80 Soul Gem (1/2)

Shi Yixian stode back inside the cottage to see her two children huddled around in the corner. Chitian was holding on to Chilong with a firm grip making sure he didn't move. This was not the first time this happened. Over the course of his life, that hateful man had always came to ruin things. Shi Yixian sat down on a chair with a frustrated expression. However, when she looked at her children, she kept a strong front and gave a wide smile.

”Chilong! Come over to mommy.”

The child slowly waddled over into his mothers embrace. She hugged tightly as if she would lose him if she didn't and rubbed the newly grown hair on her child.

”It herwts.”

”Ah! Sorry.”

The woman snapped out of her daze before loosening her embrace of her child. She slowly cradled the boy in her arms before the boy's eyes became droopy and dozed off. She picked up the boy and slowly made her way to the cot and gently placed the child inside covering him over lightly with a blanket. A smile crept up her face as she listened to the soft breathing of her son. She turned around to her other son and looked at him in a pained expression. She spoke in a hushed voice as to not awaken the child.

”Let the lesson continue.”

Shi Yixian used her qi to levitate a book off the shelf. The book landed quietly in her hand and opened to the middle. They walked outside to get some fresh air. She sat on the willow bench as her son did on the grass. In these parts, the air was clear and on good days the concentration of qi in the air was thick, perfect for training.

”So can you enter at will?”

Chitian nodded. He drew up a small figure on the ground. It wasn't some sort of formation or anything. It was just a stimulus for him to focus on. He stared at it for five seconds before a white aura started to be emitted. Primal essence colored white shrouded his body creating an image similar to that of a wolf. His eyes glowed a radiant red as he stared at his mother. There was a sense of hatred in his eyes. He didn't recognize the figure in front of him as would a beast met with anyone. Small growls were audible as saliva started to drip.

”20 seconds...passable.”

The boy pounced out at the woman with his jaws wide open aiming at her throat. at this stage, he was a ravenous beast, out for blood. Shi Yixian gently dodged manifesting a red aura in her finger. She flicked the boy's forehead sending a red pulse through his body. The white aura instantly retracted and clarity returned to the boy's eyes. The boy collapsed onto the ground heavily breathing. Sweat poured down his cheeks as his mother threw a wet cloth at him.

”Hah...hah...did I pass?”

”Yes...time for the final stage.”

Shi Yixian opened up a page in her book. There was a small image of a stone with the engravings of a three pointed star on it.

”Son...this is what our clan calls a soul gem. It is the final step in completing your training.”

A arrow materialized in her palms. There was a distinct engraving of a star similar to that along the shaft of this arrow.

”My soul item is a bow. My soul gem became my arrow.”

Shi Yixian looked deep in the eyes of her son. She had a look of pain in it.

”To be honest, I wish you'd never get up to this stage. Your soul gem only changes form once the training is at full completion.”

She took the arrow and materialized the bow. She stared at a tree a kilometer away into the forest and pulled her bowstring. Her technique has been trained to perfection and there was no wasted movements. With a single release of a bowstring, the arrow shot forwards. At first, it seemed slow but over time, it gained speed seemingly drawing in from the environment. Before the arrow hit a tree, it was glowing red with aura. The arrow landed straight on target. There was nothing noticeable on the outside looking in. Shi Yixian gripped her hands and the arrow retreated back into her hands before being absorbed back into her body. A small wind blew gently through the forest. Bit by bit, the tree collapsed into a pile of dry powder.