"I need to know this before anything else, are you the one who trained those monkeys and gorillas? Why does every one of them know such a deadly technique?" I ask.
"It is currently my duty for this century to stand watch here and train the gorillas, but I and the previous holders of my position have nothing to do with the monkeys. They simply mimic the movements of the gorilla. As for the one hundred strike kill, it is the most basic of basic techniques taught to children in Shengdi, there is nothing special about it. Although for outsiders, I suppose it can be a bit of an issue, but proper use of Divine or Demonic Energy can negate its effects," explains the old man.
"Putting aside the business with the apes, who about you tell us who you are?" Aurelia asks.
"I believe it proper for the visitors to introduce themselves first and while you're at it, why not share your purpose for being here," the old man says.
"Fair enough, I am the current Imperatrix of the Lausiel Empire, Aurelia Lausiel, but you may now it better as the Empire that has tried to invade you lands over the past one thousand years. I'm here mostly to satisfy my curiosity and explore the land of my neighbour."
"Yes, I am aware of the actions your predecessors had taken, but I do not believe you will follow suit in their hegemonistic actions, especially with the inborn insight of the Eithgar. As for your exploration efforts, so long as you don't share information too much information, including that which involve the trials, to the outside world, then you may do as you please and you won't find us standing in your way."
"The names Cordelia. I'm here to further my evolution, I'm sure you were watching us this whole time but just in case you didn't know, I'm a Spirit Dragon. I'm looking for a way to obtain Divine Essence, I'm sure there's a way to get it since everything so far seems to make use of Divine Energy."
"If you seek Essence then you are an Elemental Spirit Dragon, moreover what you seek is a Divine Essence so there are only a handful of things you could be looking to evolve into. From the looks of it, you haven't progressed down the path towards Tier 9, thus there is only one choice left, you look to ascend straight to Legendary status by becoming a Cosmic Spirit Dragon. If this is the case then I will say that you can find more than just a way to grasp a Divine Essence, but whether you find it or not will be up to you. "
"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, I'm Lia Straellum. I'm here mostly to accompany Cory and like Aurelia, explore the continent, but as a scholar."
"I will give you the same warning I gave the young imperial leader, be mindful of what you share with the outside world. Especially regarding the trial, the gorillas are one thing, but it's hard to get those monkeys to do what we want."
"I figured that would be the response I get, but is no one going to point out how we are all able to understand him?" Lia asks.
"I hadn't even noticed the issue. Since he called out to us at first I had just put it in the back of my mind but now that I actually think about it the language he is speaking isn't something I verbally understand yet I can grasp the meaning behind each word," Aurelia says.
"Nor can I understand your words, save for Miss Cordelia, but language is not a problem in these lands. The people here will understand the meaning of your words and vice versa, although some jokes may go unnoticed. Anyway, it should be our turn to introduce ourselves now. I am Li Yu, head of the Li family and the current century's Mountain Lord. My third disciple, go on and introduce yourself, you had wanted to meet the outsiders, no?"
"Yes Master," the young adolescent says, stepping out from behind the old man, "I am Yang Chen, the third disciple of Master Li Yu. Previous outsiders who visit Shengdi properly are very well known and as one of the first people to greet you I hope you can live up to their legacy. But from the stories I've heard, it's been almost ten thousand years since an outsider has visited properly."
Excited, the young boy continues, "According to what I've heard the previous outsider completed his training and successfully underwent apotheosis, attaining Diety status and left our lands. He was considered to be one of the great prodigies of all the outsiders, even us locals very rarely see someone complete apotheosis. When he left he took on the name Speur the Sky Knight, have you heard of him? From what I heard he was the second disciple of my Master's Grandmaster, but Master Li Yu won't tell me anything more than the common stories."
Hearing his words, Aurelia has a surprised look on her face and Lia's expression, after thinking for a little also shifts to one of surprise and shock.
"Is there something I'm missing here? Why are you both so shocked?" I ask.
"Speur the Sky Knight is one of the Nature Gods. Although most people of the Empire are followers of the Church of Wisdom, there are still a few regions that still worship the Gods of Nature and Speur the Sky Knight is one of the more prominent ones," Aurelia explains.
"Speur the Sky Knight is also one of the loyal followers of the Lord of Storms, Tempesta. It was said that after challenging Tempesta to a duel, Speur lost but was spared. Later the Lord of Storms saved Speur's life after coming into conflict with the Lady of Conflagration. From there out of respect for both sparing and saving his life, Speur pledged his loyalty to the Lord of Storms," Lia adds on.
"Not even I knew that. I had never read about any story like that before, although there isn't much in regards to written stories about the Gods of Nature." Aurelia says.
"That's because these stories are passed down orally through each generation. The Dragonoids make up a large population of worshippers of the Gods of Nature. Although each clan has there own preferred God, we do still hear about the stories of the others."
"That certainly sounds like something my Martial Uncle would do. Picking a fight with someone stronger only to be saved afterwards for his folly. But now is not the time for reminiscing, now that introductions are out of the way, it's about time I brought you to the exit, follow me," Li Yu says as he turns around and guides us through the temple complex.
Taking us through the courtyard and passed the garden, we eventually arrive at another arch with a stairway leading down the mountain. But in the distance beyond the mountain, we see the magnificent landscape of the continent and all grand civilisation the mountains have hidden from the rest of the world. But it feels as though there are slight differences in the appearance of the three cities that can be seen from up here. At first glance, they seem to be of the same origin, but there are some subtle differences in the style of architecture.
"What's with the three cities?" I ask.
"So you noticed. They are the first cities an outsider would visit depending on which direction you take as you travel down the mountain. Our current location is a neutral area between the three nations on Shengdi. As you travel down the path will split into three. Taking the left path will lead you to the largest of the three and my homeland, Empire of Shenzhou. Moving straight will lead you towards the smallest of the three nations, situated between the others, the Kingdom of Samhan. The path on the right will lead you to the Yamato Empire. This is as far as I will take you as I am not to leave the mountain summit. Should you choose to leave within the next 84 years then we will see each other again, farewell."
Leaving us behind, the master-disciple pair left and returned to the temple complex as we began to journey down the mountain. Before long we came across the diverging pathway with written signs naming each of the three nations.
"So where should we go?" Lia asks.
"I want to go to all three of them," I say.
"I'm fine anywhere," Aurelia says.
"Since there isn't any one place we want to go to first, why not just spin a stick and go in whatever direction it points us to," I propose.
"Nothing wrong with leaving it to fate. I'll go break off a branch," Lia says as she breaks a small branch off of one of the nearby trees.
With the stick in hand, I place it on the ground and give it a good spin. After a few moments, it comes to a stop, deciding out direction.
"Guess that's where we're heading now. Let our exploration begin."