ã€ŠVessel, Core, Purposeã€‹


 Prologue (Pt. 1)

    Near the top of a hill, next to a long, wide flowing river, sat a village.

    The village of Zhongde was, as many would describe it, out in the middle of nowhere.It was small with its only distinguishing feature being that it was near a wide, flowing river and being mostly made of large rice fields.It was a very unassuming village and everybody within it was just as unassuming.

    And what played a fairly large part in that was the fact that this village hadn''t bred any cultivators.Not the fact that it hadn''t bred any notable cultivators, the fact that it hadn''t bred any cultivators at all.In a world where power was dominant above all else, especially power from cultivation, that made the small village practically invisible.

    However, that day, history was made for that small, unassuming village.

    Within one of many equally-shaped and equally-sized wooden huts sitting near the brook of the river the village was near, a middle-aged man and woman were getting ready to start their day.

    "It is quite nice outside today," the man says.

    "Yes, it is warm, but there is also a nice breeze," the woman says."Where is Siyuan?Is he not up yet?"

    "That boy," the man says with a sigh."He''s become so lazy now.Especially after he found that book floating along in the river."

    "I am aware, but should we be worried that he is spending more and more time in his room?" the woman says worriedly."It is just a book, isn''t it?What could be so interesting about it that he locks himself away over it for so much time?"

    "I''ll go fetch him," the man says."Then you can ask him yourself.He should be awake by now."

    The man turns towards the back of the house.However, just as he is about to begin his way to the room there¡­

    There was a very, very bright flash of light.Followed by an ear splitting BOOM!

    When the other villagers all scrambled towards the source of the sudden explosion, what they were greeted with was sheer destruction.The small wooden hut where it had come from was completely gone, only razed ground and destroyed planks of wood being the only sign that a house was there at all, with even its foundation being completely gone.Nearby, around the circle of destroyed ground, the man and woman that the house belonged to were on the ground nearby, dazed and in pain.

    However, what everyone''s attention was on was not them, but at the man standing within the destruction.

    Standing in the center of the wreckage was a young, handsome man, no older than twenty years old, with short, crow black hair and amber-colored eyes.He was dressed in a simple dark green tunic and baggy brown pants, cheap clothing very much like everybody else in that village.

    On top of all that, his whole body was bathed in a glowing, light blue aura.

    "Oh, sorry ''bout that," he sheepishly says, rubbing the back of his head."Didn''t know that laying foundation would be so¡­explosive, eheheh¡­"

    Nobody was concerned about that, however.They all just stared, amazed and wide-eyed, at him.Every single person there had come to the same conclusion.

    For the first time in all of history, the small village of Zhongde had produced a cultivator.

    |-|-|-|-|

    When his parents woke up, Lin Siyuan apologized profusely and kowtowed over and over again, begging for their forgiveness.The old couple, however, were too shocked to respond.From the moment they first laid eyes on their son, they could both tell that he was no longer like them even though that aura he had was no longer there.

    He was something more.Something more than human.Even when seeing him kowtow there in front of them, they felt below him.

    He was a cultivator now.Somebody who pursued godhood.And now that he was a cultivator, he had to leave that small village and find a sect, a school for cultivators, to develop in.And he seemed oddly eager to do so to the old couple, but not before rebuilding a new house for them.

    That was the first glimpse that he and the other villagers got of his newfound physical abilities.

    The shack was small and the village wasn''t exactly lacking in supplies, but building a near-identical one was an endeavor that still would have taken a team of four or five maybe a day or two to finish.That was assuming that they took minimal breaks and worked from very early in the morning to very late into the night.

    It took Siyuan only several hours, albeit with the help of several of the other men from the village.

    He was both much faster and stronger than since he laid foundation.On top of that, he seemed to never tire, working from start to finish without stopping at the slightest, effortlessly completing the tasks that his coworkers struggled to do and then some.The other villagers just watched in awe as the land was cleaned up and renovated, with another house identical to the family''s old one having seemed to appear out of nowhere.The inside was a bit empty, but it could be refurnished very quickly, even without Siyuan''s help.

    He stayed for another day as he packed his meager belongings.His parents, of course, spoke to him of their concerns, but he assured them that he''d be fine.When the morning of his departure came around, he was more than ready for his departure and didn''t stick around.On the way out, he hugged his father and kissed his mother''s cheek before leaving them for who knows how long.Soon after, he left the village, waving to some of the villagers that he was familiar with and began down the path to the nearest city.

    The other villagers were sad to see him go.And he was as well to a degree, but he was more happy than sorrowful.Because, now that he had finally finished laying foundation, he could finally start pursuing his desired life goal.

    Siyuan stopped after walking a bit down the path.He turns around, casting one last fleeting glance at his home village.Then, he pulls the bag, full of his stuff, from his back and opens it, retrieving a single book.

    Written on the front of its cover, "The Quest to Success: A Cultivator''s Guide from the Famed Immortal Blacksmith."

    "It took a year, but I''m glad to see that it finally all paid off!" he says.He opens the book, flipping through its pages."Laying foundation seemed like an oddly peculiar process though.Good thing I found that book, otherwise I''d probably never find out how to do so in the first place.Now, according to the book, what I gotta do next is find a school that can help teach me the ways of relic smithing.The book has some recommendations, but I wonder if some country boy like me can get into any of them.Oh well, you don''t know until you try, right?"

    Continuing down the path, he began to go through the book for the dozenth time.

    |-|-|-|-|

    It took him almost a whole day of walking without break, but he had finally reached the nearby city.

    "Finally, the city of Lingzheng!" Siyuan exclaims to himself.

    He had been to the city a few times before, to buy some supplies that they could only find in the city or to just simply walk around.Regardless, he was blown away by the sheer size of everything around him when he finally got past the city gates and stepped into the city.It was alive and bustling with activity, whether it be people crowding the streets or nearby peddlers trying to attract customers to their stalls or to their nearby restaurant or brothel.

    "Okay, now I need to find a sect agency," he tells himself.He stops and takes a moment to look around."Except, I don''t know what one of those looks like.I''ll probably have to ask someone.But city folk are pretty mean unless you''re buying something from them.And I don''t have that much money on me at the moment¡­"

    He sighs.

    "Guess I''ll just have to wander around until I find one.How hard could it be?"

    ¡­

    Pretty hard apparently.

    Siyuan wandered around the small town aimlessly for around half an hour before he finally found himself in front of one.And honestly, if it weren''t for the sign in the front with the symbols for "Mystic River Sect" etched into it, he would''ve missed it completely.

    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

    "The Mystic River Sect, huh?" he muttered to himself, staring at the small, yet tidy building in front of him, sandwiched between a hotel and a restaurant.He flips through the pages of the book in his hand."That''s the dominant sect in Lingzheng according to here.It doesn''t have much on it though¡­"

    He sighs, closing the book and putting it back into his pack.

    "Oh well.Guess it''ll have to make do."

    He walks into the small building, pushing open the door.

    Within the door was a small reception area with a few chairs sat near the left and right walls.In front of him, there was a small counter with a young woman sitting behind it, writing something .When the door opened with a quiet creak, the woman looked up from her work.

    "Welcome to the Mystic River Sect''s Lingzheng agency," she said."How may I-?"

    She suddenly stops when she lays eyes on him as he walks up to the counter.Siyuan was beginning to feel slightly uncomfortable with how her eyes were beginning to roam his frame.

    A cultivator?!Here in Lingzheng?! she thought to herself.But how did he lay foundation?!This place is completely barren of cultivation resources!But it''s not like he''s the first one, the last guy said that he had several come by last year.It probably just took him a super long time.That aside, it means he can take the inner sect exam right away.

    She looked away from him and to the pile of papers on the counter right in front of her.She began to go through the papers.

    "Um, hello," Siyuan greets, a bit puzzled."I''m here-"

    "-to apply for enrollment into the sect?" the woman said.

    Siyuan blinked.

    "Yeah," he says.

    "Great!You''re in luck since the sect is currently taking in more disciples!" the woman said, her tone suddenly becoming more chipper as a smile appeared on her face."Since you''ve already laid foundation, you can immediately go take the inner sect exam."

    Huh, she doesn''t seem too shaken, he thought.That''s a relief.I''m starting to get tired of getting weird looks from everyone out in the streets.

    It wasn''t until that thought went through his head that he comprehended the last part of her statement.

    "Wait, there''s an exam?" he asks.

    "Of course," the woman says."But don''t worry, I hear that it''s not all that difficult.Plus, the sect will personally provide resources, including housing, although for at most half a year ahead of time in preparation for it."

    She reaches a hand into her robe.When she pulled it out, there was a rectangular, green jade pendant in her hand.She hands it to him.

    "Just answer the questions on there and I''ll have an escort bring you to the sect," she says.

    Siyuan stared at the pendant, which was blank.

    "Questions?What que-?"

    He suddenly stops as the pendant began to glow.Golden characters began to draw themselves out onto the crystalline surface.

    "Whoa," he mutters, staring wide-eyed at it."What is this?"

    Huh?He doesn''t know? the woman thinks.It''s not like these are uncommon.Oh well, guess it''s just to be expected even if he did lay foundation.This is Lingzheng after all.

    "Transmission pendants, pretty cool, aren''t they?" she says."Just close your eyes and think the answer out in your head.Then the pendant will move on to the next one."

    "That''s pretty cool," he says.

    He watched the woman pull another identical pendant from her robe.She closed her eyes for a moment.The pendant began to glow before disappearing from her hand.

    "If there are any questions you have trouble reading on there, just ask and I can provide some assistance," she says.

    With that, she goes back to the papers she was working on initially.

    Siyuan just shrugged and gave a quick "sure" before sitting at one of the nearby chairs.He focuses back onto the pendant in his hand.

    Finishing the questions wasn''t all that hard.They were all mostly open-ended questions meant to glean in on the more nitty-gritty details of his early life.Ten minutes later, the pendant stopped switching through questions and its light green glow began to die down.

    Then he was blinded by a sudden flash of light.

    |-|-|-|-|

    Five months had passed since Lin Siyuan was teleported to the front gate of the Mystic River Sect, having passed in the blink of an eye to him.

    There, he was welcomed with open arms and promptly taken to the outer sect.

    Under normal circumstances, the outer sect was a place where mortals who were accepted to come to the sect to build foundation, while doing various chores for the sect, and study for the inner sect exam.Siyuan was a special case in the context that he had already laid foundation, so he spent a mere half a month before he was prepared to take the inner sect exam.

    Contrary to what the lady in the agency had said, Siyuan found the inner sect exam to be plenty hard.In fact, after talking to a test coordinator, he found that the average pass rate of the exam was just barely above 20%.Siyuan himself barely passed by the skin of his teeth.

    Immediately after passing, he was proclaimed an inner sect disciple and was finally given access to the true supply of cultivation resources that the sect provided to its members.

    And fortunately for him, the Mystic River Sect had a relic smithing division.

    "Sensei, I''ve finished my project."

    Siyuan stands at the doorway leading into a moderately-sized classroom, empty save for an older, middle-aged man sitting cross-legged on a red cushion all the way at the front of the classroom with his eyes closed.He had a smooth face with short, crow black hair tied up into a bun.Both he and Siyuan were dressed in elaborate, white and light blue robes, signature uniforms of the Mysti River Sect.

    The older man''s eyes open at the sound of Siyuan''s voice, both a rich brown that seemed infinitely deep.

    "Siyuan, done several days before the deadline as usual," he says.He stands up from the cushion as Siyuan steps into the classroom and up to it.He holds out his hand."Your final product?"

    Siyuan reaches an arm over his shoulder.Strapped to his back was a long, thin object, completely wrapped up in dark gray cloth. He grabs it by one end and pulls it from the strap on his back before holding it out respectful to his teacher with both hands.

    The older man takes the object from his hands.He makes quick work of the cloth, tossing it back to Siyuan, and revealing it to the world.

    Underneath that cloth was a sword.But it wasn''t just any sword, it was a cultivator''s sword.Made to be more effective and durable than any sword made with mortal hands or materials.It was just one kind of many weapons that cultivators could utilize, which were just as important to most cultivators as food and water.However, it wasn''t exactly uncommon to come across one.In fact, they were so common among areas cultivators frequently populated that they could even be found just strewn around on the ground.And of course, mortals coming across them wasn''t too uncommon of an occurrence either, though in almost every case, they weren''t capable of wielding them.

    This sword, however, wasn''t just an average cultivator''s sword.Anybody who came across it would immediately be able to sense that, as did the man who held it in his hands.

    "A grade 2 sword relic, and it doesn''t seem lacking at all in quality," he says as he scrutinizes the sword''s blade."How many attempts did it take to successfully forge this?"

    "A total of 9," Siyuan says."4 to forge the relic itself, 5 to enhance it."

    The man bobs his head slightly.

    "Not bad," he says."A bit under your usual success rate, but still exceptional, especially considering how early you are."

    He examines the blade for a few moments.Then he turns to a nearby window.In front of that window was a potted plant, a small, two-leafed plant that wasn''t exactly in the best of conditions.It was losing the bright green luster that signified ripe growth and was wilting.

    The man raises the sword in his hand before, very gently, tapping one of its leaves with the tip of the blade.

    A spark of light came to life at the blade''s sharp tip upon contact.As the man lifted the blade, both he and Siyuan watched as the plant seemed to spring back to life.A bright green color returned to its stems and leaves as it straightened itself up, its wilt having disappeared completely.

    "A well-crafted relic that carries out its intended purpose," the man says, handing the sword back to Siyuan."You pass.Do with it as you wish."

    Siyuan nods and bows his head in thanks.He then takes the sword from his sensei, already thinking of exactly how much money he could pawn it off for.He quickly wraps it back in the cloth that he had brought it into the classroom with before reattaching it to the strap on his back.Just as he turned around and began to walk out however¡­

    "Siyuan, a moment of your time before you leave, please."

    Siyuan turns back around, bowing his head slightly.

    "What does sensei request of me?" he asked.

    "Siyuan, what do you want to see yourself doing in the future?" the man asks, ignoring his question.

    One of Siyuan''s eyebrows rose.For a moment, he didn''t answer.

    "I am assuming that you want to become a relic smith?"

    Siyuan blinked again.

    "Yes, sensei," he says."And maybe also open my renowned smithery."

    The teacher hummed at that, an eyebrow raising in interest.

    "Opening up a renowned smithery?" he asks."Now that is something I don''t hear everyday.Usually, the average student relic smith is just simply aiming to become successful in the field, maybe apprentice under a famous smith.Opening up a smithery however, a renowned one on top of that¡­how ambitious."

    "Thank you for your compliment, sensei," Siyuan says, bowing his head again.

    The man cups his chin in thought, simply staring at the student as Siyuan raises his head.

    "Yes, very ambitious," he says."And that is a good thing.Somebody your age can make great use of that ambition.But ambition on its own is useless.What is the point of it if you are not capable?"

    He sighs.Siyuan looks at him a bit confusedly, wondering where his teacher was going with this.

    "Siyuan, you are good," he continues."Exceptional even.Not the most prodigious student that I''ve ever had, but undoubtedly above average if I were to be very strict.A rough success rate of three forged relics out of every ten attempts is very good for someone who started less than half a year ago.However, a smithery owner can''t just be exceptional or above average."

    The teacher sits back down onto the cushion he was sitting on before before closing his eyes once again and reassuming a meditative sitting posture.

    "It is only the best relic smiths that cultivators go to if they want to purchase a relic," he continues."The smiths who begin the most famous and successful smitheries known today aren''t the exceptional or above average ones.They are the ones who are the best of the best.The supreme talents that appear once every century.You are not one of those talents."

    He suddenly stops.Both of his arms suddenly shoot out to his sides, stretching out to their full lengths to his left and right, both his eyes still closed.He then brings both his hands back to right in front of his chest before flipping the palms of his hands so that they were facing each other.Siyuan felt a slight fluctuation of qi prickle at his skin before disappearing as quickly as it had appeared.

    "However, that is not to say you can''t reach that level," he continued, maintaining his meditation."You will have to work hard, however.Very hard.And if you are truly willing to fully dedicate yourself to this, you will undoubtedly face many hardships.I am not saying it is impossible for you, but perhaps your ambitions overstep your capabilities.I advise that you consider that."

    The man brings down his hands, laying them on each knee.

    "That is all."

    With that, the room is reduced back to silence as the teacher went right back to his cultivation.

    Siyuan stared at him for a moment.Then, he bowed one last time before turning around and leaving the classroom.

 Prologue (Pt. 2)

    Siyuan sighed as he collapsed back into his bed, tossing the blade somewhere else in the room, not minding a single bit as it noisily clattered to the ground.

    His current housing was a fairly spacious, one-room house surrounded by a small plot of fertile land, land which he had yet to use. It had a whole side to it dedicated to cultivation practice, where he could sit and meditate for however long he wanted without worrying about being disturbed, with the other being for restful purposes, including a bed that he barely even used. Set up against the walls were shelves with various books lining them.

    He closes his eyes for a moment. His sensei¡¯s words bounced around in his head.

    ¡°¡®My ambitions overstep my capabilities?¡¯ The hell does he expect me to do about that?¡± he muttered. ¡°No way I¡¯m going to become anything other than my own boss. Working under somebody else sounds super stressful.¡±

    He sighs. He turns his head towards the rest of the interior of his room.

    Strewn all over the floor were books and manuals, a few of them being simple cultivation manuals but the other large majority of them all being about relic smithing.

    ¡°I guess I should begin finally looking at those advanced relic smithing techniques. But they¡¯re all so difficult to learn¡­¡±

    He gets up from his bed and begins picking up the books on the floor.

    The first book that he had come upon, one on the floor right beside his bed and one of the many that were open. On it were various images and labeled diagrams with text all over the pages.

    Every relic is composed of three very vital components. A vessel, a core, and a purpose.

    The object that gives a relic its outwards appearance, and in most cases its use as a utility. Most relics to date have been weapons, both because weapons are, by default, tools of combat and because relics made of weapons appear most majestically to cultivators compared to relics made from other objects.

    The core of a relic is arguably its most important component. It is what circulates qi throughout the entirety of the vessel, elevating it from the level of a simple weapon or tool. As long as a relic¡¯s core is intact, its vessel can be repaired no matter how many times it has been broken or damaged. In performing relic enhancements, the core is what is directly being enhanced. Relics can be crafted without a core, but those are impossible to enhance and usually very easy to destroy. Only certain objects can be used for cores, a comprehensive list of which can be found in chapter 7 of this manual.

    The purpose of a relic is what gives a relic its special trait, which it will carry out without fail unless it is suppressed somehow. The purpose of a relic is largely a result of the core that is used to craft the relic. Due to this, granting a relic the preferred purpose is usually not difficult, but still largely unexplored. A relic can have multiple purposes forged onto it with the smith having the option to forge one new purpose with each enhancement as long as he has the necessary catalyst. .

    Siyuan suddenly stopped as he stared at the contents on the page.

    They were, by no means, new to him. He¡¯d read something like that many, many times, as they were the most basic components of relic smithing, yet also crucially vital to the understanding of the craft. The details of the text, however, wasn¡¯t what had caused him to stop.

    His eyes went to a specific part of the paragraph concerning purpose.

    The purpose of a relic is what gives a relic its special trait, which it will carry out without fail unless somehow suppressed.

    As a relic smith, he couldn¡¯t help but wonder if there was a way to use a relic to guarantee success in relic smithing, as did so many other relic smiths. So far, nobody has managed to produce a relic that even managed to raise the success rate of forging or enhancing relics. For some reason, experts have yet to find a way to bestow the purpose of ¡°increasing relic smithing enhance rates¡± onto a relic. The most popular theory at the moment was that cultivators had just simply yet to find the necessary catalyst or core that could bestow such a purpose. Another theory that was growing in popularity was that the vessel of a relic had something to do with this inability. More and more people were starting to find this plausible, especially after the recent discovery that the material that a relic was made of determined just how much it could go against the will of heaven. It was suspected that this was the secret behind the infamous relic smith Tan Ke¡¯s death-defying relic, an arrow that could revive any person from the dead by having its arrowtip driven through the corpse¡¯s heart. Although it

    Going against the will of heaven, it was the whole reason why people cultivated.

    ¡°If only I could find something like that,¡± he muttered. ¡°Then all my problems would be solved. But who am I kidding? If it were that easy, somebody would¡¯ve done it by now.¡±

    Siyuan sighed again as he finished tidying up his room.

    <hr>

    ¡°Geez fellow disciple Lin, you really do work too much!¡±

    Night had descended upon the Mystic River Sect. To the disciples, it was a treasured moment of relaxation after a long day of practice and studying. There was a certain period of time right after the last classes of the day ended that the disciples dubbed ¡°the Period of Indulgence,¡± in which the sect-sponsored bars and restaurants outside the sect¡¯s walls were full to the brim with cultivators.

    Siyuan was at one such bar, sitting around a table with three other disciples with plates of food and jars of wine on it.

    ¡°Like seriously, you haven¡¯t been to a bar in a month?¡± one of them said. ¡°You¡¯re just a beginner relic smith! You don¡¯t need to study so hard just yet¡­¡±

    Siyuan just scoffed.

    ¡°I work too much?¡± he asks. ¡°More like you work too little, fellow disciple Han! You know what they say, ¡®if you work hard today, you won¡¯t have to a decade later¡¯.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re still so young, yet you already heed the words of those geezers way too much!¡± the disciple, Han, says.

    Siyuan sighed as he took a sip from his cup of wine.

    Luo Han was a recently appointed sect disciple, just like Siyuan. Except, instead of going into relic smithing, he went all-into being a practiced battle cultivator. Out of a hundred battles, Siyuan wagered he could possibly win maybe two or three of those, even though they were around the same in terms of cultivation level.

    They managed to find and strike a good dynamic though. As a battle cultivator, Luo Han regularly needed to maintain his sword relic and as a relic smith, Siyuan could do so while also enhancing it. In exchange, Luo Han provided him with some catalysts and cores that he collected from his quests. In fact, their friendship currently exists solely because of this exchange.

    ¡°For somebody who claims to want to be a top fighter one day, you¡¯re awfully lazy,¡± Siyuan says.

    ¡°Hey, I work very hard every day, y¡¯know?¡± Han says indignantly. ¡°I dare say harder than you sometimes!¡±

    ¡°Ha! In your dreams, maybe.¡±

    Luo Han turned his attention to the other two cultivators sitting around the table he and Siyuan were at. Siyuan just closed his eyes and gulped down some more freshly brewed wine, mildly enjoying the liquid searing his throat. He didn¡¯t really know the other two cultivators, as they were Han¡¯s friends and not really his, so what they conversed about didn¡¯t concern him all that much.

    ¡°Oh yeah, Siyuan, I don¡¯t believe I mentioned this before, but I¡¯m joining this year¡¯s Tempered Blades tournament!¡± Luo Han suddenly exclaims, breaking Siyuan out of his pleasant quiet.

    Siyuan raised an eyebrow. The Tempered Blades tournament was a once-a-year fighting tournament where disciples from sects from all over the world gathered to fight or watch other people fight, with the only rule being that there was a limit to which cultivation level participants could be. It wasn¡¯t exactly hard to qualify into, Siyuan wagered even though he could probably get in, but it was hard to get noticed, very hard. The tournament was an opportunity for sects to potentially find any hidden talents that had somehow gone unnoticed. In Siyuan¡¯s opinion, the tournament was a waste of time unless you were some kind of super talent.

    ¡°That¡¯s cool and all, but how exactly do you plan on getting past the preliminaries?¡± he asked. ¡°Even completely disregarding your level of cultivation, the difference in skill level needed for that and yours is just as boundless as the distance between heaven and earth.¡±

    ¡°Feh, so what!¡± Luo shouted.

    Wow, he¡¯s not even gonna try defending himself, Siyuan thought.

    ¡°Plus, you never know what might happen!¡± Luo says. ¡°Even if the chances of that happening are less than 0.01%, I must still try! The sole reason why we cultivators cultivate is to go against the will of heaven! It¡¯s what we are meant to do!¡±

    ¡°Yeah yeah, sure, just make sure not to get your sword relic completely destroyed in the process,¡± Siyuan says. ¡°Because I¡¯m not gonna make you another one. I don¡¯t see how it can be though considering that all of your competitors shouldn¡¯t be above the Foundation Establishment stage and because I¡¯ve enhanced it four times. I didn¡¯t even know that fourth enhancement was possible for me. I expended so much qi that I went into qi deviation for five whole days!¡±

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    ¡°I know I know,¡± Luo Han says with a sigh. He pats the sword sheathed at his side. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll take good care of it! Plus, I¡¯m sure this blade has gone through worse. A mere tournament ain¡¯t gonna be enough to even dent it!¡±

    ¡°I hope so,¡± Siyuan says. ¡°And you¡¯d better to.¡±

    ¡°Now now, there¡¯s no need to be like that!¡± Han says. He raises a cup of wine into the air. ¡°Come, let¡¯s drink! This is supposed to be a time of relaxation, especially since you almost never come by!¡±

    Siyuan just sighs and smiles as he raises his own cup in Luo Han¡¯s direction. Luo Han did so with the other two cultivators as well before they all brought their cups to their lips.

    However, just as Siyuan was about to pour the liquid into his mouth, he suddenly stopped. His eyes widened slightly.

    As Luo Han¡¯s words replayed in his head, a sudden thought struck him like a bolt of lightning.

    Luo Han and the other two cultivators downed both of their cups before setting them back down onto the table.

    ¡°Ah, good wine as usual!¡± he says, smacking his lips. Then he turns to Siyuan, opening his mouth to say something before he stops. Siyuan sat there, his eyes staring forward into nothing in particular with his cup raised to his mouth but not quite angled down enough to empty it of its contents.

    ¡°Hey, Siyuan, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    For a moment, Siyuan didn¡¯t respond. Then, suddenly, he slammed his cup back onto the table.

    ¡°Luo Han, please excuse me,¡± he said as he shot up from his chair.

    With that, he suddenly took off, promptly disappearing from the inn as Luo Han and his two friends watched in bewilderment. Eventually, Luo Han just sighed.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen anybody else leave a bar so earnestly,¡± he says. ¡°You really are too much of a workaholic.¡±

    <hr>

    It barely took a few minutes for Siyuan to reappear at his room. He swung the door open, almost ripping it off its hinges, and slammed it back closed, engaging a simple lock formation to ensure nobody else could get in and disturb him.

    As a developing relic smith, he was very up-to-date with the latest developments in the craft. As years went by, there inevitably would be more and more techniques that could be used to increase the proficiency of relic smithing. As a beginner, these were of great use to Siyuan, even if they were too complicated or advanced for him to apply at the moment.

    Over a century ago, a world-famous relic smith, Xue He, conducted what is known today as the ¡°materialistic relic experiment.¡± In these two experiments, two swords, one made of simple mortal steel and the other made of spiritsteel, the metal used to make cultivators¡¯ swords, were forged into relics, both with the exact same purpose: ¡°to bolster strength,¡± or increase a user¡¯s physical strength, in other words. Without enhancing either, he tested to which extent they served their purpose with the expectation of both of them doing so in the same magnitude. To his surprise, however, he found that holding the spiritsteel sword relic actually increased his strength to a larger degree than holding the steel sword relic.

    This, and other concurring experiments, were what brought to life the idea that the material of a relic¡¯s vessel affected how that relic served its purpose, as did concurrent experiments. It also finally shed a theory to just how Tan Ke¡¯s relic, ¡°The Arrow That Surpases Death,¡± was possible. Of course, the theory was fairly surface level since the methods that went into the smithing also heavily affected the relic¡¯s utility, but it was still a revolutionary discovery.

    As a relic smith, Siyuan made sure to permanently sear these concepts into the back of his mind. Although they weren¡¯t in any official books about relic smithing basics, they might as well be with how important they are to the craft.

    Which was why when he was listening to Luo Han talking, one specific line that he had uttered had sparked his mind.

    ¡°The sole reason why we cultivators cultivate is to go against the will of heaven! It¡¯s what we are meant to do!¡±

    ¡°As we cultivate, we improve our bodies,¡± he muttered to himself. ¡°Improve them past the point of mortality. We start off as weak mortals, but develop into divine beings. Isn¡¯t that the same as relic smithing? When an item turns into a relic, it ascends from a mere mortal tool to a divine one. When we lay foundation, we turn from a mortal to something more than that. And with each breakthrough we go through...we enhance ourselves.

    ¡°So, what would happen if I mix the two activities together in a more literal sense?¡±

    He went to the shelves against the walls of his room and began pulling them out of the shelf.

    <hr>

    That small gathering between Siyuan, Luo Han, and Luo Han¡¯s friends was the last time anybody had seen him outside his room. For more than a whole month, nobody had caught the slightest trace of him, which was strange because he was known by his classmates to be very diligent when it came to attending his classes. When the few people that were familiar with his presence began to notice his prolonged disappearance, they were understandably concerned for their fellow disciple.

    However, the several times Luo Han went to his room to check on him, he claimed that Siyuan had responded every time and even invited him into his room on a few occasions where they had tea and spent some time chatting with each other. According to him, however, the room was always a mess, with papers and books strewn all over the floor.

    It was obvious, however, that he was working on something. For, on those papers strewn all over the floor, were clearly calculations. Calculations for something Luo Han didn¡¯t know.

    Another half month passed. Life went on, barely affected by Siyuan¡¯s absence.

    Siyuan¡¯s relic smithing teacher prepared to leave the classroom, having finished assessing the last of his students¡¯ most recent project. Their performance was fairly good, not as high as he had hoped but his students¡¯ improvement since they started classes was obvious. However, there was one glaring element missing.

    Siyuan was one of his best students. So, of course, he was as concerned as everyone else, if not more, by the fact that he hadn¡¯t seen him in his classes for so long.

    Hm, I meant for that speech before to possibly motivate him into working harder, he thought as he left the classroom. Perhaps he took it too seriously and lost his motivation to continue relic smithing?

    He sighed as he started his way down the corridors within one of the Mystic River Sect¡¯s many school buildings. It was a bit late into the day, well after the final classes were done with. Most of the sect disciples were cultivating within their cultivation chambers, with only a few disciples here and there roaming the halls.

    Oh well, if that¡¯s all it took to demotivate him, he was never made for it in the first place, he thought. Much better that he gives up non-sensible ambitions now than in the future when it could leave him in a state beyond repair. Though I do hope that he still continues relic smithing. It would be such a waste of talent if he didn¡¯t¡­

    He continued down the halls, towards the school¡¯s exit. He turned the next corner, out of the hall where the classrooms resided and into the central hallway.

    Just in time to watch a very familiar face open the door of one of the many smithery chambers lining the sides of the hallway. A face that he would have no trouble recognizing any time soon.

    The teacher stopped.

    Siyuan?

    The student looked to be in a rush, working quickly to undo the locking formation on the smithery¡¯s door. He looked tired, his usually immaculate posture befitting of a cultivator now replaced by one that was slightly slouched. It was obvious to see that he was exhausted, but in his eyes were, as the teacher liked to call them, ¡°sparks of inspiration.¡± In one hand were two relic smith¡¯s hammer, the most essential tool to all relic smiths as it was what initialized the smithing process in the first place while in the other was a pile of papers.

    Two relic smith hammers? Why would he need two? Also, what is he forging in the first place? Where is his vessel and core?

    He watched as Siyuan disappeared into the smithery room. Just as he walked in however, right before he closed the door, a single sheet of paper slipped from his grip and fluttered to the ground, unbeknownst to him.

    The teacher walked up to the closed door, staring at it for a moment before looking down at the floor. He bends down and picks up the paper, staring at it quizzically.

    The paper was a simple, unmarked page from a beginner cultivation manual that he personally knew like the back of his hand. It was a detailed body diagram of a cultivator¡¯s nascent soul and the many dantians that branched from it throughout the whole body.

    The teacher was confused as he looked at the page.

    ¡°Why does Siyuan have this?¡± he asked himself. ¡°What would he need this for?¡±

    He stared at the paper in his hands, trying to wonder why a smith would need a paper like this while going to forge something. It took him a while, but¡­

    Slowly, but surely, his mind began to connect the dots.

    ¡°Hold on, he couldn¡¯t possibly be trying to¡­?¡± he muttered.

    Just as the words left his mouth, a flash of light exploded from behind the door. The teacher¡¯s head whipped to the door.

    ¡°Siyuan?!¡± he exclaimed. He banged a fist against the door, the fist sparking against the lock formation set right in front of it with an audible ping. ¡°Siyuan, are you alright?!¡±

    He waited for a response. It wasn¡¯t until a few seconds of silence passed that he finally unsheathed his sword.

    The blade held the obvious glow of a relic, a very powerful relic. This wasn¡¯t just any powerful relic, it was the heart and soul work of somebody who dedicated his life to the work of relic smithing. It was a fourteen-fold-enhanced sword relic that anybody in the late-stage core formation realm had more than a lot of reason to be proud of. A very, very powerful weapon that could withstand attacks powerful enough to level towns and slice through skin tougher than mountains.

    The teacher swung his blade at the formation. The blade easily sliced through the formation, tearing it open. Without another second of hesitation, he burst through the door, almost completely tearing it off its hinges.

    The room was fairly standard for every small relic smithery room in the school. Within was an empty room save for a large, glowing, circular relic forging array.

    Normally, when forging a relic, the smith would lay the vessel at the center of the circle with the core right on top of it. Then, while standing outside the array, the smith would slam his relic smith¡¯s hammer onto the array¡¯s activation point. The array would then forcefully bond the vessel and the core at the cost of the smith¡¯s qi. If the forging went successfully, then a newly made glowing relic would be left in the center of the circle.

    Anything else left in the array other than the vessel and core would be consumed by the array during the process. That was one of many ways that smith¡¯s increased the chances of smithing being successful, by putting in items that did things such as increasing the amount of qi the formation put into the smithing process. That was also why cultivators needed to be outside the array when the forging process began. It was the first thing beat into every relic-smith-in-training.

    However, Siyuan didn¡¯t do that.

    He was in the middle of the array, lying on his front and completely unconscious. Strewn all over the floor were his papers and one of his smithing hammers was nowhere to be seen.

    None of that was what grabbed his attention, though. What did was the aura that now enveloped his body. It was an aura that the teacher was very, very familiar with.

    It was the aura of a newly-forged relic.

    He stared at the unconscious student as his mind for a moment, many, many questions popping into his head. That was at least until he began to skim the contents of some of the papers lying face-up on the ground. He crouched, getting a better look at what they contained.

    And as he read through papers upon papers of theories, calculations, and fanatical-like scribbling, he finally began to realize what Siyuan had been doing. He realized what exactly Siyuan was doing that took him a whole month and a half.

    He couldn¡¯t stop a smile from pulling at the corners of his lips.

    ¡°Maybe I was wrong,¡± he said. ¡°Maybe you really are a genius. Either that, or you are insane. Who knows? It all depends on if you wake up or not.¡±

 Prologue (Pt. 3)

    Lin Siyuan woke up to the sight of the wooden ceiling of the sect¡¯s infirmary right above him.

    For a moment, he silently stared at it as he tried to regain his bearings and remember what he was doing to get there in the first place.

    Oh right.  I was trying to turn myself into a relic.

    Siyuan, being a relic smith, wasn¡¯t all too familiar with the infirmary.  The only reason he¡¯d ever need to come here was if he got hurt while out on missions in order to meet his monthly quota or, in some very rare cases, got injured from the backlash of failing to forge a relic with a particularly dangerous core.

    The particular relic that he was trying to forge, however, was much, much more dangerous to forge than whatever he had tried before.

    Speaking of which, how did that go?

    He slowly sat up and raised a hand up to right before his eyes.

    I don¡¯t feel different, he thought.  But then again, I¡¯m still alive.  So, does that mean...

    ¡°I succeeded?¡± he asked nobody in particular.

    ¡°Well, you¡¯re still here, aren¡¯t you?¡± he heard a familiar voice then say from right beside him.

    Siyuan almost jumped out of the bed as he turned very quickly to the right side of his cot.

    Where his teacher was sitting on a chair, casually reading a book with an empty cover.

    ¡°Oh, greetings, shifu,¡± Siyuan said, sighing as he bowed his head respectfully in his direction.

    ¡°The doctor couldn¡¯t find out why you were unconscious in the first place,¡± the teacher continued.  ¡°He told me that the most difficult patients to treat were the ones that he couldn¡¯t diagnose, y¡¯know.  Caused me quite a fright, especially since you¡¯re my prize student.  Quite a surprise at that.  I catch you out of your room for the first time in nearly fifty days and it¡¯s when you¡¯re knocked unconscious trying to forge something.¡±

    ¡°Uh, my apologies, shifu,¡± he said with a sheepish chuckle.  ¡°Y¡¯know, doesn¡¯t happen very often but it does happen.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m aware,¡± the teacher replied.  ¡°Especially when you¡¯re forging particularly dangerous relics, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Siyuan said, nodding.

    ¡°Though that didn¡¯t seem like enough reason to stop you from trying something downright idiotic.¡±

    Siyuan stared at his shifu.  It took him a moment to realize that his shifu knew.

    The older cultivator just smiled as he turned the book in his hand around, allowing Siyuan to see its contents.

    On the pages were lines upon lines of text from a beginner¡¯s relic smith manual, details on a relic¡¯s core and the role it played in maintaining the relic¡¯s structure and purpose.  However, all along the sides, the only spaces on the pages that weren¡¯t filled with words, were notes and scribbles, all of Siyuan¡¯s own making.

    Notes and scribbles that made what Siyuan had been studying for so long clear as day.

    The student stared at the pages for a moment more before looking back up at his teacher.

    ¡°Y¡¯know, Siyuan,  this idea, turning your body into a relic, isn¡¯t a unique idea,¡± the teacher continued as he closed the book.  ¡°I doubt there are more people who¡¯ve thought of trying something like this than fingers on my hands.  However, the people who do usually abandon the idea as soon as they really begin to think about it.  They are all experts who know all the small, inner workings and details of the craft of relic smithing.  And because of their knowledge, they can see that although the yield may be worth it, the chances of success are too low and the consequences of failure too high to warrant an attempt.

    ¡°So, what gave you, a simple student, the audacity to perform what experts much, much wiser and more knowledgeable than you didn¡¯t even dare to begin?¡±

    Siyuan¡¯s eyes squinted slightly as met his shifu¡¯s glare.  His chest began to heat as he felt anger begin to get to his head.

    ¡°I apologize, shifu,¡± he said, his usually respectful tone now holding a slight sharpness to it  ¡°But I have worked very, very hard for the last sixty days to make sure nothing could go wrong.  I even neglected my cultivation on some nights so I could put my effort into this work.  And just because I am a student, so what if I had the audacity?  I was willing to put in the time and my efforts to make sure I did everything right.  And it obviously worked because I¡¯m still alive, aren¡¯t I?¡±

    The teacher stared at his student, his eyes a bit wide at Siyuan¡¯s outburst.  Meanwhile, the student glared back, conviction visible in his eyes.

    A part of Siyuan thought that he had heavily overstepped his boundaries.  The man he was talking to wasn¡¯t his peer, he was his superior, his authority past that of a senior disciple.  Despite that, he felt the need to speak up in his own defense.  After all, he spent more than a month and a half locked in his own room, neglecting his own entertainment and even his cultivation (to a lesser extent) in order to pursue his idea.  So what if he was just a student?  Of course he would have the audacity to do it, he worked for it!

    The teacher had lived a very long life.  He seemed merely like a middle-aged man, yet he had already lived long enough to outlive a couple generations of mortal men, and he expects to live even longer.  He had interacted with many students over his years as a teacher.

    Thus, he could tell Siyuan¡¯s thoughts from just his glare.

    And, despite Siyuan¡¯s expressed disrespect, the teacher couldn¡¯t help but smile.

    Such ambition.

    Siyuan was caught off guard by the sudden smile.  He had been expecting to be reprimanded from his teacher, who was usually stoic concerning the rules and the hierarchy of authority in the Mystic River Sect.

    ¡°Well, whether you have the audacity or not, it doesn¡¯t change the fact that what you did was very, very dangerous,¡± the teacher says.  He holds up the book in his hand.  ¡°According to your calculations here, your chances of success were more than 60%, which may seem good but is far too low when your own nascent soul is on the line.  Plus, I¡¯ve reviewed your calculations and, well, you made a couple mistakes.  Not too bad, but they were terrible mistakes. In fact, just by skimming through this, I can tell that you have overblown your chances of success by a very large margin.  My own shallow deduction alone tells me that your chances of success should¡¯ve barely reached 10%.¡±

    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    Siyuan¡¯s eyes widened.

    ¡°So, this is why I scolded you for the audacity to try something as ambitious as this,¡± his teacher continued.  ¡°As a relic smith, you may be inherently good, but you¡¯re not even a babbling toddler compared to a truly competent relic smith.  You can barely forge relics out of regular objects, what made you think you could try it with a nascent soul?  Much less your own nascent soul?¡±

    Siyuan looked down at his hands, not daring to look his teacher in the eyes any longer.  Despite his biting words, his tone was soft and calm.  Through his words, Siyuan could tell his teacher was angry, but through his tone, he could also tell he was concerned.  With that deduction, how could he be mad at his shifu any longer?

    The teacher sighed.  He leaned forward slightly, laying a hand on Siyuan¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°Siyuan, you are surrounded by good people,¡± he says.  ¡°Although your fellow disciples in our class may not consider you their friend, they care about your well being just as much as they care about each other¡¯s.  I care for all of my students, with you being no exception, of course.  And there is that friend of yours, Luo Han.  Although I understand why you wouldn¡¯t come to any of us about something like this, you have no reason to be apprehensive around us.¡±

    Siyuan stared at his shifu.

    A feeling of warmth began to bloom in him.

    ¡°I understand, shifu,¡± he said with a smile.

    ¡°Good.¡±

    With one last pat on his shoulder, the teacher withdrew his arm and relaxed back onto his chair beside Siyuan¡¯s cot.

    ¡°When you fell unconscious after you succeeded with the¡­forging, I had your friend come pick up your papers and bring it to your room,¡± he said.  ¡°Which you left unlocked.  I haven¡¯t confiscated any of your papers so you can do whatever you want with them, but I advise you not publish them.  The fact that your method worked in the first place was due to no less than extreme luck and because you had just started with your cultivation.  You would be sending a lot of people to their deaths by doing publishing them.¡±

    ¡°Haha, yeah,¡± Siyuan says with a sheepish smile.

    ¡°At a later time, we need to discuss the issues that might come with your success.  However, if you don¡¯t mind¡­¡±

    The teacher smiled.

    ¡°Shall we run some tests with your newfound abilities?¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± Siyuan responded.

    <hr>

    An hour later, after the teacher finished settling things with the sect¡¯s doctor, Siyuan and he found themselves at his classroom, the door shut, the windows closed, and the lock formation set up in front of the door to assure that nobody could glean into what was going on in the room.

    ¡°Amazing.  Absolutely amazing.¡±

    In front of Siyuan were several various objects.  A sword, a sheath, a rock, a potted plant, and a pen, among other things.  They all held the glow of newly forged relics.

    ¡°That makes twenty three relics,¡± the teacher said.  ¡°Twenty three relics in a row forged with a 100% success rate.  Not even the most famous relic smiths from the most infamous relic smith sects can break the 90% success rate mark.  You don¡¯t even need a forging array, just the vessel and the core in each hand.  Fascinating, absolutely fascinating! You don¡¯t seem to have trouble enhancing relics either, though it seems you¡¯re still limited to three.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, looks like I still need to meet the qi requirement to initiate the forging,¡± Siyuan says, panting slightly.  Doing twenty three forgings in a row proved more than slightly taxing on his stamina for a cultivator in the Qi Manifestation Realm.  ¡°Though I think I could do four.  That one time-¡±

    ¡°That one time you somehow succeeded performing four enhancements, you almost died of qi deviation.  Luo Han even said three was enough, but you just had to go ahead and try a fourth one regardless.  Maybe I should¡¯ve known how much luck you had at that point because I didn¡¯t even know it was possible for a Qi Manifestation Realm cultivator like you to pull off a successful fourth enhancement.  You¡¯re not trying that again until you breakthrough into the next realm.¡±

    ¡°Yes, shifu,¡± Siyuan said with a sigh.

    ¡°That said, it seems that you really are a relic now,¡± his shifu mused, tapping his chin.  ¡°I wonder how that affects your cultivation, though that¡¯s not really any of my concern.  Anyways, thank you for your time Siyuan, I¡¯m plenty satisfied.¡±

    ¡°Of course, shifu,¡± Siyuan says.  He bows his head before turning around and heading towards the door.

    ¡°Wait, one more thing, Siyuan,¡± the teacher says.

    The student stops and turns around to look at him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell anybody about what you¡¯ve become,¡± he pointedly said.  The easy-going, casual tone he had used before shifted to a serious one.  ¡°I have no need or desire to use your abilities for myself, but other people may not be so kind.  If word gets out that you¡¯re able to forge relics at a guaranteed success rate, then you¡¯ll never find another moment of peace for the rest of your life.  Especially since you¡¯ve just begun your cultivation.  It is of utmost importance that you stay low.¡±

    ¡°I understand,¡± Siyuan says with a bow of his head.

    ¡°Meanwhile, I¡¯m going to help move you into the advanced smithing class.  It will be hard for you to fake your prior success rate of 30% and the other students might start to get suspicious if you¡¯re all of a sudden successfully forging a majority of your relics. In the advanced class though, if you can fake a 60 or so percent success rate, nobody will bat an eye at you as that¡¯s the average rate of success there when forging.  The only problem is that the class is full of students in the mid or late-stage Foundation Establishment and early to mid-stage Aura Manifestation realms, so you being in the Qi Manifestation realm will definitely stick out.  It is preferable for you to breakthrough soon, but feel no need to rush.  I will explain your situation to the teacher in the advanced class, leaving out the more crucial parts, of course.¡±

    Siyuan nods.  This action was completely understandable in his eyes.  He was a bit tepid about being in a class full of students so much stronger than him, but he had his shifu¡¯s support.  The main thing he was worried about was how responsive his new teacher would be should he need her help.

    ¡°That is all.¡±

    With that, Siyuan bowed his head and turned around, leaving the classroom.

    The teacher stared at his back as he stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind him.  He smiled.

    ¡°The ambition of youth,¡± he said with a sigh, shaking his head.

    He looked down at the relics on his desk, debating what to do with them.

    <hr>

    The rest of the day passed by quickly.

    On his way back to his room, he ran into Luo Han.  The two exchanged greetings and talked.  Siyuan told him about his transfer to the advanced relic smithing class.  Luo Han seemed amazed, but not all that surprised.

    ¡°You always had a talent for it compared to the other beginner smiths I know,¡± he said.  ¡°Oh  man, their eyes are gonna pop once they hear about this.¡±

    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t go around telling everyone you know,¡± Siyuan said with a slight scowl.  ¡°That¡¯s gonna get me too much attention.¡±

    ¡°Siyuan, I don¡¯t think anybody will find it surprising,¡± Luo Han continued.  ¡°Your talent¡¯s the envy of the entirety of the beginner class.  A 30% success rate is insane among the beginners.¡±

    Huh, guess they don¡¯t know 60%¡¯s the average there, Siyuan thought.  I wonder what the dropout rate is for beginners moving up to the advanced class.

    ¡°Anyways, I bid you luck and a fortunate future!¡± Luo Han said.  ¡°And I can expect to get stronger relics from you in the future, right?¡±

    ¡°Only if you begin paying me more.¡±

    Luo Han just laughed.  The two friends clasped their hands in each other¡¯s directions courteously before going their separate ways.

    Siyuan went right back to his room.  Seeing that it was just as messy as he had left it when he went to forge himself, he spent some time tidying it up, putting books back into their spots on bookshelves and using some basic moves from the Mystic River sect¡¯s martial arts to brush away the dust.  Only after then did he pull out his cultivation cushion and sat cross-legged onto it.

    He closed his eyes, laying the palms of his hands onto his knees.  His whole body relaxed as he slowed his breathing.

    Soon, he felt the very familiar feeling of qi begin to enter him and flood into his nascent soul.  He felt a faint sensation of denseness begin to slowly settle, as if he was being very slowly filled.

    At least cultivation still feels the same¡­

    With that, he finally went into cultivation, slightly restless for what could possibly come next.

    He wouldn¡¯t open his eyes until the next morning, by the time the sun had already begun to rise.

 The Immediate Predicament

    Lin Siyuan didn¡¯t open his eyes until the rays of the early morning sun began to shine through his window.

    As he opened his eyes, the ambient sensation of qi disappeared from the room, along with the sensation of it flooding into his nascent soul. He stood up, feeling replenished and ready for the day. He took one last look at his room, grabbed his sword from its spot near the door, and opened it to leave.

    ¡°Oh right, I¡¯m not going to the beginner¡¯s relic smithing class anymore,¡± Siyuan muttered to himself. ¡°But the advanced relic smithing class isn¡¯t even in the lower reaches. And I can¡¯t even get into the upper reaches until I¡¯m in the Aura Manifestation realm. So how am I supposed to get up there?¡±

    The cultivator quickly changed into a brand new set of robes. He was grateful that he decided to keep his hair short, as it never took long to tidy up. Well, not like that was something to deal with inherently, as cultivators were naturally immune to being dirtied for a long period of time, as their bodies expelled filth naturally, both from within it and anything on the skin.

    After he made sure his appearance was presentable, he opened his door.

    That was then he felt the front of his foot accidentally hit something small right in front of his doorway. He looked down to see what it was.

    A pill bottle with a small note beside it.

    Siyuan crouched, reaching for and picking up the note. It was written in his teacher¡¯s familiar handwriting.

    This bottle is full of transportation pills. They will grant you access to the upper reaches. Do not lose this bottle or any of the pills inside it. Without them, you will no longer be able to attend class until I can get you another batch of pills. Take only one at a time. Transportation pills are still fairly new and it is not a good idea to risk your life out of curiosity of what would happen if you did.

    ¡°Since when did the sect start using transportation pills?¡± Siyuan pondered. ¡°And aren¡¯t they kinda super expensive?¡±

    Siyuan wasn¡¯t all too familiar with transportation pills. All he knew was that it served the purpose of granting cultivators access into areas they would normally be blocked out of by subtly changing the nature of their qi. Recent developments in alchemy have started the production of pills that even had a timed effect.

    However, they were also known to be absurdly expensive. Mostly because the materials needed to forge a good batch of them were rare and hard to get.

    ¡°That just means I really should make sure I don¡¯t lose these.¡±

    Siyuan took the bottle, put it into his robe, and headed out of the room.

    His room was one of many in a large building resembling an inn. Thus, out and about were many other cultivators who had just recently awakened. He followed the flow of them out of the building before making his way towards the transportation arrays.

    The transportation array itself was a large, complicated array, conveniently located in the lower reaches¡¯s school¡¯s central courtyard, that brought cultivators to wherever they desired around the school, as long as they had access and it was within the sect¡¯s territory. It was extremely complicated and the pride of the Mystic River Sect. All a disciple needed to do was step within it, touch the ground it covered with his or her hand, and verbally profess where they wanted to go.

    It was fairly early in the morning, the time when the array was most crowded. Dozens upon dozens of disciples were getting onto the array and using it to get to their preferred destinations.

    Almost every single one of them, however, were disciples from the lower reaches going off to their classes or going out on missions to fulfill their annual quotas to the sect. The ones who weren¡¯t were teachers doing the same. Disciples from the sect¡¯s upper reaches were rarely ever seen taking the array Siyuan and his fellow disciples frequented, as they had their own duplicate in the upper reaches. It was the same with the sect elders.

    Unbeknownst to them all, however, an even rarer phenomenon was about to take place. A lower reaches disciple was about to prematurely enter the upper reaches of the sect. Not only that, he was about to be taking classes there. Regularly.

    He felt he was incapable of even imagining the kind of commotion that would bring.

    Good thing nobody knows about it then, he thought as a bead of sweat rolled down the side of his head. That would be way too much of a hassle to deal with.

    Siyuan took the pill bottle in his robes out and opened it. He let a single pill roll out onto his free hand before recapping the bottle and putting it back. He stared at the small, unassuming pill for a moment before opening his mouth and gulping it down. The pill went down his throat without the slightest hitch.

    Alright, that should do it.

    He cleared his throat as he stepped onto the large array. He crouched, touching the ground with his fingers.

    ¡°Upper reaches,¡± he muttered, hoping nobody around him could hear what he had just said.

    In an instant, light enveloped his whole body and he promptly disappeared.

    By the time he blinked, he was in an entirely different place.

    <hr>

    Lin Siyuan had never seen what the upper reaches of the sect looked like before. Of course, being as young as he is, he couldn¡¯t help but be curious to what it could possibly be like. The only thing he knew was that it looked nicer than the lower reaches. He and Luo Han talked about it every now and then.

    He couldn¡¯t have ever expected, however, what he saw when he reappeared.

    Unlike in the lower reaches, the transportation array in the upper reaches was easily the most beautifully built chamber that he had ever laid eyes on. The chamber itself was as large as the lower reaches¡¯ courtyard, yet it was covered top to bottom with expensive jade. Everything seemed to be made out of some kind of material that a tiny piece of was at least more expensive than ten of Siyuan himself, much less enough to build a chamber as large as this one. Attached to the walls were large paintings of various scenes of nature, put up between multiple channels leading out of the chamber.

    Wow, the sect really didn¡¯t hold back when they were building the upper reaches! Siyuan thought, his eyes wide as he stared up at the ceiling, where two large dragon sculptures made of gold were curled around and baring their teeth at each other. You can tell, just by looking at this place, where the sect put a large majority of their resources. And the upper reaches are supposed to be larger than the lower reaches, too!

    He was stuck in place, frozen with awe, as a single voice suddenly rang throughout the chamber.

    ¡°Hey, you!¡±

    Siyuan almost jumped out of his skin when a voice suddenly boomed across the hall.

    His eyes widened further when he suddenly felt a massive aura enter the chamber from behind him.

    ¡°Do you know where you are?!¡± the voice continued. ¡°What is your business here?!¡±

    Siyuan slowly turned around to finally face his speaker.

    Walking towards him from the channel behind him was a young woman, appearing to be just barely older than Siyuan, completely clad in the Mystic River Sect¡¯s female uniform. A beautiful young woman at that. Her skin was the perfect tone, being not too pale to seem unnatural or too tan to seem unsightly. Her hair was long and pitch black, tied into a neat, long ponytail. Her facial features were perfect, as if an expert architect had spent his time and energy to chisel it to perfection, with plump red lips and shining, jade green eyes. The proportions of her body were clear to see, even under the sect¡¯s uniform that was made with the purpose of hiding the more feminine features of a woman¡¯s body. She was definitely pleasant to the eyes, but she seemed so perfect that Siyuan found her a tad bit disturbing. Almost like a doll that was built to seem as perfect as possible.

    What had really caught Siyuan¡¯s attention, however, was not her, but the golden aura of energy her whole body was bathed in. Small trails of bright, golden energy rose from her as she strode forward in a regal fashion.

    Aura Manifestation Realm! It¡¯d be bad if she misunderstands the situation. I should quickly explain my situation, I should be fine as long as I get her to understand¡­

    The female cultivator stopped a distance away from him. She folded her arms across her chest, looking expectantly at him still standing on the array.

    ¡°Well?¡±

    Siyuan opened his mouth to speak, but he found it a bit hard to breathe. Her aura was seriously stifling. He managed to force the words out, however.

    ¡°M-my name is Lin Siyuan,¡± he says. ¡°I am here to take the advanced smithing class. It is my first day here.¡±

    One of the other cultivator¡¯s perfectly kept eyebrows rose quizzically. She unfolded her arms and reached into her robe (Siyuan blushed slightly diverted his eyes as his gaze was momentarily drawn to her chest), pulling out a single jade pendant, just like the one Siyuan had. It began to glow slightly as she activated it. Her eyes skimmed the characters that seemed to appear onto its surface.

    ¡°Hm, it seems that we do have a new student from the lower reaches joining the advanced relic smithing class today,¡± she says. ¡°I must have missed the message somehow. My apologies. Please follow me as I bring you to the classroom. And make sure to memorize the route, as I will not lead you there again.¡±

    ¡°Yes, of course,¡± Siyuan says.

    With that, the woman turns back around and begins walking back down the chamber she had emerged from. Siyuan quickly got off of the transportation array and sped-walked up to her.

    ¡°So, uh, I never caught your name,¡± he says.

    ¡°Xue Yunlan,¡± she says curtly without even turning to acknowledge him. ¡°I am mostly in charge of making sure students don¡¯t go where they are not supposed to. And dishing out punishment appropriately.¡±

    ¡°Right. Well, it¡¯s nice to meet you¡­¡±

    Not the friendliest character, he thought. Also, why did it kind of sound like she was threatening me?

    Just as the thought passed through his head, she suddenly stopped. Siyuan also stopped beside her. She turned around. Her eyes surveyed his form before squinting slightly. Her eyes scanned his form again.

    ¡°Um, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Siyuan asked.

    The other cultivator didn¡¯t answer, keeping her stare onto his form.

    Siyuan felt another bead of sweat run down the side of his head.

    Wait, could it be that she sensed that I¡¯m¡­?

    ¡°Hm, I thought I felt something weird from your aura, but¡­I guess it¡¯s nothing,¡± she said before turning back around. ¡°Apologies. I have only ever seen one other Qi Manifestation cultivator roaming the halls of the upper reaches throughout my stay here so I am not quite used to them. Let us hurry, you don¡¯t want to be late for your first class.¡±

    Only one other Qi Manifestation cultivator? Siyuan thought. Guess that makes sense. It¡¯d only be reasonable that a large majority of the other lower reaches sect members attending classes up here would be in the Foundation Establishment realm rather than the Qi Manifestation realm. I wonder who it is though.

    Siyuan initially thought of bringing up the question, but Xue Yunlan seemed determined to interact with him as little as possible. Thinking that it wasn¡¯t a wise decision to get an Aura Manifestation realm cultivator annoyed with him on his first visit to the upper reaches, he decided to drop the matter.

    For a while, the two just walked silently down the large corridors. Siyuan took the time to admire his surroundings, marveling at what looked like to be the halls of an imperial palace to him.

    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    However, as beautiful as his surroundings were, he couldn¡¯t help but notice something.

    Why is it so barren around here?

    As they walked down the halls of the upper reaches, Siyuan hadn¡¯t seen more than maybe three or four other cultivators walking down the halls other than Xue Yunlan.

    ¡°Is it that the upper reaches¡¯ disciples are so busy that they don¡¯t have time to even walk down the halls?¡± he muttered.

    If Yunlan had heard his question, she didn¡¯t show any sign of such.

    Eventually, they reached a small, simple set of jade-green doors.

    ¡°Here is your classroom,¡± Yunlan said, speaking for the first time since they began walking through the upper reaches. ¡°Please stray from this path as little as possible on your way here to the transportation array and back. I wish you a productive day.¡±

    With that, she promptly turned around and walked back down the hallway without giving him a second look.

    ¡°Well, aren¡¯t you friendly,¡± he muttered as he turned to the door. ¡°Alright, I hope I¡¯m not late.¡±

    With that, he opened the door.

    And what he saw was the largest classroom he had ever seen.

    It wasn¡¯t as large as the chamber that held the transportation array, but it still felt pretty massive. It was easily double the size of his old relic smithing classroom, possibly even larger. It was a lot more fancy and ornate, too. Like everywhere else in the upper reaches, the whole thing seemed to be made of expensive marble, though the colors were neutral enough to not be distracting. The desks and chairs looked to be made out of wood, but they didn¡¯t feel at all out of place or seem any less expensive than everything else.

    As expected, this classroom makes my former classroom in the lower reaches seem no more elaborate than my former home in Zhongde in comparison.

    Sitting in front of each of the tables, of which there were only seven of, were students of similar age as Siyuan, yet slightly older. Out of the seven of them, two of them were females while the rest were male. They were all of varying sizes and appearances with the only commonality between them all being their crow black hair and that they were all wearing the Mystic River Sect¡¯s uniform. Like Xue Yunlan, they were all bathed in mild auras of varying colors, tell-tale signs that they were in the Aura Manifestation realm.

    Only seven students? Siyuan wondered.

    Standing at the front of the room on a slightly elevated platform was a thin, middle-aged woman, dressed in the garbs of the Mystic River Sect¡¯s instructor robes. She had medium-length crow black hair that flowed freely down her back and stern, dark brown eyes. Like the other students in the room, her body was bathed in a bright aura, though it was notably denser and felt more powerful than the other students¡¯.

    Siyuan¡¯s eyes widened slightly when he saw that.

    The Soul Spirit Manifestation realm! In the same realm as sensei¡­

    When the sound of the door opening rang throughout the classroom, she stopped talking and looked up from the book she was holding in her hand, turning to the door. In mild curiosity, the other students did so as well.

    ¡°Young man, may I ask what business you have here?¡± she asks. Her voice was methodical and stoic, yet held a slight tint of charm in it.

    Uh oh, does she not know that she is receiving a disciple from the lower reaches? Could it be that sensei forgot to tell her?

    A bead of cold sweat ran down the side of his head as the thought ran through his mind. He almost contemplated backing out right then and there.

    No, I should still introduce myself at least. Then if she kicks me out, tomorrow I will have sensei send her another message.

    With that, he took a deep breath and, mustering his courage, took a few steps into the classroom.

    ¡°Um, greetings, honored elder,¡± Siyuan greeted as he clasped his hands in front of him and bowed respectfully. ¡°I am Lin Siyuan. From this day I will begin attending your classes.¡±

    The woman at the front of the class raised an eyebrow at that statement. That statement also seemed to attract more of the other students¡¯ attention.

    It took them a bit, but it dawned on them there was something wrong with what he had said.

    The woman pursed her lips. She closed the book in her hand before reaching into her robes and pulling out a jade pendant. It glowed to life as she began to read the characters that were etching themselves into it.

    Meanwhile, the other students just stared at him. Their curiosity was beginning to slowly turn into different varying expressions. The room was gradually filled with quiet muttering.

    ¡°Huh? A new student?¡±

    ¡°Him? But doesn¡¯t his qi feel too weak to be an Aura Manifestation realm cultivator? Or even a Foundation Establishment cultivator¡­¡±

    ¡°This foolish junior must be here just to cause trouble. How could someone as weak as him be a part of the upper reaches¡¯ relic smithing class?¡±

    From the quiet mutterings however, a loud voice boomed through the room. One that seemed to silence everyone else.

    ¡°Ha, you are joining our class?¡±

    Siyuan raised his head. He turned to the speaker, a large man who easily dwarfed everyone else in the classroom in size. He had a rugged face, short, clean-cut hair, and harsh, steel gray eyes. His robes did little to hide the bulging muscles of his arms although they covered the entirety of them. His expression was hot as a flame as he glowered at Siyuan.

    ¡°Impossible, you seem like just a mere Qi Manifestation realm cultivator,¡± he said. ¡°Don¡¯t try to lie by saying you are qualified to join the advanced relic smithing class.¡±

    He turned to the woman at the front of the room.

    ¡°Uh, but I am qua-¡± Siyuan tried to get out, but he was promptly cut off.

    ¡°Sensei, I request that you send someone to punish this foolish junior disciple for disrupting class,¡± the male disciple says.

    ¡°No, that won¡¯t be necessary,¡± the sensei said as the glow of her pendant disappeared.

    She turns to Siyuan, putting the pendant back into her robes.

    ¡°It appears that this junior has been personally pushed into the advanced relic smithing class by the basic relic smithing class teacher,¡± she says. ¡°Congratulations, that makes you the first Qi Manifestation cultivator in the sect¡¯s history to ever join the advanced relic smithing class.¡±

    The other students¡¯ expressions were flat at first, then they all morphed into expressions of surprise. Their eyes went back to Siyuan, wide as dinner plates. The most startled of all, seemingly, was the student who had just spoken up. Under the scrutiny of their gazes, he could only shyly laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. A shiver ran through his body.

    Um, this seems a bit scary. Will I really be okay in this class?

    ¡°You are lucky that we have just begun today¡¯s lesson,¡± the teacher says. ¡°I apologize that we don¡¯t have a table set for you, but there will be one the next time you come to class. For today, I will have to trouble you to stand at the back of the class behind the desks.¡±

    With that, she turned her gaze away from him and reopened the book in her hand.

    Siyuan just bowed one more time in respect before he turned to the desks towards the back of the classroom. He made his way there, trying his best to ignore the other Aura Manifestation Realm cultivators drilling into him with their eyes. He eventually situated himself behind the desks between the tables of two girls, farther away from the burly male cultivator who had called him out earlier.

    Their eyes remained on him for a moment longer. They all turned back to the front of the classroom as the teacher restarted her lecture.

    <hr>

    ¡°Infusion is a term used for a popular method in relic smithing, in which a smith inserts qi into an object as a method of preparation before forging a relic. Now this has a variety of uses. It could strengthen a relic¡¯s purpose, or even fundamentally change a core¡¯s purpose to something that would normally not be possible to instill into a relic. Infusion even opens up the possibility of forging relics without needing a smithing array.¡±

    Siyuan just subtly nodded his head as he cupped his chin in thought.

    They were about near the end of class for that day, assuming Siyuan¡¯s sense of time wasn¡¯t off. To be fair, his new teacher, for the entirety of the couple hour class time, hadn¡¯t stopped talking for even a second. Even though the purpose of class that day was to simply introduce the students to a brand new concept in relic smithing, she seemed to find no trouble in finding more than enough to lecture on for multiple hours.

    As expected of a teacher from the advanced class, he thought. In his mind, he sighed to himself. This woman seems noticeably younger than sensei, but she can definitely speak a lot. And to think this is just an introduction to the topic¡­

    ¡°However, infusion is an extraordinarily complicated process,¡± the teacher thought. ¡°In its most basic form, it seems to simply be putting qi into an object that will be forged into a relic or a relic that will be enhanced. However, doing so will almost always guarantee failure with the actual infusion process.

    ¡°There are many reasons why experts compare relic smithing to alchemy. In alchemy, there are many factors one must keep track of to ensure that the pill is successfully produced. The distribution of ingredients must be perfect and the heat under the pill furnace must be neither too cold nor too hot. It is exactly the same situation with infusion. For your desired method of infusion, the amount of qi going into the object from every source must be exactly the right amount or the process may fail. Sometimes, for particularly difficult infusions, it could fail even if the temperature of the air isn¡¯t right.¡±

    Siyuan rubbed his chin.

    Infusion, I guess that is what separates the experts from the average smiths, he thought. It already sounds complicated. No wonder why it hasn¡¯t even been brought up when I was taking classes in the lower reaches. Aghh, this seems like a pain. Will this even be possible for me if I¡¯m still in the Qi Manifestation realm?

    ¡°Go over the subject of infusion in your advanced relic smithing manuals,¡± the teacher says, shutting the book in her hand with finality. ¡°Starting next week, we will actually begin infusion. Class is dismissed.¡±

    The students in the classroom all stood up from their seats. As they quietly made their way to the door, a couple of them gave him some final fleeting glances before leaving the classroom. The large male student from before didn¡¯t do so, but Siyuan did catch a slight scoff coming from him as he left the room.

    Looks like the other students don¡¯t quite know what to make of me yet, Siyuan says. Except maybe that guy. I plan on keeping my distance, but it will help me if I get to know at least one person. Oh well, not exactly a concern yet. Just as long as I don¡¯t get onto anybody¡¯s bad side.

    Siyun got up from his spot on the floor at the back of the room. He began his way to the door.

    ¡°Lin Siyuan, a moment please.¡±

    The cultivator stopped and turned to her. He bowed respectfully.

    ¡°Yes, sensei?¡± he asked when he raised his head again.

    ¡°Just a couple of things,¡± his new sensei began. She hands him the book in her hand, withdrawing it after he takes the manual. ¡°This is the advanced smithing manual. All of the education you will get from here on will be based on what is in here. Secondly, there is the case of your cultivation realm. Being in the Qi Manifestation Realm, your qi capacity really is too low. The Foundation Establishment realm is also a bit too low for what this class requires, but it is definitely better than being in the Qi Manifestation realm, so it would help if you could breakthrough into the realm as quickly as possible. Actually, hmm¡­¡±

    The teacher stopped and thought for a moment, cupping her chin.

    ¡°Say, how far into the Qi Manifestation realm are you?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Um¡­¡±

    Siyuan closed his eyes for a moment. He took a moment to look into his nascent soul, looking down upon the pool of qi sitting in it.

    ¡°I am about midway through the Qi Manifestation realm,¡± he says. ¡°It is a bit slow for somebody who has broken through half a year ago, but I have been putting studying relic smithing over cultivation so I¡¯m not too sure how long it will take me to reach the Foundation Establishment realm.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± the teacher says. She thought for a moment. ¡°Ok, how about this? I will give you a few months starting tomorrow to break through into the next realm. During that time span, don¡¯t worry at all about coming to classes. Of course you¡¯ll fall behind, but I¡¯d rather have that than risk you coming down with qi deviation because some of the assignments I have planned for the future require enhancing relics six or seven times at least.¡±

    Siyuan¡¯s eyes widened slightly.

    Only a few months? That was a crazy deadline! he thought. It took me half a year just to get done with the first half of the Qi Manifestation realm. Having to finish the latter half in half that time is impossible for me even if I cultivated all day and night! Has it been so long since this lady been in the Qi Manifestation realm that she had forgotten how long it takes to reach the Foundation Establishment realm?

    However, the teacher¡¯s request did make sense. It is entirely plausible that the requirements to even just be able to complete the assignments of the advanced relic smithing class would be much higher than that of the basic relic smithing classes. Four enhancements might¡¯ve been too much for Qi Manifestation realm cultivators to perform, but over double that was probably just expected of Aura Manifestation realm cultivators.

    ¡°And, well, I did say that I¡¯d give you a few months, but it would be very helpful for me if you breakthrough as soon as possible. It would be a struggle for both of us if you fall too behind. That is all.¡±

    Siyuan¡¯s eyes widened even further at that.

    ¡°Um, sensei, this junior disciple apologizes, but your request seems too far-fetched,¡± he says. ¡°Breakthrough in just a few months? That is impossible for me, even taking into account that I somewhat neglected my cultivation before I transferred. Maybe if you give me four or so months, I can get it done¡­¡±

    ¡°Four months is too much time,¡± the teacher says, shaking her head. ¡°As I mentioned before, it will be a struggle for me to maintain the other students¡¯ curriculum and try to get you caught even with the deadline I set. Any more and the trouble might be too much to warrant being worth risking.¡±

    Siyuan sighs. Indeed, his new sensei¡¯s reasoning wasn¡¯t unfounded. He really did have a fairly serious problem on his hands and just like most of his other fairly serious problems, it was because of his pitiful cultivation realm.

    ¡°Sorry for dropping such a huge problem on you on your first day here,¡± the teacher says with an apologetic smile. ¡°Fortunately for you, that is all I have for you. Sorry again.¡±

    Siyuan briefly bows in her direction. She just hums as he turns around and heads out of the classroom.

    The corridors of the upper reaches were completely barren, save for one or two disciples who completely ignored his presence, as Siyuan walked back to the transportation array. The near silence gave him a lot of time to think out his next move and just how he was going to approach his current predicament.

    Siyuan soon found himself at the ornate transportation hall. He took one more admiring gaze at the place before stepping onto the large transportation array. He bent down and touched his hand to the array beneath his feet.

    ¡°The lower reaches.¡±

    The array began to glow as a bright light overtook his whole body.

    He blinked. As he opened his eyes an instant later though, he found himself standing on the transportation array in the familiar courtyard of the lower reaches. It was not nearly as full as it was in the mornings, having only several students here and there roaming the courtyards or stepping onto or off of the array. However, compared to the upper reaches, it was still crowded.

    At first, he thought about going back to his home. But he stopped only a few steps towards its general direction.

    ¡°I need to find a way to hasten my cultivation,¡± he says. ¡°And I can¡¯t half-ass it either. I will need to consult sensei about this.¡±

    With that, he started his way towards the beginning relic smithing classroom.

 Game Plan

    Night had befallen the Mystic River Sect.  The bright sun had fully descended, replaced by the twinkling stars in the sky.  Most of the disciples within the sect¡¯s lower reaches had retired to their residences for the night, closing themselves in for nightly cultivation after a long day of work or study.  Very few were out and about, performing nightly activities for whatever reason.

    Among these few was Lin Siyuan.  He was in the Mystic River sect¡¯s basic relic smithing classroom, sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of a single cultivation cushion at the very front of the classroom.  Sitting on that cultivation cushion was his former sensei.

    ¡°I see.  Hm, I wonder how I did not anticipate this problem arising when I enrolled you into the advanced?¡±

    The man sitting on the cushion, Siyuan¡¯s former sensei of the basic relic smithing class, hummed to himself in thought.  His eyes were closed, his hands on his knees.  The air around was slightly illusory, a sign of the ambient qi being sucked into his body.  Although he was in the middle of his cultivation, he still maintained conversation with Siyuan.

    ¡°Perhaps my old age is already getting to me, not being able to see such an obvious outcome,¡± he says.  ¡°I should have told you to breakthrough to Foundation Establishment first.  Although, I still believe that would have ended up with you being left behind by the rest of the advanced class¡­¡±

    ¡°Sensei, please, I implore you to help this junior out,¡± Siyuan said.  He sounded to be on the verge of begging.  ¡°I don¡¯t want to burden my new teacher so soon after meeting her.  It will leave me with an uncomfortable feeling that I don¡¯t want to have to dwell with.  Plus, it would only do harm to my reputation if word gets out that the so-called best relic smith in the lower reaches fell so behind so quickly!  Plus, You¡¯re in the Aura Manifestation Realm, almost in the Soul Spirit Manifestation Realm.  Surely you must know some kind of method?¡±

    ¡°Um, I don¡¯t think that is the main reason why you should be so concerned, but at least your heart is somewhat in the right place,¡± Siyuan¡¯s sensei says, amused.  ¡°Besides, you¡¯ve been to the upper reaches already.  All of the young people up there are already in the Aura Manifestation realm.  Eventually, you¡¯ll be up here as well when you¡¯re their age.  Meanwhile, I am this old already and I haven¡¯t even broken through into the Soul Spirit Manifestation realm yet.  Even some of my disciples are more powerful than me.  If I had a method to give you, I would have already used it for myself.¡±

    Siyuan just sighed.

    ¡°So if you want to hasten your cultivation, you¡¯ll have to do it the conventional way,¡± the teacher says with a light shrug.  ¡°Either find and purchase a cultivation pill¡­¡±

    ¡°Ha, as if,¡± Siyuan said with a scoff.  ¡°With how expensive those things are I wouldn¡¯t be able to afford more than one or two even if I slaved away for the rest of my life¡­¡±

    ¡°...or you could begin taking on beast hunting bounties,¡± the teacher said.  ¡°And hope you can find something that will help you hasten your cultivation.¡±

    Beast hunting was acknowledged to be the most commonly performed activity for cultivators.  This was because everyone could do it.  Both cultivators who had no other special skills such as alchemy or medicine and cultivators who did specialize in some other unique skill.  Beasts were basically animals that, just as humans would, laid foundation and became ¡°cultivators.¡±  As a result, however, their own animal instincts would also rise to a supernatural level and the animal would ultimately lose control of them, leading to them usually being very aggressive towards everything that isn¡¯t family.  Once those two conditions were fulfilled, then the animal would be classified as a beast.

    Beasts were an extremely troublesome existence.  They were extremely destructive, no matter what animal the beast had been produced from.  No matter how hard the cultivation sects of the land tried, their combined efforts were barely enough to keep the rate at which they appeared under control, especially since it was very difficult, almost impossible, to predict just when and where one would appear.  Thus, cultivators put all their efforts into developing methods to find them rather than trying to sniff out animals that are about to lay foundation.  And when one did appear, specialists would try their best to find them as soon as possible.

    As a result, beast bounty offices were in very high demand.  The bounty hunters themselves were in even higher demand despite how many there were, making beast bounty hunters the most popular cultivator occupation by far.

    The solution seemed fairly simple and very matter-of-fact.  Although Siyuan wasn¡¯t a beast bounty hunter, he could, at any time, just waltz over to the sect¡¯s lower reaches¡¯s beast bounty hunting office and pick one off of a mountain of available bounties to choose from.  And it wasn¡¯t like he couldn¡¯t find some easy ones to do.  He may not be actively training in combat, but lower level beasts, especially ones that had very recently laid foundation, may possess power levels similar to his Qi Manifestation realm, but they weren¡¯t his match.

    There was a bit of a problem with this plan, however.

    ¡°Well if I¡¯m going to be taking on beast hunting bounties just to find cultivation resources, I¡¯d have to find a beast with a core,¡± Siyuan says.  ¡°Only tier 3 beasts and above have beast cores.  I am incapable of taking on a tier 3 beast at my current stage.  And even if I somehow find a way to take one down, since my innate elemental affinity is metal, it¡¯d have to specifically be an Earth-elemental beast core!  This whole plan sounds very unviable.¡±

    Every living thing is born with an elemental affinity, whether it be animal or human.  That elemental affinity just doesn¡¯t surface until one lays foundation and becomes a cultivator.  When it does, it pretty much determines what the cultivator will be specialized in and what technique he will be capable of practicing.

    Lin Siyuan himself was born with an affinity to the metal element, an affinity which the occupation of relic smithing heavily favored.  Not only that, his affinity was strong, noticeably stronger than the average cultivator¡¯s.  Aside from playing a small part in his success as a relic smith, he was capable of using certain techniques that average metal-element cultivators weren¡¯t capable of using.  Although he did barely more than the required basic combat training, he was confident he could hold his own against cultivators of the same realm as him.

    Beasts ¡°cultivated¡± just like humans did, absorbing the ambient qi of their environment in order to advance.  However, their advancement was different, as they cultivated step by step rather than jumping from one realm to the other like humans.  Thus, cultivators used a tier system to classify their strength.  Tier 1 and 2 beasts both fell within the Qi Manifestation realm, but once a beast becomes a Tier 3, it would become powerful enough to contend with cultivators in the Foundation Establishment realm, a level of power that Siyuan had almost no confidence he could contend with.  That was the sole reason why Siyuan didn¡¯t find beast bounty hunting to be viable for his predicament.

    ¡°You don¡¯t necessarily need a beast core,¡± his sensei says.  ¡°A beast¡¯s body, just like a cultivator¡¯s, is ripe with qi.  Meat from a tier 1 or tier 2 beast is still potent with qi, if not so much in comparison to a beast core.  Their organs especially.  You¡¯ll need to learn how to cook them, but it¡¯s not at all difficult.  This comes with the plus that you can eat the meat of any beast and still reap the same benefit regardless of the beast¡¯s original elemental affinity.  You might even find a body part of good quality to use as a core for a relic in the future.¡±

    One of Siyuan¡¯s eyebrows rose.  That was the first time that he had ever heard of this.

    ¡°Wait, really?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Erm, yes?¡± Siyuan¡¯s sensei said.  The hint of an amused smile tugged at the corner of his lips.  ¡°That is a very basic fact that everybody knows.  You probably didn¡¯t pay attention during beginner battle theory, but your only friend is a battle cultivator, isn¡¯t he?  He definitely brought it up at least once.¡±

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    ¡°Luo Han?  He probably did, but almost everything he says goes in through one ear then out the other,¡± Siyuan says.

    Siyuan¡¯s sensei raised an eyebrow at that, his eyes still closed.  He seemed slightly amused.

    ¡°Um, you know that Luo Han is¡­the strongest battle cultivator in the lower reaches?¡± he asked.  ¡°By far?  The second highest ranked battle cultivator in the lower reaches isn¡¯t even worthy of dusting his shoes.  It¡¯s like how you are the best relic smith in the lower reaches by far, even before you essentially made yourself the best relic smith in history.  The only reason he¡¯s even in the lower reaches is because he¡¯s still in the Qi Manifestation realm.¡±

    It was true.  Just like how Siyuan who, in his half a year since he laid foundation, became a shining star amongst the beginner relic smiths in the lower reaches, who couldn¡¯t even glow in comparison to him even before he forged himself into a relic, Luo Han had become easily the strongest lower reaches fighter in the Mystic River Sect in the half a year since he laid foundation.  He never won an in-sect tournament in the lower reaches, but that was because he was completely restricted from fighting in the Qi Manifestation tournaments and only granted access into the Foundation Establishment ones.  Even then, he was a match for even Foundation Establishment cultivators, only being beaten by the strongest Foundation Establishment cultivators in the sect.

    The fact that Siyuan, the best relic smith in the lower reaches, and Luo Han, the strongest battle cultivator in the lower reaches, had a tight smith-warrior connection was purely coincidental, though many other cultivators found that quote comical.  It was one that formed before they had acquired their reputations, when Siyuan first offered Luo Han his first, and current, sword relic.

    ¡°I know,¡± Siyuan says.  ¡°But he always acts like such a fool that it¡¯s easy to forget.  He¡¯s quite lazy, too.  Oh, he told me a while ago that he was going to be participating in the Tempered Blades tournament.¡±

    Siyuan¡¯s sensei hummed.  He raised a hand, stroking it absentmindedly.

    ¡°He should be able to place quite high,¡± he said.  ¡°But that tournament is a gathering of geniuses, and I don¡¯t doubt that there will be some at least on the same level as him there.  Did you at least tell him that he would have to place quite high in order to get noticed?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I told him,¡± Siyuan says, also snorting.  ¡°But that¡¯s besides the point.¡±

    Siyuan stands up from his spot on the floor.

    ¡°Guess that¡¯s my plan,¡± Siyuan says.  ¡°Go beast bounty hunting tomorrow.  Maybe bug Luo Han into letting me join his hunting group.  If he plays hard to get, then I¡¯ll just blackmail him into doing it.  The only reason he still has that relic of his in the first place is because I¡¯m the one maintaining it for him.¡±

    His sensei snorted slightly.

    ¡°Is he still using that relic you gave him?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Ah, yes,¡± Siyuan says with a shrug.  ¡°And he¡¯d not switch it out for something else so readily.  If I ever find out that he switches out the relic I risked my life enhancing four times, I will take his sorry life with my own two hands.¡±

    ¡°Well, if you believe you have the capability¡­¡±

    The older cultivator just laughed as Siyuan prepared to leave the classroom.  He clasped his hands and bowed his head towards him.

    ¡°Thank you for your advice, sensei.¡±

    ¡°Please, there is no need to be so courteous,¡± his sensei says with a smile.  ¡°I am your sensei after all, it is simply my duty, nothing more to it.  Now go, you have quite a big day coming tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Of course, thank you again, sensei.¡±

    Siyuan stood up from his spot on the floor.  He bowed with his hands clasped in front of him before turning and leaving the classroom.

    The teacher silently meditated, his eyes still closed as Siyuan left the classroom.  Silence descended onto the empty classroom.

    As he cultivated in the silence of the night, just as his consciousness could slip into his nascent pool, a smile tugged at the sensei¡¯s lips.

    Lin Siyuan and Luo Han.

    They simply need just a few more years.

    Then they will become reliable cornerstones for the sect elder¡¯s grand operation.

    <hr>

    The night passed by quickly.  Lin Siyuan spent the entirety of it, on his cultivation cushion in a meditative stance with his eyes closed, cultivating.  He remained in that position, his body as unmoving as a stone as he slowly filled the nascent soul.  It was only when the early rays of the morning sun began to shine upon him that he rose from his unconsciousness.

    I¡¯ve made good progress, he thought to himself as he slowly stood up from his cushion, his lumbs a bit numb from the long term of inactivity.  But yeah, at the rate that I am currently going, I would have to permanently cultivate if I want to just force my way to the Foundation Establishment realm in just a few weeks.

    It was early in the morning.  Very early, earlier than Siyuan usually awakened from his cultivation.  However, he needed to get up earlier than usual, especially today.

    Because this was when Luo Han usually got up.  Siyuan needed to get to him before he went on a morning hunting trip.

    The cultivator quickly tidied himself up before taking out his pendant.  He poured some qi into it, sending a quick message to the other cultivator.  With that done, he shoved it back into his robe and quickly left his residence, making his way towards the sect¡¯s central dining hall.

    <hr>

    With his speed, it took him several minutes to reach the dining hall.  Thankfully, Siyuan wasn¡¯t at all late.

    Although it was early in the morning, the dining hall was slightly packed with disciples, conversing and what not as they quickly ate.  All of these disciples were beast bounty hunters, eating a quick breakfast before going off to their morning quests.

    And sitting at a table near the left side of the hall was Luo Han, furiously scarfing down a bowl of rice with chicken and some spiritual herbs.  A couple of the cultivators around his table threw him some curious glances and muttered some near inaudible things, but Luo Han was mostly left alone and unnoticed.

    Siyuan sidled up to his table, seating himself in front of Luo Han.

    ¡°Erff, Shiyuahn!¡± Luo Han greeted, his mouth full of food.

    The battle cultivator quickly chewed, swallowing the food in a hurry.  He gulped down the rest  of his meal as quickly as he could.  Siyuan couldn¡¯t quite hide the look of slight disgust that imprinted itself onto his features.  If Luo Han noticed it, he didn¡¯t heed it.  He simply finished his meal before looking back up at him.

    ¡°Haha, apologies for that display!¡± he says with a sheepish laugh.  ¡°I overestimated how much time I had before you¡¯d get here.  Anyways, you almost never call me over here this early!  What¡¯s on your mind?¡±

    ¡°Right, I know you may find this request a bit strange, but,¡± Siyuan asks.  ¡°May I accompany you on your next hunting trip?¡±

    Luo Han¡¯s eyes widened slightly.  He blinked a couple times.

    ¡°This morning¡¯s?¡±

    ¡°Yes.  If possible.¡±

    ¡°Well, sure,¡± Luo Han says.  ¡°I won¡¯t even need to arrange anything since I¡¯m the leader of my current party.  I¡¯ll just tell the other members that you¡¯ll be coming along with us.¡±

    ¡°Oh, alright,¡± Siyuan said.

    He couldn¡¯t help but stop and blink a couple times at Luo Han¡¯s nonchalant behavior.

    ¡°Um, is it really as easy as that?¡± he asked.  ¡°You don¡¯t need to tell the office that I¡¯m joining your party or anything?  Is there nothing to be concerned about a non-battle cultivator going on a hunting trip?¡±

    ¡°No, not really,¡± Luo Han says.  ¡°Unless something very serious happens, those potato sacks won¡¯t really care what happens.  Plus, non-battle cultivators going on hunting trips happen more than you¡¯d think.  As long as your combat skill is at least more than half decent at, you should be fine.  Besides, this morning¡¯s hunt will be easy.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡±

    Siyuan was a bit skeptical about that, but if it was as Luo Han said, then all he could really do was accept it.  Plus, he felt safe with Luo Han for a very obvious reason.

    ¡°With that out of the way, who else is going to come?¡± Siyuan asks.

    ¡°Oh, ahaha, about that¡­¡±

    Luo Han suddenly chuckled sheepishly.  He rubbed the back of his head in a nervous manner.  Siyuan tilted his head to the side, quizzical of Luo Han¡¯s behavior.  Luo Han opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it after shaking his head a few times.  Then, he simply pointed a thumb behind him.

    Siyuan tilted his body to the side slightly to see what Luo Han¡¯s thumb was pointed towards.

    Or rather, the people he was pointing at.  Three people sitting at the table behind Luo Han, eating and talking amongst themselves, completely ignorant of Siyuan¡¯s presence.

    He immediately recognized one of the cultivators sitting around that table.

    His expression soured.

 Mission Start

    Siyuan turned back to Luo Han, a peeved look on his face.

    ¡°Seriously?¡± he asked, directing a glare at the man sitting at the table behind Luo Han. ¡°He¡¯s going to be part of our hunting group?¡±

    The cultivator he was glaring at was Ling Yan, another disciple in the Qi Manifestation realm like Lin Siyuan and Luo Han. He came from the same batch of disciples as the two, meaning that he had cultivated for around half a year just like Siyuan and Luo Han. Unlike the two, however, he was on the threshold of making a breakthrough into the Foundation Establishment realm. He was easily the second strongest of the Qi Manifestation realm cultivators in the lower reaches and was fairly capable in all the other cultivation fields, if barely. He was seen as a talent in the Mystic River Sect, as there weren¡¯t a lot of battle cultivators who could also do relic smithing, alchemy, and qi manipulation among some other things like he could.

    However, it was no secret that he was the son of a rich and powerful family. It was a fact that he liked to flaunt around and use to his advantage, leading to nobody in the lower reaches favoring him. Siyuan himself thought that the only reason for him being so ¡°talented¡± was because of his access to his family¡¯s extensive resources. However, he was still the second strongest Qi Manifestation realm cultivator, so his presence pretty much required respect no matter how much anybody liked it.

    He was, however, unbearably infuriating to work with. If Siyuan was stuck between having to lose his nascent soul and do anything with that young master, the decision would¡¯ve been quite a difficult one.

    ¡°Apparently, his family hired the bounty bureau to have me escort him on a trip to find and kill a tier 3 beast,¡± Luo Han says. ¡°He¡¯ll get all the yields of the beast¡¯s body, including the core, but I¡¯ll be getting a pretty hefty reward in return. Didn¡¯t really matter what element, just any tier 3 beast. My guess is that he¡¯s gonna need it to breakthrough into the Foundation Establishment realm.¡±

    Siyuan just nodded.

    The breakthrough from the Qi Manifestation realm to the Foundation Establishment realm was, as expected, could not be called easy. In order to get there, one must absorb enough qi to approach the breakthrough point, but then must absorb another large amount of qi to break through that barrier (hence the term, ¡°breakthrough,¡± that is used for rising through the different cultivation realms). A lot was needed to pass through the barrier between the Qi Manifestation and Foundation Establishment realms, but there was much more than enough in a beast core to break through that barrier, even one that didn¡¯t compliment one¡¯s elemental affinity. In fact, the more qi past the required amount, the better, as more qi used during the breakthrough would lead to a stronger foundation during cultivation through the Foundation Establishment realm.

    There were plenty of options that provided enough qi for a breakthrough outside of a beast core that were very accessible to all cultivators, such as low-level pills, items that radiated qi, etc. Usually, a Qi Manifestation realm cultivator would be unable to acquire a beast core just for a breakthrough, but there were, of course, exceptions. The exceptionally strong who could deal with tier 3 beasts, such as Luo Han, or the exceptionally rich who didn¡¯t need to be so strong, such as Ling Yan.

    ¡°Anyways, why¡¯re you coming along anyway?¡± Luo Han asks. ¡°We¡¯re technically not gonna be getting anything except a load of money if you¡¯re gonna come along, so if you¡¯re looking for relic smithing materials¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh, I was hoping to find something to help hasten my cultivation,¡± Siyuan said. ¡°I heard beast meat is a good way to do that.¡±

    ¡°Well, sure, if it was the meat of a tier 2 or 3 beast maybe,¡± Luo Han replied. ¡°A tier 1 beast¡¯s meat won¡¯t do you much more good than just eating regular meat. The chances that we¡¯ll just incidentally find another tier 2 or 3 beast along the way are pretty slim. Though if you help out, I¡¯ll be willing to split the reward between the two of us.¡±

    Siyuan¡¯s hopes deflated slightly. However, cash could still possibly be adequate. If he bought and refined some qi-rich crops, it would definitely help even if it wouldn¡¯t be enough to reach the breakthrough point.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s fine,¡± he said.

    Luo Han chuckled at Siyuan¡¯s miffed expression.

    ¡°Since when did you care so much about cultivation?¡± he asked. ¡°I reckoned you were the kind of person to never really care all that much.¡±

    ¡°My new sensei in the advanced class pushed me to break through into the Foundation Establishment realm,¡± Siyuan said with a sigh. ¡°Something about not wanting me to suffer from qi deviation attempting some of her projects.¡±

    ¡°Well yeah, it¡¯s a class expected for Aura Manifestation realm cultivators,¡± Luo Han said with a scoff. ¡°Alright then. It¡¯s time we get going.¡±

    He stands up from his chair. His expression hardens almost immediately as he walks up to the rich young master sitting at the table behind him. Ling Yan didn¡¯t even look at him until Luo Han was right next to his seat.

    ¡°What?¡± he curtly asked. The other two cultivators at his table just stared at Luo Han before they both shifted their gazes elsewhere, away from the two. As just regular lower reaches disciples in the Qi Manifestation realm, they wisely decided not to get involved by picking a side.

    ¡°Get up,¡± Luo han simply says. ¡°It¡¯s time to go.¡±

    Ling Yan¡¯s face scrunches up slightly. His , however, remained mostly impassive.

    ¡°I¡¯m still eating,¡± he says. ¡°Wait for me to finish.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to wait for you to finish,¡± Luo Han says, scowling. It was apparent to both parties and everyone that the two didn¡¯t like each other. Thus, neither found any excuse to disguise that fact. ¡°Be reminded that the quest your family had me take is entirely optional on my part. And since I already know the location of the tier 3 beast, I can just go over there and take it myself. So if you still want it, then get up.¡±

    Ling Yan¡¯s impassive face shifts into a scowl.

    ¡°Fine,¡± he finally says. He gets up from his chair, his sword clinking in its sheath.

    ¡°Oh, one more thing, we¡¯ll be bringing along a third person with us,¡± Luo Han says.

    ¡°I thought you said it¡¯d only be the two of us,¡± Ling Yan replied. ¡°Isn¡¯t that why you were so opposed to me bringing some of my fellow disciples along?¡±

    ¡°Well, as the hunting leader, I have the power to choose who goes and doesn¡¯t go,¡± Luo Han sternly says. ¡°And I¡¯ve chosen someone to come with us. If you are dissatisfied, you can find another hunting leader.¡±

    Lin Yang tsk¡¯d, but he grit his teeth and stayed silent. He cursed Luo Han in his heart. The cultivator was usually pompous and despised being controlled and bound by the rules of others, but Luo Han¡¯s participation in this hunt was imperative. Without him, he didn¡¯t have the ability to take down a tier 3 beast. There also weren¡¯t any other Qi Manifestation cultivators in the lower reaches who could fight against tier 3 beasts, much less kill them. What made things even worse for him was that it had to be a Qi Manifestation cultivator, as it was highly unlikely he would find a Foundation Establishment cultivator who would be willing to go along with him, even with his family¡¯s wealth and status. Most of them just didn¡¯t want to bother with babysitting cultivators one whole realm under them.

    Luo Han was his only choice and he knew it. Ling Yan grit his teeth when the thought emerged once again.

    Just you wait, he thought. You may be able to boss me around now, but once I reach the Foundation Establishment realm, let¡¯s see just who will be able to boss around who!

    Without waiting for him, Luo Han turned around and walked back to his table, Ling Yan following close behind him. Ling Yan¡¯s eyes fell onto Lin Siyuan, who stood up from his chair. The young master¡¯s eyes widened slightly before he looked back at Luo Han.

    ¡°Hah?¡± he asked. ¡°That is¡­Lin Siyuan? Why is a relic smith coming with us?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s none of your business,¡± Luo Han curtly says, not even acknowledging him as he starts on the way to the courtyard.

    Ling Yan examined Siyuan for a few seconds. Siyuan just stared back, not quite sure what to think. Finally, the young master scoffed before following after Luo Han.

    Siyuan quietly scoffed back before also following behind.

    Neither of the trio noticed that the dining hall had gone silent as all eyes were on them, silently watching as the strongest battle cultivator, the second strongest battle cultivator, and most accomplished relic smith in the lower reaches walked in line out of the dining hall.

    <hr>

    It didn¡¯t take them long to reach the Mystic River sect¡¯s lower reaches transportation array.

    It was fairly early in the morning, yet there were already a great number of disciples out and about. The courtyard was rich with activity, loud and bustling with chatter and the sound of disciples being teleported from the array.

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    ¡°Alright everyone, check one last time to make sure we have everything,¡± Luo Han says as he, Lin Siyuan, and Ling Yan stop in front of the array. ¡°Check your swords, it¡¯s better to be a bit late with a blade in good condition than on time with a blade in bad condition. Make sure you have a sufficient amount of healing items. Lastly, make sure you¡¯ve fastened your jade pendant in a secure place. You won¡¯t be able to return to the transportation array without it, so make sure it doesn¡¯t drop anywhere.¡±

    Lin Siyuan brought a hand down to his side, where his sword lay in its sheath.

    Being a relic smith, it was only expected that his sword wasn¡¯t simply just a sword. It was a three-fold enhanced sword relic that had a simple purpose: to enhance the flow of qi within his body. It was a simple ¡°purpose,¡± but it could be effectively utilized no matter the situation he was in. As his hand made contact with the hilt, he felt the thrum of energy that it produced. A reassurance that it was in good form.

    It was simple, but he still felt pride in its creation. At the moment, it could be called his life¡¯s work. The number of other Qi Manifestation cultivators with a 3-fold enhanced relic could be counted with the fingers on one hand. Only one of whom actually made the relic himself.

    As for healing items, he didn¡¯t really have any. The closest he had to such were several pills for replenishing qi, but that was still far better than nothing. He knew his jade pendant was in its usual place in his robe, but he checked again just in case. Now that he was actually right in front of the transportation array, he started feeling anxious. Even though Luo Han was the most dependable cultivator in the lower reaches to go on a hunt with, at least to him, things went wrong on hunts all the time. Somebody losing their life on one of these was a common occurrence.

    On the other hand, Luo Han and Ling Yan didn¡¯t seem the least bit tepid. Thus, Siyuan decided to just swallow his anxiety.

    ¡°So here¡¯s our mission objective,¡± Luo Han says, reaching into his robe to pull out a scroll. He opens it. ¡°The location is an obscure, unnamed town not far outside of sect boundaries. Some unknown time ago, a fox that had become infamous for taking the villager¡¯s chickens had broken through, though it had managed to do so without being noticed. It continued living as it did before the villagers hired a couple of cultivators to help them catch it. By the time it finally fell within the Mystic River sect¡¯s sights, it had become a tier 3 beast of the wood affinity.¡±

    One of Ling Yan¡¯s eyebrows rose at that. He was willing to take any tier 3 beast core for his breakthrough. It was just his fortune that this hunt¡¯s beast was of the wood affinity, which complemented his fire affinity. Its core would be almost twice as beneficial to him compared to if he just used any random beast core.

    ¡°A surveillance team of a Foundation Establishment cultivator and a few Qi Manifestation cultivators were sent out,¡± Luo Han says, closing the scroll and putting it back into his robes. ¡°It was with their notice that this bounty was posted, but strangely, they have yet to return. Their whereabouts are currently unknown at the moment. However, we need not be concerned about this as another team will be tasked with finding them. Our priority is to kill the beast.¡±

    Siyuan and Ling Yan both nodded. The anxiousness that Siyuan had suppressed began to reemerge. Tier 3 beasts were usually on the level of Foundation Establishment cultivators. He didn¡¯t know what had happened to the surveillance team, but a tier 3 beast that could make a whole team with a Foundation Establishment cultivator in it go missing definitely wasn''t a weak one.

    ¡°That should be everything,¡± Luo Han says. ¡°Remember. Follow what I say, always. Never stray from the group. Your first priority is the survival of the group, but only if it doesn¡¯t endanger your own survival.¡±

    Ling Yan just sighed while Siyuan nodded. He nervously tapped the hilt of his sword.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get going then.¡±

    The three stepped onto the transportation array. Luo Han crouched and muttered something. Shortly after, a bright light surrounded the group of three. In the next instant, the light disappeared, taking the three cultivators with it.

    <hr>

    As the light surrounded Siyuan¡¯s body, he flinched, his eyes closing for an instant when the light suddenly flooded his vision. When he opened his eyes again, he found that he was no longer in the sect¡¯s central courtyard.

    He was now in a large, open field. The grass under his shoes was a bright, healthy green and stretched past his ankles. Above, the sun was peeking over the horizon, dying the sky a pleasant dark blue. When he turned around, he saw a few mountains stretching up into the sky a far distance behind him, the mountain peaks that housed the main school of the Mystic River Sect.

    The transportation array really is amazing, he thought. In the blink of an eye, it brought three of us so far away from the school.

    ¡°Guess that¡¯s where our beast is,¡± he hears Luo Han say, snapping him out of his thoughts.

    Siyuan turns his head away from the mountain.

    In front of them, a distance away, was a village. Well, less of a collection of small, hastily built huts made of wood. And Siyuan thought the village that he was born from was small. The size of this one almost didn¡¯t qualify it to be even a village.

    What really caught his eye, however, was the smoke rising from somewhere within it.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just get this done with,¡± Ling Yan says.

    Luo Han ignores him, but starts on his way towards the small village. Ling Yan follows close beside him with Siyuan behind the two. He pitted it to his inexperience, but he couldn¡¯t help but wonder why the village seemed so empty. It was quite far away, but with his enhanced cultivator eyesight, he should¡¯ve picked up at least a few people moving about even from this distance. Even in the case of a beast attack, there should at least be some people running around. Luo Han and Ling Yan didn¡¯t seem perturbed by it, however. Thus, he never brought it up.

    The party of three took only several steps forward before Luo Han suddenly stopped. One of his hands shot up as the other immediately went to his sword at his hip. Ling Yan¡¯s eyes widened as he too stopped and immediately brought his hand to the hilt of his sword. Lin Siyuan was not much slower, his whole body tense as he also brought a hand to his sword. Anxiousness immediately shot through his whole body.

    What the-, why did he stop? Siyuan¡¯s eyes darted side to side. Although the grassy plains seemed empty except for the three of them, he was on high alert.

    It wasn¡¯t until then that he finally sensed what had caused Luo Han to stop.

    He felt the qi of¡­something rushing right towards them from the direction of the village. He whipped his head from side to side, yet he saw nothing. It took him a moment to realize that it wasn¡¯t at the same altitude as them.

    It was rushing towards them from below.

    The ground?! Could it be the beast?! But shouldn¡¯t the beast be a wood affinity one?!

    The source of qi got closer and closer. Luo Han and Ling Yan both slightly drew their swords, the metal sliding out of their sheaths before¡­

    Earth exploded into the air as a figure suddenly erupted from the ground in front of Ling Yan and Luo Han. The figure of a young, adult man with long, crow black hair tied into a ponytail and a young, slightly boyish face. He was dressed in the student robes of the Mystic River Sect. Based on what Siyuan could sense, he was in the Qi Manifestation realm.

    Siyuan¡¯s panic was quelled slightly upon seeing that it was another fellow lower reaches disciple. It was now obvious to see that the source of qi that was burrowing towards them under the ground was not a beast, but this cultivator. He hadn¡¯t taken account for the fact that the source of qi coming from the ground could¡¯ve just been another disciple using the Earth Burrowing Technique, a very basic technique that all Earth-affinity cultivators could learn and even perfect very early into cultivation. As the name suggested, it allowed the user to burrow into the ground and remain there or move around as he pleased, the speed of which was relative to the speed that the cultivator himself could manage.

    However, the cultivator himself was in a miserable state. The moment he popped out of the ground and landed onto his own two feet, he nearly fell and would have had Luo Han not rushed forward to catch him. He was breathing hard, fresh blood pouring out from open wounds and out of his mouth. His robes in tatters and his blade was nowhere in sight.

    A look of happiness descended upon the cultivator¡¯s face for a moment. It was only a moment later that that look of happiness dropped away.

    ¡°Qi Manifestation cultivators?!¡± he gasped. He sounded almost manic. ¡°The bounty hunting office dispatched Qi Manifestation cultivators?! No, the emergency message I sent requested for disciples from the upper reaches!¡±

    ¡°Hey, hey, it¡¯s okay,¡± Luo Han says reassuringly. He puts both hands on the panicked disciple¡¯s shoulders. ¡°I am Luo Han. Me and my fellow disciples have responded to a bounty out for a tier 3 beast in this area. Are you from the recon team?¡±

    ¡°The situation has changed!¡± he says frantically. He grabs onto Luo Han¡¯s forearms and begins shaking him. ¡°The threat isn¡¯t just a tier 3 beast anymore. It¡¯s a-!¡±

    The ground began to rumble underneath the four cultivators¡¯ feet. Luo Han¡¯s eyes widened as he suddenly gripped the scared cultivator¡¯s forearm and threw him behind him, sending him tumbling behind the group past Siyuan.

    Had Luo Han been even an instant slower, that poor cultivator would have lost his life right then and there.

    To the jaws of the large snake that suddenly erupted from under the ground and shot into the air.

    The snake¡¯s mouth closed around nothing as it remained airborne before it dropped back to the ground with a loud boom. It couldn¡¯t exactly be called massive, but it was still large nonetheless. Its scales were gray like stone and its massive eyes were a bright yellow-orange. As its whole weight slammed onto the ground, heavy gusts of wind shot out from it in every direction, forcing Siyuan, Luo Han, and Ling Yan slightly backwards.

    Just as it reached the ground, a heavy, oppressive feeling of qi suddenly flooded the air. Lin Siyuan¡¯s eyes widened when he felt it suddenly envelop his whole body.

    The aura itself was completely foreign to Siyuan. But the oppressive sensation it gave was anything but. In fact, it was just the previous day that he had felt something like it. He had just been in a classroom full of people with these just the previous day.

    This is¡­a physical aura?! Then that means this beast is¡­

    ¡°A tier 5 beast?!¡± Ling Yan exclaimed.

    The snake reared its large head, its large, glowing golden eyes looking right down at the four cultivators. As if observing the four, it just watched them for a moment. The cultivators just watched back, their attention raptly kept on the large beast right in front of them.

    Siyuan felt as if his heart was about to pound out of his chest. He faintly registered the sword in his hand buzzing, followed by a surge of energy as the flow of qi within his body quickened. However, that was all nothing compared to the utter dread that he felt at that moment. All of his instincts were screaming at him to run, to pull out the jade pendant and teleport back to the sect, anything to get away. However, his body was completely frozen, still as a statue out of fear.

    Luo Han and LingYan didn¡¯t seem any better. Even Luo Han, who could confidently go up against Foundation Establishment cultivators and come out victorious, had a somber look on his face.

    After all, a tier 5 beast wasn¡¯t just as strong as a Foundation Establishment cultivator. It was stronger.

    Strong enough to match against Aura Manifestation cultivators.

    Finally, the snake hissed, breaking the tense silence, its tongue strangely not poking out from its mouth. It raised its head ever so slightly before¡­

    Luo Han suddenly whipped his whole body around.

    ¡°Dodge!¡± he shouted.

    That snapped Siyuan and Ling Yan out of their dazes. They immediately dove out of the way in two different directions just in time to dodge the snake¡¯s head that shot right through the ground where both of them were just an instant before.

 Dancing with Danger

    Lin Siyuan and Luo Han dove out of the way just in time to avoid the large, gray snake head that slammed right into the ground where he was standing just an instant prior.

    ¡°Close call, but since that¡¯s the second time now that it¡¯s failed, I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll try that particular plan again,¡± Luo Han says, rubbing the bottom of his nose with his finger after he gets back onto his feet.

    Meanwhile, Siyuan was pretty much stuck in place, the snake demon¡¯s aura pressing down onto him oppressively. He felt as if he was stuck under a heavy boulder. Panicked thoughts flooded into his mind, but this time, he managed to suppress them. As the snake sank right through the ground once again, he reached into his robe and pulled out his jade pendant. He poured some of his qi into the jade, but to his horror, nothing seemed to happen. It didn¡¯t even glow to life.

    ¡°Don¡¯t bother,¡± Luo Han says, reappearing beside Siyuan with a whoosh. His expression was serious as he grabbed Siyuan¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Qi Manifestation cultivators are unable to activate their pendants within an aura. It¡¯s a defect with the pendants. If we wanna get out of here, we have to get out of the range of its aura.¡±

    Siyuan suddenly felt himself shoot sideways as Luo Han forcefully pulled him away just as the snake demon, once again, shot out of the ground where they were standing an instant before. The two both go tumbling off to the side as Luo Han loses his footing, cursing as he rolls back onto his feet.

    Siyuan tries to get back up onto his feet, but the oppressive aura was making it difficult to do even just that.

    Every movement requires such a struggle, he thought as he managed to rise onto one knee. If we can barely even move, what hopes do we have of getting away?!

    Luo Han seemed a bit better off, but it was clear that he was also feeling the effects of the beast¡¯s aura. His breathing was already hard and quick and perspiration dotted his forehead.

    The large snake hissed, its head swaying from side to side. Siyuan finally manages to rise onto his two feet, his teeth grit as he held his sword out in front of him. His qi surged as the blade glowed slightly, bolstering the flow of it within his dantians and slightly relieving him of the oppressive aura. Beside him, wind began to gather and surge all around Luo Han¡¯s body as his qi flared up.

    ¡°Guess it¡¯s just the two of us,¡± Luo Han says, his focus kept on the large snake towering over him and Siyuan. ¡°Sorry to rope you into this, but I¡¯m gonna need your help if we want to survive.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll try my best,¡± Siyuan says.

    Then he stops.

    Wait a second, two of us?

    He turns around, only to see the cultivator from earlier, lying on the ground unconscious, most likely from the pressure of the aura. Ling Yan, however, was nowhere to be found.

    ¡°That little rat!¡± Siyuan exclaimed angrily. ¡°How did he even get away so quickly?!¡±

    ¡°He used a teleportation pill,¡± Luo Han said with a sigh. ¡°No surprise there. Of course a spoiled rich brat like him would have one on him. So here¡¯s the plan.¡±

    The snake suddenly opened its mouth, revealing its large, sharp fangs. A loud, ominous hiss filled the atmosphere as it lifted its tail into the air. It was only then did Siyuan realize that the tail¡¯s tip was rigid and sharp, like a blade.

    ¡°If all we do is try running out of its aura¡¯s range, it''s just going to chase us down and in a contest of sheer speed, I won¡¯t be able to beat it.¡±

    Siyuan just nodded grimly.

    Luo Han possessed a rare, yet valuable affinity to the wind element. A powerful affinity on top of that, one powerful enough to rival the strength of Siyuan¡¯s affinity to the metal element. Thanks to that, Luo Han¡¯s speed was unlike anything most other disciples in the Mystic River sect¡¯s lower reaches could achieve, even among Foundation Establishment cultivators. If he himself believed he couldn¡¯t outrun this demon, then Siyuan had no chance at all.

    ¡°However, we alone don¡¯t have the capability to kill it,¡± Luo Han says. ¡°So what we¡¯re going to have to do is hit it hard enough to make it stop. Just several seconds will be enough for me to grab you and this guy and bring the three of us right outside of its range.¡±

    Siyuan nodded. It sounded like a very reasonable plan and although it would be difficult to possible, it was at least very much within the realm of possibility. However, the more he thought about it, the more he saw just how difficult it would be.

    First of all, they¡¯d have to muster up an attack to momentarily stun a beast that could rival an Aura Manifestation cultivator in strength. Perhaps if the two of them were in the Foundation Establishment realm, then the task wouldn¡¯t have been too difficult to pull off, but they weren¡¯t in the Foundation Establishment realm. And although Luo Han could be counted as a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator due to his strength, Siyuan most definitely couldn¡¯t.

    Plus, even if Luo Han would be able to muster an attack powerful enough to stop the beast for several seconds, how would he then also have the time to grab him and another unconscious cultivator and leave the beast¡¯s aura? Siyuan was too slow, so he needed to rely on Luo Han¡¯s speed if he wanted to get away.

    ¡°Hold on, Luo Han, this plan still seems too flimsy,¡± Siyuan says.

    ¡°If you haven¡¯t noticed already, we¡¯re two Qi Manifestation cultivators going up against a beast whose strength is two realms above ours,¡± Luo Han says. ¡°The fact that we have a viable plan at all is already better than good enough. It¡¯s definitely better than just running around like chickens with their heads cut off, just simply waiting to die.¡±

    Siyuan sighed. He readied his blade.

    ¡°Alright then, but how¡¯re we gonna muster up an attack to stop a tier 5 beast?¡± he asks.

    ¡°We? No, that¡¯s your job,¡± Luo Han says. ¡°You have a metal-type affinity, don¡¯t you? Metal-types are the ones that are usually the hard hitters.¡±

    ¡°Luo Han, I¡¯m a smith,¡± Siyuan says, emphasizing the ¡°smith¡± part. ¡°I don¡¯t exactly have a super powerful metal-type qi skill hidden up my sleeve.¡±

    ¡°A smith with a particularly strong metal affinity,¡± Luo Han shoots back, emphasizing the metal part. ¡°You don¡¯t need a super powerful metal-type qi skill. If you muster all of your qi into a single attack, then that should do it. Plus, it¡¯s not like I can do it. I have to distract the beast to buy you some time. The most I can do to help you in that department is lead in with an initial attack so that yours has some extra impact.¡±

    Qi suddenly exploded from all around Luo Han¡¯s body, heavy gusts of wind flying in every direction, lifting his short hair and robes. Then he suddenly disappeared. Siyuan looked up and suddenly saw the snake¡¯s tail blade shooting right towards him from the sky.

    The smith dove to one side, rolling across the side just as the sharp tip of the snake¡¯s tail blade plunged into the ground where Siyuan was soon before. He looked back up at the large snake hovering its large head over him, its large eyes directed right at him. Its tail blade lifted into the air once again as it began to rotate itself before¡­

    Wind suddenly exploded against the side of its head with a loud boom. Luo Han¡¯s figure suddenly appeared beside its head, his arm extended in a punch. Although he seemed like no more than a flea beside the large snake¡¯s head, the explosion that resulted from his punch created a shockwave of sheer wind that easily matched the size of its head.

    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve had a good fight!¡± he shouted, a toothy grin on his face. ¡°Come you filthy beast, show me a good time!¡±

    Luo Han dropped back to the ground a distance away. Although the attack seemed powerful, the snake seemed barely affected by it. If anything, it seemed more annoyed than hurt. However, that was enough to divert its attention away from Siyuan and towards Luo Han beside it. Its tail was a blur as it quickly turned around and slammed it into him with a speed befitting a tier 5 beast. However, even quicker was Luo Han himself, who launched back into the air and slammed his foot against the side of its head.

    The attack sent a shockwave of wind flying in every direction. However, although it seemed extremely powerful, it was just enough to make the snake flinch.

    After all, it didn¡¯t really matter how much effort Luo Han put into his attacks. The gap in strength between him and the tier 5 beast was simply too vast. Despite that apparent fact, there was a sharp, wolf-like grin on his face, as if he was going to try to slaughter it regardless.

    Siyuan just sighed and shook his head.

    Please don¡¯t forget that you¡¯re still only in the Qi Manifestation realm¡­

    After that, he closed his eyes. He bent his knees slightly, digging his feet into the ground. He clapped his hands together, his sword held out straight in front of him.

    His body began to exude a light, golden-yellow qi as he activated his qi. Within the darkness of his closed eyes, he willed all the qi from his nascent soul within his dantians to move towards his hands.

    That was when he suddenly stopped.

    My qi¡­why is it so bright? he asked himself as he examined the qi flowing within his dantians. It wasn¡¯t nearly this bright before. It¡¯s gotten stronger somehow? No, rather, it seems that my affinity to the metal element suddenly skyrocketed!

    The shock of this discovery almost broke him out of his meditative trance.

    My metal element affinity was already much more powerful than usual before, and now it¡¯s even stronger! Much stronger, almost twice as strong!

    Wait, could it be that this was the effect of the smithing? When I was forging myself into a relic, the purpose I assigned to the core, my own nascent soul, was to be able to forge relics at a guaranteed rate. So, in order to accomplish that¡­it greatly enhanced the vessel¡¯s affinity to the metal element! To the point where, to the nature of the world, I¡¯m more of a relic smithing object than a human being!

    So that must mean-

    He was suddenly broken out of his thoughts when he suddenly felt something heavy slam right into his front. His eyes opened just in time to see Luo Han collide into him, sending the two of them tumbling backwards.

    Luo Han quickly gets back up onto his feet, wiping a bit of blood that dripped from the corner of his mouth. There was more blood trickling from his hair.

    ¡°Damn snake¡¯s toying with me,¡± he hissed, wiping the blood from his lips. ¡°If it took us seriously at all, we¡¯d already be dead.¡±

    Siyuan also gets back onto his feet, albeit more slowly than Luo Han. He was, at least, getting used to the demon¡¯s oppressive aura by this point.

    ¡°So we¡¯d better take this opportunity now before it gets fed up with playing around,¡± Luo Han says, turning to Siyuan. ¡°What¡¯s taking you so long? We don¡¯t exactly have all the time in the world here.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m getting to it,¡± Siyuan says. ¡°I barely had time to gather my qi.¡±

    ¡°Well you¡¯d better move faster,¡± Luo Han says. He moves a hand down to the hilt of the sword sheathed at his hip. ¡°If I ever feel that it is necessary to do so in order to preserve my life, I will be using my sword relic. And in a full-on clash with a tier 5 beast? Don¡¯t expect it to remain intact.¡±

    Siyuan¡¯s expression became slightly gloomy when he heard that. Luo Han¡¯s relic was the four-fold enhanced relic that Siyuan had put his life on the line to forge. Hearing that it could possibly be destroyed in an exchange with a demon that they weren¡¯t supposed to even encounter in the first place made his heart ache.

    It was enough inspiration, though. As when Luo Han launched himself at the snake demon once again, he immediately went to work.

    Qi began to gather around Siyuan¡¯s body once again as he re-entered a meditative stance. A dull, golden glow enveloped his body as he clapped his hands once again, his sword held out in front of him. This time, as he gathered his qi towards his hands, he ignored the abnormally bright glow of his own qi.

    The most basic metal element qi skill that all cultivators with a metal element affinity could learn was a skill simply dubbed ¡°Arrow.¡± Gathering qi towards one point then firing it as a small, yet powerful projectile. This was only accomplishable because of the abnormal rigidity of metal element qi compared to other types of qi. It was so simple that even Siyuan, who had almost no combat experience at all, was capable of pulling it off almost flawlessly.

    Finally, he opened his eyes, his pupils glowing slightly with a bright golden yellow color. The aura around his body intensified as he set his determined gaze on the snake¡¯s head, which was hit back once again by an explosion of wind. The snake let out a loud hiss before it suddenly lashed out its head at him. There was a whoosh as Luo Han pushed himself out of the way with another burst of wind. However, he wasn¡¯t able to do so before its tail came around and slammed into him a second time.

    As he was sent tumbling back to Earth, Siyuan raised his sword and pointed the tip of its blade right at the side of the snake¡¯s head. A bright spark of golden qi suddenly appeared at its sharp point.

    Its appearance was sudden and quick, yet that amount of qi seemed to immediately permeate the space around it. Luo Han was the first to sense it. He immediately got back onto his feet, then with all the speed he could muster, shot towards Siyuan. The snake noticed it just slightly later than Luo Han did, baring its fangs at the bright golden yellow spark at the tip of Siyuan¡¯s sword. However, it did so just too late to react in any meaningful way.

    There was a small flash, shortly followed by a loud boom as Siyuan fired ¡°Arrow¡± from the tip of his blade.

    The projectile fired from Siyuan¡¯s blade at such a speed that it seemed less of an arrow than a beam of energy. The snake had raised its tail and was about to bring it down on him, but it couldn¡¯t before the arrow slammed into the side of its head at full force.

    Immediately, a golden shockwave of sheer qi shot outwards in every direction. The snake let out a loud hiss of pain, its head pushed so far back by the force of the arrow¡¯s impact that it almost seemed enough to make it topple over onto its back. Strangely, as the energy hung in the air, it crackled slightly like lightning. That, however, wasn¡¯t what had caught Siyuan¡¯s attention.

    What the-?! Siyuan thought. What the heck was that arrow?! That kind of power¡­it''s beyond what I should have been capable of at this cultivation stage! Especially since I have almost no training¡­

    Before he could dwell on the thought however, he felt Luo Han¡¯s arm curl around his stomach before he was suddenly dragged backwards. The battle cultivator grit his teeth as he pushed forward, bending his body slightly to grab the other unconscious cultivator by the collar of his sect robes as he shot past.

    ¡°We¡¯re almost out!¡± Luo Han shouts, dashing forward as fast as he could with two other people in tow. ¡°Have your pendant ready! We¡¯re teleporting out of here the moment we leave its aura¡¯s range!¡±

    Siyuan grit his teeth as he reached for his pendant within his robes, struggling slightly in his position as he was carried by Luo Han, but still managing to quickly get it out nonetheless. Right after he managed to do so, he began to pour qi into it.

    At that exact instant, Siyuan felt the oppressive feeling of the aura of the beast¡¯s aura suddenly lift away. A joyful expression appeared on his face as he began to pour qi into the pendant. It began to glow to life, symbols on its pure green surface.

    Until the ground suddenly began to shake. The beast¡¯s oppressive aura suddenly re-entered his and Luo Han¡¯s perception. Its sudden reappearance caused Luo Han to almost lose his footing, causing him to nearly drop both he and the other unconscious cultivator. Siyuan¡¯s face fell as the glow of the pendant completely fizzled out, the glowing symbols on its smooth surface disappearing.

    ¡°Shit!¡± Luo Han cursed as the ground under his feet began to rumble. Wind immediately exploded under his feet.

    A large, sharp blade suddenly shot out of the ground, nearly skewering right through Luo Han. The battle cultivator goes tumbling off to the side, just barely managing to keep a tight grip on Siyuan and the other unconscious cultivator. Once he manages to stop himself, he puts down Siyuan and the other cultivator.

    ¡°Crap, I wasn¡¯t fast enough!¡± he exclaimed, quickly getting back onto his feet.

    The ground began to rumble as the snake emerged from the ground once again. Just like before, it looked down on the two cultivators with its large golden-yellow eyes, but this time, there was something else in its otherwise apathetic gaze.

    The yellow glow of its large eyes seemed to have darkened. Not darkening in the sense that it had dimmed, but rather in the sense that the tint of its once pure, honey-yellow eyes had transitioned slightly into a murkier yellow color.

    Siyuan was completely frozen in place, his eyes wide as plates with fear as the beast¡¯s killing intent washed over him like a snowstorm. His instincts were shouting at him to move, to get as far away from there as possible, but he couldn¡¯t move a single muscle in his body.

    Siyuan wasn¡¯t a battle cultivator, nor did he ever desire to go down that route in the future. He didn¡¯t leave the sect much, and whenever he did, he almost never got into any conflicts with beasts, much less ones that posed any actual threat to his life.

    To the woefully inexperienced him, this brand new sensation he was feeling right now in front of this much, much, much more powerful beast was easily enough to overwhelm him.

    This sensation of fear.

    ¡°Welp, we¡¯ve officially stepped foot into the worse-case scenario,¡± Luo Han says. ¡°We¡¯re still in its aura, but now it¡¯s pissed off.¡±

 The Cost of Victory in a Hopeless Battle

    There were very few people who could truly claim to be able to look death in the eyes with defiance.

    Battle-hardened warriors who have encountered death so many times that it no longer struck fear in them.  People who¡¯ve lost everything and had nothing else to lose.  People who¡¯ve made peace with the fact that they were about to die, but were willing to accept that fact with open arms.  People who were so powerful that they were confident

    Only the most heroic, the most insane, the most dedicated, the most powerful, etc.

    Lin Siyuan fell under none of those categories.

    He was just a simple relic smith.  A beginner relic smith who had started cultivating barely half a year prior.  And sure, he had managed to do what nobody else had managed to do before, that is forge his own body and nascent soul into a relic, but he barely had any time at all to explore or make use of his newfound abilities.

    In the face of an unpredictable, yet incomparably bright future, he had no desire or reason to seek death.

    Thus, in the face of it, he was caught woefully unprepared.

    As the tier 5 snake demon loomed over him and Luo Han, Siyuan was completely frozen, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open as the demon¡¯s killing intent swept over the two like a tidal wave.  His sword was barely in his grip, in danger of dropping out of it at any moment.

    ¡°Welp,¡± Luo Han says  ¡°We¡¯ve officially stepped foot into the worst case scenario.  We¡¯re still in its aura, but now it¡¯s pissed off.¡±

    Siyuan didn¡¯t respond.  His fingers twitched slightly around the hilt of his blade, but he was still stock still as a statue, frozen out of fear.  Even as the snake raised its tail once again to bring it down on the two cultivators, he remained completely unresponsive.

    ¡°Siyuan!¡±

    Luo Han¡¯s voice cut through his daze.  He looked up just in time to see the large shadow of the snake¡¯s tail blade slamming right down towards him.

    He instinctively flinched, raising his guard and closing his eyes despite knowing full well how futile it would be to guard against an attack from a beast of this strength.  Right before he felt any heavy impact however, he felt somebody grab the back of his robe¡¯s collar and forcefully pull him to the side, nearly causing Siyuan to lose his footing.

    He opened his eyes just as a very loud BOOM resounded throughout the open plains.  His eyes widened when he saw Luo Han standing in front of him.

    ¡°Luo Han!¡± he exclaimed.

    But then, he noticed that his posture was off.  His upper body was straight, but he seemed a bit shorter than he was supposed to be?

    Siyuan looked down.  His eyes widened at what he saw.

    One of Luo Han¡¯s legs was bloodied and bent at an unusual angle.  Luo Han himself was breathing hard, his teeth grit.  Despite the amount of pain he must have been at that moment, he made no other sound than some quiet, pained grunting.

    ¡°Luo Han!  Your leg!¡± Siyuan exclaimed.

    ¡°Yeah, that last attack grazed me,¡± Luo Han says with a slight hiss of pain.  ¡°That damn snake was definitely holding back earlier.  Even if I were in top condition, I wouldn¡¯t be able to match its speed.  Much less now.¡±

    Siyuan felt his throat become dry.  If the two of them had even the tiniest sliver of a chance of getting away before, now, they didn¡¯t even have that anymore!  He felt himself beginning to hyperventilate.

    I don¡¯t want to die!  I¡¯m still too young!  What can I do, what can I do¡­

    He was about to call Luo Han¡¯s name again, but before he could, Luo Han turned around and laid a hand on his shoulder.  Despite the solemn situation the two of them were in, there was a reassuring smile on his face.  Blood trickled from the corner of his lips and the side of his head, but he paid that no mind.

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Siyuan,¡± he said.  He turned his head to spit out a glob of blood.  ¡°If I hadn¡¯t suggested that you come along with me, then you wouldn¡¯t be stuck here in this situation with me.  But don¡¯t worry.¡±

    He lightly squeezes Siyuan¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°No matter what, I¡¯ll find a way to get you out of here.¡±

    The battle cultivator¡¯s words brought Siyuan a slight sense of relief.  That was at least until he got the slight implication behind Luo Han¡¯s words.

    ¡°No matter what, I¡¯ll find a way to get you out of here¡­at any cost.¡±

    He didn¡¯t have time to dwell on that before Luo Han forcefully pulled him to the side just as the ground suddenly exploded under the two.  Luo Han released his hand from Siyuan¡¯s shoulder before moving it down to the hilt of the sword at his hip.  For the first time since they left the Mystic River sect that morning, he drew his blade.

    A long, sleek blade emerged from the sheath.  The sword looked identical to any other spiritsteel on the surface, but as was any relic made from Siyuan¡¯s own two hands, it was anything but.

    Wind exploded from all around Luo Han¡¯s body as his qi flared up once again.  He reared his sword back.

    The entirety of it began to glow with potent qi before¡­

    Luo Han suddenly grabs onto Siyuan¡¯s collar again and the two go soaring off to the side.  Right after that, the snake swung its tail and swept it over the ground the two cultivators were standing on not an instant before.  Not giving the two a chance of a reprieve, it immediately raises its tail blade and swings it down onto the two.

    Luo Han doesn¡¯t dodge, however.  He simply looks defiantly up at the incoming tail and, despite it being way out of the blade¡¯s range, swings his sword at it.

    A loud whoosh could be heard before, mysteriously, a long, horizontal gash suddenly appeared along the underside of the snake¡¯s tail out of nowhere.  The snake let out a pained hiss as its tail was parried upwards.

    ¡°Prepare another arrow, Siyuan!¡± he exclaimed.  ¡°I¡¯m going to blast it right about¡­¡±

    Siyuan quickly nodded before closing his eyes and clapping his hands together.  A bright, golden aura surrounded his body as he began to gather qi into his hands once again.  Luo Han reared back his blade, its sharp point pointed right at the beast as it recovered.  Qi exploded from all around his body before¡­

    ¡°Now!¡±

    He thrust his blade forward.

    The sword relic that Luo Han currently held in his hand held an unusual purpose.  Unlike other swords, its blade wasn¡¯t the part of the sword that was meant to inflict harm upon the opponent.  Rather, the blade was meant to serve as a mere base.  A base on which its user could create a blade of sheer qi out of!

    Manifesting sturdy, physical objects out of just qi alone was an achievement that even the most advanced experts in the land had difficulty with.  Such a skill required not only a naturally abnormal source of qi from which to pull from, but also a very high level of qi control.  Even then, in most cases, it was highly inadequate as projected items made of qi were, most of the time, fragile and hard to maintain for long periods of time.  Far inferior to relics.

    That is, if it was done without aid.

    When Siyuan was forging this sword relic, long before he even thought of giving it to the battle cultivator, he had this in mind.  That was the whole concept of the relic, to act as a template from which one can create a blade of qi around.  It wasn¡¯t exactly the same as creating a qi blade out of nowhere, but it served the same utility as a blade of qi, that is being as durable as any other sword, but with the added benefit of elemental affinity.

    However, such a relic was very simple to make and far below Siyuan¡¯s standards and something even completely uneducated smiths would have no trouble making.  In fact, a relic didn¡¯t even really need a core in order to carry out that purpose.  So, he added a secondary purpose to it: to act as a ¡°catalyst.¡±

    A ¡°catalyst¡± that would strengthen the qi formed around the ¡°template,¡± that is the qi blade.  Not only would it strengthen the qi blade, making it stronger and more durable, it would also allow the user to massively increase its size.  And since the blade was made of qi, there was no problem with the hilt not being big enough to support the blade.

    In essence, although it was fairly simple compared to the more advanced relics out there, it was still a very effective tool to a battle cultivator.  A very large-bladed sword that was also no heavier than any other sword and had an elemental affinity made for a fairly simple, yet effective weapon.

    When he was planning out this relic¡¯s design, he had meant for it to be a one and done project to qualify getting into the Mystic River sect¡¯s beginner relic smithing class, not a weapon to keep and tend to over a long period of time.  Thus, convenience of use wasn¡¯t exactly what he had in mind when he forged it.  Had he not met Luo Han right after he was admitted into the school, he would have sold it off.  This was because, to him at least, it was simply too dangerous to use.

    As he was testing it, he found that there was a slight flaw in its design.  He had made the template from which to form the blade from and the catalyst of which to enhance it, but he had forgotten about something to allow the blade to maintain its shape.  Qi was¡¯t physical, so in order for it to maintain a constant shape, there had to be something that kept it in that shape.  Thus, the qi ¡°blade¡± wasn¡¯t really a blade.  Rather, it was a large mass of congealed qi, not escaping the blade simply because of the template that held it in.  This led to the qi blade not being one rigid shape in the form of a blade, but rather flexible.

    A flexible blade was unseen before in the cultivation world.  Relics could grant a spiritsteel weapon supernatural properties, but it wouldn¡¯t change the fact that spiritsteel was spiritsteel, a rigid metal.  By accident, Siyuan had made a revolutionary weapon and not even he knew that.  It wasn¡¯t exactly easy to use, however.  When Siyuan gave it a test run out of curiosity, he had immediately projected a fully sized qi blade on complete accident, swung it around just a bit too hard, and nearly got his sword arm lopped off as the blade looped around his body and nearly sliced right through his shoulder.  That was the day he found out just why blades, very sharp, harmful blades, were made rigid.

    Luo Han, however, was obviously far superior to Siyuan in terms of combat skill.  A weapon that Siyuan nearly crippled himself using looked as if it was merely another part of Luo Han¡¯s body.

    As the battle cultivator thrust his sword in the snake¡¯s direction, wind exploded all around his body.  At the same time, as his qi blade formed, it blasted forward from the sword relic¡¯s hilt.

    Luo Han¡¯s elemental affinity was that of wind.  Thus, his qi held the properties of wind.  That included being almost completely invisible.

    Thus, the snake beast quite literally didn¡¯t know what hit it when a large, invisible mass of qi suddenly slammed right into its body, blasting it backwards.

    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    But Luo Han wasn¡¯t done yet.  He roared, following that thrust up with a fierce sideways slash.

    The thrust was undoubtedly powerful, but not quite powerful enough to even break through the snake demon¡¯s tough skin.  Luo Han¡¯s follow-up slash, however, was enough.

    The sideways slash left a long, horizontal gash along the snake¡¯s body, causing it to hiss in pain.  Taking its first really harmful blow of the fight, it was inevitable that it would be caught by surprise by the sudden development.

    ¡°Now, Siyuan!¡± he shouted.  ¡°Right in the eye!¡±

    At that moment, Siyuan¡¯s eyes snapped open.  He immediately aimed the tip of his sword at the snake¡¯s head.  A spark of yellow energy appeared at the sword¡¯s tip for just an instant before, with a loud boom, an ¡°Arrow¡± was fired from the blade.  One just as vibrant and powerful as his previous one.

    The transition was done perfectly.  Not even a second passed between Luo Han¡¯s attack and the firing of Siyuan¡¯s ¡°Arrow.¡±  Concerning that, should Siyuan¡¯s ¡°Arrow¡± hit, it wouldn¡¯t have been incorrect to assume that Luo Han¡¯s plan might have worked.  Even against an angered Aura Manifestation beast.

    However, Luo Han had made a fatal miscalculation.

    The demon before him was a snake.  If there was anything at all that snakes were known for, it was their speed.

    Luo Han had put all of his strength into that last attack of his.  Assured that when he projected his qi blade forward, it would do so with the most force he could possibly muster.  Making sure that the sharp blade would be able to dig into the snake¡¯s flesh before tearing a gash into it.  A seemingly trivial wound that took all of his strength, but one that he thought would be enough regardless.

    Except, it wasn''t.  Against a beast of the Aura Manifestation realm, Luo Han¡¯s attack was still too weak.

    The snake came back to its senses quickly.  Much more quickly than Luo Han had thought.

    Thus, just as Siyuan¡¯s ¡°Arrow¡± was about to hit it, it came back to its senses and very rapidly moved sideways, cleanly dodging it.

    The bright, golden arrow, crackling with energy, shot into the empty air like a second star.  Meanwhile, both Luo Han and Siyuan¡¯s eyes widened.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Luo Han said.  ¡°S*%t!¡±

    This time, when the snake attacked, it showed off why snakes were known for their speed.

    When it attacked, it was so quick that even Luo Han just barely saw it coming.

    The snake¡¯s tail thrusted forward, tearing through the earth under it.  Luo Han¡¯s eyes widened before he grabbed the collar of Siyuan¡¯s robe.  Wind exploded all around them before the two disappeared just before the snake¡¯s blade could reach them.

    Luo Han and Siyuan appeared a good distance away.  Just as they did, Luo Han suddenly fell forward.  Before he could fall too far, he planted his sword into the ground, using it as support.  He was on one knee, both hands gripped tightly around his sword relic¡¯s hilt.  He was breathing very hard, sweat running profusely down his face.

    Siyuan¡¯s eyes widened as he rushed forward to support his friend.  It was very obvious to see that the battle cultivator was starting to experience the symptoms of qi deviation from having such a depleted qi supply.  He was quick to dig a qi recovery pill out of his robe and force it into Luo Han¡¯s mouth.  The battle cultivator swallowed the pill.  He patted Siyuan¡¯s hand as a light aura of wind returned to his body, slowly getting back onto his feet and pulling his sword from the ground, and getting back into a defensive stance.

    However, anybody could see that the battle cultivator was not in a sufficient state for another lengthy exchange with the Aura Manifestation beast.  The qi recovery pill might have helped Luo Han recover his exhausted qi supply, but it didn¡¯t do much to help with his physical exhaustion.

    Having dodged multiple attacks and exchanged blows with a beast two cultivation realms above him, it could only be expected that he would be running low on energy.

    That was when the snake demon returned its attention to the two cultivators.  As Luo Han prepared himself once again to take on the beast, Siyuan couldn¡¯t help but see that the battle cultivator was in no condition at all to fight against the Aura Manifestation beast.  And with one leg not in good condition, it couldn¡¯t be said that they could even run if they needed to.

    At that moment, after two failed escape attempts which had taken them all that they had, when their situation had become the worst since the cultivators first came face-to-face with the Aura Manifestation demon, Siyuan was met with a miserable truth.

    The next exchange of blows¡­could only end with Luo Han¡¯s death.

    Even with the powerful battle cultivator standing before him protectively, apprehension was beginning to flood his mind.  Before the two began truly battling with the demon, he already had such an idea.  But now, after their failed escape attempts, he was truly starting to feel the hopelessness.  Not only that, Luo Han was injured and exhausted and Siyuan, although he was in a better condition, knew he wasn¡¯t even nearly strong enough to exchange blows with an Aura Manifestation demon.

    And with Luo Han¡¯s death¡­will come his own.

    Fear of death began to encroach on him once again.  It threatened to freeze him in place once again as he saw the inevitability of their situation.

    No matter how he saw it, it was simply impossible that both of them would make it out of this place alive.

    At that moment, he suddenly froze.  But this time, it wasn¡¯t in fear.

    Months ago, before Siyuan had locked himself inside of his own room and went over dozens of years worth of research, Luo Han had said something that planted the idea of smithing a relic out of himself into his head.  When he heard Luo Han say that, the idea struck him like a bolt of lightning.  It left him so mesmerized in his own thoughts that he was left frozen in place.

    In this very situation, that exact same thing happened.

    And when it struck him, he immediately knew what to do.

    Before he could even gather his own thoughts, his legs suddenly propelled themselves forward, as if out of his control.

    In front of them, the snake opened up its large jaws, baring its large, sharp fangs at the two and letting out a very loud hiss.  It immediately shot forward at blinding speeds, its whole body a mere blur as it shot towards the two cultivators.  When it moved, it moved fast.  Faster than Luo han had ever seen it move before.  So fast that not even he could fully see it.  By the time Luo Han realized that it had moved, the snake had already thrusted its tail blade right at the battle cultivator.

    Before his eyes could even do so much as widen, however, he was suddenly shoved to the side.

    In the very next instance, in front of Luo Han¡¯s very wide eyes, the snake speared its tail blade right through the figure who had suddenly taken his place.

    The figure of his trusted friend and personal relic smith, Lin Siyuan.

    He could only watch in shock as he finally saw Siyuan, the tail¡¯s sharp tip having driven itself right through its body.  The smith¡¯s eyes widened momentarily as he coughed out blood.  His sword dropped out of his hand.

    ¡°Siyuan?!¡± he shouted.  His voice was wrought with panic as he registered what had just happened right before him.

    The relic smith couldn¡¯t have possibly imagined how painful it would be to have a blade driven right through his abdomen.  It was hard to breathe, as every time he took in a breath, a searing pain shot throughout his whole body from his abdomen.

    Yet, despite that, there was a smile on his face.  A gentle, reassuring smile.

    He turned his head to Luo Han, who was staring at the smith with surprise and horror.  His mouth hung open as his sword lay loose at his side.

    When he and Luo Han began to face off against this beast, when Siyuan felt that there was no hope in escaping from it, Luo Han had turned to him with a very similar expression.  A smile of confidence, and a reassurance that everything was going to be okay.  In the face of what might as well have been death itself, he remained courageous.  And that courage was infectious, spreading to Siyuan and soothing him of his apprehension.

    He was afraid.  Afraid to die.  Afraid to have his life ended with still so much to look forward to. But at that time, Siyuan realized, Luo Han must have also been afraid to die, in contrary to what he assumed.  Standing before something that was so much stronger than he was, with nothing but himself to protect Siyuan.  Yet he didn¡¯t back down.  He was calm and collected as he faced the demon and formulated a plan.

    Now, Siyuan would do the same.

    I¡¯m sorry, Luo Han.  You know as much as I do that it is impossible that both of us will make it back to the sect alive.

    A golden aura appeared around his body as he mustered up his qi.  As he was lifted into the air, he closed his eyes and clapped his hands together.

    If you try to escape with me, you will be too slow.  I¡¯ll just be nothing more than a deadweight who will slow you down.  But if you were on your own, you would be able to escape, right?

    Of course, Luo Han couldn¡¯t read Siyuan¡¯s thoughts.  However, Luo Han was smart.  It didn¡¯t take him long to realize what Siyuan wanted to do.

    And what Siyuan wanted him to do.

    Everything around the battle cultivator seemed to slow down to a mere crawl.  His eyes were wide as he watched Siyuan be lifted into the air by the snake¡¯s tail, up to its mouth.  The snake began to open its large jaws, as if deciding to swallow the cultivator whole.  Luo Han knew that he should do something.  At the very least, do something to leave Siyuan¡¯s body in one piece so that he could give the smith a proper burial.

    But he knew what Siyuan wanted.  He had been friends with the relic smith for only half a year, yet the two of them spent so much time around each other that although they worked in completely different fields, they were both somewhat attuned to each other.

    The normally quiet smith couldn¡¯t have been louder if he shouted his intentions.  He intentionally stepped right into an attack that he knew would kill him, an attack from the snake¡¯s tail nonetheless.  He was heavily dampening the snake¡¯s offensive potential by temporarily disabling its main weapon with his own body.

    All so that he could open up a window of opportunity.  Not for Luo Han to attack, but for him to escape.

    Luo Han could see that, clear as day.

    That was why, at that moment, the battle cultivator, completely invincible to anybody in the same cultivation realm as him, did something he had never done before.  He took that window and¡­

    With tears in his eyes, he immediately turned tail and fled.

    The snake almost immediately noticed Luo Han¡¯s attempt to flee.  It turned to him, hissing.  It reared back its head as if to lash out at him with the smith still impaled in its tail.

    But Siyuan wouldn¡¯t let it.

    All the while, as the snake had lifted the smith up to its head, he had begun gathering qi towards his hands.  But not just the qi flowing within his meridians and his dantians.  No, that wouldn¡¯t have been enough.

    He offered his life up on a silver platter to allow Luo Han an opportunity to escape with his life.  He didn¡¯t have the slightest expectation that he would come out of this alive.  That was why he decided to initiate his plan before he could let his anxiety take over and steer him away.

    Now, with no chance of survival left, he made sure to pull no punches.

    Thus, it wasn¡¯t just from his dantians and his meridians that he pulled qi from.  It was also directly from his nascent soul.  Essentially, he was drawing out his own life force in order to draw even more qi into his hands.  Such a technique was not taught by the Mystic River sect.  But it was so simple that anybody with half-adequate qi control could do it.  Rarely anybody did it though, because when one did¡­it usually came at the cost of one¡¯s life.

    When Luo Han began his escape, Siyuan waited for the snake beast to notice him out of the corner of its eye.  When he saw it turn its head, away from the smith¡­that was when he struck.

    With his hands clapped together, he pointed his fingers right at the beast¡¯s head.

    Immediately, his aura suddenly intensified until it was almost blindingly bright.  A bright spark of yellow gathered at his fingertips, aimed right at the snake¡¯s turned head.  A spark that glowed in the sky like a second sun with so much metal-aligned energy that in a small area around Siyuan, it even suppressed the demon¡¯s own aura.  This was going to be easily the largest and most powerful ¡°Arrow¡± that Siyuan would ever fire.

    Even more than that¡­it crackled with lightning.

    The snake beast was fast.  Fast enough to fully turn its head to Siyuan as the smith was charging up his attack.  By the time the beast noticed, it was already too late.  It couldn¡¯t do more than whip its head in the direction of the smith impaled on its tail before Siyuan just smiled¡­

    And shot the ¡°Arrow¡± right at the space between the snake¡¯s eyes.

    A loud boom, a sound not too different from that of lightning, rang throughout the land as Siyuan¡¯s ¡°Arrow¡± found its mark.

    It was as if, for a moment, a second sun had appeared in the sky.  As quickly as it had appeared, however, it disappeared.  That was enough, though.

    Siyuan slowly closed his eyes as the snake let out a loud hissing sound and began to thrash around.  It wasn¡¯t like he could see anyway, a yellow-whitish haze making it almost impossible to see.  Somewhere in the distance, he heard the familiar sound of warping.

    Eventually, the snake¡¯s thrashing caused him to fly off of the snake¡¯s tail blade.  Pain seared through his body around where he was stabbed through, but the pain seemed much duller than it was supposed to be.

    Getting stabbed right through my chest, then self-inflicting myself with serious qi deviation, he thought to himself.  That voice in his head seemed quiet, however.  More far-away.  If the snake doesn¡¯t accidentally kill me, then the blood loss definitely will.  I was kind of hoping that I¡¯d survive by some miracle, but it looks like that won¡¯t be the case.

    Regardless of these thoughts running through his head, there was a smile on his face.  When it came to two Qi Manifestation cultivators coming upon a tier 5 beast, a beast as strong as a cultivator in the Aura Manifestation realm unknowingly, having one escape to tell the tale was an immense accomplishment.  The idea brought so much satisfaction to him that it got his mind off the fact that he was about to die.

    Live long and prosper, Luo Han.  I have no doubt that the things in the future that you will accomplish will be no less than amazing.

    I¡¯m sorry.  Farewell, friend.

    ¡­

    With that last farewell, his thoughts finally went silent.

 Flipping the Page

    ¡°Is everyone ready?¡±

    Within the courtyard of the Mystic River sect, a group of disciples stood around the transportation array at the center of it.

    The other disciples muttered amongst themselves, their attention all on these disciples.  It was still a bit early into the morning, so it shouldn¡¯t have been unusual to see disciples still taking the transportation array.  So why was it that this particular group had so much attention on it?

    That would be solely because of the leader of the group.  He was a tall, young handsome man with short, clean-cut crow black hair, just like most other men in the sect.  He was dressed in the Mystic River Sect¡¯s disciple robes just like everyone else, but there was also clearly an aura around his body.  An aura of potent, light blue qi.

    A signature trait of cultivators in the Aura Manifestation realm.

    It wasn¡¯t very often that cultivators in the upper reaches came down to the lower reaches.  The only reason why they¡¯d ever need to in the first place is for business.

    Or, in some rare cases such as the current one, leading a group of Foundation Establishment cultivators onto a mission.

    Ten minutes had passed since the young master of the Ling family, Ling Yan, ran from the transportation array in a panic.  It took an infuriatingly long time to get the necessary information from the young master, but they eventually got the gist of the situation.

    The tier 3 beast that he, Luo Han, and Lin Siyuan wasn¡¯t there.  In its place was a tier 5 beast.

    The sect immediately knew of the direness of the situation.  A tier 5 beast had an aura just like any Aura Manifestation cultivator.  It was well-known that Qi Manifestation cultivators were unable to use their pendants to teleport back to the sect when within an aura.

    That meant Luo Han and Lin Siyuan were left to fight against a beast that matched the power of an Aura Manifestation cultivator.  Luo Han might¡¯ve been unusually powerful for somebody in the Qi Manifestation realm, but he was still in the Qi Manifestation realm in the end.  There was no way that he could match against an entity two realms higher above him in cultivation.  There was even less to say of Lin Siyuan.  Siyuan wasn¡¯t even a trained battle cultivator, he was a relic smith.  The sect¡¯s bounty office was quick to gather a strike force to salvage the two cultivators with reward of a plentiful bounty, even managing to get an Aura Manifestation realm cultivator to take on the job.

    The Aura Manifestation cultivator looked to the four other Foundation Establishment cultivators behind him as they all affirmed that they were.

    ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s go.¡±

    The five of them stepped up to the array.  Before he could bend down to make contact with the array however¡­

    A shimmer of light came from the array.  The upper reaches disciple looked up at it, though he didn¡¯t pay it much heed.  He began to recite the location he was given by the office, but then he stopped when the light from the array disappeared.  He looked up, his eyes wide with shock.

    Because the person who had appeared on the array was none other than their target, a very recognizable person in the sect and one he wouldn¡¯t have missed even without the office¡¯s individual profile.  Luo Han.

    The battle cultivator looked worse for wear.  He was still standing on his own two feet at least, but his legs were shaking.  His whole body was bloodied, especially one of his legs, which looked like a sizable chunk of his skin was cut from it.  Despite that, he still apparently had the strength to move with another cultivator slung over his shoulder, supported with the adjacent hand.  Gripped awkwardly in his free hand were two swords.

    His appearance caused an uproar among the disciples standing in the courtyard.  They would have mobbed him had the Aura Manifestation cultivator not commanded the four Foundation Establishment cultivators to set up a barrier around the transportation array.

    The Aura Manifestation cultivator looked at him for a moment, inspecting his state.  Then, he moved forward to take the unconscious cultivator slung over his shoulder.  Luo Han didn¡¯t provide any resistance, his eyes somewhat blank as they stared into the distance somewhere behind the upper reaches disciple.  That was when he decided to ask the next essential question in his mind.  A question that he suspected he already knew the answer to.

    ¡°Where is Lin Siyuan?¡±

    Luo Han¡¯s eyes dulled further.  He simply closed his eyes, turning his head up to the sky.

    The Aura Manifestation cultivator needed no other response.

    He quickly led the injured cultivator to the clinic, wading him through the crowd of curious cultivators that had gathered in the courtyard.

    <hr>

    It was in the clinic that everyone in the sect had learned of what happened on that hunting mission.

    It was an unconventional hunting mission.  Usually, when a cultivator accepted a bounty from the bounty office, they¡¯d take it and kill whatever beast that was the target of the bounty.  In exchange for introducing the bounty to the cultivator, the office would ask for 20% of the cultivator¡¯s yields while the cultivator was allowed to keep the rest of the 80%.  That wasn¡¯t the case for this particular mission, though.  In this particular mission, the office didn¡¯t actually get anything.  Rather, the yields of the beast that Ling Yan and Luo Han hunted were split solely between the two of them.  Lin Siyuan was added in as a member of the trip a bit later in, but it wasn¡¯t entitled to any of the yields of the trip.

    The target was a tier 3 beast.  A bit stronger than what Qi Manifestation cultivators were expected to take on, but not anywhere near impossible for the top two Qi Manifestation cultivators in the lower reaches.

    Unexpectedly, however, there was no tier 3 beast at the site.  Only a tier 5 beast.

    Such a battle was impossible for the three of them to win.

    A couple of agents from the bounty hunting office managed to work out what actually happened out in the field.  They concluded that the tier 5 demon, based on Luo Han¡¯s description of it being a snake that had an affinity for earth-element qi, was an Earth-Rupturing Viper, a demon that mainly hunted by lying under the ground in wait for its prey.  It was also capable of moving under the ground at very fast speeds to close in on escaping prey.

    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    It was almost comical how ridiculous Luo Han¡¯s initial plan of trying to run out of the demon¡¯s aura sounded after they had made that conclusion.  Especially considering that there was no way Siyuan could¡¯ve moved fast enough to do so without Luo Han¡¯s help, which would have subsequently slowed Luo Han down.  However, they had more of a chance of pulling that off than fighting the Earth-Rupturing Viper head on and hoping to defeat it in battle.  Had Ling Yan not used a teleportation pill to get out of there almost immediately after the demon¡¯s appearance, he would¡¯ve been stuck there just like those two.

    In the end, Luo Han¡¯s plan did succeed.  They did manage to open a window of opportunity just big enough for Luo Han to slip through.  But only because Siyuan paid the ultimate price.

    When the battle cultivator reached the clinic, he almost immediately fell unconscious.  The sect¡¯s doctors scrambled to heal him.  Fortunately for them, his injuries didn¡¯t amount to much more than serious blood loss and severe qi deviation.  His leg looked pretty bad, but it wasn¡¯t anything that would leave a permanent wound.

    Luo Han¡¯s condition could only be described as miraculous.  Being just a Qi Manifestation cultivator, it was expected that he would have lost a limb during the battle.  Whatever Siyuan had done, his sacrifice couldn¡¯t have been more beneficial.

    This was, of course, cause for great relief to the Mystic River sect.  Luo Han was a once-in-a-generation talent that the sect had never seen before.  Just from seeing what he was able to accomplish at the beginning of his cultivation, it was easy to see that he would become a shining star in the cultivation world one day.  He was a jewel of incomparable value to the sect, one that they couldn¡¯t lose hold of no matter what.

    However, although they had managed to keep this precious gem in their hands by some miracle, they couldn¡¯t keep hold of the other.

    Lin Siyuan was as competent as a relic smith as Luo Han was as a battle cultivator, if not more.  He even had, just recently, joined the sect¡¯s upper reaches relic smithing class, a class meant for Aura Manifestation cultivators, as a mere Qi Manifestation cultivator.  Just a mere half a year into his cultivation, the same time that Luo Han had started his cultivation.  His progress was absolutely astounding.  It was truly hard to believe that all a background check yielded was that he came from some village out in the middle of nowhere.

    It was to the sect¡¯s terrible misfortune that he had been killed.  However, it was understandable that that would be the cost for the preservation of Luo Han¡¯s life.  Besides there was no use in dwelling over his death.

    They could only move forward from there.

    A feat that would be easier for some than most.

    <hr>

    ¡°Hello?  Luo Han?  May I come in?¡±

    A handsome, middle-aged man, dressed in the Mystic River sect¡¯s robes, lightly knocked his fist against a door.  A somewhat quiet tap rang through the hallway of the infirmary he was in.

    This man was one of the teachers of the Mystic River sect¡¯s lower reaches relic smithing class.  More precisely, Siyuan¡¯s teacher.

    He was, of course, grief-stricken over the news of Siyuan¡¯s death.  Over the half a year that he had him as a student, he had grown to like Siyuan.  There was a genuine student-teacher bond between the two that anybody could see.

    He remembered what he told Siyuan after that last assignment before he was moved to the upper reaches relic smithing class when Siyuan told him that he wanted to open a relic smithery.  How he thought Siyuan would need to work even harder than he already had if he wanted to achieve his dream.  Despite how bitey his words may have sounded then, he had no doubt in his mind that Siyuan could have made it happen.  He was looking forward to watching that ambitious boy chase after that momentous dream, ready to do what he needed to do to give Siyuan even the slightest push forward should he need it.

    But now, that was no more.  That bright future had been snuffed out when the boy who bore it lost his life.

    ¡°...yes, come in.¡±

    Hearing Luo Han¡¯s affirmation, the man opened the door.

    Inside was a single cot next to an open window.  On that cot was Luo Han, sitting up on the cot, dressed in the sect¡¯s infirmary robes rather than the sect¡¯s disciple uniform.  He was staring forward, a listless look in his eyes with two sheathed swords sitting on his stretched out legs.

    The teacher looked him over, grateful to see that his wounds had almost fully healed.  Then he looked down at the swords in Luo Han¡¯s hands.

    He almost immediately recognized both blades.

    The first was the sword relic that he had lended Luo Han.  The project that he had submitted to qualify getting into the relic smithing school.  A four-fold enhanced sword relic that was famous for nearly getting its creator killed.

    The second¡­was Siyuan¡¯s personal sword.  A relic that served the simple purpose of enhancing the user¡¯s flow of qi.  A simple, yet effective purpose.

    Luo Han caught him staring at the blade.  He simply smiled.

    The man simply walked up to the cot.  He pulled up a nearby chair and sat beside the bed-ridden cultivator.  The two were in complete silence, yet it was an amicable silence.  One that neither were willing to break.

    He had an important question to ask however.  So after a while, he looked up at the battle cultivator.

    Luo Han had his eyes closed.  The teacher observed as his chest gently lifted and dropped.  At some point, he had descended into peaceful slumber.

    The teacher stared at him for a moment.  He considered waking Luo Han, but then shook his head and stood up from the chair he was on, gently moving it back to its original spot.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you think of Ling Yan, but please, don¡¯t do anything stupid,¡± he quietly says.  He crouches next to the bed and gently lays a warm hand on the boy¡¯s forehead.  ¡°Getting revenge on him isn¡¯t worth staking your life for.¡±

    He stared at the slumbering cultivator for a moment.  Then, quietly laughed as he removed his hand from the boy¡¯s forehead.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t like me,¡± he said to himself.  ¡°Talking to an unconscious person.  I really am starting to get old.¡±

    He stood back up.  He stared at the swords in Luo Han¡¯s hands one last look before turning around and leaving the room.  The door opened and closed with a quiet click.

    Several seconds of silence passed.

    Then, Luo Han¡¯s eyes opened.

    He stared at the two sheathed swords sitting on his lap.  His grip around them tightened.

    If anyone were to really observe him, they would have seen his eyes practically shine as a fire was stoked within him.

    <hr>

    Two weeks passed.

    Luo Han¡¯s recovery was quick thanks to the relatively low amount of damage that he had suffered during his encounter with the tier 5 beast.  In just a few days, he was once again ready to continue his training.

    His name had become a household one within the sect¡¯s boundaries.  He practically became a legend.  A practically brand new cultivator, surviving in a head-on fight against a tier 5 beast?  Almost completely fantastical had there not been too much evidence to suggest otherwise.

    As Luo Han¡¯s name rose to stardom within the sect, Ling Yan¡¯s sunk in the exact opposite direction.

    It wasn¡¯t explicitly said, but it didn¡¯t take a particularly perceptive person to see that the lower reaches¡¯, and the sect overall¡¯s, view of him had diminished significantly.  The coward of a man who bailed the moment things got feisty and left his two fellow disciples to certain death.  People still feared the status that his family had, but more words were being said behind his back.

    Well, it wasn¡¯t like he was very popular to begin with.

    As for Lin Siyuan, he had become a martyr to the sect.  Nobody was completely sure about what had happened during his and Luo Han¡¯s battle against the tier 5 beast, but one certain fact was that had it not been for his sacrifice, Luo Han wouldn¡¯t have come back alive.  Seeing that there was little reason to not believe that this was what had happened, the other disciples ate it up, although how he had managed to do it was still a mystery while still being in just the Qi Manifestation realm.

    Life carried on for everyone in the sect.  For almost everyone, the moment came and went as the sect settled back into its usual daily rhythm, as memorable as it was.

    For one however, the once dull flames of passion have been ignited, set ablaze by the desire for revenge.

    <hr>

    Meanwhile, somewhere far, far away, another boy opened his eyes for the first time in months, a ghost emerging from the underworld.

 Moment of Respite

    Lin Siyuan groaned as he was slowly roused to slight consciousness.

    His eyes scrunched slightly as he quietly groaned, rolling over onto his side.  A very quiet murmur of discomfort passed from his lips at how bright it was¡­

    Wait a second¡­bright?

    His eyes flew open.  The first thing he saw was a wooden ceiling of¡­a house of some kind.

    A house?

    He immediately sat up, his hand instinctively groping the air beside him for his sword.  He stopped when a sudden jolt of pain shot up his frame however, causing him to slump over, grasping at his chest.  He stayed there for a few moments more, breathing heavily as the pain began to subside.

    He removed his hand from his chest, looking down at it.

    He was shirtless, his Mystic River sect uniform nowhere to be found.  He was wearing pants, though they weren¡¯t the corresponding pants from his sect uniform, being regular, baggy brown pants.  What caught his attention, however, were the bandages wrapped around almost the entirety of his chest, clutching to his muscular frame.

    He took a moment to recall what had happened, his head still a bit foggy.

    That¡¯s right¡­I took a fatal wound right to the abdomen while Luo Han and I were fighting that tier 5 beast.  Thankfully, Luo Han got away.  But there¡¯s no way I could have survived that attack, I was skewered all the way through¡­

    Did someone rescue me?  Had to be, my cultivation state isn¡¯t high enough for me to be able to survive attacks to any of my vital organs yet¡­

    Siyuan raised his head to observe his surroundings.

    He was in a small, well-kept, one-room shack.  Sunlight streamed through the windows, casting an almost ethereal glow across the room.  The house was almost completely empty, save for some cupboards built into a wall on the side, a fireplace built into the opposite wall, a workbench built adjacent to it, a strangely-shaped furnace sitting in the corner¡­

    Wait a second¡­

    Lin Siyuan took a closer look at the furnace.  He was no professional, but its shape looked¡­very familiar.

    It took him a moment, but he eventually came to realize why the shape looked so familiar.

    That¡¯s¡­a pill furnace!

    Lin Siyuan, being a relic smith, wasn¡¯t all too familiar with pill furnaces.  They were rare, at least in the lower reaches where Siyuan spent almost all his time as a Mystic River Sect disciple.  They were invaluable as alchemy held a very high place in the martial world as a very critical career.  After all, pills were capable of allowing anybody who consumed them huge advantages, from aiding one in greatly advancing cultivation in just a short period of time to allowing one to heal all of their wounds nigh-instantly in the heat of battle.  With enough pills, even someone who would struggle greatly to even reach the Foundation Establishment realm could reach the Aura Manifestation realm.

    However, alchemy was difficult.  Very difficult.  The best alchemists in the land were very famous, so much so that even emperors bowed their heads to them, but it usually took no less than centuries of diligence and learning to reach that level, usually at the cost of one¡¯s own cultivation.  On top of that, pill furnaces were usually very expensive.  It wasn¡¯t worth purchasing so many unless a sect specifically focused on alchemy.

    His eyes went right to the workbench adjacent to the fireplace.  It looked normal at first¡­but at a closer look, he saw a very familiar looking array etched onto the top of the workbench.

    A relic-smithing array.

    It didn¡¯t take a genius to know that he was in a cultivator¡¯s house.

    Was it an enemy?  No, what enemy would logically spend so many resources to heal what was undoubtedly a fatal wound?  Actually¡­who could heal such a wound?  Is the person who rescued me really that amazing or did they get help?

    Siyuan stared at the bandages wrapped around his chest for a moment more.  Then, he looked up, his gaze skimming around the small house.

    Regardless, I should leave and get back to the sect as soon as possible, he thought.  There are people there who intimately know me so it shouldn¡¯t be too difficult to be reinstituted as a Mystic River sect lower reaches disciple.  I ought to be a bit more gratuitous to this mysterious cultivator for saving my life, but I have no idea who they are or what their intentions are.  I don¡¯t think I have anything actually valuable though, so I hope he¡¯ll settle with a simple thank-you note¡­

    The relic smith looked around for a bit.  He raised an eyebrow.

    There¡¯s nothing to write with?  What kind of cultivator doesn¡¯t even have a writing tool of some kind?  Much less one who owns a pill furnace?  Then again, maybe they don¡¯t actually use it?  Then why would they have a pill furnace in the first place¡­

    Siyuan shook his head, ridding himself of the thoughts.  He was getting distracted again.

    He slowly stood up, hissing as pain flared from his abdomen, causing him to double over and almost fall back onto the cot.  He managed to brace himself against its frame, breathing heavily as he waited for the pain to subside.  Once it did, to a manageable degree at least, he reached for his sword, wrapping his hand around the handle.

    At that exact moment, the door into the house opened with a creak.

    ¡°Haaaaah, nothing again, today,¡± came a voice.  ¡°That¡¯s another morning wa-.¡±

    Siyuan stopped, staring at the man who just walked in through the door.  The other man did likewise¡­which was a strange way of putting it.

    The man standing at the door looked¡­fairly average as a middle-aged cultivator.  His face looked young, definitely younger than Siyuan¡¯s old relic-smithing teacher, but also definitely older than Siyuan.  He had neatly-kept, long black hair that streamed behind him with a bun that was characteristic of cultivators his age.  He was handsome in a kind of ethereal way that didn¡¯t make him seem totally human.  He was dressed in a clean, black and white daoist robe, simple white pants, and a pair of normal-looking sandals.  Strapped to his side was a sword in an elaborate, white-jeweled sheath.

    Most notable of all, however, was what was wrapped around his eyes: a clean, white blindfold made of cloth.

    Siyuan stared at the figure for a moment as the figure ¡°stared¡± right back.  For a moment, the two basked in complete silence

    ¡°Well, I see that you¡¯re awake,¡± he said, breaking that silence.  The edges of his lips curved up into a small smile.  ¡°Heh, get what I did there?  See?¡±

    Siyuan¡¯s hand jolted to the side instinctively.

    It wasn¡¯t until that moment that he noticed that this man¡¯s body was bathed in an aura.  A somewhat inconspicuous, yet bright, light blue cloak of qi that completely enveloped his frame.

    How¡­how did I not notice that the moment he walked through the door?  And he has an aura so he should at least be an Aura Manifestation, but¡­

    Why can¡¯t I feel his presence at all?

    Aura Manifestation cultivators were, to put it simply, obviously powerful.  One could tell one was powerful because everyone around them that wasn¡¯t at that level could clearly feel that they were powerful.  Siyuan had been in a room full of cultivators at that level during his first and only class in the upper reaches relic smithing course.  He of all people would know that, being near-suffocated in the sensation of their auras as someone at just the first stage of cultivation.

    Which made it just that more peculiar that he could clearly see this man¡¯s aura, but couldn¡¯t feel his power at all.

    Is he using a technique to hide the sensation of his power?  Or a cultivation method of some kind?

    He already began skimming through possible escape methods in his head, just in case.  A head-on fight was definitely a no-go, even if he wasn¡¯t still recovering from a fatal wound.  He wasn¡¯t exactly

    The other man cleared his throat.

    ¡°Anyways, why so on-guard?¡± he asked, spreading his arms.  Siyuan¡¯s eyes went to the sword sheathed at his hip, the young man¡¯s hand hovering just over the hilt.  ¡°Is that how you treat someone who brought you back from the brink of death?  Well, at least it shows that you¡¯re not that naive.¡±

    There was a whoosh as the cultivator suddenly disappeared.  Siyuan¡¯s eyes widened as he moved to draw his sword.

    His hand, however, grabbed nothing but air.

    He looked down to his hands to see that his hands were now empty, his sword and its sheath having completely disappeared.

    What the-!

    ¡°However, it¡¯s never a good idea to assume a hostile stance towards someone who¡¯s clearly much more powerful than you, wouldn¡¯t you agree?¡±

    Siyuan¡¯s eyes widened as he whipped around to face the cultivator standing behind him, his sword, still in its sheath, in the cultivator¡¯s hand.

    Fast!

    ¡°I¡¯ve taken quite a few looks at this but I¡¯m still pretty curious about the design of this,¡± the man said as he pulled the sword relic out of its sheath and nonchalantly tossed it at Siyuan, who barely caught it.  He ran his fingers along the edge of the blade.  ¡°It¡¯s just a three-fold enhanced sword relic but the purity of its sword essence is oddly high, especially for a Qi Manifestation cultivator like you to be carrying around.  Did you make this?¡±

    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    Siyuan was now starting to feel a bit confused.  He had no idea what this cultivator was talking about, or what ¡°sword essence¡± was, much less what it being ¡°pure¡± meant.

    As for the question, he wasn¡¯t sure whether he should answer.  Sure the cultivator was blindfolded, but his mannerisms showed that he liked that he was seeing, or feeling, rather.

    If he found out that Siyuan was the one who forged it, there was a pretty good chance he would force the young cultivator into being his personal relic smith.  Not exactly what Siyuan was looking forward to doing.

    Maybe if his answer was mundane enough, the cultivator would just let him go thinking that it wasn¡¯t worth bringing along one other person with him.

    ¡°...no, I happened upon it by chance while I was shopping in a mortal village,¡± Siyuan said.

    It was a fairly good excuse.  The man had to have known that Siyuan had just begun his cultivation and it wasn¡¯t rare that a cultivation method would require a cultivator to gather mortal items in order to pull through its starting stages.  Plus, relics appearing in random mortal villages was somewhat rare, but not at all unusual.  If the cultivator were particularly curious, he¡¯d ask which mortal village, in which Siyuan could just make up a name or even claim that he¡¯d forgotten.

    The cultivator didn¡¯t.  He just shrugged and carelessly tossed the sheathed sword at Siyuan.  Surprised, the young relic smith barely caught it, fumbling with it.

    ¡°Anyways, let¡¯s move onto my favorite topic,¡± the cultivator said, pulling up a nearby chair and sitting in it even as Siyuan remained standing.  ¡°Payment!¡±

    Ah.  Well, it wasn¡¯t like Siyuan wasn¡¯t expecting it.  The problem came with the fact that Siyuan had nothing to offer that would serve as payment for quite literally dragging him back up from the Underworld.  The most valuable things he had on him were his sword relic, which he had just watched the cultivator treat with almost no care, and the jade pendant of his sect, which he couldn¡¯t just give away for obvious reasons.  However, giving over nothing wasn¡¯t an option.

    The cultivator must have sensed his internal conflict somehow because he suddenly laughed, snapping Siyuan out of his thoughts.

    ¡°Forget about having to give anything physical over to me,¡± he said.  ¡°Not like a mere Qi Manifestation cultivator like you would have anything that I¡¯d want.  Not really all that curious as to which sect you¡¯re from either, though I am a bit curious as to what the jade pendant was for.  Wouldn¡¯t do anything no matter what I tried so I lost interest in it.¡±

    Siyuan¡¯s eyes widened ever so slightly at that.  The jade pendant wasn¡¯t exactly hard to activate.  Just pouring a bit of qi into it would accomplish that.  The cultivator wouldn¡¯t be able to access its functions as it would only respond to Siyuan¡¯s unique kind of qi, but it should have turned on at the very least.

    ¡°Now see, I¡¯m a wanderer of sorts,¡± the cultivator says.  ¡°I¡¯m not quite at the end of my cultivation just yet, but there are more fun ways of developing cultivation than sitting on a cushion for decades just to take a single step up the staircase towards the next realm.  So I roam around the world looking for whatever captures my interest.  And lo and behold¡­¡±

    The cultivator¡¯s smile became cryptic.  Siyuan felt a small shiver shoot up his spine.

    ¡°One day, when roaming around the boundaries of some rather backwater, mid-class sect I happened to pass by, I heard a noise akin to a clap of thunder.  Then I felt the sensation of an attack in the sky.  It wasn¡¯t even powerful by my standards, so at first, I brushed it off as just some cultivators fighting nearby and planned on walking by without minding it any business.  However, then I felt it.  The sheer purity of the qi.  Qi with a metal-element affinity so pure that I almost mistaked it for just lightning.  But how could that be, I asked myself.  There hasn¡¯t been any rain.

    ¡°Now imagine my surprise that, when I went over to investigate, I saw that the source of it wasn¡¯t a natural phenomenon¡­but a mere Qi manifestation cultivator.¡±

    Siyuan just silently stared at the cultivator.  He slowly began to recall what had happened during his fight with the tier 5 beast.  How he fired off an arrow made from qi taken directly from his nascent soul in order to buy even just a moment of time¡­just to allow his best friend a moment to escape.

    ¡°Well, when I first arrived at the scene at the time, I didn¡¯t know that you were a cultivator,¡± he continued.  ¡°At first, my senses told me that you weren¡¯t a cultivator, they told me that you were just a sword relic.  So as you could probably imagine, I was pretty confused.  Why was this tier 5 snake beast trying to devour this sword relic?  If it was at tier 5, then it must have known better than to just try devouring random weapons lying around the ground.  So out of curiosity, I killed the demon to see just what made this supposed sword relic so special.  And that¡¯s how I came across you.¡±

    Siyuan¡¯s eyes widened slightly.

    He understood that he and Luo Han were just Qi Manifestation cultivators, two cultivators who had no chance against a tier 5 demon, whose power matched that of an Aura Manifestation cultivator¡¯s.  And he suspected that the man in front of him was powerful, but this just sealed the deal.  To talk so nonchalantly about slaying a beast with that kind of power¡­

    Could it be possible that he¡¯s¡­beyond the Aura Manifestation realm?  But there aren¡¯t even a hundred cultivators in the land that have broken through the Aura Manifestation realm¡­

    ¡°I had to physically touch you to discover that you weren¡¯t a sword, but a cultivator!  Imagine my surprise.  A mere Qi Manifestation cultivator, yet your affinity to the metal element is so high that even now, with me sitting right in front of you, if I lose focus, I might forget that you are human at all.  Throughout my near-century of cultivation, I had never seen anybody with such a high affinity to any element, even if it was just a common, run-of-the-mill iron-element affinity.¡±

    ¡­of course.  Of course somebody who can perceive the world as accurately as this man can will be able to see how turning myself into an artifact will have affected the quality of my qi.  Though it should be impossible for him to tell that I¡¯ve actually forged myself into an artifact without me explicitly telling him so.

    ¡°Thus, here we are!¡± the man concluded, spreading his arms.  ¡°I would¡¯ve preferred if you weren¡¯t just a not-even-fledgling Qi Manifestation cultivator.  However, it is how it is.  This leads to the¡­ ¡®payment¡¯ that I want to ask of you.¡±

    He gets up from his chair.

    ¡°You see, there¡¯s somebody that I want to kill,¡± he says.  ¡°Unfortunately, I don¡¯t have the resources to kill him.  That¡¯s where you come in.¡±

    Siyuan¡¯s eyes widened at that.

    Wait¡­what?!

    ¡°A cultivator with such a powerful metal-element affinity such as yourself is perfect,¡± the cultivator continued.  ¡°That¡¯s not even to account for how interesting I find you.  You¡¯re practically useless to me now, but in a decade or so, I¡¯ll shape you into a real weapon.

    ¡°So how about it?  You still haven¡¯t completely recovered from your wound and should I cease your treatment, you will be permanently physically damaged, and that will, in turn, affect your cultivation.  You could try to find another doctor to finish the job for you, but that was a pretty nasty attack you took.  I doubt you¡¯d find one easily, even if you use your sect¡¯s resources.  I¡¯ll finish mending it up for you, but in exchange, you¡¯ll have to come along with me wherever I go.¡±

    Siyuan mused over his words for a moment, but then just looked at the cultivator with a deadpan look.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t this sound a bit¡­one-sided?¡±

    The cultivator grinned.

    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m not usually this forward,¡± he said.  ¡°But yes, that¡¯s the intention.  I take it that you¡¯re accepting?  It won¡¯t be so bad!  Having a personal mentor is usually a privilege that only the rich and high-ranking are suitable for, and I¡¯m a great teacher!  Just ask my other student when we meet up with her later.  Oh, and don¡¯t try to run.  You¡¯d need to train for at least a hundred more years if you¡¯d ever want to lose me in a chase.¡±

    Siyuan just sighed.  An indicator of his resignation.  The other cultivator just smiled.

    ¡°Great!  Any other questions?¡±

    <hr>

    ¡°Six months?!¡±  Siyuan almost shouted.

    The mysterious cultivator just shrugged.  ¡°Like I mentioned before, you took a fairly nasty hit.  The fact that you woke up at all is a miracle.  Though I¡¯d bet that¡¯s because of your strange constitution.¡±

    Siyuan sighed as he flopped onto the cultivator¡¯s cot.  ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s no way I haven¡¯t been pronounced dead by now.  Going back to the sect now will just get me into a huge mess.¡±

    ¡°Thankfully, you won¡¯t need to worry about that,¡± the cultivator said with a toothy grin.  ¡°You¡¯re with me now!  And by the time we¡¯re done, we¡¯re gonna force the-...make them want to take you back in!¡±

    ¡°Hey, I actually like my sect,¡± Siyuan said.  ¡°Plus, I have a close friend there.  If I ever get the opportunity to return, I don¡¯t want the sect to start hating me.¡±

    ¡°Well, don¡¯t worry about that,¡± the man said.  He turned to the door of his house.  ¡°Ah, supper¡¯s here.¡±

    ¡°Supper?¡± Siyuan asked.

    The cultivator stood up from his chair and opened the door.  Standing behind it was a short, old woman, wearing clothing that looked a lot like the clothing Siyuan saw the old woman at his old village wear.  She had thick mittens over both of her hands, which she was using to hold a ceramic pot that had a bit of steam seeping through the top of it.

    ¡°Lord cultivator, a meal as you have requested,¡± the woman said with a bow, her voice croaky with age.  ¡°I had the most experienced cooks of our village prepare it.  I hope it will be to your satisfaction.¡±

    ¡°Thanks,¡± the cultivator said with a smile.  He took the pot from her with a hand.

    ¡°Um, Lord cultivator,¡± the woman said, blinking at him.  ¡°We just took this from the bonfire.  It is still very hot.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.  Thank you for your service.¡±

    The cultivator closed the door, turning to Siyuan with the steaming hot pot in his hand.

    ¡°Hold on, where are we exactly?¡± Siyuan asked.

    ¡°Some mortal village that I¡¯m staying at for the time being,¡± the cultivator said.  ¡°You can worry about that later.  Eat up.  The sun is already starting to set and I haven¡¯t fed you anything today.¡±

    Now that Siyuan wasn¡¯t preoccupied with so many questions concerning his current situation, his body seemed to realize that it was, indeed, quite hungry.  His stomach growled.

    The blindfolded cultivator just chuckled as he held the pot out for Siyuan.

    The young relic smith reached out for the pot.  He willed qi out of his through his dantians, satisfied to find out that it flowed without hindrance.  It seemed he had no need to be afraid of converting his own life force into qi causing any permanent damage to his nascent soul.

    The qi flowed down his arms and spread throughout his hands.  Then, with a bit of focus, he projected it, molding it into a thin, protective layer hovering just over his hands.  It wouldn¡¯t be nearly enough to protect him against any kind of attack, but it would be enough to protect his hands from the scalding heat of a ceramic pot that had recently been lifted from a cooking fire.

    ¡°Wow, so you¡¯re already capable of that?¡± the cultivator said as Siyuan stood up, hissing at the slight sting of pain from the action.  He turned to the cultivator, a confused look in his eyes.

    ¡°Capable of what?¡±

    ¡°That,¡± the cultivator said, nudging his head towards Siyuan¡¯s hands.

    ¡°Um¡­?¡± Siyuan said, looking down at the pot in his hands.  ¡°You mean me holding this pot?  It¡¯s just some basic qi control.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, basic for a mid or late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator maybe.  Not someone who¡¯s still not even a late-stage Qi Manifestation cultivator.¡±

    ¡°But I¡¯ve seen my fellow disciples do things like this all the time,¡± Siyuan said.  ¡°Is it not an imperative basic for casting qi techniques?¡±

    He hadn¡¯t gotten into many fights, but he had witnessed plenty of them done through his fellow disciples, especially Luo Han.

    ¡°Hmm, well, you¡¯re still basically a brand new cultivator training in relics-mithing, so I guess you wouldn¡¯t know.  It¡¯s a pretty common misnomer.¡±

    The cultivator held up a finger.

    ¡°There is a difference between manipulating qi through a qi technique and manipulating qi independent of it,¡± he said.  ¡°It¡¯s easy to manipulate qi through the use of a technique, because techniques also utilize things such as certain movements, breathing patterns, and even body constitutions to stimulate the flow of qi to certain parts of the body.  Directly moving qi from one part of the body to the other requires quite a lot of time from beginners to get the hang of.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Siyuan asked as he looked down at the pot in his hands.

    Since qi control was especially important for relic smithing, he made sure to train himself in being able to at least forcefully move qi towards his hands.  Making sure there was enough qi within a smithing array was important to ensuring the quality of the relic being made after all.

    Was it really so amazing to be able to do something as simple as project qi from his hands?  Then again, Siyuan did know that his classmates in the lower reaches smithing class did have some trouble concentrating qi towards their hands whenever they forged their relics.  But also¡­

    ¡°I know a friend who can also do something like this,¡± Siyuan said.  ¡°He¡¯s a combat cultivator.  I¡¯ve seen him do it with his whole body, though for short bursts at a time to increase the speed and strength of his attacks.¡±

    The blindfolded cultivator raised an eyebrow in his direction.  He cupped his chin.

    ¡°Really?  Interesting,¡± was all he said.

    He stood up.

    ¡°Well, finish your meal quickly.  Then we¡¯ll get started on your training.¡±

    ¡°Training?¡± Siyuan asked.

    ¡°Of course.  I need you to be ready for what will come at the end of our journey.  Now quickly finish up, then meet me outside.¡±

    The cultivator stood up and walked out of the house.

    Siyuan just stared at his back as he closed the door behind him, confused at what the mysterious cultivator meant.

    ¡°What a curious person¡­¡±

    With that, he opened the pot in his hands, revealing steamed buns.  They quickly disappeared down his gullet.

 The Continuation of Cultivation

    ¡°So, um¡­why¡¯d you bring me all the way out here, sir?¡±

    Siyuan and the mysterious, blindfolded cultivator walked out onto an empty flower field far from the village that Siyuan had woken up in.  It was sunset.  The sun was just barely peeking over the horizon, dyeing the sky a bright, golden orange.  Looking back, he could see the village they had departed from, but it was just a small speck in the distance.

    ¡°Oh please, don¡¯t call me ¡®sir¡¯, you¡¯re gonna make me feel old!¡± the cultivator said.  ¡°You ought to call me your sensei now!¡±

    ¡°...alright, sensei¡­¡±

    ¡°Anyways, as for what we¡¯re doing here, we¡¯re gathering resources!  There¡¯s this pill that I need to make someone as a favor and this field just happens to have exactly what I need.¡±

    Siyuan stopped as he looked down at the grassy ground.  It seemed normal enough, with flowers of various colors dotting the grassy hill.  Their petals were a bit sharp, sure, but Siyuan had seen many flowers like that before.  Oddly enough, Siyuan could just barely feel an aura of¡­qi emanating from them?

    ¡°If you hadn¡¯t guessed by now, it¡¯s these flowers,¡± the cultivator said.  He walked up to a red one, its sharp petals swaying slightly in the breeze.  ¡°They¡¯re pretty hard to find, but they usually grow in patches so once you find one, there are many more nearby.  They¡¯re a pretty important ingredient in making pills.¡±

    Siyuan raised an eyebrow as he looked down at the seemingly normal flower.

    ¡°Hmm, I¡¯m having a bit of trouble pinpointing the flower¡¯s exact location,¡± the blindfolded cultivator said with a smile.  ¡°Could you pluck it for me, Siyuan?¡±

    Siyuan stared at him for a moment.  Then he scoffed.

    Like hell you can¡¯t pinpoint it.  If I can feel its qi, than you definitely can¡­

    Regardless, Syuan approached the small flower and crouched.  He moved his hand forward to pluck it.

    Just as he pinched his fingers around the stem, he suddenly witdrew his hand as pain joled up his fingers.  He hissed as clutched his hand, his fingers steaming where they had touched the flower¡¯s stem.

    ¡°Oh, I forgot to mention that the flower¡¯s body is covered in a thin layer of highly powerful toxins,¡± Siyuan¡¯s new sensei said with a chuckle.  ¡°My bad.  You might want to protect your hand with some qi before you try for a grab at it.¡±

    Siyuan cursed the man under his breath, still clutching his hand as the pain began to subside.  Once it did, Siyuan closed his eyes, gathering his concentration.  Qi flowed from his dantians towards his hand, where he projected it in a thin layer over it, much in the same way he had not much earlier when he had handed Siyuan that cooking pot, still scaldingly hot from the fire it was taken from.  His hand glowed slightly as he reached for the plant¡¯s stem.

    Just as his fingers neared it, however¡­

    The flower¡¯s petals suddenly went rigid before angling themselves right at Siyuan¡¯s head.  Then, they shot upwards right at his nose.  All in the blink of an eye.

    Siyuan¡¯s eyes widened just as they shot upwards, right at his head.  The blindfolded cultivator grabbed Siyuan¡¯s shoulder and shoved him backwards right before they could spear right through his eyes, one of the petals just barely grazing the tip of his nose.

    Siyuan fell backwards onto his bottom as he stared, wide-eyed, at the flower that had certainly almost killed him.  The flower acted as normal in front of him, swaying in the slight breeze, albeit without its sharp, colorful petals.

    ¡°Not like that, Siyuan,¡± the cultivator said, crouching towards the now petal-less flower.  ¡°These are sharpshooter flowers.  Their petals are valuable to alchemists because it is where the flower stores its own unique kind of qi, which is rich with the earth element.  However, they are somewhat difficult to harvest.  They are extremely reactive to any amount of qi that so much as comes near it and once they do so, they will shoot its petals towards the source of that qi, aiming to kill the source of the qi before it is plucked.  However, as I have mentioned before, they are also coated in a powerful toxin that makes them impossible to hold with an unprotected hand.¡±

    ¡°I¡­see,¡± was all Siyuan said as he continued to stare at the de-petaled flower.

    ¡°Flowers that have already launched its petals are worthless,¡± the blindfolded cultivator said with a sigh and a shake of his head.  ¡°The petals are what gives it its value, after all.¡±

    He turned towards another of the flowers, a blue one this time.

    ¡°Watch.¡±

    Siyuan did so as the cultivator opened his hand, nearing the flower.  His hand seemed unprotected as it neared the flower¡¯s stem.  It slowly creeped closer and closer, almost as near as Siyuan¡¯s hand had before¡­

    The cultivator¡¯s hand blurred as it swung over the flower.  The next thing Siyuan knew, the cultivator had the flower tightly pinched between his fingers, the entirety of it having been plucked out of the ground.

    He was fast.  So fast that Siyuan hadn¡¯t even seen the motion even though he had been paying close attention.  But he knew that.  The cultivator had demonstrated that earlier when he snatched SIyuan¡¯s sword out of his hands before he could even draw it.  What really surprised Siyuan was the thin layer of light blue qi that the cultivator¡¯s hand was suddenly enveloped in.

    It took him a bit, but he eventually understood what had just happened.

    It was qi control in a way that Siyuan wasn¡¯t too familiar with.  His sensei put a lot of priority in the ability to control qi well, but hadn¡¯t emphasized the pace of which to do so.

    Coating his hand in a thin layer of qi was something Siyuan could do with relative ease, albeit with more than a slight bit of focus.  Plus, it was a bit of a slow process.

    This cultivator had done this very thing.  Except, he had done it so quickly that the flower hadn¡¯t even had time to register his qi before it was plucked.  It was the only explanation that Siyuan could think of.

    ¡°Thankfully, these little things¡¯ defense mechanism becomes no longer usable when they¡¯re not rooted into the ground,¡± he said, his tone casual as if completely unaffected by the display.  ¡°You understand what happened, do you?¡±

    Siyuan just nodded with a muttered ¡°yes.¡±

    ¡°With these little things, you¡¯ve gotta be fast,¡± the cultivator said.  ¡°Very fast.  It¡¯s a bit difficult for someone in your realm of cultivation, but I think it should be possible for you concerning that you¡¯ve got the basics of qi control down.  I hope that tonight, you¡¯ll have at least three flowers plucked for me.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll do my best¡­¡±

    With that, the cultivator promptly stood up and began to walk away.

    Siyuan watched his back for a bit, then back down to the flower.  Then his head snapped back up towards his sensei.

    ¡°Hey, aren¡¯t you at least going to give me some tips?!¡± he exclaimed.  ¡°This is my first time trying something like this!¡±

    ¡°Tips?  What tips?¡± the cultivator said, turning back around.  ¡°It¡¯s very straightforward.  It¡¯s just the same thing that you did before, just a little bit faster.¡±

    Siyuan scoffed at ¡°a little bit faster.¡±

    ¡°Well, best of luck!¡±

    ¡°Hey!  How-!¡±

    Before Siyuan could finish that statement, his sensei promptly disappeared, leaving him by himself. The cultivator raised his hands exasperatedly at nothing in particular before looking back down at the flowers in front of him.

    Well, might as well get started then¡­

    He crouched towards one of the flowers, staring at it as he replayed the man¡¯s action in his head.  Siyuan still had no idea how he had managed to do that.  He said that it was just simply a matter of being fast, but there had to be some kind of method to it.

    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

    Siyuan looked down at the flower, then at his open hand.

    Maybe it would be a better idea to just see how fast I can let my qi flow before trying my hand at snagging a flower.

    The next several hours went by quickly, with him pulling qi in and out of his hand.  A repetitive, tedious activity, but one he was very used to by now as this was how he honed his qi control in the first place.  Except now, it was a great deal harder for a couple of reasons.

    The first was obvious: trying to force qi to move at a quick speed was actually fairly hard.  He anticipated this, but it was still disappointing how unsuccessful he was so far.  The second was that apparently, physically moving while simultaneously gathering qi at a specific body area was harder than he thought.  He was used to simply moving qi around his body before moving.

    Numerous times, he swiped his hands through the air, imitating a quick grabbing motion while trying to focus qi towards his hands, but each time, he couldn¡¯t manage more than an insignificant amount of qi into a protective layer around his hand.  Even when he slowed down the motion, he had a lot of trouble even moving qi down his arm.

    No matter how discouraging his limited success was though, he kept trying, repeatedly waving his hand through the air.

    He didn¡¯t deign to return until very late that night, well after the sun had fully descended and the stars took its place in the dark sky.  When he arrived back at the cabin, his master was meditating on a qi cushion in the center of the room.  He stopped meditating when Siyuan stepped into the cabin though, inquiring about his progress.  Predictably, he made fun of Siyuan upon hearing that he hadn¡¯t gathered any flowers, but didn¡¯t really sound surprised or disappointed.

    Siyuan barely got any sleep that night, staring up at the ceiling and grabbing at the air above him.

    <hr>

    A week would pass in the blink of an eye.

    Siyuan¡¯s days became one of the same cycle of events: wake up early in the morning, go to the flower field, and try snagging a flower.

    Thankfully, they were abundant at the field he was currently at.  Otherwise, he would have exhausted the entirety of it in the blink of an eye.

    The cultivator, Siyuan¡¯s new sensei, had ways of compelling Siyuan to keep trying.  It was mostly just offering to help his cultivation along as long as he went to the field every day, but it would occasionally be things like extremely well-made food or stuff like that.

    Siyuan¡¯s cultivation was progressing fairly quickly thanks to the cultivator¡¯s help.  He was about three-quarters the way to progressing to the next realm, around two months of cultivation being completed in the span of just a week.  The cultivator had faintly commented at one point on Siyuan¡¯s strange body once again as they did some simple dual cultivation, but told Siyuan not to pay it any mind.

    The week went on with minimal progress.  Sure, Siyuan was getting faster with every passing day, but he still wasn¡¯t anywhere near fast enough to consciously grab a flower.

    It was the end of the last day of the week.  Siyuan, like he had for every day that week, trudged back into the cabin he and his master stayed.  It was late at night, the sun retreating completely to give way to the stars.  He was exhausted, more mentally than physically, but still happy that one thing had gone right for him.

    ¡°Welcome back, my pupil!¡± the cultivator exclaimed in his usual jovial tone, turning to ¡°look¡± at him from the cultivation cushion he was meditating on.  ¡°How¡¯d it go?  No near-fatal injuries, I hope!¡±

    Siyuan just grunted.  He held up a single orange flower, all of its petals still in-tact.

    The other cultivator just ¡°stared¡± at it, his jaw dropping.

    ¡°Whoa!  You mastered this already?  In just a week?¡± he asked.

    ¡°No, it was a complete fluke,¡± Siyuan said.  ¡°I¡¯m not sure how I manage to make it happen.  In fact, it happened so fast that I didn¡¯t even get a good grasp on how it felt like.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡±  The cultivator just shrugged.  ¡°That makes a bit more sense.  A week on something like this is way too fast.  But still, the fact that you were able to pull it off, you¡¯ve made some very good progress during the past week.  You were definitely some kind of prodigy before I came around and swooped you up.¡±

    ¡°Well, if you say so¡­¡±

    ¡°I reckon that you¡¯ll have it down by the end of the month,¡± the cultivator said.  He shifted away from the cultivation cushion he was on, patting it in offering to Siyuan.  ¡°I must admit, it is quite fast compared to what I had initially expected, but that just means we can get back onto the road faster, which is good for us.¡±

    Siyuan just nodded.  He assumed a meditative position.

    ¡°As for your cultivation¡­¡±

    The cultivator pressed his hand to Siyuan¡¯s back.

    ¡°It seems you¡¯re nearing your breakthrough,¡± he said.  ¡°At the rate we¡¯re currently going, you¡¯¡¯ll be able to breakthrough into the next realm by the time you master speedy qi control.¡±

    ¡°And if I do not?¡±

    The cultivator just shrugged.  ¡°Then you¡¯ll continue as you usually do.  This isn¡¯t the kind of thing that will improve just by moving up a realm of cultivation.  Let¡¯s get to cultivating then, shall we?¡±

    The night passed on fairly uneventfully.

    <hr>

    Another week came and went.

    Siyuan¡¯s training wasn¡¯t really yielding much results, but he was getting faster.  A lot faster.  His sensei once threw a scaldingly-hot rock at him and, although he was startled, Siyuan managed to coat his hand with protective qi in the span of time it took for the rock, which was already in the air, to reach his palm.  It still wasn¡¯t fast enough to grab one of those flowers, but it still meant he was making good progress.

    Speaking of which, he had even managed to snag another flower.  It was still a fluke, but this time, he was at least somewhat conscious of what had happened.

    It wasn¡¯t exactly as his sensei said.  There was a trick to it, but, well, it was kind of like using tricks to lift a heavy weight.  Even if the lifter employed every trick imaginable, they still had to be strong enough to lift the weight in the first place.  Siyuan¡¯s only choice really was to just keep trying until eventually, his speed had reached an optimal point.

    It was a fairly mundane schedule that repeated without fail over the last couple of weeks.  Siyuan¡¯s wounds, so critical not long before, had almost completely healed by this point, to the point where he could move around as he was able to before his fight with the tier 5 demon without risking any of his wounds reopening.  He had, essentially, made a full recovery, though his new sensei didn¡¯t spare any time complaining about how many expensive pills that required.  It definitely helped improve the flow of his qi, if minimally.

    Little did he know, however, was that that mundane schedule would, one day, be upheaved.

    <hr>

    The mysterious cultivator was in his cottage, silently reading from a book he had propped open with one hand.

    It was well into midday.  His new disciple was at the flower fields once again, trying to grasp at flowers.  The boy was, seemingly, blindly grasping at them, only to have to dodge at the last moments as flower petals were sent shooting towards his head.

    The cultivator chuckled slightly.  It amused him somewhat to see his frustration, but not enough to keep him there for more than a couple of seconds.

    His progress really is amazing, though¡­ he thought.  He¡¯s getting so close after just a couple of weeks.  I wonder if that is due to his intuition or his potential.  Or maybe it¡¯s both.  Oh well¡­no matter what, it seems I came across a good one this time.  Just as good as the one I found a few years ago.  I wonder how she¡¯s doing¡­

    He shook his head.  He had stuff to focus on, after all.  He went back to ¡°reading¡± his book.

    He flipped the page, ¡°skimming¡± the page.

    Ah, here we are.

    It was the recipe for a pill.  But not just any pill, an extremely complicated, yet valuable pill.

    I¡¯ll practice my alchemical skills, then when the boy is finished collecting the flowers that I need, then I will begin refining this pill.  With it, that man will have no choice but to hand me that sacred weapon of his.  That will make two out of the five I need.  Just three more¡­

    His head suddenly jerked up as his senses picked up on something.  A feeling of qi entering his perception, foreign qi.  It was weak, but definitely there.  Almost inconsequential.

    He sighed.

    Bandits?  Ah, looks like they¡¯re coming from the direction of my pupil¡¯s flower field.  I should go deal with them.

    He stood up.  But then he stopped.

    Or, I could let him handle it.  From what I¡¯m feeling from them, their cultivation is very low¡­equal to his, about.  But there are like a dozen of them.  There¡¯s no way he can take them all on.  Not on his own at least.

    He smiled.

    Good.  Maybe a near-death experience will help him reach a revelation of sorts.  That¡¯s how I went about learning things his age~.

    With that, he turned to the door.  But as he began his way towards it, he stopped again.

    Wait a second, did he bring his sword?  I don¡¯t remember if he brings it with him to training or not¡­

    The cultivator ¡°turned¡± back to the inside of the cottage.  He skimmed the inside of the house with a bit of his qi before¡­

    His senses picked up on a sword sitting against the side of the bed.  A sword relic.

    ¡­oh.

    -----

    What the¡­what¡¯s that?

    Siyuan turned to the sound of thundering horses that had just suddenly picked up in the horizon.

    His eyes nearly popped out of his head upon seeing the dozen of horses, all of them carrying a rider.  They were all dressed in simple robes of various colors, not unlike the clothing he had seen the villagers wear.

    He rose to his feet.

    Visitors?  Are they returning villagers?  But I didn¡¯t hear anything about that around the village.

    It wasn¡¯t until they got closer that he saw weapons on them.  A variety of swords and spears strapped to their hips and backs.

    Now based on that alone, Siyuan immediately knew something was wrong.  The village had a militia of sorts to fend off against wild animals or bandits, but they almost always stayed inside the village unless they had to go hunting or foraging for food.  Their ¡°armory¡± consisted of several sabers and farming tools.

    But Siyuan had sensed something more alarming.

    This is¡­qi?  Are those culti-?

    At that instant, a red-orange spark appeared right in front of one of the still-faraway bandits.

    Siyuan¡¯s eyes widened as on the next, a flaming arrow was sent soaring right at his head.

 The Field of Battle

    ¡°Hey boss, there¡¯s someone up ahead!¡±

    Ma Yi Ze squinted his eyes off into the distance.  It was just then that he spotted the tiny figure in the distance.

    It was a day for a raid as usual for their small group of rogue cultivators, the nine of them riding towards it on the four horses that they possessed.  Leaving their camp in the forest, they simply mounted their spirit-herb-fed horses and made way for the nearest village.  It was supposed to be a simple raid against an under-defended village, no further planning required.  And as a small band of cultivators, albeit beginner ones, a tiny mortal village should be child¡¯s play for them.

    He didn¡¯t quite expect the unknown figure sitting in a colorful flower field near the border of the village that was due their ¡°protection fee¡± that day.

    It wasn¡¯t just any flower field, he knew.  That was a field of sharpshooter flowers.  Extremely protective plants that were extremely careful with its own self-preservation.  They were very difficult to harvest unless one was a trained expert, being toxic to the touch of an unprotected hand and being extremely sensitive to the slightest amount of qi.  Their petals were extremely valuable, though life-threateningly difficult to harvest sometimes.

    Of course, being the leader of a tiny group of rogue cultivators, Ma Yi Ze didn¡¯t bother with those flowers.  There was nobody among his men who had the expertise to harvest them, nor did they have anywhere near as much money to hire one for even the length of just one incense stick.

    That was why he was surprised to find a young man in the midst of that flower field, stooping down as if to pick the infamous flower.

    ¡°Some alchemist¡¯s disciple?¡± one of his men asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure about this, boss,¡± another said.  ¡°He could be some undercover expert picking out ingredients for a pill¡­¡±

    ¡°If he were, then we would¡¯ve been able to sense him by now!¡± another said.  ¡°I say that we just quickly knock him out and rob him!  We¡¯ll be fine as long as we move quickly enough and not kill him¡­¡±

    ¡°But that kid can''t possibly be any ordinary kid if he¡¯s an alchemist¡¯s disciple!  I say we turn around right now and try our luck tomorrow.  Plus, he may be by himself right now , but we never know if his master is staying at the village¡­¡±

    ¡°Nonsense!  No self-respecting alchemist would go anywhere near a mortal village!  Those guys¡¯ superiority complex is one not to be underestimated.  Plus, any competent alchemist would have detected us by now!¡±

    ¡°How about this?¡± Ma Yi Ze said.

    He let go of the reins.  He held up two fingers, aiming it at the figure in the distance as he held another two in front of his face with the other hand.

    A bright, orange spark of flame appeared at the tip of his fingers at his outstretched arm.

    ¡°I¡¯ll fire an arrow, then we¡¯ll quickly swarm him,¡± he said.  ¡°Make sure he¡¯s knocked unconscious when he recoils from the shot.  We¡¯re in and out in one minute unless something changes.¡±

    Some of his men gave him their affirmations.  Some didn¡¯t.  Ma Yi Ze didn¡¯t really care that much.  Whether they wanted to or not, as their leader, his men would follow after his command.  That was the kind of tight ship that he led.

    After all, anything less and their loose group of rogues would fall apart.

    As his men continued to gallop onward, Ma Yi Ze fired the spark of fire at the young figure in the distance.

    -----

    It wasn¡¯t the first time that Lin Siyuan had an ¡°Arrow¡± fired directly at him.  It was a requirement that every disciple in the Mystic River Sect, even right after becoming an inner disciple, learn how to at least do as much.  More advanced self-defense concepts were usually reserved for battle cultivators, but such basics were taught to everyone.

    However, it was the first time that he had one fired directly at him outside of practice, a situation where he wasn¡¯t pre-prepared to defend against it.

    Siyuan¡¯s instincts immediately took over.

    Qi flowed through his body, heeding the panic that momentarily took over his mind.  He raised his arms in a block, his qi flowing through his meridians like a river and surrounding his body in a thin, golden aura just as the Arrow reached him.

    As the Arrow collided with his makeshift barrier, it exploded, momentarily completely surrounding him in bright, orange flames.

    Siyuan¡¯s eyes were wide as the flames quickly scattered, his guard still up.

    Did they just-?!

    He didn¡¯t have time to finish that thought, as by the time the flames around him have scattered enough for him to regain visibility, the group of men who seemed so far just a moment ago were now so much closer, close enough for Siyuan to clearly see each of their faces.

    And, as one would demonstrate soon enough, close enough to leap at him.

    The moment that they came into view, Siyuan found that one of the men had leapt off his horse, not even bothering to stop it as it continued to gallop forward as he drew his sword and swung it right at him.

    He instinctively raised an arm in its path.

    The blade collided with the thin layer of qi around his body.  However, as thin as it was, it was more than enough to fend off the attack, the blade bouncing harmlessly off it as though colliding with another blade.

    ¡°Qi armor?!¡± the man shouted.

    Behind him, the rest of the men in the group quickly surrounded him, some of them leaping off of their mounts as the four horses among them circled him almost restlessly, each still carrying a rider.  Despite how startled their comrade may have seemed, they didn¡¯t seem perturbed.

    Siyuan sunk into a defensive stance, his hand instinctively palming his side where his sword usually resided¡­only to feel nothing.  He quickly glanced down at his side to see that his sword wasn¡¯t where it usually was strapped to his side.

    Great.  The one day I forget to bring my sword¡­

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if he has qi armor, he¡¯s just a Qi Manifestation brat!  Just break it!¡±

    They didn¡¯t give him time for another thought as they all ran at him, weapons out and qis flaring to life.

    Siyuan kicked into action, the thin barrier around his body brightening slightly as he braced himself for impact.

    The first man that reached him tried to swing his blade at Siyuan.  Now, Siyuan was no combat expert, being a relic smith in training, but even by his standards, the attack was, well, it was rather pathetic.  It was pretty quick, definitely more than anything a mortal could pull off, but that was about it.  The young cultivator easily avoided the attack, slamming his palm into the man¡¯s unprotected nose with enough force to send him flying backwards.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    The next deluge of attacks came, but even though he was being simultaneously attacked by eight other people all at once, he wasn¡¯t having as hard of a time as he thought he would.  They seemed to be getting into each other¡¯s ways more than Siyuan¡¯s, which gave the younger cultivator less to have to deal with at once.  Plus, it was obvious to see that they were all not nearly as well trained as even him from the way he could see them clumsily swinging their blades at him.  The few times they did manage to land attacks, whether it be physical or qi-related, said attacks just bounced harmlessly off his armor.  Even his basic combat training from the Mystic River Sect was more than enough to take care of them.

    If Luo Han were here, he¡¯d already be done taking care of all these guys, Siyuan thought.  But, hm¡­

    Siyuan kicked one of the men in the abdomen hard enough to make spit out blood.  As he went flying backwards, two of the other men, in a semblance of teamwork, tried to stab him from both his sides at once, their blades glowing with qi reinforcement.  The tips of their blades bounced harmlessly off of his qi armor.

    He caught one of the blades, wrapping his protected hand around it before bringing his other arm up to slam his elbow into his nose, causing the rogue to lose grip of the sword.

    Now he had a weapon.  A shabby, mortal weapon, yes.  And one that was very unbalanced in his hand, to the point of being awkward.  However, a weapon was a weapon.  And a sword meant that he was now capable of the Mystic River Sect¡¯s swordplay techniques.

    He smoothly blocked a blade coming at him from the side.  Then, with the smoothness like the flow of his sect¡¯s namesake, he counter-attacked.

    And the next thing he knew, that metal blade sliced through skin, spilling blood.  And following that spatter of blood¡­was his attacker¡¯s head.

    Siyuan¡¯s eyes widened as he realized what he had just done.  He was, by no means, some hardened warrior.  He was still, by the means of cultivators, a child, not even a year into his own cultivation.

    Taking a human life, even one that was trying to take his life, was by no means something Siyuan could have been expected to be prepared for as a relic smith in training.

    His shock didn¡¯t last very long, however, as a loud roar reverberated through the air.

    ¡°You bastard!  Make due for my brother¡¯s life with your own!¡± one of the rogues shouted, jabbing the spear in his hand right at his head.

    Like with the other rogues before him, his attack was easily beat back.  Moving the sword behind his back in an almost ceremonial motion, Siyuan jutted his palm forward, slamming it into the rogue¡¯s chest, blasting him backwards.

    The leader of the group, who had been by the side just simply watching the fight unfold, just scoffed.  Finally, he drew his sword.  One that was definitely longer than a normal sword, but also with a thicker blade.  It looked heavy, yet the man held it as if it weighed nothing.

    ¡°Men, retreat to the village and collect what we are owed!¡± he shouted.  His voice bellowed, deep yet with the charisma a leader would have.  ¡°I¡¯ll join up with y¡¯all when I¡¯m done with this brat.¡±

    What the-?

    Siyuan¡¯s head whipped around just in time to watch the men he had just beaten begin sprinting towards the village.

    ¡°Hey-!¡±

    ¡°Rule one of combat, don¡¯t turn away from your attacker unless you have a death wish!¡±

    Siyuan quickly twisted back, bringing his blade up to block the larger blade being swung down at him.  His eyes widened.

    So heavy?!

    The next thing he knew, he was being flung backwards from the force of the attack.

    The larger man remained where he stood, a large toothy grin on his face.  His whole body was bathed in a thin, fiery aura that hadn¡¯t been present before.  His large blade was bathed in a thin layer of bright, orange flames.

    Qi reinforcement?  Crap.

    Qi reinforcement, the simple art of infusing an object with one¡¯s own qi to momentarily increase its durability and its strength.  It was easier than it sounded, however.  One needed a kind of somewhat precise control of their qi, one that required them to be able to sustain it for a period of time outside their body, where it acted as no more than a kind of volatile, formless energy.  Luo Han had told him multiple times that it was easy once the concept for it was understood.

    Unfortunately, Siyuan didn¡¯t really understand the concept of qi reinforcement.  And it wasn¡¯t exactly something that could be picked up right away.  He had tried multiple times already back in the Sect with almost no success.

    The large man barreled forward, swinging his blade at Siyuan with blinding speed.  In response, Siyuan pointed a finger at him.  A golden spark of qi came to life at the tip of it, right before he fired an Arrow at his opponent quickly enough before he could reach him.

    The attack landed point blank, exploding against the man¡¯s chest and launching him backwards.  However, to Siyuan¡¯s dismay, it didn¡¯t even seem to break through the man¡¯s qi armor.

    This is really not good.

    ¡°Haha, that¡¯s a very fast Arrow, kid!¡± the man exclaimed.  ¡°Not bad!¡±

    Siyuan didn¡¯t respond.  He instead deigned to fire three more quick Arrows at his opponent.

    I won¡¯t take him in close-range combat.  I¡¯ll just pepper him with Arrows then find my chance to land a critical blow.  Qi reinforcement doesn¡¯t matter if he can¡¯t get close to me.  And as long as I keep it up, he won¡¯t be able to gather qi quickly enough to form his own.

    The bulky man manages to dodge past the three, but Siyuan catches him just as he hops to the side, managing to score two more shots.  Golden explosions crackled against the man¡¯s armor of qi.

    ¡°But this is quite annoying,¡± he said.  Despite his words, he didn¡¯t seem more than mildly inconvenienced.

    Again, Siyuan didn¡¯t reply.  He shot several quick Arrows at him.

    Four more golden explosions bloomed to life, pushing the man back further.  However, when he fired a fifth¡­

    The man suddenly burst forward, towards the incoming qi projectile.  He turned his whole body, taking the blow of the Arrow with his back.  He grunted with notable pain as it exploded against his armor, but unlike the others, it didn¡¯t seem to even stop him.

    Siyuan¡¯s eyes widened.  He quickly re-enveloped his body in his qi armor right before the man rammed his shoulder right into him.  Their qis collided as his much smaller frame went flying backwards, tumbling back to the ground.

    Siyuan rolled out of the way just as the man¡¯s large flaming blade was brought down on him, leaping onto his feet.  The man didn¡¯t let up though, quickly raising his blade and swinging at Siyuan¡¯s torso in a wide flaming arc.  Thinking quickly, Siyuan raised his arm in the blade¡¯s path.  The flaming blade colliding against his armor, not quite enough to stop it, but enough to hinder it at least somewhat.  He swiped his arm sideways, tossing the blade off its path, the momentum of which caused the man to almost lose his balance.

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    Siyuan took that opportunity.  He swung his blade at the man¡¯s undefended neck.

    The man just tsk¡¯d.  Right before Siyuan¡¯s blade could reach its target however, he raised his arm, much like how Siyuan did.  Unlike with Siyuan however, his arm did not stop the incoming blade.

    Unfortunately, Siyuan wasn¡¯t exactly the strongest cultivator in the Lower Reaches, or anywhere close to it.  So instead of slicing right through his arm like Siyuan had envisioned¡­it went about halfway through before getting stuck in the man¡¯s thick, muscled arm.

    Both Siyuan¡¯s and the man¡¯s eyes widened.

    ¡°Damn, you really that weak?¡±

    The man¡¯s other hand balled into a fist before he punched Siyuan right in the face hard enough to send him flying backwards yet again.

    This time, Siyuan didn¡¯t get up as quickly.  He took his time, trying to catch his breath and gather himself from the powerful blow.  Blood poured down his nose, and he had to spit out a few teeth that had come loose from the blow.  He was disoriented, his vision skewed off so that he was seeing double for a bit before he blinked it away.

    All the while, the other man just watched, a wolfish grin on his face, his flaming blade still in hand.

    Son of a bitch, he deliberately punched me with his blade arm instead of just slicing me to pieces, Siyuan inwardly cursed.  And damn that weak blade.  If it were my relic I would¡¯ve easily lopped off that arm.

    The other man, still remaining where he stood, pulled the sword out of his arm as if it were a mere splinter rather than a whole blade.  He tossed the blade forward, letting it clatter to the  grass in front of Siyuan.  The young cultivator just stared, baffled, at the weapon on the ground before looking back at his opponent.

    ¡°C¡¯mon, get back up,¡± he said, baring a wolfish, toothy grin despite the gaping hole in his arm.  ¡°You¡¯re a cultivator, aren¡¯tcha?  Get up, make this more exciting for me before I finish you off.¡±

    Siyuan just scoffed and grit his teeth.

    As of now, I¡¯m not strong enough to even properly damage him on my own, huh?  I can¡¯t even properly block any of his attacks.  His own strength, along with the qi reinforcement, is too much for me to simply parry away.

    The man in front of him began to walk forward, baring both his teeth and blade menacingly.

    Something to bridge the gap between our constitutions.  That¡¯s the only way I¡¯ll be able to survive this battle.

 A Light Shining in the Darkness

    Siyuan sunk into a defensive stance, holding his weapon out in front of him.

    Something that can bridge the gap between our constitutions¡­I need to find something like that as soon as possible.

    His mind went back to the few combat lessons he had back when he was still a student in the Lower Reaches.  And the first thing that came to mind¡­

    ¡°Remember, the best thing that one can have as a fighter is the initiative!  Even should you face an opponent slightly superior to yourself, you have nothing to fear if you can hold onto the momentum of the battle!¡±

    Fingers were raised towards a long, stringy mustache.

    ¡°Now, all of you do 50,000 side jumps!  You have five minutes!¡±

    Ugh, now Siyuan was reminded of why he stopped going to those combat lessons.  At least now, he had a kinda better idea of what to do next.

    Despite what his instincts told him to do¡­he dashed forward right at the man.

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    He looked more surprised than anxious, if anything.  Siyuan didn¡¯t mind it, however, as he continued dashing forward.

    Once he got into range, the larger man swung his large blade at Siyuan.  The cultivator ducked out of the way, just barely managing to avoid it before swinging his own blade at the larger man.  The man brought his blade back quickly enough to block it.  Blade pressed against blade as the two locked against each other.

    Siyuan was easily pushed back, the other man¡¯s obviously superior strength winning him the bout.  The cultivator, however, continued to press forward.

    An aura of fiery qi surrounded the man¡¯s blade before he swung again.  Siyuan¡¯s eyes widened right before he instinctively jumped.

    A flaming slash swept the ground underneath him, just narrowly missing.  When Siyuan touched back to the ground, aiming his blade at the man in front of him and swinging it at him.  The man brought his flaming blade up, blocking the slash before swinging it downwards at Siyuan.  Siyuan hopped backwards as another large flaming slash slammed into the ground where he once stood.

    Large flames followed the trail of the blade, stretching past the blade¡¯s range and shooting into Siyuan¡¯s body.  The protective layer of qi enveloping his upper body sparked as the flames slammed into him, launching him backwards once again.

    Ah, how could I be so stupid?! he thought as he scrambled back onto his feet.  Of course he¡¯d know ¡®Sword¡¯ as well as qi reinforcement!  How could something like that slip my mind?!

    ¡°Sword¡±, the sister skill to basic qi reinforcement.  By projecting qi outwards at the time of an attack, the user would be able to let the qi explode forward, greatly increasing the attack¡¯s range and power.  It worked on mostly the same concepts that ¡°Arrow¡± did, though it required the user to be able to deeply understand the concepts of qi reinforcement.  Even in the Lower Reaches, only the more talented and accomplished of students, including Luo Han of course, were able to ever get a grasp of qi reinforcement, much less ¡°Arrow¡±.

    Why hasn¡¯t he used that before?  Was he intentionally holding back?  Crap¡­

    The man barreled forward, a grin on his face, as he swung his flaming sword at Siyuan again.  And just as before, a massive flaming slash shot towards him, one that was too fast and large for him to dodge.  Siyuan raised his arms in a block as the flames slammed into him once again.  His qi armor sparked, still able to hang on, but just barely.  He was sent right back to tumbling along the ground, rolling backwards.

    He aimed a finger at the man, attempting to fire several Arrows at him.  The man just simply swung his blade downwards at Siyuan¡¯s direction, releasing another large slash of flames.  The stronger qi easily dissipated Siyuan¡¯s Arrows before, once again, hitting Siyuan full force.

    This time, his armor didn¡¯t hold.  It absorbed some of the attack for Siyuan one last time before shattering into many shining, golden sparks as he was sent flying backwards once again from the impact of the attack.  Siyuan landed on his back into a small batch of the flowers, some of which had been charred black at this point.Stolen story; please report.

    Ah¡­dammit¡­the strength gap is too large¡­

    He groaned in pain, feeling the impact of the man¡¯s heavy attack.  The front of his robes were scorched and there was a noticeable burn along his abdomen where he was hit.  As he heard the heavy thumps of the man¡¯s footsteps near him, he slowly got up, a hand to the spot where he still felt the searing burn of the man¡¯s previous attack on his abdomen.

    ¡°Too bad, kid, you should¡¯ve just let my men knock you out when we first got here,¡± he said with a sigh as he continued forward.  The tip of his flaming blade scorched some more of the remaining flowers in the patch they were in.  ¡°I¡¯d absolutely hate to take the life of a young¡¯un such as yourself, but you did kill one of my men.  And I can¡¯t just let that go so easily.¡±

    The man neared him.  Siyuan raised his blade, but the motion itself felt useless.  As he slowly raised his sword, the man raised his in tandem, the flaming blade pointed up at the sun.

    No way, am I really going to die here?

    As if his brain had also come to that conclusion, his life began to flash before his eyes.

    He had heard about that phenomenon from his relic smithing sensei one day, back when he was working on a project and his sensei had started up some small talk.  Siyuan didn¡¯t wholly believe it at the time.  In his mind, it would only make sense that, as someone faced certain death, all they¡¯d be able to think about was the fear that came before death.  Of course, he hadn¡¯t known at the time since at that point, he had never came face to face with a situation where he had never come face-to-face with death like that.

    Then there was his encounter with the Tier 5 demon.  Before he blacked out, charging an Arrow with qi taken directly from his nascent soul, the core of his vitality with the demon¡¯s sharp tail speared right through his abdomen, all he could think about was Luo Han, his best friend.  His solemn hope that his efforts would allow his best friend to get away¡­and live to fulfill that potential everyone in the sect, including Siyuan, could see in him.

    Perhaps¡­that phenomenon had happened at that moment.  Siyuan couldn¡¯t remember.

    But now, he could vividly see it.  From the moment he had first laid foundation and become a cultivator, all the way to the moment that he woke up to his mysterious new master who had saved him from the brink of death.  He felt the deep sorrow in his heart, the disappointment in himself that here, underneath the blade that would take his life, he had wasted his master¡¯s efforts and his resources.

    It was at that time that his eyes fell upon a singular, purple flower.  A single sharpshooter flower, of which his master had told him to use as training, standing amidst a patch of other charred flowers.

    Then something strange happened.  He couldn¡¯t quite explain the feeling.  The closest thing he could relate it to¡­was like seeing a sudden spark of light within the darkness of his mind.

    This feeling¡­he had felt this before.  A long time ago, seemingly an eternity ago, when he first decided to forge his own body and nascent soul into a relic.  And again, when he finally found out just how to do it.

    The bulky man in front of him finally swung his blade down on Siyuan as the cultivator broke out of his ruminations.

    Then, with the speed that had been so characteristic of him, he immediately raised a finger and, mustering a bit of the remaining qi in his reserves, he charged an Arrow¡­and shot it right at the ground at the man¡¯s feet.

    The man¡¯s eyes widened as he disengaged his swing and brought it down to block his feet just as the projectile reached its target.  Golden light exploded against the man¡¯s bright flames as he was pushed backwards from the force of the blast, though not hard enough to even knock him off his feet.

    Siyuan didn¡¯t pay that any heed, however.  He wasn¡¯t even looking at his opponent, who held the very weapon that could bring about his death.

    In his eyes, all he could see was that single purple flower.

    Yes, I get it now.  I finally understand the key detail that I¡¯ve been missing.

    He closed his eyes.  In front of him, the man raised his flaming blade once again before barreling forward like a burning, fiery force of nature.  And when he does bring that blade down on Siyuan, it would release yet another powerful blast of searing hot flames that would leave Siyuan like the many flowers that had become collateral against the man¡¯s powerful attacks.

    All this time, I¡¯ve been trying to force my qi to move as quickly as possible from one place in my body to the other.  No, that is the wrong way to look at this.  I shouldn¡¯t be forcing the flow of my qi to change its own direction.  The correct way¡­

    He leaned forward, reaching out his hand.

    ¡­is like how one would redirect a river.

    The man finally swung his blade down at Siyuan, sending a powerful blast of white-hot flames at Siyuan.

    To ¡°guide¡± it, rather than force it.

    A torrent of golden qi, the remainder of what he had left in his meridians, suddenly exploded forward from Siyuan¡¯s fingertips.  Much larger and faster than the man¡¯s fiery Sword.  It ripped through the flames with ease, like the rays of the sun piercing through the clouds.

    The man¡¯s eyes widened.  However, that was all he could do before the golden, metallic qi punched right through his body.

    When Siyuan opened his eyes, there was a single, purple sharpshooter flower pinched between his fingers, its petals still intact.