"Well, good luck little student." Saphi said with a giggle.
"Thank you, miss teacher." Cypher replied, the two looking at each other and laughing.
…
Cypher had long since stopped training on gang grounds, so after his combat practice with Saphi, he headed back out, heading straight into the woods beside the city.
He liked his privacy, and while his inn room was quite nice, it was far too small, not giving him the proper space to flex his muscles, so the woods became the best place.
The training session went on without a problem, and Cypher could already feel that he was one step closer to the Copper Layer.
Not to mention this was only passive training, otherwise it's possible that a single serious training session would be enough to refine one limb to the Copper Layer.
Finishing out his final movement, Cypher paused for a moment, giving himself a chance to catch his breath.
Just as he was about to continue, he froze, hearing a sudden whooshing sound coming out from ahead of him.
Slowly walking backwards, he took cover behind a tree, listening closely as the sound got nearer and nearer.
"Put down the book Astor, or else I'll forcefully take it from your corpse." A menacing voice coming from the woods said.
"You know that's impossible." Astor replied.
"You're right, but don't say I didn't give you any chances." The voice said with a laugh.
Cypher his breath as the two voices drew closer towards him. He had no idea how strong they were, not to mention he had never been in a fight before, so he naturally wanted to avoid conflict if possible.
Fortunately the two seemed completely focused on one another, not at all realizing that Cypher was hiding by a tree right beside them
The two began fighting in the midst of the forest, each collison like a small explosion, sending the birds and beasts running to escape the impending danger.
Peering out from behind the tree, Cypher was shocked at the sheer destructive power of the two of them.
Tree's were like paper in front of their attacks, and everytime one got in the way, it would be shattered, chunks of wood sent flying in all directions.
Compared to Ox, these two were much stronger, and Cypher knew Ox had already refined his flesh twice.
That meant at the very least, these two were at the Iron Layer, if not stronger. Knowing that if he got caught it was almost certain death, Cypher completely sealed his breath, standing as still as possible.
The booming sounds kept going off as Cypher prayed that the battle would end soon, and fortunately enough for him, it seemed the two were already exhausted from the previous chase, stopping after only fighting for five minutes or so.
"Finally got you Astor." The man laughed, as he stood over the exhausted Astor's body.
"Did you?" Astor said with a laugh, as he opened his mouth to reveal a small red pill.
The moment the man saw the pill, his face went pale, but he still stood solid, not believing Astor's bluff.
"A Deathless Pill? You don't have the guts." The man said, though his body was more honest, slowly creating some distance.
"Guts is all I have left." Astor said, swallowing the pill in a single gulp.
"You crazy bastard!" The man shouted, bolting in the opposite direction with all his strength.
Meanwhile, Astor's flesh began pulsating, a thick red steam dispersing from his body. His eyes instantly became bloodshot, all the vessels on his skin bulging as if they could burst at any second.
Letting out a wrathful roar, Astor jumped up from the floor, rocketed towards the other man's back.
Despite the man's attempts to escape, he had no chance against this insane Astor, and he was quickly caught up to.
Astor seemed completely mindless at this moment, not even punching the man, but rather lunging at him with his teeth, biting deeply into his shoulder.
"Ahhh!" The man let out a blood curdling scream as he struggled, eventually ripping free from Astor's bite.
However the result was that a massive chunk of flesh was torn from his shoulder, blood shooting out endless, making the man's face go pale.
Astor spit out the chunk of flesh before proceeding to bite the man once more. The man tried his hardest to struggle, but it seemed that after Astor ate the Deathless Pill, his strength skyrocketed, making fighting back impossible.
Cypher watched in horror as Astor slowly tore the man to pieces with his teeth alone. He couldn't help but sweat heavily, his mask and shirt soaked.
It was only after the man's body was reduced to bits, did Astor seem to come back to his senses, but by this point it was already far too late.
That pill seemed to have extracted all his life force, allowing him to burst out with tremendous strength, but also ending his life.
Astor couldn't help but let out one more sorrowful laugh as his life force was completely exhausted, his body collapsing on the blood soaked ground.
Seeing Astor completely still, seemingly dead, he slowly left his hiding spot and walked towards the scene.
Picking up a massive boulder, Cypher tossed it towards Astor, just to make sure he wasn't faking.
Fortunately, Astor had no reaction, so Cypher just tested him a few more times, before finally feeling relieved.
Walking up towards Astor's corpse, he flipped him back over with his foot, revealing his chest. There clutched in his arms was a small book, the source of this conflict.
Gently tugging the book from Astor's arms, Cypher took a quick glance before tucking it away in his shirt and bolting from this place of terror.
With how loud the two were fighting, it was only a matter of time before someone arrived, and Cypher didn't want to get involved.
After zigzagging through the forest for a bit to make sure no one was following, Cypher finally reentered the city, quickly heading towards his inn room.
Walking upstairs, Cypher sealed the door to his room, even shutting the window blinds just in case.
After all that was done, he sat cross-legged on his bed, pulling the book out from under his shirt.
He still didn't know how to read, so he could only look into the title in the future. Flipping the book over, Cypher was disappointed to find the first page was still just words.
However beside that, on the second page, was a diagram of the human body in a very specific stance, seemingly performing a move.
On the third page was more words, and again, on the fourth page next to it, was another human diagram, but this one in a slightly different position.
This pattern repeated for 20 pages until the book ended, with ten stances in total, seemingly forming a complete movement.
While Cypher's talent was perfect, his enlightenment was still normal, so it was naturally impossible for him to deduce this technique from the stances alone.
It seemed this book would have to be put on the back burner until he learned to read, but seeing as how two Third Layer Flesh Refiner's fought to the death over it, it must be incredibly valuable.
Despite the excitement in his heart, Cypher forcefully tucked the book away in a secret spot, knowing that its secrets would have to remain an enigma for a little while longer.
…
The next day Cypher woke up bright and early. His first language lesson would begin today, and he took Saphi's warning to heart, so he decided to come early and create a good impression.
After quicking washing up, he headed out, walking towards the location Saphi had already told him.
Soon enough he arrived in front of a small pristine school house. A line of little children followed by their servants was formed in front of the school, making it clear that this class was made up of the rich.
Cypher joined the line somewhat awkwardly, catching strange looks from the people around him.
Some even tugged their children closer to them, worried Cypher was some sort of kidnapper, given his mask and cheap clothes.
Cypher ignored their looks, waiting patiently in the line. Fortunately the awkwardness didn't last long, and soon enough an old man opened the door, welcoming the children in.
"Um excuse me, where do you think you're going?" One servant couldn't help but say, standing in front of Cypher who was about to enter the building.
"I'm here for classes."
"Classes? At your age? You must be some sort of criminal. Please leave before I call a constable." The man threatened.
Cypher was about to respond, but before he could, the old man stepped in, relieving the tension.
"This is a new student of mine, and you don't have to worry, I'll keep an eye on him." The old man explained.
"Uhh, yes Sir, well then I'll leave you to it." The servant said, not stupid enough to argue with the prestigious old man.