In a dark room.
A small, ghastly purple flame lit the room.
Multiple opened books lined a wooden table.
At the very back of the table was a pot-sized bronze cauldron cloaked in darkness.
The pages of these books were flipped back and forth quickly, as a figure looked over them.
A black eyepatch covered almost a full half of the figure's face, as a purple eye shifted swiftly.
Creaak!
The figure glared as the door behind them was slowly opened.
" So you were in here again!" Old Lin looked helplessly at Aria.
" You know, just because that thing enhances your sight, you shouldn't read in the dark! You will damage your remaining eye!" Old Lin scolded.
"...Is there something you need? Master." Aria asked.
"...How long are you going to stay like this? Your young master just left for a while, why are you behaving as if the world is ending?!" Old lin held the back of his neck.
"..." Aria got up.
" Thank you for allowing me to study from your books, master. I will take my leave for today." Aria bowed deeply.
" Who allowed you?! You just came in by yourself! And if you are going to read them anyway, at least do it outside of the storage room!" Old Lin pointed as he scolded.
"...I understand." Aria said after a pause.
" Ahhh! You said the same thing last time too!" Old Lin shouted.
"...Hey." Old Lin called out.
"..." Aria stopped.
" Are you seriously planning on teaching those kids pill refining?" Old Lin asked.
" Yes," Aria said.
" Even though one mistake could cost their lives?" Old lin asked.
"...Since you, master, refused to teach them, I will. Also, I would thank you, master, to stop calling them children." Aria said.
" They are adults. And while saying they are free to do as they wish might not be one-hundred percent true, they were at least given the freedom to choose whether or not they wanted to learn." She finished.
"...Is that brat so important that you would put the lives of others at risk for his sake? Aria." Old Lin's eyes narrowed as the air in the room became stiff.
"...Yes, because the young master paved the way for me when I was lost." Aria said.
" He is my everything because I would have nothing without him. So while you are my 'master', I would like to ask that you show some respect when referring to 'him'." Aria's voice chilled as she glared over her shoulder.
"..." Old Lin was speechless as his jaw dropped.
" Tsk." Aria clicked her tongue in contempt.
' Did she just?!' Old Lin's soul crawled from his mouth in shock.
" Why is every room in this place white? Annoying." Aria mumbled as her mental energy flame dissipated, causing the purple to vanish from her eye.
" Hold it." Old Lin called out once again.
"..." Aria stopped in her tracks.
" We will finish this conversation later, but..." He paused.
"...!?" A chill went up her spine.
" Where are you going when it is time for class?" Old Lin asked.
" While I might be carefree most of the time, you should know that I take learning and teaching very seriously." He continued.
"..." Beads of sweat appeared on Aria's forehead.
" Let's get to studying. And don't worry, I DEFINITELY WON'T hold a grudge for earlier. DEFINITELY won't." Old Lin watched Aria with dead eyes as he said with a humorless chuckle.
...
In a large canyon.
Kuraaakk!!
A loud screech echoed.
" Come on! Don't let it get away!" A slightly tanned, bald, muscular figure shouted.
" The 'dowsing cords' aren't easy to direct! Cut us some slack!" A man shouted.
" Seriously though, if someone were to tell me this was the same cloud continent, I wouldn't believe them!" Don looked up.
Flat boulders were stacked on top of the canyon, on both sides.
" And for christ's sake...Who the hell stacked those boulders?! What possessed them to put them there?! Now I have to live in constant fear of them falling!" Don mumbled anxiously to himself.
" Aiyaya! It's moving too fast! My hands! Then the cord is cutting through my palms, it burns!" A muscular woman hissed.
" Huh?" Don looked around.
" Gyahaha! Maybe you should warm someone's bed instead! This here's a job for fearless men!" A balding man with a big fuzzy mustache berated.
" You!" The woman shouted.
" Me what?! What do you-" The man felt something tugging at his leg.
" Ahhh! wha-wha-what are you doing! control your cord properly! Quickly let me down!! Down!!!" Before he knew it, he was dangling upside down in the sky.
" Pfft! Fearless man my backside!" The woman squeezed out a laugh.
" What the hell are you guys doing?! Stop screwing around!" Don's eyes almost popped out as he shouted in a high-pitched voice.
" Do you want to fall short of our daily quota?! Do you want that crazy lady to come out here again?! Do you?!" He shouted.
" When she came the last time, that jewelry wearing, stupid-looking sect master was left sweating by the time she left!" Don recalled.
" If that female demon comes here, all of us are screwed, got it?!" His face paled as a shiver went up his spine.
" Then you help too! Controlling these things is not easy! Plus, we have to worry about the mental attacks of this 3-eyed vulture!" Sweat poured down a man's face.
Kuraaaakkk!
An even louder screech echoed.
" Hey, look out!" Someone shouted.
" Ah?!" A man turned around only to see a glowing red eye outline flying towards him.
" Ah-" Before he could scream, it slammed into his forehead.
After a split-second, he fell to his knees, his eyes rolled back as foam bubbled at his mouth.
' Scary!' Don hugged himself and rubbed as if to warm himself up.
" But...something scarier will arrive if we don't work!" He gathered his courage as he walked up to the man.
He took a thin black cord from the man's hands, before looking up at the sky.
" Humph! Don't let up! We must capture this mutated beast!" Beads of sweat formed on Don's forehead.
Qi erupted from his body.
At the ends of all of the black cords was a cylindrical piece of metal.
Decorative carvings lined the surface of the metal, as a dim purple glow cloaked it.
" Kuk! it really is hard to control!" Don mumbled.
Kuraaaak!
The 3-eyed vulture screeched once more as multiple black cords wrapped around its neck.
" Ahh! Don't shoot it at me!" A man shouted in horror.
" Dammit, get down here!" A man pulled with frustration.
" Pull!!" The group shouted simultaneously.
" Why do I end up in terrifying situations no matter where I go? I wanna go home..." Tears silently streamed from Don's eyes.
...
On a balcony.
" Is that true?!" A man sat with his eyes closed, a large burn scar on his face.
" Very much so." A woman wore provocative clothing that covered only her most private privates.
The only place that was covered, in fact overly so, was her head.
A large black 'hat' covered her head and face, even obscuring her neck.
It had a box-like shape, with blue pearls lining the two sides of both the front and the back.
" Hoho, so that is the case...you can remove foreign mental energy from your body..." Ling smiled deviously.
" Is something the matter?" The lady asked.
" No, not at all. Let us continue this conversation." Ling took a sip of something from a bamboo cup as he overlooked beautiful scenery.
...
In a certain tailor's room.
"..." Old gray sat in silence, a cup of wine in hand.
He glanced with difficulty in a certain direction.
" Little girl, how long are you going to gloomily sit there for?" He forced out a smile and spoke sweetly.
"..." Nerezza sat silently, her head down as her hair covered her face.
' Gah! Not only don't I have the money to buy proper wine, but now I can't even drink my cheap wine in peace!' Old gray screamed in his heart.
' Boy, hurry and come back! Save this only man from this tyrant!' Old Gray prayed as a tear squeezed from his eye.
...
Jade Sword Continent.
Step! step!
Three figures walked single-file.
With every step, a crumpling or light crunch would sound as they climbed the fairly flat mountain.
The fallen leaves, along with small dead branches would crack and break under their weight.
"...Hey!" Adam suddenly called out.
" Yes?" Mr. Tempest answered.
" When we had arrived at the foot of the mountain, how did you find us?" He asked curiously.
" Does it have something to do with the giant thing we saw on our way here?!" He asked.
" Hmm, that is correct." Mr. Tempest smiled.
" I found your location with this token." Mr. Tempest handed Adam a circular wooden token.
" With this?" Adam looked at it from different directions, even tapping and poking it at times.
" Haha, it is not a mechanism. The token is part of the array surrounding this place." Mr. Tempest chuckled.
" Not a mechanism? Array? How does it work, then?" Adam scratched his head in confusion.
" Well, along with that one, there are also many others." Mr. Tempest curled his finger.
A drawer on the compacted table opened, as multiple tiny tokens flew out.
After leaving the drawer, they grew in size.
" The array works like this; Each of these tokens represents a certain distance around the array's 'surface'." Mr. Tempest began explaining.
"Let's say that someone passes through the array at some point, depending on where they pass through, one of these tokens will shine brightly and release a sound." Mr. Tempest said.
" Oh!" Adam's eyes sparkled,
" So that means that when leever went back and forth through that invisible wall, one of these tokens light up repeatedly?" Adam returned the tokens.
" Oi." Levi grabbed the back of Adam's head as he glared.
" S-Say no to violence~," Adam said with a weak voice.
Levi silently glared.
" N-No...?" He asked.
" What...do you think!" As if throwing a ball, Levi pulled back his arm before sweeping it forward.
Adam's body weighed his head down, causing his face to be planted in the ground.
" And who the hell are you calling 'leever'?! 'Leh-vie'! My name is pronounced, 'Levi'!" Levi said.
" Le-Le-" Adam looked up at Levi.
" That's it! Go on!" Levi stooped down as he spoke with an encouraging expression.
" Leviathan?" Adam said inquiringly.
" Y'know what..." Levi pulled his sword from its sheath.
" Since you can't use it properly, you don't need it, right? Give me your tongue!" Levi squeezed Adam's face between his fingers as he looked into his mouth.
" Ah! 'ait! Shop! Shop!" Adam pleaded.
" Ah? Ate? Shop? We're on a mountain, no food shops for you here." Levi wore an exaggerated bloodthirsty grin.
" Hmm? Wha! When did he get so far!" Adam suddenly got up from the ground.
" Oops..." He looked down at Levi who rubbed his aching chin.
" Yeah...I'm really going to kill you," Levi glared as he rubbed his chin.
" Ahhh! Save me senior! There's a maniac!" Adam ran towards Mr. Tempest.
" Stick out your neck for me!" Levi shouted, hot on his heels, sword in hand.
" Hmm? There you both are." Mr. Tempest looked over his shoulder.
" Huff! Huff! Why did you leave us behind?!" Adam panted.
" Hmm. Well it's true that I'm guiding you, but it's you two who should be trying to keep up with me, isn't it?" Mr. Tempest asked.
"..." Adam was rendered speechless.
"Let's continue then." Mr. Tempest said.
"...Yes." Adam answered.
"...When did we end up on a cleared path?" Levi looked down at the dirt path leading up.
...
A few minutes later.
"..." Adam and Levi walked behind Mr. Tempest silently.
'...Demon saint.' Levi called out.
' Hmm? What are you calling this demon for again?' Thd demon saint answered.
' Do you...want it?' Levi asked.
' Want what?' The demon saint asked.
' His body.' Levi gaze shifted as Adam came into view.
' Huh? That guy?' The demon saint saw Adam's figure.
' Believe it or not, he has strong mental energy. That was one of the conditions you needed to fill to steal a body, right?' Levi explained.
' Hehehe, how evil, offering up your friend's body.' The demon saint laughed darkly.
' Friend?' Levi questioned as his sharp pupil dilated
' Although, regretfully, I will have to refuse!' The demon saint said.
'...Why?' Levi questioned.
' Well, it is true that the body needs to have mental energy.' The demon saint said.
' But it has to be freshly awakened. Those who have awakened mental energy for a long time tend to be more resistant to it.' He continued.
' I'm not gambling with my life here! If I had a choice between trying to steal your body right now or living in here forever, do you know which I would choose?' He asked.
'...' Levi kept silent.
' The latter! Neve the former! furthermore, after everything that happened, who would want the body of a freak like you?!' The demon saint shouted with a trace of frustration.
" Fre-!?" Levi mumbled as a vein bulged on his face.
' Tell the truth demon saint. You've...just gotten lazy, right?' Levi asked.
' La?! Lazy?!?' The demon saint shouted in a high pitched voice.
' Slander! This is slander! Apologize to this demon right now!' The demon saint protested.
" Humph!" Levi snorted triumphantly.
"..." Adam looked back at Levi.
" What is it?' Levi asked.
" Nothin', just..." Adam paused.
" Hmm?" Levi tilted his head.
" You should probably lift your foot higher," Adam pointed down.
" Huh?" Levi questioned.
Bang!
"..." Adam looked down silently.
" You bastard..." Levi spoke with a trembling voice.
" Wha?! I warned you, didn't I?!" Adam ran up the stairs.
" Warn me sooner jackass!!" Levi ran up the stairs behind him.
" Wah! And how is it that the stone step broke instead of your face?!" Adam wailed as he ran.
" So you wanted me to crack open my head, huh?!" Levi shouted angrily.
They didn't notice that the higher they went, the wider the steps became.
" Hah! That bastard is quite fast! Where the hell did these stairs come from anyway? They weren't in front of me the last time I checked." Levi mumbled.
" That's because you spaced out!" A voice sounded.
"...Hoh, you're really brave, huh." Levi said.
" Haha, come look at this!" Adam laughed as he ran back up the stairs.
" Huh?" Levi went up after some thought.
"..." His eyes widened as he saw the picturesque sight.
White stone lined where he stood, as well as all around the arced mountain top.
Below, on the other side of the mountain, large, long buildings lined its surface horizontally.
On these stone buildings were orange tile roofs with curved and pointed corners, along with black segments separating them.
As he looked further, below those buildings was a giant forest.
The roofs of square-shaped buildings stuck out of the large trees at random places.
In the distance, there was a tiny blue spot that caught Levi's attention for a few seconds.
In another place was a tiny, out of place clearing, where no trees stood.
" This place...is huge..." Levi remembered the size of the demonic god sect.
" The imperial city is definitely smaller..." He mumbled.
" Come now, you can't stare forever." Mr. Tempest said.
" Huh..." Levi shifted his gaze.
He was lost in thought.
" Well, the stairs are over here. Unless you are planning on jumping down?" Mr. Tempest asked.
" Oh, n-no." Levi came back to his senses.
He walked toward the large staircase.
" Oh!" Mr. Tempest suddenly called out.
" Yes?" Levi answered.
" Welcome. To the Great Sect Alliance." Mr. Tempest smiled.