38 Reaper (2/2)
”Well disciple... I found something.”
”What is it master, which way did they go?”
”Well to be exact... I didn't find any traces of blood.”
”What? So your saying you didn't find anything at all! I've been standing around all day for nothing!”
Mei sighed.
”Ok, I didn't find anything, but that doesn't mean we know nothing. There's only one way they managed to dispose of the corpses without leaving any traces of blood. Something highly unusual must have happened here for that. There must have been a spacial ring involved!”
With a gasp, Lineir exploded, ”A spacial ring? Like one in the legends? The treasure which can store a thousand other treasures in a thousandth the space?”
”Well that depends on the grade, but yes disciple, that very type of ring. How curious, I wouldn't expect the king of most of the small cities around here to have one, let alone a group of bandits. Something is fishy here. Whoever was backing this ambush was extremely powerful considering the area. As a matter of fact... the only group around here with that kind of clout is the Nero Sect... and the only one with the wealth to afford a special ring is... the patriarch!”
”**** I'm going to have to fight this man aren't I?” Lineir was irate. Life was just too ridiculous, it was as if fate itself was out to get him. He had sworn revenge, but fighting a patriarch was a little much. He would be surrounded by countless elders, and he had leeched off of all their cultivation bases. One on one, Mei had said Lineir stood a chance, but against the whole sect?
”Wait just a moment disciple, this might not be so impossible as you think.” Mei was quite calm at the moment. She was considering Lineir's options, and had already decided on a course of action.
”Not impossible? Do you realize how many of those guys there are? I might be able to take small groups, but I heard the Nero Sect has over fifty elders not even including the ten I killed, at least half of which will be guarding the patriarch at any time.”
”Well disciple, I would have agreed with you before. However, you gained this devour ability, and these strange madness. Your combat potential has risen at a rate even I could not have foreseen. At the moment, your Second Heart has already reached the peak of the first stage. Soon you will break through and ascend to the Gathering Storm Stage. When this happens, you will gain the power of the second realm of my cultivation technique and access to power, which is not only far greater quantitatively, but superior qualitatively. At that moment, it won't matter how many trash elders the patriarch of the Nero Sect surrounds himself with. You will be able to walk in and end him as if it was a one on one. There is just one problem with this however.”
Lineir was excited. The idea of walking through a sea of enemies, uncontested was a dream which most could only hope to have on the best of nights. Lineir could actually experience this himself. Who wouldn't want this kind of power especially at such a young age?
”Alright master what is the problem?”
Mei sighed,
”The Gathering Storm Stage is the next step in cultivation. However, in order to reach it, you must build up an imbalance. Storms begin to form when the imbalance in the atmosphere reaches a critical point. Inside of you, you already have an excellent spin in your Second Heart. But you lack the raw power needed to ascend. Only by pushing your cultivation past the limit will you break through and cause a great enough imbalance within yourself to ascend the realms. Fortunately, I have thought of a solution for this. Well, there are two. One, train in the wilderness for a few months until you collect enough beast cores to break through. This will take a while, and there's always the risk of running into that dragon girl who has a grudge against you. Two, and I'm afraid this is the only real option. Those fifty elders of the Nero Sect. Hunt them all down and devour their cores one by one. When you have consumed enough, you will naturally break through. Of course, that's if you can stomach the slaughter of all these elders. But remember, this can be said to be cutting off the legs of the lion before hunting it tomorrow. You will need to fight most of these elders anyway to reach the patriarch. Taking them out early will only bring you benefits in the future. Decide, will you take an ordinary path of training, or will you enter the path of a reaper.”
Lineir didn't even hesitate for more than an instant. His enemies were enemies, and if he had a reason to kill them, he would. It was as simple as that. His conscious had almost gotten him killed before. Thus he had long ago chosen to let it die. Words like mercy and lenience were simply synonyms for regret and death in the dictionary of a cultivator. His Third Heart, his way, was to survive and to survive, you must eat!