Bright morning light flooded through the room as Elizabeth awoke. She rubbed her cheeks clear of her tear streaks. Sniffling her clogged nose, she felt her head ache. That miraculous dream faded from her memory like a hazy smoke, disappearing with every wave. Before long, she forgot what she dreamt about. Yet, Elizabeth would never forget what mattered. Elizabeth smiled and rolled in her bed. As she faced the window, she saw the vast blue skies outside. The cloudless sky, the rich blue, the rising twin suns, and the snow-touched buildings made for a beautiful sight. A renewed energy coursed through her body. She jumped to her feet, finding a new spring in her step. That was right. Regardless of what storms may come her way, as long as she pursued her own happiness, she would stay true to her heart!
Coincidentally when she stood up, a soft knocking came from her door. "Elizabeth, are you awake?" Shirley asked. To arrive this early in the morning, Elizabeth showed a bitter smile. She must have worried her friends a lot.
"Give me a moment."
Elizabeth straightened her hair and tidied her face before regarding the rest of her room awkwardly. From her tantrum last night, she trashed basically everything. It was a complete mess! She was too embarrassed to explain things to her friends, so she hurriedly shoved the mess into a corner and threw a blanket on top. Although it looked silly, it was the best she could do. With that, she prayed that it would go unnoticed and let her friends in. However, how could her friends not notice? Benedict was a Fundamental Realm Master and Shirley was a Half-Perception Realm. Even without their heightened senses, someone like Freon could hear the ruckus inside. They saw the crude pile of debris in the corner and frowned, coming up with their own conclusions.
"This…" Benedict had an obvious look of concern.
"I told you we should've left her alone," Freon murmured. After all, it was Benedict who pestered them into coming this early. He did not even eat breakfast, yet which made him especially grumpy.
Benedict ignored him and asked Elizabeth, "Are you alright?"
"It's nothing! You don't worry about it," Elizabeth explained in a rush which only left Benedict speechless. There was obviously something wrong!
"Should we come back later?"
"No, no, it's fine! You can come inside!"
At her behest, they were ushered inside. They then sat down at the barren table and regarded the devastated room with shock. Yesterday, the room was filled with trinkets, articles, and furniture, but today, it was emptied out into the corner… leaving quite a jarring sight. It was easy to imagine how furious Elizabeth must have been! Their looks of concern embarrassed Elizabeth further and flushed her cheeks a bright red. She wanted to dig herself a hole and jump in it! Benedict and Freon were at a loss for words, but Shirley was Shirley in the end. Her emotional sensitivity was far higher than the two and she could keenly sense the calmness in Elizabeth's demeanor. It was not the sign of someone pretending. Elizabeth was genuinely okay!
"What happened?" Shirley asked.
She thought that Elizabeth wanted to become the next queen, and so she trained herself for an entire year to succeed. Anyone would have been distraught at the thought of losing, and Elizabeth was no exception. The mess in the corner was the greatest proof of this. Yet, Elizabeth changed attitudes overnight? Shirley was understandably confused.
"Nothing happened," Elizabeth shook her head. "But I did figure out what I should do… No, what I want to do. I'm no longer interested in becoming the next queen. I'm going to do things my own way!" She showed a vibrant and earnest smile which stunned her friends. The difference between her yesterday and today was shocking to behold. It was like two different people!
"What… are you planning to do?" Freon questioned her with a hint of unease. He had a bad feeling about this.
"I plan to speak with the Sword King again and this time, I'll be honest and directly ask for his aid."
In the afternoon, Sword King Sin and his two disciples returned upon Elizabeth's request. The eldest disciple, Hidek, read over a long series of documents, his face fixed in a slight frown. Everything that the Alzar Kingdom uncovered about the Featherwind Sect was written down in excruciating detail. From the fact they were sentient intelligence birds wielding Martial Energy to the fact they were responsible for singlehandedly destroying Liguang… Everything was included! He could hardly believe it! Although he was a Perception Realm Master, standing near the zenith of power in the human world, the Featherwind Sect's feats exceeded his imagination of what was possible. Could birds really accomplish all this? It sounded like a fairy tale, not an official military report!
He gathered his thoughts and raised a skeptical face. "Is this really true?"
"How could it be true?" Lanar scoffed. "Birds wielding Martial Energy? What's next? Pigs that can fly? They must be looking down on us!"
"It does seem unreasonable." Hidek was also unhappy.
"I promise you that everything written down has been confirmed by multiple sources, including myself," Elizabeth said. "You can tell I'm not lying, correct?"
"You might not be lying, but who knows what other schemes you have?" Lanar laughed. "We can't take your word for it."
"What do you think, master?" Hidek realized how quiet his master was being, so he asked. He thought that his master would be the first to denounce this blatant attempt in trickery.
The Sword King glossed over the papers and calmly explained, "Before I joined the Whispering Shadow, I was stuck on Perception Realm Master for a long time. I wandered the world from north to south, from east to west, to figure out the next step forward, but despite scouring the whole world, I couldn't find a single clue. Since there were too few past Instinct Realms, there were no written records for me to learn from. It seemed hopeless. Because I couldn't find my way here, I decided to take a gamble and travel through the wilderness."
Everyone reflexively perked their ears up. Who had not heard of the infamous wilderness before? It represented the vast, unexplored, and uncontrolled territory beyond the human world. No one knew how far the true world stretched. It might even be endless! What they did know though was that this seemingly boundless land housed risk and reward alike. Once, a man returned from the wilderness with a rare rock, claiming that it was a priceless one-of-a-kind treasure. Everyone shrugged off his claims as insanity, except for one curious researcher who took a closer look. As it turned out, it contained a heaven-defying medicine! In the end, a wealthy prince bought it and left the man with bags full of riches, or so the story goes. There were many of these stories throughout history, which left a deep yearning for adventure. Everyone wanted to explore the wilderness for a chance to turn their fate around! However, it was also fraught with danger. Out of ten, only one might survive the trip back. That was why everyone was curious what the Sword King encountered out there.
"The truth was I didn't discover Martial Energy. In fact, I learned it out in the wilderness," the Sword King exposed an explosive truth. "As you might know, the wilderness was said to be extremely dangerous and inhospitable. I thought that as a Perception Realm Master, I might be able to handle it, but unfortunately, what I saw out there proved how naïve my thinking was…
"One day, I came across a python and a bison fighting, but they were far from normal. The python was a gigantic python with six butterfly-like wings that could fly. When it breathed out poison, it could kill everything around it. The bison had fiery hooves and lightning horns. Wherever it pointed its horns, a streak of lightning would follow. Furthermore, they could use Martial Energy and Magic Energy as casually as breathing. They destroyed the entire forest in their battle, and I almost died too."
(He must be talking about the Sky-devouring Six-winged Python and the Sky-thundering Infernal Bison. They're both fiercely territorial and rival beasts. From the sounds of it, they were probably Rank 3 Beast Kings,) Rena surmised out of the sudden.
(Rank 3 Beast King?) Elizabeth was startled. (What's the difference between that and a regular King?)
(It means they're beasts that happened to become Rank 3 Kings by chance or coincidence, not by conscious effort alone. Therefore, people consider them not an authentic Rank 3 King.)
(It's possible to become a Rank 3 King by chance?) Elizabeth widened her eyes.
(Anything is possible given enough time and resources. The wilderness is far larger than you could ever imagine,) Rena stated. (The main problem is that these Beast Kings are highly unpredictable, having retained their animalistic tendencies. They're much harder to handle than a normal King. He was fortunate to have survived at all.)
"I observed their battle for days until I learned Martial Energy from them. Through that experience, I was able to break through the shackles of Perception Realm Master and enter Half-Instinct Realm. It would take me many more years before I stepped into Instinct Realm. Hence, I believe Her Highness's story. The Featherwind Sect must be from the wilderness."