Soon the celebratory banquet ended, and the Armstrong clan was on their way back home.
After leaving the Redstone clan, his parents, curious, came over to Silas on their mounts and asked, "Silas, you told the Redstone patriarch you had something you needed to do. What were you talking about?" They had no clue what he was referring to.
"Yea, what are you on about? Could it be just an excuse to get rid of a pretty bride?" Red asked from his shoulder, to which his parents nodded.
"No, that's not it. I have no problem marrying Thea if I end up liking her. It's just I want to further temper myself first. I want to travel around the wilderness by myself and experience the dangers of cultivation. Only in this way will I continue to progress. Plus, I'm only 16. I'm too young to get married," Silas answered honestly.
After hearing his response, both of his parents had hesitant looks on their faces.
Finally, his father asked, "Are you sure you want to travel alone in the wilderness? You do know how dangerous it is, right? There are Transcendent lifeforms spread around in various places. You're strong, but they could easily take your life."
"I'm aware, Father, but you saw how strong I was in the tournament. Thea, a Transcendent lifeform, couldn't even harm my body," Silas answered.
"Yes, about that... How is your body so strong? You train in the Desolate Emperor's Path body refinement technique. It's not supposed to be that powerful," his mother asked him.
Silas just shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, maybe my body is just naturally strong."
"Well, why don't you let us think about it for a little while?" his father finally replied.
Silas nodded his head. "Thanks for considering it."
His parents then took their leave, leaving just Silas and Red alone on his mount.
"What about you, big brother Red? Are you going to come with me on my journey?" Silas asked his first beast companion, Red.
"Of course, you're my little brother. Who else is going to look after you if not me?" Red said as if he would be the one protecting Silas and not the other way around.
***
After a couple of days of being back home in the Armstrong clan's north prefecture, Silas was training as usual when, all of a sudden, Red came flying in and said, "Silas, quickly go home. Your parents have made a decision about your journey," Red said in excitement. He had at first been a little scared about the journey, but over the past couple of days, Silas had talked it up so much he was looking forward to it. Plus, Silas had told him that when they left, he would tell him a secret.
Silas and Red quickly ran back to their home, where Silas's mom, dad, and even Red's dad, Rey, who was Silas's father Alexander's beast companion, were waiting.
"Father, Mother, Red said you two had made a decision," Silas quickly said as soon as he walked in the door.
Both his parents smiled faintly, and then after looking each other in the eye and a small subtle nod, his father began, "Yes, we've reached a decision. As long as you promise to not go too far off and to be extra safe—that means no challenging peak Transcendent beasts for training—then we will allow you to go."
"Yes!" Silas said in joy. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," he said over and over again.
"When can I leave?" Silas asked, ready to leave right now.
"Your new ranked-grade scythe and robe will be here within the month, so you can leave after you have them. I know you aren't a Transcendent lifeform yet, so you can't use them to their fullest, but they are still better than what you have now," his mother said.
Silas nodded his head and thanked them once again.
***
Three weeks later, his new scythe and robe arrived, and he quickly put on the black and red-accented robe that fit like a glove. He tried out his new black and red scythe, testing out its balance and weight.
"Shing! Shing! Bang! Bang!" He tested the scythe against some training equipment.
Afterwards, he looked down at his new weapon with a smile and a nod. "It's a very good weapon," he said, more than happy with it.
***
The next morning, both Silas and Red were ready to go. They had long packed their spatial rings with everything they could possibly need and 'mapped' out their journey. Silas, of course, only showed his parents what they wanted to see. He had internally planned for a much tougher path.
But while he was mapping out his journey, he began to truly realize exactly how many beasts lay hidden within the tall and large mountains, as well as the wide and deep lakes. This was because the beasts were extremely difficult to deal with. The beast leaders, as well as the local hegemons, such as the Armstrong, Redstone, and other clans of the Moonvale Mountain region, had long since decided on an unspoken agreement. Beasts wouldn't go wildly slaughtering humans on a wide scale, while the clans wouldn't go all out to slaughter the beasts. Both sides would stay their hands, maintaining a balance of sorts.
Occasionally, some smaller tribes would be destroyed and some beasts would be killed, but it was always within a manageable degree. Neither side wanted to cross the invisible line, knowing that once both sides' true higher-ups took action, chaos would be all that ensued, and clans as well as entire regions of beasts would be wiped off Moonvale Mountain forever.
Silas and Red both woke up bright and early, said goodbye to their parents, and before they could change their minds, they were off.
***
After five hours of travel, Red finally said, "Alright, we should be far enough away now, and no one should be secretly following us. What is this secret you've been hiding?"
Silas just smiled, but after Red's relentless questions, Silas finally said, "Not yet. We're not far enough."
"Ok, if not the secret, then at least tell me where we're really going," Red said, a little annoyed.
"Fine," Silas muttered.
He then stopped and pulled out his map of Moonvale Mountain.
He pulled out a pencil and started to draw. "We're currently here at Sundancer Peak. I told my parents we would be going to Ironclaw Crags, but in reality, we're first going to Silverscale Marsh, and then after that, Nightspire Ridge, then Ashthorn Hollow..."
Silas began to explain their entire journey from start to finish, with them even going to the very spots that his parents told him to avoid toward the end of their journey.
"Why the hell would we go to some of these places? I mean, Shatterpeak Canyon is home to a peak Transcendent emperor beast," Red said in fright. He was first excited by the new and improved travel route since it would be more exciting, but now he was shivering slightly.
"Don't worry. I should be a Transcendent lifeform by then, so I should easily be able to take him out. And even if I can't, I have a backup method," Silas said, referring to his [Grim Reaper's Eye]. Once he was a Transcendent lifeform, he would be able to instantly kill other Transcendent lifeforms.
"How are you so confident that you will reach Transcendent lifeform so quick? And what is this backup method?" Red asked, confused.
"Don't worry. It's all part of my secret that I'll tell you later," Silas said.
Red was then forced to hold in his deepening curiosity because no matter how many times he asked, Silas wouldn't budge.
***
The day and night quickly went by, and it was now early in the morning, with the sun still being a few minutes from popping up.
"Morning, Red," Silas said with a yawn.
"Eh, let me sleep some more," Red said without opening his eyes.
"But don't you want to hear my secret?" Silas said sarcastically.