In a dimly lit room with nothing but space, Azlan rested in lotus position with his eyes closed in a peaceful manner. Facing the only source of light, a round object emitted vibrant pulses of energy, oscillating within the room.
Within Azlan's mind, currents of earthly qi could be seen rushing towards his dantian from the monster core. Inside of his body, a surge of earthly qi quickly flooded his dantian, reaching the peak of what it could hold. The gush of raw qi flowed out from his dantian, escaping through his meridians. The raging power came to a standstill, tempering his body to its limit- every pore on the surface of his skin burst open with immense heat, as his skins humidity evaporated into steam.
Bang! A muffled explosion erupted from his body, cleansing the previously unseen filth merged within his skin.
Azlan's heavy expression lightened down, a small grin emerged from his delicate face.
"7th level of the body tempering stage; it seems there's still more energy left within this core, I'll definitely leave that brother of mine in the dust, haha!" Azlan laughed, falling out of his previous tranquil state of mind.
I've got to calm my nerves down before cultivating again, Azlan thought to himself, before once more closing his eyes and ignoring all surroundings.
Shortly after some time, the remaining qi from the core dimmed out, becoming devoid of power, followed by another explosion from Azlan's body.
The same process repeated itself, with a stronger muffled explosion erupting from his body this time around.
At the same time, Denzi also finished his cultivation, advancing synonymously with Azlan.
Azlan woke from his daze, standing up in exhaustion. He stretched every limb of his body, feeling a striking surge of power in his movement.
Punching the air, a small gust of wind fell into disorder, the power of his new body was vastly more powerful than before.
Smirking in self-satisfaction, Azlan left his chambers and arrived at the main hall, where his master would usually wait for the brothers.
Leisurely drinking his hot tea, Old Man Zagan looked towards the new Azlan, brimming with energy flowing about from his body.
"Oh? You've advanced by two levels, truly not bad!" Old Man Zagan's eyes lit briefly with light, examining Azlan's achievements.
"Hahaha, Master is being too ki-"
"Little fellow Denzi has also went up by two levels, congratulations!" Old Man Zagan rudely interrupted Azlan's speech, praising Denzi.
Azlan lightly harrumphed, annoyed as he hasn't been able to finish his words since yesterday.
Standing shoulder to shoulder now was a newly emerged 8th stage body tempering realm cultivator, and a 7th stage cultivator, being Denzi. Both appeared energetic and excited, looking passionately towards the old man.
Such monster cores truly were a treat for cultivators, being able to progress in such fast speed was only reserved for those of money, and those who could extravagantly spend it without a care.
Normal people would not hunt alone for monster cores, as it is too dangerous, usually venturing in a group and sharing loot. Thus, those with money shined brighter than those who put in effort, such a world was sad, but in the world of cultivation, all is fair game.
Old Man Zagan examined the brothers once more and stood up from his luxurious seat.
"Now that both of you have reached at least the 7th stage of the body tempering realm, we can visit the Feng kingdom's Grand Pagoda of Heaven" Old Man Zagan vocalized with some excitement in his voice.
"What's that?" Both the brothers replied in unison.
"The Grand Pagoda of Heaven is a large monastery spread across the world, the number of branches it has is unknown, it is an immensely important place all cultivators alike yearn to go to. In this place, cultivators are able to seek a myriad of techniques, whether its for combat or cultivation. However, such techniques are up to one's skill, if you cannot obtain it, then give up."
"Furthermore, there is a strange force which only allows for a cultivator to enter the pagoda once in their lifetime, so do not have any regrets and use your full strength!"
"That's all for now, we will leave early when the sun is up tomorrow. Go on then!" Old Man Zagan shooed them away with his hand.
Both the brothers looked at each other, still confused. But they knew, once Old Man Zagan said something, they would not be able to question it. Thus, they bowed in unison, leaving towards their chambers.
.....
Early in the morning, under the graceful shine of the golden sun, the trio set their sights towards the Feng Kingdom, and began to make their track from the Mountain of Swords, starting their new journey.
The path ahead was a treacherous one, from mountainy hill sides to vast green lands, ravines and alike awaiting to be crossed over. Despite these troubles, adventurers would still seek to explore the Jianghu, for this is what it meant to be a member of the Jianghu.
They say a martial artists does not turn old, if their heart still yearns for the Jianghu. This is the true essence of the Jianghu.
As the three ventured forth, they came across a large river, one which spread for miles about. Under the glimmering light of the sun, the water shattered shards of light in all directions, enchanting the already spring-like environment in more beauty.
Following Old Man Zagan's directions, the two brothers quickly journeyed across the river, jumping from rock to rock. By the time they'd reached the end, they could not even see where they had come from, as the new lands were filled with fog.
Gazing at the foggy sky, Azlan pondered how mysterious the world was, for it to work in such ways. From a sunny beautiful day to a foggy marshland, how much more was there from the world that he had not seen? Wondering about this, Azlan felt a strong sensation of excitement fill him, such a large world was waiting for him to explore!
As time flew by, the trio continued to journey until the night had arrived. Once more entering an open and lush, grass covered flatland, with little to no trees in sight, the trio finally decided it was time to rest, creating a small hut with sticks and stones.
Listening to the calming light rain fall upon the world, Azlan and Denzi quickly fell into a meditative state, harmonizing with the nature around them. Such natural places were natural treasures to cultivators, the earthly qi was much more potent than places people had civilized over with.
Using this to their advantage, the two spent the rest of the night cultivating, whilst Old Man Zagan watched over them, expanding his divine sense in a large radius around them, looking out for potential threats.
This divine sense was a sense unique to only those cultivators which have reached the Nascent soul realm, as the soul had been fully condensed, cultivators are able to sense the world around them in moderate detail.
And so, a night had passed, feeling as fast as the blink of an eye to Azlan and Denzi, Old Man Zagan once more lead the way, leading the brothers into the unknown lands.
"Master, why haven't we gone across any magical beasts? I thought the roaming lands within the Jianghu was filled with danger." Azlan questioned, whilst swiftly catching up towards Old Man Zagan.
"Little brat, you ask for trouble and here comes trouble! There is an ape like monster up ahe- oh? It seems to be a mutated ape, one without a monster core, yet it has an immense reservation of Qi within its body. How interesting, to run into a fiery demonic ape."
"What is that?" Denzi asked, rarely ever confused.
"It's a unique breed of the demonic ape race, it should still be a youth, hence why it hasn't established a monster core. But once they grow up, their natural element of fire is greatly destructive, melting even metal within instants."
"Normally I'd handle something like this myself but seeing that it is still in its weak phase, I'll let the two of you fight it. Treasures lie within danger, strength lies within practice and consistency, and to be the strongest, it lies within personal belief."
"I am saying this so you understand that not everything is given with a golden spoon, you must work for it yourself."
Azlan's eyes sparkled with light for a brief moment, it seemed he had understood something.
"Shall we, Brother Zi?" Azlan shouted, already rushing towards the fiery demonic ape without waiting for Denzi.
Denzi replied with actions rather than words, springing forward as well towards the ape.
"Graaaaaah!" The ape smashed his fist towards the ground, sending shock waves of dust towards Azlan.
"Shit!" Azlan was sent along with the shock wave, flying past Denzi.
Denzi looked back, delighting in his misfortune.
Serves you right, he thought.
Bang! The sound of metal clanking quickly reached Azlan's ears, the ape blocked Denzi's great sword with just a single arm.
His black fur heated up slowly, creating small sparks of fire to arise from his arm. Feeling the strong heat burn his hand, Denzi quickly stopped his clash against the ape, dashing back towards Azlan.
"This fellow is strong, we must work together to beat him" Denzi announced, focusing on the brute before him.
"Alright, I'll hold him off and you quickly slay him!" Azlan shouted, once more rushing into combat again, this time prepared.
The fiery demonic ape once more slammed the ground, sending shock waves towards Azlan. However, Azlan reacted differently this time, using his snake like movement to narrowly dodge the shock wave.
"Come at me!" Azlan yelled with full force, slashing his saber towards the beast. A similar sound of screeching metal filled the area again, clashing against the arm. Once more, the ape started to heat his arm up, but this time Azlan pushed forward with his full force, capturing the ape's attention for a split second.
In this split second, Denzi glided from the air, his great sword swinging, striking towards the ape's head. Feeling a sense of danger, the ape moved his arm away from Azlan's saber, however it was too late. His head fell off his shoulders, spurting a fountain of burgundy coloured blood.
"Well done, fights should be fast. The objective is to kill, a single mistake will lead to death. Do not treat this lightly again." Old Man Zagan commented, criticizing their style of fighting.
Noticing his grave expression, both Azlan and Denzi took his words to heart. A battlefield was not a place to be taken lightly, a mistake would lead to death. Noting this, the trio continued forward towards the Feng kingdom.
Along the way, more and more beasts interrupted, however these battles were short as they were not of threat, not even harnessing a monster core.
Finally, night arrived, they were just but a few hours away from the kingdom. Despite this, Old Man Zagan suggested they were to rest for the night, as he had some information to tell.
Azlan and Denzi collected some sticks to start a fire, Old Man Zagan manifested fire with a snap of his finger, quickly starting a campfire. With some random meat being grilled on the fire, the two young brothers relished in its scent, excited to eat.
Azlan grabbed a chunk of meat and cut it in half, giving some to Denzi.
"So, what words of wisdom did you have for us, Master?" Azlan mockingly said with a mouthful of food.
"Brat, it seems you haven't gotten a good beating in a while!" Old Man Zagan raised his tone, letting a bit of his fierce aura out.
"Apologies, apologies." Azlan yelled, spitting pieces of meat from his mouth.
"Hmph!"
"Tomorrow we will reach the Feng Kingdom. But before that, you two must know some important things, mainly being the great seven clans." Old Man Zagan mentioned, utilizing a humble tone towards the latter end of his sentence.
"You brats have yet to see the world, tonight I will broad your horizons towards the outer world."