The Hallowflame Academy group set out on foot, but their speed was not slow. Yuan Haoran did not feel strained despite the fast pace, even though it had been a while since he engaged in vigorous physical exercise.
It felt good to stretch his muscles.
However, he was a little disappointed that he did not get to experience the cultivation world's transportation methods. For instance, the royal family had carriages pulled by spiritual beasts, and it looked quite comfortable.
He did not regret his decision to join the caravan with the young prince. He just felt it was a shame for him not to experience something novel and interesting. Unfortunately, the best decision for now was to stick with Long Jingyi.
"This is quite boring." Long Jingyi commented as they rushed through the forest. "Did you know there was a time when the requirements for using flying swords were not so strict? Cultivators could just move conveniently as they wished at a fast speed."
Yuan Haoran's interest was piqued. "Is that so?"
"Can you imagine how fast we would be moving?" One of the junior brothers could not help but be in awe.
"What are you talking about? You have never been on a flying sword." A junior sister retorted. "How would you know how fast we would be going?"
"I have read about it." The response came with some embarrassment, but the young man feigned bravado to cover it up. "When I am qualified to use a flying sword in public, I will be moving so fast that people will not see my shadow."
"Senior Long, why did they start restricting flying swords?" Fu Da asked, interrupting her squabbling companions.
Long Jingyi laughed. "Because of cultivators like your junior brother here."
The enthusiastic young man was shocked and pointed at his own face. "Me?"
The group laughed at his foolish appearance.
"When the rules on flying swords were not in place, cultivators were reckless. They did not care about ordinary people and often caused a lot of destruction on the continent. Some would even commit crimes while using the swords because they could go in and out as they pleased." Long Jingyi explained.
Yuan Haoran was enlightened. Flying swords were indeed a bit of a hazard if control measures were not in place. Even though most people claimed to be righteous cultivators, it did not mean anything in terms of actions.
Moreover, accidents cannot be discounted when using any kind of flying object.
"But Senior Long can use a flying sword, right?" Wan Xiu asked excitedly with her eyes sparkling as she looked at him.
Long Jingyi was not a proud person, so he laughed before replying. "It is not as cool as you think. Ultimately, it is just another form of transportation but a little faster than running. You will see it once you get your Aerial Passes."
"When I have my Aerial Pass, I will get a magical beast." Another boy chimed in. "Swords are cool, but I think I will look more majestic on a giant bird."
Wan Xiu was a little annoyed because she did not have a chance to engage Senior Long for longer, so she could not help but retort.
"Do you think you will be able to afford a magical beast in the near future?" She asked. "You will have a better chance if you decide to become a beast tamer."
The group could not help making sounds of agreement. Beast taming was one of the challenging professions, and few cultivators were willing to take that path. Although both warriors and mages could become beast tamers, the work required patience and talent.
But for those who succeeded, it became a lucrative career. The tamed beasts could be sold for a high price because the trained ones were easy to handle. Of course, a few cultivators managed to find their own beasts and connect without taming.
However, these cases were rare.
"Perhaps, I have fate with a powerful beast." The reply was soft, so no one paid attention.
The journey continued with miscellaneous chatter that irritated Yuan Haoran but gave him insight into the new world. However, he could not get comfortable among the bright-eyed cultivators and their warm laughter.
It felt unfamiliar and unnatural.
When he was younger in his previous life, he was sold out by his family and ended up on a remote island as a child labourer. Therefore, even though he was surrounded by other children, they were always clouded in misery and pain.
Those kinds of feelings became a part of him and shaped him. By the time he managed to escape, his personality had changed from a gullible child into something else. Even in this new body, he was still the twisted person he once was.
He was resistant to any pleasant ambience that reminded him of the people who betrayed him. As a result, the more the young cultivators laughed and talked, the more he felt the darkness that was always brewing inside himself building up.
It was like a dark cloud that expanded and covered his mind. The first time he let that darkness take over his mind, he slaughtered his entire family and painted the walls with their blood. Once it was over, he felt refreshed and clear-minded.
The laughing sounds of the talking students seemed to become louder and louder, hammering like a gong in his mind. The resonating phantom sound kept rising and echoing, and the darkness began to cloud his mind.
Beneath the hood of the cloak, Yuan Haoran's scarlet eyes glowed like a vicious animal. His killer instincts activated in the familiar way which earned him the title of demon king in his former world. Once he was in this state, blood would flow.
He could already smell the metallic tang of blood and see the dismembered bodies of the loud students strewn across the forest. The familiar rush of letting the inner predator loose flowed through him, and his hands twitched with the drive to kill.
But before he could completely surrender to the darkness, a fist bumped against his upper arm with a strange ebb of contrary spiritual energy. The elemental energy caused a burn through his meridians, and a bright light accompanied it.
For a short moment, there was pain in his body due to the invasive power, but it changed into something different that seemed to burn the miasma of darkness in his mind and with it, the vicious instinct to kill.
"Do you want candied hawthorns?" Long Jingyi asked while handing over a stick with bright red sweets to him.
Yuan Haoran turned to look at Long Jingyi. His eyes narrowed as he observed the guileless face of the cultivator. If he had not felt the intentional push of the sun's elemental energy into his body, he would have believed that Long Jingyi did not sense or suspect anything.
The innocent appearance was unexpected. It should have made Yuan Haoran apprehensive, but he just felt that things were going to get a little more interesting.
"Thank you." Yuan Haoran accepted the candied hawthorns. "I was starting to get a little lightheaded."
Long Jingyi chuckled, but he did not say anything else.
"Senior Long, you cannot be unfair and only give one person sweets." Fu Da complained. The other juniors joined and started clamouring for a share. Long Jingyi laughed before passing around more snacks to the group.
As he enjoyed the sweet and sour taste in his mouth, Yuan Haoran wondered who Long Jingyi was and what his motives were.
Finding out was going to be fun.