Shuren gazed at the dancing auroras in the night, and the glistening argentum shards that hovered eternally in the sky. From the Seven Clouds Sect, he thought he saw a thin line burning across the night.
Aerestia, having ushered the farmers and the owner to go back inside, came back out. For a moment she stopped by the corpse, kneeling down to close her eyelids with shaking hands. She brought out a wooden ball from her pouch, and let it extend back into her staff.
"Spirits of the far west, protect and heed my call." She invoked in a low voice. Her branched horns glowed with shimmering magnificence amongst at night, and ice formed in the shape of a translucent coffin, freezing the body. The staff trembled, Aerestia struggling to maintain her concentration. A slab of ice also sealed the cut stomach of the Pyros Eagle on the side.
Thanks to her, the god awful stench of the deceased ceased to be.
The urge to sleep came to Shuren, but he stood still.
They should be arriving soon from the sect.
Aerestia walked towards Shuren, stopping behind him. "Sorry."
Shuren groaned. "Enough apologies. I've said my peace of mind, but how you act is your free will. I won't insult you any further, chiding you like some child."
Aerestia sighed in relief that Shuren wasn't angry, gaining the courage to be next to him. Shuren had a derisive smirk on his face. "In the end, you're the one at a higher stage. You should be the leader between us two."
"Oh, I'm not Stage 9. I'm at Stage 12 Qidense."
Shuren's eyes widened as if he were struck by lightning. "What? You're on the cusp of Path Foundation? You, how old are you?"
"I'm 16." She said.
Shuren frowned. "You're younger than me by an entire year and you're at Stage 12?" He pinched his nose in utter embarrassment. Have I seriously been ordering around a Stage 12. She doesn't even act anything like one!
"Then I apologise for my actions. I shouldn't be the one ordering you around."
She frowned. "What are you doing? Stop, what's with the sudden change?"
Shuren stood back up, with an eyebrow raised in confusion. "Well, that's because you're stronger than me. Isn't it obvious? You're practically an entire realm above me at this point."
"I prefer how you acted before. Even if my cultivation level is higher, you've still helped me a lot today. You were the one who took out the corpse…" Aerestia stammered towards the end as she recalled the incident.
"This is the reason why the average person struggles to take you seriously. You need to have the airs of a cultivator," Shuren said as he stretched his left arm. He wanted to put his hands behind his back, but it didn't feel right without his robe. He opted to put his left hand inside his pants. The pose didn't feel too bad to Shuren, in fact. He'd never tried this style before.
"By the way, you're from the Liu Clan right? The strongest swordsmen from the Granxian Continent? What's it like there?" She questioned Shuren, as she had heard many tales of that clan, even in the Silverwoods region.
"I am related. As for what it's like living there…" Shuren ruminated on the thought.
"It's orderly. No one steps out of line, and the righteous factions reign supreme. At best, they unite against a common enemy. At worst, they play games with each other to gain more benefits. But it's still a peaceful continent with The Great Nine protecting everyone. It is my home." Shuren's eyes unfocused as he recalled the past.
"I didn't have enough strength or reputation, so I left. The things I want to do there aren't attainable unless I develop myself to be worthy of them." Shuren said, staring at the line that burnt across the night sky, heading towards them. He smiled.
He continued, and she listened, all in an attempt to forget about the things that happened, and a way to pass the time. For a moment, they forgot the brutality of a demonic cultivator. "But I like it here in Cloud City. One day, I think this place will grow even further, and more people will come to live here. No one likes to mention this, but the founders of Cloud City were themselves vagrants beyond the eastern continent. This minor refugee crisis we have now will pass by with ease."
Aerestia butted in, "I'll work very hard to make a place for myself here. Things are tough now, but I believe Cloud City will expand enough to fit us all. That's why my brother is working so hard, mediating trades between us and Cloud City." Her tired eyes brightened with anticipation and hope.
"If you want to do that, make lots of friends. Don't be shy when you're in the sect and let others know more about you." Shuren held his chin as he pondered, before continuing. "In fact, just by revealing your cultivation level, things should proceed much smoother. People will take you seriously, and your words become more heavy; more true."
Shuren thought he heard Aerestia grumble at his words, but she eventually nodded with agreement.
"Right, I'll be asking you one day about the best places to explore in the Silverwoods region. I want to see if others are more like you and Sir Eurastale, and what kind of people my father has made connections with." He gazed at the night sky, unaware of Aerestia's expression. "They've come."
The line that streaked across the sky vanished, and intense winds roared across the farmlands. Shuren smirked, standing his ground, while Aerestia floundered in surprise. He grabbed her wrist before she tripped, setting her upright.
A powerful elder of the Seven Clouds had arrived, gracefully floating in the air before stepping on the ground. His chalk white beard jiggled a bit with the wind, and he had a stark grin on his face. "I've come for you kids. You've done well."
Shuren clasped his hands and bowed. "Junior disciple greets Grand Elder Wanshang." Aerestia copied right after.
"To think I'd see you so soon, Shuren and Aerestia."
Grand Elder Wanshang gazed at Shuren, fiddling with his beard. "You reek of death."
Shuren had a wry smile, about to make his report.
"To think we have demonic termites gnawing at my Seven Clouds Sect's territory! That their little scheme of sowing discord amongst ourselves were to this extent. We need to do a thorough cleanup of the Kallas Jungles and Volkahor Volcanoes. Good, good, good! This will serve as the perfect whetstone to sharpen our new generation of disciples."
Shuren and Aerestia were stunned on the spot at his intelligence, as if he were with them the whole time.
"Honoured Elder Wanshang, how did you know all this?"
He raised his eyebrows. "Is it so surprising? With the situation I'm seeing here, concluding this was quite easy. When you get to my level, your thoughts will also generate at far higher levels, with a qualitative transformation of your intellect."
Without even waving a palm, the Silvent corpse and Pyros Eagle had disappeared, already taken within his soul space without Shuren or Aerestia noticing. In the distance, the burnt hand of the child coughed out by the Pyros Eagle was similarly taken, disappearing without a trace.
"But you two still need to make a detailed report of your experience. Your Cloud Missive will be cancelled and recalculated for finding us a hint of the demonic faction. Both of you will also get to take a Sacrosanct Artifact; a life protecting treasure, for future missions."
The two of them almost became giddy at the list of their rewards. The worries of only being rewarded for the effort of a simple subjugation of a tiger were put to rest.
Shuren brought up a question when he noted one of Grand Elder Wanshang's words. "But is the region not called Volkahor Mountains?"
He coughed for a moment. "Ah, that is its old name. They were once active volcanoes; powerful enough to have marked this entire region as a Rank 8 disaster zone, uninhabitable for mortals. Once, there were legends that a supreme inheritance was hidden there; from the founder of the Virtuous Clans Order. The inheritance of a Rank 9 Immortal Reverend. But that is a story from long ago. It is thought to have been long lost."
Shuren's eyes radiated in awe from secrets of the past unveiled to him. He had long heard of the Virtuous Clans Order; an ancient force that dominated the entire world!
During the Third Grand Era, the Virtuous Clans Order led the entire world. Every country, continent, even the numerous island nations in the Devanthra Archipelagoes submitted to them.
It was all thanks to one man. The one who led the Third Grand Era.
The Virtuous Paragon.
To think its founder supposedly left his inheritance all the way here!
Well, it was more than likely it was a myth. Or even if it were true, it must've been taken a long time ago.
A wide hand patted both the heads of Shuren and Aerestia. Grand Elder Wanshang held a dimpled smile so radiant that their reverence for the Seven Clouds Sect grew to a higher level.
"You two have done well. You have done me truly proud. Our sect is in need of young talents such as yourselves, and we hope you continue to lend us your support evermore, so long as clouds still reign the sky above."
With just these words, the seed of loyalty were embedded deep within the hearts of these two children.
This is where the ancient sayings, to cut mortal ties when becoming a cultivator, originated from.
And that was how sects grew their strength and maintained their loyalty; to bring camaraderie and form a family thicker than blood itself.
Grand Elder Wanshang gazed at Shuren's neck. There was but one thought in his mind.
Liu Shuren, work hard. So that you can open up a pathway to The Great Nine for us.