Making his way into his new gated home, Hong Zhao looked around for the Li siblings. Since Shadow had given them both of the qi stones he had instructed him to, he bet they were in their rooms cultivating. "That might be for the best." Hong Zhao said as he looked down at his clothes. Though they were black, he could pick up the telltale signs of blood discoloring them. He knew he must be covered from head to toe.
Taking off the clothes, he went over to the shower area and brought them in with him. He took off the sliding board and allowed the cool water to sprinkle down onto his head. He could see the small trickle of red spiderwebbing down his body as the blood was washed away. He took out some soap from his storage ring and expedited the process. Less than five minutes later, he put the sliding board back into place, took another large barrel of water from his storage ring to refill the water he had used, and got dressed once more in a crisp qi blocking uniform he had also taken out.
Hong Zhao took his time going to the stream behind his home, he used the stream to wash away the blood from the uniform, then used his vortex thrust movement ability to speed dry the clothing before storing it back in the ring. Now that he was as presentable as he was going to be, he headed back to the entrance to the gate and walked to the house.
"Welcome back, Master." Shadow opened the door before Hong Zhao was able to. The shadow panther had a plate of grilled fish in one hand, and the door in the other. "If you are hungry, I prepared this for you."
"Did you make enough for everyone?" Hong Zhao raised an eyebrow. The fish did smell tantalizingly good. He had been eating the wild beast meat of the enemies he had killed for far too long.
"Yes, Master. There is more on the table. The siblings are already eating their fill." He began walking towards the dining area with Hong Zhao in tow.
"I didn't think I could trust the magical beast that Hong Zhao had become friends with, but he doesn't seem all that bad." Hong Zhao heard Li Wei say with her mouth full.
"If he can cook like this, I hope they never part ways." Li Wuhan responded with his mouth equally as stuffed.
"I'm glad you both approve of Shadow's culinary expertise," Hong Zhao appeared from around the corner, smiling at their expressions. "But we have more to talk about than a fish fry." He took his seat on the other side of the table than the siblings. He noticed as he entered that their qi had become much more condensed, they had an aura of strength they did not the previous day. "You broke through." He said simply with a smile.
"So did you, to the ninth star rank." Li Wuhan observed after he swallowed his fish. "It seems that little brother will always be one step ahead of us." He said wryly.
"That might be true, but not by much. This is why I've decided what we will do for the last six months of training. We will be going to the stone lion area of the forest and work on our teamwork." He took a bite of his own fish and his eyes widened with delight. "This is damn good fish."
"Thank you, Master." Shadow purred from the kitchen.
"The stone lion area?" Li Wei asked to get Hong Zhao back on topic. "We haven't even run into it yet. That's where you got the corpses you gave to Li Wuhan?"
Hong Zhao nodded. "The average level of beast within this area will be eighth star student rank. You will have to work together in order to bring them down. I will be observing and making sure you don't need assistance. After you are close to my level, I will join you and we will go further into the forest than even I have gone." He looked seriously at the two siblings. "I've already encountered Zi Bai, the magical beast within the stone lion dungeon. If he was there, then there might be even higher levels we need to be concerned about further in the forest. It's important that we all learn each other's strengths and weaknesses if we are to overcome this challenge. I think we might have a chance against whatever the City Lord sends our way, as long as we fight as a well oiled machine, instead of separate powers."
Li Wuhan and Li Wei looked at each other with slight confusion. Hong Zhao knew he used a reference they were unfamiliar with, but he was hoping they would at least get the gist of it. He sighed. "Li Wei, your fans can carry you for a good half hour, yet you can stay in place for more than three. This might have changed in terms of power since you gained more qi from breaking through. We need to see how long you can fly, versus how long you can hover. Then we need to see if this time changes if you have to carry others with you. I don't think you've had the chance to try flying with others, but if you can, it could come in handy with my qi shot. If you can also use the fans as shields against other attacks, you could be the defensive ability me and your brother need in order to charge into combat." Hong Zhao looked at Li Wuhan. "I need to see how well you can fight along side someone with your sword. We need to learn coordinated attacks, and I need to teach you a few new abilities to advance your fighting capabilities. You will be my right hand for all intents and purposes."
Li Wuhan bowed his head slightly. "I will do my best not to slow you down, little brother."
"We have a lot of work to do and little time. I doubt the City Lord will hold true to our prediction of reaction time. We need to find a way to supplement each other's strength, and the only way I can think to do this, is to train the crap out of us. There will be only minimal sleep. I will test your reaction time. There will be enemies within the camp while we sleep to judge your alertness at any time. This will not be a game, and it will not be the training you are used to. Be ready for hell, because that's what's getting ready for you."