The polished metal surface reflected the image of a man with long silky black hair. That hair was being carefully arranged to form a half top knot upon the man's head and a blood red jade pin was put into place to keep his hair from unravelling. After he was satisfied, he gave his reflection a curt nod and moved to reach his sheathed sword that was leaning against the wall, to place it at his side. He absently grasped the wooden koi fish medallion that was attached to the sword's handle between two fingers.
The door to the room swung open, the thick wood slammed against the wall as a gust of air blasted past the man. The young man ground his teeth together as he brushed back a few stray hairs that had slipped loose thanks to the blast and he just managed to witness a youth complete an agile slide beneath one of the two beds within the room. A heartbeat later, a handsome man with lips upturned into a large grin appeared within the doorway.
"Did you happen to see my disciple?" He asked, his dark eyes twinkling with mirth.
Jin Li could be a petty man at times and this moment was no exception. "He is under the bed," he replied as he removed the red jade pin in order to redo his hair. A loud wail followed his words, revealing that Jin Li spoke the truth.
The grinning man stepped forward and lifted the bed with one hand in an effortless manner and grabbed the hiding youth with the other. "Come on, my boy," the man coaxed, after scooping him out and replacing the bed. "You asked for a change of pace, I'm just fulfilling your request!"
"But Teacher," the youth complained, "By my words I meant; could I have a small break or lighter exercise!" Frankly, the pace at which his Teacher had set these past few days was brutal. The 'warm up's' might as well have been standard exercise meant for elite guards and was followed by swordplay, Kung fu, wind arts and other weapons-play. He was given points to bathe in the Cultivation baths along with a single Cloudy Spiritual pill to be consumed at the same time. However, Sun was so exhausted, that all these past evenings, he had fallen asleep in the warm, soothing waters and had to be rescued from drowning! Surviving this for the next couple of days before the four day break felt impossible!
"Boring!" His Teacher declared, wrapping his arms about the boy's small shoulders. "It's much more practical to see how your training can be put to good use by hunting poachers in the Hidden Vale Mountain."
"But I am only of secondary stage," Sun whined. "And those who poach wild beasts there are unlikely to be weak or ordinary mortals! How do you expect me to track and kill them?! Even Jin Li might struggle against them!"
Jin Li rolled his eyes heavenward. He seldom 'struggled' with anything. His fingers dropped to the koi fish talisman as if to deny his internal statement, but he dismissed this concern. Anyone would have difficulties dealing with his troublesome alchemist...
"Then let him come along!" The Teacher suggested, startling Jin Li from his musings.
"Teacher...?!" Sun made a last ditch attempt at escaping his fate.
"And did I not tell you to call me Corvus," the jovial man grumbled, finally placing Sun upon his feet. "Calling me Teacher makes me sound... respectable."
Jin Li considered how his own day was scheduled, breakfast was over and it would be another hour until the Food Hall began the lunch service. His usual sparring partner was Sun, who was seldom around anymore and even though he had proven his skills, most of the outer school seniors still ignored him. The inner school seniors, who appreciated his abilities, could only challenge him during the four day break. There was a lecture scheduled, but he didn't need to catch up on any sleep today, so he hadn't thought of attending it. The request board was no longer offering jobs that were worth his time... so basically, he had nothing better to do.
"I do not mind," Jin Li accepted.
Teacher Corvus' broad grin returned and he slapped Jin Li upon the back, holding back little of his force, causing the great him to stagger. Sun's head hung meekly, but inwardly he was weeping and lamenting that this Teacher had looked his way and decided to make him his disciple on a whim. He would change his tune again shortly.
"Now, do as I instructed."
Sun glanced up at his Teacher, the jovial grin and the twinkling eyes of a prankster no longer could be seen. After they had entered the heart of the Hidden Vale Mountain, a cool seriousness had replaced it. It made Sun glad once more of his luck at being chosen as disciple by this man.
Sun closed his eyes and sought his innersea. 'Sea' was a deceptive word for the place where his spiritual energies lie, for it was more like an open space within a swirling tornado, with his energies casually drifting around it's heart. It took just a brief nudge to have the spiritual energy form their own small whirling wind which grew and expanded to beyond his sea, to beyond his body and outward. Though still spiralling, the winds with Sun at their centre, barely moved leaf or blade of grass, quietly drifting with purpose and relaying the information back to the boy.
This obstacle that prevented them from sweeping past was this shape and this obstacle which would bend to their whims was of this shape. And all that Sun was required to do was translate the information into images and then into an aerial map. That was what required most of his concentration and when he felt that the information that cantered on to him was too great, he had to reign in the circling winds and draw them back into himself.
A moment later, he opened his eyes gasping, beads of sweat upon his brow, the images with his mind's eye still flickering.
The Hidden Vale Mountain was an untamed land, with large trees dominating fertile spaces and stunted trees and shrubs upon rocky outcrops. And at the centre of the mountain was a large inset vale, filled with even more trees, shrubs and herbs. And of course within the leafy trees were countless birds, small beast and insects, somewhat safely living out of reach of the ground dwelling large predators. Although Sun was only able to capture a snapshot of this and only as outlines that he would need to rely on his imagination to fill, it did not fail to fill him with wonder.
"Well, can you tell me how far your range is?" His Teacher enquired. Sun guessed it was about a fifty metre radius, no more for certain. His Teacher nodded and smiled, ruffling his student's long brown hair and messing it up a fair bit, indicating in his own way that he was pleased. But of course, such a range would not be able to compete with his own, which had already detected skulking poachers some two hundred metres away towards the east.
Jin Li watched from the sidelines as Sun was instructed on this use of his wind arts, quite intrigued. His own root was lightning, a root that caused contention for it flew in the face of what was considered true; the five roots of Earth, Wood, Metal, Fire and Water were the primary roots and only these roots could produce the linked element from their internal energies. Meaning that if a person had Water as their root, they could produce water, but if their root was the secondary Ice, they can only manipulate water or worse if they were the waste root Frost, then they could only use it to strengthen their body (perhaps to survive in extreme climates or to slow a wound).
Lightning was placed as a secondary root as it was not considered as versatile as Fire, but at the same time, Lightning users could produce the element as if it were a primary root.
Wind was also considered a secondary root, linked to both Fire and Wood. It was still a good root to have for it didn't matter whether one could produce wind or air, it was all around a person so might as well just focus on manipulation. And it seemed it had other uses as well, ones that were not combative, but just as useful.
The Teacher and two students moved through the grounds at a steady pace, running in the direction of the poachers that Corvus had detected. Suddenly, Corvus ran on ahead with a burst of speed, leaving the two students to simply gaze wide eyed in his wake. Without hesitation, both hurried, adding a little extra to their pace in an attempt to catch up with him.
The smell of blood alerted them first, before the trees cleared enough to allow them to witness what had occurred. A large coeurl lay shallowly breathing upon the ground, its scaled body leaking blood from many places. The Teacher was fighting against three men, whose aura's screamed strength, warning Sun that he would not be able to go against even one of them. It did not stop Jin Li from throwing himself into the fray. Although his opponent was a half-step above him, lingering on the peak of Tertiary, he was at least able to ease the burden on Corvus, who dealt with the other two Cultivators.
Teacher Corvus immediately grinned. Now that his cute student could observe the mighty him, he stopped playing with the two Quaternary stage men and fought with all of his ability. The men were easily suppressed and lost their lives to his able hand.
Jin Li's own techniques were strange, alien, yet beautiful, they confused his opponent, reducing the gap of strength between them until it was little more than an assumption. The poacher assumed he was the stronger of them due to his cultivation, but Jin Li was never one for assumptions. In the end, the poacher could not gain the upper hand and sought to escape, but Jin Li's sword proved quicker and ran through his stomach before he could make headway.
The coeurl softly huffed, a slight yowl escaping its throat. It was a beautiful creature even in the throws of death. Its long feline body shaped for speed was coated in shimmering midnight blue scales and its thick paws tipped with sharp silver claws. It had long tentacle like whiskers, one on either side of its nose, but they were not gently waving about, testing the air; they hung limply at its side. Its emerald eyes sported a thin elongated pupil, which remained cautious of its defenders, even though it could no longer fight to save itself. No longer fight to save... the beast took its last breath, under the men's helpless gazes.
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