine internal conflict the innocent king was struggling with.


    As hushed discussions broke out across the table Commander Genk stared at Hartley for a short moment, it was apparent that he had come to the same conclusion as Hartley. A thought suddenly flashed through Hartley''s mind as he looked at the queen the young prince and the young princess, being lenient to your enemies is tantamount to being cruel to yourself and your family. This was a lesson he had to imprint in his mind moving forward with Zhi Ruo and his fief.


    Servants brought dishes to replace the half-eaten ones as the feast continued on without the queen and the princess uttering a single word, the table was shrouded and subdued in somberness, maybe everyone at the table could recognize the solution except the King himself who still held hope of sparing the count''s life.....


    Two days after the feast when the soldiers were properly rested Commander Genk decided to go on the offensive, Intel suggested that the count was holed up with commander Haiyuan from sasko and his closest subordinates at a place called Bumper hall in the rocky hills of the east. This was one of the numerous properties the count had in the country, he must have thought the rough rocky terrain was an ideal place to hide out and reorganize....


    After themassive losses incurred by the rebel army, Commander Genk thought it to be an ideal time to smash the group sent from Saskoand the remnants of therebel army and be over with this crusade into Tivoli in one fell swoop.....


    Hartley could see the sun high in the sky as they made their way out of the capital and headed to the east. The King''s castle slowly disappeared behind them as they trekked eastwards into the long shadows provided by the rolling hills.


    The King had a sad expression as he stood in the gloomy hall and watched the army disappearing over the horizon, staring at the men until they disappeared from view, the king then ordered drinks to be brought in, pretty serving girls glided across the hall carrying platters ladened with jugs of wine, the King took a whole jug and chugged it, wine spilled from the corners of his mouth and stained his pristine attire but he didn''t even seem to notice. He retreated to his chambers with a depressed look on his face and wasn''t seen for the remainder of the day.....


    A streak of lightning split the sky that was filled with dark roiling clouds followed by the rumbling of cracking thunder, rain came down like mist and kissed the rocky terrain making the ground slick and slippery. The horses couldn''t gallop and the men were walking slower than usual due to the problematic footing. After two days marching at a snail''s pace the army finally reached their destination on a gloomy rainy afternoon. Drenched in rain the men began pitching tents and discussing their strategy moving forward.....


    A sheet of icy rain suddenly washed over Hartley''s skin, and wind blasted him fiercely enough that he stumbled atop the wall. Hartley moved forward with his black robe whipping about him. He was on the walls protecting the castle looking down at the scattered patrols inside. The priority for those soldiers seemed to be to keep themselves dry instead of guarding the premises.


    Commander Genk and his captains had thought the smooth 20 meter wall impossible to climb, worse in wet rainy conditions. Hartley had convinced them that he could scale the wall and open the gate. Commander Genk didn''t doubt Hartley could do what he said, he had already seen miracles performed by the youth, He commanded his men and slowly and stealthily gathered his half of his troops nearby.


    Hartley had simply just walked up the smooth wall as if on normal ground. As soon as he dropped to the other side with a thud sending mud spraying, a group of wide-eyed defenders gathered under a make-shift shelter scrambled to form a ragged defensive line, nervously holding onto their weapons.


    Lightning cracked across the sky again and brightened the rainy afternoon with an explosion of white light exposing Hartley''s youthful features and his cold blue eyes to the defenders, soonone of the defenders recognized Hartley from the river bank massacre, he turned on his heels and began to flee leaving a trail of splashing mud as he was screaming something about the battlefield butcher.


    Once the others heard the phrase uttered by the fleeing man, their eyes widened and they too scrambled to flee in the other direction. Hartley moved through the streets with a smirk, opening the gate was an easy feat, all the common soldiers that came across Hartley opted to flee in the opposite direction.


    After the two crushing defeats at the hands of the army from Aidonia the last vestiges of an organized rebel military began to crumble as word spread about the battlefield butcher turning up at the castle. These common soldiers were farmers and butchers only a year ago, so now when they were exposed to this nightmare scenario, fleeing for their lives and abandoning the count and his guests to their fate was their natural choice.


    Commander Genk, Hartley and the entire army marched through the gates unhindered and headed towards the stone castle standing in the distance...


    As news of the chaotic collapse happening outside trickled to the count, he stood nervously and squeezed his sword hilt, his jaw clenched with anger as he shouted, "How dare they?" The soldiers he had fed and clothed over these past couple of years had left him high and dry.


    While the count pranced around nervously Commander Haiyuan sat in the lavishly furnished room at ease with two of his closest subordinates, "what do you think?" he asked a red hair man who was about 1.6 meters tall. The man sported a white robe and seem to be unaffected by the happenings outside.


    "Nothing we can''t handle, their commander is at the 8th layer and the rest seem to be below that, we can walk out whenever we please" the red hair middle age man answered confidently.


    "Hmmn." Commander Haiyuan nodded feeling reassured.


    "What about me?" came a slightly nervous outburst from the count.


    "Don''t worry Count Zixen, we will take you away from here for a while and return when the time is right and raise a proper army this time." said commander Haiyuan.


    The count felt relief wash over him as he sighed. He could already see himself as the king of Tivoli, all he had to do was bide his time, with these people as his backers it was inevitable.


    Commander Haiyun''s other subordinate who hadn''t said a word stared at the door and uttered "they''re here commander."


    Commander Haiyun got to his feet as if he was in no danger at all and walked forward.....

 107 Showdown

    Streaks of lightning snaked across the dark skies and the rain came down to the earth in sheets as the local soldiers were noisily making their way out of the castle and towards the gates in the muddy sodden conditions.


    Hartley, Anguo Chen and commander Genk made their way through the open front doors of the almost abandoned castle with a dozen of their most elite soldiers trailing behind, the rest of the army surrounded the castle and awaited further orders.


    They quickly picked up the fluctuations of several xiantians on the first floor and quickly made their way towards the room.


    The four occupants of the room were nonchalantly moving arounddisplaying utter disregard and contempt for the invading forces as they held casual conversations between themselves.


    "They''re here." said the dark hair man dressed in black who had stood silently behind the commander for the duration of their conversation. Commander Haiyuan got up and was moving confidently forward when an abrupt explosion of wood and stone echoed out, rending the door off its thick iron hinges and sending a hailstorm of wooden chips, splinters andsmashed pebbles into the room along with a cloud of hazy dust.


    The suffocating dust blotted out the pristinely furnished room before dissipating after a long few seconds.


    When the dust cleared the massive silhouette of Commander Genk was standing at the opening. That towering figure could not be mistaken and brought with him an aura of overbearing dominance that gave confidence to everyone behind him.


    "Hope you guys have no urgent plans because you are all coming back to Aidonia with me to answer some serious questions, willingly or unwillingly" said commander Genk as he smiled at those in the room."


    The vile count Zexin was scared shitless for a moment but with a wave of a hand from the red haired man all the debris showering into the room was diverted harmlessly to the side, when the flinching count noticed the same nonchalant and confident attitude on the faces of his backers he automatically straightened his back with an arrogant snarl, gathering his wits before he stepped forward andstarted barking confidently.


    "How dare you destroy the property of a duke you repugnant invaders, go back to your own country and let us sort out our....."


    The words froze on the tip of his tongue as he felt a sudden stab of terror, he tried to abandon his tirade and retreat back behind commander Haiyuan and the others in desperation.


    There was a sudden blue flash, one punch and his head exploded like a water melon, blood and brain fluid flew out in every direction, staining commander Haiyuan''s face with splotches of red, even the elites behind commander Genk felt a bit squeamish at the sudden brutal sight as the count''s headless corpse fell with a thud still spewing blood.


    The fleeting terror etched on his face in that split second when he realized Hartley was brazen enough to act in front of his backers was etched on the count''s face before it exploded into red mush as the people from Aidonia flooded into the room.


    Now Hartley was standing in the middle of the room a few steps ahead of commander Genk looking calm and serene. Commander was bit surprised Hartley would sneak attack the count but thought it the best interest of the country to get rid of him as soon as possible so he had no complaints.


    It was apparent that the three confident people in the room weren''t guarding against a sneak attack, Hartley had sized up the opponents strength and with hard-headed pragmatism he had decided it was best to take care of the count while the opponents guards were down, application of skills could bridge the gap between sub-realms but pure brute force wasn''t going to achieve this, those two subordinates on the other side were formidable and there was a chance the count could escape if a battle were to drag on.


    In fury the red hair man reacted immediately while commander Haiyuan was in shock as he touched his fingers to his face then looked at the blood at the tip of his finger in disbelief.


    He had never expected these underhanded tactics from the upstanding representatives of Aidonia. There was a crack of thunder and a streak of lightning visible outside the high windows of the room but the red hair man moved even faster, the man was approaching Hartley in a blur when Commander Genk stepped forward to intercept. The giant two-handed sword appeared in the commander''s hand but before he could even get in a battle stance.....


    Commander Genk was sent sailing back with a muffled and somewhat surprised shriek, clattering through a wall and knocking over a few of his own elites, bringing with him a debris field of dust and broken stones as the gigantic man was sent sprawling across the tiled floor and out into the hall where he slid to a stop. The world seemed to go completely mute as their was a haunting silence that was only disrupted by the cracks of thunder coming from the heavens.


    "Commander!" Anguo Chen blurted out as he rushed to the aid of Commander Genk amidst the gawping stares of the elites, most had mouths wide open. They had never before seen someone so effortlessly swat away their commander like an annoying fly.


    "None of you shall leave here today." The red hair man barked in anger as he set his sight on Hartley.


    "Make him suffer," uttered commander Haiyuan cold-heartedly as he slowly recovered from the shock of what just transpired right in front of his eyes, their prized asset in helping to take over the country of Tivoli was killed right in front of him..


    The disrespect of the situation was unbelievable, all he saw was a young man with balls bigger than boulders standing in front of him, he wanted this out of order youth to suffer like he had never suffered before.


    "Everyone fallback!" came a loud and somewhat panicked order from Commander Genk, he was sitting on his butt outside the room and staring at the occupants through the hole that he had made in the wall. All the elites were surprised to the see commander acting so out of character.


    "Hartley be careful, he''s a 9th layer xiantian," Commander Genk bawled out with trepidation.


    With the mention of a 9th layer xiantian everyone faces paled in fright as all the elites began to scramble away from the room as if it was contaminated with some vile contagious disease.


    "hmmph. You thinks it''s that easy to leave." The red hair man snorted and moved towards Hartley and the retreating soldiers. Another crack of thunder rumbled from the heavens as bright blinding reddish light surged out of the man''s body dyeing the room in a red hue raising the temperature enough that anyone below the 4th layer of the xiantian realm would be incinerated instantly.


    A couple of the elites below the 4th layer instantly turned to ash as the rest chaotically tried to make their exit.


    To the dismay of Commander Genk instead of retreating Hartley stepped forward to meet the man head on. The man threw punch at Hartley expecting it to swat Hartley away like his first punch had swatted away Commander Genk. The red hair man really didn''t put Hartley in his eyes, if the commander couldn''t take one of his attacks this youth would probably burst into to pieces.


    Hartley engaged state of focus and pushed his compressed circulation technique to the limit, opting not to use any of his trump cards. Hartley had had experience fighting the white hair elderin the pentagon formation so he knew what to expect from someone with power in the 9th layer of the xiantian realm. He relished this opportunity to go toe to toe with the opponent to see how much he had improved since stepping into the 8th layer.


    Three brilliant blue pulses of light cut through the red hueof the room as both fists met.


    Boom!


    The two fists collided and exploded like a barrel full of gun-powder. The air rippled with power wrenching open fabric of space itself and sent shock-waves pulsing out shattering the walls of the building sending debris flying off into the distance and ejected every single occupant in the room out into the muddy castle grounds.


    After a flash of light horrific wails and moans rang out as the elites from Aidonia found themselves wallowing in the mud like pigs, all of them bar none were suffering from broken bones, some even had missing limbs.


    Commander Genk found himself among the men outside face down in the mud, Anguo Chen had a dizzy spell as he laid on his back in the mud staring at the dark sky with the rain streaking over his face.


    Commaner Haiyuan and the black robe man found themselves ejected from the building and at the opposite end of the castle grounds to where the Aidonia forces were. They were dazed as they slowly recovered from the whiplash effect whenthey hit the ground.


    When everybody looked back to the castle.....


    Half of the stone castle was missing and the rest slowly crumbling as bits and pieces were fallingdown slowly like a house of cards around two people stood in the wreckage


    Everyone including Commander Haiyuan and his subordinate watched the two combatantswith astounded gazes, to their disbelief, this was an epic showdown between two powerhouses below the saint realm and one of the was the youth he had so wanted to torture a minute ago.How was this possible? Some could hardly believe it was the youth standing firm in front of a 9th layer xantian.

 108 The youngest Powerhouse rough draf

    Amidst the rubble of what was formerly a majestic stone castle, two people stood eight meters apart as the remaining half of the structure slowly crumbled around them.


    "Who are you?" after the dust settled the red hair man couldn''t help but to ask this question with wide eyes. The kid across from him didn''t look more than 20 years old. All the powerhouses he knew had long since grown a full head of white hair, this was simply unbelievable and went against all logic he had come to understand.


    "I''m just a average citizen of Aidonia," Hartley answered as he flicked a few pieces of pebbles off of his black dusty robe.


    "Not bad, not bad, to think a genius like you have surfaced from Aidonia is the closest thing to a miracle I have seen on the Aldora continent in my lifetime. It''s a pity this is where your ending shall be. The world is a harsh place where even agenius can fall, the best anyone can do is to achieve their own potential but not many are destined to achieve even that."


    "Isn''t it a bit early to be speaking about endings?" Hartley replied.


    From their first exchange Hartley was pushed backed five steps and the red hair man three. Even though the red hair man had an advantage in pure brute strength Hartley was feeling very optimistic about his chances in this fight.


    A very exotic sheathed sword suddenly appeared in the man''s hand and with a click and a shing the blade slid free from its scabbard. The black scabbard adorned with a plethora of gemstones fell to the ground and a one-handed silver blade about one and a half meter long appeared and glinted brightly even in the absence of sunlight.


    Commander Genk groaned as he rolled himself in the mud trying to get back to his feet, his soaked robe saturated with mud stuck to his skin as he watched Hartley and the red hair man square off in the ruined castle. The two seem to be having a conversation which he couldn''t hear but what he could hear clearly was the ambient sounds of the rain pattering against the earth, he could also hear panicked voices all around as the army surrounding the castle cameto the aid of the screaming elites strewn in the mud.


    As the grogginess cleared from his head, his gruff voice barked orders at the men running around frantically. "Get the injured and fall back and prepare to retreat from the area as quick as possible..."That first first exchange between Hartley and the red hair man had told him all that he needed to know. If those two started a fully blown battle it was going to be dangerous for anyone around.


    A thickening crowd of Aidonia''s soldiers gathered and streamed towards and beyond the walls as Anguo Chen compsed himself and went to help Commander Genk hobble along with the last of the retreating men. Then there was a humongous bang which flattened the standing half of the castle and threw the men off their feet as the earth rattled underneath them. Even the hardiest of the soldiers were scared witless as they staggered back to their feet drenched in mud and made a beeline for the main gate with shouts of panic echoing out among the ranks.


    The silver sword glowed red as etched lines on the blade formed circular patterns that ran all the way along the blade, the red hair man then dashed at Hartley leaving stable life-like after images behind him as he made a quick horizontal slash in a berserk fashion.


    Hartley''s pair of blue elemental swords appeared and stretched out in his hands like a star wars character, with his jaw clenched he took a single step forward and met the red hair man with a inverted upward slash of his own with the long sword in his right hand.


    The two weapons clashed and an almighty explosion of sparks rang out as the unstable structure was flattened around them in a millisecond. A visible wave rippled in the air as the two men disengaged and a chaotic spectrum of black energy burst out of the ripples shaking the earth before disappearing again into nothingness.


    A genuine look of surprise was etched across the red hair man''s face this time, in their first exchange he hadn''t used his full strength but this time he did and he was even assisted by his rank 6 spirit weapon and still the youth wasn''t vanquished.


    "Good, good very good." the red hair man said as a bright red aura surged out of his body evaporating every single raindrop that fell in a fifteen meter radius. The man took three small steps before jumping ten meters high and slashing down at Hartley with lightning speed, his sword now resembled a molten piece of iron as it glowed a glaring red.


    With concentration on his face, Hartley didn''t dare to take this strike head on, ice-blue mist crawled over his body as he took a step forward and blinked out of existence. The red hair man''s sword landed where Hartley was and an explosion of earth rising towards the heavens occurred, the strike could be heard and felt miles away as the earth quivered and shook violently.


    The strike left a crater one hundred meters wide and ten meters deep with the red hair man stood in the middle of the destruction.

 108 The youngest Powerhouse

    Amidst the rubble of what was formerly a majestic stone castle, two people stood eight meters apart as the remaining half of the structure slowly crumbled around them.


    "Who are you?" after the dust settled the red hair man couldn''t help but to ask this question with wide eyes. The kid across from him didn''t look more than 20 years old. All the powerhouses he knew had long since grown a full head of white hair, this was simply unbelievable and went against all logic he had come to understand.


    "I''m just a average citizen of Aidonia," Hartley answered as he flicked a few pieces of pebbles off of his black dusty robe.


    "Not bad, not bad, to think a genius like you have surfaced from Aidonia, it''s the closest thing to a miracle I have seen on the Aldora continent in my lifetime. It''s a pity this is where your journey shall end."


    The red hair man also casually stroked a few pieces of rock from his white robe, before continuing with a smile.


    "The world is a harsh place where even agenius can fall, the best anyone can do is to achieve their own potential but not many are destined to achieve even that."


    "Isn''t it a bit early to be speaking about endings? Haven''t I got my whole life ahead of me?" Hartley replied while returning the man''s smile.


    "And that''s exactly why you are going to die at my hands today, if you are given time you might surpass everyone who has ever lived on this continent and be a constant threat." The man returned Hartley''s smile as if he wasn''t talking about cold blooded murder and just having a friendly conversation.


    From their first exchange Hartley was pushed backed five steps and the red hair man three. Even though the red hair man had an advantage in pure brute strength Hartley was feeling very optimistic about his chances in this fight, he thought he might even be able to win without his time domain.


    A very exotic sheathed sword suddenly appeared in the man''s hand and with a click and a shing the blade slid free from its scabbard. The black scabbard adorned with a plethora of gemstones fell to the ground and imprinted itself in the soft mud. A one-handed silver sword about one and a half meter long appeared and glinted brightly even in the absence of sunlight.....


    Commander Genk groaned as he rolled his massive frame in the mud trying to get back to his feet, his soaked robe saturated with mud stuck to his skin as he watched Hartley and the red hair man square off in the ruined castle. The two seem to be having a conversation which he couldn''t hear but what he could hear clearly was the ambient sounds of the rain pattering against the earth, he could also hear panicked voices all around as the army surrounding the castle cameto the aid of the screaming injured elites strewn in the mud around the castle grounds.


    As the grogginess cleared from his head, his gruff voice barked orders at the men running around frantically. "Get the injured and fall back and prepare to retreat from the area as quick as possible..."


    That first first exchange between Hartley and the red hair man had told him all that he needed to know about the situation his men were in. As an experienced soldier he had seen top-notch experts do battle and the destructive forces emitted from their battles was deadly to the common soldiers, with a serious face he glanced at Hartley and the red hair knowing that If those two started a fully blown battle it was going to be life threatening for all the soldiers below the 8th layer in the xiantian realm.


    A thickening crowd of Aidonia''s soldiers gathered and streamed towards and beyond the walls as Anguo Chen composed himself and went to help Commander Genk escort the last of the retreating soldiers to safety.


    Suddenly there was a humongous bang which flattened the standing half of the stone castle and threw the men off their feet as the earth rattled underneath them. Even the hardiest of the soldiers were scared witless as they staggered back to their feet drenched in mud and made a beeline for the main gate with shouts of panic echoing out among the ranks leaving a chaotic pattern of muddy footprints on the ground behind them as they scrambled forward.


    The silver sword in the hand of the red hair man glowed red, etched lines on the blade formed circular patterns that ran all the way along the blade, the red hair man then dashed at Hartley leaving stable life-like after images behind him as he made a quick horizontal slash in a berserk fashion.


    Hartley''s pair of blue elemental swords appeared and stretched out in his hands like a star wars saber, with his jaw clenched and a determined look on his face, he took a single step forward and met the red hair man with a inverted upward slash of his own.


    The long sword in Hartley''s right hand met the glowing red sword and an almighty explosion was created, sparks sprang out and up into the rainy skies as the unstable structure was flattened around them in a millisecond. A visible wave rippled in the air between the two men as both men were pushed back four or five steps and a chaotic spectrum of black energy erupted out of the ripples shaking the earth violently before disappearing again into nothingness.


    A genuine look of surprise was etched across the red hair man''s face this time, in their first exchange he hadn''t used his full strength but this time he did and he was even assisted by his rank 6 spirit weapon and still the youth wasn''t vanquished.


    Hartley felt a pang of numbness run his arm but it was nothing he couldn''t deal with, he was inwardly impressed with himself, the last time he faced off with someone of this power he was smacked down in the street after one exchange.


    "Good, good very good, you truly are special" the red hair man said as a bright red aura surged out of his body making his robe flutter ceaselessly, evaporating every single raindrop that fell in a fifteen meter radius. The man took three small steps before jumping ten meters high and slashing down at Hartley with lightning speed, his sword now resembled a molten piece of iron as it glowed a glaring red increasing the temperature of the surroundings producing a thick fog around the two.


    With concentration on his face, Hartley didn''t dare to take this strike head on, ice-blue mist crawled and twirled over his body as he took a step forward and blinked out of existence. The red hair man''s sword landed where Hartley was and a gigantic explosion occurred, debris from the stone castle and a massive chunk of the surrounding earth went rising towards the heavens, the strike could be heard and felt miles away as the earth quivered and shook violently.


    The strike left a crater one hundred meters in diameter and ten meters deep with the red hair man stood in the middle of the destruction, there wasn''t even any evidence that a castle used to stand where the man was..


    Hartley flickered back into existence behind the red hair man as he stepped out of the twirling ice-blue mist with a dull glow. He immediately slashed with his short elemental sword in his left hand aiming the man''s waist. Without turning the red hair man twisted his body at an awkward angle and vanished from the spot, Hartley''s blade went through an after-image of the man which wriggled away like smoke.


    The red hair man had a startled look mingled with a hint of alarm on his face, the youth had stepped into a spatial crack and avoided his attack with consummate ease.


    One had to know that stepping into a a spatial crack exerted mind numbing pain and pressure on the physical body, anyone below the saint realm could literally explode by stepping into a spatial crack on a whimand yet the youth stepped in and out of a space crack looking none the worse for wear. He wasn''t sure that even he himself could step in and out of a spatial crack so nonchalantly. He had to rely on his speed as a 9th layer xiantian and maneuvered himself five meters to the left to avoid the attack from his back.


    The glowing sword came speeding back at Hartley from the left, the red hair man bared his teeth in a snarl as he put absolutely everything he had into his sword strike, rocks as big asmelons were whipped up and tossed around tornado-style as the two clashed in the middle of the huge crater in the unrelenting pouring rain just as there was another crack of thunder from the heavens.


    Hartley used advanced minute movement technique coupled with his advanced state of focus and slipped pass the glaring red sword that radiated heat like a mini-sun, suddenly 100x gravity slammed down onto the crater, fresh astonishment blossomed on the man''s face as he stumbledback, the debris that were being whipped around were forced back down into the groundbringing with it an explosion of dirt, rocks and mud splashing everywhere.


    The red hair man rocked back onto his heels, losing his balance for a split-second when a blue flash came fizzing at him, it was a strike quicker than any he had ever seen before, under the restriction of Hartley''s gravity field the man clumsily got his sword up to block the strike with another explosion of multi-colored sparks.


    Hartley moved ghost-like to his right, his movements seemingly unhindered under the influence of such a strong gravitational force as an overhead chop with his long sword came down like mountains falling from heaven, the blue flash cut through the gloom of the rainy evening as the red hair man clumsily tried to evade the strike....


    Commander Haiyuan stood about five hundred meters away soaked in the rain watching the battle keenly, water droplets spooled on his eyelashes then fell towards the floor as streaks of water clumped his hair and raced down his face.


    Surprisingly the youth was holding his own against his subordinate, he couldn''t help but be nervous. It was unthinkable that one of the strongest below the saint realm from Sasko could fall to a no-name youth on the soil of this small affiliate country but reality was crueler than fiction and he was witnessing the undeniable reality with his own two eyes.


    All of a sudden the battle that seemed evenly matched took a drastic turn, the red hair man started to stumble and the youth was launching a vicious series of strikes, then there was a scream of pain and the red hair man was missing an arm which was sent flying away and out of sight in the gloomy evening.


    Commander Haiyun stood in gaping shock at the sight of blood gushing out of the jagged stump left as Kan Jin''s right arm.


    With a somber and nervous face the commander said "Chang Lee prepare to get us out of here."


    "Yes sir" the quiet middle age man dressed in black replied, Chang Lee was commander Haiyuan''s final trump card, even though he was only in the 8th layer of the xiantian realm, he had an affinity to space so he could travel through spatial cracks carrying another person with him for a moderate distance.


    The commander has always kept this man close by his side as a last resort and it was time to use his last resort...


    Ahhh! After failing to evade the strike, the red hair man''s right arm went flying away with his sword still gripped in the severed hand as he shrieked in disbelief watching his arm and sword disappearing from sight.


    Hartely''s battle with this red hair man had given him vital experience in dealing people in the 9th layer but it was time to end this now. As the man backed away with widened nervous eyes preparing to run for his life, the color bled from the world.....


    The next thing commander Haiyuan saw was the youth appearing next to Kan Jin and beheading him mercilessly.. "It''s time to go now" he shouted at the man next to him.

 109 Rewards Rough Draft experiment Revision 2

    The wide-eyed and bloody decapitated head of the red hair man rolled across the wet soil right in front of Hartley''s feet.


    The man''s limp headless body, dressed in a white robe that was drenched red due to the gushing blood from a missing right arm, slumped down to the left almost in slow motion as it crashed into the mud.


    Not even registering this victory in his mind as if it was always expected, Hartley turned to the right and stared in a northern direction inhaling deeply as he stood stock-still focusing on a distant ridge.


    As he stood there, cold raindrops fell on his face and raced to his chin. A gentle breeze swept pass and with it came a sudden clap of thunder, the skies turned white for a split second as a streak of lightning arced through the dark clouds highlighting the gruesome scene laid out at Hartley''s feet.


    After the brutal death of Kan Jin, Commander Haiyuan recoiledin shock, then he saw the youth looking his way, it was almost as if he could see the youth''s piercing cold blue eyes from 500 meters away.


    Feeling a throbbing terror in his bones he beckoned desperatelyin a panicked and anxious voice for Chang Lee to hurry up and take them to a safer place.


    Chang Lee too didn''t feel like hanging around much longer either, he had heard all the reports from the battlefield and today witnessing this youth in the flesh reinforced in his mind just how powerful he was,with a face full of concentration Chang Lee gulped down a deep breath of air, waved his right hand in a circle then punched out.


    Bam!...


    Black energy gushed out from nowhere withloud rumbling sounds as Chang Lee held onto commander Haiyuan''s shoulder, they both stepped forward into the inky blackness of the void and disappeared from the rainy scene.


    As the pair disappeared with a flash of black energy, Commander Haiyuan was reveling in the glory of his timely escape, thanking the heavens that he had chosen wisely to always carry this subordinate on any mission he embarked on; even the seemingly simple ones.


    The only downside was that Chang Lee couldn''t take him extremely long distances or he would have been headed straight back to Sasko right now instead of towards the secret beach-head port that theyhad used to sneak into the country..


    Having Chang Lee close at all times was like having a second life he thought to himself with a cheeky grin. His plans for the country of Tivoli were in tatters but he didn''t care, he would be glad to just made it back to Sasko alive and never see this remote backward affiliate country again.


    Even though this mission of taking over the gemstone mines was a horrific failure it didn''t matter to him anymore, Kan Jin didn''t even manage to keep his headand count Zixen was also dead, any hopes of taking over and changing the allegiance of the country died with the count.


    In fact Commander Haiyunthought himself lucky to have escaped that monster of a youth in one piece..... but of course he hadn''t escaped yet.


    "Really?" Hartley had a playful smirk on his face with beads of water droppingfrom his chin, he stood soaked in the teeming rain with the dead body of a powerhouse and potential future saint at his feet, swirling ice-blue mist enveloped him and rotated vertically around his bodyas he took a step forward and he disappeared from the massive crater an instant later.


    Chang Lee was only moving at a ratio of one to two, meaning for every kilometer he traveled through the space crack he traveled two kilometers in the real world.


    Unfortunately for him and commander Haiyuan, Hartley could travel at a ratio of one to four, combine that with his gravity step technique and he was like lightning streaking over the horizon.


    Hartley zipped through the mesh-like transparent tunnel with the scene zipping pass outside andquickly caught up to fluctuations within the void.


    He couldn''t see the occupants of the spatial crack but could clearly feel the massive turbulence of space ahead of him.


    Once he approached Hartley exited his own spatial crack engaged his time domain and with the assistance of his modified spiral circulation technique Hartley managed to splice his way into the Chang Lee''s unstable spatial crack.


    Once he merged with Chang Lee''s spatial crack he could see the chaotic black energy roiling and raging on the interior mesh like walls, Chang Lee and the commander were up ahead but had yet to discover his intrusion. Hartley chose one of the flawed and unstable spots in the spatial crack andthen struck out a punch which made the space inside the crack rumble as the black energy started to behave unstable and erratic.


    Hartley immediately exited the spatial crack and a second later there was an almighty explosion of black ink-like energy that rented the airand two screaming people were shot out of the void....


    After experiencing the horrendous backlash of a ruptured spatial crack commander Haiyuan was flung out into a a thick forested area missing his left hand from the elbow down spewing a trail of blood as he landed and rolled like a rag doll..


    Chang Lee managed to keep all his limbs but he was cannoned into the side of a hill and rebounded rolling down the hill and into the abyss of foliage at the bottom coughing up a large amount of blood..


    A few minutes later, soaking wet and covered in blood and dirt Chang Leegathered his wits as he recovered from his pain and shock a little and looked around frantically tryingto locate commander Haiyuan in the vicinity, with no sight of the commander he began anxiously shouting out the commander''s name.


    After a short moment he heard the wailing screams of the commander at the top of the hill and was about to make his way there, he had staggered forward for a few steps when suddenly he saw thethe youth appearing like a specter from hell which sent fright down his spine.


    He abandoned his quest to rescue the commander and decided to safeguard his own life, even if he initiated a battle with the youth in hopes of rescuing the commander he knew it would be a battle he couldn''t hope to win in his current state, heck, even at his peak he didn''t think he could compete with the youth..


    As a man of few words, the image of the youth had etched a frightening entity into his mind that could only be described by one word "monster." The things he had seen during this day would stay with him for life, the youth had disposed of Kan Jin who was being touted as the next saint in Sasko without taking any injuries, not even a scratch.


    Chang Lee disappeared in a flash of black energy, in his weakened state he wasn''t even sure how far he could make it through another spatial crack immediately after suffering a backlashbut he didn''t care, any distance he could put between himself and the youth was a blessing.


    Hartley saw this and didn''t give chase, instead he headed to the top of the hill where the commander''s screams and the smell of his leaking blood were capturing the attention of the many fierce beasts prowling the area.....


    Commander Haiyuan was trapped in dense undergrowthsurrounded by a grove of thick, tall treesbleeding and wailing trying to pull himself together, his three remaining limbs felt as though every ounce of energy was sucked out of them, he was obviously suffering the backlash of the spatial crack as he barfed up a mouth of blood.


    Hartley spotted the commander as he came to an area with sturdy trees shooting towards the sky, the sound of the rain was amplified by the broad green leaves of the trees as he approached carefully guarding against any possible sneak attacks, he heard the growls of a massive ape-like creature twenty meters away on the other side of the commander.


    The volume of the grating growls of the animal increased when it spotted Hartley moving towards the commander as if the animal was warning Hartley and the other fierce beasts headed their way to not dare think of deprivingit of an easy meal.


    it closed in on the commander, its long arms thudded in the soill as its short legs swung forward. The beast had thick glossy silver fur soaked by the rain.


    The weakened commander Haiyuan spun his head around to see the sight of the beast and he screams somehow got louder, he then spotted the youth on the opposite side of the undergrowth..


    At this point he had to pick his poison but who would want to end up the belly of a beast? "Help me," he appealed to Hartley with wild eyes. "Help me, I''ve got information your prince could use, bring me back and I will tell all."


    When he saw Hartley still standing at the same spot the commander started to speak quickly, "The count discovered a mine even more valuable than the gemstone mines, that''s why we wanted to take over the country if you help me I can tell you where it is. Just help me!"

 109 Reward

    The wide-eyed and bloody decapitated head of the red hair man rolled across the wet soil right in front of Hartley''s feet.


    The man''s limp headless body, dressed in a white robe that was drenched red due to the gushing blood from a missing arm, slumped down to the left almost in slow motion as it crashed into the mud.


    Not even registering this victory in his mind as if it was always expected, Hartley turned to the right and stared in a northern direction inhaling deeply as he stood stock-still focusing on a distant ridge.


    As he stood there, cold raindrops fell on his face and raced to his chin. A gentle breeze swept pass and with it came a sudden clap of thunder, the skies turned white for a split second as a streak of lightning arced through the dark clouds highlighting the gruesome scene laid out at Hartley''s feet.


    After the brutal death of Kan Jin, Commander Haiyuan recoiledin shock. He was dumbfounded that someone in the 9th layer of the xiantian realm couldn''t even escape with his life.


    Then he saw the youth looking his way, it was almost as if he could see the youth''s piercing cold blue eyes from 500 meters away.


    Feeling a throbbing terror in his bones he beckoned desperatelyin a panicked and anxious voice for Chang Lee to hurry up and take them to a safer place.


    Chang Lee too didn''t feel like hanging around much longer either, he had heard all the reports from the battlefield and today witnessing this youth in the flesh reinforced in his mind just how powerful he was,with a face full of concentration Chang Lee gulped down a deep breath of air, waved his right hand in a circle then punched out.


    Bam!...


    Black energy gushed out from nowhere withloud rumbling sounds as Chang Lee held onto commander Haiyuan''s shoulder, they both stepped forward into the inky blackness of the void and disappeared from the rainy scene.


    As the pair disappeared with a flash of black energy, Commander Haiyuan was reveling in the glory of his timely escape, thanking the heavens that he had chosen wisely to always carry this subordinate on any mission he embarked on; even the seemingly simple ones.


    The only downside was that Chang Lee couldn''t take him extremely long distances or he would have been headed straight back to Sasko right now instead of towards the secret beach-head port that theyhad used to sneak into the country..


    Having Chang Lee close at all times was like having a second life he thought to himself with a cheeky grin. His plans for the country of Tivoli were in tatters but he didn''t care, he would be glad to just made it back to Sasko alive and never see this remote backward affiliate country again.


    Even though this mission of taking over the gemstone mines was a horrific failure it didn''t matter to him anymore, Kan Jin didn''t even manage to keep his headand count Zixen was also dead, any hopes of taking over and changing the allegiance of the country died with the count.


    In fact Commander Haiyunthought himself lucky to have escaped that monster of a youth in one piece..... but of course he hadn''t escaped yet.


    "Really?" Hartley had a playful smirk on his face with beads of water droppingfrom his chin, he stood soaked in the teeming rain with the dead body of a powerhouse and potential future saint at his feet.


    Swirling ice-blue mist enveloped him and rotated vertically around his bodyas he took a step forward and disappeared from the massive crater an instant later.


    Chang Lee was only moving at a ratio of one to two, meaning for every kilometer he traveled through the space crack he traveled two kilometers in the real world.


    Unfortunately for him and commander Haiyuan, Hartley could travel at a ratio of one to four, combine that with his gravity step technique and he was like lightning streaking over the horizon.


    Hartley zipped through the mesh-like transparent tunnel with the scene zipping pass outside andquickly caught up to fluctuations within the void.


    He couldn''t see the occupants of the spatial crack but could clearly feel the massive turbulence of space ahead of him.


    Once he approached Hartley exited his own spatial crack engaged his time domain and with the assistance of his modified spiral circulation technique Hartley managed to splice his way into the Chang Lee''s unstable spatial crack.


    Once he merged with Chang Lee''s spatial crack he could see the chaotic black energy roiling and raging on the interior mesh like walls, Chang Lee and the commander were up ahead but had yet to discover his intrusion. Hartley chose one of the flawed and unstable spots in the spatial crack andthen struck out a punch which made the space inside the crack rumble as the black energy started to behave unstable and erratic.


    Hartley immediately exited the spatial crack and a second later there was an almighty explosion of black ink-like energy that rented the airand two screaming people were shot out of the void....


    After experiencing the horrendous backlash of a ruptured spatial crack commander Haiyuan was flung out into a a thick forested area missing his left hand from the elbow down spewing a trail of blood as he landed and rolled like a rag doll..


    Chang Lee managed to keep all his limbs but he was cannoned into the side of a hill and rebounded rolling down the hill and into the abyss of foliage at the bottom coughing up a large amount of blood..


    A few minutes later, soaking wet and covered in blood and dirt Chang Leegathered his wits as he recovered from his pain and shock a little and looked around frantically tryingto locate commander Haiyuan in the vicinity, with no sight of the commander he began anxiously shouting out the commander''s name.


    After a short moment he heard the wailing screams of the commander at the top of the hill and was about to make his way there, he had staggered forward for a few steps when suddenly he saw thethe youth appearing like a specter from hell which sent fright down his spine.


    He abandoned his quest to rescue the commander and decided to safeguard his own life, even if he initiated a battle with the youth in hopes of rescuing the commander he knew it would be a battle he couldn''t hope to win in his current state, heck, even at his peak he didn''t think he could compete with the youth..


    As a man of few words, the image of the youth had etched a frightening entity into his mind that could only be described by one word "monster." The things he had seen during this day would stay with him for life, the youth had disposed of Kan Jin who was being touted as the next saint in Sasko without taking any injuries, not even a scratch.


    Chang Lee disappeared in a flash of black energy, in his weakened state he wasn''t even sure how far he could make it through another spatial crack immediately after suffering a backlashbut he didn''t care, any distance he could put between himself and the youth was a blessing.


    Hartley saw this and didn''t give chase, instead he headed to the top of the hill where the commander''s screams and the smell of his leaking blood were capturing the attention of the many fierce beasts prowling the area.....


    Commander Haiyuan was trapped in dense undergrowthsurrounded by a grove of thick, tall trees.


    Bleeding profusely he wailed in pain as he tried to untangle himself from the bushes but he could only claw at the vines limply because his three remaining limbs felt as though every ounce of energy was sucked out of them.


    He barfed up another mouthful of blood still suffering the after effects of the backlash in his futile attempt at escape.


    Hartley spotted the commander as he came to an area with sturdy trees shooting towards the sky, the foliage was thick and there wasn''t a clear path to the commander.


    The sound of the pattering rain was amplified by the broad green leaves of the trees,he approached carefully guarding against any possible sneak attacks.


    Hartley heard the growls before he sawa massive ape-like creature, it was twenty meters away on the other side of the commander rustling and breaking through the knee high shrubbery making its way towards the injured man in a stalking manner.


    The volume of the grating growlsincreased when it spotted Hartley moving towards the commander as well.


    It was almost as if the animal was warning Hartley and the other fierce beasts headed this way to not dare think of deprivingit of an easy meal.


    It closed in on the commander, its long arms thudded in the soil as its short legs swung forward breaking down the small obstacles in front of it. The beast had thick glossy silver fur soaked by the rain with froth forming at the sides of its mouth.


    The weakened commander Haiyuan heard the growls and was frightened to death when he spun his head around to see the sight of the beast.


    Hisscreams somehow grew louder, he then spotted the youth on the opposite side of the undergrowth..


    At this point he had to pick his poison but who would want to end up the belly of a beast? "Help me," he appealed to Hartley with wild eyes. "Help me, I''ve got information your prince could use, bring me back and I will tell all."


    When he saw Hartley still standing at the same spot the commander started to speak quickly, "The count discovered a mine even more valuable than the gemstone mines, that''s why we wanted to take over the country if you help me I can tell you where it is. Just help me!"

 110 Return

    The winter wind howledand swirled, sporadically bringing with it droplets of cold rain. Sharp lightning crackled above turning the sky white and the booming thunder roared every once in a while .


    Under a stone ridge that was being usedtemporarily as a shelter from the downpour,Hartley was was conducting an interrogation while taking refuge from the elements himself.


    "Talk!" Hartley said unable to disguise the sour disgust in his voice.


    The pitiful commander was laying on the hard rocky ground soaked in a mixture of rain and his own blood, he was now missing an arm and a leg,


    Hartley had watched the ape-like creature gnaw on the man''s right leg up to the knee before stepping in and rescuing him for the time being.


    Commander Haiyuan resembled nothing like a domineering officer in the 8th layer of the xiantian realm. He now looked like a pitiful homeless vagrant. He sobbed like a heart broken wife who found her husband has been cheating as he endured the gut- wrenching pain and was unable to get out his words coherently.


    "You have to bring me back first, if I tell you now you''ll kill me." he mumbled with tears streaming down his face and snot leaking from his nose.


    Even in his sorry handicapped state, commander Haiyuan still wanted to preserve what was left of his life. In a society where the strong preyed on the weak, he would now be seen as an invalid, he would be ridiculed and laughed at by those who once respected and feared him. It was a life Hartley wouldn''t wish on anybody, but the commander still seemed determined to survive.


    "Whether or not I kill you right here and now will be decided if I believe anything you tell me." Hartley had a serious look in his cold eyes as he spoke, commander Haiyuan shuddered and gulped down his saliva knowing that this didn''t bode well for his survival chances but he was still hesitant.


    Hartley then suddenly stretched out his hand at snake-quick speed and grabbed the commander by his collar, dragging him up nose to nose with a scowl.


    "Do you dare think me stupid? what if you are making things up because you believe I''m young and susceptible to greed? Think long and hard about the next words to exit your mouth commander."


    Hartley let him droop back down to the floor again, still sobbing.


    The commander had made many decisions during his military career that cost the lives of his men, innocent people or his enemies.


    He had made these life anddeath decisions for otherswithout feeling any guilt or regret, but now when it came to his own life being on the line and in the hand of another, there was nothing he wouldn''t do to save what remained of himself.


    He wasn''t sure if he could take the word of the man who had sneak attacked the count but he had no choice under his current circumstances.


    "Do you know about White iron?"the commander eventually whimpered out a question...


    Hartley''s heart jumped in his chest, Its a metal that not many low level cultivators would have heard about or even seen. Hartley could remember reading about it briefly when he was at the Lou Clan.


    Hartley folded his arms and stared at the man not showing the slightest interest in the subject he had just broached saying "continue."


    "White iron can be mixed with other metals to produce outstanding weapons, but when used by itself it can produce rank 5 or above spirit weapons based on the skill of the blacksmith. It can increase the power of a clan overnight," the commander stuttered out between sobs.


    "The problem is," sob sob, " the metal is so expensive and hard to find that only the richest people on the continent or the royal family could even hope to get their hands on enough of it to make even a single dagger, whether sold or used to produce weapons, its value is unimaginable."


    "Hmm" Hartley nodded with lines etched across his brows as he contemplated his next course of action.


    "Where is this mine? I want to have a look..."


    The king rushed to the gates on the return of the army anxious and impatient for news of the count.


    Commander Genk told the King that the count had escaped with the opposing commander and was probably on his way to Sasko at this very minute, assuring the king with a straight face that the count will be captured and brought to justice. Only the elites had seen the demise of the count and they were instructed that news of the count was a top army secret, if anyone dared to leak the truth....


    The King breathed a visible sigh of relief, it was like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, he ordered another feast in celebration of their comprehensive victory but everyone could tell it was in relief of his little brother maintaining his life, or so he thought.


    After weeks of camp living most of the men were ready to leave this affiliate country and reunite with their families. The military coup had been squashed and the rebel army disbanded and scattered.


    Hartley had informed Commander Genk of the situation with the white iron mine, he knew deep down that the commander didn''t play politics and trusted the man, he was also secretly bringing back commander Haiyuan, his fate would be decided by the prince in Aidonia.


    Either way Hartley had established himself as a powerhouse, people wouldn''t dare cross him lightly, at least not those who have witnessed his prowess in these past weeks...


    A week quickly went by and with it came the end of Hartley''s first trip outside of his country of birth...


    Now stood on the docks of the Cassia province commander Genk''s giant palm slapped down onto Hartley''s shoulder.


    "Hahaha, Hartley this mission turned out even better than expected, I''m sure the prince will be wanting to see you in person very soon." The commander had a bright smile as men busily unpacked the ships and led horses towards the capital.


    "I have a feeling we''ll be seeing each other soon, I know you can''t wait to get back to your fief so I won''t keep you long."


    "Thank you commander, it was a pleasure." Hartley said with a formal bow.


    The commander laughed out again and turned away barking orders to the men.....


    Ice-blue mist dispersed like smoke then faded away leaving Hartley stood on a ridge overlooking a castle-like manor, on the tip of one of the manor''s long spire a black flag with a white bear rustled in the cold winds.


    The ground was frozen and treacherous underfoot, the wind howled and the naked trees bowed their heads. Flecks of snows swirled through the air reminding Hartley that he was back to the harsh winter in Aidonia. Breathing in the cold air Hartley saw his breath condensate and smoke-like as he exhaled, something just looked right about the snow-covered surroundings he thought to himself.


    The lord of the western hills had returned.


    Even in this weather, people dressed in thick furs moved around the manor talking casually as they executed their tasks and patrols could be seen off in the distance making their rounds on horseback, the atmosphere was a happy one overall, all the residential building for the miner''s had been finished and smoke could be seen rising from the chimneys of the one-story stone buildings.


    Hartley couldn''t help but to smile, the sight before him pleased his eyes, he couldn''t forget that once all that stretched over the scene were shambolic crude wooden structures....

 111 Meeting with Prince Jian

    Fu Qian rose from his soft bed and put on his robe, it was a neat dark colored brocade robe, he straightened out his clothes as he looked himself in the mirror and gave himself a nod of satisfaction with a throaty grunt. He had always taken pride in his appearance and since he had been staying in the territory of the young lord of these western hills, he had gradually began to redeem the dignity he lost while living rough in the open forest.


    It was an uneventful morning not different from the previous ones, people went about their daily routines, some headed to the mines and some took over patrol duties from those who had been on duty for the night before.


    Crunching through the snow Fu Qian went to the house next door.A young woman dressed plainly with brunettehair and big round beautiful eyes opened the door and let him in in an expected manner as if it was a practiced routine.


    .


    "How''s things been on you" he started a conversation with the young miss. "Dad, is it safe to stay here?"


    "I''m not sure either, but so far so good and no one has attempted to harass you." He answered as she passed him a steaming cup of tea, he took a sip, "It''s better than camping outdoors in the winter and we''re getting fair pay, we''ll see whether this young lord is different from the other nobles then decide if we stay or leave after the snows..."


    She had a worried look on herface but didn''t say anything else.


    knock, knock, knock, a few seconds later someone was hurriedly banging at the door.


    "Sir," came a hurried voice on the other side giving Fu Qian or his daughter little time to respond. "We have an intruder at the hills at the entrance..." the voice from the other side came again with a little excitement.


    Fu Qian rounded up a dozen men and headed for the area where the intruder was spotted. He was in charge of securing the perimeter and reported directly to Qin Li, these men who were former bandits had nothing but respect in their eyes when they looked at the handsome man dressed only in a brocade robe in the bitter windy cold.


    It was almost confirmed in their minds that they made the right choice to follow this heroic man and join the ranks of the young lord of the western hills. As a result their life recently had been much more comfortable and dignified. They would never have thought that such a life could exist within the bounds of a noble house.


    Fu Qian had decided to have a look at the problem first then send a message to Qin Li if it was needed.


    This was the first time someone had dared to intrude on the territory of the young lord and he wanted to deal with this matter personally as a sort of thanks for the hospitality he and his daughterhad received.


    Horses galloped sending specks of mud and snow flying. They rumbledtowards the entrance of the manor and soon was on a crest to the south-west. There they saw someone walking casually out in the open with his hands behind his back as if he was in his garden sniffing the roses.


    "Halt, why are you sneaking around the manor?" a booming voice sounded, Fu Quian quickly dismounted, he wore only his majestic brocade robe while the others behind him wore thick furs. They all followed Fu Qian''slead and all dismounted brandishing brand new shiny swords. Their eyes gleaming like kids with new toys.


    Fu Qian being in the 1st layer of the xiantian realm, the cold didn''t affect him or his confidence, he strode forward briskly to apprehend the intruder...


    Fu Qian stopped dead in tracks when he was close enough to recognize the intruder.The older man right behind Fu Qian''s right shoulder also immediately recognized the youth.The unease in the old man''s stomach growled as loud as thunder as he took a few steps backwards in panic.


    How could he not recognize the youth? He had been the first to confront the youth in the forest with a rickety cross bow that time...


    "Welcome back young lord." Fu Qian made no qualms about taking a knee in front of his men, he dropped to one knee in a knight''s salute with his head bowed.The shell shocked former bandits followed suit after gathering their wits..


    The unfathomable power displayed by this youth standing in front of them on that one occasion they had met left a lasting impression on their minds.


    The youth could have easily bullied Fu Qian and captured his daughter but instead had offered him a job. A bead of sweat ran down Fu Qian''s back as he regretted the arrogant way in which he had talked and behaved in front of the youth just now.


    "Rise." Hartley said as hegrinned at the former bandits who now looked like an organized force, internally pleased with his decision to recruit them.


    Some of the men had only glimpsed the lord of the western hills before and now they noticed that the man who was so revered by many was nothing but a teenager.


    "How has your stay been?" Hartley spoke directly to Fu Qian.


    "Its been ten folds better than camping out in the forest my lord," Fu Qian answered as he straitened out his robe standing ram rod straight.


    "Good," Hartley smiled.. "Let the men return to their duties while we walk back" Hartley instructed. The men clumsily bowed their heads and mounted their horses and galloped off.


    As soon as they were within ear shot of the manor they started screaming "The young lord has returned." This immediately caused a commotion.


    People came out and lined the frozen streets dressed in thick furs creating a buzz of excitement around the manor.


    Hartley strode forward casually through the frozen tundra dressed in his simple-styled black robe beside Fu Qian in his brocade robe while inquiring about the state of affairs with in the manor for the last month and a half. Hartley had a good impression of this stylish man, it was like when he had met Qin Li for the first time.


    Soon they appeared in the world of white casually walking towards the manor amidst the raucous fanfare of excited onlookers, suddenly a white flash dissected the crowd and went straight at Hartley likelightning.


    People saw a pair of jade-like pale arms clung around Hartley''s neck, the person wearing a long white dress had her face buried in his neck, she held him so close the frigid wind couldn''t pass between the two.


    "Welcome back, I missed you so much." a voice sweeter than the sound of a violin whispered.Feeling the warmth from her body radiating through her thin dress, Hartley held her close and stroked her flaming red hair. Zhi ruo face blushed red with all the onlookers watching her intimate moment with Hartley.


    "I missed you too, now that I''m back we can go ahead with our wedding soon."


    When the two separated Qin LI stepped forward from the crowd and greeted Hartley with a slap to the shoulder.


    "So, how was the savage foreign lands?" Qin Li asked with a playful smile.


    "Not that much different from these savage lands." Hartley replied, they both laughed out at almost the same time.


    "Looks like you''ve been working hard as usual," Hartley looked at Qin LI who was giving strong fluctuations, in this short time he was more than half way towards the 5th layer of the xiantian realm.


    "Hmmn" Qin Li smiled.


    " A feast." Qin Li instructed the serving staff and they quickly scattered to make preparations.


    The feast lasted into the night, then Hartley retired to his room with Zhi Ruo and caught up


    with his activities.


    Three days later a summon was delivered by Prince Jian requesting Hartley''s presence in the capital.

 112 The Young Prince

    News of the comprehensive victory in Tivoli was spread out across the capital, the region was buzzing with a sense of superiority over their long time rivals from Sasko.


    More shocking news was to come as sketchy details of the operation pointed to the new lord of the western hills being an integral part of the success to retain the gemstone mines.


    People in certain circles had expected big things from the youth based on the fact that he had earned the young prince''s trust, but definitely not this soon. The person most surprised was in his office alone at at his massive desk, natural light crawled across the room as the man with streaks of white running through his hair carefully read through a plethora of parchments.


    The top secret reports sitting scattered across his desk were astounding, he had read and re-read certain documents just to make sure that he was seeing the right thing. From the operation they had captured a captain and a commander from Sasko, this was unheard of before in skirmishes happening in an affiliate country.


    If one faction was losing they would just retreat while erasing the evidence of them ever being there then deny all involvement.


    Apparently Hartley had personally captured the two high level captives and slaughtered countless infantry, even more daunting was a top secret parchment marked "for the prince''s eyes only" written in bold red letters.


    When Prince Jian read this document his eyes almost popped out of their sockets. Hartley had single-handedly killed an expert in the 9th layer of the xiantian realm, a top prospect from Sasko touted to be their next saint.


    When he had brought the youth into his circle, honestly he was just doing it because of Commander Genk''s enthusiasm but now it seems he had hit the jackpot. To think that blasted poof Sir Lingwei had almost made an enemy of the youth. The prince felt as if he had dodged a knife to the heart.


    "The youngest powerhouse ever to walk the continent." Prince Jian said to himself lost in his thoughts. He certainly didn''t see this coming. Commander Genk really had an eye for talent, even if the brute of a man was lacking in diplomacy he thought to himself....


    The following days at the manor Hartley saw countless nobles come to visit and acquaint themselves with the new lord of the western hills trying to leave a good impression. Hartley was now seen as someone of the younger generation with massive potential to make it to the top in the aristocratic circles.


    Some brought with them expensive gifts for the upcoming wedding or just to curry favor.


    Though Hartley didn''t put these people in his eyes and had nointention of fostering any relations with them, he greedily accepted their valuable gifts shamelessly.


    It was a contemptible piece of shamelessnesson his part but if a shameful thing was to be done in relieving these wanna-be hangers-on of their wealth, Hartley might as well be the one to do it. In this new cut-throat world he had found himself in, there was no advantages for the honorable or overly righteous.....


    A week later, while Hartley and commander Genk traveled towards the prince''s castle there was an altercation back at the manor of the western hills....


    "Return to your duties now you plebs! Capture them all all and tie them up." A fat noble man screamed with irritation as he barked orders at his contingent of fur clad guards while pointing out some of the former bandits who now worked for Hartley for immediate capture.


    The fat man''s guards drew their weapons and advanced towards the former bandits who in turn drew their own weapons and stood their ground with scowls of derision. "Come if you have no more use for your lives," one of the former bandits shouted at the incoming soldiers.


    This caused a frantic scene at the front of the manor with both groups shouting at each other while locked in a stand-off. The fat man''s guards were taken aback for a bit when they saw that the former bandits weapons and armor were no worse than their own. These were people who used to grovel at the feet of the fat nobleman and had to do any unreasonable tasks the man could think of.


    Now they were brandishing quality weapons and dared to talk back?


    Women doing their duties dressed in thick furs scooped up their children and retreated from the fracas in panic, not sure what to do in such a situation.


    This was the first time since the young lord had taken over the western hills that anyone had dared to come and cause trouble.


    "I demand to see Sir Hartley this instant." The fat man dressed all in white shouted at the people on guard duty sending them scurrying away.


    This man was Hong Zang and his territory was a hundred miles south of the western hills on the flat farm lands. In the winter no crops could be planted, and when the crops were reaped very little would go to the common people on his lands, these people would barely survive the winter only to endure back-breaking work in the springtime.


    This led to anumber of the commoners on his land running away but because there was a unwritten rule that nobles wouldn''t hire runaway commoners from another noble''s lands, he had thought it a matter of time before he would round up these commoners again.


    This man was shocked to see familiar faces wearing furs and looking healthy during the winter. He had come to deliver his gift to the lord of the western hills but now he was furious...


    A couple of the serving staff sprinted into the manor to report the disturbance.....


    Moments later Zhi Ruo appeared at the front door of the manor, her red hair knotted in a bun with a few loose strands dancing down the left side of her face.


    She glided across the snow-covered ground with lithe and elegant steps as her regal blue dress fluttered in the cold wind, the swirling snow flecks fluttered around her body without touching her. This natural beauty and grace made everyonelook on in awe.


    The red hair beauty took up a position between the former bandits and their assailants and with a simple gesture from her both groups calmed and quietened down.


    "What is the meaning of this, who dares to come here and cause a scene?" Zhi Ruo''s voice rang out with authority.


    The fat man standing behind his guards ran his eyes up and down over Zhi Ruo''s body before answering.


    "These common plebs are supposed to be working on my estate, they all shirked their duties to House Zang. I demand they be returned to uphold their duties and proper compensation be paid to us by House Hartley."


    Zhi Ruo turned and looked at the former bandits then asked


    "Do any of you know this man?" They all shook their heads indicating they didn''t.


    Zhi Ruo turned back to the fat man with a wave of her slender jade-like hand saying,


    "Leave now if you have no further business here and do not come back causing a disturbance." She snorted with her nose pointed at the sky and hands akimbo in a sign of dismissal


    The fat noble''s jaw almost fell to the floor.


    "You whore!" he blurted out, his face red and swollen with anger. "Get Sir Hartley out here this instant, I have no time for a bed warmer."


    Zhi Ruo''s face immediately scrunched with seriousness and her eyes squinted to needle points, through gritted teeth she barely managed to ask, "what did you just say?".....


    On a snow covered road, sat beside Commander Genk in a comfortable carriage Hartley arrived at the grand castle in the center of the capital. The castle walls looked dated but in a good way, it portrayed a certain classical history and mystique.


    This was one of the oldest standing castles in the capital that had stood through the test of time andmany conflicts. It used to belong to King Yulan but was handed to Prince Jian when the King went into closed door practice over a decade ago.


    Snows clung to the roof of the carriage as it was led towards the gatehouse in front of the massive walls, the gatehouse itself resembled a mini-castle in its own right, manned by fully armored guards armed to the teeth.


    This was the stronghold of the young prince and had two battalions of the first imperial legion army posted in barracks located on the south-side of the premises. The shouts of masculine voices rang out from the south, it seemed like the soldiers were going through their training routine, but it was hard to tell exactly what they were doing in the snow.


    After passing through the gatehouse with a few strict checks the carriage was escorted down the long white frozen road leading to castle by the guard captain and four of his subordinates. The soldiers rode their horses which made long strides across the frozen road while the guard captain joined Hartley and Commander Genk on board the carriage.


    Only three pairs of footsteps were audible as both men were led in silence to the receiving hall and out of the swirling snow flakes.


    Hartley immediately picked up the fluctuations of several hidden experts. Not one of them was weaker than the 9th layer of the xiantian realm.


    "Your majesty will be with you in a minute, refreshments are available in the mean time." said the guard captain in a flat tone devoid of any emotion.


    He then signaled one of the beautiful girls at the far end of the room who came scurrying over with a jug of wine and a couple tall glasses made of clear crystal.


    "Please make yourselves comfortable," he said as he bowed low and backed out of the hall without turning to face the door and disappeared from sight.


    Inside the receiving hall was modernized, it was obvious that the young prince had done some renovations to make it a little more comfortable. Hartley passed the most disciplined guards he had ever seen, they stood like statues dressed in full armor not making any movement or sound.


    "At least the refreshments are always good here," said Commander Genk as he poured himself a glass of the fragrant wine.


    Hartley sat down in a cushioned seat watching the lights and reflections dance across the tiled floor as commander Genk passed him a glass full of wine.


    Foot steps were heard soon after and the princewith two experts trailing behind him entered the receiving hall.


    The prince looked to be about 50 and had white running through his hair.


    Hartley had heard a lot about the prince and now meeting him was nothing like he had expected.


    The scholarly looking man looked more like someone who calculated the wage bill in a government building, nothing like the cut-throat politician Hartley had heard so much about.

 113 Feud

    Without warning Zhi Ruo sprung forwardlike a kangaroo launching itself froma springboard. The first guard in her way was unwittingly slapped down and rolled groaning leaving a line through the snow before anyonecould register what was going on.


    Another shriek of pain and another guard lost hold of his shiny sword which flew one direction and his body the other, he tumbled over the uneven snow-covered surface of the frozen ground and crashed into another guard who was slow to react. Both of them slithered away with horrific screams and the sounds of breaking bones.


    Zhi Ruo''s ghost-like figure weaved through the shocked guards bare-handed, her feet hidden under her long dress produced white circularripples on the top of the friction-less frozen ground. With every step the air whistled and whined.


    To the untrained eyes she seemed to disappear and reappear somewhere else in the blink of an eye with snow flakes twirling and flickeringaround her body without ever touching her skin.


    The hapless guards who tried to confront her were sent flying with every nonchalant attack. Even two hundred guards on this level wouldn''t be a factor if Zhi Ruo wanted to get to Hong Zang.


    All onlookers stared at the scene in silent amazement, especially the females who were just scrambling away to get their children to safety. They all stopped and watched the red hair first-lady of House Hartley elegance and violence in equal measure.


    Never would they have thought they would one day see the lady-like Zhi Ruo flogging the guards of a noble in public. The former bandits had the best view from behind, they heard and saw the bone-breaking hits being delivered from a closer vantage point than anyone else.


    In their eyes Zhi Ruo was now the most powerful and majestic woman they had ever seen.


    Theresidual screams of the battered guards seemed to be carriedoff in the distance with the wind, elongating their painful shrieks as it echoed out in the western hills.


    After seeing a half dozen men scattered across the ground beaten to a pulp and wailing miserably in pain, the others didn''t dare to impede or attempt toblock her path to Hong Zang, they quickly fled to the side leaving the fat man unguarded.


    The fat on Hong Zang''s face jiggled in fright and his eyes bulged as if he was suffocatingon a piece of meat stuck in his throat. His guards parted like the red sea and hesaw the woman dressed in blue who he had just insulted moving in his direction with a trail of injured and bloody guards laying behind her.


    Her graceful balletic steps on the tip of her toes seemed to mesmerize the fat man for a moment before he was brought back to reality by her voice.


    "Trash, say it again" Zhi Ruo''s voice was cold andwhisper-like but everyone present heard her loud and clear.


    Before the startled fat man could apologize or start begging for mercy..


    Pa! a slap stung across his face sending him flying six to seven meters. Tap. tap, tap. before he could crash against the floor like the others before him, Zhi Ruo stepped across the ice like a phantom and caught up to the flying man, she stretched out her dainty left hand and the fat man was once again within her grasp gripped by the collar.


    Hong Zang wailed in misery and spat out a few teeth, the blood from his bleeding mouth gushed out and stained the lapel of his white outfit.


    "Trash, say it again." When Hong Zang heard the phrase a second time, he quickly tried to say something with his swollen jaw.


    Pa! another slap landed on the side of his jaw before words could emerge from his throat.


    Even in the cold conditions, half ofhis face swelled up to the double its normal size. Again he was sent flying backwards with the red hair phantom-like figure giving chase...


    "You owe me five gold coins."


    "What? That''s half a month''s wages, you are not seriously going to collect, are you?"


    "A bet is a bet."Qin Li said to Fu Qian with a dignified look.


    They were both on the second floor of the manor looking out a window through the swirling downpour of snow flakes and watching Zhi Ruo''s performance.


    "How was i supposed to know that she could actually slap that fat slob over five meters."


    "Hahaha," Qin Li laughed, "If you weren''t sure you shouldn''t have bet, now pay up."


    Fu Qian was livid as he retrieved five cold coins and gingerly passed them to Qin Li as if he was giving away his family''s heirloom.


    "Trash, say it again."Pa! The phrase was repeated again and followed by another ear-ringing slap connecting with the face of the fat noble.


    OutsideZhi Ruo had begun to work on the other side of the man''s face, his body wobbled like jello with each assault he endured, but he wasn''t allowed to hit the floor after being sent flying by every singlehit delivered.


    His remaining guards shuddered every time they witnessed him receiving another merciless face-slap,just the sound of the beating alone reverberated through their very bones.


    Soon he was unrecognizable, his head was the size of a giant bore and his skin-tone was as pink as a flamingo basking in the summer sun.


    The only silver lining for Hong Zang was that he still had one good tooth left in his mouth. The others were all lost in the snow or swallowed into his belly.


    Finally the man could take no more and fainted, Zhi Ruo now let him hit the ground for the first time since the beating began thenturned and gave the death stare to the remaining guards, they trembled and buckled almost falling to their knees.


    "Take this trash out of my sight and off my property, if any one of you trash dares to return." She shook her petite fist at the guards sending shivers down their spines.


    The men hurriedly scrambled to get the overweight man placed inhis carriage andthrowing the injured guards on some horses then quickly left the western hills without so much as looking backwards and too scared to utter even a single word.


    Everyone living in the western hills who had just witnessed the scene, watched with awe as Zhi Ruo walked back elegantly to the manor with not even a wrinkle on her regal blue dress.....


    "Who was he?" Qin Li asked Fu Qian after the excitement had died down a bit.


    "He''s a barely civilized thug of a noble who inherited the flat lands from his late father, he enjoys torturing and tormenting the commoners living on his lands. Working them to death is a common occurrence there." Fu Qian answered flippantly.


    Qin Li went into deep thought for a minute.


    "Spread the word covertly that commoners from the flat lands can take refuge in the western hills."


    Fu Qian smiled and said "yes sir." before leaving the room feeling a little bit better after having lost his money.....


    Meanwhile in the Castle of the young prince...


    "Sir Hartley I wanted to talk to you directly and inform you ofthe rewards forthe recent successful mission carried out in Tivoli."


    "First of all congratulations to you both for a job well done. We even have prisoners we can ransom for a hefty sum."


    "Thank you your majesty," Hartley gave a bow from his seated position.


    Prince Jian leaned forward in his chair, he was sat at a seat with his two bodyguards lurking diligently in the shadows behind and a desk between him and the commander and Hartley.


    "There have been some unforeseen developments on this mission and commander Genk have given you credit."


    "Hmmn." Commander Genk sat next to Hartley nodded his head with a throaty grunt.


    "The country of Aidonia has gained greatly from this mission and so in turn you shall gain as well. First, I''m going to extend your territory by half."


    The prince shuffled through a few parchments then unfurled a map and made a new line with his quilt.


    "The title for your reformed territory will be sent to you soon."


    Commander Genk smiled, nodded and slapped Hartley on the shoulders without saying a word.


    Harley''s face was still showing no emotion so the prince continued.


    "You will receive twenty percent of the gemstones we receive annually or the equivalent in gold coins and thirty percent of all white iron mined. Also we will split the proceeds from the coal mines equally from now on."


    The prince sat back with a questioning gaze as he waited for Hartley''s response. The prince was a shrewd operator and after the reports he had read, he wasn''t going to miss the chance to bring the youth even closer into his circle.


    After a while Hartley gave his response, instead of thirty percent of the white iron, he would take twenty percent, provided the prince supplied some rank 3 martial scriptures and a rank 3 cultivation technique. Because Hartley had circumnavigated the traditional cultivation route with his blue star fragment. He had failed to realize before now that in order to raise competent forces one needed above average martial scriptures and cultivation techniques.


    This was a great opportunity to acquire these things and Hartley wasn''t going to let it slip by.


    The prince thought things through for a minute but in the end he agreed readily. Martial scriptures and cultivation techniques were priceless but those things needed years to pay dividend when raising a brand new force so he didn''t mind giving Hartley a few copies.....


    Meanwhile Hartley was collecting rewards, Baron Hongtian was sat alone in a dark luxurious room fuming.


    A tear-drop shaped flame was fluttering at the end of a candle while he read through some parchments at his desk.


    The platoon of men he had sent on the mission to Tivoli on behalf of the eldest prince was decimated.


    Captain Bojin had returned with only about a third of the men he had left with. To make matters worse Commander Genk and his subordinates were getting all the plaudits from the mission and everyone seems to be glossing over the losses that he had to endure.


    He had just received and read a message about a feud between House Hartley and House Zang but he was very wary ofHartley.


    Monthsago when the youth was on his way to the capital, Baron Hongtian had sent one if his best assassin to eliminate the youth in the province of Papineas a favor to Song Zemin.


    Up til this day that assassin has not returned.


    By all accounts from Captain Bojin the youth was powerful or he had powerful backers, either way Baron Hongtian wasn''t going to barge into the western hills to find out. At his age discretion was the better part of valor.


    But this feud between House Zang andthe western Hills could be leveraged to his advantage if he played his cards right...

 114 Grand Wedding

    "She literally slapped the taste out of that fat slob''smouth. Hahaha, it was amazing, you should have seen it.I doubt he''ll be eating anything solid for the next six months."


    Fu Qian waved his arms around animatedly as he clumsily narrated the scene of Zhi Ruo floggingHong Zhang.


    The stylish man was recounting the events of the prior day to Hartley who sat smiling on the second floor of his manor in a comfortable cushioned chair, the room was a large and open-planned lounge with a cozy fire place in the pillar at its center sending out flickers of yellow fire-light and warmth.


    Sat close beside Hartley with an arm wrapped around his waist,Zhi Ruo blushed girlishly at the over-exaggerated way Fu Qian was acting but she didn''t protest or mind too much.


    At the other end of the room Qin Li sat with a smile plastered across his face, trying his best to suppress his laughter from bursting forth.


    "Lady Ruo," Fu Qian now had a serious look on his face after recounting the story, he walked over and dropped to one knee in a knight''s salute. The flickering lights from the fire place highlighted his mature handsome features in yellow.


    "I want you to take my daughter under your wings. I want her to be justlike you so I don''t ever have to worry about any noble harassing her again, for this I will forever serve House Hartley with every last drop of blood within my veins. This I swear to you ma''lady." Fu Qian looked reverently towards Zhi Ruo with a face full of anticipation.


    Zhi Ruo looked at Hartley awkwardly, she didn''t know how to respond to this request. She wasn''t a teacher and at first she wasn''t interested in cultivation like most other girls, if not for her mother''s situation and Hartley pushing her, she would probably be just like his daughter.


    Hartley laughed out at the bewildered look on Zhi Ruo''s face... he too had no idea what to say. All he could do was shrug and say. "It''s up to her, if she truly wants to cultivate she can join the others."


    Two months went by quickly and the thaw of the spring was upon the capital. The relentless snows that had bombarded the region for the past months were now receding turning the frozen ground soft and into a quagmire of slushy mud.


    As dawn broke over the capitalon a chilly spring morning, another piece of major news was doing the rounds in the aristocratic circles. Sir Lingwei had been relieved of his duties at Windsor Peak Castle with immediate effect. He had been ruthlessly axed by the pragmatic young prince.


    He was to be replaced by Viscount Sanzu who had finally made it to the capital. People put one and one together and figured that this was because of the Viscount''skinship with the rising star of the Western Hills which led to him being favored by the prince.


    Viscount Sanzu was immediatelyinstated as the chief administrator for the young prince, relegating Sir Lingwei to the obscurity of a common nobleman.


    The days passed without incident in the western hills and the population of commoners in the region was increasing slowly.


    Qin Li had informed Hartley that he had instructed Fu Qian to spread the word that the commoners from the flat lands could seek refuge in his territory. Hartley didn''t care too much about it, his fief had expanded and there was a need for more man power. Hartley wouldn''t bound himself to the unwritten rules of the nobles before him. If the people wanted to work for the betterment of the Western Hills then so be it. It was their choice as far as he was concerned.


    People from the flat lands constantly sought refuge in Hartley''s fief, word had spread that the standard of living for the common people there was like night and day compared to theflat lands.


    They began to abandon the flat lands in droves as they searched for a better life and a better future for themselves and their family.


    The increase in size of Hartley''s fief meant that accommodating the influx of extra people wasn''t too hard. They quickly built some temporary housing for the newcomers before a more permanent solution could be organized after the thaw.


    Some went to work in the mines immediately while others joined the security team with a few days of training by Fu Qian, they were all eager to start earning a fair wage, and make an impression in the Western Hills.


    Hartley was slowly learning as the population increased that he needed qualified people to delegate certain jobs to, like blacksmith, apothecary and someone who could train his troops. He wanted to first establish a quality fighting force of a few hundred before expanding his forces to be on par with other nobles.


    Yang Yi was now leaving for Windsor peak Castle to re-unite with Viscount Sanzu so Zhi Ruo who had experience in running her own shop in the Waltham provincewas now taking over the administrative side of running the manor.


    Acquiring the talents needed and establishing separate departments of operation had to be the next step in the development of the Western Hills if Hartley was to grow his fief into something more than just back-mountains and mines.....


    The date of the wedding was approaching fast, There was an excitedbuzz in the atmospherearound the manor. The people of the western hills had put Zhi Ruo and Hartley on a pedestal, she was their idol and had showed warmth and kindness to the commoners and represented everything they wished for their daughters to be and he was an extraordinary youth who treated the common people fairly. Their love and admiration for the couple was almost infinite.....


    On the morning before the wedding Hartley dragged Qin Li and Fu Qian with him out of the manor to go shopping for new robes for the upcoming occasion. Three men walked through the shops of the capital. Two were handsome and the other sported a scraggly unkempt beard lookingmiserable like he hadn''t slept in days.


    Fu Qian was excited to introduce these youngsters to the style of the capital and carried them to the places that had the most stylish fabrics, he considered himself somewhat of a style icon, they shopped at their leisure to the delight of Fu Qian and chose so much clothes that the merchants of the capital smiled with happiness when the men left, leaving them a golden profit.


    While walking through the streets Hartley had noticed someone tailing them as the moved through the shops. The person wasn''t very powerful but he blended in with the surrounding crowd rather skillfully and ghost-like. Hartley purposely led his group to a more secluded street in hopes of isolating the person following.


    On a street which was less busy than usual, Hartley walked while paying attention to the surroundings. A young man about fifteen soon alighted from an empty alley way and headed straight towards to the three.


    The black hair skinny youth was at the peak of the houtian realm so he was no threat to these three but the youth walked straight up to and Hartley with confident strides and dropped to one knee and said.


    "Guildmaster."


    It dawned on Qin Li''s and Hartley''s face immediately, they had almost forgotten about the Wawrika province, no doubt this youth was one of the orphans from the Rykers guild they had taken over last winter on their way to the capital. After exchanging greetings the youth accompanied the three back to the western hills.....


    It was a beautiful spring day with a clear sky. Excitement was in the atmosphere as the people of the western hills gathered in their masses. The bells tolled out around the manor and the rhythmic beats of drums sounded, Hartley and Zhi Ruo made their way out of the manor smiling and waving, the commoners lined the street dressed in colorful clean robes sporting happy smiling faces. They cheered loudly and threw red rose petals as the couple went by, littering the streets in a surreal carpet of crimson flowers.


    The grand wedding ceremony had gone off without a hitch inside the hall. Lining the winding streets were luxurious carriages and the personal guards of some of the most notable nobles in the capital who had come to pay their respects to the rising star of the Western Hills.


    Commander Genk stood with Anguo Chen in the thick crowd of people traffic. Viscount Sanzu too had made an appearance and was lined at the front of the manor as the newly weds emerged to the raucous cheers of the crowds.


    The couple walked hand in hand smiling and waving, Zhi Ruo wearing an elegant white dress that was beautifully embroidered with fine lace and dragged across the floor behind her. Hartley wore a black brocade robe made of silk with fine golden patterns sewed into the fabric.


    This was the most unforgettable day of both their lives, It was also an unforgettable day for the commoners of the Western Hills too, who for the first time in living memory felt invested in the affairs of the nobles.


    The people who had witnessed the ceremony first-hand strolled out of the hall behind them, Qin Li who had cut his gruff beard and had his hair neatly tied back was looking dashing in his blue brocade robe. He led the procession of people streaming out behind the couple.


    A stylish Fu Qian wore white with his daughter beside him also donning a white dress. The members of the former bandits made up the security team dressed in uniformed black robes with a white bear stitched across the left breast. They fanned out military-style and secured the pathway for the couple in a manner not befitting that of a rag-tag group.


    The wine flowed like a river and the cooks prepared dozens of roasted boars. It was like a carnival as the jovial supporters ate, danced and partied in happiness. The nobles who had waited for a glimpse of the Lord of the Western Hills came up and offered their congratulations, parting with their gifts and well wishes after greeting the beautifully bewitching young couple.


    The day was a major success for the couple as they made their rounds around the manor then retreated back and out of sight inside the manor to spend their honeymoon period and consummate their marriage.....

 115 Intrusion

    The temperature in the Western HillsIncreased gradually with the change of season. The spring sun washed the green mountains in agolden haze accompanied by the sounds of chirping birds. The muddy ground hadbegan to dry and the footing was sufficient for the people to move around as normal again. Children happy to see the end of the cold months ran around the manor laughing and playing wearing clean robes of good quality.


    The standard of clothing and housing for these commoners was something they hadn''t even dreamt of before, with the money they earned from their duties around the manor they could now buy clothes, meatfurnitureand even luxury items they had never been in a position to purchase before.


    Zhi Ruo was a natural entrepreneur and since she had taken over running the manor, she stocked the manor with a variety of goods and opened small shops selling different items around the area forreasonable prices, sometimes just barely above cost price.


    This created and artificial economy within the manor where the money circulated in and out of the commoners pockets and into the coffers of the house, keeping House Hartley in a good position financially while raising the overall infrastructure and standards of living for all.


    There were newly built neatly aligned rows of stone buildings being erected to the east of the original miner''s residential area and cobble stone roads were being built to connect each section of the manor. With the rise inman power at their disposal, the work went twice as fast and they could incur these costs and still not lose as much gold asthey did in the first batch of buildings.


    The coal mines had been yielding double the average production per day with the newly added workers doubling the daily revenues for House Hartley. Things were looking up now, Hartley had made a request to commander Genk to get someone skilled in training soldiers to come and whip his forces into shape.


    The commander did not disappoint, he sent one of his captains to the manor almost immediately.


    The man arrived the Western Hills a week ago, the muscled man was a whopping 2 meters tall and had black hair showering down to his shoulders. His name was captain Houlang, he was a 2nd layer xiantian and a man of few words.


    He had greeted Hartley and the rest respectfully and had a few reluctant conversations outlining his plans, he was given the position of temporary guard captain of the Western Hills with Fu Qian as his assistant. Hopefully he would groom Fu Qian enough so that he could be competent at the position and take overwhen the muscled man had to leave.


    There was no lingering, the muscle man got down to his duties immediately, deliveringinstructions to the amateur force on the details of what makes a good soldier. From nutrition and fitnessto weapon maintenance and safety.


    He quickly implemented discipline in these former bandits and farmers and started a new more professional training regime which saw massive improvements in the force over the short time he had been present.


    Most soldiers won''t make it into the xiantian realm because it took enlightenment to step across that boundary.


    But to get ordinary soldiers to the peak of the Houtian realm was easier, all it took was physical practice, dedication and a tweak in nutrition. The captain of the guards took all the soldiers and aspiring soldiers on a daily run through the mountains to warm up their appetite for what was to come....


    Sitting in the lounge on the second floorHartley smiled as he saw the organized block of soldiers in neat formation runninglaps around the manor then headed in the direction of the back-mountains.


    The skinny youth from the Rykers guild was sat across from him recounting his experiences in the last Year. After Hartley had freed them from the tyranny of the fat guild-master, they had all ventured off into the world either as a part of Qin Li''s impromptu spy network or just to live the life of a normal mortal.


    The youth spoke of the current condition of the guild and assured that everything was running smoothly when he had left. Whenever he mentioned Zhi Ruo, he spokeas if she was a Goddess, he had left the Wawrika province soon after Hartley had left and he was determined to serve Hartley and Zhi Ruo at any cost.


    Hartley now knew where he was going to recruit his potential xiantians from, these orphans were very loyal to Zhi Ruo and had good potential. Finding loyalty in the capital was not a guarantee. For this youth to reach the peak of the houtain realm with the scant resources available to him showed that he had good potential. Hartley had to make a trip back to the Wawrika province in the future he thought to himself.


    There was four orphans who headed to the capital altogether, two had died on the brutal journey, the youth left the manor to fetch the other surviving orphan....


    A perfect spring day in the western hills was going quite good as busy people milled around until the drumming of feet and a rolling carriage could be heard from a distance. The sound became more thunderous as it came closer and closer, the wide-eyed commoners scattered around in the vicinity were all confused and on edge.


    Soon a platoon of shield-bearing infantry men armed with long spears rising to the sky like a forestbarged in the Western Hills aggressively stopping and forming a defensive line at the entrance to the manor sending the commoners scurrying away to safety in panic.


    A white luxurious carriage slowly made its way up the winding road and stopped behind the shield bearing infantry who had thumped their shields to the ground with a grunt and formeda neat wall of iron with theirinterlocked shields.


    A skeleton crew was guarding the manor because most of the men were out training in the mountains. The overwhelmed crew quickly rushed to the manor and reported that there was a couple of nobles at the entrance backed by a high number of infantry men demanding to see the young lord.


    Hartley was not pleased with the intrusion of the foreign force in the western hills. Who would dare try and barge into his territory with so much troops uninvited. This was showing him no face and was a disrespectful gesture towards the sanctity of another noble''s property. He gritted his teeth and strolled out without a word, Qin Li and Zhi Ruo looked at each other then rushed out to back him up.


    When they reached the entrance with the spooked commoners peeping from behind cover, they saw the line of about four hundred soldiers dressed in bright silver armor standing behind robust square silver shields that were about a meter long and half a meter wide.


    The carriage door swung open and a smiling handsome man about thirty alighted dressed in white, from the other side an elder man also came out dressed in all black. This elder man was apparently the spokesman of the group because he started to talk as soon as Hartley arrived.


    " I am Elder Juntao from a neighboring fief," the man said as he stood behind the his soldiers then pointed at the younger man at the other side of the carriage. "That is San Wan from house Wan," he said this confidently with his nose pointed towards the sky as if he expected Hartley to be intimidated by the mere mention of House Wan, when the handsome youth across from him didn''t show any change in expression he continued after clearing his throat.


    "We are here representing Hong Zang,we demand that thecommoners you are harboring in the Western Hills be released back to the flat lands this minute."The stern face elder man began to make demands without even greeting the lord of the land on which he currently stood.


    "No one is being held captive in the Western Hills, they are all free to return if they so wish. There is no laws against people living where they want is there?" Zhi Ruo shouted back at the rude elder unable to hold back her ire.


    The man growled with irritation.


    "There is an etiquette that guides the behavior between us nobles and it alleviates the ill will towards each other. These commoners should know their place and serve their noble-house with pride whether they like it or not. It''s not there place to choose, no noble should interfere in another''s affairs, its as simple as that." The stern face elder fired back in response with his eyes bulging and spittle flying.


    "These people have no slave-stamps they belong to no-one, if you bring us a law book with this law written. Then I may consider your impolite request, other than that leave the Western Hills right now and don''t ever show up uninvited again." Hartley had already had enough of these people, his patience was running thin, just the sight of these people were starting to irritate him as he finally spoke.


    "If They are not returned in ten minutes we will have to invade the western hills, round them up and return them by force. Do not force our hand young man or you will surely regret it." The elder man snorted after saying all this with the attitude of a teacher threatening to punish a naughty student, while the younger man beside him just smiled brightly at Hartley.


    The commoners had shocked and scared faces, if they were to really be returned to the flat lands what awaited them there was terror beyond imagination, surely Hong Zang would torture them to death in revenge.


    They started feeling nervous, would a noble stand up to another for their sake? Some began to slowly inch away just in case a deal was made between the nobles, they were planning on immediately heading for the east forest with every breath in their bodies.


    How could these frumpy nobles know about Hartley''s temper and strength, They had heard stories of his exploits in Tivoli but to them those were the exaggerated stories told byeuphoric soldiers lost in the moment of victory. Any noble worth his salt would over-blow stories of his own exploits to gain more status. They themselves had done such things.


    This was their line of thinking and since they had more forces and the backing of House Wan, bullying the youth should be an easy task.


    Little did these people know that they had casually waltzed into the cage of a hungry tiger and was poking it with a sharpened stick.


    Not even Baron Hongtian who had coerced them with promises of benefits to go against the lord of the western hills would set foot in the western hills lightly. The Baron had sent these proud nobles as guinea pigs to the test the temperament of Hartley.


    Hartley punched out without saying another word. The flashes of blue from his compressed circulation technique blinded everybody momentarily.


    Every soldier standing in the defensive line were blown away like dry leaves in the wind after an ear-splitting boom that caused the commoners behind Hartley to recoil in fright.


    Their shields flew away and whirled in the sky like a group of metallic kites, glinting and twinkling the dull reflection of the spring sunshine as they went out of sight. The wheels and the axles of the white carriageparted company from the carriage as the vehicle tumbled and bounced into some trees off the road sending the nobles flying higher than the foot soldiers.


    If the commonersthought Zhi Ruo was a terror. Now they were seeing a terror a thousand times greater.


    When the first soldier landed, he was soaked in blood and squealing outa high pitched scream. Soon the others began to fall from the sky like raindrops drumming against the floor. Some joined in the chorus of misery while others were already unconscious before even hitting the ground.


    Hartley had showed no mercy, hispunishment for daring to invade his land was meted out with impartiality.


    It was like the sky was vomiting men in shiny armor. The men made teeth-chattering contact with the hard and rocky floor and body parts were ripped away immediately. Pieces of bloody body-parts still clad in armor were dislodged from the frantic screaming men scattering like shrapnel among them.


    Bulging horrified eyes witnessed the amazing splendor of destruction brought forth by Hartley''s single punch. Witnessing blood spouting and limbs being lopped off like annoying tree branches by the stony terrain, left thepeople behind Hartley pale and gasping for breath.


    The screeching nobles were the last ones left in the air.Their ears popped and throbbed rapidly with the increasing air pressure as they screamed and tried to wake up from this nightmare, then their momentum started taking them downwards towards the ground.


    The first one to hit the ground was San Wan from House Wan..... his body tumbled away, blood, organs and shattered bones flying in every direction. The gore was impossible to watch for the uninitiated and some of the commoners began throwing up and hiding their children from the sight.


    The troops who had managed to survive this horrific ordeal, staggered andturned around fleeing in terror while screaming chaotically, abandoning any thoughts of their wounded colleagues or their original target.


    Elder Juntao hit the ground like a bomb one second later kicking up a cloud of dust which completely obscured his body. He was stronger than San Wan and managed to preserve his life with a few serious injuries, he thanked the Holy Matriarch that he didn''t land on a rock. Blood was running down his face and he had a throbbing headache, his face wrinkled at the appalling sight, his ears were ringing like a bell as his body juddered in pain trying to ignore the nightmarish sounds of the men in pieces in front of his eyes.


    "The candle that burns twice as bright will end up dyingtwice as fast. You''ve got nerves invading my lands and threatening me and my people. Leave Now While You Still Can!" Hartley shouted angrily at the group of battered and injured men who were dallying around dazed trying to find their bearings.


    Elder Juntao rolled onto his back, the spray of his blood hissingfrom his shoulder and up into his face as he slid down a steep slope with an abundance of weeds. He didn''t need someone to tell him what to do, he was already staggeringout of the western hills, eyes wide as oranges and in shock.


    When news of this got back to the people in the Elder prince''s camp there was a sea-change in attitudes. The words that Song Zemin had spoken months ago rung stingingin their ears. They had been treating the lord of the western hills as a harmless pup this whole time. Now it was time to seriously reconsider the threat that this new piece on the board posed to them.

 116 Research and developmen

    In the gentle spring sunshine a proud four-story stone mansion stood out like a white pearl among scattered charcoal, this building had a dirt road leading to a maze of dilapidated wooden huts at its rear housing pale-faced and dirty despairing people.


    The creaking and rattling sounds of the constant traffic of wooden wagons was abundant in the air, the dirt and stained-riddled robes of commoners fluttered in the spring breeze as they maneuvered these wagons and moved around the estate in a zombie-like state, ferrying agricultural produce from the fertile fields off in the distance to the storehouses of the main manor.


    Every now and then the scowl-bearing foreman overseeing the work would bark orders and lash out at the tired and hope-deprived commoners, ramming the butt end of his spear from his position atop his sturdy horse into their backs and sending the odd commoner sprawling off a moving wagon and to the floor screaming for mercy.


    This was House Wan located in the fertile, windswept flat lands about two hundred miles west of House Hartley. This was a place of notorious extremes, from the below zero temperatures of the bitter icy and powdery snow in the winter to the boiling heat and humidity in the summer, from the extravagant luxurious lifestyles of thosewho resided in the mansion to the bare-bone existence of the commoners living in the huts.


    Anyone currently residing on these premises were either living in a bubble akin to heaven on earth or experiencing the closest thing to hell they could possibly imagine.


    Inside the mansion Baron Hongtian was sipping fragrant fruit wine from a crystal glass sat on a red cushioned chair facing a balding fat man who was as wide as two adults standing side by side.


    "Baron Hongtian, What are we going to do about this little vicious runt. Are you telling me my nephew''s life is just going to go like that?"The fat man''s eyes bulged with rage as he addressed the Baron in agitation.


    "My innocent nephew didn''t even die with an intact corpse, and to make matters worse there are murmurs circulating among the commoners that the western hills is a paradise for commoners. The lord of the western hillshas to be stopped, he cannot be allowed to run wild or else we might have a rebellion on our hands."Pa! The fat man slapped his hand against his own thigh in disgust leaning forward then blurted out.


    "I don''t care if the young prince is backing him, I want him gone! The sooner the better!"


    "I understand how you feel Elder Wan but I must caution you that this boy is not easy to handle. You must thread carefully,I wouldn''t advise you to send any of your people into the western hills. I sent one of the best shadow crawlers after him once and the assassin hasn''t been found yet." The relaxed Baron spoke in a calm tone as he took another sip from his glass, hiding the fact that he was the one who had encouraged San Wan and Juntao to enter the western hills in the first place.


    Elder Wan finally calmed down and slumped backwards in his cushioned chair when he heard the anecdote about the shadow crawler, he knew these were assassins trained from childhood only to kill. They had no other interest in life other than perfecting the art of killing as efficiently as possible, if one of them couldn''t kill the boy then he was definitely biting off more than he could chew.


    "Then how do we move forward?" he asked hoping the Baron had an answer he wanted to hear....


    The Western Hills were now enjoying a period of peace and calmness. After the incident with Elder Juntao and San Wan, no one has dared to poke their head out again, to everyone''s surprise even House Wan had stayed quiet. The story of the losses suffered by Elder Juntao and House Wan had spread like wildfire through the aristocratic circles. This had instilled a certain fear within certain nobles that Hartley would slap their faces without care or fear of any repercussions.


    Some nobles even began labeling Hartley as a rogue-noble, the youth was as fierce as a wolf and didn''t practice the conventional etiquette of those in the aristocratic circles, nor did he come out to the glamorous banquets thrown by the nobles. Hartley didn''t even pay attention or participate inthe gossip and petty politics that these people used to maneuver and raise themselves to the top.


    Other nobles who could forsee the rise of the lord of the western hills took a gamble and sent their well wishes to House Hartley allying themselves with the youth, they assumed that the young prince must have seen something extraordinary in the youth and would be one of his biggest backers in the future, based on that alone they could hope to reap some benefits in the end.


    For the first time in his life Hartley had taken time off from cultivating to enjoy his beautiful wife, the couple had a whirlwind of a time in their honeymoon period.


    Weeks went by as the Western Hills enjoyed peace, prosperity and a breathtakingly fast development rate. They grew in riches with the first payment they received from the gemstone mines in Tivoli.


    Hartley was finally beginning to understand the importance of affiliate countries and the resources they could provide, no wonder those from Sasko were so desperate to take over the country.


    The new residential buildings forthe migrating commoners were finished and allocated to the people who turned up and started working first, there were still people left to be housed but they had to hold on until the next phase of development. These commoners didn''t mind, the temporaryhousing they were placed in were more than adequate for their current needs, even so, they still dreamt of having their own stone houses. It was a motivating factor that led to them working their hardest for House Hartley.


    The cobble stone roads were now finished, it joined all sectors of the manor making it more efficient and easier to ferry things from one place to another. The miners rejoiced at the this development, now their loads could be easily driven on an open wagon from the beginning of the back-mountains all the way to the manor.


    The forces of House Hartley were now strong enough to start practicing weapon techniques. They had been training in the rough terrain of the mountains for weeks under the watchful eyes of the burly captain Houlang. They first ran laps in the mountain until the strength in their bodies were expended leaving some crawling back to the residential areas.


    When they got used to that, they were then strapped with weights and ran even more laps. The days had been arduous but the men were in good spirits, motivated by the show of force displayed by their god-like young lord.


    Before the men could even touch any weapons Fu Qian made them pledge their allegiance to House Hartley. In this short amount of time spent in the western hills these commoners had started to feel a special affinity to the place. This was the first time most of them had been treated fairly, when they returned home in the evenings they were greeted by smiling well fed families.


    This was something worth fighting for and soon the western hills started to feel like the land of their birth. The sight of two hundred men dropping to one knee and shouting out their pledges to the young lord of the Western hills made Fu Qian smile.


    During this period Viscount Sanzu came to visit, Hartley had marked him as an untrustworthy person but in the end he had an unwilling alliance with the shrewd man.


    The viscount agreed to supply the western hills with the latest information on the noble factions, there strength and intentions. He was also going to send an apothecary to be stationed in the western hills.


    This man was a former genius who got a little bit too obsessive and over indulgent was how he vaguely described the man. At that time Hartley was trying to develop his fief and that was one of the skilled positions that he needed filled so he happily accepted the viscount''s generosity without shame.


    Viscount Sanzu knew that him and Hartley''s fate were both tied together, as long as Hartley shone bright the viscount''s reputation would also increase. He felt guilty for the ordeal Hartley might experience with the apothecary but it was still better than not having one.


    With this incentive the viscount decided to back Hartley to the best of his ability.


    The man that was sent to Hartley a few days later left Hartley in shock, the man was as slim as a skeleton with a hunched back. He wore one of the most worn out robe Hartley had ever seen and was about 1.6 meters tall with hiswhite hair running down to the center of his back.


    The man''s grey eyes squinted as if he couldn''t see five meters ahead of himself. When introduced to Hartley the man kept mumbling gibberish at the floor about a random formula.


    He kept gesturing wildly, then contemplating for a few seconds and talking about how he was so close to perfecting it.


    The man then had a moment of lucidity and introduced himself when he saw everyone in the hall staring at him.


    "Ah when did you get there? I''m Alrick young lord, destined to be the most famous potion maker to ever walk the continent." The man then gave an extravagant bow with his hunched back, almost making his forehead touch the ground.


    Hartley was dumbstruck, this wild man was half way to being insane, what use could he be to the Western hills? He had a feeling once again that he had been duped by Viscount Sanzu. Hartley had no confidence in this man to produce anything of worth but he had already accepted the man and invested a couple thousand gold coins in equipment and raw material. He sighed, maybe if he can produce afew rank 1 medicinal dans it might be ok.


    In The receiving hall Zhi Ruo was close to bursting out with laughter, Qin Li looked on with bulging eyes while the serving staff gave the man a wide berth having witnessed his lunacy....


    The second week the man was at the manor, there was a huge explosion that rocked the entire structure, people scattered like ants running around and screaming wildly.


    After receiving instructions from Viscount Sanzu Hartley had prepared a room away from the General staff of the manor in the basement for Alrick''s experiments.


    Hartley and Qin Li rushed to this part of the building, there was black smoke swirling from beneath the door of the little room. Hartley was suddenly having second thoughts about harboring this mad scientist in his fief and in his manor no less.


    As soon as they kicked in the door of the little room thick black smoke billowed out and up into the sky, they then heard hysterical laughter and the man came crawling out of the room as black as soot.


    "I almost got it this time," the man cackled in madness while coughing.


    "I don''t think this is a good idea," Qin li said to no one in particular. Hartley standing beside him was feeling the same way, if left to his own devices this man would eventually kill them all.


    Now Hartley had had enough and was about to dismiss this whole mad affair, cut his losses and send this man back to where ever he came from.


    Alrick staggered to his feet in another rare moment of clarity seeming to read Hartley''s intentions. He cougheda couple times and exhaled a lung full of black smoke like he had puffed on acigarette.


    "I''ve not cracked it yet," he said while using his palm to brush back his messy soot-filed hair in a dignified manner as he staggered to address Hartley and Qin Li.


    "But" he continued with his index finger pointing to the sky.


    "The bi-product of this experiment might be useful." He walked hunched over out of the building and toward an open area of an empty field and rummaged through his pockets coming out with two vials.


    One filled with a thick blood-like substance and the other with a blue thin liquid.


    Hartley walked out with Qin Li to see what the madman was about to do next. Alrick put a single drop of the blue liquid into the red substance and it immediately started to sizzle, returning the cork to the vial of red substance he then threw it out as far as he could, then...


    Boom!....


    As the glass vial landed among some shrubbery an explosion thundered out incinerating the greenery that was standing there a second ago, raining dust and pebbles everywhere sending black smoke rising up into the sky and leaving a pit in the earth like a meteorite had fallen from the sky...


    Alrick started cackling again. He turned, this time his hair was filled with small pebbles and dirt, "imagine that against infantry." he said as if he was completely sane and sober with a sinister evil-genius smile.


    Hartley''s and Qin Li''s jaws dropped to the floor.

 117 Luck Rough draft teaser

    "What the?"


    Qin Li was stunned, the explosion was on par with the power of an attack by someone in the 4th layer of the xiantian realm.


    "Was that some sort of trick?"


    Hartley couldn''t contain his disbelief and had to speak aloud what he was thinking, the concept of spell-weaving had left him stunned but what just happened had equally blown his mind.


    Cackling came from the hunched back figure drenched in dirt and pebbles,


    "The formula, this is the formula, I''m definitely on the right path now, with a few tweaks I can readjust the polarities. Six months! I need six months." Alrick muttered to himself.


    "Can you make more of that?" Hartley asked as he pointed towards the pit in the ground.


    Alrick''s head snapped back to Hartley, annoyed that the young lord had disrupted his calculations.


    "Pffff, that''s only the waste product. nothing special, my formula will change the world."


    Alrick said this with a proud smile and euphoria in his eyes.


    Hartley took a deep breath and calmed himself. He didn''t care what the mad scientist was trying to make but if he could supply that stuff that he called waste productin good quantity then he would have no qualms about investing some more gold coins in this deranged man.


    "if you can make more of that then we will build you an independent lab and supply all the raw materials you need for your experiments.'' Hartley said to the Alrick hoping the man would be lucid enough to understand.


    Alrick''s eyes brightened in excitement, he executed another one of his extravagant bows.


    "Of course, of course young lord," he said as he cackled again like a hyena.


    Alrick had been bounced from pillow to post, he was a young genius who had served many noble houses providing them with all types of dans but ever since he had latched on to this new concept of his, he had become obsessed with it to the point of it driving him half mad.


    He had spent his days hunched over his table conducting experiment after experiment until his back was permanently bent in search of his ultimate formula. Obviously noble houses would not tolerate spending gold coins on a man that was creeping towards the edge of insanity, let alone having him squander infinite resourcesto find a phantom formula that he couldn''t even explain.


    Over the years he had gained a reputation of being a crazy apothecary who sponged up gold coins,leaving his noble backers with nothing to show in return. After being shunned by the people who could provide resources for his experiments he had resorted to making the odd medicinal dan to earn a few gold coins which would disappear promptly into one of his experiments.


    That''s how he had met viscount Sanzu, selling him some dans every month, Viscount Sanzu would be kicking himself right now if he knew that this expendable pawn given to the western hills had just created a weapon of mass destruction.


    Hartley could not believe his luck, he would have been happy if the man could produce a few rank 1 medicinal dans but what the man had inadvertently created was way more valuable. This was a weapon that could change the battlefield. He had to keep the man in the Western Hills and guard this precious secret.


    In the following days Hartley had the stone layersrush to construct a spacious two story building away from the manor.

 117 Luck

    "What the?"


    Qin Li was stunned, the explosion was on par with the power of an attack by someone in the 4th layer of the xiantian realm.


    "Was that some sort of trick?"


    Hartley couldn''t contain his disbelief and had to speak aloud what he was thinking, the concept of spell-weaving had left him stunned but what just happened had equally blown his mind.


    Cackling came from the hunched-back figure drenched in dirt and pebbles.


    "The formula! This is the formula, I''m definitely on the right path now, with a few tweaks I can readjust the polarities and use reflux distillation to convert it into a fractionating column... Six months! I need six months." Alrick muttered to himself with his index finger scratching his chin.


    "Can you make more of that?"


    Hartley asked with wide eyes as he pointed towards the pit in the ground.


    Alrick''s head snapped back to Hartley, annoyed that the young lord had disrupted his calculations.


    "Pffff, that''s only the waste product. nothing special, my formula will change the world as we know it."


    Alrick said this with a proud smile and euphoria in his eyes as if he was high on some sort of drug.


    Hartley took a deep breath and calmed himself. He didn''t care what the mad scientist was trying to make but if he could supply that stuff that he called "waste product" in good quantity, then he would have no qualms about investing some more gold coins in this deranged man immediately.


    Qin Li''s eyes were shining like stars in they sky as he too realized what this so called "waste product" produced by the madman potentially meant for the future of the Western Hills


    "if you can make more of that then we will build you an independent lab and supply all the raw materials you need for your experiments." Hartley said to Alrick hoping the man would be lucid enough to understand.


    Alrick''s eyes brightened in excitement, he executed another one of his extravagant bows.


    "Of course, of course young lord, it is my pleasure to serve the western hills" he said as he cackled out again like a hyena pleased with himself and started to gesticulate and mumble again. It seems that man could be lucid when he wanted to be Hartley couldn''t help thinking.


    Alrick had been bounced from pillow to post since he had entered this old decrepit state, he used to be a young alchemy genius, revered by many as his name rung bells in the circles of the city''s top potion makers.


    He had served countless noble houses who were willing to pay hefty sums to secure his services, providing them with all types of high quality dans. These medicines could change the face of a noble house, helping lucky people to rise higher in the xiantian realm or saving fatally wounded soldiers on the verge of death.


    Ever since he had latched on to this new concept of his, he had become obsessed with it to the point of it driving him half mad. Leading to him squandering all the riches he had gained on his infinite experiments.


    He had spent his years in solitude hunched over his table conducting experiment after experiment until his back was permanently bent, all in search of his illusive ultimate formula.


    Obviously noble houses would not tolerate spending gold coins on a man that was creeping towards the edge of insanity, let alone having him squander infinite resources to find a phantom formula that he couldn''t even explain.


    Over the years he had gained a reputation of being a crazy apothecary who sponged up gold coins without conscience, leaving his noble backers with nothing to show in return, this made him like a leper in the eyes of the nobles, backing this man was almost like traveling to the river''s edge and dumping everything of value you had into the river.


    After being shunned by the people who could provide the resources for his experiments he had faded away from the memories of most, destined to be forgotten as another person he couldn''t fulfill his potential.


    With that Alrick resorted to making the odd medicinal dan to earn a few gold coins, which would disappear promptly into one of his experiments.


    That''s how he had met viscount Sanzu, selling the man some medicinal dans every month. Viscount Sanzu would be kicking himself right now if he knew that this expendable pawn given to the western hills as a peace offering in order to foster a better relationship with Hartley had just created a weapon of mass destruction.


    Hartley could not believe his luck, looking at the dirty deranged hunched-back man was now like looking at a free pie falling from the sky. He would have been happy if the man could produce a few rank 1 medicinal dans per month that they could stockpile, but what the man had inadvertently created was way more valuable.


    This was a weapon, if he could figured out to utilize it properly, could change the battlefield maybe even the whole continent. He had to keep the man in the Western Hills and guard this precious secret.


    In the following days Hartley had the stone builders rush to construct a spacious two story building away from the manor in a remote part of the east forest, the premises was walled off and only a few select trusted people from the serving staff would be allowed to work there.


    A few days later Hartley sat on the second floor of the manor in his office going through the list of equipment and materials that Alrick had requested for his lab, he exhaled sharply reflexively, no one in their right mind would seriously give this sort of funding to a madman but Hartley had already acquired something of value so he could take this gamble without losing out too much even if Alrick didn''t produce anything else of value.


    Zhi Ruo who had taken over the finances of House Hartley smiled, her eyes radiant as she came over and sat across the desk from Hartley.


    She stretched out her hand and took the list from Hartley, as she read through it her eyebrows shot up.


    "Why does that lout need all this?"she asked puzzled and a bit unwilling.


    Hartley grinned and came to the other side of the desk hugging her from behind in her seated position.


    "This lout has already made a significant contribution to us and besides we''ve got the white iron coming from the young prince soon, it''ll balance out," he said as he planted a tender kiss on her jaw.


    " I''ve assigned someone to shadow him and take notes for safety reasons and to gain knowledge of anything else he manages to produce."


    Hartley added as he intimately held his wife in a close embrace.


    Zhi Ruo snorted but made no further objections.


    "How are Shao Law and his friend doing?" Hartley asked


    "They are settling in, I''ve put them in a group with Fu Jianu, they are currently training and meditating on the top floor." Zhi Ruo answered.


    Shao Law was the skinny youth from the rykers guild, he had returned with his friend a few days ago, Zhi Ruo had placed them in a group with Fu Qian''s daughter Fu Jianu.


    Zhi Ruo had taken over the training of the two kids from the rykers guild and Fu Jianu, The boys looked at her with a constant worship etched on their faces as if in reverence to a hidden goddess and eventually so did Fu Jianu.


    Zhi Ruo was teaching more on her experience rather than any complicated technical knowledge but it was enough for now because soon they would be supplied with the cultivation technique acquired from the prince and a few martial scriptures to practice then it would be up to their own luck.


    Since getting married Harltey had taken a break from cultivating and was lounging around the manor with Zhi Ruo in bliss, in all this time Qin Li has never taken a single day off and was now at the thing line between sub-realms quickly approaching the 5th layer of the xiantian realm. Qin Li''s hard work and work ethic impressed Hartley to no end.


    It was time for Hartley to get back to enhancing his strength again.


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    On a beautiful spring morning Hartley flashed away from the manor and headed deep into the back mountains. On that faithful morning the men training in mountains suddenly felt tremors ricocheting through the earth''s surface, the floor underfoot swayed like an earthquake... Hartley was having even more luck.

 118 The 9th Layer

    Multiple rays of sunshine infiltrated the gaps of the thick tree-cover overhead sending volumetric beams of light poking through the gaps in the leaves and forming scattered golden splotches of dull sunlight on the forest floor below.


    Hartley sat cross legged on the dried leaves scattered across the ground with his eyes closed, shadows danced across his body as he sat statue-still under the broad canopy of a gigantic oak-like tree, its thick protruding roots stretched out around the area like an octopus drilling its tentacles into the earth and the oval-shaped leaves above swayed gently from side to side in the mild wind sweeping through forest.


    This was his first time back cultivating since getting married and he felt refreshed by the open scent and wild unfiltered sounds of the mountains, he focused his mind with renewed thoughts, vigor and a renewed purpose.


    He engaged his advanced state of focus and delved back into the world of cultivation.


    A few hours went by in the blink of an eye, the gentle breeze sauntered through the forested area bringing a few dead leaves swirling just above the ground, the un-moving Hartley was glowing bright blue with shafts of light pouring out of his body like he had swallowed a lantern.


    Waves of energy started to pulse out from his body rattling the ground underneath him, creating a network of spiderweb cracks slowly crawling out in every direction with him sitting calmly at the center not even seeming to notice.


    The wings of panicked birds could be heard fluttering loudly, loose feathers fell slowly onto the canopy of the forest as the frantic birds immediately migrated from the area in mass, squawking loudly in unison as they made their escape.


    At the same time a mottled collection of fierce beats scavenging in the area quickly turned in fright and noisily tore through the thick undergrowth in a rush to vacate the area. Moving speedily away from Hartley''s position, the mini stampede drummed up a storm of dirt and dried leaves in their wake as they headed deeper into the mountain howling in panic.


    The soldiers training in the mountain immediately felt the unnatural vibrations underfoot and were spooked by the unexpected quaking of the ground, some of the men began to stumble and fall while others were trying to balance themselves with arms spread wide, taking shaky steps as if they were walking on a tight rope suspended in the air.


    People as faraway as in the main manor could feel the tremors of the earth.


    The thick bodied Captain Houlang assisted by Fu Qian immediately ended their training session and shouted orders of retreat, they then started to quickly lead the men on a path out of the mountain as a precautionary measure.


    They feared something unknown and sinister was brewing deep in the hidden innermost belly of the mountains, something so powerful that they wouldn''t be able to handle it if confronted by it.


    As the soldiers were briskly leaving the area, skillfully navigating over the rough rocky terrain at the outer edges, there was a sudden boom, the world around them shook violently and everything in their sights seemed to be dyed in blue.....


    At the manor everyone going about their duties were shocked and stared slack-jawed at the distant mountain, they had already been on edge feeling the trembling of the earth underneath them for the last fifteen minutes.


    Then they saw a column of blue light suddenly erupt from that direction of the deep mountain shaking the ground like a tambourine as it rose into the sky bursting through the delicate formations of fluffy white clouds.


    This created an almighty ruckus around the manor as the commoners were scared silly by the unbelievable almost alien sight, chaos ensued as some dropped to their knees in worship while others ran for the safety of their stone houses. All pleading for assistance from the Holy Matriarch....


    Qin Li''s eyes suddenly flicked open, he was cultivating in his private room in the manor. He walked to the window and looked out at the column of light quizzically. He could feel the tingling of raw power in the air that sent chills through his body, "Is that you Hartley?" he asked himself quietly with a pensive look on his scruffy features. .


    On the top floor of the manor in a large room doused with sunlight from the high windows, Zhi Ruo''s elegant white gown swirled around her as she glided to the window at the south side of the room and looked out nervously, hoping and praying in her heart that nothing bad had happened to Hartley.


    The three students behind her had pale frightened faces as they flocked to the window behind her to look at the column of blue that seemed to have split the heavens above.


    Zhi Ruo reassured the children with a smile that nothing bad was happening even though she was nervous herself but she couldn''t show it in front of them.


    The blue light column beaming up into the heavens was a beacon of attention for everyone in the capital but no one could say for sure what this phenomenon was. Some of the top experts even started to make their way over to the deep mountains in the western hills to investigate.


    Eyes closed, Hartley was sitting as still as a dead deer in the middle of this column of blue light, he had a peaceful and serene look on his face as if he was getting his portrait painted without a care in the world as countless blue particles danced around him.


    Then a translucent sphere looking like a giant bubble wrapped around Hartley''s body flickering with a blue pulse of color that seemed to sync with his heartbeat.


    With a flash of blue, dirt and leaves gently swirled around in a cyclonic pattern around him, Hartley then made a dramatic and regal ascent into the sky whipping up the dead leaves and blowing away the clusters of tree branches adorned with green leaves that were sticking out from the tree and into his path.


    Hartley hovered about twenty meters off the ground next to the scattered limbs of the ancient tree with the peeling dry flakes of its massive brown bark falling to the ground in thick pieces.


    Hartley was still in a lotus position as he floated silently in the perpetual storm of blue.


    After another thirty minutes Hartley opened his piercing blue eyes and the column of blue stretching up towards the sky slowly faded away, with the bubble-like sphere still surrounding his body, Hartley floated in the air for another ten minutes before gently descending back down to the floor.


    As he stood among the scattered dried brown leaves juxtaposing the airborne green swirling leaves from the dismembered limbs of the tree, he smiled and the translucent sphere around him retracted into his body and calmness returned to the western hills. He stood in silence with the remnants of the half-destroyed tree surrounding his feet.


    Hartley had easily broken through to the 9th layer of the xiantian realm.


    "Can one person be so lucky?" he had to ask himself, these past days Lady Luck seemed to have cradled him tightly within her bosom.


    Better to be lucky than good he thought to himself as he pondered but couldn''t figure out the reason for his smooth transition after so many days of complete idleness.


    He shrugged and sat back down in the lotus position and entered his inner world.


    Under the blue star fragment that sat in the sky, this wild untamed world was a paradise of trees, mountains and rivers that stretched out as far as his eyes could see. The star tattoo imprinted over his heart was shining so bright that he could see the blue glow tunneling through his black robe.


    Its been a while since he had seen this star tattoo shine so brightly, Hartley concentrated on his heart and to his surprise, The blue star gravity sutra book that he had last read back in the waltham province appeared floating in front of him with a bright blue glow.


    Hartley had only unlocked forty pages of this book and now that it had appeared again means that there were additional pages unlocked. Hartley opened the book and started to read, just as he had thought there was another twenty pages.


    Stepping into the 9th layer represented a qualitative evolution in his powers.


    The bubble-like sphere was a gravitational force field, the culmination of gravity manipulation. Once this was activated he could be free of the earth''s gravitational pull which basically enabled him to float freely, it was sort of like flying but the speed of this was undesirable.


    This sphere could also act as a shield, sort of like a turtle shell.


    It could be used to simply divert incoming projectiles away or it could produce a pulse wave to forcefully shatter any threat within a certain diameter.


    Hartley stretched out his hand releasing a strong gravitational down-force, a single tree in the distance was forced down to the ground so fast that it exploded into splinters with a flash of black energy that rumbled like thunder, leaving wooden chips strewn all over the ground in a messy pattern.


    Harltey''s eyes shone, his strength had increased almost five folds and his control had dramatically improved as well.


    Feeling a sudden tingle of danger the hairs stood erect on his neck, Hartley opened his eyes suddenly and was back standing under the giant tree, the mountain was calm and tranquil, The abundant trees swayed to the rhythm of the wind and the scattered dried leaves rustled over the ground. Nothing looked out of place.


    Hartley looked to the south, with a frown he punched out. With a booming sound the mountain shook as if it was struck by a huge hammer, the fabric of space became unstable and rippled in a circular pattern as rocks began to rumble and roll down the side of the mountain.


    "Your skills are admirable, but you are a mere ant in my eyes."


    Came a conceited voice as a man with long white hair tied back in a pony-tail stepped from the void and appeared among the backdrop of greenery, he stood a hundred meters from Hartley''s position wearing a simple styled white robe.


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    Hartley blinked in surprise, after his senses had alerted him of imminent danger he still couldn''t perceive the threat, but with just his instincts he attacked in the general vicinity of where he felt the danger.


    Even though he couldn''t sense any fluctuations from the man, Hartley''s resolve never wavered and his confidence never shook.


    "What are you doing in the Western Hills, are you here spying for someone?" Hartley asked calmly


    The man laughed "So what if I am or what if I came to investigate the weird happenings in these hills, what can an ant like you do about it?"


    As the man talked and began to move forward with slow steady steps, his body shimmered with a yellow hazy color and the space around him seemed to undulate like the surface of a pond that had been disturbed by a pebble.


    The fire elements in the air writhed and came alive, the surrounding hundred meters around Hartley and the man was painted in a yellow mist that obscured everything. Trees in this area evaporated into smoke in an instant leaving a circular patch of swirling grey ash that danced around the two men as if they were trapped in a snow-globe.


    Movement in this area felt severely hindered and laborious. It was like wading through waist high mud for everyone except the white hair man.....


    A translucent sphere flew out of Harltey''s body in response and surrounded his figure, intermittently flickering with a resplendent blue in the sea of amber.


    With the wave of a hand a blue pulse-wave shot out from the sphere pushing back the yellow mist in a fifty meter diameter around Hartley like a tsunami washing away sand, returning the natural color of the world around him as he stood ankle deep in ash.


    "How?" the white hair man didn''t believe his eyes.


    When someone stepped into the Saint realm they reacted differently with the elements, they gained control over the natural element in the air that they had an affinity to on a molecular level, no longer did they have to depend solely on the element stored in their dantian (body).


    This sea of amber that was dispersed by Hartley like smoke in the wind was the man''s saint domain.

 119 Brewing Tensions

    A land of yellow mist laid out before Hartley''s eyes. The intense heat of the this mud-thick mist sent a swirling heat haze up into the sky giving the optical illusion of the surrounding mountains being a shimmering indistinct mass of green and yellow blotches.


    A fifty meter circle around Hartley was cleared of the yellow mist as he stood ram rod straight in the calm eye of the yellow storm, the sphere around his body pulsed blue once in a while as he carefully watched his surroundings with deep concentration etched on his features .


    Hartley had no idea where the man was within the golden amber world and he couldn''t sense any unusual fluctuations.


    With his advanced state of focus active, time around him in this fifty meter diameter was slowed to one tenth of its normal speed, after a long moment of suspense standing in the complete desolation with ash falling to the barren ground around him in super slow motion, a stream of yellow light burst through the mist from his right and headed directly for Hartley. The man had finally made his move.


    If not for his advanced state of focus there was no way Hartley would even glimpse the man, his speed was that quick! but with the power of time manipulation on Hartley''s side the man was spotted as if he was an egg-sized black spot on a white sheet of canvas, but even so, the man still traversed 40 meters in the blink of an eye.


    Hartley reacted barely in time, he stretched out his hand and brought down 200 gs of gravitational down-force onto the stream of light streaking at him, the sheer force of this disruption to the earth''s natural laws caused a ball of black energy the size of a basketball to flash out as if a mini black-hole was created, the black-hole was fizzing with lightning-like black energy ruptures buzzing and crackling at its edges.


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    The eruption of the black energy made a horrible booming sound that ripped through air, ringing the ears of both men before disappearing into nothingness. The man screamed, Hartley roared and the mountain around them rumbled and shook shedding pieces of its mass as if it was about to collapse into a pile of sand. A flare of yellow light erupted as the man jerked suddenly and was forced downwards.


    He slammed into the earth like bomb ten meters away from Hartley, kicking up an explosion of dirt, ash and stones flying everywhere, he left a crater the size of a small pond behind as he pitched and bounced forward three times like a tennis ball. Every time the raining bits of debris hit Hartley''s sphere at speeds comparable to bullets, they would be diverted harmlessly away with a blue flash.


    The man was carried by his spectacular forward momentum as he slid pass Hartley face down in the earth creating an almighty trench trailing behind him, he came to a complete stop forty meters pass Hartley''s position in the blink of an eye.


    The yellow mist in the mountain slowly faded away leaving a piece of land that was decimated, no trees were left standing in this area and the ground had a weak reddish-yellow color like suntanned sand.


    The ground was decorated with a multitude of cracks and craters spread across it like divot holes on a golf course, the scene was split from east to west by a long trench with the man still laying prone in it. The man''s saint domain had been broken as he lost control of the elements in the air but even his broken domain still left a permanent stain of destruction in the forest.


    It was like a parched desert had appeared in the middle of the green fertile mountains.


    A gust of wind blew overhead and made the grey ash swirl through the air like clusters of swarming flies descending to the earth. Hartley stood with curious eyes glued to the opponent.


    The man jumped back to his feet sustaining no significant injuries looking comical and shocked at the same time.


    Grey ash and dirt covered his face and his pony-tail was loose, exposing an afro of frizzy white disheveled hair that was tangled with an assortment of debris falling from his hair that stood erect as if he had been electrocuted.


    "What?" Hartley involuntarily said aloud with bulging eyes, he was shocked and surprised to see not even a scratch on the man''s skin, his body must be made of reinforced steel Hartley thought to himself a bit taken aback, this must be the endurance of a saint. Hartley was sure no one below the saint realm could take that hit unscathed. Hartley steeled himself, this was going to be a hard encounter but he still thought he could protect himself with his trump cards. There was no telling how strong those had become.


    The unidentified man growled as he picked up himself from the self-made trench and stared at Hartley with his mouth wide open like a fish gasping for breath on dry land, he used his right palm and tried brushing back his tangled hair in an undignified and flustered manner. His embarrassment was obvious and palpable.


    He was looking at Hartley as if he was looking at a rubix cube, he didn''t understand what had happened. He was relatively sure that the boy wasn''t in the saint realm and was trying to teach him a lesson but the youth could actually exchange blows with him. This left him stunned.


    How was the youth even able to see his approach and did this youth have anything to do with the recent phenomenon happening in the mountain?.


    All these unanswered questions swirled in his mind but before he could ask them his head snapped to the north.


    "We''ve got company." he said then all the malice on his face disappeared as he smiled and the expression looked genuine, he gave Hartley a formal bow as a marked sign of respect.


    "We''ll meet again, maybe you are not the weak ant that I first thought." He laughed out looking a bit silly with his messy hair, dirty face and a twisted robe.


    "Things are going to be interesting in the capital soon, not as easy as some think its going to be is it young lord of the western hills?"


    The man''s laugh echoed out around the mountain as he blinked out of existence.


    Hartley stood rooted to the spot for a moment surprised that the man knew who he was, then let out a sigh of relief when he felt no danger around, he too soon felt the fluctuations of powerful experts arriving.


    Twinkling blue lines swirled around his sphere from bottom to top creating a blue spiral pattern that quickly turned into a vortex of blue particles around his body sending the falling ash scattering away. Hartley then stepped forward and disappeared from the scene of devastation leaving swirling wind and ash behind...


    Soon two men popped out of the void and surveyed the destruction. one dressed in black and the other in white.


    "What do you think?" the one wearing white asked.


    "Saints!" the man in black replied with a bit of surprise.


    "Way out here in these back mountains?" the man in white asked a little shocked


    "Hmm, there is remnants of a saint domain and evidence of a hard fought battle." They walked around the barren patch in the forest investigating pieces of broken rocks and touching the ground now and again.


    "Do you think it has anything to do with that blue light earlier or the lord of the western hills?" asked the man in white.


    "I don''t know, lets head back and make a report, this is weird, it might affect some of the boss''s plans." the man answered after a moment of silence.


    The day was stretching toward late evening and the western hills began falling into shadow. Hartley settled down on his cushioned chair in the lounge on the second floor of the manor.


    He was greeted with relieved faces after returning to the manor earlier, especially Zhi Ruo who almost looked on the brink of tears when she saw him. There was still enough natural light left in the day to illuminate the large room making the shadows from the window frames stretch gloomily across the furniture.


    She took her usual place beside him sharing his chair, Qin Li and Fu Qian sat across from the couple with straight backs and sullen faces, they were obviously nervous about the events of the day deep in the mountain.


    Fu Qian had been closer to the strange phenomenon and had experienced first hand the terrible quakes and the blue column of light and he was visibly more nervous. To him the whole thing was like something from ancient folklore.


    With a smile Hartley assured them there was no overwhelming danger in the deep mountain and recounted the events of the morning leaving out some bits of information.


    "What? There was a saint in the deep mountains?" Zhi Ruo said in a high pitched voice with her eyes wide..


    Hartley shook his head to confirm.


    Qin Li and Futian looked startled at the mere mention of a legendary saint.


    "Was he an enemy or a friend?" Qin Li asked looking no less nervous than Fu Qian at this point.


    "I''m not sure, at first he seemed like an enemy but in the end he seemed more like a friend." Hartley''s reply did not provide a modicum of comfort for the two sat across from him.


    Based on Hartley''s interaction with Kang, he didn''t think saints would lower themselves to be involved in the petty squabbles between nobles, but one can never be too sure. Hartley thought the man might have just been investigating the events surrounding his breakthrough, but he wouldn''t bet money on it.


    "Based on what he said, something suspicious is brewing in the capital and we don''t want to be caught off-guard by whatever is happening, send a runner to Windsor Peak castle to see if Viscount Sanzu knows what''s going on." Hartley instructed Fu Qian.


    "Right away." Fu Qian answered, bowed and hustled out of the room in haste.


    After dismissing the meeting Hartley kissed Zhi Ruo on her forehead and headed straight to his private cultivation room, leaving strict orders to the serving staff that he wished to not be disturbed in the upcoming days unless it was an emergency of epic proportion.

 120 Enemy of the Kingdom

    Hartley''s first encounter battling a saint left him rattled. Before entering his cultivation room he stopped and stretched, his earlier exertion still weighing on him as he exhaled.


    There was no doubt in his mind that gravity manipulation alone wouldn''t be able to injure a saint as it did with those below the saint realm.


    A saint''s physique seemed almost impenetrable by those in the lower realms of cultivation. No wonder the saint had called him an ant.


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    To his dismay he also concluded that his time domain would be just as useless.


    If he couldn''t hurt the opponent, even if the opponent was a sitting duck frozen in time, the outcome of the battle was already set in stone.


    He took some consolation in knowing that gravity could still restrict and affect a saint''s movements as was evident with the saint in the back mountains.


    How could he find a way to injure a saint? Hartley stood for hours contemplating that thought.


    Hartley spent a day meditating to consolidate his breakthrough, then entered his inner world. He remembered advice once given to him by Kang: the closer you are to the saint realm the more important it is to find ways of using minimal effort for maximum output.


    Hartley stood in his inner world, his skin faintly glowing blue and his golden-blonde hair of his mother''s heritage hovering around his head like clouds around the sun.


    After taking a deep breath he brought down 250 gs of gravitational force onto the earth. With a sudden boom, a hundred meters around him was flattened instantly, the earth quaked, rattled and cracked. Every tree in this diameter turned to splinters and were forced down into the bare earth, not even a blade of grass could escaped the wrath of gravity.


    Black energy started blaring out viciously like a raging storm of black fire around him.


    It was was if the very seams of the mortal plane were coming apart like a cheap robe, causing the black energy to lash out more ferociously at the gravity field that was violating the laws of the mortal plane.


    Hartley was encased in his sphere which turn to a solid blue like an egg shell protecting him from any harm.


    Why was it so important to find to find ways using minimal effort for maximum output? Hartley stood still in his sphere observing the chaotic maelstrom of black energy raging more violently than he had ever seen. Then the answer struck him like a bolt of lightning.


    Black Energy!


    It was the most potent and uncontrollable energy in existence. Chaotic and volatile with impartiality, it was the blood of the mortal plane. It ensured the balance of the plane acting as a protector to extinguish forces that were breaking the threshold of power for the realm.


    "What if I could control black energy indirectly?" Hartley struck up on an idea.


    It has to be known that there was nothing new under the sun, Hartley was far from the first person to have this thought. The problem was that the people before him who had a similar thought process had perished miserably fooling around with this unpredictable power.


    Not even a saint would foolishly come into direct contact with black energy, but Hartley had one advantage they didn''t have and that was his inner world. His inner world that perfectly simulated the real world was the perfect lab to conduct such life threatening experiments.


    He was the ruler here and a with a thought everything would reset back to normal.


    Others who had gone down this road before him had been erased from the world with the slightest miscalculation or error in judgement, no one ever got a second chance to observe, learn and make adjustments when it came to black energy. It was literally suicide to even be curious about this energy.


    After two days of just standing and watching the behavior of dark energy Hartley had some insights as to how it behaved. At first it seemed like just a random explosion of energy that just appeared at the place you least expected it.


    Soon Hartley figured out that by just barely breaching the laws of the realms he could see the ripples in space where the black energy was most likely to appear. In another two days he became adept at knowing where to punch out to make these ripples appear where he wanted them to.


    Hartley would then send out a mini sphere the size of a basketball to surround the ripples where the black energy would appear and then as quickly as possible pump in tremendous elemental power with his spiral circulation technique, blue spiral lines would circulate and weave around the sphere suddenly causing and eruption of black energy turning the sphere black.


    At first the black energy would just writhe and roil violently siphoning off the blue energy until there was nothing left then disappear to nothingness leaving the sphere translucent and empty once again.


    Hartley even had the sphere explode a few times like a nuclear bomb around him literally rocking his world....


    In a majestic castle in the east of the capital, under the dark night skies a dim candle light gleamed through a narrow window in a high tower on the north side. An old man sat at his desk scribbling down some notes on a piece of parchment. In a castle full of luxuries the man spent most of his time reading in this small dank room, the floor would creak when stepped on, and the door would squeak when opened but the room was kept looking like a commoners abode by choice.


    The man was tall and sturdy, sporting a full head of white hair he resembled the young prince in facial features. The man sat in the silence of the gloomy room reading reports and writing the odd reply.


    A knock came at the door and he answered "come in", the squeak of the door disturbed the dead silence in the room as the door slowly opened letting the bright light from torches mounted in the hall invade the dimly lit interior.


    "Your highness Prince Dong, the princess is here to see you." said a tall man dressed in a black military robe as he delivered a formal bow.


    "Hmmm." The prince grunted affirmation while keeping his eyes glued to the parchment laying on his desk.


    A beautiful mature lady dressed in a green and white bell-shaped gown strode pass the guard as he retreated and closed the door, returning the room to being barely illuminated.


    "Can''t you get some more lights, it''s so moldy and depressing in here, I wonder how anyone can stay sane spending so much time in this horrible room." The princess complained as she stepped forward into the room.


    The eldest prince finally prised his eyes away from his parchment.


    "What can I help you with sister?"


    The princess snorted in annoyance before replying to his abruptness.


    "The lord of the western hills, Baron Hongtian requests our aid in dealing with him....."


    "I''m afraid we have bigger fishes to fry, that little runt will have to wait until I get things in order here. These merchants are being extremely troublesome, but his time will come soon, don''t worry about him." Said the prince cutting her off while his eyes turned back to the parchment on his desk.


    Undeterred by the prince''s remarks she continued, "Did you know his wife is Zhi Ruo, daughter of that traitor Zhi Kim? A man declared an enemy of the kingdom by you yourself. How will it look when word gets that they''ve been living happily in the western hills under our noses. Furthermore those dirty commoners in the hills are flocking to his fief like moths to a flame, it won''t take long for his influence to grow in the region."


    The name Zhi Kim brought memories flooding back to the elder prince, the trusted bodyguard who his sister had fallen in love with and had consequently grown to hate, a man who wouldn''t abandon his family even when the wealth of the kingdom was dangled before his eyes, an assassination attempt that ended with the man''s wife dead and him and his daughter missing, it seemed so long ago yet his memories were still so vivid.


    She walked over to the desk and stood beside the eldest prince, her silhouette was barely illuminated by the single candle at the far end of the simple wooden desk. She continued to press her point with a scowl on her otherwise beautiful face.


    "We have an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone and in the process taint prince Jian''s reputation for having an enemy of the kingdom under his banner."


    After thinking things through for a minute the eldest prince replied, "just have our allies in the west deal with the youth, we have more pressing matters to attend to right now."


    The princess shook her head unwilling to pass up this opportunity, "the nobles in the west are scared of the brat, apparently the back-bush bumpkin isn''t as weak as everyone thought, not even Baron Hongtian is willing to step foot in the western hills unaided."


    That last statement from the princess got Prince Dong''s undivided attention, the last thing he needed was more strong opposition sprouting up in these chaotic times. It was best to nip these potential problems in the bud early on.


    He knew from experience that wrestling back power from nobles who had tasted it could be notoriously harsh, in recent times he nearly had to run a few neighboring fiefs into the ground to keep those nobles too big for their boots in line....


    In his inner world, Hartley breathed slowly. He had completely lost track of time, his inner world had no night cycles it was permanently tinted blue from the Star that sat in the sky. He stood surrounded by 6000 kilometers of fertile lands.


    On a rocky windless plateau Hartley''s left hand turned to a blue flash as he whipped it out to the side and away from his body producing rumblings and faint ripples in front of him, lightning-quick he then punched out, a dark sphere with blue lines appeared a meter in front of his fist, the rumbles increased in volume shaking the ground.


    There was a black spot of dark energy the size of an pigeon egg at the sphere''s center surrounded by countless blue lines that swirled and wriggled around the unstable black nucleus, extending and spinning like a fan blade to the outer edges of the sphere like a plasma globe.


    The dark sphere twinkling with bright blue spiral lines almost looked like fancy decoration belonging on the mantle of a prestiged noble house.


    The core of black energy suspended in the center of the sphere snapped and crackled intermittently changing forms trying to devour the blue spiral lines spinning so fast that they seemed to be stationary.


    This was the most black energy Hartley could trap and manipulate in his sphere so far, after all the harrowing accidents resulting in explosions that could swallow up his whole inner world, he wouldn''t dare try more than this in the real world.


    The dark sphere with blue lines flew ten meters in a blink and exploded with a horrendous roar, there was a flash of black that attracted ever more roiling black energy. The ground shook and waves of rippling quakes spread out over the rocky terrain like wind blowing across fluttering linen sails.


    Debris rose to the sky blotting out the blue rays of the Star sitting above.


    When everything was settled there was a trench one hundred meters deep splitting mountains rivers and forests. The destruction stretched to almost half a kilometer.


    Stood in his sphere that twinkled with blue Hartley smiled, he had created a new technique. Hopefully it would work just as well in the real world.

 121 The western hills

    After exiting his private cultivation room with a smile Hartley was greeted by a glum faced Zhi Ruo, tension clearly written on her beautiful features and bags under eyes as if she was standing in the hallway for days.


    The smile melted from Hartley''s face as he rushed to her and held both her hands in his asking "What''s going on?"


    Seeing the worry on his face Zhi Ruo pulled herself together and smiled weakly, and after a long pause she said.


    "The eldest prince has declared me an enemy of the kingdom, he has issued my execution order with immediate effect. The men sent by viscount Sanzu brought a message two days ago that the prince is mobilizing an alliance of 5000 men backed by a saint and a half saint."


    "Oh." was the only answer Hartley could muster. Unknowingly Hartley had been locked away fro 10 days.


    Zhi Ruo looked at Hartley with a frightened face then started to stutter "I....I....I..should..."


    Before she could finish Hartley quickly grabbed her and brought her into his embrace whispering "don''t you dare even think of that, there will be no sacrifice on my behalf, we will face them together, come...let me show you something."


    Tears started to fall from Zhi Ruo''s eyes, she couldn''t bare knowing that she had brought a calamity to Hartley and felt the only way to save him was giving up her own life. Knowing that if she sacrificed herself Hartley would eventually venture down the heartless path of vengeance without empathy for anyone.


    She closed her eyes and saw flashbacks of the Warika province when Hartley had ruthlessly killed and destroyed the homes of thirty odd common civilians without remorse or care because she was in mortal danger.


    As they exited the manor hand in hand the first rays of sunshine peaked over the western hills.The atmosphere was muted not even the usually vibrant children were running around. People went about their business in robotic fashion, most staring at the ground while they dragged their feet across the cobbled roads.


    Hartley and Zhi Ruo passed the soldiers sent by viscount Sanzu as they were silently sitting and lounging around looking into space dazed as if they had been sentenced to death. Hartley quietly led her towards the entrance of the manor without even acknowledging them.


    Every single soldier wore expressions of gloom on their faces, some even mumbled prayers under their breath. A few harbored resentment in their hearts as they watched the couple walk by, cursing Hartley inside because they had literally been sent by viscount Sanzu to die for this boy.


    Most of the soldiers knew the shrewdness of Viscount Sanzu and how the politics of the capital worked, he had basically sacrificed these forces edging his bets on the outcome of the upcoming conflict.


    The viscount knew he couldn''t be seen to entirely abandon Hartley and the western hills in their time of need, it was because of Hartley that he had been recalled to the capital after all. If Hartley chose to save his own life and give up his wife for execution the viscount would be seen as a benevolent figure giving his full support.


    But these soldiers knew from the reports they had heard about the lord of the western hills that that scenario was highly unlikely, the expected scenario was that Hartley would opt to fight to the bitter end and in that case these soldiers would end up being the sacrificial lambs in a game of high level politics.


    There was only a one percent chance that Hartley and the residents of the western hills would survive and win if they chose a head on confrontation with the eldest prince''s troops. That being the case the calculative Viscount Sanzu had no choice but to show his support just in case Hartley managed to pull off a miracle or was saved by a powerful backer, that wasn''t out of the realm of possibility in viscount Sanzu''s thinking.


    If Hartley died the viscount would still be seen as a good ally, standing up to might of the eldest prince out of pure loyalty, but his position would be weakened in the capital dramatically and there was no guarantee that he would be able to keep his position if Hartley was out of the picture, so he couldn''t afford to draw the ire the nobles hell bent on taking down the lord of the western hills..


    Sat in a red cushioned chair, the messy haired Commander Genk had a scowl on his face and a bulging vein in the middle of his forehead as he slammed the armrest of the antique chair with his huge clenched fist.


    "We need to send support troops now, if we wait any longer there is no way we can reach there in time to make a difference."


    The commander was almost shouting with impatience and borderline insubordination.


    Sat across from him was Prince Jian who seemed to be taking his time to think over the current matters. He wasn''t in a rush to get involved in this situation, everyone in the aristocratic circles were tensely waiting to see what he would do.


    With the attitude the commander was displaying in the prince''s castle, killing intent filled the room from the experts hidden in the shadows of Prince Jian''s office.


    The young prince held up his hand calming his bodyguards, he massaged his temples with both hands. "They are sending a saint, commander are you going to challenge a saint?" the prince asked.


    Commander Genk''s nostrils flared as he tried to hold back his emotions. "Send one of our saints then, the boy has got too much potential to waste it like this." Just thinking about the miracles the boy had performed time after time in Tivoli the commander was unwilling to see him fall so easily at the hands of these petty nobles.


    The commander pleaded in desperation. He knew the prince was a cut-throat politician but he didn''t expect the prince to not even try and save such an important asset.


    Prince Jian was caught in two minds, he could easily send one of his saints but he was thinking of the white iron that he owed Hartley, the value of the white iron might be worth letting someone with great potential fall. How many people with great potential has he seen meet their demise in his tenure, Would this be any different? .....


    Bathed in dull sunshine, Hartley stopped on a familiar crest at the entrance to the manor, they stood on the rocky ground and listened to the birds chirping as they watched the trees swaying. Hartley breathed in deeply, the trees and the birds seemed to be immune to the gloom permeating the atmosphere or they just didn''t care about the supposed impending doom of the western hills Hartley thought.


    Hartley took Zhi Ruo''s hand into his, a fond smile brightened her features which still had a dried streak of a tear staining her cheek. A translucent sphere was ejected from Hartley''s body and covered them both, Zhi Ruo made a welp and was startled momentarily, almost losing her balance as they both started to float upwards leaving dust swirling beneath them.


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    People who were watching the couple nonchalantly walking as if they were on their last tour of the manor squinted their eyes in disbelief, soldiers clad in iron armor swiftly jumped to their feet from their lax sitting positions.


    Commoners flocked along the cobble stone roads and stared at the sky, some cupping their palms above their brows as they were blinded by the rising golden sunshine coming over the green mountains. A din of noise returned to the western hills as people burst into frantic conversations all around the manor while calling others to verify if what they were all seeing was true.


    The gathering commoners saw the unbelievable sight of the couple standing in mid air and every once in a while a blue light would twinkle and flicker around their majestic god-like figures like a star had risen into the sky in broad daylight.


    Even in a world of cultivators where nothing seems impossible this was a miracle in their eyes as they watched the beautiful couple hover in the sky like angels, some watched in awe with tears falling from their eyes.


    This raised hope in their hearts, for the past couple of days everyone had resigned themselves to the fate of death after hearing the decree from the eldest prince. These people who used to live a hungry and bare-boned life knew that if they abandoned the western hills and sought refuge in the surrounding fiefs, what awaited them there was only a slow torturous death at the hands of the disgruntled nobles. Even so, a few had already abandoned the western hills and went back to grovel at the feet of their former masters.


    In many ways their fates were tied to the lord of the western hills and seeing him floating 20 meters in the sky shook their hearts, it felt like seeing an unstoppable god separating himself from the mortal plane.


    The skyline of the entire captial was visible to Hartley and Zhi Ruo, she gulped down a breath of air as her eyes moved around in wonder. "Look" Hartley pointed his chin at the vast stretches of land endlessly meandering below them. He then continued.


    "The western hills is but a grain of sand on a never ending beach," he turned his head to look directly in her eyes.


    "This is only the beginning of our journey to dominance Ruo, when I asked you to leave the Waltham province with me I told you we were going to make our mark, and to make that mark we will step over the piling and rotting dead bodies of those who dare to stand in our way. No matter who they might be."

 122 When the smoke cleared....

    "We''re all going to die, aren''t we?" A young soldier wearing a full suit of silver armor with the insignia of Viscount Sanzu imprinted on the breast plate asked while shivering, his hands trembled as he tightly held on to the hilt of the sheathed sword attached to his waist.


    The soldier stood beside him turned and inspected the nervous younger soldier, the young soldier had red hair gushing out from under his helmet and a full beard that blocked out the insignia printed on his chest.


    "Did you plan to live forever?" the veteran asked.


    This man was obviously more experienced than the red hair soldier, he had wrinkles at the corner of his exposed eyes and carried himself with more confidence than the fidgety men stood in a defensive line beside him.


    The red hair soldier was taken aback by the casual question in the face of certain death, he couldn''t even think straight, he watched the armies of the five nobles that ruled the fertile flat lands gathering in neat formations across the rocky flattened ground. They were about a kilometer from the winding mountain roads that led to the Western Hills and were sure to make their move today.


    What a question to contemplate standing in the dew on a hazy morning like this, the red hair soldier opened and closed his mouth several times but no words escaped from his lips. He didn''t plan to live forever but he sure wanted to live longer than today. The veteran smiled then turned his eyes back to the budding battlefield in the distance saying, "Leave it up to fate, fate will decide our endings today."


    No one could blame any of these one thousand men sent by Viscount Sanzu for being scared. When have they ever had to face such a massive army in a full frontal assault? Their duties usually revolved around petty skirmishes with the small forces of other nobles or eliminating under-equipped bandits hiding in a forest somewhere.


    It was like someone who had been fighting a poodle was suddenly told to fight a wild grizzly bear in its own habitat.


    The rising sun glinted off of the sea of silver armor in the distance down below as they organized themselves in neat lines of tactical formations, the front ranks held long spears and small shields, behind them were men brandishing large shields and long swords and further back were the archers.


    Holding the high ground on the opposite side were the troops from the western hills. Viscount Sanzu''s men were equipped with armor, long swords and mid-sized shields. The 200 elite troops of House Hartley were sporting silver and black armor with a large bear imprinted across the entire front of the armor from torso to neck.


    They were only equipped with long swords and a leather bag tied around their waste.


    Away from the battlefield a huge tent was erected inside the war camp of the alliance of nobles from the flat lands. Many of the nobles and their servants wore full suits of pristine armor that was obviously polished until it gleamed in the light.


    They sat on luxurious furniture and browsed the map of the Western Hills talking about tactics. Shouts of men and neighs of horses along with the sounds of metal against metal could be heard outside as many different guards and bodyguards patrolled through the busy camp. Servants busily scampered around the area making sure everything was just right for the esteemed nobles.


    "Are there xiantian experts among them?" asked Elder Wan, he was eager to get the conquest of the western hills going.


    "There is, but nothing we can''t handle." Answered Song Zemin who was comfortably sitting in a cushioned chair, he had learned his lesson countless times underestimating Hartley, but this time he was asked to come personally by the eldest prince. It was chance for him to get rid of the youth who had haunted his dreams ever since that backlash he suffered in the space crack, after today he could finally put his mind at ease, and gain a favor from the eldest prince in the process.


    Baron Hongtian didn''t mind letting these nobles take lead in the fight, he was quite content to let them rush into western hills as cannon fodder. Unlike him, most of them hadn''t received detailed reports of the carnage the lord of the western hills was capable of. He glanced at the half saint Song Zemin and knowing there was a full saint hidden somewhere, he was quite confident in this assault.


    Too bad the mountains protected the north side of the western hills he thought to himself, there was no way to outflank and surround the opponent with their superior numbers and end this conflict as soon as possible.


    But that also meant that the opponent couldn''t escape either, once they were backed into a corner they could be hunted down like animals.


    Elder Juntao sat closest to the open flap of the tent. He had different thoughts entirely from everybody else in this tent, in fact he didn''t want to be anywhere near the western hills, he was already traumatized by his last visit there. He sat and couldn''t help but rub his right shoulder, it was fully healed but he still experienced phantom pains just thinking about that demon in the western hills.


    Hong Zang couldn''t wait to catch that red head bitch who had slapped out every single one of his teeth except for one still present at the left side of his jaw , a sinister toothless smile appeared on his face. He wanted that bitch''s head on a pike displayed at his manor. He didn''t need any of the spoils of war.


    "Clear the way! Could you make sure there are no commoners around, I don''t want to catch a disease." Hong Zang huffed at his guards as he exited the command tent and headed towards the front lines.


    The first assault against the western hills was to take place within the hour and he wanted to witness the systematic dismantling and destruction of the western hills puny forces....


    At noon the sun was high and the shadows were short. The glistening metallic sea surged forward towards the western hills. The thumping of their every step could be heard and felt as they closed in for the kill.


    Soon everyone standing in the defensive line at the entrance to the western hills could see each individual soldier, this means the marching tide were less than five hundred meters away.


    "It''s really happening" said the young red hair soldier to himself standing on a ridge looking at the army moving towards them, the mounting terror in his heart could clearly be seen in his eyes.


    Did he really have to stay here and be impaled by one of those long spears? Holy Matriarch! There were so many of them coming, he could actually hear the clangs of the enemy armor as the joints grinded against the other metallic parts.


    The demonstration by Hartley two days ago had given everyone hope but staring at the thousands that were marching towards them now.... many began to lose their nerves again.


    "Move Forward!" Fu Qian''s voice was heard from the back just in time to distract the soldiers from the horrors floating in their minds, forty members of the elite guards of House Hartley pushed their way to the front and spread themselves ten meters apart. The bravery displayed by these recently promoted soldiers in the face of the overwhelming opposition made some established soldiers feel a tingle of shame.


    Fu Qian looked at his daughter beside him dressed in black close fitting leather armor made by ZHI ruo, she had a long bow across her shoulder and a quiver of arrows strapped to her back.


    "Be careful Jianu," he said with teary eyes and a smile at the same time.


    "I will." Fu Jianu replied and scampered off towards a high ridge about fifty meters away.


    Nervousness was palpable on the side of the defenders as the army closed the distance between the two. When they were fifty meters away the long spears that were pointed to the skies were lowered into a horizontal forward position. It was going to be a battle uphill for the attackers but with their sheer numbers and the longer reach of their spears, they were confident in overrunning the enemy''s defensive positions and be in the manor of the western hills before the end of the first hour.


    forty meters.....


    thirty meters....


    twenty meters....


    At this point the forty elites from House Hartley dipped into the leather bags tied at their waste and retrieved a black orb the size of a ripe lemon.


    fifteen meters...


    ten meters.....


    Just when the attacking forces were gearing up themselves for an all out charge at full speed. All forty of House Hartley''s elites pressed a indentation in the orbs causing a sizzling noise then threw them into the bulk of tightly packed soldiers coming up the hill.


    "The bumpkins are throwing stones" shouted a soldier in the noble''s army scowling with disdain at the defenders perched on the high ground, just as laughter began to break out in the line of spear-toting soldiers, there was a big boom that shook the earth, followed by another and another and yet another. The never ending booms sounded like rough wavelets smashing against a tropical beach.


    Soon the whole line of attacking soldiers were in disarray, shrieks and screams bellowed out and debris flew everywhere, black smoke plumed and billowed towards the sky obscuring everyone''s vision.


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    When the smoke cleared .....

 123 The secret weapon of the western hills

    The confident allied forces that were pushing forward in waves at a rate of knots behind the spear-men unit leading the attack on the western hills suddenly slowed their momentum when the ground shook over and over with booming ear-splitting explosions echoing out.


    Those soldiers most eager to pillage and plunder, trying their hardest to reach the front lines of the battle and partake in the fun before the puny forces of the western hills were eliminated, stopped dead in their tracks.


    They looked at each other in bewilderment and shock as the formation of spear-men that entered within melee distance of the opposition were completely engulfed by black smoke.


    Everything in front of their eyes were obscured by the thick black snaky cloud slowly rising upward.


    The army came to a sudden stop standing in a neat line, the wind brought a thick hazy dust swirling from the hidden battlefield ahead, stinging their eyes as the dust-cloud crept over the ground slowly enveloping their ranks before it was driven to the south with the wind.


    After being swamped in dust they were then showered with countless pebbles raining down from the sky making constant clinking sounds as the harmless pieces of gravel hit against their armors and fell to the floor.


    It was almost as if time was at a stand-still up ahead. The soldiers didn''t hear the chaotic clashes of shields, spears and swords or the shouts and roars of desperate men locked in life and death combat that usually made up the ambient noises on a battlefield, it was like there wasn''t even a struggle going on behind the veil of dark smoke.


    Did the defenders of the western hills surrender? confusion was evident everywhere as no one really knew what had taken place up ahead.


    Things became even worse when they started to hear numerous screams of agony, it didn''t sound like any battle they''ve been involved in before, it sounded more like a field hospital catering for hundreds of injured men had been erected.


    "Prepare to move forward!" a captain shouted at the confused troops, the men raised their shields and leveled their swords again preparing to move forward in support of the spear units.


    Suddenly a raggedy soldier missing an arm with blood gushing from the stump at his right shoulder came stumbling through the thick black fog, he wore a suit of blackened silver armor that was badly damaged and missing many pieces, the man staggered towards his allies while continuously screaming hysterically "the terror, oh the terror. The rocks are exploding, no one''s safe, no one''s safe."


    He then collapsed with wide frightened eyes in front of the second line of soldiers, wailing miserably before dying at the feet of the captain with an arrow sticking out of his back....


    Stood on the high ground of the western hills, Viscount Sanzu''s men were shell-shocked into speechlessness. There were sporadic cheers of joy coming from some, but most were muted staring at the battlefield with eyes that were about to pop out of their sockets.


    The young red haired soldier looked at the gore filled battlefield in horror and amazement at the same time, a minute ago he was seriously considering fleeing for his life just at the sight of the enemy''s long spears, who would have thought that the enemy''s broken bodies would lay dying in misery before his eyes a minute later as the neat organized lines of spear-men disintegrated into screaming chaos.


    He looked at the veteran next to him. The veteran had eyes just as wide as anybody else, when he noticed the younger soldier next to him he said. "Our endings will be decided by fate, not by man."


    Then he turned away in a sage-like fashion and charged into the helpless soldiers remaining on the gruesome battlefield.


    As the smoke slowly dispersed, the visible area around the Western Hills looked as if a series of tornadoes had swept over it.


    There were wrecked trees, deep pits and bloody body parts strewn everywhere. Trees and dead bodies lay sprawled awkwardly on the ground entangled together.


    There was the vile and pungent odor of burnt flesh everywhere and pieces of clothes, broken spears and other unrecognizable parts of military equipment scattered across the battlefield in piles.


    Hundreds of suffering men laid on the shattered ground, they could only use the last tiny spark of life remaining in their battered bodies to wail out a final tune of misery with their dying breaths....


    The panicked concussed survivors staggered around on the scorched earth in utter confusion.... Fu jianu nocked an arrow, the beautiful girl didn''t even flinch as she took a deep breath, surveyed the battlefield filled with dead men and pieces of dead men, steadied her aim, then released the missile from the bow-string and into the back of an armored man stumbling around in a daze of disbelief. He screeched in terror as he contorted his body reaching back and trying to remove the black-fletched arrow-shaft that was jutting out his back, unfortunately for him, it was out of his reach.


    The girl nonchalantly turned to another target without paying the wriggling man any more attention. Again the whiz of the arrow sounded out and again another victim was impaled screaming painfully.


    Fu Jianu methodically nocked her arrows then let loose her shots, her targets screamed and fell rolling around in agony. She had taken a position higher than the others and when the blackness from the smoke started to fade she had a perfect vantage for sniping, she started to work viciously on the last of the struggling survivors.


    Fu Jianu had no love or mercy for nobles or the forces that they controlled. She had seen her father bullied and came close to being violated under their oppression on my occasions. When her dad had tried to send her to hide she had insisted on joining the battle, Fu Qian had taught the girl to hunt from an early age and she was nifty with her bow. She had decided that she would fight alongside her father and take down as many of the bastards that she could before the inevitable happened..


    When others saw what was happening, they quickly recognized the helplessness of the attackers and rushed down from their position to brutally put the remainder of the spear-men to the sword.


    "Ready again!" Fu Qian shouted loudly bringing all the defenders back to their senses as they regrouped. He could hear the marching footsteps of the second wave of attackers coming their way.


    The defenders from the western hills were also blinded by the curtain of dark smoke that lingered on the battlefield. The forty elites from House Hartley dipped into their leather bags again and prepared to engage the enemy.


    These black lemon-sized orbs brandished by the forty elites of House Hartley contained the explosives which were dubbed "waste product" by the mad scientist Alrick. He had produced one hundred of these orbs and issued them to Hartley.


    Within the orb were the two unstable liquids separated by a thin piece of glass. When the indentation in the middle of the orbs were pressed with enough force, a fork shaped piece of wire would crush the glass dividing the two unstable liquids allowing them to mix, ten seconds later they would explode with force similar to an attack by a 4th layer xiantian expert.


    The havoc that these grenade-like weapons wreaked on the battlefield were like forty 4th layer xiantian experts attacking together. How could clustered soldiers mostly in the houtian realm endure these concentrated attacks?


    Soon the second wave arrived wielding broad shields and long swords, this time they were much less energetic and much more wary, the first of the attackers to witness the carnage gasped in terror. How was this even possible? was the question swirling through their confused minds.


    Just as the defenders perched on the high ground were beginning to feel confident in the secret weapon of the western hills a fire ball exploded into the ranks of armored soldiers perched on the ridge.


    The explosion of yellow instantly erased a dozen men stood in a cluster and blew back a dozen more. The viscount''s men howled out horrific screams among their ranks, men were being cooked inside their armor.


    "Come down here and fight like men you cowardly turtles." shouted the captain who charged to the front. Just looking at the losses they had suffered and the ghastly remnants on the battlefield made his blood boil with rage.


    Whizz! one of Fu Jianu arrows came streaking towards the man from an elevated position to his left. The captain raised his sword and nonchalantly swatted away the arrow aimed at his chest with a clang of bright sparks.


    He was a 3rd layer xiantian with fire affinity, he was fully armored wearing a helmet that only revealed his eyes. His right hand held a long sword and his free left hand was preparing another fireball in retaliation.


    Bolstered by the heroics of the captain the attackers regained their confidence, the air was pregnant with killing intent as the army steeled themselves to take revenge on these bumpkins.


    Just as the captain was about to unleash another fireball toward Fu Jianu, a mini green tornado flashed from the high ground to the right and a blurry silhouette appeared in front of the captain. Immediately an ax that left neon green after images sliced down towards the captain''s head.


    The powerful strike blew away the soldiers bunched up directly behind the captain leaving a ten meter diameter with only the captain and the newcomer standing face to face.


    Caught by surprise the captain''s sword burst in yellow flames as he brought it up and canceled his fireball. The two weapons clashed....sparks flew...the sword in the captain''s hand thrummed loudly, humming out a metallic tune as he staggered back imprinting his footsteps in the ground as if it was made of wax.


    Before the captain could react, the blurry green silhouette was on top of him again, assisted by the wind elements the man''s speed was like lightning. The ax connected with the breastplate of the captain.


    The captain''s armor shattered like a windscreen glass, spider web of cracks quickly crawled out across the armor, the shiny metal began crumbling to pieces bit by bit like a biscuit. He puked out a mouthful of blood within his enclosed helmet almost drowning himself in blood as his body made an arc through the sky and disappeared into the crowd of infantry men.


    Qin Li''s black robe fluttered as the defenders who barely got a glimpse of him rejoiced, the mini green tornado took him back up to the high ground out of sight in a green flash.


    The squad leader next in line commanded the alliance to rush forward and kill...


    "Now." Fu Qian shouted at the forty elites from House Hartley still standing, they threw down those sizzling black orbs into the sea of surging attackers trying to overwhelm them with pure numbers.


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    A new round of explosions rang out, the alliance forces of the nobles collapsed completely like sand that was washed away in a flood, scattering like a swarm of flies as the viscount''s men chased down and slaughtered the demoralized remnants of the army trying to escape from the entrance of the western hills and back to the war camp of the nobles. Almost two thousand men had been grinded to mince meat.


    They had tried to over run the western hills with sheer numbers and brute strength tactics. It was futile, they were ripped to shreds by the new weapon of the western hills, it was wholesale slaughtering on a mass scale. The gratifying explosions that sent particles flying everywhere made even the defenders shiver in fright.


    At a safe distance from the battle Hong Zang lips twitched as he witnessed scattered troops running for their lives, Hong Zang was livid with anger and frustration, "Pepper them all with arrows regardless of friend or foe," he instructed the archers.


    The nobles waiting in the war camp for the roads leading to the western hills manor to be opened were also in for a rude awakening.....

 124 Ruler of the Wes

    "Arrows incoming!" yelled Fu Qian in warning from the back as he tried to stop the remaining soldiers from rushing forward recklessly. A swarming volley of arrows soared through the skies like a murder of black crows headed towards the men overtaken by their blood-lust.


    A number of Viscount Sanzu''s men had already broken ranks, intoxicated with the thrill of inflicting a crushing defeat on the enemy, they were chasing down and killing the bedraggled soldiers trying to escape from the battlefield.


    After hearing the warning they came back to their senses and stopped chasing the enemy, immediately they raised their shields in a desperate bid to protect themselves from the dark cloud of incoming projectiles, they hurriedly formed a raggedy shield formation and held their breath bracing themselves for the shower of death about to fall from the sky.


    The vulnerable and frantic soldiers of the nobles who had discarded their heavy equipment in a desperate attempt to make a speedy escape from the slaughtering fields of the western hills, screamed in terror as they were caught unaware in the rain of arrows coming from their allies, blood splashed and splattered over the rocky terrain as the arrows impaled friend and foe mercilessly.


    The viscount''s men who had lost their discipline in the fog of slaughter had left themselves open to attack from the distant archers because they had strayed too far from their own lines, they too took horrible casualties even with their shields raised in a tight formation, the volume of arrows raining down found the gaps in their defense like water seeping through soil.


    Moans, screams and shouts rose in the air as they made a desperate retreat from the open ground while being peppered with arrows, abandoning the dead while dragging the injured back towards their own lines in chaos, leaving trails of blood staining the ground behind them. The survivors had to quickly get out of range of the archers before the second volley of arrows arrived....


    "What happened? Who were you fighting? What caused those explosions?"


    Hong Zang was livid as he asked quick-fire questions, reports from the paltry dozens of shell shocked survivors who had made it back to their lines described a terrifying weapon wielded by the soldiers of the western hills and the ghastly casualties the weapon had left behind on the battlefield.


    Hong Zang listened to the details trembling in trepidation, he could not believe his ears. He had lost almost 90 percent of his troops. He had only kept two hundred of his forces in reserve. Blinded by his thirst for revenge he had sent the majority of his troops together with Elder Wan''s forces to raid the western hills, only now did he realize that Baron Hongtian had sent them as cannon fodder.


    Elder Wan didn''t fare any better, he was pale-faced and could barely breathe when the tally of his casualties reached his ears. He regretted his eagerness in assaulting the western hills, wishing he had held back his forces like Baron Hontian and Elder Juantao but there was no medicine for regret. He had lost so much of his forces that he was now one of the weakest nobles in the western region of the capital.


    When word of the disastrous failure reached the big tent in the nobles war camp Song Zemin sat on his cushioned chair with a sour face, he had banked on the army of these nobles whittling down the defenders of the western hills then he would waltz into the manor and execute Hartley and his wife gloriously in front of the army and assert his position in the eyes of these nobles from the western region of the capital.


    "Lets go." he stood up and marched out of the tent....


    A tall and confident man looking in his forties walked towards the entrance to the western hills. He wore white robe that fluttered in the wind. The view of a large field filled with the dead at the mouth of the winding roads leading towards the western hills greeted his eyes, he scowled as he headed through the scattered corpses towards the western hills with plans of the most gruesome revenge forming in his head....


    It was about an hour since the slaughter in the western hills, the sun shone brightly on this spring day. All the nobles had gathered at the front line to watch Song Zemin open the way, now that he was personally taking action surely they would strike a decisive blow against the defenders of the western hills regardless of what weapons they were using....


    Back on the high ground of the western hills Fu Qian could be heard shouting loud orders as the viscount''s men regrouped and reorganized themselves while administering first-aid to their injured. Heaving breaths, gasped of pain, curses and prayers could be heard mixed with the chaotic screams of the wounded laying on the ground.


    The elites of House Hartley took up positions at the front, they only had twenty of the black orbs remaining, they were now nervous, there was no way they could repel another full scale assault from the noble forces.


    "Someone is coming!" came a shout from one of the soldiers, everyone looked at the person walking casually towards the winding roads below.


    An arrow whizzed from Fu Jianu towards the man dressed in white, with a simple wave of his right hand the arrow was shattered into dust without the man even breaking his casual strides.


    Most of the soldiers gulped, the man was radiating an overwhelming oppressive power, everyone gripped their weapons nervously until their knuckles were white, mentally preparing themselves for an even harder battle than they had just had with over two thousand soldiers...


    Suddenly there was a swirl of wind and thin blue spiral lines like longitude around a small globe.


    Among the defenders,a young man with black hair and blue eyes appeared in the ranks, Fu Qian was the first to see the new person on the scene and breathed a sigh of relief as he ran over. He gave a knight''s salute saying "my lord."


    All the elites from House Hartley followed suit.


    "Rise." Hartley said in a calm voice, "you''ve all done well." Hartley patted Fu Qian''s shoulder then started walking out to the westerns hills to meet the newcomer.


    "Fall back, I''ll take it from here." Hartley spoke without turning to address anyone in particular.


    Hartley casually walked through the carnage wreaked by the secret weapons produced by Alrick, he strolled pass the mutilated dead bodies littering the battlefield, walking without a care as if the wretched mangled corpses were blooming lilies in a summertime garden. Hartley dressed in black walked to meet Song Zemin dressed in white.


    From one look in the eyes of the man approaching, Hartley instantly knew who the man was, how could he forget those eyes, the black as ink pupil surrounded by the white as lily sclera. Six months ago those eyes would have sent shivers down Hartley''s spine, the first time he had seen those eyes it was like he was looking up at a God. Now all he saw was an old man filled with rage and hatred.


    The mountain air was thick with the scent of blood wafting around on a brisk wind, as the two came closer, the killing intent that radiated from Song Zemin was stifling. Hartley stopped ten meters from Song Zemin, both men stood on grass stained red in the middle of the bloody carnage from the battle earlier. The scene looked like two demons about to engage in a death battle on a stage made from corpses..


    With a smile Hartley talked casually to the man.


    "So, we finally meet."


    Returning the smile Song Zemin replied.


    "Yes, finally a thorn can be removed from the capital, make no mistake young man, you and all who stand with you will suffer for your transgressions and then that pretty little redhead is next."


    Hartley answered with a cordial smile lacking any aggressiveness. "I''m afraid you''ve delivered yourself to serve as a stepping stone to demonstrate the power of the western hills and as a result I will establish myself as the ruler of the west."


    Song Zemin snorted, "you are too deluded, holding this petty position among the nobles so quickly as gone to your head. Today you will find that the capital is no place for inexperienced bumpkins. Are you stalling for time thinking the young prince is on his way to save you? You are not as valuable as you think."


    Hartley''s face became serious as he said, "the fruit of a poison tree is poisoned just like your petty politics. I have no interest in the politics of the capital, I depend only on my own power.".....


    Baron Hongtian stood at the front lines surrounded by his personal guards, the sun was bright and the wind cool. The baron was so pleased with himself he almost smiled. He had orchestrated this plan which had come together perfectly, how could he not feel proud of himself. He had managed to weaken Elder Wan and Hong Zang and uprooted the troublesome Hartley at the same time.


    After this was all over he would step in and offer his help on behalf of the eldest prince to Hong Zang and Elder Wan, for a price of course...


    Just as he was lost in thought.....BOOM!.....


    The ground shook underfoot. Everyone was tossed like a mixed salad as the violent rattle swept them off their feet. Confusion and chaos reigned among their ranks as everyone tried to figure out what had happened.


    Some scrambled back to their feet just in time to see a gigantic body falling to the ground stirring up a cloud of dust.


    Song Zemin got back to his feet in disbelief. He had gathered all the earth elements around him and wrapped himself in a suit of earthen armor which made him five meters tall looking like a humanoid monster made of stone.


    One brutal punch would be enough to turn the arrogant youth before him into mush he had thought to himself. As he stepped forward relishing the splendor of destruction he was about to wreak upon the youth''s body, he drew back his hand and punched forward.


    All the dead bodies and pieces of shattered military equipment surrounding the two were swept up in a gayle force and swirled creepily in the sky, his fist expanded with more earth elements as it moved forward...by the time it had reached Hartley his fist was as big as a bucket.... Then something that shocked him happened....Hartley punched out..


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    Three blue flashed erupted as Hartley''s fist made contact with his. There was a colossus explosion, the bodies swirling above them were ripped to shreds as a flash of black energy exploded out like a streak of lightning between the two, sending Song Zemin flying back almost a hundred meters with a shriek of disbelief, the figure of the stone humanoid hit the ground like a bomb and shook the earth.


    As he got to his feet he felt throbbing pain all over his body, there were cracks scattered across his armor and blood dripping from his mouth.


    He saw Hartley walking forward towards him nonchalantly looking uninjured. Gritting his teeth in determination he pushed the pain to the back of his mind and stomped down with his left foot. The earth rumbled and spikes as thick as a adult thigh shot upwards from the ground aimed at impaling the youth at an angle.


    There was a flash of blue from a sphere that instantly surrounded the youth, a circular pulse-wave shot out from Hartley like an extending halo as it shattered the spikes into a fine haze of dust that hung in the air.


    Finally the alarm bells started ringing in Song Zemin''s head.


    He was at the peak of the 9th layer, after the backlash he suffered in the spatial crack, he still hadn''t reached back to his peak power but he should be able to easily deal with anyone below the saint realm.. Just as he was contemplating fleeing and returning to finish the job when he was at his peak again..


    With shocking suddenness Hartley appeared in front of him delivering another punch with his compressed circulation technique. This time there was four bright flashes of blue.


    Everyone standing on the front lines of the nobles saw clearly this time, the stone monster standing five meters tall was blasted away like a cannon ball, producing a loud boom as the armor made of stone turned to dust and a man dressed in white tumbled and pitched across the battlefield ejecting a mouthful of blood like an arrow leaving a bow-string, moaning and wailing sounds escaped from his mouth like a wraith from hell as he came to a stop in full display before the terrified onlookers.


    Just the sound emitted from the strike alone deafened the soldiers and nobles watching the exchange, their moral sunk into the doldrums after seeing such a highly regarded expert thrashed with such ease.....


    Prince Jian sat in his office waiting for news from the battlefield of the western hills.


    There was a slight ripple in the air beside him and a voice informed him of the happenings of the battle in real time. He had sent one of his saints to keep an eye on the battle.


    After receiving the latest news, again the scales shifted in the young prince''s mind, now the benefit of having Hartley under his banner far outweighed the riches to be gained from him hoarding the white iron for himself. Hartley could genuinely tip the scales of power in the capital...


    He let out a cold breath thanking his lucky stars that he hadn''t declared his position prematurely.


    He immediately decreed that Zhi Ruo was no enemy of the kingdom and urgently sent his troops to defend the western hills.


    Commander Genk couldn''t help but shake his head in disappointment when he received the orders, he''d underestimated the shamelessness of the young prince''s politics. The prince was one of the most insincere people the commander had ever met in the capital, on the surface he was scholarly and wise but deep down he was only motivated to act when benefits were to be gained in increasing his own power.


    Someone like Commander Genk who truly adored talent and was happy to see talented allies around him grow and blossom towards fulfilling their potential, just couldn''t wrap his head around such a concept. Doesn''t it mean that no one was truly an ally to the prince?


    How could he truly believe in the prince anymore when the boy who had saved the lives of him and his men in Tivoli was seen as nothing but a pawn to be discarded at the prince''s leisure.


    What did that make the commander himself? Just a tool to be wielded when it suited the prince''s agenda?

 125 Clashing with a Saint full

    Silence... eerie silence, it was almost as if one could hear crickets chirping. The crowd of onlookers made up of the most prestigious nobles mixed with a multitude of common soldiers, stared slack jawed with trepidation at the youth dressed in black who was calmly approaching the wailing Song Zemin.


    They could hardly believe their own eyes, Song Zemin had been vanquished with a single punch and was in a terrible state. They tensly watched the former high and mighty leader laying sprawled in the dirt like a cooked shrimp, writhing in miserable agony and in no position to even defend himself.


    As Hartley reached within ten meters of his target...Suddenly there was a quiver in the sky, the air in the surroundings visibly trembled, swirled, and then roiled violently with some sort of strange power that distorted the natural scene of a sunny day, vividly painting a portion of the sky reddish yellow.


    "Behave yourself! ...You mongrel." Roared a saint that was hidden in the void, his tremendous anger was undisguised and unfiltered as he caterpulted forward from an unknown position, spliiting the air with a booming crack, and swooping towards Hartley as he approached the defenceless xiantian expert laying prone.


    The sudden sound of the man''s voice travelled like a clap of thunder over the terrain.


    Magnified by the silence of the stunned crowd, the voice shook the onlookers from both camps, making their hairs stand on end in fright.


    As Hartley locked eyes onto the newcomer, his black robes fluttered about with the wind, and the dust frantically flew around him from just the pressure exerted by the man.


    Hartley took no chances, changing to a defensive stance immediately, staring with cold squinted eyes at the assailant who was blazing a path of fire from the sky. Coming at him in a blurred line of yellow, seeming like a burning comet falling from space to the earth.


    By reflex a sphere of solid blue light surrounded Hartley''s body in the blink of an eye, the sphere flickered and twinkled under the sunlight as he lowered into a crouch and readied himself.


    Hartley inhaled, engaged state of focus, slowing down time around him. Then coldly stared at the fast approaching man and braced himself for the incoming attack, while at the same time planning his own counter-attack...


    The defenders of the western hills gasped in horror and fright. Perched on the high ground and staring down at the action below, everyone was as stiff as a doorjam. They had been celebrating the easy defeat of Song Zemin and welcoming his certain demise with glee, thinking the battle was about to finally be over.


    At the height of their extacy a new enemy burst from the skies, seeming to rip the fabric of space asunder, bringing with him a striking flash of yellow. Forcing the high spirited soldiers to quell their joy, swallow their cheers and flinch back in utter shock and disbelief.


    Blinded by the stinging flash across the sky, most had to turn their heads away from the scene. The majority could barely even see what was happening but they could clearly feel the man''s killing intent radiating outwards, washing them with fresh terror.


    "What''s going on, Is that a Saint?"


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    Fu Qian asked Qin Li with his voice trembling as he cupped his brow with his hand in attempt to shield his eyes from the glaring light.


    "Why is he intervening, I thought they didn''t meddle in the affairs of the nobles." Qin Li asked another question subconsciously. All soldiers around them were backing up in panic, putting distance between themselves and the new battlefield.


    Even from such a distance away, Qin Li and Fu Qian started sweating bullets down their backs feeling nervous about Hartley''s safety.


    One has to know that Saints usually didn''t get involved in the conflicts of mortal men, so it was rare for normal people to witness a Saint''s enormous combat ability let alone get attacked by one.....


    Thundering hoofs battered the ground, flecks of dirt and stones flew away with the rising dust drummed up by the strong horses. Commander Genk held tightly onto the reins of his horse as he led his men galloping out of the central area of the capital and towards the west. He barked orders over his shoulder at his men behind him and urged them to move faster and faster.


    Time was of the essence, that was a constant thought circling at the back of his brain.


    Darkness loomed in the commander''s mind as his negative thoughts and frustrations consumed him. Causing him to scold Prince Jian in his mind for taking so long to give the blasted order.


    He inwardly assured himself that Hartley would be ok, he''d seen enough to be confident about the boy''s capabilities.


    Sometimes paranoia begat perfection he thought, so he was still driving his men and their horses to the limits.


    Relentlessly crashing forward with the utmost urgency, thinking of worst case scenarios...


    Prince Jian sat slouched in his dimly lit office, it was broad daylight yet he was in no mood to even open the curtains.


    He sat there in the gloom mulling in deep contemplation, he had been so enthralled with his own ambitions for power, that he had naturally assumed everyone around him was of this same mindset.


    It was one of the reasons he had become uncharacteristically close to commander Genk, all the time he had spent in the company of the commander, never once has the brute of a man ever display a desire to be a more prominent figure in aristocratic circles.


    This led to his trust in the commander''s judgement and they developed somewhat of a bond, but earlier the commander had acted out of character, strongly coming to the defense of the boy.


    This definitely rattled him to see that the commander would almost ignore orders to insist on saving the boy.


    Prince Jian definitely didn''t feel comfortable with Hartley around, even if they were allies.


    He knew the youth couldn''t be controlled as easily as Genk and would eventually mature to be a prominent figure, if he didn''t die early. Leading to his mixed feelings and undecisiveness when it came to giving the order for a rescue.. That was until word reached him about Song Zemin''s utter defeat, which forced him to rethink his position.


    The youngter''s eyes shone brightly with the light of ambition, this was what the Prince feared and resented, leading to the Prince exposing his insecurities in front of the commander, which he slightly regretted.


    He sighed as he rummaged through the parchments on his desk reading the latest reports from the battlefield in the west......


    At this point there was rampant chaos and confusion sweeping the Western Hills. Battle-hardened men scattered in all directions, frantically running for their lives.


    Boom!!. The floor caved in under Hartley''s legs, the silhouette of his blue sphere was drowned with thick swirling dust that blotted out the sunlight.


    It was a titanic clash, the sound reverberated for miles around. Even after entering Hartley''s range, where time was slowed to one tenth of it''s normal speed, the man still crossed the distance between them in a flash.


    Hartley instinctively ejected his gravity pulse, a blue wave surged out like an extending halo from his sphere, gathering a tidal wave of dust and small glinting blue particles, sweeping the rocky ground clean.. thunderously speeding towards the mystery man with the devastating power of 100 gs like a magnetic pulse pushing back a piece of metal.


    The two forces collided, instantly creating an explosion of widespread destruction, making a huge debris-field and cracking the ground open halfway to the core.


    The defenceless Song Zemin was blown away by the clash and disappeared from sight instantly, swept along with the wild debris fields being wrenched up from the earth.


    No one knew his fate or what direction he was thrown out, or whether he was still in one piece for that matter. By now all nobles and their trusted guards were making their way away from the ensuing carnage with terrified faces.


    Hartley barely got a glimpse of the saint''s withered, pallid- skin, white hair and angry snarl, before the man''s blurry hand was ripping space apart again, moving towards his face with deadly intent.

 126 Donst blame me for getting nasty

    A frenzied maelstrom of dust and rocks of all sizes, some as big as houses, came raining down from the sky like a hailstorm. Screams and shouts were echoed out as panic quickly blossomed among the nobles and their men.


    The dust gathering blocked out the sun and could suffocate a grown man.


    A plethora of debris flying from Hartley''s clash with the saint in the distance was like artillery falling to the earth, the deadly shower was wreaking a horrific havoc within the densely packed lines of armoured men.


    The scene was bloody and brutal, craters were being opened up in every direction with explosions of swirling dust.


    People were climbing over the bodies of their dead or injured colleagues to escape the carnage, even ignoring the horrific pleas for help.


    The booming sounds of the falling boulders were incessant. It seemed like the falling debris was endless, some of the lucky soldiers would get hit by fist size rocks and kept moving forward with their bleeding wounds. The unlucky ones were turned to paste or disappeared entirely under huge slabs of rocks.


    Baron Hontian was being escorted away from the affected area by a large group of his elite soldiers, in this chaos he had no idea where the other nobles disappeared to, and to be honest, he didn''t care.


    At a time like this, it was every man for himself.


    Sitting atop his black horse and desperately cutting through the thick veil of dust, he and his entourage were headed away from the Western Hills.


    He still couldn''t come to terms with how sour the day''s events had turned out. His most reliable backer Song Zemin, who he had pinned all his hopes on, was thrashed before his very eyes. The half-saint''s whereabouts was now uncertain, no one knew if he was dead or alive.


    "Sir look out." Baron Hontian got a warning shouted at him just in the nick of time, he turned his head to see a shadow flying through the dust and in his direction. With bulging terror stricken eyes, he crouch lower into the saddle of the galloping horse until the thick maine of the horse''s back tickled his nose.


    Whoosh.... the shadow approaching at light speed was a boulder the size of a carriage that went flying over his head, it''s close proximity ruffling his robe with its residual wind. It then rammed into three or four of the elite escorts on his left. Bang! Horses and men were swept away with a sickening sound.


    Baron Hontian wiped the sweat from his brows as he raised his head, he had to recite a prayer under his breath even though he wasn''t religious. In a situation like this, a noble''s life was no more valuable than anyone else''s. Anyone could be crushed at random by the swirling debris, with this in mind, he was no longer distracted by his own thoughts, his only mission was to make it out of the western hills alive and in one piece...


    Every object in the vicinity of the clash between Hartley and the saint flew around wildly, sometimes even impeding Hartley''s vision for a split second, he was then blitzed in an instant by the staggeringly bright incoming fist, the blow was lightning-fast, probably the fastest he''d ever seen. Hartley took defensive measures with nerves jangling within his stomach.


    He was feeling an unprecedented sense of danger, a bead of sweat trickled down his forehead and ran into his eye, bringing a stinging sensation that he ignored.


    With his sphere twinkling intermittently, and a gravity-pulse orbiting around his body pushing away the falling debris, Hartley tried dashing to the left with his lightning-quick reactions. His manuever left after-images and dust trailing in his wake. It didn''t help much though.


    Every single movement from the saint made the space between them wobble like jello in an unstable manner. When the man whizzed forward, the only thing visible was a streak of light. The falling boulders that came crashing down at random intervals seemed to intentionally take a detour around the man''s body.


    The chaotic debris swimming through the air around the two combatants turned to powder as the yellow fist seem to predict and follow Hartley''s movements. The fist collided with Hartley''s blue sphere, producing a deafening boom and sending gushes of sparkling blue lights flying out.


    Without any suspense or warning, Hartley''s sphere disintegrated with a bang, collapsing into tiny blue particles which were sent spraying back at him. Hartley was sent flying backwards with the kinetic energy like a shotgun shell.


    Even though his life was in danger, Hartley couldn''t help but be impressed.


    When an expert went over the threshold for tolerance of power on the mortal plane, it would produce dangerous eruptions of black energy.


    This guy obviously had supreme control over his powers, not once had his movements or strikes caused an eruption of the chaotic black energy.


    After his recent breakthrough into the 9th layer and his subsequent training, Hartley had assumed himself ready to face the frontal assault of a Saint. He was mistaken.


    He quickly found that a Saint''s power was almost beyond measuring. The shock-waves from the attack were still rummaging through his body causing him to vomit blood in mid-air.


    He landed 100 meters away bouncing among some jagged rocks with debris still showering down around him. Blue flashes diverted any dangerous materials falling towards him as he crawled back to his feet.


    The man''s punch hadn''t even directly come into contact with his body.


    This was a shocking level of power. If not for his sphere and the gravity-pulse siphoning off most of the power from the strike, he would have been ripped to bits.


    "Oh," said the man with surprise in his voice, "so you are a little bit capable."


    The saint finally stood still long enough for Hartley to see the man''s features. The white hair man with a sunken face had spoken with both surprise and contempt in his voice .


    He was surprised that Hartley hadn''t died in the exchange, but still held contempt for the futile struggle of an ant beneath his feet.


    The man was short of stature, dressed in blue with skin the colour of dry wheat. With hands behind his back he slowly moved forward watching the bedraggled Hartley pull himself up from the floor.


    With cold eyes staring at Hartley, he talked as he moved. "You can only blame yourself, for it is you who have offended people you shouldn''t."


    Hartley struggled to his feet letting out a few grunts of pain. He brushed down his now tattered robe and answered.


    "So the people I offended only sent you? You are really unlucky," he shook his head in disgust. Giving off the impression that he wasn''t putting the man in his eyes as he continued patting down his robe.


    The saint was triggered, this was provocation of the highest order.


    "I will crush your bones to powder with my bare hands and watch as your dust slip between my fingers and blow away with the wind." The man boldly proclaimed slowly with confidence through gritted teeth.


    After straightening up himself and brushing the last few bits of dust from his attire, Hartley answered with a scowl and in a similar cadence to the saint, "you are welcome to try, but... don''t... blame....me... for getting nasty."


    "You cheeky scum!" the sunken face man raged with indignation.


    Hartley smiled as the enraged saint bust into a bright shade of yellow, he was about to make his move....but could he make it before Hartley activated his trump card.


    That first hit that Hartley suffered at the start of the duel was a blessing in disguise.


    Being the victim of a sneak attack by a Saint, Hartley had no time to respond properly, the man was just too fast. He was even faster than the saint he had met in the mountains.


    All he could do was defend himself with pure instincts.


    However, things were different now, he had 100 meters of space between him and the enemy. No matter how fast the man was, could he be faster than time.


    Hartley immediately engaged monochrome, this was his time domain.


    The colours bled from the world. The boulders falling from the sky froze in mid air, dust particles stood still like decorations dotted around the mutilated landscape.


    The world was revealed to Hartley in a spectacular pallet of black and white.


    Hartley grimaced with shock after surveying his surroundings, in the split second it took for him to activate his time domain, the withered old man was only meters away. Frozen in mid-air like a tiger leaping at prey.


    His hands were stretched out in claw-like fashion and reaching for Hartley''s neck. There was no technique to this move.


    His intentions were ruthless and barbaric, fuelled by utter rage he wanted to tear Hartley apart piece by piece.


    You could see the evident hatred boiling in his eyes and the lines etched across face, his lips were twisted in a vicious snarl that could give children nightmares. This was a monster, but he had underestimated Hartley like so many others. This was the small chance that he needed.


    Breathing a sigh of relief Hartley thanked his lucky stars. Now there was only one thing left to do, and that was to recreate a technique he had practiced countless times in his inner-world.


    Powerfully sweeping his left hand to the side, undulations rippled in the fabric of space before him, the area started churning like boiling water in black and white background of Hartley''s domain.


    Striking forward in a flash with his right hand, a mini-sphere the size of a basketball enveloped the unstable area.


    Blue lines weaved and coiled around the sphere as Hartley used his spiral circulation to pump a tremendous amount of elemental power into the sphere.


    A flash of black energy burst into existence, trapped in the sphere with startling effect.


    The egg sized black energy that formed the nucleus of the sphere turned the whole thing jet-black.


    The dark sphere twinkled brightly with blue lines circulating around the unstable centre making the sphere shimmer and wobble as if about to explode out of control.


    Sweat trickled down Harley''s back, he knew full well the indiscriminate danger of this thing, how could he not be nervous. It was the first time he was using this technique in the real world and he had seen this thing decimate half of his inner world with ease.


    He took no chances, he slowly pushed the sphere forward as he used gravity steps to move backwards in a straight line away from the projectile.


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    The sphere landed on its target a second later. There was almighty kaboom! sound, Followed by a flash of pure deep black, which attracted more black, the whole scene went bleary.


    There was a chain reaction of black energy that engulfed the withered man in an instant. Immediately breaking Hartley''s time domain as the colour returned to the world.


    It was if the world had come alive and was trying to swallow down the saint into its guts.


    The rumbling of the void was deafening. Everything in sight was being peeled lifted and swept forward like a silky wave crossing a calm ocean.


    Swallowed in the midst of the explosion, sparks detonated from the man''s body as if he was made of iron, it didn''t matter, and he couldn''t resist for but a mere few seconds . The black energy ate through him like locusts on wheat.


    He gave out a gut wrenching scream which could be heard as far as the Cassia province as a half of his body was spat back from within the black.

 7 "State of Focus"

    Hartley was greeted by Zhi Ruo holding a package standing at his door, "come in" he said.


    Zhi Ruo came in and handed the package to Hartley, she then said "Go try it out and see if it fits, I rushed it a bit but I think it came out good considering the short amount of time."


    Hartley nodded and went back into his bedroom..


    After opening the package he discovered 2 beautiful yellow robes, embroidered with a Capital H right where the breast pocket should have been. Hartley changed into the lose fitting robe, stood in front of the full size mirror in his bedroom and swept his hair back with his right palm, he looked around and found a piece of string to tie his hair at the back then inspected himself, he was taken aback, he looked like a tanned version of one of those young lords of the Luo clan he despised so much during his younger days.


    He returned with his hair tied neatly with the simple string, he pranced into the living room with his arms spread..


    Zhi Ruo stared...


    she couldn''t stop staring, the wild youth she met earlier always had a mysterious element to him, but now he was standing in front of her, back straight and with those striking blue eyes staring directly at her.... It sent a jolt through her body, she blushed and tried to get out of there as quick as possible but Hartley held onto her wrist gently while saying.


    "Thank you Sister Ruo," her body went stiff, she forced a fake smile while still looking at him, stammered out a few words and then left in a flustered manner.


    Zhi Ruo stopped 5 paces from the door to catch her breath, she didn''t think the wild youth would have been so strikingly handsome, she blushed once more just thinking about him and then left.


    Hartley had a wry smile on his face, he had not had much interaction with other people for the last couple years so he was genuinely thankful for Zhi Ruo''s help...


    The strange thing was, he still felt a bit of an unknown feeling when thinking about her. "Hmm?" He pushed the thought to the back of his mind and continued to cultivate....


    It was a quiet night, the occasional sound of a horse would travel through the night every now and then, the candle sitting on the wooden table had burned all the way to the end and extinguished itself in the liquefied wax that was collected and cooling in the candle holder. Hartley was diligently cultivating Blue Star Energy...He was on the cusp of getting back that familiar feeling.


    BOOM!!!


    The front door was blown to smithereens by a orangish and red fire ball projectile, it headed straight for Hartley....


    Hartley squinted his eyes in concentration and BAM! another explosion went off, the only difference was this time the explosion was inside Hartley''s head, no one else could have noticed it.


    Hartley had broken through the first stage of time manipulation.. This was called "State of Focus" where Hartley could control the flow of time within 30 meters radius. Hartley was facing a fireball which was about 4 meters in front of him and closing in at a rate of knots, he could feel the sweltering heat emitted by the flames. His eyebrows started to be singed.


    Hartley cried out "State of Focus" within his heart and every thing around him started to move in slow-motion, he then dodged to the side with blue star essence instinctively covering his body from neck to toe like a suit of armor..


    If viewed from the outside, all one could see was a stunning fire-ball enter the room leaving a ripple of shimmering heat glaze then the youth who sat crossed legged on the bed seem to have teleported off the bed 7 or 8 meters to left with some kind of blue qi around him..


    The fireball crashed into the bed with enormous flash of orange, that whole side of the room had turned to splinters and fire eliciting screams from the adjoining room.


    Hartley scrambled to regain his bearings before finally sensing 2 people moving within his 30 meter range, it was unlikely that these were the guys responsible for the fireball but they were that person''s accomplices circling with cross-bows, ready to execute anyone fleeing the inferno.


    Hartley activated zero gravity


    Everything not tied down began to float upwards including the 2 people on the other side of the wooden wall.. Hartley deactivated zero gravity which made everything start to fall downwards, the furniture in the room clattered down to the floor and splintered in chaos along with the 2 screaming and frightened targets.


    Hartley used "Gravity Repel" on two of his throwing knives, this was a move that pushed gravity away from Hartley parallel to the ground and could be used on specific items as well..


    The 2 knives flew out like bullets with an unstoppable momentum, The weapons went through the wooden wall with no resistance then accurately penetrated the 2 people in dark robes on the other side of the wall... went through both of them and ended up handle deep with a thud, quivering in another wooden structure across from the inn.. These people fell to the ground, their robes stained with a red patch, their faces shocked...They were dead, they just didn''t know it yet.

 8 Xiantians dont grow on trees

    There was an audible yelp from the front where the first fireball had entered the room..


    The person in the dark robe was about to unleash another fireball but was also affected by the zero gravity, he lost balance, floated up 5 meters and fell back down flat on his face when the zero gravity was deactivated.


    After seeing his two lackeys dealt a death blow in an instant he was thankful for his stealth technique..


    The opponent surely was also a xiantian realm expert, and a very powerful one by the looks of it. What has the Lin Clan gotten him into? how did they make an enemy of a xiantian realm expert? The assassin just could not understand.


    He was given a 1000 gold to assassinate a wild mountain man who had entered the central area of the Province earlier in the day.


    Never in his wildest dreams would he ever imagine running into a xiantian realm expert..


    Xiantians don''t grow on trees after all.


    Hartley had instinctively broken through the xiantian barrier gaining instant enlightenment under the pressure of life and death, his power had increased four fold, the stifling heat in the room was now like a massage.


    Now when he concentrated, he could sense and apply his gravity field 120 meters with him as the center, he could now also slow down the flow of time to a quarter of its normal speed within this 120 meters and could control as much or as little as he wanted within this space, meaning he could manipulate gravity only 1m around him to 120m around him.. This would give him huge flexibility when applying his skills and as he learned the hard way, application of skills was the key to dominating any battle...


    Blue star energy was surging through his body, his physical body had also followed through the xiantian door. Ordinary weapons could not hurt him now, in fact anything short of spirit weapons were useless against him.


    Hartley punched out a section of wood and made his escape from the building hearing a commotion as people woke up and attempted to put out the blaze before the whole building went up in smoke.


    Disappearing from the inn, Hartley was swallowed by the shadows of the dark, his sapphire blue eyes shone like an emergency beacon before becoming normal again.. He was trying to pin point the position of the third assailant, who was the mastermind, he set his jaw in determination and concentrated.


    The person in Dark robe decided to neatly slip away in the commotion. There was just too much he didn''t understand about the opponent, he couldn''t sense any elemental energy on the person yet he was intimidatingly powerful, he decided not to risk it and leave. His Stealth technique has seen him come and go as he pleases through the years, this should be not different, right?


    Wrong!! Hartley crouched in the dark and pushed his concentration to the max, he was picking up faint fluctuations of energy within his field of operation, at first it didn''t feel like a person it was so faint but Hartley followed his instincts and followed the fluctuations in a north-western direction leaving the center of the Province.


    He kept his maximum distance away from the fluctuations and kept vigilant biding his time.


    As soon as they were in a more forested area Hartley applied 30x gravity slamming down towards the ground.


    Dust swirled and trees immediately snapped in two with a crunch, ejecting a shower of splinters in the process before laying flat on the earth leaving an imprint in the dirt, the sound reverberated through the forest sending the birds and nocturnal animals skittering towards safety in panic...


    Hartley approached the fluctuation he was following to confirm who it was. It was exactly who he thought it was, someone in a dark robe with his face hidden, the man of medium height was sweating bullets, his legs trembling as the fleeing man could barely take another forward step.

 10 "Cut the crap"

    Harley walked with a stoic expression towards the Lin Clan...


    The clan was situated on a flat piece of land which stood in front of a small mountain range. It was early in the morning and there was a crisp fresh breeze slowly running over the land, he had barely paid any attention to the tranquil, greenery of his surroundings on his journey to the central regions.


    But now that he was stationary he noticed there was a natural beauty about the region. Putting that to the back of his mind, Hartley shouted out across the Lin clan premises reinforcing his voice with his blue star essence.


    The elders of the Lin Clan were all assigned different duties and overall, they were responsible for guiding the next generation towards becoming stronger so the clan could evolve and be promoted into a 2nd or 1st rate clan by the time the elders came to the end of their life cycles.


    It has to be known that the Lin clan was only a third rate clan relegated to the outskirts of the central area, sure they were lauded in this outer section, but in the eyes of people in the know, they were nothing more than frogs with make up on, pretending to be mighty while lauding over the commoners of the region ..


    The sun swept across the landscape as all the younger family members of the Lin Clan were training or preparing for a busy day ahead, LIn Wulai was in his quarters having some fun with one of the servant girls, he was pressing her down underneath his body, her little face twisted and blushed as she let out unwilling moans.


    Just as Lin Wulai was approaching a climax, he was disturbed and taken out of his rhythm by a powerful and disrespectful shout coming from the region of the front gate.


    "Dogfaced LIn Wulai, wash your neck and come out here so we can settle our enmity which can only be resolved by your death"


    This sentence reverberated through every section of the Lin clan..


    With a gloomy face Lin Wulai abandoned his early morning pleasure trip and donned a robe with a face contorted in rage and anxiousness, he made big strides heading towards the front gate, The gate was only half open when Lin Wulai got there, "Open the gates" he commanded.


    The gates opened to reveal Hartley standing ram-rod straight with sunshine bathing over his body producing a short shadow at his side, the Lin clan disciples were all gathered behind a man who looked to be in his forties, he had streaks of white splattered throughout a head full of blonde hair, a long curved nose was his most discernible feature as he made his way forward..


    Lin Wulai looked at the handsome young lord standing outside the gates and was truly baffled as to how he got on the wrong side of this lord.


    Lin Wulai was not sure if the young lord was from one of the stronger clans in the central parts of the province, so he swallowed his pride, respectfully bowed from the waist and asked.


    "What emnity could my humble self have with you young lord?"


    "Cut the crap" Hartley answered,


    "I am here for your head and that of your good for nothing nephew."


    By this time about 6 elders had gathered among the swelling crowd, one stepped beside Lin Wulai looked Hartley up and down then said


    "listen young one my Lin clan is not somewhere you can come and run as rampant as you wish."


    Hartley ignored the elder and looked directly into the eyes of Lin Wulai and slowly said "my beef is only with you, the next person to interrupt me will not have a head to speak with."


    The unknown elder hissed in rage, unsheathed his sword and shouted


    " you insolent Bastar..."


    there was a blue flash....


    A head flew a meter in the air and floated like a leaf falling back to the earth in slow motion, paralyzing the witnesses gathered with fear.


    Blood gushed upwards like a red ruby fountain and fell back down like rain in the surrounding vicinity, LIn Wulai and the disciples at the front were drenched like a rat in a sewer with the blood of the elder. The elder''s body fell like a rice sack and sprawled gruesomely in front of the crowd while his head rolled gentle in the dirt a meter or two away from the blood-stained carcass.


    Being situated in the tranquil outskirts, some of the disciples had never seen this level of violence before, some retched up the breakfast they had eaten minutes ago while others gasped in shock, some simply stood there trembling unable to make a sound.


    Hartley snorted through his nose with a scowl, "hmph".....


    Lin Wulai, soaked in blood was stunned, he stood there as the scent of the elder''s blood went up his nostril and settled in his lungs, he had no idea what just happened, the young lord was standing at the same spot and seemed to not have moved.


    He began to frantically look around to see if there was a sneak attack. The faces of the disciples was ripe with fear, they had the utmost confidence in the elder but ended up being baptized(figuratively) in the blood of that elder.

 21 "Ruo Im sorry"

    The final three xiantians that appeared were support experts, meaning the fire element expert and the wind element expert were supposed to be pressuring Hartley serving as the vanguard force and then the support team would step in and lend support to smoothly finish him off with precision from the sidelines.


    There was a 1st layer xiantian expert with the wood element affinity, she would take care of any wounds inflicted on the others, she was holding a green whip with thorns all over it, the other was a earth element 1st layer xiantian expert, if one of the vanguard was struggling or suffered any injuries, he would step in and tie up the opponent with his incredible defense until the team member can be healed and rejoin the battle, the third was a water element 2nd layer xiantian who was a specialist bowman, if the opponent was tricky he would be the artillery for the others to keep the opponent on his heels.


    Their battle plan was for these 3 to guard the exits to make sure the opponent doesn''t escape easily, but once the battle starts they should join in as quickly as possible.


    They were vigilant in their duties as they guarded all possible escape routes making sure no one came to provide assistance, the target was after all the member of a local clan.


    Ten seconds into fight they heard two huge explosions upstairs and decided that the opponent was going to stand his ground and fight so they decided to leave their post and quickly join in the main battle.


    The earth element expert and the wood element expert came up the stairs at the front of the second floor while the water element expert approached through the utility stairs at the back.


    When all three were on the second floor they could not sense any xiantian fluctuations, all they saw was a mortal teenage youth dressed in red robes covered with blood splatters all over his face and clothes, the water element expert who approached from the back was shocked speechless when he saw the gruesome sight of the elder''s body split in two, the bottom half around five meters from the top half, sweat started to flow down his back when he grabbed a long brown wooden bow from his shoulder, notched an arrow and prepared to fire.


    Hartley saw two experts from the front and one from the back, the strongest one was the one at his rear who was preparing to fire an arrow, even though they started to immediately take action, in the eyes of Hartley who was still in state of focus, their actions were painfully slow..


    Hartley threw out the throwing knife in his right hand, this knife was also made from the black steel, the same material used to make his black sword, he applied 20x gravity repel on the knife and it flew out like a shell leaving the barrel of a howitzer.


    The water element expert had notched an arrow in his bow when a black light flew towards him at the speed of light leaving visible ripples through the air, he released the arrow he had prepared, but before it could travel five meters the black knife collided with the silver arrowhead creating blinding white sparks which forced the water element expert to close his eyes for a split second, but the black knife didn''t stop there, it carved right through the middle of the arrow shaft, each half peeling away in the opposite direction, the water elemental expert didn''t even get a chance to open his eyes again when the black knife ripped through his heart with a squelching sound and went through his back followed by a spray of red, then continued on to be stopped ten meters away in a thick wooden beam.


    After Hartley had thrown out his black knife, he then flashed forward using gravity steps again like a teleport, in an instant he was face to face with the last two 1st layer experts, instinctively the earth element expert activated his earth armor, a brown layer of light covered him from toes to neck, as he shouted for the wood element expert to be careful.


    The petit girl wearing a yellow dress was in the motion of slashing out her whip when Hartley applied zero gravity to her body making her lose her balance with a surprised scream and float upwards, hovering ten feet high.


    Hartley immediately used his star fist technique and punched towards the earth element expert with blue lights surrounding his right arm, the man tried to move backwards but was a tad too slow, the punch landed squarely on his chest with a loud thumping sound forcing him back five steps while he puked out blood with a scared look in his eyes.


    All of these experts had worn a mask on the lower half of their faces, so one couldn''t see the frightened looks on their faces when they faced Hartley, not even the elder who was the fire elemental expert was immune to it.


    As soon as the wood element expert was regaining her bearings, Hartley deactivated his gravity and she started to free fall, Hartley then rushed to the right leaving cracks on the surface of the floor and delivered another star fist, her delicate body had no way to cope with such a brutal hit, she flew out of the building through front wall that was missing, did a couple barrel rolls and landed dead as a fish in the middle of the street below, by this time the street was relatively empty no one wanted to stick around for the show after the first two explosions, some people had gone as far as miles away from this area by now.


    At this point the earth element expert could give two fucks about the rewards for this mission. In pain he squealed like a pig that had just figured out what the butcher''s knife really was made for, with wide eyes he turned around and tried to make his way out of this god forsaken slaughter-house.


    Breathing with wild ragged breaths, he willed his injured body forward towards the open front of the building, scrambling towards the salvation of the road below, but before he could take his fifth step, a red short sword imbued with a blue glow slashed horizontally across his waist in a smooth line from mid-right to mid-left, the momentum of his forward movement took the upper half of his body out of the building and onto the street below, the lower half was left in the building with entrails and organs spilling out like an open coin-purse falling to the ground and shedding its valuable content.


    He had made it out of the god forsaken slaughterhouse, but only half so.


    Hartley had made fast work of these three!


    Hartley was breathing heavily, even though the fights were ended quickly it still took a lot out of him, he came out of state of focus and WHOOSH! time was running at its normal pace again, making Hartley''s belly churn with nausea.


    He had a quick dizzy spell but gritted his teeth, shook his head and forced it back. He desperately ran over to the corner where Zhi Ruo was. When he reached her, she was awake and shaking, hugging her knees.


    She had seen the encounter between Hartley and the last three experts as plain as day, she had awakened in a place she could not recognize, her mind could not fathom that this was the restaurant they entered earlier.


    Hartley was covered in blood and approached her slowly, tears falling down his cheeks, all he could say was "Ruo I''m so sorry" He repeated this phrase three or four more times and lifted her up the way a newly wed husband would carry his wife across the threshold still saying "Ruo I''m so sorry."


    She burst into tears and buried her face in his bloody chest, He flashed away immediately....


    Half an hour later a dark robed elder turned up on the second floor scratching his chin in bewilderment. It was an absolute massacre, not even the chairs and tables were spared, the most luxurious restaurant in town had turned to a derelict building in less than fifteen minutes.

 91 Someone doesnt want him to reach the capital

    The following weeks slipped by without any major incedents beisdes a few minor scuffles with some bandits who fled as soon as they recognized the insignia on the breast plate of the armored soldiers escorting the black armored carriage that Hartley and his followers were traveling in. A few fierce beasts tried to sneak attack the group when they camped overnight only to become dinner the following day.


    Hartley took the time to cultivate and recover from his aches and pain, both Qin LI and Zhi Ruo also dedicated their spare time to cultivation on the long journey to the Papine province. With Hartley''s improved state of focus, his cultivation was now ten times more efficient than the average xanthian and he was already more than half way to the 8th layer of the xanthian realm, Zhi Ruo was at the thin line between the first and second layer and could have a breakthrough anytime while Qin LI continued his steady progress to consolidate his power in the 4th layer.


    Soon the Spring was transitioning into summer, the heat during the daytime was starting to rise and the golden sun usually sat high in the cloudless sky. As the road leading the Papine province got busier, the skyline of a majestic city appeared in their vision, buildings reached towards the sky and road networks snaked through the province in every direction, the province consisted of an outer section and an inner section separated by a wall but from what Hartley could see, the outer section of the province looked as affluent as any of the provinces he had been to so far.


    Merchants flocked to the city in droves, they rented warehouses and stockpiled goods to be shipped south, from here int the outer section of the province they could quickly travel down to the Cassia province and have the goods shipped to the southern regions, Hartley had inadvertently opened up massive new business opportunities for merchants who didn''t have a prayer of getting their goods shipped southward before and had no choice but to take the treacherous journey by land, now, since the removal of the guard captain under the control of the elder prince, the opportunities for business had opened up to everyone, not just the cronies supporting the eldest prince and many merchants were trying to strike the iron while it was hot. There was no guarantee that when the next guard captain assigned to the Cassia province would allow normal merchants to trade freely using the sea route.


    Hartley and the twenty four escorts made their way into the province easily as Anguo Chen only had to wave his identity token for the gates to open and the people to give way to the procession of the second prince''s forces.


    Anguo Chen brought them to a walled private manor inside the inner section of the province, it was peaceful and the manor was situated away from any neighbors or main road, the comfortable days melted away inside the luxurious manner as everyone got back into a normal routine. Zhi Ruo got back to her girlish ways as Hartley would escort her down to the shops so she buy clothes and supplies, the gloom had lifted from her and she was back to her former self for the time being.


    On the penultimate day of their stay in the Papine province Hartley left Zhi Ruo cultivating in their room to visit a restaurant with Qin Li and two of the guards, as usual Hartley had ordered and ate a belly full of a delicacies and drank expensive wine, it was late evening when they left the restaurant.


    Hartley was having a trivial conversation with Qin while they passed a dark alley way, just as Hartley had turned his face to answer one of Qin Li''s questions, he saw panic on the faces of Qin Li and the guards.


    Hartly read the seriousness of the situation from their alarmed faces, Qin Li''s axe appeared in his hands glowing green, feeling the sudden danger Hartley quickly turned around, his body twisting following his long sword that appeared in his right hand then snapping it out like a sidewinder snake coiling and striking at the incoming threat. Qin Li jumped forward, his body gushing out wind elemental energy temporarily turning the surroundings neon green, blowing away the two guards like dry leaves in the wind in the process.


    Clang! Hartley''s sword clashed with the dagger of a dark figure emerging from the shadows, the silent shadow gave off no elemental fluctuations as he parried the sword strike with his right handed dagger, a split second later green sparks erupted as Qin Li''s ax clashed with the second dagger wielded in the left hand of the sneak attacker, Qin Li was sent flying back five meters before landing in a heap still rolling away from the action. After stumbling back, the dark figure flashed forward from the shadows skillfully and attempted a high horizontal strike with his right handed dagger aimed at the neck of Hartley. Hartley used his minute movement technique to retreat two steps avoiding the strike then entrapped in the figure in a 50x gravity field careful not to entrap the tumbling Qin Li as well. The figure yelped in surprise as he gave a spastic jerk, his legs wobbled as if he was a disorientated drunkard.


    Hartley''s next strike, which was a viciously efficient slash from mid-left to mid-right, tore into the black robes of the assassin, the kinetic energy from the strike was blocked by a high level body armor worn under the assassin''s outer garments, yellow sparks flew out as the figure was thrown against the the far wall losing his pair of daggers which skittered across the floor with clanging metallic sounds. Even though the strike was blocked by his armor, the assassin''s internal organs weren''t so lucky, the figure spat out a couple mouthfuls of blood one after the other while the gravity field was still crushing his body down into the earth.


    Recognizing that his sneak attack mission was impossible to accomplish at this point the assassin turned away and made an impressive gravity defying leap towards the roof of a nearby building, Hartley was impressed to see the assassin could jump so high even under the influence of his gravity field. Hartley immediately disengaged his gravity field, the desperate assassin glanced over his left shoulder only to find out that his leap was matched by the young handsome youth who now seemed to be standing in mid-air and had dark swirling blue lines twirling around his left fist like a pin wheel, the assassin was helpless in the air without any way to dodge or change direction, his only hope was that his armor would block the punch heading for his undefended back then he could use the momentum of the strike to gain some distance away from the youth and disappear and escape within the dark network of alley ways.


    His shocked expression signaled a different outcome from what he had expected, the assassin heard a muffled thump at his back then saw the gory sight of his heart shooting forward out of his chest followed by a spray of blood and bone shards, he screamed like a scalded cat and that was the last thing he saw in his life as his lifeless carcass fell back to the earth with a thud giving rise to a small puff of dust.


    Hartly landed back on the ground elegantly. After the short fight Hartley was relived, when the figure first appeared without any forewarning Hartley thought it was another dark arts practitioner, but after the fight he realized it was a high level assassin using a stealth martial scripture comparable to his own. Seems like someone doesn''t want Hartley to reach the capital.

 126 Dont blame me for getting nasty

    A frenzied maelstrom of dust and rocks of all sizes, some as big as houses, came raining down from the sky like a hailstorm. Screams and shouts were echoed out as panic quickly blossomed among the nobles and their men.


    The dust gathering blocked out the sun and could suffocate a grown man.


    A plethora of debris flying from Hartley''s clash with the saint in the distance was like artillery falling to the earth, the deadly shower was wreaking a horrific havoc within the densely packed lines of armoured men.


    The scene was bloody and brutal, craters were being opened up in every direction with explosions of swirling dust.


    People were climbing over the bodies of their dead or injured colleagues to escape the carnage, even ignoring the horrific pleas for help.


    The booming sounds of the falling boulders were incessant. It seemed like the falling debris was endless, some of the lucky soldiers would get hit by fist size rocks and kept moving forward with their bleeding wounds. The unlucky ones were turned to paste or disappeared entirely under huge slabs of rocks.


    Baron Hontian was being escorted away from the affected area by a large group of his elite soldiers, in this chaos he had no idea where the other nobles disappeared to, and to be honest, he didn''t care.


    At a time like this, it was every man for himself.


    Sitting atop his black horse and desperately cutting through the thick veil of dust, he and his entourage were headed away from the Western Hills.


    He still couldn''t come to terms with how sour the day''s events had turned out. His most reliable backer Song Zemin, who he had pinned all his hopes on, was thrashed before his very eyes. The half-saint''s whereabouts was now uncertain, no one knew if he was dead or alive.


    "Sir look out." Baron Hontian got a warning shouted at him just in the nick of time, he turned his head to see a shadow flying through the dust and in his direction. With bulging terror stricken eyes, he crouch lower into the saddle of the galloping horse until the thick maine of the horse''s back tickled his nose.


    Whoosh.... the shadow approaching at light speed was a boulder the size of a carriage that went flying over his head, it''s close proximity ruffling his robe with its residual wind. It then rammed into three or four of the elite escorts on his left. Bang! Horses and men were swept away with a sickening sound.


    Baron Hontian wiped the sweat from his brows as he raised his head, he had to recite a prayer under his breath even though he wasn''t religious. In a situation like this, a noble''s life was no more valuable than anyone else''s. Anyone could be crushed at random by the swirling debris, with this in mind, he was no longer distracted by his own thoughts, his only mission was to make it out of the western hills alive and in one piece...


    Every object in the vicinity of the clash between Hartley and the saint flew around wildly, sometimes even impeding Hartley''s vision for a split second, he was then blitzed in an instant by the staggeringly bright incoming fist, the blow was lightning-fast, probably the fastest he''d ever seen. Hartley took defensive measures with nerves jangling within his stomach.


    He was feeling an unprecedented sense of danger, a bead of sweat trickled down his forehead and ran into his eye, bringing a stinging sensation that he ignored.


    With his sphere twinkling intermittently, and a gravity-pulse orbiting around his body pushing away the falling debris, Hartley tried dashing to the left with his lightning-quick reactions. His manuever left after-images and dust trailing in his wake. It didn''t help much though.


    Every single movement from the saint made the space between them wobble like jello in an unstable manner. When the man whizzed forward, the only thing visible was a streak of light. The falling boulders that came crashing down at random intervals seemed to intentionally take a detour around the man''s body.


    The chaotic debris swimming through the air around the two combatants turned to powder as the yellow fist seem to predict and follow Hartley''s movements. The fist collided with Hartley''s blue sphere, producing a deafening boom and sending gushes of sparkling blue lights flying out.


    Without any suspense or warning, Hartley''s sphere disintegrated with a bang, collapsing into tiny blue particles which were sent spraying back at him. Hartley was sent flying backwards with the kinetic energy like a shotgun shell.


    Even though his life was in danger, Hartley couldn''t help but be impressed.


    When an expert went over the threshold for tolerance of power on the mortal plane, it would produce dangerous eruptions of black energy.


    This guy obviously had supreme control over his powers, not once had his movements or strikes caused an eruption of the chaotic black energy.


    After his recent breakthrough into the 9th layer and his subsequent training, Hartley had assumed himself ready to face the frontal assault of a Saint. He was mistaken.


    He quickly found that a Saint''s power was almost beyond measuring. The shock-waves from the attack were still rummaging through his body causing him to vomit blood in mid-air.


    He landed 100 meters away bouncing among some jagged rocks with debris still showering down around him. Blue flashes diverted any dangerous materials falling towards him as he crawled back to his feet.


    The man''s punch hadn''t even directly come into contact with his body.


    This was a shocking level of power. If not for his sphere and the gravity-pulse siphoning off most of the power from the strike, he would have been ripped to bits.


    "Oh," said the man with surprise in his voice, "so you are a little bit capable."


    The saint finally stood still long enough for Hartley to see the man''s features. The white hair man with a sunken face had spoken with both surprise and contempt in his voice .


    He was surprised that Hartley hadn''t died in the exchange, but still held contempt for the futile struggle of an ant beneath his feet.


    The man was short of stature, dressed in blue with skin the colour of dry wheat. With hands behind his back he slowly moved forward watching the bedraggled Hartley pull himself up from the floor.


    With cold eyes staring at Hartley, he talked as he moved. "You can only blame yourself, for it is you who have offended people you shouldn''t."


    Hartley struggled to his feet letting out a few grunts of pain. He brushed down his now tattered robe and answered.


    "So the people I offended only sent you? You are really unlucky," he shook his head in disgust. Giving off the impression that he wasn''t putting the man in his eyes as he continued patting down his robe.


    The saint was triggered, this was provocation of the highest order.


    "I will crush your bones to powder with my bare hands and watch as your dust slip between my fingers and blow away with the wind." The man boldly proclaimed slowly with confidence through gritted teeth.


    After straightening up himself and brushing the last few bits of dust from his attire, Hartley answered with a scowl and in a similar cadence to the saint, "you are welcome to try, but... don''t... blame....me... for getting nasty."


    "You cheeky scum!" the sunken face man raged with indignation.


    Hartley smiled as the enraged saint bust into a bright shade of yellow, he was about to make his move....but could he make it before Hartley activated his trump card.


    That first hit that Hartley suffered at the start of the duel was a blessing in disguise.


    Being the victim of a sneak attack by a Saint, Hartley had no time to respond properly, the man was just too fast. He was even faster than the saint he had met in the mountains.


    All he could do was defend himself with pure instincts.


    However, things were different now, he had 100 meters of space between him and the enemy. No matter how fast the man was, could he be faster than time.


    Hartley immediately engaged monochrome, this was his time domain.


    The colours bled from the world. The boulders falling from the sky froze in mid air, dust particles stood still like decorations dotted around the mutilated landscape.


    The world was revealed to Hartley in a spectacular pallet of black and white.


    Hartley grimaced with shock after surveying his surroundings, in the split second it took for him to activate his time domain, the withered old man was only meters away. Frozen in mid-air like a tiger leaping at prey.


    His hands were stretched out in claw-like fashion and reaching for Hartley''s neck. There was no technique to this move.


    His intentions were ruthless and barbaric, fuelled by utter rage he wanted to tear Hartley apart piece by piece.


    You could see the evident hatred boiling in his eyes and the lines etched across face, his lips were twisted in a vicious snarl that could give children nightmares. This was a monster, but he had underestimated Hartley like so many others. This was the small chance that he needed.


    Breathing a sigh of relief Hartley thanked his lucky stars. Now there was only one thing left to do, and that was to recreate a technique he had practiced countless times in his inner-world.


    Powerfully sweeping his left hand to the side, undulations rippled in the fabric of space before him, the area started churning like boiling water in black and white background of Hartley''s domain.


    Striking forward in a flash with his right hand, a mini-sphere the size of a basketball enveloped the unstable area.


    Blue lines weaved and coiled around the sphere as Hartley used his spiral circulation to pump a tremendous amount of elemental power into the sphere.


    A flash of black energy burst into existence, trapped in the sphere with startling effect.


    The egg sized black energy that formed the nucleus of the sphere turned the whole thing jet-black.


    The dark sphere twinkled brightly with blue lines circulating around the unstable centre making the sphere shimmer and wobble as if about to explode out of control.


    Sweat trickled down Harley''s back, he knew full well the indiscriminate danger of this thing, how could he not be nervous. It was the first time he was using this technique in the real world and he had seen this thing decimate half of his inner world with ease.


    He took no chances, he slowly pushed the sphere forward as he used gravity steps to move backwards in a straight line away from the projectile.


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    The sphere landed on its target a second later. There was almighty kaboom! sound, Followed by a flash of pure deep black, which attracted more black, the whole scene went bleary.


    There was a chain reaction of black energy that engulfed the withered man in an instant. Immediately breaking Hartley''s time domain as the colour returned to the world.


    It was if the world had come alive and was trying to swallow down the saint into its guts.


    The rumbling of the void was deafening. Everything in sight was being peeled lifted and swept forward like a silky wave crossing a calm ocean.


    Swallowed in the midst of the explosion, sparks detonated from the man''s body as if he was made of iron, it didn''t matter, and he couldn''t resist for but a mere few seconds . The black energy ate through him like locusts on wheat.


    He gave out a gut wrenching scream which could be heard as far as the Cassia province as a half of his body was spat back from within the black.

 127 Big Changes in the Wes

    The last of the airborne debris pattered to the ground creating shadows through the fading wedges of the evening sunshine. The day became gloomy, sunlight was being strangled by the thick blanket of dust still floating in the air.


    The lingering dust-cloud whirled and swirled mimicking the pattern of the chaotic wind. Occasionally letting through streaks of sunshine but most of the time blotting out the orange-coloured sky overhead.


    Silence reigned again in the once peaceful and tranquil mountainous region.


    Those who could escape with their lives were long gone, too traumatised to even look backwards.


    Those who couldn''t escape were laid silent and lifeless, mangled within the destruction at the entrance to the western hills.


    In the calm aftermath of the frenetic battle, people started to pop out from western hills like moles leaving their underground habitat. Scouting to make sure the battle was truly over and the enemy had fled. One by one eyes bulged and mouths gaped as the soldiers got their first glimpse of the scene.


    What greeted them was the devastated land laid bare before their glazed and shocked eyes. Several people gasped in horror, the rest were too stunned to utter a sound.


    The land was ploughed naked, missing every single tree for at least two miles. Massive craters, chunks of dirt wrenched from the earth and boulders of all sizes were scattered everywhere.


    The epicentre of the destruction was a massive crater at least five times the size of the others, inside it was scorched black and still smouldering with smoke and soot dancing in the air.


    A gully ten meters deep ran from the entrance and off a mile into the distance, but worse of all were the mutilated dead bodies filling every nook and cranny.


    The faces of the dead told the silent story of their horrifying ordeal and terror at their moment of passing. The death toll was in the thousands at least.


    As people gathered to discuss and survey the destruction at the entrance, they also inwardly mourned the soldiers from their own side who had been too slow in retreat from the frontlines.


    Even though the losses of the western hills weren''t as catastrophic as the noble''s army trapped in the flats down below, they still couldn''t be considered light losses.


    Several dozen defenders were crushed to death and laid splayed in the periphery of the hills. The mood became sombre and depressing like the new landscape.


    The victory over the armies of the invading nobles had been valiantly fought and won, but now it felt somewhat hollow. It was a classic case of: In war, not even the winners win.


    "It looks bad down here, how is this possible, how can a Saint sneak attack a mortal man? Have these people no shame." Fu Qian was obviously flustered as he spoke, the sight he was looking at sent shivers through his body.


    The experienced Qin Li didn''t pay much attention to the carnage. "Have you seen Hartley," he rushed forward and barked a question.


    "The last time I saw him he was over there." Fu Qian pointed to the massive blackened crater. "But I didn''t stick around long enough to see where he went after that."


    Qin Li hurriedly hustled a group of elites from House Hartley and instructed them to fan out and search for Hartley through the rubble. If he was injured under debris he wanted to find him as quick as possible.


    The looks in the eyes of the search-party revealed anxiety and helplessness, they would need days to search through the rubble and remains of destruction on this scale. If Hartley was injured under the debris, it could be a week before they located him. Would he even be alive by then?


    Since the ending of the battle and the withdrawal of the enemy, no one had seen a glimpse of Hartley. These were worrying times.


    Fu Jianu still armed with her bow tried to keep up with Zhi Ruo, The girl''s eyes were wide and unblinking as she tried her best to remain stoic passing the shredded and scattered bodies of the enemy. She struggled to stay in step with Zhi Ruo on the bumpy hole-riddled earth as they walked across the scene.


    Zhi Ruo on the other hand, moved with dainty steps effortlessly over the battered terrain, the two women were surrounded by a ring of well equipped elites from House Hartley and a few hundred of Viscount Sanzu''s men, her dress danced to the whims of the wind and anxiety was permanently tattooed in her expression. She couldn''t help feeling that this whole event was on account of her.


    Hartley had instructed her to stay at the manor and await his return but how could she? After witnessing the scene and not seeing any sign of her husband, her mood was dark. She had to come and personally search the rubble giving orders to the contingent around her as they toured the scorched earth looking for signs of life.


    The common people living in the western hills heard of the victory and came flocking to the scene to witness it with their own eyes. Shocked and awed by the sight of violent destruction, they broke out in manic discussions.


    When people got wind that Hartley was missing and might be injured among the rubble, they braved the horrific scenes of blood and slaughter and rushed down with all the medicines they could put together, forcefully breaking through the lines of soldiers who had quarantined the site and clawed at the rubble with bare hands.


    To them, Hartley was a benefactor who had saved them from certain hardships and doom at the hands of the nobles. They had to find and attend to the young lord if there was any possibility to be of help.


    The soldiers could not stop the flood of well wishers and at this point in time they were not motivated to.


    The people of the western hills were former no-hopers merely scrounging and scraping to survive the misery of being born as commoners. With Hartley now missing the hope for the future that they had cultivated within their hearts plummeted to the depths of despair. It was worst the thing they could imagine....


    A platoon of galloping horses approached the western hills at brisk pace, about a mile from reaching their destination, they discovered the roads were destroyed by craters and gullies, large rocks spread across the road and groups of bloodied, battered and unarmed soldiers were desperately flooding in the opposite direction.


    The men passed in silence, visible shocked and frightened, sporting soulless eyes, not paying any attention to the group of mounted-men going against the tide of human traffic.


    A further half a mile and the terrain got so bad that the horses couldn''t move in a straight line through the minefield of craters.


    A slither of the setting sun was peeking over a mountain in the distant.


    The gigantic Commander Genk dismounted from his horse and looked ahead with enlarged eyes.


    The poor horse collapsed beside him, gasping for breath like a overzealous marathon runner. He was late, what would he discover at the end of this road of destruction? He didn''t even want to consider.


    "We move forward on foot," Genk ordered. The men prepared their provisions and proceeded on their journey with haste.


    Qin Li, Fu Qian and Zhi Ruo stood at ground zero, this was the epicentre of the carnage. This was where Hartley''s dark sphere had detonated. Other than smoking debris the only other thing left was the lower half of the saint''s body. The blackened cauterized legs and abdomen of the withered man still sending swirling smoke to the sky.


    Qin Li directed the elites and the volunteers to search the almost 200 meters wide and 20 to 30 meters deep blast radius.


    The people searched diligently in silence with bowed heads as they concentrated on the task with nervousness. No one wanted to be the one to discover Hartley''s corpse. It was evident to them that none caught in this blast could survive.


    About half a mile back from ground zero was a hill of rubble standing ten meters high. Hartley''s eyes flashed open and was greeted by pitch black darkness. Memories of the explosion flooded back. His back ached as sudden pangs of pains darted through his body.


    He struggled to move feeling pressure from all sides. Pulses of blue light from the sphere still protecting his body illuminated the darkness in spaced out intervals. In that flash, Hartley quickly surmised the situation he was in.


    His hand trembled as he summoned the strength move, with a simple wave, a large piece of rock was sent flying, opening an exit to the hill of debris.


    Light flooded in as Hartley staggered out with groaning sounds. A few seconds later the pile fell in on itself with dust and chips of rock spraying out.


    Hartley took a breath, pulled himself together, looked around and assessed the damage laid out before him, the battle was won, but the collateral cost was high.


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    Hartley now resigned himself to the fact that the black sphere could only be used as a last resort, at least until he could improve it to a stage where he could control it better.


    Hartley staggered along and saw people scattered all over the battered landscape busily moving rocks, not just soldiers but also civilians, he was puzzled for a moment.


    That was when a young man dressed in civilian garb saw Hartley from 20 meters away. He wiped his eyes in wonder and joy then came closer, as soon as he recognised Hartley he started shouting merrily at the top of voice. "The young lord is over here."


    The majority attracted by the cries came rushing over. Swarming around with elated expressions. Soon the group of Qin Li, Fu Qian, Fu Jianu and Zhi Ruo arrived in nervous haste.


    After regrouping with the others in joyous celebration. Hartley hugged the relived Zhi Ruo after exchanging a few intimate words and kisses, using her as support for his weakened and limp body. Rough joyous laughter surrounded Hartley from both sides. Qin Li and Fu Qian could hardly hold in their mirth.


    Long shadows were drawn over the western hills, the long day was transitioning into night. Hartley and the others were swarmed and escorted by the elites of House Hartley with the excited residents trailing in their wake.


    They made their way away from the destruction and towards the manor, Hartley looked back over his shoulder and couldn''t help but let out a long sigh.


    It would be a massive endeavour to clean up the the damage... ...


    The triumph over the noble allies in the west had catapulted Hartley to a major figure in the capital. In the days after the battle, the other nobles in the west who hadn''t joined the assault on the western hills were quick to send their regards, fearing Hartley would wrongly assumed them in cahoots with his enemies.


    In all but title Hartley had become the ruler of the west.


    Commoners continued to seek refuge in the western hills as Hartley consolidated his new power.


    In the east of the capital it was a typical day, the sun lashed over the tightly packed roofs. People went about their day as usual, some discussing rumours from a monumental battle that happened days aback.


    In the meeting room of the castle to the east, commanders and captains sat with gloomy faces, Baron Hongtian was sat in a cushioned chair across from the eldest prince, his eyes no longer held its former confidence and his posture slumped lazily.


    "Missing presumed dead." The Baron lifelessly answered the question posed.


    "So what about Hong Zang ?" the eldest prince inquired about another name on his list as he stared at a messy pile of parchments laying on his desk.


    "Missing presumed dead." came another monotone answer.


    "Elder Juantao?".............. "Missing presumed dead."


    The usually calm Prince banged on his desk in anger. A saint, a half-saint and damm near every ally in the west were missing presumed dead.


    In an attempt to rally his support in the west, he was finding it difficult to gather his old allies. Despite the answers from the Baron, he knew some of them weren''t dead, they were obviously cowards who had heard reports of the secret weapons of the western hills and the mass casualties it had inflicted.


    They instead opted to flee the west leaving a vacuum of power that would be filled by Hartley.


    This was bad, instead of levering Hartley out of the picture, the prince had inadvertently made him the undisputed ruler of the west.

 128 Alricks transformation

    "The boy should have been easy meat." The eldest prince fidgeted around in his chair visibly annoyed while he massaged his temples. "What happened out there? I sent a Saint and a half-saint. This is incompetence of the highest degree.


    The shadows of the late evening were starting to invade the office darkening the surroundings like the prince''s mood. The meeting in the elder prince''s office was over and all had left but for one robustly built man dressed in black.


    After a long sigh the robust man dressed in black answered, "I don''t know, he might have a Saint backing him from the shadows. It''s something I overlooked.


    There''s no way he could have defeated Sun Yao single handedly."


    The prince''s severe expression transitioned to a puzzled scowl.


    "Is it Kang? Do you think he gave the boy those weapons?"


    The man in black replied with a blank stare and a genuine look of ignorance whilst shrugging his shoulders. "I need to investigate the circumstances."


    "Ahh! Never mind. We can afford to take no more losses, not from the merchants, not from the boy. Call back all our people, lets see how things proceed from here. Let''s bide our time and see if my little brother will stand by idly and watch a third power develop in the capital. If I know my brother there will be friction."


    After saying his piece the prince waved the man away and sat in solitude.


    Over the next thirty days Hartley hardly made an appearance outside of his manor. He made sure Qin Li took care of the families of his deceased soldiers.


    They were put into new accommodation and provided with a modest pension.


    Fu Qian was sent to the remnants of the nobles houses from the flat lands who had attacked, of course the leaders of these noble houses were long dead or had fled the west in haste. Hartley was now imposing a steep monthly tax on the nobles left behind to face the brunt of his wrath like a local tyrant.


    He also got the commoners willing to join the western hills to leave the flat lands if they so wished. This had horrendous effects on the lesser nobles left behind, making them almost like paupers in one fell swoop.


    Hartley would never be lenient on those who had offended him, he would have put them all to death if he didn''t think it would cause a massive uproar.*********


    Shadows danced across the land as the lemon-coloured sun met the horizon above the green mountains. Hartley stood on his balcony, thinking to himself as he watched the workers break down boulders with pick axes. The sounds of their labour drifted into the distance, echoing through the mountains.


    They toiled in the hot sun, lifting large stones into into open wagons, these very stones would be used to erect housing and pave the roads of the western hills.


    The long process of clearing the debris and repairing the damage was underway.


    The good thing was that they had all the materials they needed to develop the entrance to the western hills.


    Seeing the kids playfully running around and the women bringing water to the hard-working men awashed with sweat, Hartley felt the burden of responsibility weighing on his shoulders. Hartley was always the proverbial loner. He''d always believed in the rule of strength. The weak would always be thrown to the wolves and he''d never thought twice about it.


    At first he had protected these people because he needed manpower to develop his fief. Even though he had treated them fairly, he hadn''t really put them in his eyes. To him they were stepping stones towards his ambitions of grandeur.


    Now he wasn''t so sure, after witnessing them rummaging through debris in mass numbers trying to save his life, a feeling of kinship for these these people started to flourish within his mind. They needed him, and their drive to survive reminded him of himself as a weak boy skirting around the mountains.


    Commander Genk was still in the western hills, when he finally arrived, the battle was already won. He had his men secured the western hills while Viscount Sanzu''s men retreated back to Windsor peak castle.


    Fearing some brave noble would launch an attack while Hartley was recuperating, they stationed themselves in the western hills. Nothing unusual happened in the weeks after so the Commander sent his men back under the supervision of Anguo Chen.


    Commander Genk came to the door from the lounge leading to the balcony and stood in silence.


    Hartley felt his presence and took his mind off trivial matters.


    "You know you can''t abandon your prince because he didn''t rush here to save me, right? You of all people should know that one can only depend on their own power, nothing else is reliable."


    Hartley spoke while still looking out at the workers down below.


    For a while there was an awkward silence.


    The commander''s hands tensed, he stared at Hartley''s back back-litted in the sunshine.


    The boy seemed so mature. The decision that was gnawing at his soul now seemed quite easy.


    He was sick of the endless meetings with politicians jaw-wagging and blabbering on and on, coming up with ever more intricate ways of buttering their own bread while smiling and stabbing each other in the back.


    He was a soldier through and through, he had always followed his orders with blind dedication. Having no wife or children to worry about, his only love was the thrill of the battlefield. Now he found even that thrill had somewhat diminished along with his faith in politicians and cut throat politics.


    But for what purpose had he been fighting all these years? Had he ever had something to believe in? As absurd ad the thought was, he actually believed in the boy.


    The commander opened his mouth to speak but closed it again before any sound could escape his lips, his big frame standing awkwardly within the opening.*********


    Over in the east forest a two story building stood walled off from the general public of the western hills, within was a lab painted pristinely in white.


    Inside in the still-silence, the pattering of busy footsteps could be heard. Alrick was muttering to himself as he moved busily with practiced motions around the lab. The hunched man still dressed in his wornout robes adjusted his instruments and started his proceses again as he was prone to do over and over on any given day.


    He had only had one explosion this week, something he was inwardly proud about. The stock of materials he was given were dwindling fast and he wasn''t sure if he would receive another batch anytime soon. He moved skilfully around the instruments, his fingers lithe and nimble defying their decrepit state.


    Beacons boiled sending steam wiggling upwards, Alrick constantly took samples from one tube and transferred to another. Liquids of all colours flowed through the complex network of tubes connected to the large centrifuge-like machine being spun by a contraption of pulleys and gears connected to a couple fierce beast yoked and chained going in circles outside.


    Alrick watched the whole process with wide anxious eyes as he scribbled notes on a dingy piece of parchment from time to time.


    Torchlight flickered through the room as darkness invaded and night took over the day.


    After watching over the machines and equipment for the better part of a day while constantly making adjustments, finally a single golden drop of liquid squeezed from one of the tubes and dropped into a jade bottle.


    Though the bead of yellow substance was liquid, it hit the bottom of the jade container like a piece of lead with a pinging sound echoing out through the quiet environment.


    Alrick took the vessel and inspected it with excited eyes under the torchlight while muttering his usual gibberish. Without reservations he quickly gulped down the liquid and passed out.***********


    Rays of sunlight poked over the horizon and through the trees casting the first shadows of the morning. The birds cawed overhead as they passed by in bomber formations.


    The citizens of the western hills went about their normal routines as usual.


    There was a disturbance at the main manor, two people accompanied by Qin Li rushed urgently to Hartley''s bedroom, forcefully knocking on the double doors made of oak.


    Hartley left Zhi Ruo half asleep and came to the door bleary eyed and a bit confused. He looked at Qin Li then at the anxious faces of the servant girls beside him.


    "There''s a problem at the lab.I think you need to see this." Qin Li said.


    Just looking at their facial expressions Hartley didn''t inquire about the problem, he just followed them to the east forest.


    Entering the white lab with a messy assortment of equipment strewn all over, Hartley saw a mature looking man with long black hair being surrounded by members of the security team. Weapons were drawn as the team of former bandits warily sized up their opponent.


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    The man''s bright eyes gleamed as Hartley entered. The mature man was giving off an aura of strong vitality and elemental fluctuations, unknown to the others he was a 1st layer xiantian expert.


    "Did they already find out about the mad scientist, did they kidnap him." These thoughts immediately swirled through Hartley''s mind.


    "Where''s Alrick?" Hartley asked as he surveyed the room without seeing the withered hunched back old man.


    "He claims he''s Alrick said Qin Li, pointing at the mature man who stood tall and regal, measuring about 1.7 meters.


    Hartley looked at the smiling mature man for far longer this time, if he squinted his eyes long enough he could see a semblance of resemblance to Alrick in the man''s facial features, but the man definitely wasn''t Alrick and Hartley was sure of it..


    ....

 129 Defying the laws of nature

    Hartley''s face scrunched in contemplation, his head tilting to the side curiously as if he had misheard the man''s claim.


    He waved back the security team, they probably couldn''t hurt the man if he decided to defend himself, he was a xiantian expert after all.


    The former bandits quickly retreated behind Hartley in an organised fashion, leaving Hartley facing the mature man with no one in between them.


    "Who are you working for and what did you do to Alrick?" Hartley asked his questions in a serious and commanding tone as he stepped forward with menace.


    The man gave a grim stare before saying. "I serve the western hills, threats are are not necessary young lord. I am no danger to you all."


    He gave an extravagant bow that reminded Hartley of the first time he met the bumbling old hunched back man, only this time it was a lot more refined and elegant coming from a contrasting character standing as straight as an arrow.


    "Young lord remember I told you once that it was my pleasure to serve the western hills after you granted me this independent lab?"


    The man''s voice certainly didn''t sound like Alrick''s voice to Hartley, so he continued to move forward exerting pressure, the man hastily continued.


    "That was right after one of my experiments in the basement of your manor went awry, but that particular experiment produced the blue and red waste products, which I then used in the design of the black orbs which you now arm your elites with."


    Hartley stopped moving forward and stared at the man with a quizzical expression as if asking himself if the man''s words could be remotely possible.


    The man''s eyes beamed with pride as he continued, "at that time I told you that my formula would change the world, I have finally made a small breakthrough."


    The security detail and the two serving girls standing behind listened attentively to the back and forth between Hartley and the strange man.


    The lab went quiet again.


    Hartley looked around at everybody present in the lab then said, "Qin Li stay, everybody else leave."


    Everyone except Qin Li quickly shuffled out of the lab and closed the door leaving silence behind.


    Three people were left in the quiet lab facing each other, Hartley finally noticed the man''s stained and worn out robe, similar to the ones the mad scientist usually wore, but how could it be possible?


    Shaking his head in denial, Hartley couldn''t hold back his suspicions from being transmitted clearly onto his face.


    "You expect us to believe any of that, you''re obviously a spy caught red handed." Qin Li barked at the man as he too came forward slamming his right fist onto his left palm with a thud. "I''m going to skin you alive if you don''t confess what you''ve done to Alrick."


    The man shook his head slowly from side to side as if showing his disappointment in Qin Li.


    "You''ve been locked away every waking moment of everyday cultivating, you''re as dedicated to cultivating as I am to potion-making, you''ve had your rewards from cultivating and now I''ve had mine from potion-making. Do you think only cultivators can make breakthroughs?"


    There was another pregnant silence in the lab as Hartley and Qin Li exchanged looks.


    The man''s voice rose once more, "12 stalks of ice flowers, 24 stalks withering oil plants, 2 metal cylinders lined with lead..."


    The man named a list of ingredients and equipment, before bringing out a dingy piece of parchment which was full of illegible text scribbled all over for Hartley to inspect.


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    Hartley''s face twitched, the ingredients and equipment the man had named was the exact list of things he''d provided to Alrick but he could not make heads or tails of the parchment presented to him.


    As the man explained further Hartley started to look at him in disbelief, not daring to believe the evidence presented.


    Qin Li too was looking on in baffling amazement....


    Even though the man made a convincing argument. Hartley wouldn''t just take the man''s words at face value, this had to be proven beyond doubt.*****


    Hartley and Qin Li shadowed the man in the lab for the next 3 days. Meals were dropped at the door and the man wasn''t allowed contact with anyone outside. The man went through the process of producing the elixir once more with both men watching keenly.


    There was only enough materials left for five attempts. The man had stated that his odds of producing the elixir was somewhere around one in five.


    If he couldn''t produce the elixir with the remaining materials then he would have to be tortured, interrogated, killed and disposed of as a spy.


    Hartley would take no chances.


    With three men and the complex array of equipment snaking around the room, space in the lab was limited but it wasn''t a hindrance. The mature man moved effortlessly around the cramped confines of the lab like fish taking to water.


    On the third day, on the man''s third attempt, there''s was a loud ping as a drop of yellow liquid hit the bottom of the jade container placed beneath one the tubes.


    The man''s face lit up with elation. He excitedly started to explain the process to a bewildered Hartley and Qin Li.


    After explaining the use of the single bead of liquid, the man became misty eyed and began to pour out his heart and story to the duo.


    "I was a young genius with all the success one could imagine. I had mastered all types of potions which made me famous. I kept pushing the boundaries of what was possible through potion making, always searching for a new challenge.


    One night with a sudden burst of inspiration, a theory popped into my head.


    Was it possible to make a potion that could shatter the mortal shackles and allow a normal man to step right into the saint realm. Instantly giving one a thousand years of longevity?


    Conventional thinking would answer no, but the more I thought about it the more obsessed I became, I lost everything of value and was eventually shunned by the fellow apothecaries of my era, labelled a madman I chased the theory and met with failure after failure but the formula was always swirling in my head as if teasing me. I couldn''t give up.


    I spent 50 years in constant disappointment but never wavered in my pursuit of this ultimate formula that seemed to be permanently implanted within my thoughts.


    I had never once told anyone of the potential of the formula. I knew they would only chastise and think me mad or even worse, think I was a con-artist."


    Alrick''s eyes went glazed and out of focus.


    "Aim for the stars and if you miss you might still end up among the clouds." He murmured to himself.


    "Even though my ultimate dream has not been achieved, here in the western hills I made a giant step on the path to achieving that goal. All my sacrifices has finally reaped a small reward, confirming that I am on the right path.


    I haven''t quite broken the shackles of mortality and stepped into the saint realm, but I have stepped into the xiantian realm. Now I''ve got another two hundred years to try."


    Alrick''s voice trembled and cracked as he had an enormous outpouring of emotions.


    It was awkward for Qin Li and Hartley. They had had no words to console the man, and honestly they still couldn''t shake the hint of suspicion in their minds.


    Hartley relaxed as he sent for Shao Law. He was the orphan boy who had come to the capital from the Rykers crime guild in the wawrika province.


    The boy had been cultivating with Fu Jianu and Zhi Ruo for the past months with the cultivating techniques Hartley had acquired from Prince Jian.


    Shao Law turned up half an hour later with nervous eyes as he made his way pass the elites stationed outside the lab, when he entered there were three people present in the white building waiting in silence.


    Hartley spoke to the boy as he stood staring, "Shao Law, there is an opportunity for you to change you life right here in my hands, but it is up to you if you want to take this once in a lifetime chance, the risks might also include death." Hartley looked over at the strange man, indicating that there was a chance the elixir could be poison. Turning back to Shao Law he finished by saying.


    "I will not force you."


    Shao Law immediately dropped to one knee in a knight''s salute. "What do you ask of me young lord? as long as it is within my ability I will not refuse."


    "Take this elixir," Hartley said, stretching out the jade bottle towards the youth.


    Without hesitation the boy took the jade bottle and drank the single bead of liquid inside, almost instantly his eyes rolled back and he fainted on the floor of the lab...


    It was a long night, Shao Law sweated profusely and had a high fever. Hartley and Qin Li watched the whole process side by side under the dancing flames of the mounted torchlight.


    Alrick constantly checked the boys condition in the dimness of the corner where the boy was laying on blankets, taking measurements and scribbling notes ad usual.


    From time to time the boy turned and twisted letting out howls of pain.


    As another morning rolled in, the western hills burst into life once more except for the lab located at the east forest.


    There was a nervous silence, this was the moment of truth. Three people watched silently as Shao Law roused from his overnight coma, as soon as the boy opened his eyes there was a flash of bright green light that illuminated the lab for a split second.


    Hartley and Qin Li reacted quickly, rushing over to inspect the boy whose robes were soaked through.


    Shao Law had a strong aura of vitality and subtle changes to his facial features. He stood at least two inches taller than he was the prior evening and his hair had lengthened by 3 to 4 inches.


    However the most startlingly amazing change was that now the boy was a bonafide 1st layer xiantian expert giving off strong elemental fluctuations.


    Alrick continued to scribble down notes on his parchment. "So," Alrick said with his head still down looking at the parchment, "do you believe me now?"


    Hartley and Qin Li were shaken to the core, what they witnessed defied the laws of nature.


    "Alrick it is really you." Hartley blurted while pointing at mature man''s improved features.


    Alrick snorted, "why so surprised? I''ve been telling you that for five days."


    "What happened?" Asked


    Shao Law in utter confusion. He felt hyperactive, like there was a tsunami of surging power within his body, battering against his skin demanding to be released.

 130 A Special Visitor

    Two months went by quickly and the sunny summer months were gradually coming to an end. The seasonal winds of autumn were slowly moving in from the east bringing a chill with it and at times carrying dust and fallen leaves scurrying over the soft craggy ground.


    A secluded stretch of forest was framed in a soft golden hue, the sun sat low behind the trees, most had leaves turning reddish-amber signalling the imminent change of season. Birds chirped and small animals scavenged for food in the sunshine while a mild wind kept the multitudes of leaves dancing on their stems..


    The silence of the picturesque scene was suddenly disturbed by quick crunching footsteps over dried leaves and twisted fallen twigs, making the startled animals and birds scatter to safety.


    Hair whipping wildly in the autumn air. Fu Jianu jumped from a rock soaring fully ten meters, the girl dressed in a fluttering loose combat-robe flowed as graceful as a swan through the clusters of trees and rocks.


    She had a long bow in her outstretched left hand and a yellow glow surrounding her right, she reached back and removed an arrow from the quiver strapped to her back.


    As soon as the shaft of the metal arrow made contact with her glowing hand, the arrow got surrounded by the yellow glow making the arrow look similar to molten steel.


    In one smooth fluid motion she notched the arrow, pulled back on the bow string and released it aiming diagonally downwards.


    All before landing among the swirling dry leaves beneath her gracefullly with concentration etched on her sweat-covered face.


    A stream of yellow whizzed through the air heading for a boulder and some greenery in the distance.


    Before the arrow could hit its mark, there was movement in the shrubbery, a figure wearing a black robe with a slight brown glow surrounding his body, scampered off to the right as the arrow flew into the boulder he was taking refuge behind, there was a loud boom, the arrow quickly drilled all the way through, exiting the other side spraying pebbles and dust backwards as it decimated a few hefty trees with a yellow flash.


    "I got him," said Shao Law dressed in black as he emerged from the greenery to the right. He closed in on the opponent who seemed to be scared witless and putting all his concentration on making his escape.


    Shao Law was inwardly surprised at the fire arrow''s power, but kept his focus on the man ahead cutting of his route of retreat.


    A green aura surrounded his legs as he moved assisted by the wind element, stirring up breeze as he left a long trail of leaves in his wake trying to outflank and close the gap between himself and the intruder as quick as possible.


    Fu Jianu kept supporting him from a distance with her graceful movements and artillery-like arrows whizzing forward with accuracy.


    Yellow arrows streaked through the air at lightening speed as Fu Jianu continued to change positions while firing in a bid to supresss the movements of the opponent.


    Shao Law adeptly navigated through the obstacle course of exploding arrows, sometimes using his sword to produce scything wind-blades to knock back the cornered enemy as he closed in on the flustered man rapidly.


    The combination of having to defend against the arrows and the hounding of Shao Law constant attacks made the battle a one-sided affair, the man soon lost concentration and was impaled through his weak earth armour by an arrow. His armour disintegrated with gushing sparks. Instantly his heartbeat puffed out like an extinguished candle as a huge hole was burned through his chest.


    He fell face down on the forest floor with blood pooling under his lifeless body.


    Silence was restored, Alrick let out a hard breath then sucked it in again, He gasped at the combat abilities of the young fighters made possible by his elixir. He was standing sandwiched between Hartley and Qin Li as he hurriedly jotted down notes on his parchment.


    For him, stepping into the xiantian realm was only a matter of extending his lifespan so he could continue with his research of the ultimate formula. He had never been interested in fighting or martial techniques.


    Marvelling at the fighting capabilities of those youngsters. He truly understood now why in the past his clients were so desperate for medicinal dans that could improve one''s cultivation....


    "What do you think?" Hartley turned to face Qin Li and Alrick.


    Qin Li shrugged, "even though he was a 2nd layer xiantian, he was no challenge to them working together, that was too essy."


    Alrick had accompanied Hartley and the others to the mountains to hunt down spies.


    Hartley''s awareness could now stretch out to almost 1000 kilometres. The people sending these spies to infiltrate the western hills were only sending them to their deaths. This was the sixth to meet his demise in the tranquil mountains.


    Alrick had insisted on coming on this trip to ascertain the short-comings or flaws in his elixir, maybe by perfecting this elixir he could take another step in the right direction, but judging by what he was seeing, there seemed to be none.


    They were deep in the mountainous forest, Hartley was using these trips as top secret training for the two newly promoted xiantian experts of the western hills.


    The intensity of this trip was ratcheted up a level with both trainee allowed to fight the enemy without help for the first time. They were determined to impress Qin Li and Hartley who were quietly assessing their capabilities.


    These two were the only ones given the xiantian elixir. For 6 weeks their training had been monitored to see if there was any side effect of the elixir that would befall them.


    Hartley stood in silence and watched the impressive showing from the two youngsters while he thought about other matters.


    Commander Genk wanted to abscond to the western hills but he had to temporarily refuse, he full well knew he couldn''t go against prince Jian just yet. Ideals were honourable but without power they were nothing but air, hardly worth even thinking about.


    Hartley knew better than to humiliate the prince, he had seen first hand the dirty under bellow of human nature, the prince would definitely retaliate in kind.


    Now with the black orbs and the potential influx of xiantian experts. The western hills were going to be a genuine powerhouse in the capital, but they still had no saint. Hartley needed time for his own breakthrough, if a saint was sent to attack Hartley in the populated western hills, he might be able to hold his own but the people would suffer badly.


    Publicly the prince had backed the western hills. The decree from the young prince had freed Zhi Ruo from her stresses and fear of persecution. It was now just a matter of time before western hills could display its dominance.


    The prince sent the white iron as payment from the mission to the Tivoli gemstone mines as promised and their relationship seem to carry on as usual in everyone''s eyes but Hartley knew better.******


    A tall and thin white haired man strolled through the western hills like a tourist sight-seeing. He had a smile plastered to his face, looking around and nodding his head in approval every now and then.


    The elderly man moved like a spectre, workers busily going to and fro, on foot or in wagons sometimes passed within inches of the man but none the wiser of his presence.


    Hardly anyone even looked in his direction. The eccentric man dressed in white slowly walked through the bustling construction site at the entrance, unnoticed by anyone straight to the doors of the main manor.


    The man fixed his robe, stood tall with a straight back then knocked.


    After waiting for a minute a fresh faced serving girl opened the door.


    "Can I help you sir?" The girl asked baffled by having never seen the man before, usually guests would be escorted from the entrance by the security team.


    "Yes," the man cleared his throat and gave the girl a nod.


    "I''m here to see Hartley, tell him it''s Kang."


    The girl wheeled on the ball of her feet and disappeared back into the manor.....


    Soon after.....The rumbles of multiple feet pattered through the hall, Hartley soon anxiously appeared at the door with Zhi Ruo at his side, flanked by Fu Qian and Qin Li with his security team trailing close behind.


    Sighting the familiar man calmly waiting like a normal civilian while inspecting the manor nonchalantly with his eyes roaming everywhere.


    Hartley rushed up and performed a respectful bow, bending at the waist and leaning forward almost parallel to the floor. Zhi Ruo and Qin Li caught up to him and did the same, leaving Fu Qian and the security team baffled and bewildered, they had never seen the trio so respectful.


    "Welcome to the western hills elder, if I knew you were coming I would''ve..."


    Kang cut off Hartley with a wave and an immature laugh. "No need for such formalities, I was in the neighbourhood so I came to take a look."


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    Kang moved off to side to have a closer look at the wooden carvings on the main door and shook his head slowly, obviously disappointed in the level of craftsmanship.


    "Heard you had a run in with a Saint." He said with a playful smile turning back to face the crowd.


    While scratching his head and smiling back Hartley answered, "Yeah, but I dealt with the situation and learned some lessons..


    Kang cackled out loud.


    Everyone had weird expressions, one..for the behaviour of Kang and two.. for Hartly saying so lightly that he dealt with a Saint.

 131 The barren lands In the East rough draf

    "You know you''ve caught the attention of several saints don''t you?"


    Kang asked a rhetorical question with a toothy grin as he shifted in his seat trying to find the most comfortable position, then he quickly added.


    "Not just from Aidonia either, even saints from Sasko are interested in you, but for some reason those guys from Sasko tend to all despise you to the core."


    Kang ended his statement with his trademark giggle, finally finding comfort, he leaned back in his cushioned chair turning his head toward the ceiling and releasing his amusement with a satisfied smile.


    Hartley took a sip of the fruit wine in his mug, the deep red liquid sloshed and glistened, sparkling with the reflections of the natural evening light spreading across the room from the curtain-less high windows.


    Raising his head with a smug conceited smile Hartley answered, "I can''t imagine why they wouldn''t like me, I''ve only had three or four run-ins with their citizens."


    Both men broke into laughter simultaneously.


    They sat in the comforts of the open plan lounge on the second floor of Hartley''s manor, there was a variety of furniture scattered around, the center-piece of the room, the fireplace built into the main column, remained unlit with smattering of unused coal.


    Shadows grew long in the dwindling sunlight of the late evening. The ambient sounds of the men toiling had gone quiet. Most in the western hills had finished their daily tasks and were headed back to the lively residential district.


    Across from Hartley Kang displayed his usual expressive array of vibrant emotions, one second he was staunched with seriousness like a judge handing down an execution order, the next he was guffawing with laughter like a school boy talking of naughty things.


    "Some think that I''m behind the quick rise of you and the western hills," said Kang after a lull in the conversation.


    With a mischievous face he took a sip of the white content in his cup then placed it gently on the wooden table dividing the two men in the empty lounge.


    "Apparently I''m an expert weapon-smith providing you and your troops with mighty secret weapons." Kang smiled at Hartley, reached out and took the cup again, then began swirling the milk around in a practiced child-like manner.


    "I''ve had some lucky encounters, thats all." Hartley said with a sheepish smile."


    He then leaned forward bowing his head slightly in a show of gratitude.


    "Without your protection and guidance at that time in the Cassia province it might not have been this way."


    Kang waved him off in dismissal as usual, amused at the humility of the youth who reminded him so much of his younger brother.


    In another sudden change of demeanor Kang sat up straight in his chair, this time with a stern and serious expression, all his previous mirth and immaturity dissolved away like glucose submerged in water.


    "Others only see your age or status, I see your talents..... and your talent transcends this mortal plaine."


    Hartley felt guilt riddle his stomach, his so called talent was a chance encounter with the blue star fragment and his origins were partly not of this mortal plain, Hartley sat uncomfortable hearing the words of praise from his mentor and father-figure but didn''t interupt.


    After a short pause for effect, satisfied with the look on Hartley''s face Kang continued.


    "I must remind you though, King Yulan''s second attempt at ascending the mortal plain is not far away. If he succeeds, things will change drastically. I know how talented you are, but you might not be given the time you need to break into sainthood if that happens. I once promised to tell you about the origins of spellweaving and my brother''s adventure. Now you are strong enough to hear that story, since you''ve defeated a saint I think you''re ready."


    Hartley''s face brightened with anticipation, back then a demonstration of simple spellweaving by Kang had left him speechless.


    Recently his cultivation had stagnated. The gains from his cultivation since reaching the ninth layer of the xiantian realm had been frustratingly minimal, sometimes a bit of external inspiration wasn''t a bad thing.


    Kang dipped into the inside pocket of his robe, retrieved an ancient looking map drawn on beast skin, unfurled it and placed it on the table between them.


    "You''ve heard of the the beast-men tribes in the barren lands of the east?"


    Hartley nodded his head in an affirmative answer.


    "According to my brother the barren lands are not as barren as you would believe, The beast-men tribes are only the guardian''s of the entry to a pocket dimension. In that dimension a world similar to ours once existed, A day there is said to be the equivalent to a whole year on the Aldora continent...


    In that place there was once a civilisation with a history spanning billions of years. They supposedly invented spellweaving and taught it to the beast-men and in return the beast-men have stayed and protected the barren lands for countless generations."


    Hartley gasped, with wide eyes he leaned forward in his chair rapt at attention itching to ask a few questions.


    Kang raised his hand with an open palm quelling Hartley''s enthusiasm before continuing.


    "The Details my brother provided are sketchy at best, there might still be some remnants of that old civilisation living within that dimension. I have no idea, never have I heard anyone mention this great civilisation apart from my brother."


    "I''ve once searched for that dimension myself, my brother said finding the dimension entrance was the easy part. I didn''t even manage that. With age my appetite for adventures have lessened. Now I hand one of the l last things my brother left me over to you."


    Kang passed the map to Hartley who received it with reverence and thanks. He inspected the map of the barren lands which had a simple x deep to the south.


    "My brother drew this map and recorded the entry to that dimension, if you could somehow find it I am confident you would have all the time needed to break into sainthood quickly in terms of Aldoran time and be the second to return from that dimension, but be aware that many have crusaded into the barren lands trying to eradicate the beast-men and up till this day none have succeeded."


    Sat alone in the lounge the two men drank, talked and laughed like old aquaintaces reunited at long last, their meeting lasted until darkness covered the western hills. Hartley personally escorted Kang out of the manor.


    After exchanging good byes Kang stepped out and melted into the darkness, disappearing from sight as if he were apart of the night.****


    A week went by as usual in the western hills. Hartley awoke to the melodic chirps of a few birds outside his window, the first rays of autumn sunshine were poking through gaps in the closed curtains, brightening a corner of the room with a dull golden glow.


    Hartley silently pulled himself up and sat at the end of his bed trying not to awake the red haired goddess still laid sleeping on the other side of his bed.


    Suddenly the Zhi Ruo who was supposed to be sleeping shuffled out of the sheets as if she had been laying in wait, with lively eyes signifying she had been awake even before Hartley, she walked around the bed elegantly and stood directly facing the sitting Hartley.


    What are you planning? She asked akimbo with squinted eyes, making an intimidating expression while she eyed him with suspicion.


    Hartley stayed quiet with contemplation as he stared straight ahead, eyes barely in focus.


    How was he supposed to break it to her? For the last few months they had hardly spent much time together, with her tutoring the youngsters and him overseeing so many projects, their relationship had grinded to a halt. He felt guilty having to leave her behind and embark on another adventure so soon.


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    With no answer forthcoming Zhi Ruo came a step closer, eyes into slits, she slowly asked again, "Lou Hartley what are you planning?"


    She only used Hartley''s full name when she was really annoyed and about to lose her temper.


    Hartley knew this too well, he stammered out a response. "Wha.. What do you mean?"


    She snorted while staring intensely at her husband. "Don''t act dumb, you''re the smartest man I know. Ever since Kang'' s visit you''ve been planning something."


    A defeated Hartley exhaled like a balloon losing air. "Kang told me about a place where..."


    "I''m coming," she interjected without listening to the rest of Hartley''s answer.


    "No, no it''s too dangerous," a flustered Hartley waving his hands around comically tried to explain.


    Zhi Ruo came even closer and stooped in to meet his eyes, Hartley could feel her warm breath on his face as her chest heaved up and down in agitation, her twin peaks visible through her thin night robe.


    "Are you coming back," she asked.


    "Yes," he replied.


    "Then I''m coming." She stated.


    Leaving Hartley no room for further negotiations.

 132 Into the Barren Lands

    "What! ....Are you guys going to enter the barren lands! Are you mad?"


    An old guide who had just escorted two strangers to the rocky borders of the barren lands asked aloud with shocked widened eyes, gasping with surprise he quickly tried to deter the young couple who had dismounted from their horses intending to trek into the danger-filled desert.


    Before his clients could move to confirm their intentions, the man rushed to block their path, he looked sternly at them like a father scolding his children and frantically lectured the duo.


    "I know young nobles like to adventure to dangerous places, there''s nothing wrong with that, but there is a thin line between bravery and madness.


    You are so young, there is no reason to put your lives at risk because you clearly don''t understand the dangers of entering the desert.


    At this point you guys can turn back without shame, I''ll tell you some details about the barren lands so you can brag to your friends when you get back.


    There is no need to stupidly risk your lives any further. Entering the barren lands without significant strength or protection is a bad idea rhat can only end in death."


    The experienced man had a face full of dread and anxiousness as he tried to persuade the young couple.


    He was sure this young couple were nobles from overseas. Would he be held responsible for the couple''s death when the noble house they were from investigated the matter? The man felt a bead of sweat running down his back as he couldn''t help thinking about the ramifications of today''s events.


    The three people stood on the rocky borders of a landlocked country called Kingston, they had ridden here through the mountain pass over the course of a couple days. As the hilly, rocky terrain stretched further south, the terrain flattened out gradually, eventually transforming into an ocean of sand bleached pale-white by the harsh sun.


    The old guide with a head full of white hair pointed out towards the sea of sand with an anxious expression and began telling them about the dangers he assumed they were ignorant of.


    "The sand here is a man''s worst enemy, one could walk in circles for weeks and not be aware of it, there are no distinctive markings to calibrate your position, dunes pop up and disappear as often as you drink water. Once you get lost it is almost impossible to find your way back here.


    Next, one could encounter a member of the beast-men tribe, not many have gone up against one of those savages and lived to tell the tale."


    The man shivered at the mere mention of the beast-men as he spoke to the young nobles, his fright and concern visibly displayed on in his face.


    "Finally, encountering other humans in the barren lands could be even worse, only the worst of the worst chased from society for horrific crimes would dare roam these deserts, these people have no bounds or morality, a quick death is the most mercy one should expect from them".


    The guide looked pleadingly at the young couple as he made his final attempt at convincing them to abandon their mad crusade into the barren lands.


    "Thank you for guiding us this far, don''t worry we''ll be okay from here," the black haired young man wearing a black hooded robe responded nonchalantly with a smile and looking unbothered by the guide''s frantic warnings. He then gave a slight bow to the guide and passed the man a bulging jingling coin purse.


    The old guide looked at the purse in hand and then at the young man''s red haired companion, maybe she would have more sense to heed his warnings. She smiled and gave the worried old man a slight bow as well.


    "It really is ok, fret not, no-one will come looking for us, she said in mild amusement.


    The old man shook his head in disappointment. For a brief moment he thought about bringing them back against their will for their own good, but quickly dismissed the thought.


    "Young people sure''re stubborn these days," the man said with a long sigh..


    Seeing that he couldn''t convince the two people the man turned in disappointment.


    "These are the agreed provisions." The old guide handed the reins of a large fierce beast ladened with goods over to the young man and turned to leave.


    He regretted bringing these young people to their sure deaths. There was no other way to put it.


    He had met the young couple at the capital in an inn looking for a guide to carry them to the barren lands.


    Assuming them to be daring young nobles looking for an adventure, he negotiated a hefty sum and agreed to bring them here.


    The youngsters also wanted to keep their journey a secret as apart of the deal, this didn''t surprise the old man.


    The whole time he was under the impression that they only wanted to come and have a look at the famous barren lands.


    The old guide had carried many young rebellious nobles who were either forbidden by their parents to go near the barren lands or just wanted to brag that they have been to see the barren lands.


    They all wanted to avoid the patrolling soldiers at the border for fear of being forcibly returned back to their families prematurely and these two seemed no different .


    The guide knew the mountain routes well and had skirted around the patrols of the garrisoned soldiers from the three prominent countries.


    He easily avoided the soldiers stationed at the border of the barren lands and brought the youngsters here to have a look at the border.


    The only thing different with this trip was that the nobles under his care actually wanted to enter the barren lands. Never did he imagine that the pampered nobles would want to venture into such a dangerous place. It was either madness or suicidal.


    The guide mounted his horse and galloped off back the way he had come after giving them one final gloomy look of pity.


    Hartley smiled at Zhi Ruo and watched as the man disappeared back through the rocky terrain heading towards some rolling rocky hills.


    He then turned to face the stretching deserts of the barren lands. The sun was high and pouring down its sweltering heat. The parched pale-white sand covered miles in every direction.


    The sound of the wind whistled as it blew blankets of swirling sand across the empty and lifeless landscape, the whole desert was clear and sharp in view, nothing could hide unless it blended into the sand.


    Hartley gave Zhi Rio a serious look, "this is it, are you sure you still want to come?" ******


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    The two had left the western hills weeks ago, travelled to east by ship and eventually found their way to the country of Kingston bordering the barren lands.


    This was an incognito trip, Hartley didn''t want his enemies to know that he wasn''t in the western hills, that''s why he had hired the old man to carry them on the most inconspicuous route.


    Only a few privy people knew the Lord and Lady of the western hills were gone, but none knew the specifics of their journey.


    Without skipping a beat Zhi Ruo answered, "sure let''s go see this mystery place." ******


    The silhouettes of two people moved effortlessly over the wavy velvet sand underfoot, light footprints left behind were covered almost immediately by the fine grains of sand constantly moving with the wind.


    If one paid full attention they would notice that the sand grains blown by the wind that usually attacked the eyes and nostrils of unsuspecting travellers like a never-ending swarm of angry insects, didn''t seem to affect these two.


    In fact if one really paid close attention they would also notice a translucent sphere surrounding the travellers.


    As they moved, the tiny grains of sand flying through the air seemed to deflect around them outlining the sphere with a brownish colour as they moved at speed.


    Anyone who had walked any distance in this desert would know the torment and torture of the relentless stinging attacks from these tiny sand grains.


    At first it would feel like a mild nuisance, but after prolonged exposure, it would feel like a swarm of angry insects were constantly gnawing at one''s eyes and skin.


    If one was unlucky it could change to a full blown typhoonish sand storm attack.


    Horses or fierce beast would go blind within two days of entering the desert. They would then panic and run wild for miles bringing the unfortunate rider off course and lost, leaving them at the mercy of the buffeting winds and swirling sand.


    Zhi Ruo was on the verge of breaking through to the third layer of the xiantian realm.


    With Hartley''s sphere protecting them from the sand and the ample supplies kept in Hartley''s space ring, they made quick progress across the scorching desert.


    Hartley kept looking at his map making sure he was on course. Moving in a straight line through the desert was easy, Hartley''s awareness could cover almost 1000 meters.


    After two days of moving through the horrible wind, stinging sand and some encounters with giant sandworms which were easily vanquished by Hartley, the bedraggled couple finally saw the end of the desert.


    What faced them was hard brown cracked ground with a few withered trees scattered over a dreary looking landscape highlighting the desolation that was spread far and wide.


    Glad to be out of the Sandy mosh pit they made their way further south and deeper into the barren lands*****


    On another harshly sunny day Hartley and Zhi Ruo had their first encounter with people since entering the barren lands.


    As they moved forward carefully through the new terrain. Four robed forms emerged from behind some boulders to block the path ahead.


    Dressed in brown hooded robes pulled up against the wind and hiding their faces. Their robes whipped around with the fluttering breeze.


    "Kid you''ve got guts, not only did you dare to enter the barren lands but you also brought such a pretty snack with you." A sinister voice came from one of the hooded men.


    The barren lands weren''t a place for the weak, only capable people could make it through the desert at the entrance. So even though Hartley seemed like a normal mortal, these guys were wary.


    "Capture them, let''s have fun." Came the order from the sinister voice.

 133 Meeting the Beast-men

    "Boss, can I have this one after you''re done playing with her."


    One of the hooded man asked with excitement as he used his eyes to examine Zhi Ruo''s body up and down. His obvious glee could hardly be contained within his creepy lust-filled voice.


    Even though Hartley and Zhi Ruo were shrouded in loose black hooded robes, the group could tell that Zhi Ruo was a female.


    Her distinctive curves and elegant movement had betrayed her gender.


    What her face looked like didn''t matter. Out here in the barren lands, running across a good looking human woman was an unexpected rarity. Men wondering the barren lands for extended periods would rarely find the company and pleasure of a decent woman.


    "Hmmm," with a throaty grunt the leader gave his approval after a short pause, watching keenly to see if his underling could subdue or kill the young man and capture the woman. There were no weaklings in the barren lands after all.


    Unable to hold himself back any longer the excited hooded man trembled with joy, he was the first of the four to eagerly make his move.


    The hooded man dashed forward closing the distance within a few strides, immediately a long sword glinting with pulsing flashes of green appeared in his grasp. It was unclear who his target was as he lifted the sword high above his head launching himself at the couple sending the wind whirring around and dust scattering.


    Zhi Ruo was no longer the naive woman who had journeyed through dangerous situations depending on Hartley''s protection. She was now battle hardened after nearly a year and a half of experience under Hartley''s tutelage.


    Without a word she stepped out with lithe elegant steps producing ripples of white circles under her feet, she fearlessly advanced to meet the vile attacker, under his hood Hartley smiled to himself.


    The man was a third layer xiantian expert, seeing that Zhi Ruo was only in the second layer, his confidence must''ve been at an all time high. Hartley knew he was of no threat to Zhi Ruo however. Hartley stood his ground calmly and kept an eye on the other three.


    As she moved forward Zhi Ruo''s hood came undone with the fluttering wind created by her opponent, exposing her beautiful face and sending her flowing red locks sailing in the wind, bringing a vivid dose of colour and beauty to the dreary grey barren lands.


    Two daggers slightly glowing white appeared in Zhi Ruo''s hands. These daggers were about 8 inches in length, accented with bright white flowing lines crawling along the full length of its silver blades. These were rank 6 spirit weapons made with some of the white iron Hartley had received from Prince Jian.


    The man hesitated for split second as he saw the beauty coming at him, he was even more excited at the sight of Zhi Ruo''s face and a bit reluctant to damage the prize of the battle, but when he saw Zhi Ruo''s right handed dagger viciously swiping towards his throat. He swung downwards with his sword at full force, hoping to overcome her with brute strength and throw her backwards.


    Fight or die, that was the law of the barren lands, the man had to adhere to this rule and protect himself even though he was mesmerized by the red hair beauty.


    Clang! the sword and dagger met with a deafening clash ... there was a bright and blinding white flash ... Zhi Ruo rotated her blade out to the right with precision upon contact.


    The sword that was twice the size of the dagger shattered to pieces, sending metal shards flying everywhere like sparks on a christmas sparkler ... the shocked man over-rotated and stumbled back.


    Rapidly blinking and screaming for help, he was trying to clear the bright after-image of the flash from his eyes, leaving himself wide open to a counter-attack.


    "Trash!" Zhi Ruo snorted, how could she allow the others to come to his aid. She took a step forward then one to the right, keeping within range and manoeuvring to the mans blindside.


    The blade in Zhi Ruo''s left hand came whipping at the man again. Swoosh... This time his head flew through the air and fell like the loose petal of a blooming flower.


    She was left standing in a pose with blades extended on the other side of the headless body, it spurted a shower of blood and ran for a couple more steps before falling to the cracked floor.


    Her move was elegance and savagery in equal measure.


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    "Guo Jang!" The three remaining hooded figures hollered out the name of their comrade in shock, hardly believing their eyes as they watched the familiar man''s head rolling like a ball across the scene.


    "Trash will always be trash." Zhi Ruo turned her head and stated in contempt.


    The hooded men went red with rage and anger.


    "How dare you! I will beat you half to death then play with you till you exhale your final breath" Shouted the leader in a cold tone.


    The three enraged men thirsty for immediate revenge drew their weapons, with a surge of different elemental powers they began swiftly advancing towards Zhi Ruo kicking up a storm of dust and pebbles with their killing intent rising to the heavens.


    "That''s enough." Hartley spoke sternly whilst stretching out an open palm towards the men, then he closed it into a fist.


    The men rushing forward came to an instant bone crunching halt in their tracks as if they had run headlong into a brick wall. A translucent sphere surrounded the men and pressure assaulted them from all sides.


    Squealing like pigs, the three panicking men were suddenly jolted down by an unseen force, they hit the ground like a bomb with an explosion that sent brown sprays of the hard ground and shattered rocks flying out.


    One man hit the ground so fast that his head exploded into messy red pulp with brain matter splattering everywhere.


    The sounds of broken bones echoed as the two remaining men screamed and thrashed painfully like wild animals trapped in a small cage.


    They made human shaped indents into the earth as if they were trees being planted. Dust and dirt tumbled across the chaotic scene until things quieted down.


    Hartley looked over to Zhi Ruo and asked, "are you ok?" as he walked forward.


    Zhi Ruo admired her new blades and answered "yes," with a smile as she pulled her hood back over her head, concealing her beautiful face and flowing red hair once again.


    Hartley shook his head, he released the pressure on the men and retracted his sphere.


    When the dust settled, one man was headless, the other laid twisted and mangled in an unnatural position, his body kept twitching and blood flowed freely from every orifice on his face, within seconds he was lifeless.


    The last was a blood-streaked man who looked older than the sand in the desert. His dried and wrinkled skin sagged across his face like old leather on a worn out bag.


    He grimaced in pain and kept scooting backwards on his butt with the whites of his eyes bulging in fright as the couple approached him.


    Nursing a few broken bones and several bloody wounds the durable old man did something unexpected as they got closer. He stammered out a single phrase towards Hartley....


    "Master please spare my life I am willing to serve you." as he managed to bow his head in submission.


    Hartley was taken aback for a bit, he half-expected to be barraged with threats and name-dropping, "seems like there was no shame or honour in the barren lands." Hartley thought to himself.


    "Good, you can be our guide." Hartley said coldly.****


    Even though the scorching sun was a constant fixture in the sky, the barren lands still had a gloomy grey outlook, trees were scarce and when one saw one, it was always leaf-less and withered. It was like something was sucking the life from the land.


    Hartley and Zhi Ruo made their way deeper south into the barren lands with the old man hobbling twenty meters ahead. The man was visibly nervous as he kept warning that they shouldn''t head into the sacred grounds of the beast-men.


    After seeing the destination on Hartley''s map he had tried his best to convince Hartley to turn back as sweat washed his entire body.


    Pledging his loyalty to Hartley and becoming his servant was only a ploy by the wily old man to preserve his life, for the time being he had to follow orders unconditionally.


    The man held hopes of recovering his strength, taking revenge, and gaining his freedom when the inexperienced young man were to let his guard down. "Those youngsters have to sleep at some point," the old man was scheming to himself.


    Only to later make the dreaded discovery that Hartley was headed for the sacred grounds of the beast-men and himself was the one leading the intrusion.


    The old man''s head almost exploded with frustration, when one fled from society to the barren lands they tended to stay on the outskirts and vye for resources with the other outlaws.


    Only the people who wanted to eradicate the beast-men or those greedy men convinced that there were hidden treasures within the beast-men tribes would ever venture into the heart of the beast-men territory, and none of them ever returned.


    There was sure death ahead and a monster trailing on his heels behind. The old man glimpsed back over his shoulder at the young couple and shuddered. if he was to try and escape that would only result in a quicker death so he kept moving forward nervously.


    After a while scant villages began to appear, the buildings were made from wood and had what appeared to be straw roofs. These villages had no walls or fences, just a smattering of buildings huddled together. There seemed to be people moving about but Hartley couldn''t see anything specific.


    After reaching within 50 meters of one of the villages, Hartley felt a strong stab of danger down his spine.


    Immediately Hartley''s sphere covered himself and Zhi Ruo twinkling with blue flashes of light, in an instant they floated back 20meters scattering dust everywhere.


    A shadow outlined in a green glow flashed out from somewhere unknown, by the time the hobbling old man realised what was happening, he was being blasted by a huge fist outlined in a brown glow..


    It was as if the old man was blasted off the planet, there was a hefty thud and pieces of him were sent flying in every direction and out of sight. His demise was so quick that he couldn''t even make a sound.


    A growling bare-chested beast-man toting a spear now stood at the spot the old man once occupied.


    This was Hartley''s first time seeing a beast-man, he was a hulking 3 meters tall and stood upright like a human. The intimidating beast-man was covered in golden fur up to his neck and had facial features similar to a lion.

 134 The Sacred grounds Rough draf

    Dust sputtered beneath them in chaos as Hartley landed softly with Zhi Ruo in his embrace. The sun was beginning to dip to the west, losing some of its lustre and elevating the dreary gloom of the evening.


    Finger sized cracks were spread all over the terrain, the hard dry ground resembled shattered glass under Hartley and Zhi Ruo''s feet.


    The wind blew across the barren lands with its sparse wildlife and scant vegetation, fluttering the robes of the couple who stood in a landscape of desolation staring at the massive beast-man with apprehensive eyes.


    Forty meters away the beast-man dressed in a skirt made of beast pelt stood his ground, standing with his spear that was at least four meters tall held upright.


    A small bloodstain at his feet was the only reminder left of the old man who had been involuntarily leading the way.


    Locking eyes onto the couple with a dark glare, the beast-man with his huge shadow looming behind him at an angle, crouched in an attack posture and growled viciously.


    The low pitched throaty sound rumbled like a jet coming over the horizon at low speed. His bloodshot squinted eyes portraying his vicious intentions towards the humans.


    "Hartley." Zhi Ruo''s voice almost cracked as she spoke, then there was a silence. She wanted to suggest turning around and leaving, the sight of the hulking beast-man sent chills down her spine.


    It was also Zhi Ruo''s first time seeing a beast-man and now she understood why the old man was scared shitless, he had a right to be.


    Hartley held her closer in reassurance, she swallowed down her timid words and trusted in her husband''s judgement.


    "Don''t worry Ruo. Nothing will happen to us," Hartley whispered.


    Hartley didn''t fear anyone below the saint realm but he would rather not engage in battle with the beast-man, he was hopeful of finding a peaceful way of getting pass. Humans entering the barren lands already had a bad reputation, Hartley didn''t want to make it worse.


    The silent stand-off lasted for several tense moments.


    "I am Drago, guardian of the Loski tribe." The beast-man spoke the language of the Aldora continent perfectly as he thumped the butt of his spear into the ground sending pieces of earth flying.


    "All human invaders will be slaughtered, not one of you warmongers who come to rob, kill and pillage will be spared."


    The silence was broken by the thundering voice of the beast-man as he pointed his spear at the couple with aggression. His deep voice rumbled through the air like a mythical god as he pushed out his chest with pride.


    Peeling back the hood of his robe and exposing his face to the beast-man Hartley replied, "We mean you no har..."


    Before Hartley could finish,


    Drago performed a quick set of finger gestures with his left hand.


    The dormant wind elements in the air was summoned to him instantly, a burst of bright green light wrapped around his massive silhouette as he pushed off with his left foot, cracking the ground and leaving a massive footprint in the hard earth behind as he shot forward like a bullet.


    He leapt through the air on a stream of green light, growling and baring his sharp fangs catapulting towards the couple with spear outstretched.


    The wind moaned and whistled, dust whipped around in a frenzy behind the giant beast-man who moved as swift as a canary freed from its cage..


    Hartley held Zhi Ruo with one arm, both were enclosed in the translucent sphere that twinkled with blue flashes of light intermittently .


    It was startling how fast the massive beast-man was closing the distance, it was like seeing an elephant fly.


    Hartley hadn''t seen anyone below the saint realm with such blistering pace.


    Manipulating gravity Hartley quickly floated backwards at speed within his sphere, holding Zhi Ruo close with his left hand and manoeuvring out of range. Hoping to not aggravate the situation further.


    The spear made from the bone of what must have been a gigantic creature, came screaming through the air aimed at Hartley''s chest.


    Seeing the couple trying to retreat the enraged beast-man outlined in shimmering green had flung his spear at them with lightning speed, even worse was that he wasn''t far behind the spear and closing in fast.


    Hartley engaged his state of focus, time around him slowed to one tenth of its normal speed. His blue elemental long sword extended from the palm of his free hand liked a light sabre.


    With a flash of blue, Hartley''s sword came down vertically in a straight line slicing through the full length of the bone spear like tofu. A fountain of sparks burst into the air as the massive bone spear separated in two.


    Both halves went peeling away in opposite directions, one half went zipping by Zhi Ruo''s left and the other flew by on Hartley''s right and went crashing into the earth behind.


    The bone spear had distracted Hartley long enough for the beast-man to get within range of the sphere.


    With some quick gestures of his left hand, this time the dormant earth elements came to life as they were summoned to the beast-man, outlining his massive right fist with brown flash of light.


    Hartley and Zhi Ruo was still retreating in the sphere when it suddenly turned to solid blue in defense, a split second later the fist as big as two cinder blocks landed.


    A sudden flash of light dyed the evening in blue accompanied by a thunderous boom, the fist rammed into the sphere warping its shape.


    Blue sparks went flying from the point of contact into the air and raining back to the floor like confetti.


    Wavy lines rippled and swirled around on the sphere as it wobbled and went rifling back with Zhi Ruo''s screams echoing out.


    The sphere came to a halt in a cloud of dust one hundred meters later, turning translucent again exposing its occupants.


    Zhi Ruo was white as milk, her eyes wide as she gasped for air and staggered into Hartley''s arm as if she had been on a theme park roller coaster ride.


    The beast-man growled to sky with unfiltered rage seeing them unharmed and came dashing forward again, flowing through the air with a steak of green trailing his silhouette.


    Immediately Hartley made a decision while supporting the flustered Zhi Ruo. There would be no bargaining with the beast-men. He wouldn''t put Zhi Ruo in harm''s way again.


    The animosity and hatred between beast-men and humans couldn''t be resolved with dialogue right now. The hatred visible in the eyes of Drago couldn''t be reasoned with..


    As the massive beast-man closed in again, a gravity pulse was ejected from Hartley''s sphere. A circular blue wave surged out with Hartley and Zhi Ruo at the centre, moving outwards like an extending halo sweeping the ground clean and shattering any obstacles to dust.


    250 gs slammed into the airborne beast-man, the pulse flung him aside like a rag doll with a deafening howl of pain.


    The massive beast-man pitched and bounced along the ground sending chunks of earth exploding out and a huge dustcloud scattering. He slid to a stop creating a huge trench in his wake.


    There was a commotion in the nearby village, more beast-men from the small village gathered in the distance shouting in panic for other beast-men warriors to join the fray.


    "Stay safe," Hartley said to Zhi Ruo who was regaining her composure. Ice blue mist surged around is body twirling end over end. He took a step forward and disappeared.


    Hartley re-emerged from a spatial crack at the side of the beast-man.


    Drago roared in defiance as he jumped back to his feet with a shower of pebbles and dirt falling from his golden fur.


    He summoned the earth elements again for maximum defence in close quarters combat. His giant frame was suddenly covered in a bright brown glow as he prepared to use his physical strength to crush the human.


    Unfortunately he would be on the receiving end of the combat ...


    The colour bled away from the dreary barren lands, the gloom of the infertile and bleak surroundings replaced by the sharp black and white of an old canvas painting. This was monochrome. Hartley''s time domain.


    The bulky beast-man was frozen in time along with dust and debris falling from his tangled fur. The chaotinc scene came to a stand-still void of any movement or sound.


    Hartley didn''t hesitate.


    Hartley''s height only reach about his abdomen, Hartley delivered a punch using compressed circulation technique to the side of the beast-man. There were three flashes of blue that lit up Hartley''s time domain.


    The punch landed.. Rib bones shattered with an audible crunch, the beast-man more than twice the size of Hartley went flying out.


    Time restarted as the beast-man howled to the heavens in pain, he was blasted back puking up a mouthful of blood.


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    When his massive body landed 20 meters away the earth shook with tremendous force. A wooden building in the village 50 meters away immediately collapsed, sending a few beast-men scurrying.


    There was an eruption of dirt, stones and flakes of the hard ground that rose 50 meters into the sky, blotting out the evening sunshine and creating a massive shadow on the lands below.


    When the dust cleared there was silence, the beast-men gathered at the nearby village were shocked into disbelief, laid in a ten meter crater was Drago the mighty beast-man warrior with his golden fur bloodied and blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.


    The beast-man had taken a heavy beating, his chest rose up and down in laboured breathing. One arm lay crooked, obviously broken


    He looked up at Hartley with hatred filled eyes.


    He had survived eight decades of incursions by radicals from the human race crusading into the barren lands and now in defeat he was deflated by the shame, he prepared for a warrior''s death at the hands of one of the despicable humans.


    The young cubs and females of his village would be mercilessly slaughtered if other beast-men warriors didn''t arrive in time was all he could think about as he waited for death.


    The battle could have been won with Drago''s death but Hartley had no deep rooted hatred for the beast-men, it was humans who constantly invaded their lands trying to eradicate them.


    Hartley couldn''t have expected the beast-man to differentiate him from the other men who had rampaged through the barren lands on a murderous mission of ethnic cleansing.


    Zhi Ruo removed her hood revealing her beauty as she walked over looking at the beast-man with sympathy.


    "We really didn''t come meaning you any harm, please forgive us were only looking for somewhere." She said.


    The beast-man growled in frustration and turned his face away with a single tear running down his cheek.


    "Come on let''s go Ruo." Hartley saw that beast-men reinforcements had finally arrived and were rushing over from the distance****


    Night in the barren lands was a stark contrast to day, the hard ground reflected the faint moonlight. Temperatures dropped drastically, not enough to affect the couple but the difference was definitely noticeable.


    Hartley and Zhi Ruo roamed the dark wilderness, avoiding all villages and patrols, After carefully trekking for hours they came upon one of the largest beast-men villages they had seen so far.


    On his short time spent in the barren lands Hartley had learned that not all beast-men were 3 meters tall like Drago.


    Some had the dimensions of the average human while others were evens smaller.


    The guardian''s at the villages on the outskirts of the barren lands were beast-men warriors like Drago, they were specially trained beast-men assigned to protect those whose status weren''t high and were forced to live further away from the sacred grounds.


    The village facing Hartley was where the x was written on the map. This village had huge beast-men protecting it on all sides even at night.


    At the back of the village there was a huge rocky basin. It had a huge weather-worn stone statue facing the village. Standing At least 50 meters the statue depicted the figure of a beast-man donning a crown and holding a sword.


    This was the sacred grounds of the beast-men and the entry to the pocket dimension.

 135 The Other Side

    Under the faint bluish-white glow of the distant moon, Hartley and Zhi Ruo stood on a outcropping of rocks observing the large beast-men village.


    It was a quiet night, the whispering wind swept gently through the cold night air. There wasn''t much movement in the village except for the patrolling beast-men.


    "We have to go there," Hartley pointed towards the huge weather-beaten statue situated on the other side of the village.


    Zhi Ruo tensed involuntarily, the gentle wind fluttered a few strands of her loose crimson hair.


    She watched the distant beast-men patrols weave through the many wooden structures and thought of the battle with Drago.


    "Can all those beast-men use the elements like Drago?" she asked as the patrols of the gigantic beast-men snaked through and around the periphery of the wooden buildings and disappeared from sight.


    "I think so," Hartley replied, "it''s called spell-weaving, but Drago seemed to be limited to using only the wind and earth elements."


    Zhi Ruo turned her head to look at Hartley with concern. The soft glow of the moon outlined her beautiful profile, brightening the silhouette of her face exposed to the soft beams of moonlight.


    "You mean those beast-men down there might be able to use more elements than Drago?" she asked with a hint of nerves.


    "Maybe, but I think they''re definitely stronger than Drago. " Hartley solemnly answered as he turned to meet her eyes, the profiles of both their faces were inches apart and outlined in the soft glow of the moonlight.


    The beauty of the husband and wife standing face to face in the dark wilderness was a spectacle out of place with the dreary backdrop of the desolate barren lands.


    Hartley smiled at her lovingly, instantly releasing the tension he could sense within her.


    "Do you believe in me Ruo?" He asked.


    Zhi Ruo inhaled the crisp night air and her whole body relaxed, she trusted Hartley with her life, how could she doubt him after coming this far?


    She leaned in with a kiss.


    "Of course I do."


    *****


    The couple stopped at the edge of the village, stretching out his awareness Hartley led them east towards a flaw in the patrol pattern.


    They halted at a small building, waiting for a team of beast-men to move north on what he determined was their predestined route.


    From Kang, Hartley had learned that the beast-men had no natural affinity to the elements so he wasn''t worried about them discovering Zhi Ruo through her elemental fluctuations.


    They continued stealthily on a winding path through the dark village and towards the statue.


    After half an hour of lurking between buildings, timing the patrol routes and avoiding any random encounters with the villagers. The couple finally set foot onto the huge rocky basin and faced the huge beast-man statue in the dark.


    It was eerily empty and silent, the patrols didn''t dare to encroach on this part of the village. This was their sacred grounds.


    The antiquity of the statue could not be denied, being open to the weather for countless years had taken a toll. The face of the statue was not recognizable, clearly worn down by the wind over a passage of time.


    The beast-man statue stood with pride, chest out and chin up with a large crown perched on his head while grasping a long sword in its right hand.


    Hartley carefully looked around for the entrance to the pocket dimension.


    It was nowhere in sight. He searched around the statue and out in the open but nothing seemed out of place, worse of all there were no elemental fluctuations anywhere that he could sense.


    Just as he began a second sweep of the area.....


    Fooststeps sounded out, "How dare you violate our sacred grounds!" A voice thundered out from the dark.


    A beast man covered in black scales made his way onto the rocky basin. He was huge, bigger than Drago by a couple heads.


    The beast-man made some quick finger gestures with his left hand. A white orb flew upwards from his right hand and the world exploded with brilliant light. A shadow of the royal beast-man statue was casted back over the length of the village.


    Zhi Ruo gasped as she tured away from the blinding light, unlike Hartley this was her first time witnessing a light rune.


    The light almost turned the night to day and reflected off of the beast-man''s jet black scales.


    He had a face like a Rhino with massive overgrown horn sticking from his forehead measuring at least 8 inches in size.


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    Black interlocking scales covered the length of his body like a full suit of black plated armour.


    This beast-man who carried no weapon was leaps and bounds above Drago''s capabilities.


    The air tingled with power as he strode across the basin. It was as if the elements in the air were dancing with glee around the beast-man.


    This was a gold tier spell-weaver, this beast-man had power comparable to an elemental saint....


    Hartley''s mood was bleak, he suddenly understood why no one crusading into the barren lands trying to eradicate the beast-men ever returned.


    It was because the beast-men had hidden warriors who were above the xiantian realm.


    Only a collection of saints would have a chance of eradicating the beastmen, a few hateful and overconfident xiantian experts would only venture to their demise in the barren lands.


    Hartley was sure that if he had been in the barren lands killing beast-men wantonly, he would have been confronted by one these powerful beast-men long ago...


    Zhi Ruo quickly had her daggers out, ready to confront the threat. She was about to move forward.


    "Ruo let me handle this."


    Hartley stepped out quickly and stood in front of her.


    She snorted and retreated behind.


    There was no way he could battle the powerful beast-man and protect Zhi Ruo at the same time. The shockwaves alone from such a battle would turn her to dust.


    Wracking his brain for a solution Hartley thought about his black energy sphere, he immediately dismissed the thought, Zhi Ruo wouldn''t survive that blast either...


    " Soon you two filthy humans are going to be begging for death, but that will be a slow process that I will enjoy."


    The black scaled beast-man growled out a statement like a cat that had cornered two rats. He made his way over the rocky ground with authority oozing from his demeanour.


    Pandemonium was breaking loose within the village as all types of shouting and growls could be heard.


    It seemed like the entirety of the village was roused from slumber and rushing to the bright light over the basin like moths to a flame..


    Hartley gritted his teeth in frustration, he had to abandon the search for the pocket dimension, escape was the only viable option now.


    Enclosing himself and Ruo in his sphere for protection, he brought down his full 250 gs of gravitational downforce onto the rocky basin...


    He had to create a big distraction then try to slip away during the confusion.


    With a bang that shook the ground like an earthquake the rocky basin juddered.


    Cracks immediately began to appear flinging dust and debris upwards through the white light.


    The scaled beast-man was caught off guard by the sudden impact. He staggered back as he was pushed down by the force of gravity, spider web cracks crawled and spread out below his feet sounding like shallow ice cracking on a frozen lake.


    Huge fissures began to open up and down the length of the rocky basin.


    Zhi Ruo trembled and held on to Hartley tighter. Some of the force was negated by the the floating sphere but not all, she had beads of sweat racing down her forehead as she watched the destruction in amazement.


    A loud rumble echoed out in the barren lands as the rocky basin began to collapse underfoot. Sending dust and sprays of shattered stones flying in all direction.


    The royal beast-man statue that had probably stood for hundreds of years, leaned one way then rocked the other before it came crashing down like an old sky scraper building demolished with dynamite.


    Hartley quickly floated to the left and out of the way of the falling granite statue.


    The statue fell face first onto the rocky basin and shattered with a huge bang that echoed out for miles, stone shrapnel flew out like bullets, indiscriminately injuring those rushing to the scene.


    The black scaled beast-man disappeared from sight with the royal stone statue as the whole rock basin imploded in on itself with a massive hellraising crash.


    Hartley and Zhi Ruo floated above the collapsing ground in the sphere twinkling with flashes of blue and watched the basin and statue disappinearing under ground.


    A mushroom cloud of dust engulfed everything and rose half a mile into the sky, swallowing the light rune that was floating above and returning the night to its former darkness.


    Just as Hartley was about to grab Zhi Ruo and make a run for it. A pulse of blue light flashed from the star tattoo on his chest.....


    **********


    There was a massive roar from within the suffocating dust below the surface of the basin, a whirlwind of green lights surged out as it seems like all the wind elements in the vicinity were summoned below.


    Tornado-like winds whistled and whirred, pushing back a portion of the lingering dust-cloud and debris back above ground.


    The black scaled beast-man shot back to surface in an explosion of green lights and floated above the basin on a cushion of wind elements.


    The village was in utter chaos, there was growling and screams of pain, some bawled out in shock after seeing the destruction of the sacred grounds.


    The black scaled beast-man surveyed the horrific scene with eyes radiating utter hate as he searched for the filthy humans.


    When he saw the missing statue of the first king of the beast-men, he howled to the heavens with bloodshot eyes.


    "This act of desecrating the scared grounds is unforgivable, I''m going to skin you filthy humans alive," the beast-man shouted to the moon before diving back into rubble in search of the humans.....


    ************


    After the beast-man was swept away with the statue, without hesitation Hartley hugged Zhi Ruo close and dived down below into the rubble and dust of the collapsed basin.


    There was a maze of winding tunnels saturated with thick dust below the basin that led in various directions.


    Hartley scampered to the northwest, he was sure his blue star fragment was resonating with the gate to the pocket dimension.


    Booms and cries of frustration echoed out from behind as the scaled beast-man gave chase. It sounded like a bulldozer was breaking through every piece of rubble behind him.


    Soon Hartley reached a dark dead end. His tattoo was pulsing quickly with a blazing blue light that was visible through his robe and the thick dust.


    Hartley gave Zhi Ruo in his embrace a gloomy look, he wasn''t afraid of the beast-man, he was sure he could hold his own.


    It was Zhi Ruo that concerned him. If they were cornered in this dead end cave, the first exchange of blows between him and the beast-man would mean certain death for Ruo.


    There was nothing special in the cave but his star tattoo was still flashing in a frenzy. Hartley held Zhi Ruo and walked over to the wall.....


    There was an almighty ruckus outside, it sounded like the neighbouring caves were collapsing, swirling dust came flying into the cave. Hartley knew it was the beast-man coming.


    Hartley inspected the wall for a second. There was nothing special about it either.


    He looked at Zhi Ruo who looked scared and said "Ruo I love you."


    Before she could answer he extended his left hand and touched the wall..


    It immediately felt like his guts were being wringed inside out, the horrifying screams of Zhi Ruo next to him sent chills down his spine.


    His chest felt tight as if an anvil was sitting on it as he tried to suck in breaths.


    Both of his eyes bulged to the size of golf balls and was about to pop clean from their sockets.


    Just when he was about to pass out, the pressure suddenly disappeared....

 138 Elementals and Spell-weavers rough draf

    The red and yellow hues of the twilight sun slid behind the horizon and winked out of sight, the transition from day to night was almost instant.


    Luckily the pitch darkness of night was kept at bay by the mild moonlight sprinkling over the scenery.


    The path through the wild weeds and stones were barely illuminated by the glow of the distant full moon.


    The wagon, now commandeered by Hartley and the others, rattled forward at low speed over the hard bumpy ground littered with shattered rocks.


    Sat behind Hartley who was driving the wagon, were the two girls huddled together, wincing as the wagon wobbled over the rough bumps..


    Zhi Ruo was on the opposite side with her back against the side boards.


    The ride through the dark and windless night was far from comfortable, at times the sudden jolts of the wagon felt unbearable on the rump.


    The two girls kept exchanging looks of uncertainty, choosing to keep their silence. Wondering if they had jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire.


    "How much further?" Zhi Ruo asked softly, finally breaking the silence.


    Without giving an answer the freckled face girl who spoke of the old language, pointed towards a dark sprawling forest about half a mile ahead.


    From that point on, the silence of the night was only disturbed by the wheels of the wagon grinding over stones or the occasional howling of a beast...


    Eventually, after abandoning the wagon, the group were standing at a treeline of giant trees standing tall like soldiers protecting their domain, their canopies disappearing high into the darkness.


    "There," the girl said as she pointed at a narrow path leading into the imposing forest.


    The twisting vines, shadows and weeds, weaved together around the inky profile of the footpath as if it was the mouth of a giant beast.


    The girl inhaled sharply, she had been non talkative ever since Hartley had asked her to lead them to the other people, obviously suspicious about the pair''s motives.


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    To Be Continued Soon..

 138 Elementals and Spell-weavers Full

    The red and yellow hues of the twilight sun slid behind the horizon and winked out of sight, the transition from day to night was almost instant.


    Luckily the pitch darkness of night was kept at bay by the mild moonlight sprinkling over the scenery.


    The path through the wild weeds and stones were barely illuminated by the glow of the distant full moon.


    The wagon, now commandeered by Hartley and the others, rattled forward at low speed over the hard bumpy ground littered with shattered rocks.


    Sat behind Hartley who was driving the wagon, were the two girls huddled together, wincing as the wagon wobbled over the rough bumps..


    Zhi Ruo was on the opposite side with her back against the side boards.


    The ride through the dark and windless night was far from comfortable, at times the sudden jolts of the wagon felt unbearable on the rump.


    The two girls kept exchanging looks of uncertainty, choosing to keep their silence. Wondering if they had jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire.


    "How much further?" Zhi Ruo asked softly, finally breaking the silence.


    Without giving an answer the freckled face girl who spoke of the old language, pointed towards a dark sprawling forest about half a mile ahead.


    From that point on, the silence of the night was only disturbed by the wheels of the wagon grinding over stones or the occasional howling of a beast...


    Eventually, after abandoning the wagon, the group were standing at a treeline of giant trees standing tall like soldiers protecting their domain, their canopies disappearing high into the darkness.


    "There," the girl said as she pointed at a narrow path leading into the imposing forest.


    The twisting vines, shadows and weeds, weaved together around the inky profile of the footpath as if it was the mouth of a giant beast.


    The girl inhaled sharply, she had been non talkative ever since Hartley had asked her to lead them to the other people, obviously suspicious about the pair''s motives.


    As soon as the group stepped foot onto the narrow path leading into the forest, the moon and its mild light seemed to completely disappear. Leaving only suffocating darkness and the claustrophobic cluster of trees surrounding the group.


    Hartley and Zhi Ruo moved cautiously behind the girls, staying close while keeping a keen watch for any predators that might be lurking quietly in the shadows.


    The group made surprisingly quick progress through the darkness. Despite the tenseness of the situation, the girls led the way with intimate familiarity through the maze of trees and tangled vines, their practiced steps quiet and steady.


    Hartley could make out the dark outline of the route ahead but could not see the details of the winding path. He couldn''t help but have flashbacks of the dark void he had been trapped in before coming to the pocket dimension.


    After another fifteen minutes of walking through the tranquil darkness, they came to a flat open area. Hartley noticed that he could no longer hear the occasional howling of beasts. He wasn''t so sure that was a good thing.


    The girls unperturbed, led them deeper west, passing a narrow path through two huge rock faces. On the other side of the rocks, the trees were less dense, scattered streams of the moonlight could once again be seen cascading through the gaps overhead and the ground was covered in weeds.


    Suddenly shuffled footsteps sounded from the shadowy treeline. Hartley and Zhi Ruo tensed, ready to defend themselves.


    After quickly taking cover and standing still for several moments, the girls seemed to recognise something and breathed a sigh of relief. Their bodies visibly relaxed as they exhaled.


    The freckled face young girl spoke aloud towards the shadows in the unfamiliar language, after fifteen seconds three men walked into sight with weapons drawn.


    The dark silhouettes of the men moved forward cautiously, eyeing Hartley and Zhi Ruo, the girls looked back at Hartley nervously and he nodded at them with a smile.


    They then ran forward to meet the newcomers. After a heated debate with one of the men in the foreign language, the freckled face girl turn to the duo and then said "follow us, we need to go see grandpa."


    ****


    The sun rose, spreading its warmth and light over a shabby settlement located deep in the forest.


    The busy inhabitants of the town moved with haste and military discipline to complete their tasks.


    Hartley awoke beside Zhi Ruo in what looked like an abandoned building. The roof of the concrete building was intact, but the sidewalls were completely missing, replaced with sheets of fabric. The ambient sounds of the unfamiliar language was being voiced by numerous people outside, some passing by, while others were obviously posted outside as guards.


    A calm Hartley and Zhi Ruo washed up with a bucket of fresh water delivered earlier by a couple kids.


    After waiting patiently for half an hour, a voice from outside announced the arrival of the town''s Patriarch.


    An old man followed by a couple attendants entered the improvised dwelling soon after.


    Hartley could instantly feel it, the old man was certainly an elemental saint. Based on what Kang had told him Hartley expected to meet spell-weavers in the pocket dimension.


    "Welcome to Cambridge, I''m Wushang," the old man greeted with a pleasant and amiable smile.


    His aged face was filled with natural folds and furrows. His lively eyes sparkled and his short white beard matched the colour of the thinning hair nesting on his head.


    "Tea?" the man offered, after speaking to his attendants in the unfamiliar language, obviously dismissing them as they bowed to the old man and retreated from the room.


    Zhi Ruo stayed quiet as she observed the man make a table with tea and cups appear in the middle of the room from nowhere.


    "Its such a relief to see and speak to other people," said Hartley as him and Zhi Ruo followed the old man to sit in the lotus position around the small table.


    "And someone who knows what happened here." Zhi Ruo added.


    "Firstly, thank you for taking care of my granddaughter and her friend." Wushang gave a slight bow.


    "That was nothing," Hartley answered and waved a hand as if the matter was trivial.


    "How long have you been here?"


    The old man asked with his perfect Aldoran accent as he lent forward and poured the steaming tea into the cups.


    "This is our third year." Answered Hartley as he received his cup of the hot liquid.


    The old man nodded as he sipped.


    "So what really happened here?" Hartley couldn''t resist asking again.


    The old man shrugged with a sigh and a rueful smile placing his cup back on the table.


    "The same as always, men seeking power and forsaking all else. I''m sure you''re no stranger to that concept."


    " Our calamity lasted for two decades in the form of a war for supremacy between the spell-weavers and elementals, in the end both sides were almost eradicated. The few left on both sides has to pick up the pieces and rebuild a once flourishing world from the ashes."


    The old man''s head panned around the delapidated surroundings and a sigh escaped his lips involuntarily.


    "Most of the former world''s knowledge and technology were lost with the destruction of the preeminent cities."


    The conversation continued in its somber tone until Hartley inquired how the man spoke Aldoran and no one else but his granddaughter.


    The old man flashed a smile before answering.


    "Someone from the other side brought us elemental cultivation a long time ago and taught us the old language in the process, me and my granddaughter happen to be direct descendants, so we were taught the old language from our ancestors."


    "Do you know how to get back to the other side?" Hartley asked.


    After a quick thought, the old man stated bluntly, "you''re not strong enough, not yet anyway."


    He then continued...


    " In the dangerous lands of the spell-weavers there''s a place where one could cross but you at present wouldn''t be able to, not to mention carrying someone else with you."


    Before Hartley or Zhi Ruo could enquire further details, the old man dropped some more info.


    "The good news is that three years on this side is only three days on the other side, so you might have to stay and practice on this side until you''re strong enough to cross. I predict it might not take you ten years."


    Hartley thought as much, the reason Kang had suggested this trip was to give Hartley ample time to cultivate into sainthood before King Yulan''s second attempt at ascending.


    Hartley then asked, "you seem strong enough why do you wallow in this broken world?"


    The old man laughed before answering.


    "Its a pity we all can''t pack up and leave this broken dimension, but all of us who were born here would age rapidly and die of old age within two weeks on the other side.

 139 Return.

    An explosion of blue sparks and particles cleaved through the evening sky and tinted everything blue for a split second. That phenomenon was followed by debris and wildlife scattering in chaos like a cave full of bats disturbed in slumber.


    A mature Hartley outlined with a blue glow stood in the sky, his hair dancing with the wind like a Greek god.


    There was no longer any need for the translucent sphere around his body to help him defy the laws of gravity. Gravity was now his domain, with a flex of his muscles the space around his clenched fist wobbled.


    Laying on the ground beneath his feet was the corpse of a giant beast bleeding from its eyes, the hard ground beneath it shattered into gravelly bits no bigger a pea.


    "Are you in control now?" Zhi Ruo walked up from the distant treeline in the wilderness and questioned Hartley who had his eyes closed as if in deep contemplation.


    She had kept her distance and nervously witnessed his spectacular breakthrough that almost painted the world blue. A beast the size of a dinosaur had tried a sneak attack in the midst of his breakthrough but was killed with a simple wave of a hand.


    Hartley opened his shining sapphire eyes with a smile dancing on his lips as he floated back to the ground.


    "Let''s head back for today," he said as he looked up at the darkening sky. He hugged her and they disappeared leaving a flash of black energy in the space they formerly occupied.


    After ten years in the pocket dimension Hartley was finally a saint.


    The couple''s achievements on their journey through the pocket dimension wasn''t minor. They had learned the language of the land, though not flawless, they could at least communicate with the locals fluently.


    Roaming the dangerous lands of the spell-weavers they rose in cultivation levels as they faced off the massive beast or enemies.


    Zhi Ruo had raced up to the eighth layer of the xiantian realm without the help of a single elixir...


    A vertical slit opened in the fabric of space at the entrance of the village that they had taken refuge in.


    Black energy gushed out with thundering claps,a second later Hartley and Zhi Ruo were left standing as the dark energy puffed out of existence around them as if they were immune to raging energy.


    Frightened guards raced to the scene calling for back up holding weapons menacingly, the normal villagers ran for cover expecting an attack.


    Soon the old man appeared from thin air.


    Hartley had returned to the squalor where they had first met, the old man came out smiling.


    "You''ve broken through."


    "I had some luck." Hartley replied.


    Hartley had gotten his hands on a book of spell-weaving. It illustrated the hand signs and how to have resonance frequency with elements. But he couldn''t make heads or tails of it until today after his breakthrough.


    Since he''d taken control of his elemental on Kang''s estate but after traveling through the spatial cracks he had an unusual feeling of resonating with black energy.


    Zhi Ruo also had some success with the water elements in spell-weaving.


    Battle with a gold tier spell-weaver


    Figure out why time related powers don''t work.


    more details


    Return to Aidonia

 140 Back to Aldora

    Hartley and Zhi Ruo carefully headed west towards the Falcon mountain with the sun glimmering high behind their backs.


    Their elongated shadows travelled in front of their advancing figures like dark scouts gliding over the grassy terrain.


    The murmuring wind swept over the vast expanse of knee-high flora, making the sea of green stalks and leaves facing them lean forward in synchronisation.


    The couple had just arrived at the outer edges of the Falcon mountain range, they immediately started to make tracks through the field of swaying bushes, curving around the lake to their left and moving towards the spectacularly high mountain ahead.


    It was a beautiful scenery with a strange atmosphere.


    There wasn''t another human, beast or bird to be seen or heard anywhere in the vicinity. The only other living being visible were a few swarms of bees leisurely flying around and extracting nectar from their favourite flowers.


    It was like everyone knew this place was off limits, except for these two people disturbing the tranquility.


    "You ready?" Hartley put his arm around Zhi Ruo''s waist and pulled her into his embrace.


    "Yes, " Zhi Ruo replied with a slight blush as she faced the giant mountain that seemed to be formed from a combination of red and brown rocks.


    The rocky surfaces of the mountain stretched to the summit above the clouds, dotted with sharp jagged rocks jutting from the contours of the mountain''s spine.


    This place was about 10,000 miles away from the Cambridge camp.


    Traveling these sort of distances had become trivial to Hartley, it only took minutes to get here. Patriarch Wushang had pointed him in the right direction and he did the rest.


    Hartley finally understood the arrogance of a saint, his current capabilities were way beyond what he had imagined of a saint, no wonder they all seem to look down at the world with detached distaste.


    The couple moved shoulder to shoulder, carefully inspecting the area as they got closer to the mountain.


    Even this beautiful landscape wasn''t spared from the blemishes of the wars that raged here decades ago.


    Evidence of past battles were on full display. Scattered craters and gouges were dotted around, the biggest being a massive crater drilled into the side of the mountain itself.


    They soon reached the foot of the mountain without any issues. It was such a peaceful journey that it felt surreal.


    Looking up, the steep incline of the rocky mountain was almost 90 degrees vertical.


    The sheer scale of the mountain was astounding, its upper half was shrouded in clouds and seemed to puncture the sky.


    It was almost impossible for normal people to begin scaling this mountain, much less reaching its highest point.


    Even Zhi Ruo who was now at the eighth layer of the xiantian realm wouldn''t be able to reach the highest point on her own.


    Hartley looked in her eyes and said, "Its been too hard on you these last years Ruo but this is the final hurdle."


    Zhi Ruo smiled before answering, "I''m the one that chose to come, how can being by your side be too hard?"


    To which Hartley replied, "I love you."


    ...


    Hartley''s movement was crisp and sudden, almost invisible to the naked eye, he scooped up Zhi Ruo and leapt into air, disappearing in a spiralling flash of blue.


    Black energy in his spatial crack crackled and sizzled audibly, contrasted by the blue elemental power pin-wheeling around and protecting Zhi Ruo from any discomfort.


    Hartley''s newfound affinity to black energy ensured a trouble free trip to the top, within seconds of entering the spatial crack they had reached the top and were spat out onto a massive rocky plateau. Fully alert, sending out there awareness to scan ahead.


    There were swirling translucent ripples in the air like the aurora lights at the north pole. Numerous tendrils of pale mist wafted across the scene accompanied by the howling wind that rippled their robes, obscuring visibility making the surroundings somewhat blurry and indistinct.


    After a few minutes Hartley immediately had a weird feeling.


    This place was a zone his awareness could barely perceive.


    They waded forward through the wisps of gleaming fog.


    "Did you see someone?" Hartley stopped and asked seriously after a hostile presence flashed in his periphery.


    Zhi Ruo was moving just behind Hartley with her precious blades exposed to the warm air. She stopped and checked thoroughly.


    "No. Did you? I haven''t seen or sensed anything up here." Zhi Ruo replied while she scrunched her brows and tried to concentrate harder.


    Something was wrong, Hartley could feel his scalp tingling.


    His eyes and senses registered no danger at all, just like Zhi Ruo, all he saw were the fluffy clouds ahead, but his raw instincts were screaming at him in a panic.


    "Be careful Ruo." He shouted as he stopped them in place.


    Hartley''s mind churned with thoughts of danger and when the fog quivered and parted slightly on its own accord, he followed his instinct.


    Immediately he tried to engage monochrome, his time domain.


    Hartley''s instincts had gotten him to the saint realm and he trusted it far more than his eyes or his awareness.


    Instantly a headache started to wreak havoc through his brain, a stream of blood slowly trickled down his left nostril and loud vulgar curses flowed from his mouth.


    The constant droplets of blood expended from his nose, dripped towards the ground and splashed against the stone.


    It was only because he had become a saint that he could bare the pain through gritted teeth.


    Ever since his first few days in the pocket dimension when he had experimented with his time related powers -¨C and subsequently felt the head splitting effects -- he hadn''t even attempted to use his time related powers again since then.


    Hartley''s instincts told him that this was a now or never situation.


    The colour and sound slowly drained away from the plateau as the mists began churning frantically.


    The process was the slowest he''d ever experienced when implementing his time domain, the more colour removed from the world, the worse his headache got.


    Leading to more grunts and screams of pain.


    In the dim foggy atmosphere atop the Falcon mountain, Hartley gradually saw glimpses of a lone white silhouette struggling to move forward.


    As the colour and sound bled away further, the black and white image of the plateau became clearer.


    A young man barely visible and surrounded by the mist, was no more than 5 meters away holding a silver sword above his head poised to strike.


    It became evident that the stranger was seconds away from striking down his unwitting victims.


    The surprising thing was that Hartley and the stranger were now both having the same painful experience.


    Hartley''s screams of pain were matched by the man opposite him. They both stared at each other in this battle of will.


    The blonde had sweat pouring down his face and blood streaming from both nostrils. His whole body was trembling so much that he began losing grip of his sword.


    Streams of blood ran down to his upper lip and onto his clothes, creating a mess of his pristine white robe.


    The young man''s eyes were bulged in incredulity and his mouth was gaping open, either in disbelief, shock or pain.


    Which one exactly, Hartley couldn''t tell.


    Hartley too was filled with shock. They were both controlling time.


    Was this a time keeper?


    Hartley remembered Patriarch Lou from the Lou clan briefly telling him about his mother''s relation to the Time Keepers sect on the higher plane of Diyu.


    Was this young man the one controlling time in the pocket dimension?


    When Hartley was below the saint realm, any attempt to use his time related powers would result in a horrible headache that warped and distorted the pocket dimension around him to the point of him blacking out. It was as if the pocket dimension targeted him for even attempting to manipulate time.


    Since becoming a saint he seemed to be holding up better, at least better than the blonde across from him.


    Was he directly competing for the control of time with this guy?


    ...


    The blonde youth was cultivating atop the mountain when two ants distracted him.


    It had been many years since anyone has been so brazen in disturbing his peace, no one who had the gall to come up here has ever returned down the mountain.


    It was why this place was so peaceful, even the beasts and birds got the message.


    One has to understand that with his young man''s control over time, killing anyone in the pocket dimension was like cutting vegetables.


    He was practically invincible.


    Imagine his surprise when he was about to nonchalantly lop the heads of these people.


    His domain was broken unexpectedly and now he was vying for control of time with the opponent.


    ...


    Hartley had the upper hand in the stand off but he was beginning to have a dizzy spell, it felt like his head was about to explode into a million pieces.


    From his own experience with his gravity field, he knew it always counteracted his time domain, both powers couldn''t overlap, when one was active the other would deactivate and he was counting on this theory to be consistent.


    Hartley decided to quickly switch to his gravity domain.


    The blonde guy gasped out in relief as he regained control over time for a split second before puking up a mouthful of blood when his control was forcibly removed again.


    Hartley released a gravity pulse that covered the massive mountain, jerking the colossal mound of rock and sending huge rocks tumbling down the side.


    Zhi Ruo screamed as she stumbled to the side, everything happened so quickly, she saw a blonde man partially hidden in mist suddenly appear in front of them, then she was shaken off her feet before she could react.


    Sound and colour returned to the world and Hartley could hear the blonde guy screams mix with Zhi Ruo''s surprise yells.


    Hartley had granular control of the gravity around the whole mountain now.


    Meaning he could crush the whole mountain or he could make a single pebble float without affecting anything else. Nothing could enter or leave his gravity field if he didn''t permit it.


    Just as he thought, his gravity domain really negated the blonde guy time domain.


    500 gs of gravitational force slapped onto the blonde''s head.


    He felt the force down to his toes.


    It was like an electric shock to the system, he resembled a drunk as he staggered around drooling blood from the corner of his lip.


    "Who the hell are you?" He managed to ask, voice slurring and a tremble to its tone. He was struggling to keep his mind clear, with his head rocking back and forth like a new-born.


    Under the immense pressure, his feet dug deep into the rock, shattering the ground beneath him, sending rocks and dust flying up around him.


    The only thing he could do, was to defend blindly by dangling the silver sword in front of himself.


    That was when a fist outlined with dull crackling black light rammed into his chest.


    There was a flash of jet black and a deafening boom at the point of contact, spreading streaks of black sparks across his chest like ink smudges, this sequence was followed by a screech of pain.


    The pitiful man was flung to the side with a crunch, the whirling mist surrounding him instantly disappearing as he landed and gouges out another crater.


    Beams of volumetric sun light flooded down onto the plateau, scattering the fog and exposing the full length of the mountain''s summit.


    The man laid on his back wailing with a ghastly wound spurting blood over the ground.


    Hartley''s control of black energy through spell-weaving was crude but it still got the job done.


    "You will pay for this." The man squeezed out with menace before fishing out a scroll from his robe and ripping it in two.


    Instantly red light swallowed him and he disappeared from the mountain''s summit without a trace.


    Hartley was shocked and disappointed, he didn''t confirm the man''s identity.


    The good thing was now he could feel his affinity to time much stronger than it used to.


    Zhi Ruo rank back to Hartley''s side.


    "Was he a saint?" she asked as she checked his body and began to wipe away the blood from his nosebleed.


    "Yes." Hartley answerd, "I think he was from a higher plane, I was too careless and let him escape."


    "I the think we should leave as well." Zhi Ruo said nervously as she wrapped her arm around him.


    Approaching the aurora-like ripples dancing in the bright sunlight. The looked at each other then walked into the turbulent space.


    The world spun around them until they were nauseous and on the verge of passing out.


    Whoosh!


    The couple was greeted by the sweltering heat of the summer sun and hard cracked ground of the barren land, they were back on the Aldoran continent.

 141 Welcome back

    Tentacles of hot golden rays pelted down onto the shattered earth of the barren lands.


    Lines of deep cracks in the ground splintered and branched out in every direction, the crumbling top-layer of dirt formed a hexagonal mesh pattern spanning the length of the land.


    The wind propelled multiple small columns of spiralling dust-tornadoes across the lifeless, featureless landscape.


    Sending sprays of dust particles snaking through the atmosphere, giving everything a dreary outlook.


    A single withered tree with its peeling bark managed to stand proudly in this harsh landscape, albeit sloping drastically to the left.


    The parched tree measuring eight meters had lost all of its leaves, it stood alone on the horizon like a metaphor for survival in this extremely hot, harsh, and hostile environment.


    Twenty meters away from the slouched leaf-less tree, the air shimmered around two faintly visible people as their hazy silhouettes gradually became solid.


    Phew! Hartley exhaled as his feet hit the ground with a puff of dust, he staggered forward before regaining his balance.


    Both Hartley and Zhi Ruo took a few seconds to recalibrate as they wobbled around on spaghetti legs.


    Their moment of weakness passed quickly and the couple felt their strength return to its peak. Surpassing their former strength on the Aldoran continent by leaps and bounds.


    They stood in place for a while and recomposed themselves, grateful to avoid the experience of another brutal acclimation period like their time in the pocket dimension..


    Zhi Ruo huffed out a breath of relief towards the cloudless blue sky, releasing her tension and pent up emotions.


    "We''re back?" she uttered an unsure statement that sounded more like a question.


    "Yes Ruo, we''re finally back," Hartley said with a smile while he hugged her closely, they both felt a sense of relief and achievement. From their current perspective, the dreary barren land has never looked so good.


    The pocket dimension was a place of slaughter, one had to be combat ready at all times, it was a place without conscience or leisure.


    Living outdoors and permanently being in the path of danger improved cultivation and fighting ability quickly, the side effect is that it tended to tighten one''s nerves tremendously.


    Everyone was always on edge, a moment of carelessness could have dire consequences. The pressure could eventually become your undoing.


    It was great to be back on the continent.


    For the first time in years the couple could look forward to the comforts of their manor and reuniting with friends and supporters.


    Boom!


    Their relief was short lived.


    A presence of immense power was quickly moving their way, raising a storm of dust in its wake as it travelled through the barren land like a scud missile over the terrain.


    "You rats really have some nerve, you even dare to return after desecrating the royal statue of the beast-man king and our sacred ground."


    A thunderous voice filled with malice arrived from the distance.


    The air rippled and squirmed in front of the incoming dust trail.


    Twinkling lights glinted under the harsh sun as someone approached on a cloud of shimmering green.


    The person touched down onto the ground two hundred meters away and launched himself back into the sky immediately with another flash of green particles scattering behind.


    Although it wasn''t possible to fly with spell-weaving, a powerful spell-weaver with control of the wind element could launch themselves effortlessly over large distances.


    A fraction of a second later the Rhino-faced beast-man clad in black scales, thumped down onto the ground like an earthquake.


    His triangular interlocked scales that ran the length of his robust body, glistened, glinted and reflected the bright sunlight.


    A blast of dust and stones erupted around his three meter frame with the impact of his landing.


    He stood menacingly in the dusty swirls, a giant axe gripped in his hands and green wind elements dancing around him as he stood.


    Poised and ready for action.


    Growls of other eager beast-men were getting louder and louder as they hurried to catch up to the black scaled beast-man.


    The beast-man stood before them was a gold tier spell-weaver.


    They had encountered him on the night they scampered to crossed into the pocket dimension.


    A gold tier spell-weaver was much more attuned to the elements, they could harness much more power from the dormant elements with little to no effort.


    Hartley barely qualified as a silver tier spell-weaver, but had the advantage of mixing the two different cultivation systems.


    He had learned the tiers of the spell-weavers and could now tell how powerful the beast-man was.


    Zhi Ruo mouth twitched, her displeasure at the beast-man''s grand and sudden entrance could not be concealed.


    If this was ten days ago on the Aldoran continent when she''d met Drago for the first time, she would''ve surely cowered back in fear.


    But now?


    She glanced at the cloud of dust pluming behind the approaching reinforcements of beast-men and felt little to no fear.


    "You annoying trash," she screamed at the black scaled beast-man standing a few meters away.


    "We came in peace and haven''t killed a single beast-man, yet you are still acting this rampant before us. You better pray I don''t lose my temper." Zhi Ruo scowled through gritted teeth.


    Growls of rage and discontent rose from the throat of the black scaled beast-man and a few who were arriving on the scene.


    "Insolent!" The black scaled beast-man barked at the absurd human woman.


    Adrenaline pumping, the black scaled beast-man made his move without hesitation.


    Oh how he was wishing to see these two again and his wishes were granted. He was going to snap them to pieces limb by limb.


    Hartley had black lines across his scrunched forehead as he glanced at the shifting flashes of lights and finger gestures from the beast-man.


    After a few fluid hand gestures, the black scaled beast-man had the dormant fire elements in the air churning towards himself.


    In a blink his right arm had a red glow from elbow to finger tips.


    The mammoth axe Instantly glowed red with sizzling heat glaring off it.


    Another few hand gestures and the beast-man legs were glowing green.


    Hartley and Zhi Ruo were stood at the edge of the beast-men''s former sacred ground.


    Looking around, there was still evidence of the collapsed basin and the destruction left behind by the couple when they crossed over to the pocket dimension.


    While it had been ten years in pocket dimension for the couple, Hartley remembered it was only ten days for the beast-men, and it was not enough time for frayed tempers to calm.


    Hartley had no time to tangle with this matter. He immediately engaged his time domain, instantly everything froze turning the world monochrome, losing all sound and colours.


    With everything frozen in stunning black and white detail.


    Hartley saw a white ghost-like silhouette move from the black scaled beast-man body, slashing his giant axe from high-left to low-right with lightning speed. The earth cracked under both their feet from the pressure exuded.


    Hartley flinched back by reflex. It was the first time he''d seen anything move in his monochrome world.


    A few seconds felt like an hour in the moment.


    He was taken back at first before realising the white apparition would fade away like smoke at the end of the move and restart again.


    Incredulously this was a prediction of the opponent''s future action.


    If the black scaled beast-man was as capable as the apparition, then Hartley was glad he hadn''t taken any chances.


    It was time to apply a dose of ruthless pragmatism.


    When it came to the beast-men Hartley knew talk was useless.


    Their years of hatred for humans had poisoned their minds, they could not be reasoned with.


    Hartley had to punish the monkey to warn the chickens.


    Diplomacy would get him nowhere with the beast-men, he had to show them who had the bigger fist.


    Three steps and the distance was closed, Hartley raised the open palm of his right hand, fingers pointed to the sky.


    His left hand languished by his side to make three gestures quickly, a black orb crackled like electricity as it burst into existence hovering in front of the open palm.


    Hartley''s black hair fluttered as his blue elemental power gushed from his palm and weaved around the crackling black energy.


    His right hand came forward and rammed into the right breastplate of the black scaled beast-man.


    There was flash of blue and black light.


    Time was restored with an explosion, everyone including Zhi Ruo was swept off their feet without warning. Shattered pieces of the beast-man scales flew every. The black scaled beast-man was unconscious before he even landed.


    Bang! The earth rattled when the black scaled beast-man finally landed twenty meters away. He fell like a crumpled piece of fabric, sending massive plumes of dirt and dust from the crater he dug with his unconscious body.


    Shattered scales crumbled from his body and everything around him was charred black and smouldering like ignited coal.


    The beast-men gathered around picked themselves off the ground and gaped at the scene, the ones who were still rushing to the scene stopped in their tracks.


    They collectively inhaled a cold breath and took a step back, they all just witnessed the powerful black scaled beast-man getting slapped to sleep. He laid twisted and unmoving In the smouldering crater, chest heaving up and down.


    Everything was silent, dust swirled through the air and the whirring wind hummed a tune, this was an opponent none of them wished to fight, they were satisfied with the fact that the human looked ready leave.


    After Zhi Ruo got her feet, Hartley rushed over to make sure she was ok.


    Zhi Ruo turned her nose to the sky and harrumphed.


    "Lets see if you carry on bullying peaceful people." She said as she stared down the beast-men who were all as docile as domesticated cats.


    Hartley wrapped an arm around her waist, pushed himself into the air and soared a thousand meters in a blink. Then disappeared in flash of blue.


    ***


    The light came in from the full moon. Everyone was in the beautiful chamber of the lounge where the huge windows allowed the moonlight to illuminate the interior.


    The concrete pillar in the middle of the room housed a fireplace with orange flames dancing. Not for the warmth but for stretching the light.


    The shadows were relegated to the far end of the room.


    .... "Welcome back my lord" Fu Qian dropped to a knee in a formal knight salute, followed by the rest of the elites in the room.


    "Rise" Hartley instructed. "Do away with those formalities from now on." Hartley told the handsome middle aged man and the elites.


    Those things had stoked his ego once, but now they were unnecessary procedures that wasted time. Hartley considered himself a much more mature man now.


    Hartley sat beside Zhi Ruo with a cup wine, he sipped as he listened to reports of happenings in the country.


    Alric, Qin Li, Fu Jiannu, Fu Qian, the elites and the servants had eyes planted on the couple.


    They all noticed something different about Hartley and Zhi Ruo, they just couldn''t identity the difference. They went on a month''s long secret trip and came back so different? Where did they go

 142 The interlude before the chaos. rough draf

    The weather changed incrementally with the speedy passage of time, months went by without any news-worthy or major incidents occurring in the capital. It was like all the major nobles had mysteriously retreated from the public''s eye.


    Autumn was now in full effect, the high heat and long days of the summer months were quickly fading away, replaced with the stunning orange and pink seasonal sunsets of the fall.


    The days grew shorter, the nights got cooler and the leaves uniformly started to change colour.


    Constant noisy clangs bellowed out across the western hills. A proud white flag with an embroidered black bear stood on its hind legs, flapped in the brisk wind on the highest spire of the manor.


    Hundreds of builders busily weaved up and down the length of the western hills, hard at work paving, digging or building.


    Open wagons made of wood rumbled and creaked up and down in both directions. Dragged along by sturdy wild-beasts, some wagons were bringing materials and equipment, others ferrying workers, water or food to where they were needed.


    Stones cut to precise measurements were being banged in place by masons, the foreman''s loud orders could be heard from a mile, the ground was being cleared and flattened, and paving stones were being neatly laid all around.


    Repairs and construction were progressing quicker than anyone expected amidst the organized chaos at the entrance to the western hills.


    With the addition of many skilled workers from the flatlands and the gradual decrease in temperatures, the productivity of the workforce had increased the speed of work greatly.


    All craters and pits left behind by Hartley''s battle with the saint were filled in, grass was even beginning to grow back across the wounded landscape.


    A cobbled road directly joining the manor to the entrance of the western hills was almost fully paved.


    Standing above the narrow roads was now a sturdy stone wall, built to protect the manor and create a bottleneck for invading forces.


    After navigating the winding uphill roads, one would then be greeted by a huge metal gate sandwiched by stone walls before even getting a glimpse of the manor.


    The residential district for the miners and workers had many more stone buildings erected, the houses extended in neat rows towards the east forest, taking the shape of a bustling little town.


    Qin Li had to stop the influx of new residents, the population of the western hills had swollen so quickly that it would become problematic.


    They did not possess an unlimited budget and for the time being Hartley was paying the cost directly, finding food and accommodations for so many people would become a challenge if the situation was allowed to deteriorate into overcrowding.


    Those who made it to the western hills before the population cap was enforced, celebrated like they''d reached the promise land.


    The surrounding nobles were quite irritated and pissed off, most of the skilled commoners residing on their lands abandoned them in droves, taking refuge at the western hills in search of better treatment.


    To the point that the nobles had to start treating the remaining commoners like decent citizens, even paying them better wages to keep hold of their services.


    Who else would harvest their crops? If they lost their labour force to the western hills, their crops would rot in the fields and they would forego every gold coin invested.


    The greedy nobles were furious with the rise in wages paid out and the fall in profits received, they had to hold their complaints internally though, not one dared to voice their unhappiness with the devilish ruler of the western hills.


    All they could to do was bide their time, things would change soon if King Yulan ascended the mortal realm.


    As soon as that happened Hartley would surely find problems with the major nobles eyeing the western hills'' quick progression, leading to his definite demise. After which the commoners in the west would be back under the feet of the nobles once more.


    These thoughts kept the disgruntled nobles quietly enduring the ignominy of conceding terms and money to the useless commoners.


    Gnashing their teeth every time they thought about the leverage the commoners had gained with the prominent rise of the western hills.


    Elsewhere in the capital the major nobles were preparing their forces for the aftermath of the king''s second attempt at ascension.


    One had to be prepared in this high stakes game of chess to grab as much power when the opportunity presented itself.


    Making the right alliances in a time like this was crucial.


    The peace and calmness in the capital was only the interlude before chaos.


    ***


    In these busy times for the western hills, Hartley and Zhi Ruo continued to remain low key and out of sight.


    Zhi Ruo spent her time lounging, indulging in comforts as if she was making up for lost time.


    Qin Li had recently broken through to the sixth layer of the xiantian realm, he would have been proud of this if not for the discovery that Zhi Ruo had overtaken him. His confidence took a kick to the teeth, but he was happy for a stronger western hills.


    Fu Qian was busy training the new recruits that would be added to his forces, helped out by Fu Jiannu and Shao Law who were still on a program of intensive training.


    Alrick came to record data on some days but otherwise stayed locked in his lab, still pursuing his perfect formula.


    Hartley spent his free time consolidating his cultivation and getting familiar with his new found strength at the saint''s realm.


    ...


    Sat peacefully in the lotus position, crackling blue lines of elemental power sparkled around Hartley''s body, looking like bolts of dancing electricity in a lightning storm.


    With eyes closed and his white robe flapping around without the presence of any wind.


    He sat like a god lauding over the world, with a bright-blue glow radiantly lathering the space all around him.


    Perched on the highest stone peak overlooking the lands below him. His hands calmly rested on his thighs and his hair wriggled across his face with the fluttering wind.


    The gigantic surrounding area had lush green mountains, vast crystal-like lakes, fertile flatlands and a prominent blue star as big as the sun dominating the vast sky, showering down its blue light onto the huge uninhabited continent.


    This was Hartley''s vastly improved inner world. Since becoming a saint his inner world had expanded to the size of a whole continent.


    Flashes of blue lights shone like laser beams then faded away as Hartley''s eyes flicked open, he stood up with the lines of elemental powers still crackling around him.


    Dust billowed out and rocks floated freely in the air on the high rocky peak.


    Hartley stood statue-still as he exerted his complete control over one of the most important and fundamental forces in physics.


    Gravity!


    This was his second domain and Hartley was in complete control of the gravity in a ten thousand mile radius.


    ***


    A single man stood under the large blue star, basking in the glow that coloured the world blue around him.


    His tall and thin frame had been rebuilt from Inn the inside out with blue star essence. Wiry muscles wrapped taut around his physique as if he was bounded with rope, the power concealed within was more than he could imagine.


    No one below the saint realm could leave a scratch on his body.


    Inhaling sharply, looking over the magnificent and diverse swathes of land facing him.


    Sudden movements caused the air to ripple, thrusting his left hand to the side leaving fuzzy after-images, three simple finger gestures were executed quickly.


    His right hand plunged forward as if ripping space apart, whipping up his robe violently, the black energy lining the seams of the world came cracking and sizzling to life..


    With the black energy under his control swirling in a conical pattern around his right arm, the air rippled faster.


    Right hand stretched fully forward, the spiralling cone shaped black energy swirled forward compressing itself to the size of a tennis ball.


    Hartley immediately used his mastery over gravity to apply a pocket of high density gravity around the black energy.


    Bang!


    The sound made the ground tremble, a mini black hole burst into existence like a raging beast, spinning counter clockwise and ravaging everything in sight.


    It was like an inverted tornado sucking in all materials on the rocky peak.


    The maelstrom of destruction lasted a few seconds until it fizzled out and everything evaporated in a puff of black sparks..


    Everything was scorched and the rocky peak seemed like a mammoth monster had taken a bite out of the stone mountain. Multiple coils of black smoke swirled into the sky.


    Stood in place with a wry smile and satisfied with the results of his simulation, Hartley tried to will his inner world back to its former condition. That''s when his smile reversed to a frown.


    The damage inflicted on the landscape by the black hole was irreversible, even Hartley, the god of his inner world couldn''t recover the materials devoured by the black hole.


    It was a lucky thing he wasn''t too reckless....


    The days continued to roll by without any significant happenings in the capital.

 142 The interlude before the chaos.

    The weather changed incrementally with the speedy passage of time, months went by without any news-worthy or major incidents occurring in the capital. It was like all the major nobles had mysteriously retreated from the public''s eye.


    Autumn was now in full effect, the high heat and long days of the summer months were quickly fading away, replaced with the stunning orange and pink seasonal sunsets of the fall.


    The days grew shorter, the nights got cooler and the leaves uniformly started to change colour.


    Constant noisy clangs bellowed out across the western hills. A proud white flag with an embroidered black bear stood on its hind legs, flapped in the brisk wind on the highest spire of the manor.


    Hundreds of builders busily weaved up and down the length of the western hills, hard at work paving, digging or building.


    Open wagons made of wood rumbled and creaked up and down in both directions, dragged along by a variety of sturdy wild-beasts.


    Some wagons were bringing materials and equipment, others ferrying workers, water, or food to where they were needed.


    Stones cut to precise measurements were being banged in place by masons, and the foreman''s loud orders could be heard from a mile away. The ground was being cleared and flattened with dust flying everywhere. Paving stones were being neatly laid all around by another set of stone masons.


    Repairs and construction were progressing quicker than anyone expected amidst the organized chaos at the entrance to the western hills.


    With the addition of many skilled workers from the flatlands and the gradual decrease in daytime temperatures, the productivity of the workforce had increased the speed of work greatly.


    All craters and pits left behind by Hartley''s battle with the saint were filled in, grass was even beginning to grow back across the wounded landscape.


    A cobbled road directly joining the manor to the entrance of the western hills was almost fully paved.


    Standing above the narrow roads was now a sturdy stone wall, built to protect the manor and create a bottleneck for invading forces.


    After navigating the winding uphill roads, one would then be greeted by a huge metal gate sandwiched by stone walls before even getting a glimpse of the manor.


    The residential district for the miners and other workers had many more buildings erected, the stone houses extended in neat grid-like rows towards the east forest, taking the shape of a bustling little town.


    Qin Li, who was overseeing the development of the westernn hills, had to stop the influx of new residents immediately. The populace flooding into the western hills had swollen so quick, that it would become problematic if the streams of people seeking refuge weren''t stopped timely.


    Finding food and accommodations for so many people would soon become a challenge. The situation could not be allowed to deteriorate into overcrowding or sanitation issues.


    People who made it into the western hills before the population cap was enforced, celebrated like they''d reached the promise land. The rest could only rue their bad luck and turn back.


    Of course, the surrounding nobles were quite irritated and pissed off. Most of the skilled commoners residing on their lands began to abandon them in droves, hoping to take refuge in the western hills in search of better benefits.


    To the point that the nobles had to start treating the remaining commoners like decent citizens, even paying them better wages to keep hold of their services.


    Who else would harvest their crops? If they lost their labour force to the western hills, their crops would rot in the fields and they would forego every gold coin invested.


    The greedy nobles were furious with the rise in wages paid out, and the fall in profits received. they collectively had to hold their complaints internally though, not one dared to voice their unhappiness with the devilish ruler of the western hills.


    All they could to do was cross their fingers and bide their time.


    Things would change soon if King Yulan ascended the mortal realm.


    As soon as that happened Hartley would surely find problems with the major nobles eyeing the western hills'' quick progression, leading to his definite demise.


    After which the commoners in the west would be back under the feet of the nobles once more.


    These thoughts kept the disgruntled nobles quietly enduring the ignominy of conceding terms and money to the useless commoners.


    Gnashing their teeth every time they thought about the leverage the commoners had gained with the prominent rise of the western hills.


    Elsewhere in the capital the major nobles were preparing their forces for the aftermath of the king''s second attempt at ascension.


    One had to be prepared in this high stakes game of chess to grab as much power when the opportunity presented itself.


    Making the right alliances, or striking down the most fearsome foes from the shadows in a time like this was crucial.


    The peace and calm in the capital was only the interlude before the chaos.


    ***


    In these busy times for the western hills, Hartley and Zhi Ruo continued to remain low key and out of sight.


    Zhi Ruo spent her time lounging, indulging in comforts as if she was making up for lost time.


    Qin Li had recently broken through to the sixth layer of the xiantian realm, he would have been proud of this if not for the discovery that Zhi Ruo had overtaken him. His confidence took a kick to the teeth, but he was happy for a stronger western hills.


    Fu Qian was busy training the new recruits that would be added to his forces, helped out by Fu Jiannu and Shao Law who were still on a program of intensive training.


    Alrick came to record data on some days but otherwise stayed locked in his lab, still pursuing his perfect formula.


    Hartley spent his free time consolidating his cultivation and getting familiar with his new found strength at the saint''s realm.


    ***


    Sat peacefully in the lotus position, crackling blue lines of elemental power sparkled around Hartley''s body, looking like bolts of dancing electricity in a lightning storm.


    Eyes closed and his white robe flapping around without the presence of any wind.


    The blue eyed saint sat like a god lauding over the world, surrounded by a bright-blue glow radiantly lathering the space around his body.


    Perched on the highest stone peak overlooking the lands below him. His hands calmly rested on his thighs and his hair wriggled across his face, fluttering around wildly.


    The gigantic surrounding area had lush green mountains, vast crystal-like lakes, fertile flatlands and a prominent blue star as big as the sun dominating the vast sky, showering down its blue light onto the huge uninhabited continent.


    This was Hartley''s vastly improved inner world. Since becoming a saint his inner world had expanded to the size of a whole continent.


    Flashes of blue lights shone like laser beams as Hartley''s eyes flicked open, he stood up with the lines of elemental powers still crackling in the air around him.


    "Lets try this." Hartley mumbled to himself as he stood in the middle of the stony plateau.


    Dust billowed out and every loose rock or pebble on the mountain rose two meters, floating freely in the air over the full length of the mountain peak.


    Hartley stood statue-still as he exerted his complete control over one of the most important and fundamental forces in physics.


    Gravity!


    This was his second domain and Hartley was in complete control of the gravity in a ten mile radius.


    ***


    A single man stood under the large blue star, basking in the glow that coloured the world blue around him.


    His tall and thin frame had been rebuilt from the inside out with blue star essence.


    Wiry muscles wrapped taut around his physique as if he was bounded with rope, the power concealed within was more than he could imagine.


    No one below the saint realm could leave a scratch on his body, he felt as if he was made from reinforced steel.


    Inhaling sharply and looking over the magnificent and diverse swathes of land facing him. Hartley made his move.


    The floating rocks fell to the ground. He took a casual step forward, his sudden movement caused the air to ripple.


    Thrusting his left hand to the side leaving fuzzy after-images, three simple finger gestures were executed quickly.


    His right hand plunged forward as if ripping space apart, whipping up his robe violently, the black energy lining the seams of the world came cracking and sizzling to life and seemed to be obeying his command.


    With the black energy under his control, swirling ropes of black light spun in a conical pattern around his right arm, making the air ripple.


    Stretching his right hand fully forward, the spiralling cone shaped black energy swirled forward a few meters, compressing itself to the size of a tennis ball as it spun faster.


    Hartley immediately used his mastery over gravity to apply a pocket of high density gravity around the black energy.


    Bang!


    The sound made the ground tremble, a mini black hole burst into existence like a raging beast, spinning counter clockwise and ravaging everything in sight.


    The rotating black hole the size of a tennis ball, akin to an inverted tornado was sucking in all materials on the rocky peak, it was like a vacuum cleaner.


    Hartley''s eyes bulged and his robe fluttered violently forward as if it was about to be ripped from his body.


    Trees and large pieces of rocks were dislodged from the mountain and disappeared into the tiny black hole without a trace.


    The maelstrom of destruction lasted a few seconds until it fizzled out, the portal-like black hole evaporated in a puff of black sparks..


    There was silence, a massive amount of the ground in front of Hartley was scorched black, the rocky peak seemed like a mammoth monster had taken a bite out of the stone mountain.


    Multiple coils of black smoke swirled into the sky.


    Stood in place with a wry smile and satisfied with the results of his simulation, Hartley tried to will his inner world back to its former condition.


    "What?"


    "Impossible!"


    That''s when his smile reversed to a frown as he blurted out with surprise.


    The damage inflicted on the landscape by the black hole was irreversible, even Hartley, the god of his inner world couldn''t recover the materials devoured by the black hole.


    It was a lucky thing he wasn''t too reckless....


    As Hartley trained and experimented in his inner world, the fortifications of the western hills continued at break-neck speed.


    The days continued to roll by without any significant happenings in the capital.

 143 Day of Ascension Really Rough Draf

    "Today is the day...a day that will potentially shape and decide the future path of our country, we have to be prepared and adaptable. Only then can we put ourselves in the best position to reap the most benefits."


    The gruff raspy voice of an elderly man spoke.


    His serious gaze focused on the blurry white-capped mountains ahead in the distance.


    Snowflakes fluttered down gently, landing on his hair and shoulders like butterflies swarming to a flower.


    The white hair man was sat atop his warhorse with his back straight, showcasing his perfect posture as the black horse trotted forward at a slow, careful pace over the abundant loose stones out here in the wilderness.


    He was dressed in a majestic white fur-coat that was almost dragging on the ground.


    To his left was a middle aged man, dressed rather more conservatively, wearing a traditional black fur-coat, riding a similarly stunning black warhorse, both horses moved in step on the stony path.


    Innumerable flakes of snow floated down from the overcast sky, partially obscuring visibility and landing on the ground in rapid succession, creating a frigid blanket of white over everything.


    The two men continued their conversation in hushed tones, their coats draped tight around their necks guarding against the cold blustering wind.


    "Yes I understand," the man donning the black coat replied solemnly with a nod of his head, shaking loose a few snowflakes from his hair, before continuing.


    "If King Yulan succeeds today, we have to move our forces immediately. Securing our interests quickly is most important. We could increase our standing in the capital overnight with a little luck."


    The clopping footsteps of their mounts crunched through the freshly fallen snow as they moved down the narrow road side by side, leaving two lines of hoof prints trailing behind.


    They were heading for a patch of snow-covered land in the middle of nowhere.


    On any other day this desolate patch of land would be the domain of wild animals, but today, many clamoured to this snow-covered wilderness in anticipation of an epic event.


    People were gathering at this secluded location just north of the capital, eager to witness King Yulan''s second attempt at ascending from the mortal plane.


    Many high standing nobles had come to witness the change of an era and the passing of the guard. While others were there just to confirm the King''s success or failure.


    People continued to trickle in slowly, most taking care to be quiet and inconspicuous.


    Only the bravest and most confident of men would walk in the limelight at this point, without strong backing one would only be drawing the ire of the unknown forces lurking in the shadows.


    They emerged into a flat rocky plane blanketed in white that spanned about 5 kilometres, frozen foliage were scattered among the rocks that were everywhere.


    Immediately they caught sight of a group cutting across their path.


    Both men instinctively pulled back the reins on their horses, bringing the beasts to a sudden halt.


    A contingent dressed in stylish robes strutted across their path like they had no insecurities or cares. Giving the old men pause for thought.


    The passing group didn''t seem to even consider the cold, not one had opted for a fur coat.


    Hoods up, faces shrouded, they walked casually to the west, looking for a spot to watch things unfold.


    Bursts of smoke-like condensation sprayed from the spooked horses'' nostrils like steam, the beasts whinnied aloud in agitation, almost unseating their experienced riders.


    The two disgruntled men looked at each other as they tried to gain control over their unsettled mounts, then at the passing group in silence, knowing only people in the xantian realm could be so casually dressed in this weather.


    They tried to calm the rattled horses by whispering consoling words and patting the beasts'' necks gently.


    The two mounted men did not want to cause a ruckus and draw attention to themselves in these circumstances, but they took careful note of these people sporting a black bear insignia embroidered boldly into their robes.


    Inquisitive looks and scattered murmurs of whispering erupted among the people present, most were nobles who had personally come to brave the morning''s cold and see off the king.


    Soon the brash contingent were identified by the bear insignia embroidered on their attire, they were the representatives of a noble who had recently risen to prominence in the Western hills.


    ***


    Hartley''s steps were nimble across the snow, taking no notice of the commotion his group had stirred, in fact this was House Hartley announcing themselves to the wider public.


    He led the group towards a secluded area to hunker down and watch the attempt at ascension by the king, he was very keen to see the process.


    The experts among the crowd noticed that even with the heavy downpour of snow, not a single snowflake fell on anyone in Hartley''s group.


    That alone was reason for the hidden experts to be wary.


    A group of boisterous nobles were comfortably sitting under a gazebo two hundred meters away.


    They watched the commotion as the new group made their entry into the area.


    Talking, laughing, and eating snacks while taking shelter from the snow.


    A small fire was lit and about a dozen fully armoured men were huddled around keeping their fingers warm.


    A few xantians stood outside with serious expressions. Flexing their combat power for all to see and take heed.


    When the whispers seemed to confirm the identity and affiliation of the newcomers, the blonde young man sat in the middle looked at Hartley''s group disdainfully. He had thought this group to be heavy hitters in the capital, turns out they were only so-so.


    "When did the kingdom sink to this level of mediocrity, even back-bush nobles are strutting around like peacocks these days. Aren''t these the coal-mongers of the western hills? How embarrassing for a mighty country. Do you see this Ji Lang? Preposterous!"


    The man''s vulgarity was on full display as he didn''t even attempt to lower his voice. Talking to his bodyguard and the other people beside him, while rudely pointing at the group of four. His vitriol laid bare for all to hear.


    The four representatives from the western hills came to a stop immediately, without any discussion one peeled away from the group and headed towards the gazebo.


    Three xantians guarding outside stepped forward to protect the vulgar noble, smiling as the person wearing a grey robe approached.


    "Break his legs!," the vulgar noble shouted while laughing and sitting comfortably.


    The three xantians rushed out across the snow like lightening. No doubt eager to demonstrate their power to the other gathering nobles.


    A few seconds later there was a huge bang, shaking the loose snow from the many rocks dotted around the outcropping, and sending a few mid-sized boulders sliding down towards the gathered crowd, who chaotically ran for cover to avoid any injuries.


    The Displaced snow laying on the ground between the grey figure and the three attackers was whipped up like a strong bluster of wind.


    The powdery snow whirled up two metres high, creating a white screen, blinding everyone for a second before it settled again, followed by complete silence.


    The person in the grey hooded robe was standing on the same spot, while the three xantian challengers had disappeared from view.


    Mouths were agape, gasps echoed out, everyone looked around curiously for any sign of the three while discussing the quick encounter with interest.


    Onlookers finally located the three in a sorry state, twenty meters away they were sprawled in the snow among some sharp rocks. No one could tell if they were breathing or not.


    The talkative vulgar noble shivered like he was feeling the cold temperatures of his surroundings for the first time.


    The cold breath of the wind seemed to slice through his thick fur-coat, sending tingles down his spine as if he was naked.


    He climbed to his feet, pure fright etched across his face, showing grave concern with the situation at hand.


    All the nobles around watched with great interest, evaluating the strength of the western hills for future reference.


    Those three xantians who were dispatched so easily were 2nd layer experts, meaning the person in grey was at least in the 4th layer.


    Many sucked in cold breaths looking at the rest of the group from the western hills who were nonchalantly waiting without worry. If they were all on this level, how strong would the western hills be?


    The dozen armoured men were next, rushing out armed to the teeth with lethal intentions, their battle cries rose to the heavens...Only to be slapped aside like cannon fodder with a simple wave.


    The lot sent clattering and clanging through the snow like scrap metal, unconscious bodies were strewn all over like spilled beans, leaving long lengths of trenches and trails scattered through the thickening snow.


    "Ji Lang!" the vulgar noble uttered fearfully through chattering teeth. His eyes bulging as he called his personal bodyguard and 5th layer xantian expert to arms.


    This was his final desperate line of defence.


    The rest of his men and companions who were enjoying the drink and festivities with him a few minutes ago, were backing away slowly and disappearing like ghosts.


    "You don''t know who you''ve offended today," said the strapping Ji Lang, gritting his teeth as he glanced around at the people abandoning his young master.


    He gripped his long sword tightly and strode forward with menace.


    "Move aside and send him out, do not embarrass yourself." A melodic female voice was heard, belonging to the person in the grey robe who stood in the middle of the carnage, shocking everyone watching.


    "Never!" came the response as Ji Lang rushed forward into immediate action. The sword slashing down at full force.


    His sword flashed with the explosive yellow glow of a fire elemental, leaving a heated sizzle in the air as it came at the figure in grey.


    She nonchalantly moved, displacing the loose snow laying on the ground, turning it to circular ripples as she disappeared with a puff of wind, sending white flakes spraying out in every direction.


    In a blink she was by his side.


    His sword landed with a massive boom, digging out an impressive crater in the frozen ground at her former position.


    A flick of her index finger easily connected with the man''s right elbow, he had left himself wide open for a counter.


    The crunching cracks of his bone were heard loudly, his sword came loose from his grip clanging and ricocheting across the floor like a cymbal.


    His right hand was left swinging uselessly from side to side like an old pendulum as he was staggered.


    Eyes wide in disbelief, the screams of the 5th layer xantian expert chilled everyone, before he was slapped to the floor passing out instantly in an explosion of snow and dirt.


    Hushed discussions broke out among the spectators again, some hardly believing their eyes.


    Zhi Ruo stood on the spot, stretched out her finger at the vulgar noble and called him over.


    "Come here."


    The man looked around frantically trembling like a leaf on a windy day, his face turning a ghastly shade of purple.


    "I''m... I''m," he stammered, struggling to even identity himself.


    When he arrived shakily, Zhi Ruo said.


    "Stand up straight with your chin up, I want to see how far across this plateau I can send you with just one slap."


    Pow!!


    A slap that left him momentarily deaf landed on his face, a shower of broken teeth and blood flew out of his mouth.


    The vulgar blonde was thrown twenty five meters away. Instantly passing out after a dozen barrel rolls and landing among the frozen foliage.


    "Trash!" Zhi Ruo declared with a harrumph before turning to leave.


    She quickly made her way back to the group and they found a nice empty spot to watch.


    Everyone looked on with wariness while keeping their distance, trying to estimate the strength of the other three in the group, making a mental note of the how formidable the western hills was.


    The episode was quickly forgotten as more people gathered over a period of time.


    A couple hours later there was a rumble through the air, shaking the ground. The power of saints could be felt as they flew overhead to land on the snow capped peak.


    People at the the foot of the mountain could only see the silhouettes of the people on the peak through the swirling snow.


    Hartley could make out the two princes and four saints.


    There was another long wait before another person appeared from nowhere to join the rest. Hartley assumed this to be the King...

 144 Ascension

    Everything in sight was white, the snowfall from the grey sky continued to pummel down onto the earth. Glittering frost had taken over every visible surface on the mountain peak.


    This was a big, wild mountain, prone to high winds and ferocious low temperatures, especially at high altitude.


    A place where glaciers claimed the peak as its own, and the howling wind sounded like the screams of wild wolves.


    Prince Jian stood with his two protectors at his back, small icicles were beginning to take shape and cling to his brows and beard, transforming his facial hairs into a frosty fuzz.


    At this altitude the air temperature alone could freeze lava, even a xanthian wasn''t completely immune to the discomforts of this harsh environment .


    Fifteen meters away to the right, his older brother Prince Dong stood pensively, snowflakes lazily landing around him.


    The wind hummed loudly, no one uttered a word, instead they all stared at the enigmatic figure whose back was facing them.


    This sturdy man, standing at a height of 1.9 meters, was father to the two Princes and King to the country. A man making his first public appearance in a decade, and possibly his last.


    His aged and handsome face stared out over the landscape with melancholy. Seemingly lost in his own thoughts and paying no heed to the extreme cold.


    Thousands of people stood exposed to the weather at the foot of the mountain, straining their eyes to get a glimpse at their mighty king through the falling snow.


    A king that had stood at the peak of the saint realm for nearly a decade.


    The place was abuzz with chatter and excitement.


    Hartley and company among them.


    "This will be a seminal moment in the history of Aidonia and the Aldoran continent." King Yulan spoke clearly without turning to face his sons.


    In a casual display of might to the people below, a simple wave of the king''s hand sent a flash of lightning darting out with an echoing clap, splitting the skies like a mirror with a pulse of light.


    Thick white branching lines of electricity crawled diagonally upwards, sending the blanket of incessant snowflakes flurrying away to the sides, exposing himself clearly to the masses below.


    A rumble of thunder followed soon after, sending vibrations through the earth as the whole mountain trembled.


    Oohs and ahs echoed out from the excited spectators below, many finally having a chance to look upon their king without the snow impeding their vision.


    "This is a day that will inspire many generations of cultivators. Pushing them to strive to reach the top of the cultivation world and transform into dragons and immortal legends."


    The King spoke solemnly, casting his gaze at those gathered below with his hands folded behind his back.


    King Yulan wore a simple blue robe that audibly flapped around like a flag in the wind.


    His shoulder-length silver hair billowed randomly from side to side as if in competition with his robe.


    "The real question is," the King said as he turned around:


    "Will my sons ever stop squabbling over this mortal realm and set their sights higher?"


    There was silence once again, no answer came to the King''s ears.


    He waited patiently while the blustery winds whistled, flurries of snowflakes swirled and curled around the group, starting to transform their clothing white.


    The atmosphere grew tense. Both princes turned their heads to scowl at the other with discontent, neither acknowledging the other with words.


    Each had come hoping to be named as the next rightful ruler of Aidonia and would accept nothing less.


    The one anointed as rightful ruler would hold great advantage, primarily through the distribution of propaganda to the common people. King Yulan was loved and admired, the masses would be more inclined to respect his wishes.


    The prince who gained his father''s approval could campaign to the throne with rhetoric of righteousness, proclaiming himself to be the chosen one.


    This was important because they both knew neither would give up the fight for the throne once the king was gone.


    "Father, I think I should be the first in line..." the eldest Prince talked with fresh flecks of snow falling from his robe, he was about to make his case for the throne, but was promptly interrupted by the scholarly looking Prince Jian.


    "Age is different from competence brother, something you are severely lacking," the young prince snarled aggressively, about elaborate further on all his brother''s failures.


    King Yulan raised his right palm with a swoosh, stopping the squabbling siblings and sending the loose snow scattering.


    "Seems you two are set on clinging to power like panicked children clinging onto a toy.


    Be wary of what you seek, and sure it''s what you want.


    A king in name can only rule by consent, not until you let go of your thirst to rule and instead thirst for strength can you truly rule."


    The king closed his eyes and inhaled the crisp cold air, then his face softened as he looked at his sons, remembering that he was once just like them.


    Remembering how he had once also hungered to rule the country, hating anyone who stood in his way, even his own brothers. It was the cut-throat curse of royalty.


    Back then he thought his life''s greatest achievement was banishing his brothers and ascending the throne.


    His inflated ego internally declaring himself the god of the kingdom, ruling over the strongest men simply by birth right.


    Only to be rudely awakened to reality, his euphoric bubble popped unceremoniously by a group of visitors from a higher plain, apparently here searching for a mystery runaway woman.


    To this day the once conceited king still felt the shame of having to humble himself like a child, skipping to do the strangers orders and demands like a pet dog.


    Lacking the strength to even lift his head.


    Anyone who opposed those strangers were mercilessly cut down.


    The strongest legends the continent had to offer rushed to the king''s aid... But they were slaughtered within a single exchange by the strangers overwhelming might.


    Leaving him, a renowned king in name, bowing and scraping pitifully to preserve his puny life.


    His sons won''t know how vulnerable and weak the mortal plane is, or how important real strength will be.


    Telling them couldn''t begin to portray the enormous gulf between plains, not until they too face beings from beyond the mortal realm would they realise their own insignificance.


    Just like he had all those years ago.


    Since that experience the king''s appetite for governing had disappeared. Opting to forgo his duties and enter closed door cultivation.


    Committing all the resources at his disposal into research, in order to gain the strength and knowledge needed to enter a higher plain.


    A person''s lifespan was limited to only a thousand years on this mortal plane, which was a drop in the bucket compared to the higher planes, plus it was impossible to pass the peak of the saint realm without being devoured by the black energy of the mortal plane.


    With the new information he had gained, ruling the kingdom became an anchor weighing him down, burdening him with petty disputes of weak mortals oblivious to the greater dangers of the world.


    The crown he had once desired the most and had been his proudest accomplishment, quickly became an unwelcomed obligation he tried to avoid at all cost.


    Now with a stroke of cruel irony, it was the thing his sons desired most, walking in their father''s footsteps and causing their irreconcilable hatred for each other.


    ***


    Hartley had brought Fu Jianu and Shao Law to accompany him and Zhi Ruo on this trip.


    Being 1st layer xantians, the mountain peak was out of the range of their perceptive awareness, they complained about not being able to see anything clearly.


    Hartley''s heightened senses and his awareness as a saint, allowed him to see most of what was happening at the peak, keeping them informed.


    Then they witnessed the most awe inspiring sight, a streak of blinding white lightning flashed across the sky under the king''s control.


    Illuminating his silhouette and pushing the falling snow aside.


    For those few seconds everyone saw the image of the majestic king in all his splendour, hair and robe billowing in the freezing wind.


    Inducing jubilant roars of cheers from the gathered crowd. The teenagers adding their screams and cheers to the furore.


    After that, the scene returned to normal, with the snow pouring down from the heavens again.


    But that one moment was enough to last most a lifetime.


    Nothing happened for the following hour, until the princes and their saints departed from the peak in opposite directions.


    Soon after the mountain started to rumble, snow began slipping down its steep incline, threatening an avalanche.


    "It''s beginning." Shouted the noble dressed in an extravagant white fur-coat, quickly mounting his horse and backing up to a safe distance, followed by the majority of spectators, Hartley and company included.


    Stationed a couple miles away Hartley watched keenly.


    A lightning domain big enough to encase the whole peak suddenly formed atop the mountain, blinding rays of white radiated out with an incredibly powerful presence, drastically brightening the gloomy sky.


    The snap, crackle, and pops of the pure white electricity could be heard from two miles away. Producing a low frequency buzz that hummed, sending vibrations through the mountain.


    Boom!


    An explosion that threatened to topple the mountain sounded out like thunder.


    Rocks, snow and shattered ice went blossoming out, spat miles into the sky like a volcano belching ash.


    The scattered crowd still managed to generate audible gasps of alarm, shielding their eyes from the blinding white.


    Contrasting serpent-like coils of black energy burst into life, swimming through the white electricity, flattening the peak and smashing the glaciers into ice cubes, leaving a smouldering scar across the length of the mountain.


    The king shot upwards from the chaos like a missile through the swaying snow, travelling in his domain on a bolt of lightning towards the heavens, thick ropes of black energy twisted and lashed at his back, producing white sparks that flew everywhere.


    As soon as the King was close to piercing the clouds, the black energy grew more turbulent, appearing from every direction, determined to bound him to the mortal realm.


    The bright light of the king''s lightning domain tangled and fought the repressive writhing black energy, creating a trail of sparks until the king blinked out of sight, leaving bright sparkles twinkling in the air.


    The only thing visible was the after-images of the roiling black energy stretching to the sky as if chasing the king, then disappearing through the grey clouds.


    Simultaneously a stream of loose boulders vaulted down the sides of the rattling mountain, picking up momentum along the way like an unstoppable landslide.


    This triggered an avalanche at the same time, which brought even louder rumbles..


    Luckily most had already scampered to safety before a massive sheet of compact snow came catapulting down to the foot of the mountain, hitting the floor and bursting into a million fragments of ice.


    An assortment of debris followed closely behind, crashing into the earth with enough impact and noise to wake the dead.


    Snowflakes and dust danced through the air, moving with the cold breath of the gusty wind, colouring the entire mountain white.


    Stifling the weak waning daylight with the grey gloom of the evening sky and falling snow.


    Ten minutes went by before things settled, the relieved spectators were finally able to breathe freely when nothing else dramatic happened.


    "The king must have ascended. If he had failed he would have been captured by the black energy and spat back down from the heavens like last time."


    Murmurs began to break out amongst the scattered onlookers, who had come hoping to witness a monumental moment. With that goal achieved, it was time to regroup.


    Trails of chaotic footprints were scattered far and wide as the different factions went their separate ways to report the day''s events.


    Hartley stood in place eyes up looking at the cloud, many couldn''t see the complex intricacies of what had happened but he did.


    He closed his eyes to digest the information. Knowing that one day he would likely venture on that same journey.


    Only by ascending to a higher plain could one surpass the saint realm and become a demi god.


    He Recalled that the king didn''t just open a spatial crack and attempted to ascend directly.


    Instead he had used his full power to compress his lightning domain, launching himself to break free from the atmosphere before entering a spatial crack.


    Waiting for the perfect moment, using his momentum and control over the lightning element to slice a smooth path through the raucous black energy that was waiting in ambush.


    Satisfied with the day''s events, Hartley and company cut a direct path across the snow and headed for the western hills, trudging through the ankle deep snow wearing nothing but cotton robes.


    Today these representatives of the western hills had caught the eye of many present, it would surely be hectic and chaotic across the capital in the coming days.

 145 The devil that I know Rough Draf

    The voyage back to the western hills was filled with excitement and chatter, at least for the two youngest members of the group.


    Dots of white kept pouring down from the sky, gliding slowly from side to side in its descent to the earth. The icy barrage of snowflakes were still falling, it had not stopped all day.


    "How strong do you think the king actually is? He must have been the strongest on the whole continent, right?" Shao Law asked with excitement bubbling in his voice.


    "There''s a good chance he was, I''ve never seen anyone control lightning before. It was an awesome display." Fu Jianu dreamily remarked.


    A layer of snow was beginning to gather on the crown of her hood.


    They both walked in step a few strides ahead.


    "I didn''t even know that was possible." Shao Law admitted animatedly.


    The two youngsters continued their energetic conversation in the waning light of a sunless winter''s evening. Traversing the winding, snow laden walkways with ease.


    Hartley hugged Zhi Ruo and smiled at the youngsters enthusiasm, almost like an elder watching over his grandchildren.


    Zhi Ruo''s two front teeth slid over her bottom lip in a teasing half smile.


    "You''re not that much older than them, you know that right?" She pointed her chin at those in front and said mockingly.


    Hartley laughed, his breath misting before him, forming a small cloud of condensation in the cold air.


    "Sure I am, at least by ten years." He said, referencing the couple''s time spent in the pocket dimension.


    Zhi Ruo pouted in objection, "not me, I''m not claiming those ten years. I''m still in my prime."


    They both laughed out, trekking through the heavy snow behind Shao Law and Fu Jianu, with Hartley''s arm wrapped around Zhi Ruo''s shoulder.


    After exiting the twisty mountain roads, they came upon a waiting black carriage parked off to the side, the roof covered with snow and the breath of the fidgeting horses visible to the eyes.


    "Hello young lord," the driver hailed, rubbing both hands together, hoping the friction would bring warmth to his already numb fingers.


    Hartley hailed him back with a wave, nod and a smile, watching as the man who was obviously feeling the effects the weather, climbed up to his driving position.


    Hartley and the others shook the snowflakes free from their clothes and boarded the carriage, signalling the driver to be on his way.


    It was mostly a peaceful trip back to the western hills, with stories of the king''s ascension told and retold by Shao Law.


    The carriage ambled carefully forward, leaving wheel tracks and hoof prints, rocking and rolling on the under-developed roads of the north.


    Shadowy experts had the carriage under surveillance, carefully keeping their distance.


    Hartley smiled to himself, there was going to be a lot of surprises.


    ...


    The next morning the snow had stopped falling, leaving 5 inches of snow plastered over the land.


    White ice and grey skies stretched out as far as one could see.


    Hartley awoke to the news of nobles ravaging and plundering other nobles all over the capital. By now the news of the king''s ascension had spread far and wide.


    Nobles from both camps immediately started rampaging across the capital to enrich themselves. Amassing armies by forming alliances and plundering the weak in the neighbouring territories, expelling those unaligned with their factions and increasing their own land holdings.


    Multiple lines of smoke plumed into the grey skies across the central areas of the capital, visible from as far as the western hills.


    Bright and early on that grey and gloomy morning, a group of men on horseback came to a stop, their horses hoofs'' crunching into the deep hardening ice outside the western hills.


    Two of the men donned gold trimmed black armour with huge great swords slung diagonally across their backs.


    The other two older men wore robes, one black and the other red. A sword and a hammer crossing to make an "X" was the insignia printed on the men''s robes and armour.


    What greeted them at their destination was beyond their expectations.


    Two massive snow-covered walls sandwiched a high metallic gate that was sealed shut.


    Situated at the crest of a hill with a road that was deliberately designed to be narrow, winding and long.


    It was a classic killing-field design, where a sieging army would lose a huge amount of their forces before even reaching the gate.


    The steep incline of the winding road would compel the attackers to travel twice the distance a straight road would have provided.


    Bringing fatigue into play in any battle, and as tired soldiers witnessed the inevitable decimation of their comrades, that would bring moral into play.


    Only the most disciplined and elite of soldiers could watch friends and colleagues die miserably on a battlefield without losing resolve, most would break down mentally and flee to protect their own lives, shattering the moral of the others, causing chaos.


    The entrance to western hills was not only designed to break an enemy siege, it was also designed to break the enemy''s spirit.


    The four valiant men on horseback looked around in amazement.


    Noticing that the maze of giant trees they remembered were all removed, leaving them in the open with no cover in sight, anyone approaching would be sitting ducks outside the walls.


    If enough archers were spread across the wall, shooting targets below would be like killing fishes in a barrel. Not to mention how difficult it would be to leverage siege towers up the winding hill.


    This was a chilling and unexpected development.


    "Choi, isn''t this place supposed to be filled with rat-infested hovels?


    Wasn''t the coal mines of the west, a slum for commoners?


    Are these coal mines so valuable that someone would invest this much in fortifying it?"


    The man dressed in black rattled off his quick questions in a deep tone of voice, bewildering his comrades who were just as stunned.


    Before Choi, the elder dressed in the red robe, could make heads or tails of the situation at hand.


    A stern voice came down from the high wall.


    "State your purpose for visiting the western hills!"


    They looked up the wall to see a soldier dressed in a coat made of white fur and a fluffy white hat that covered his ears. He even had gloves on, gripping a longbow in his left hand.


    Again the group was shocked, looking up in a stupor.


    Why are the commoners guarding the gate so well equipped?


    This lord must have a fortune.


    They each had the same thought and came to the same conclusion.


    When the nobles under the umbrella of the eldest Prince had told them that this young lord was thriving, they almost dismissed it.


    Thinking those guys were eating meat and offering them bones, disgruntled that they had to come all the way out here to the slums.


    Turns out there was really a fortune to be made.


    The tall slim elder dressed in black had a twisted scowl as his beady eyes looked up the wall.


    "You dare to address me like that, you vagabond?"


    "Get your lord down here immediately! Tell him representatives from the House of Smiths are on his doorstep."


    The man in black screamed like a child throwing a tantrum, releasing a huge pulse of power.


    His mount neighed out loud, shuffling back and forth with small steps to keep its balance, the other horses and riders by his side had to do the same by reflex.


    "You are lucky that I''m giving your lord some face, or I would have dragged you down from that wall and cracked your skull open with my bare hands."


    The man in black added a threat for good measure.


    Dozens of archers appeared along the length of the wall immediately, arrows notched and strings drawn tight.


    The men below ignored the threat, they were all above the 5th layer of the xiantian realm and the elder was in the 9th.


    A few arrows could do them no harm.


    ...


    "Do not stretch yourselves too thin, we can''t help everyone, but do what you can."


    "Yes my lord." Fu Qian answered.


    Hartley was in a meeting with Fu Qian and the security team. The gloom of the morning made the clear windows seem grey and hazy.


    They were on the second floor of the manor, fireplace cracking and spitting, the orange flames danced back and forth, providing warmth for those who needed it.


    "How''s the new batch of xiantians?" Hartley asked Fu Qian.


    "Only four achieved the required criteria and were given the elixir." Fu Qian seemed disappointed with his answer.


    "That''s ok, its better to be careful." Hartley replied.


    Hartley did not want to flood the western hills with xiantian experts, even if he had the means to transform his whole army.


    He knew that the minds of men could easily change with their circumstances.


    Such a secret formula would draw the attention of both princes. They would surely unite to take him down first, before turning their weapons against each other.


    Instead of blindly using the elixir, he had given Shao Law the job of recruiting more orphans from the crime guild in the Wawrika province.


    Hartley felt the young people from the guild could be moulded, plus they were untainted by the cut throat nature of the capital.


    Even though that was still no guarantee of loyalty, it was at least a more likely outcome.


    Hartley decided to take a chance on the ones that showed the most commitment to obeying the rules of the western hills.


    The last thing he needed was rogue xiantians running amok in his territory.


    The good thing was that because of Alrick''s elixir, they had just added four more xiantians to their forces.


    Hurried footsteps were suddenly heard followed by frantic knocks at the door.


    Hartley already knew what the situation was at the gate.


    ....


    The locking mechanism rattled with the clangs of handles being released. A long creak sounded, a small gate cut into the larger one swung inwards.


    A handsome young man emerged from the other side, stepping into the snow that had yet to be cleared outside the main gate.


    He was followed out by a small group of people, mixed with both women and men.


    A pretty redhead lady stood beside the handsome young man at the front.


    A scruffy looking older man, sporting darkened puffy eyes like he hadn''t slept in days, stood to young man''s other side.


    Everybody else seemed to melt away in the background like they only came to observe.


    White hair, crooked nose, pallid skin and beady eyes, that described the average looking man dressed in black who moved forward on his horse to address the group from ten meters away. The rest of his group stayed mounted and quiet.


    He spoke in a tone that seemed too friendly to be an enemy.


    "I am elder Zhang Yi from the House of Smiths."


    The elder then bowed respectfully to the crowd.


    "I come bearing good news, the House of Smiths would like to make the western hills an affiliate of ours under the banner of the eldest prince."


    Elder Zhang Yi paused again to see how the spectators took the news.


    The blank faces stared back at him with no emotions.


    Happy at seeing no protests, he smiled, cleared his throat and continued.


    "As you can see, chaos and turmoil has spread throughout the capital, only by allying yourself with a House that''s got a saint can you survive the upcoming days, I promise that the House of Smiths will not mistreat you."


    The man who had wanted to crack skulls with his bare hands a minute ago, delivered his pitch with an amicable smile like a preacher come to save souls.


    Hartley returned the smile, the distinct sapphire colour of his eyes glinting with a shining gleam in the overcast gloom of the morning.


    With the smile tattooed to his expression Hartley said. "I don''t like you!


    You''re a snake!


    I''ll stick to the devil that I know, but if you slither back down this hill on your belly, I promise that you can leave with two of your limbs still attached to your body."


    "That''s a good deal, you should take it." Zhi Ruo''s voice sounded out faintly but clearly audible to everyone.


    Hartley flashed the elder a bright smile and waited, it was like him and the elder were discussing some insignificant grievance that could be settled with ease.


    Elder Zhang Yi immediately switched persona, his face contorting with rage, eyes bulging wide, exposing the complex network of red veins within.


    "You dare!" he screamed, the two words drenched with anger, he could barely find any more words to express himself, the shock these peasants gave him was too much.


    The deep snow was blown out from beneath the hoofs of his horse, tremors could be felt reverberating through the earth as the man lost all control of his temper.


    "You all deserve death!" One of the armoured men proclaimed as his horse galloped forward, bursting through the cloud of white whipped up by the tantrum of elder Zhang Yi, he unsheathed the massive great sword on his back in a flash, aiming to split the disrespectful lord of the western hills in two.


    Contrary to his imagination, the group did not start to scatter in chaos running for their lives.


    Instead, the battle hardened group stood their ground.


    There was flash producing an explosion of green particles, the scruffy looking man with bags under his eyes, swiftly moved to meet the armoured man, kicking up a trail of snow in his wake.


    The huge silver sword left white water-like ripples through the air, the smooth technique of the water elemental attracted the snow that weaved around man and horse like a carapace.


    The whizzing sword sliced horizontally at the airborne scruffy man mercilessly.


    Qin Li arched his body acrobatically, the green wind elements shimmering and coiling around him whipping up a mini storm.


    Another sudden burst of green sent snow spraying everywhere and adjusted his trajectory, sending him gliding pass the massive sword, robe rustling from the wind, twisting from the waist, carrying his full momentum forward to grab the man''s throat with his right hand, snatching him from the saddle like an eagle catching prey.


    The horse went on blindly and was easily corralled by the security team.


    As quick as light, before the startled man could make any adjustments.


    Qin Li twisted his right hand with force, a loud Crick! Echoed out.


    He landed gracefully with cyclone-like green particles rotating around his body,  the quiet limp man still in his grasp.


    He tossed him aside like garbage.


    The armour plopped to the ground like a deboned fish, ringing out a dull chime like a bell.


    Dead!


    The ownerless great sword skittered away across the snow-covered ground, coming a stop before Elder Zhang Yi half covered in snow.

 146 A Saint? Rough Draf

    The grey gloom of the early winter morning loomed over the drab western hills. There was a chill in the air, bringing a sharp bite of cold to the crisp morning breeze.


    Elder Zhang Yi was having a fit of rage, losing his temper like a spoiled brat denied.


    Only coming back to his senses when he heard the metallic clangs of the hefty great sword skipping across the ground, shovelling snow to the sides as it came to rest.


    Everything went silent.


    Zhang Yi looked down from his buckling horse to see his nephew sprawled in the snow, unmoving.


    Blood rushed to his head, he hoped the talented boy was just playing possum to spring a surprise attack....


    Anytime now he''ll vault into action, the boy has always been a clever lad, he must be waiting for the enemy to drop their guard so he can inflict maximum damage.


    Wild optimistic thoughts raced through Zhang Yi''s mind, but...


    Nothing happened..


    His nephew just laid there, face in the snow, his black armour trimmed with gold standing out vividly on the cushion of white.


    The smooth layer of snow from earlier was now filled with scattered pock marks and footsteps.


    Even an idiot would realise the boy was dead.


    Zhang Yi pointed a trembling accusatory finger at Qin Li and shouted.


    "Brazen! You are too brazen! ... Good. Good. Good." Unable to find words he repeated himself thrice, nostrils flaring like an enraged bull and the cruelty in his eyes sparkling like a flame freshly kindled.


    "Kill them all." He bawled at the two remaining men by his side.


    "I want everyone in this slum killed! Kill them! Kill them all!"


    Zhang Yi was hysterical... almost on the brink of madness.


    Elder Choi, the man dressed in a red robe, abandoned his flustered mount along with the other armoured man, rushing forward throwing up a flurry of snow.


    Fu Qian and the security team knew this was a fight they couldn''t meddle in.


    Scrambling back through the opening of the small gate, falling over each other to get inside.


    Managing to slam the mini gate shut just in the nick of time. There was a boom outside, the metal gate rattled.


    More booms echoed out from the western hills, those nobles who heard from a far thought the western hills was about to switch owners.


    Especially nobles from the flat lands of the west, they were delighted, the bane of their existence was finally going to be removed.


    Power erupted from Zhang Yi, he pushed his 9th layer xiantian cultivation to the limit.


    Fuelled by anger and hatred he pounced towards Qin Li, bounding through the air wrapped in a streak of bright yellow flames, determined to kill every single person in the western hills.


    The abandoned horses were instantly decapitated by the blazing debris, flashing splatters of scarlet gore all over the snow.


    The infuriated man rifled towards his target. Hartley blinked into existence beside Qin Li, casually applying a pocket of gravity to jerk the flaming missile from the sky, bringing him crashing back down to earth like a rocket.


    Boom!


    A shower of dirt and snow went flying, the flames extinguished with a sizzle, transforming into a ball of steam that kept rising.


    Cries and gasps, curses and prayers, all could be heard from the archers atop the wall. They held on for dear life as the walls shook and the gate rattled. All they could do was hope for a quick victory.


    "What the?"


    Elder Choi was startled, first by the way Zhang Yi kamikazied head-first into the frozen ground.


    Secondly by the pretty red hair woman dressed in white, she moved so elegantly and quick across the ground, it was like a hummingbird gliding through the air.


    Her every step brought the snow under her feet alive with wavy ripples that pushed her forward.


    Zhi Ruo moved adeptly to intercept the approaching elder. Her two 8 inch silver blades held downward and glistening.


    Not giving it much thought, elder Choi''s long sword appeared in his right hand.


    His skin turned stone-like with a brown glow covering his body as if cursed by Medusa, he then executed a series of blistering attacks, designed to overwhelm and kill. His sword seeming to blur out of sight and reappear at will. This was a high level skill used by vanguards to cut down multiple people in a frontal assault.


    With her loose red hair fluttering across her forehead, Zhi Ruo performed a series of sways and sidesteps like a ballet dancer, her robe whipping around her body while skillfully dodging every strike in phantom-like fashion.


    Zhi Rio ended the sequence with a perfect parry.


    Sparks flew out as sword and dagger clashed with a clang.


    She twisted her wrist with accurate timing, moving her blade quickly at an angle, deflecting the sword strike away to the right with her right-handed dagger. Countering with a lightning-fast slash of her left-handed blade from mid-right to mid-left.


    Even though they were both in the 8th layer of the xiantian realm. The two were on different levels in reality, Zhi Ruo had been conditioned by the pocket dimension, her battle experience was leaps and bounds ahead.


    She exploited his weakness and capitalised on every opening, her move was ruthless and efficient.


    The back-handed strike was so fast that all elder Choi saw was a white line streak across his vision.


    There was a boom as the rank 6 spirit weapon ripped through his stone defence like paper.


    Elder Choi jerked as if struck by lightning, stumbling back with disbelief. He felt warmth on his stomach from one side to the other.


    Releasing his sword onto the snow, he clutched at his midriff with both hands, scared to even look down.


    The red haired beauty was already departing the scene, no longer concerned with the outcome of the battle.


    Elder Choi tried to force the slimy organs back into his stomach but couldn''t. He finally looked down and saw his entrails plopping to the floor like noodles with too much sauce.


    Staining his feet and the snow around it red.


    He managed to gasp out a horrific shriek of doom. His last offering to the world, the white of the ground raced up to meet his face as he keeled over next to his sword with his blood colouring the ice around him.


    Zhang Yi emerged staggering from a crater bloodied and confused. Pain causing him to gasp and wince, he had at least a half dozen shattered ribs while coughing up blood every few seconds from a punctured lung.


    He witnessed the final armoured man fleeing down the winding hill without looking back. His footsteps mashing through the snow sending flecks of white spraying.


    The result of the battle spoke for itself, Zhang Yi looked around to see elder Choi left twisted and broken, the ice around him as red as a pool of blood, mercilessly dissected to death like an annoying insect.


    The scene chilled him, plumes of smoke still rose to the grey skies across the capital, it was a day for the strong to show their strength, and he wasn''t one of the strong.


    Forget killing everyone in the western hills, he would do well to escape with his life.


    It puzzled him, he had been at the peak of the 9th layer for nearly two decades, how was he defeated so easily?


    "So.... Are you going to slither down the hill or not?"


    Hartley''s voice bored into his ears, bringing him back to his current predicament.


    The handsome young man walked slowly towards him. Every crunch of his footsteps felt like a hand squeezing his heart.


    The ragged Zhang Yi took a deep breath to compose himself.


    Something dawned on him, but how could it be? The boy was only in his twenties.


    A Saint? A Domain?


    Could he be? Zhang Yi thought internally.


    "Our Patriarch is a saint, you think you can get away with this? Repent now and we might be able to come to an agreement. Are you truly trying to rebel against a saint?"


    One by one archers and guards started to pop there heads over the wall to see the aftermath of the battle. Hushed discussions broke out, everyone proud of Hartley and glad the battle hadn''t taken longer.


    Hartley smiled again, "are you going to slither down the hill or not?"


    Zhang Yi suddenly had an awful feeling, the young man didn''t show a lick of fear for saints, it must be that by some miracle he is one, his aura showed no strength but was laced with mystery.


    "Look Sir Hartley," Zhang Yi spoke with sweat beading down his forehead, desperation in his voice as he tried to sound respectful.


    "We shouldn''t have barged onto your property on a day like this, it might have given off the wrong message. I apologize for disturbing your rest so early in the morning. It was not my intent...."


    A bright blue flash lit up the morning, two full length arms fell to the snow, blood squirting everywhere.


    Zhang Yi looked at the handsome young man in shock, two beautiful blue elemental swords in his grasp, then looked at his own shoulders and saw nothing but bleeding stumps, only to hear Hartley repeat the same question a third time.


    This time Zhang Yi dived onto his stomach like a swimmer, using his legs to propel himself down the hill like a slug, leaving a long trail of red behind him.


    "Seems like he didn''t want to lose his legs as well, smart man." Said Hartley turning around and seeing Zhi Ruo''s quizzical look.


    "He''ll survive, men like those are like cockroaches."


    Hartley said heading back in with Zhi Ruo and Qin Li.


    ...


    That night the western hills had another special visitor.


    The wind blew by lifting the snow, fog was plentiful. Shadows flowed over the white night.


    Hartley stepped from a spatial crack.


    "Subtle is not one of your strengths is it."


    Hartley heard the familiar voice and smiled bowing forward with respect.


    "Elder, I should have come to see you before this."


    Kang replied with laughter as usual.


    "Don''t worry, I hear you''ve been busy."


    "Congratulations."


    Kang said while nodding with pride.


    "I was only lucky, thanks to you and your brother."


    Kang waved his hand nonchalantly, "its all your hard work."


    "Lets talk.. I think you are likely to get a visit from the Patriarch of House of Smiths soon."


    Hartley looked ppuzzled. Then showed Kang into the mano

 147 Uniting the west Rough Draf

    The shrill screech of the wind whirred by, rattling the drooping ice formed around the panes of glass in the window.


    Streaks of light fell from the partially hidden moon, peeking through the frosted windows of the manor and into the second floor lounge.


    Two men sat in the spacious chamber, its interior quiet and tranquil. Illuminated by a mixture of the buoyant flame in the fireplace and the soft radiance of the moonlight.


    Kang raised a glass to his head and sipped his drink. The torchlight mounted on the wall gave his exposed skin a yellow hue. He was sat on a padded chair across from Hartley.


    Kang''s Watery eyes reflected the fire light as he spoke, his voice heavy with emotion.


    "Welcome to the Saint''s world Hartley, tonight we drink as proud comrades in the same realm." His reddened face was a mask of seriousness.


    Hartley had never seen Kang drink anything but milk, tonight his father-figure made an exception, sipping fragrant wine from a robust mug.


    Hartley lifted his own mug and followed suit without objecting.


    Shadows stretched and wobbled across the furniture, moving as if performing a dance throughout the room, casting dark lines that flowed and stuttered with the angle of the fluttering orange flame.


    Kang thumped his mug onto the wooden table after quickly gulping down its contents, closing his eyes as he Inhaled deeply with drops of red wine clinging to his white beard.


    The ensuing conversation revolved around Kang''s curiosity towards the pocket dimension and the survivors within.


    Kang asked of Hartley''s experience and Hartley gave him a detailed account holding nothing back, finishing with his encounter and battle against the person he suspected to have originated from a higher plain.


    Kang took in every detail, processing the information with a serious face, the crackling flames of the fireplace, plus the howling wind outside the window served as the ambient sound in the quiet room.


    The vibe was abnormally serious, a typical conversation with Kang was usually filled with mirth, immaturity and laughter.


    This time Kang stared unblinkingly at Hartley.


    "The first thing to know about the saint realm is its limitation." Kang finally broke his silence.


    "The mortal plane is like a prison that bounds its occupants from ever threatening the heavens, designed to keep this plane separate from the planes of power."


    "But!" He held up a single finger as if to accentuate his point.


    "The heavens are fair if nothing else.


    This plane also protects it''s occupants from beings originating in the higher planes, limiting their powers and enforcing a time limit on their stay whenever they descend.


    Even so, those demi gods still hold tremendous power when relegated to the mortal plane, but that''s a topic for another time."


    Kang sighed.


    Weaker saints are safe from the black energy but vulnerable to stronger saints, the stronger saints however, live in constant fear of being engulfed and erased by a random attack of black energy.


    Once one is deemed overpowered, the black energy constantly seeks to maintain the balance of the plane by erasing the threat."


    "That''s why those at the peak of the saint realm have no choice but to attempt ascension to a higher plane" Hartley blurted out.


    "Hmmn," Kang nodded with a serious look, "but ascending is a task easier said than done."


    Kang took another swill of wine and continued with long shadows flickering across his face.


    "You''ll find that the saint realm is very different from the xiantian realm.


    Not dependent on elemental control or physical power amplification. The brute force approach that you like so much will quickly get you devoured by black energy, this risk prevents many saints from wanting to get anywhere near the peak of the saint realm.


    Progression through the layers of the saint realm is not as important as developing a strong domain.


    So instead of cultivating through the layers of the saint realm quickly, most concentrate on developing a strong domain as a foundation.


    A mature domain can exert tremendous power without the saint personally violating the tolerance of power for the mortal plane, pay attention."


    Kang produced two coins of the same size and rested them on the table.


    He held up one with the index and thumb of his left hand, then from two meters away, he swept the index finger of his right hand towards the coin.


    There was a whoosh and a bang when the finger made contact with the coin, it was instantly obliterated, sending silver flakes flying all over the table.


    A flash of black energy immediately rumbled into existence, taking the place of the destroyed coin, roiling and snapping violently for a few seconds before it disappeared.


    Reflexively Hartley drew his head backwards to avoid the metal filings flying in the air.


    Kang gave a sly grin, without a word he then lifted the second coin, Hartley felt an instant change in the air, the room suddenly felt different, as if all the oxygen was sucked away.


    Kang let go of the coin and it floated in mid air, the air around the coin wobbled then the coin jerked and exploded into a shower of dazzling silver flakes, glinting in the firelight and raining down around the two men, scattering everywhere with tiny flecks of the metal floating in the mugs of wine on the table.


    Silver flakes were spread in Kang''s white hair and across his shoulders like glitter, making him look comical, he smiled and asked, "did you notice?"


    Hartley nodded, "you used a domain the second time."


    "Good," said Kang with a smile. "I applied my space domain, shrinking the space around the coin, achieving the same result of destroying the coin, but more efficiently, avoiding the black energy that would have erupted in the process otherwise.


    Keep that concept in mind and always try to use your domain instead of physical attacks when possible."


    Hartley inhaled and then nodded, pointers from Kang was something he always appreciated, after a while he retrieved two fresh mugs and poured more wine.


    Kang took the new cup with glee, gulping down another mouthful of wine. He licked his lips then started to speak again.


    "The basic five elements that dominate the xiantian realm are no longer the building blocks of power in the saint realm. A saint can hide all elemental fluctuations, becoming no different from a mortal. Only revealing their true capabilities when unleashing their domain.


    Domains can be varied and unusual, from sword domains to illusion domains or domains which can grant someone control over fierce beasts, they can all be very deadly if you are caught off guard."


    Both men sipped their wine as Kang brought the conversation back to current affairs.


    "Now, I suspect you will be getting a visit from the Patriarch of the House of Smiths soon.


    There are alliances formed among saints, some more powerful than others. I can''t explain the intricacies right now, but in times of turmoil these alliances are what protects the country from hostile saints of other regions.


    Tell Patriarch Zhang of your relation to me if you need a shield, he should back off for the time being, at least until he gathers more information."


    The pair finished another six bottles of wine and engaged in conversation for hours before Kang bade goodbye, stumbling out of the manor with a flushed face.


    After Kang left Hartley couldn''t stop smiling, black energy was a scary proposition for the other saints, but not for him, he embraced it, his future development wouldn''t be hindered by trying to avoid black energy, with black energy as an aid, there was no reason for him to lounge in the lower layers of the saint realm, giving him all the advantages to dominate the saint realm.


    ***


    The next morning Hartley stepped onto the cobblestone streets of the western hills, the snow had already been cleared and shovelled to the side.


    Warmly dressed citizens went about their daily routines busying themselves with their tasks.


    Immediately the place was abuzz with chatter and excitement, people recognized Hartley and Zhi Ruo as the entourage moved along the street.


    Nowadays the western hills was a lively place regardless of the season. A constant traffic of people flooded by, most offering a respectful bow and an enthusiastic greeting as they passed.


    A team of miners could be seen carting coal from the back mountain along the paved roads, heading towards the storehouses behind the manor.


    Not so long ago this would have been an impossible sight during winter, now mining production has increased massively all year round, netting the western hills a drastic increase in revenue.


    The wintery sunshine bounced and glistened off the white snow-capped mountains in the background. Hartley looked around at the buildings and paved roads, proud to see all the improvements in the structures and lives of the western hills'' citizens.


    The security team trailed a few meters as the entourage wondered the roads, looming at a distance behind, dressed uniformly in white fur coats and equipped with gloves and silver long swords.


    "It''s time to take over the west," Hartley said to Qin Li and Zhi Ruo as they came to a stop bringing a halt to the procession. They all exchanged incredulous stares with Hartley, witnessing the quiet intensity in his eyes.


    "Are they just going to sit and watch us take the west?" Qin Li asked curiously with seriousness plastered to his expression.


    Hartley smiled and answered.


    "While the two princes are busy consolidating their own positions, we will secure the western region and become the third power in the capital, taking full advantage of the chaos raging across the capital with perfect timing."


    "What happens when they retaliate?" Zhi Ruo asked, more relaxed with the situation.


    "I don''t think we need to worry about that Ruo, by the time news trickles out, the two princes will be unwilling to weaken their own position against each other by compromising lives and resources fighting against us in the west.


    That would give one prince an opportunity to sit by and watch both of us weaken ourselves, then pounce on the weakest opposition to strengthen even more.


    The prince who don''t engage with us in conflict would gain too big of an advantage. Besides, we are still allies of Prince Jian in principle.


    That leaves us with an opportunity to build our own platform, especially when word gets out that we have the backing of a saint."


    Hartley smiled confidently as the group began moving through the streets of the western hills again.


    ***


    Over the next days the elite forces of the western hills could be seen going out into the neighbouring territories armed to the teeth.


    With eight xiantian experts based in the western hills, plus the secret grenade-like orbs provided by Alrick, it was relatively easy to subdue the small nobles dotted around, for the more troublesome nobles of repute, Qin Li and Zhi Ruo would join the assault.


    The western hills put on a crushing display of power, nobles in the area could either have their forces decimated and be expelled from their own territory in these times of chaos, or they could swear allegiance to the lord of the western hills, paying taxes and subjecting their troops to his command, to be called upon whenever needed.


    Under the command of Fu Qian the elites would lead the conquered troops to other territories and repeat the process, swelling in numbers after each victory.


    Even the disgruntled nobles of the fertile flat lands had to begrudgingly acquiesce to the rule of Hartley. The consequences were too devastating and it was impossible to seek help.


    Those who resisted were ruthlessly dealt with, noble houses with hundreds of years of tradition in the west, disappeared from sight over night.


    Some of the minor nobles relished the opportunity to serve in high ranking positions under the rule of the lord of the western hills. Hartley''s reputation was second to none in the west, this shook up the status quo almost inspiring a mini civil war.


    Many minor nobles saw this take-over by Hartley as an opportunity for a promotion to a higher standing in the region, joining willingly to suppress the more established nobles.

 148 Profit from Disorder Rough Draf

    "Sir!... Baron Kui has taken the knee, he unconditionally surrendered his property and troops to us after a brief skirmish."


    "We are still battling with Sir Shang in the flat lands though, they are attempting to hold out behind their walls, we expect victory within the hour, their walls cannot withstand the blast of your black orbs, their soldiers are shaking like leaves after every explosion."


    Almost on cue, numerous booming explosions rang out, followed by muffled screams and shouting in the distance ahead.


    A slim middle-aged noble dressed in white fluffy furs had just given his report to Fu Qian, his name was Jin Xamei and he was the head of a minor noble house in the area.


    He was a man who had grown increasingly bitter and disenfranchised with the capital''s politics, he was left to languish in obscurity on a piece of unprofitable land because he wasn''t a high born noble.


    This reshuffle after the king''s ascension was his chance to change his fortune, a chance to gain prosperity by capitalising on the rampant disorder in the region.


    A chance to bring glory and pride to his long maligned noble house.


    "Lets head over there then." Fu Qian said turning his horse west.


    A long line of horses trotted across the snow side by side, Jin Xamei was leading Fu Qian and his troops through the rugged and icy terrain towards a heavily fortified stronghold.


    The silhouette of the structure up ahead was getting clearer and clearer. Fu Qian pulled to a stop and the rest of the troops followed suit.


    "Shao Law, Fu Jianu, take squad ten and follow Xamei, work together to take down any xiantians who refuse to surrender. Spare those who take the knee.


    Qin Li is already there, he will back you up if you run into any problems and our elites will clean up the rest. If worst comes to worst, Hartley and Zhi Ruo will make an appearance, but let''s hope it doesn''t come to that."


    Fu Qian issued orders to his captains, who then sent runners to inform the troops of the plans.


    The forces of the western hills, backed by the troops of several local nobles, closed in on the last pocket of resistance in the west.


    Shao Law and Fu Jianu acknowledged their orders silently, galloping off on horseback behind Jin Xamei, with a squad of mounted soldiers closely following.


    Pattering hoofs dug up clumps of mud from the snow laden earth, flinging out specks of dirt as the herd of advancing horses left deep prints in the frozen ground.


    The mounted group raced across the open white wilderness, producing a noise akin to rumbling thunder, trampling over the sparse and dying foliage directly in their path.


    Minutes later they arrived to the sight of a massive gate with high walls on each side.


    There was a rocky cliff with a steep drop to the west. While the white icy wilderness stretched to the east as far as one could see.


    Qin Li and the four newly converted xantians were already on the scene, protecting the elites of the western hills from the volleys of arrows raining down from the walls of the stronghold.


    When the falling arrows were close, a spectacular array of elemental power broke free from the new xiantians of the western hills.


    Qin Li was training the three males and one female, their robes flapped majestically as they unleashed their strength, blasting the swarms of arrows aside, the impact with the fletched projectiles, produced a kaleidoscope of colourful sparks in the world of white as the arrows disintegrated.


    The elite infantry troops armed with Alrick''s black orbs, pressed the button on the weapon, bringing forth that familiar sizzling sound that signified the volatile liquids within were mixing..


    Using this opportunity, they ran within range and tossed the black orbs atop the eight meter-high walls.


    Boom! Boom! Boom!


    One by one the explosions sent tremors trembling through the earth, a cluster of archers were blown clean off the wall, dug out from their position behind the thick battlements by an unexpected explosion.


    Unfortunately for them, there was no safety to be found even behind their concrete shield.


    Chips of masonry and shattered stones went flying out like bullets. Leaving deep gouges on the snow-coated wall.


    Tumbling clouds of dust billowed out as panicked cries came from the wall.


    A red blotch was left in the archers former position, pieces of body parts were scattered in every direction, this brought the smell of blood floating through the cold air.


    The miserable screams of the shell shocked defender''s lingered on longer with every new explosion.


    Body parts and pieces of armour were flying off the wall, landing in the snow below with regularity.


    In the eyes of those stationed to defend the walls, this was destruction and slaughter of apocalyptic proportions.


    None had seen anything like this before.


    Thick black smoke rose up with every detonation that rattled the wall, impeding the defenders vision and draining away their will to fight. Some scrambled down the walls trying to surrender, others fled into the frozen wilderness from pure fright.


    A third layer xiantian expert appeared on the wall trying to rally the troops, he resorted to threatening them when the scattering troops paid him no heed.


    As far as the frightened men were concerned, their lives were more important than protecting that old noble.


    Before the expert could lose his temper, a glowing yellow arrow came pinging at him.


    He moved left between the battlements, the arrow slammed into the wall with a yellow flash.


    A couple meters of the wall shattered and sprayed out like sand, shaking the entire structure with a massive boom.


    Whiz!


    Another glowing arrow was spat from Fu Jianu''s bow before the expert could adjust, landing two meters to the left of the first shot.


    Boom!


    There was another flash of yellow, and another boom. An impressive hole was punched through the thick wall, sending debris raining down on the other side.


    More black orbs quickly landed in the area causing a pandemonium of explosions.


    The bedraggled third layer xiantian expert was seen escaping down the wall faster than everyone. Disoriented as his ears continued to ring from his close proximity to the blasts.


    A revolution was taking place in the west, only a few stubborn old nobles were still putting up some futile resistance, the last of the bunch was about to be overrun...


    ***


    The wind chill was like a knife cutting through the air, everywhere was dyed white, drooping icicles clung to the branches of the naked trees lining the street.


    Scattered debris were being cleared by an assortment of soldiers on patrol, the remnants of the capital''s power struggle was evident, those who fought a losing campaign paid the price with their lives.


    The dead were frozen stiff, piled to the side, awaiting to be burned or buried.


    Mayhem had been rife, spreading through the opulent regions like wildfire. There was no conscience or leniency in the pursuit of greater riches and power. Everyone was trying to leverage maximum profits from the disorder.


    Carnage reigned for several days, plumes of smoke kept rising from countless places, coiling towards the sky like giant black serpents.


    The streets remained mostly empty.


    Civilians and commoners weren''t targeted, the ruling class would need people to rule over when things settled.


    Even so, most stayed in hiding, risking starvation by only coming out to scavenge what they could.


    The atmosphere across the entire capital was as dour as the frigid weather...


    Meanwhile the peaceful western hills was functioning like clockwork, most citizens were oblivious to the degree of carnage happening, going about their daily chores as usual.


    The smoke trails rising to the sky across the capital, gave them an inkling of the discontent beyond the walls, but they couldn''t imagine the changes taking place as it didn''t directly affect them.


    Hartley sat in the lotus position in his cultivation room. His awareness was stretched to his maximum capability, keeping an eye on the assault happening in the west while monitoring the situation in the rest of the capital.


    Zhi Ruo was shadowing the operation in the western region, just in case any high level experts were lurking in the weeds, if needed, he himself would be there in seconds.


    There was an unwritten rule that saints shouldn''t meddle in the conflicts of mortal men.


    Though most didn''t know he was a saint, Hartley still stayed hands off in the operation, entrusting Qin Li and Zhi Ruo with the protection of the others.


    But if something was to go wrong, there was no way he would stand by and watch his people die.


    Instead he delved into his cultivation to pass the time, he couldn''t go into his inner world because he had to keep an eye on things, so he opted to cultivate his spell-weaving.


    His control over the black energy had been improving steadily, his biggest problem was that he still had to artificially summon the black energy.


    This could only be achieved by exerting enough power to break the threshold of tolerance for power on the plane, that would cause the black energy to erupt into existence to return balance.


    Hartley wanted to directly summon the black energy, this would verify that he was moving beyond a silver tier spell-weaver towards becoming a gold tier spell-weaver. Someone more attuned to his element of choice.


    Hartley slowed time with state of focus then practiced his finger gestures.


    For the first time Hartley noticed the crudeness of his finger gestures in comparison to the beast-men, or the people he''d duelled in the pocket dimension.


    There was 16 basic gestures, some requiring the use of one finger, others required five.


    One needed to be able to execute 8 gestures in one motion in order to summon the elements from nothing.


    He hadn''t had a chance to concentrate on improving his spell-weaving since his return.


    His transitions between gestures were crude at best, missing the fluidity and finesse of the better spell-weavers.


    After practicing a few hours, a smile crept across Hartley''s face, he had the ultimate cheat code to correct his flaws, time manipulation...


    ****


    Chaos continued to rage as the ambitious nobles squared off, each competing to secure resources, destroying anything they couldn''t keep hold of, depriving its use in strengthening the other side.


    A single carriage travelled untouched and unaffected from the south, the chaos on the streets seemed to melt away with its approach.


    Warring factions came to an immediate truce once the white carriage was recognised.


    Soldiers and nobles stood to the side with reverence, ensuring the vehicle''s easy passage.


    The carriage made its way northwest, heading in the direction of the western hills. The team of four wild beasts dragged the beautifully crafted carriage along. Crunching through the snow on the winding roads, carrying only a single passenger.


    Hartley blue eyes flashed open in his cultivation room, a hint of a smile tugged at the corner of his lips.


    His perception recognized the embossed insignia on the doors of the special carriage, it was a sword and a hammer crossing each other to form an X.


    "House of Smiths," Hartley said to himself.


    The carriage wobbled over a hidden pothole, rattling lazily as it crested a hill. Every visible tree around the area was dusted in white, with no leaves hanging from frozen branches.


    "Stop," a voice instructed the driver of the carriage in the middle of nowhere.


    The carriage rolled to a stop in the deep powdery snow, the door opened then a foot sank ankle deep into the snow.


    A skinny old man who could be described as feeble stepped down from the carriage.


    "Return," he told his driver, "I''ll make the return trip alone."


    He stood ankle deep in the snow wearing a fur coat over his white robe.


    He watched the carriage do a u turn, leaving neat trails in the snow as it went down the hill, soon the white carriage couldn''t be seen against the white background.


    The old man turned, his ear-length hair barely moving in the frigid wind.


    He faced the north and spoke, "I came in my personal carriage so you would see me coming."


    "And what brings you to my neck of the woods?" A grey robed figure asked as he walked casually over a mound, leaving his footprints trailing behind.


    "My subordinate relayed some curious suspicions about you, I paid extra attention to his story because he returned with two missing limbs."


    The skinny old man dressed in white spoke mildly, then continued, "don''t worry, that debt shall be repaid in kind."


    The grey robed figure let out an exaggerated sigh, his demeanor dripping with mirth and sarcasm.


    "So he survived, that Zhang Yi is truly a cockroach."


    The person in grey spoke without caring too much about the old man''s veiled threat.


    "So, you are Hartley from the western hills." The old man smiled as he sized up Hartley.


    "So, you are Patriarch Zhang from House of Smiths." Hartley answered and smiled back.

 149 The Third power. rough draf

    Every inch of the gloomy landscape was covered in perfect white.


    Occasionally the humming wind would sweep by, whipping up the powdered snow in blustery swirls, forming airy trails across the landscape that resembled smoke.


    The natural light was already fading, signifying that the end of another short winter''s day was fast approaching.


    Two human figures stood out like shining bulbs in the endless sea of snow, standing ten meters apart on a hill filled with natural beauty, the environment around them was tranquil and calming.


    The frigid wind blew pass their silhouettes, tugging at the hems of their fluttering robes.


    Patriarch Zhang smiled, he was short and very thin, with sharp features and silvering hair. He stood straight-backed, white robe and fur coat flapping to the whims of the wind. Looking rather sage-like and regal.


    "You''re full of yourself, but your confidence is misplaced, you don''t know enough to know what you''ve gotten into."


    The skinny old man''s voice held a certain air of authority, as if correcting a youth on the wrong path.


    "You, young man, are guilty of doing too much while knowing too little.


    There''s a reason why a new born calf isn''t afraid of a tiger. Now, let''s find out how accurate Zhang Yi''s report was."


    "And how do you suggest we do that?" Hartley asked casually, borderline mockingly.


    "You''ll know soon enough, first you''ll repay the two limbs you owe to the House of Smiths."


    The skinny old man flashed a vicious look, leering at Hartley with venom, apparently finished with the pretentious pleasantries.


    There was a subtle change in the atmosphere immediately.


    Hartley knew right away that the old man had engaged his domain.


    Dull shadows from the leaf-less trees stretched across the snow like skeletons reaching out.


    Patriarch Zhang''s figure seemed to distort for a second, flickering in and out like a malfunctioning screen, then he blinked out of sight completely.


    All the scattered shadows around seem to come alive. Lengthening, thickening, darkening and joining together, forming a featureless black figure that rose to its feet like a giant human.


    The black as midnight humanoid materialised from wispy shapes of darkness, sucking away the shadows and adding it to its six meter frame.


    Darkness streamed from its body like water. Instantly weaning away all the light in a one kilometre radius, submerging the entire hill into perpetual darkness.


    The velvet-smooth layer of snow underfoot transformed from pearl white to being as black as crude oil.


    The thick tsunami of darkness overwhelmed everything in its path as if it was alive.


    All Hartley could see was black before his eyes, swallowed in darkness, his feet felt like they were sinking through the earth.


    He retained his freedom of movement but the darkness had arrived so fast that it left him a little disoriented, he had completely lost his bearings. He couldn''t even tell what direction he was facing, his awareness was being blocked inside this darkness.


    There was a simple solution to this. That was his time domain.


    The six meter tall humanoid, made from shadows, roared like a dark spectre released from the bowels of hell.


    The sound battered Hartley''s ears from every direction, further adding to his disorientation.


    Hartley wasted no more time, he countered by engaging monochrome.


    All sounds faded away, the world went eerily quiet and tranquil around him, the claustrophobic darkness bled away, reverting back to a black and white snapshot of the previous picturesque scene.


    Hartley spun around to evaluate the threats around him, the genderless shadow humanoid loomed large above him, frozen in suspended animation like a blotch of blotted ink. Its long shadowy arms reaching down towards Hartley.


    A glowing white apparition flew from the humanoid''s stationary body.


    It was mist-like with smoky wisps trailing its every movement, dashing forward to attack in a blurry streak.


    An indistinct fist formed, churning like glowing clouds of billowing smoke, extending to the size of a carriage, blurring as it came down like a meteor and slammed into the ground, creating a ten meter crater.


    After-images of the punch floated in the air, aimed at where Hartley''s undefended back would have been.


    The ghost-like apparition then wriggled and faded away, dissipating like smoke at the end of the simulated attack. The process of the attack restarted again as if on replay. This was a new feature in Hartley''s upgraded time domain.


    After breaking into the saint realm, whenever he implemented his time domain, the next actions of any hostile combatant would be predicted and demonstrated by white apparitions.


    Hartley immediately figured out the trap, this humanoid shadow had a simple independent thought process, meaning it was not the patriarch transformed.


    It was most likely something he had trained in his domain, its wispy ghost-like form suggested that it was immune to physical attacks.


    Anyone caught in this shadow domain would first struggle with disorientation


    The discombobulated victim would either stand his ground and get cut down from the back by the shadow humanoid, or run around frantically trying to evade whatever was lurking in the darkness.


    Most likely to end up running around in circles before being picked off.


    Anyone who reflexively tried to defend themselves with physical attacks would be doomed.


    It was almost a full proof strategy against an inexperienced opponent, no wonder the Patriarch was so confident. He must be watching with glee.


    Hartley watched the white apparition again, taking note of the shadow''s speed and angle of approach.


    He relaxed, smiled and uttered, "interesting."


    Despite the advice of Kang, Hartley was going to brute force the saint realm into submission.


    Four left-handed finger gestures were executed in a single motion, Hartley then waved his right hand with vigour, black energy sizzled to life in front of him, snapping and crackling like frying eggs.


    The black energy twisted and roped into a spiral under his control, then he injected his immense blue elemental power that spun in the opposite direction. High density gravity was applied to the mix and boom! The ground shook.


    Hartley cracked open a black hole with ease. A small implosion sent crackling black electricity zig zagging at its edges.


    The sequence was smooth and practiced.


    Hartley''s hair billowed wildly around his face, his robe fluttering violently as if he was falling from the sky. Flashes of his blue elemental power reflected in his sapphire eyes.


    The raging nucleus of the black hole spun counter clockwise like a tornado, eager to devour anything and everything, sucking at the world like a hungry vacuum cleaner.


    He disengaged his time domain immediately, using the black hole as his shield.


    Whoosh, time returned to normal.


    Everything blinked back to pitch black.


    The suffocating darkness returned, the head splitting roar of the shadow humanoid sounded out vociferously.


    Just as predicted, the wispy form of the shadow humanoid came flying forward with its attack.


    Its defiant roars turned to a screech of anguish in a sudden change of fortune.


    The pitch black ground trembled, it sounded like grenades and gunfire was kicking off, the screams of the humanoid shadow raised to a higher octave, it fought desperately to escape the clutches of the portal.


    Its six meter frame was being sucked violently through the tennis ball sized black hole.


    In a blink, the humanoid shadow was up to its elbow in the black hole, then the shoulders then torso, then with a whoosh...


    Everything disappeared, leaving flashes of black sparks contrasting with the white of winter.


    The tacky tar of darkness disappeared instantly, the domain was broken with the demise of the humanoid shadow.


    Silence!


    Muted greys and whites of the winter''s evening returned, restoring the calming atmosphere. Snow continued to swirl above the ground, swept up and down the hill by the wind.


    It only lasted a few seconds but the black hole took chunks of the terrain like a nuclear strike.


    "Impossible!"


    Patriarch Zhang screamed, he was spat from the void face first into the snow, puking up blood on his white fur coat, rebounding and bouncing a couple times, ending up sprawled in an awkward position.


    Unable to hide his utter shock.


    Big chunks of earth were missing in front of Hartley''s position. Showing the brown earth deep beneath the snow.


    "You''re in the second layer of the saint realm. How?"


    Patriarch Zhang lost his authoritative demeanour as he stuttered.


    Hartley smiled without answering, dusting the debris from his clothes, his hair was now a mess, looking like he''d just crawled out of a hole looking for discarded bits of food.


    He looked up. "Was Zhang Yi''s report true, do you feel like the calf who wasn''t afraid of the tiger?" He asked looking smug.


    Even if Hartley was a saint like Zhang Yi had reported, he could only be a newly promoted saint with a weak domain. There was no way he should be in the second layer.


    The time frame wasn''t adding up, Patriarch Zhang''s mind was unravelling like a frayed doormat.


    What he didn''t know was:


    When Hartley had broken into the xiantian realm, he climbed directly to the second layer.


    Again Hartley had broken directly into the second layer of the saint realm.


    This can be credited to the blue star fragment in his body.


    Blue swirls wrapped around Hartley''s body and he was instantly next to the patriarch, a puff of blue sparks outlined his body, it was a magical sight in the sea of white, like a fairy releasing glittery dust.


    Fear thrummed through the old man''s veins striking deep at his bowels.


    He jumped to his feet ready to defend, he wouldn''t be defeated so easily, he had way too much cards up his sleeve.


    Hartley made his move without fear of breaking the threshold for power.


    Patriarch Zhang saw a sudden flare of black energy blaring out around the young saint who moved towards him.


    The skinny old man scrambled backwards through the snow in an undignified manner, genuine fright etched across his face. Putting a little distance between himself and the saint who was about to be devoured by black energy.


    A sense of relief washed over the patriarch, this was one of those stupid saints that craved power to his own detriment.


    One has to understand that every layer one ascended in the saint realm, was one layer closer to being erased by black energy.


    The patriarch was happy to stay in the first layer and live out his thousand years in comfort and leisure. His shadow domain would do all the work for him, he just needed to develop another shadow creature.


    Five seconds later.


    Something was off, from twenty meters away Patriarch Zhang looked closer at the situation through squinted eyes.


    There were no screams of pain or chaotic running around begging for help, the young saint was still taking casual steps in his direction, his blue eyes delivering a piercing stare through the darkness surrounding him.


    Lethal black energy roped around his body like a hypnotized snake, twinkling with shards of flickering black light.


    Mouth hanging open in surprise, the patriarch couldn''t believe his eyes, he lost all hope again, sweating at his temples, it was like dying twice in a matter of minutes.


    Whoosh!


    Hartley smiled at the startled man, then moved like lightning, a black streak trailing behind him over the white background. Of course Hartley opted for brute force again.


    Patriarch Zhang was immediately covered in shadows as if he was trying to engage his domain again, but without the shadow humanoid, it was severely underpowered.


    Thump!


    The patriarch received a hefty punch, not even registering when it landed on his right shoulder.


    His measly domain popped like a bubble, the shadows scattering away from him like roaches across the ground.


    Patriarch Zhang made a screeching scream unbefitting a saint, he flew off the hill to crash into a sturdy leaf-less tree, smashing it to a million pieces, jolting the ground when he landed, opening wide spider web cracks across its snowy surface.


    He was flattened, body pressed into the ground.


    He wailed like a new-born, he couldn''t remember the last time he was subjected to physical pain.


    The powdered snow fluttered about back and forth around him like smoke.


    Hartley approached, leaving footprints all the way down the hill, flashes of black forbidden energy crackling around his right hand.


    It was an unbelievable sight, this was magic, the patriarch couldn''t put it any other way.


    "Kang said to say hello," Hartley spoke nonchalantly and didn''t attack again. Kang had mentioned the alliance of saints at their last meeting, Hartley didn''t know too much about the organisation so he didn''t act rash.


    Patriarch Zhang was relieved, it felt like he had died three times since encountering Hartley.


    He exhaled a deep sigh, he managed to sit up, his clothes a mess after wallowing through the dirt and snow and his right shoulder hung limp.


    It took some doing to shatter the bones of a saint, even if that saint was only in the first layer.


    Hartley managed it.


    The patriarch sat up with a forced smile that looked more like crying.


    "You are acquainted with Kang, I never knew that, you should have mentioned it from the start. I would have given you some face."


    Patriarch Zhang acted like a magnanimous host.


    The last thing he needed was to cross that mad man on top of taking this brutal beating. He loved his status and life too much.


    "Don''t step foot into the western hills again."


    Hartley''s warning lingered in the air, but he was long gone, only a few blue sparks were left in his place.


    ****


    Weeks went by in a flash, the capital began to settle down as distinct lines were drawn between factions.


    A proud flag fluttered like a sail in the breeze, sat atop a twenty meter-high spire.


    The black bear standing on its hind legs was quickly becoming a symbol of power, this emblem was embroidered in black, spanning the full height of the white flag.


    It lauded over the manor of the western hills for all to see.


    Some major nobles had thought that once they''d secured a big enough base of operations, they could then turn their eyes on the west, it would be the cherry to finish the cake.


    Shockwaves tore through the aristocratic circles, everyone had a culture shock, even the princes.


    While they squabbled among themselves, the west had become one entity, united in their repulsion of any invading forces.


    High numbers of xiantians, troops, and explosives, ripped theses forces to bits. Survivors were few.


    One major noble who had eeked out a large slice of the capital for himself was decimated, losing everything he''d gained.


    The west was definitely the third power in the capital.


    It was rumoured that the western hills even had the backing of an unknown saint, a few saints had flown into the direction of the western hills to dispel the myth, they were soon seen leaving without a peep.

 150 The Alliance of Saints Rough Draf

    Lightning flashed across the darkened sky, coinciding with a sudden downpour that lashed onto the western hills.


    Zhi Ruo watched the random raindrops falling against her window, splashes and droplets beaded and slid down the clear glass, leaving long streaks of water racing to the bottom of the pane, spooling on the sill before slowly dripping over the edge.


    The heavy shower pelted down against the roof, its soothing and rhythmic pattering gave a serene and relaxing vibe to the grey afternoon.


    Down below in the yard of the manor, she saw people outside scampering off, seeking shelter from the wintery afternoon shower, one unlucky young man tripped and fell in the sloshy snow, his friends laughed helping him up as they made a dash for the shed nearby.


    Zhi Ruo turned away from the window with a chuckle, striding across the silent and dimly lit room.


    The beautifully decorated private chamber had high ceilings and a bed centred on marble tiles.


    Hartley was sat on a cushion in the lotus position near to the far wall, hands on his thighs with eyes closed. His face a picture of peacefulness.


    She went over and sat beside him, snaked her arm around his waist and leaned her head onto her husband''s shoulder.


    Hartley''s blue eyes flashed open soon after, he turned his face towards her, planting a tender kiss on the crown of her head.


    "What''s on your mind Ruo?" He asked lovingly.


    She sighed and just sat there listening to the rain, watching the wet streaks crawl down the window.


    "There might come a time when you''ll have no choice but to ascend and leave us here." She said.


    Hartley''s lips broke into a smile.


    "What makes you think that?."


    Zhi Ruo gathered her thoughts, her head still leaning against his shoulder.


    "It took you ten years to reach the saint realm from the ninth layer, and that was within the pocket dimension where it''s ten times more conducive for elemental cultivation.


    It will probably take a hundred years for me to reach sainthood from the eighth layer, by that time...."


    Hartley laughed out loud, cackling from his stomach.


    "By that time I would have already ascended?" Hartley finished his wife''s train of thought.


    He kissed her on the crown of her head again.


    "Don''t worry about that Ruo, I''ll never leave here without you, even if I have to destroy this plane to bring you with me."


    Hartley''s admission drew silence, filling the room with the pattering sound of the rain and the trickling sounds of dripping water outside the window.


    "I''m sure it won''t come to that, me, you, Alrick and Qin Li might have to pay a visit to the pocket dimension when things settle down though."


    Zhi Ruo raised her head to look at him, her red hair tied in a pony tail bounced over her left shoulder.


    "Why?" She asked nervously.


    Hartley smiled at the disgruntled expression on her face.


    "We''ve gained a solid footing for now, to hold what we have in the long run will require way more strength than we possess.


    Our current situation is due to a chain reaction of circumstances and timing.


    It''s not out of the realm of possibility for the princes to strike a deal, they''ve both got birth right and entitlement to the land, when they stop seeing each other as their greatest threat, they''ll join hands for a common cause."


    She returned her head to his shoulder. He was right, she remembered her vow to help conquer the continent, this was far from the continent.


    With so many strategically important locations spread across the country, it''s impossible for one faction to hoard them all.


    Occupying all these places at once would be spreading yourself too thin, potentially crumbling once you were attacked on multiple fronts.


    For now, Hartley suspected that liberating the farm lands and coal mines of the west wasn''t high on anyone''s list of priorities."


    ****


    Later that day there was a meeting to establish a command structure in the west.


    All the nobles hoping to be granted fertile land and a higher position turned up to the manor, they were all guided into the reception hall on the first floor.


    The lesser nobles who had fought valiantly alongside the western hills weren''t misled, vivid ecstasy was abundant on their faces, Hartley had kept his word.


    They were promoted to prominent positions in the region.


    Rewarded with fertile lands formerly reserved for the high born nobles with links to the royal family.


    This was their chance to stamp their authority on the region, generate wealth and make a name for themselves.


    People like Jin Xamei were at the forefront of the restructuring.


    He had identified and helped to weed out those troublesome old nobles, removing those potential stumbling blocks early in the campaign, ensuring a quick victory and a low casualty count.


    Others like him, who had chosen to forsake the old regime and hop on-board the new, celebrated with glee as they were appointed new positions by Fu Qian.


    The ambitions of people like Jin Xamei and the smaller nobles would align with Hartley''s philosophy of rewarding based on merit.


    He wouldn''t have to worry about some of the ungrateful and established nobles who had gotten fat purely based on their connections to the princes.


    They were all expelled from the region.


    Command was centralized in the western hills, with Hartley at the top of the pyramid of authority, his orders would be handed down to the nobles appointed to run the individual territories.


    In times of peace everything will function as before, with each noble left to make their own management decisions.


    In times of conflict, orders on strategy and troop deployment would come directly from the western hills.


    For the time being, no noble would have access to, or be permitted to stockpile any of the weapons developed in the western hills.


    There was also a few rules of conduct that everyone was expected to follow.


    Those nobles who wanted to work the commoners into the ground like prize mules, or keep them in squalid conditions for little to no compensation, would not be tolerated.


    Anyone found indulging in these practices would be stripped of their position and expelled from the west.


    With all the new policies implemented among the new hierarchy, the meeting was adjourned.


    Happy faces were everywhere, leaving the western hills buzzing with a purpose and a new direction.


    ****


    Natural light streamed into the room from the high windows, casting a shadow of its frame across the floor.


    The scent of parchments filled the air, the brownish sheets of paper were strewn everywhere, scattered haphazardly across a wooden desk.


    Prince Jian sat behind the desk in question, looking scholarly in a black robe, the streaks of white running through his hair was becoming more emboldened, standing out against the spots of dark hair still remaining on his head.


    An assistant dressed in a military robe stood in front of the desk waiting for further instructions.


    "How could this be? Are sure this report is correct?"


    Prince Jian asked in a low voice as he re-read the information relayed on one of the parchments.


    "Some of it is confirmed young lord, more details are pending. We however know that there has been a takeover in the west, all noteworthy nobles with any connection to you or your brother has been expelled."


    The assistant had expected such questioning, he had memorised and confirmed the crucial aspects of the report.


    Prince Jian sat back in his chair, almost looking at the ceiling in contemplation, the light from the window reflecting on his eyes.


    The western hills had been relegated to a corner of his mind, there was much more lucrative assets up for grabs.


    Planning strikes at his brother''s vulnerable forces, while reinforcing his own operations was at the forefront of his mind. He had almost forgotten about you the young man commander Genk had had so much loyalty to.


    "So what about this mystery saint backing the western hills? And How does Patriarch Zhang tie into this whole mess?"


    The prince asked as his eyes darted back and forth quickly perusing the rest of the report.


    "There are unconfirmed reports that Patriarch Zhang was injured in the west, he himself hasn''t confirmed the existence of this new saint, instead he has been said to be entering closed door cultivation for an unknown period of time.


    The two others who were sent to investigate were also tight lipped about the situation, reporting that they saw Kang, who vouched for the mystery saint on behalf of the alliance of saints."


    "The alliance of saints?" Prince Jian scratched his head in bewilderment, "what are those old fogeys doing? There has been no foreign saint sighted on our soil, has there?"


    "No sir, none reported."


    Similar conversations happened between Prince Dong and his closest advisors.


    With the tangled web of information coming from the west, this was seen as a mix up that could be sorted out later, for now everyone vying to be the most powerful influence in the country had to consolidate.


    There was a running battle for control of the docks in the Cassia province, the young prince had managed to keep hold of the docks and it''s flow of cargo for the past week, with some of his best men stationed there.


    The two princes continued their quest for not only military dominance, but also financial control of the country''s resources.


    What none of the princes had disclosed to the public was that King Yulan hadn''t named a successor before ascending, instead he had looked at his two sons and uttered a phrase before sending them both on their way.


    "Only the strong can truly rule, and neither of you are qualified."


    That was the statement said without a hint of hesitation or emotion.


    The last sentence the great King had said to his sons on the mortal plane.


    ****


    Another winter''s evening was approaching , the light outside dimmed, guards sporting the black bear emblem patrolled diligently through sloshy snow and mud.


    People dressed for the weather strode by, talking while heading home towards the residential sector to the east.


    Kang walked into the manor with a companion, back to his childish giggling ways when he saw the staff rushing to attend to him and his guest.


    By now everyone knew who he was and how much respect Hartley showed this eccentric man. He was one not to be offended at all cost.


    Hartley was notified of Kang''s arrival immediately.


    He made his way down to the first floor, as he was about to greet Kang his face went stiff.


    Tall, lanky, white hair tied back in a pony tail with relatively refined features.


    This man accompanying Kang was very familiar, in fact he was someone Hartley remembered quite well.


    The skinny man laughed, "you remembered me that quickly?" He asked.


    Hartley replied, "its kind of hard to forget when someone calls you an ant and proceed to burn a piece of forest to the point that it transformed to a bona fide desert."


    The man cracked a proud toothy smile, "you weren''t so shabby yourself, I couldn''t get the dirt from my hair for days."


    That''s when Kang chimed in, "lets go to that lounge of yours Hartley."


    "Aww"... The stranger sunk into a padded chair like an old man with back problems. He looked to Kang seated across from him.


    Kang sipped his milk without concern. He turned back to face Hartley.


    "I''m here to invite you to join the alliance of saints."