Far, yet not too far away from Ellaris city, was an old dirt trail just wide enough fit a large carriage.
This old trail connected a few small villages in the surrounding area together, however more convenient and safer trails had since been created, nowadays only the locals who knew the area well would occasionally use the trail.
Half way along this trail, far from any village was a large carriage that was clearly built for luxury and comfort, completely at odds with this old dirt trail. The carriage once held a dozen people and was escorted by half a dozen cavalry men, riding not horses but large agile reptiles with long sweeping tails.
The owner of this small caravan was a rich retired merchant whom had spent the last few years exploring the rural lands in the Heldan Republic. It had always been a hobby of his to see the various natural wonders of his home nation but he was also careful enough to hire a small retinue of experienced cavalry, for his safety.
However on this day, he would come to regret his curiosity and curse his luck.
In the darkness rendered by the canopy of the forest the large carriage had crashed into a large tree and the large beasts pulling the carriage had died gruesome deaths. Meanwhile the cavalry, beast and man alike, had fallen lifelessly onto the dirt trail, blood soaking into the ground turning it a deep red.
The most frightening part of this scene was the emotionless faces of the dead cavalry men, there eyes were open but there was no light left in them, it was as if they still believed they were guarding the caravan.
They never saw their end, even after they entered the next life.
Moments ago, after the carriage had crashed, the rich merchant barged out of his carriage screaming for answers after he was thrown about inside the carriage.
He was followed by a consort of fine ladies whom were clearly angered by this disturbance however when they saw the gruesome scene around them, they all froze in shock, a couple of the ladies even threw up or collapsed onto the floor in panic.
The merchant was the quickest to react, he grabbed a spear from one of the nearby cavalry men and quickly inspected his surroundings ready to fight.
He might be old and his belly might have had grown large but he was a Qi Grade 2 Cultivator at least, he knew some defensive techniques.
However as the merchant observed his surroundings he saw nothing.
It was late evening but the sun was still shining through the canopy of the forest giving him enough light to observe his surroundings, yet there was nothing to be seen.
There was no wind, no sound of small birds, nothing.
This creepy emptiness did nothing but scare this merchant further.
"Put your weapon down or die." A cold, emotionless voice suddenly commanded the merchant.
The merchant nearly jumped out his skin, he turned to where the sound of this voice originated from only to be further shocked at finding a cloaked figure standing not 10 meters from him, in a wide open space.
'How did I not see him?!' The merchant thought.
He was gripped by fear as he held onto the spear like it was his greatest treasure, yet he knew there was nothing he could do and slowly his grip loosened on the spear until it slipped onto the ground.
"Good." The cloaked figure said before turning to his side, bowing his head slightly towards a seemingly empty part of the forest.
The merchant carefully watched this area of the forest for any signs but his eyes grew wide and his mouth dropped as out of thin air over 50 similarly cloaked figures appeared.
Two cloaked figures at the front of this group seemed to confer with one another for a moment before the more obedient figure stepped forward.
He removed the cloak hanging over his head, revealing an old wrinkled face, his head thinly covered by long white hair.
Then this old man spoke to the merchant and his consort in a strangely kind and benevolent voice.
"Step forward if you wish to find truth in the world and understand your true place, only those with a truthful heart will find sanctuary and meet their purpose." The old man said with a seemingly genuine smile.
Naturally neither the merchant or any of his consort of women stepped forward immediately, it was only after a few seconds that a rather sly, intelligent lady stepped forward.
"I-I want to find the truth!" She called out loudly.
Under such a clear threat of death, no one would be stupid enough not to concede to this old man's request.
Soon enough, the other ladies and the merchant all stepped forward, a slight feeling of relief fell over the ladies however the merchant was experienced enough to know nothing would be as simple as this.
Over the short time he had been standing here, he had carefully looked at the corpses of his guards.
They were all experienced Qi Grade 2 cultivators led by a Qi Grade 3 cultivator, yet the merchant could see that they never saw there death coming.
Only powerful Qi Grade 4 or 5 cultivators could cause such swift deaths without thorough preparation and there was no way this group of cloaked figures had prepared for him as their target.
His wealth and position were all but spent, the merchant knew that he could only curse his luck for having run into this group and acquiesce to whatever they wanted.
The old man from the cloaked group, watched the merchant step forward before he turned back to his superior, awaiting a response.
His superior suddenly sighed before he removed the cloak from his head, revealing his face.
The merchant and his consort were noticeably moved by the sight of his face.
Not only was this man as handsome as a fairy-tale Prince, he was as beautiful as a fairy-tale Princess. He had long blonde hair that gently waved about, cold piercing blue eyes that captured any maidens heart and pale lustrous skin that made the merchants consorts jealous.
His features were clearly masculine yet no masculine words could describe his appearance, it was like seeing a master painter's portrayal of the most beautiful man.
For a moment the merchant and his consorts became absorbed in this beautiful man's appearance, forgetting their situation and the terror they should feel at seeing the leader a such a nefarious group.
"Kill them all." This beautiful man softly said, without an ounce of care.
Before the merchant and his consort could even react to his words, a flash of light swept by their bodies, separating each of them into a dozen chunks of flesh.
The Old man's smile didn't change in the slightest as he silently dispatched this group of people, he quickly turned back to the beautiful man to remind him of something.
"Apostle Wamu, the beast should have begun by now. We should quickly move to capture it, my subordinates can clean this area up." The old man said.
Apostle Wamu was clearly uninterested in the old man's words but he nodded nonetheless.
"Fine.. I hope this beast has some fight in it.. It would be a shame for this trip to be wasted.." Apostle Wamu softly said, completely absorbed in his own thoughts.
Apostle Wamu, followed by most of the cloaked figures then leaped into the air effortlessly. The old man then waved his hand producing an invisible wave in the air that quickly rendered them all invisible to the naked eye.
The few remaining cloaked figures quickly went to work on the merchants caravan remains, they used various strange Qi techniques, planted claw like marks in the surrounding terrain and further mutilated the corpses of both the animals and the people.
After 5 minutes any traces of Qi energy had been covered up, various marks seemingly made by various animals had appeared creating a scene resembling the aftermath of an attack by a large group of ferocious beasts.
Just before the cloaked figures left, they sprinkled a small amount of a yellow substance around, this substance would soon attract various nearby animals to have their way with the remnants of the caravan, completely disguising any signs of their presence.
=========
Some time later in another area of forest near Ellaris city, two shadows quickly flitted through the dense forest, one after another. They dashed through the forest, clambering up trees and leaping from branch to branch.
The first shadow the was more nimble and manoeuvrable, delicately grasping each branch as it followed the optimal route to escape from its pursuer.
The second Shadow however was faster but much more forceful, even though its movements were precise and quick, its control over its strength was limited causing it to damage the trees and leave deep footprints in the mud.
If not for its superior strength, allowing it to accelerate much faster than the first shadow, it would long have been left behind due to its lacking manoeuvrability.
These two shadows had been chasing each other for hours but the second shadow's endurance was slowly paying off, it was now only a few meters behind its prey.
Occasionally it would even lash out in an attempt to grab hold of the first shadow.
Then suddenly, just as the first shadow leaped over a large 20m gap between two thick branches, the second shadow took its chance to pounce on its prey.
Its legs bulged with power and its will became completely focused, every one of its muscles contracted before suddenly unleashing themselves in a forceful resonance.
The second shadow shot towards its target like a cannonball, its speed having tripled as its arms stretched out wide to collect its prey. As the second shadow reached its prey its arms coiled around it like two devious snakes before their combined mass fell into a bush and rolled across the grass filled ground.
Oddly enough, during this fall the second shadow protected its prey from any harm, its tough body far more durable than its preys.
After the short tumble, the pair of hunter and prey laid one on top of the other in a small pile of leaves, still breathing heavily.
"Haha..! I told you.. I'd get.. you today!" The hunter called out in triumph as it laid on its back, releasing its prey from its embrace.
"Hmph.. you cheated Casmir... There's no way you could catch up... to me... without using that Will Resonance state!" A slightly annoyed Zaya cried out in protest from on top of Casmir.
"Also!.. I'm not even using my Qi energy.. I'm Qi Grade 2 now remember.. I should kick your butt for taking advantage of me.." Zaya protested further, unwilling to play the part of the loser.
They were both tired and out of breath so neither of them wanted to move a muscle for a moment. It wasn't until Zaya realised that she was laying on top of Casmir in a rather compromising position, that she stood up albeit much slower that she perhaps could have.
"Ahem.. Also.. Why did you just fall like that? I know your body's tough, but that must have hurt?" Zaya asked as she examined Casmir's body for wounds.
Meanwhile, Casmir lightly brushed his slight pain off.
"Ahh don't worry, a little pain is worth it to catch you in my arms.." Casmir said rather casually.
His words unwittingly sent a slight shiver down Zaya's spine as a light euphoria spread throughout her body that made Zaya smile happily for just a moment.
Zaya quickly turned around to cover her smile, she then called an end to there practice for today.
"Come on Casmir! We've spent too long out here, we've got our wilderness trip after the weekend so we need to rest up.. That means no more training at home for the next few days!" Zaya commanded Casmir, her tone however was much softer and more playful than when they first met.
Her growing relationship with Casmir led her to see him much more like a disobedient play mate than someone she needed to teach.
Also it was true that their training had gone on longer than most days, if they left it any later it would start to get dark and they might get in trouble with the Ellaris Guardship.
The forest they were training in was in fact an extension of Ellaris park, only a kilometre or so from the city boundaries. They trained hear because it was a natural environment full of complex obstruction that one would experience in a real life fight, it was also home to various animals and the least dangerous breeds of ferocious beasts.
Hunting these animals would help them develop their skills naturally however this area would also be locked down at night by the Guardship, to prevent any truly dangerous animals from infiltrating the city.
As Casmir and Zaya walked back towards Ellaris, they talked about their lessons at the academy and their cultivation.
After 2 months, Zaya had completed her advancement to a Qi Grade 2 cultivator and was just a short time away from her first advancement to Grade 2.1. Having broke through to Qi Grade 2, Zaya's Qi energy was far stronger than Casmir's so during their training she would only use her physical strength, otherwise should would completely dominate Casmir.
Zaya had also began her training in the next stage of Qi control, Qi like water.
Training this level of control is to let their Qi energy flow around their body like as stream of water, gradually growing into a whirlpool. Mastering this stage until you can form a condensed whirlpool of Qi energy is the foundation to various powerful Qi techniques and a true hallmark of a skilled cultivation.
Casmir meanwhile, had made great progress thanks to his natural talent in Qi energy, he had reached Qi Grade 1.5 and had already spoken to Master Bluefire about his breakthrough to Qi Grade 2.
Breaking through a major boundary between Qi grades requires special Qi catalysts and Master Bluefire had already promised to give Casmir a Qi catalyst, so for now all he could do was wait.
Eventually Casmir and Zaya returned to Ellaris, parting ways as they returned to their homes.