Ellie approached Al, intending to tend to his wound, but he stopped her. "Look," he said, pointing to his side and robe, which showed that, despite being soaked in blood, he was completely recovered.
Al gave his injured side a firm punch, causing Ellie to wince. "My Stubborn Will can even bring me back to life," he explained. Ellie marveled at his Stubborn Will, which was considered a Common Will.
"Wow, that's incredible. I don't see what's so common about it. Meanwhile, I have an Exotic Will, and I felt utterly powerless against that hybrid," she remarked, turning her attention to Yusuf to assess his injuries.
Al, on the other hand, walked over to the lifeless creature, which had transformed into a dark mist that his etheric shell swiftly absorbed. He noticed a key difference: his ring felt noticeably sturdier, and its connection to him strengthened. However, his knife remained unchanged.
"Don't underestimate yourself," Al reassured Ellie. I caught it off guard. If I had faced it alone, I doubt I could have escaped even with my Stubborn Will."
Al sat down to perform his breathing exercises. He focused on recovering as much of his Stubborn Will as possible before rushing to find Cesar. He knew that the enemy Cesar was now fighting had to be a dark acolyte to whom the hybrids obeyed.
Yusuf couldn't take his eyes away from Al. Despite suffering surface wounds from the creature's claws, Yusuf's Steel Will had allowed him to take the hybrid's sharp blows.
At first, he could grapple and struggle with the beast while Ellie provided a distraction. However, once the creature grew to its massive 8-foot size, Yusuf had become utterly helpless against it. All he could do was maintain his Steel Will to prevent being crushed by the hybrid.
"How? How did you and Cesar manage to kill something like that without an etheric shell?" Yusuf questioned Al, his gaze filled with awe.
Al rose from his seated position, a touch of color returning to his face. "You act and think later," he responded before reentering the tunnel.
"I'm going to assist the others. Once you two have recovered, reach us as quickly as possible." With those words, Al propelled himself back into the tunnel, his speed as explosive as before.
"The dark acolyte Cesar is facing is in the upper mental domain," Al reminded himself, urgency gripping his mind. He figured Louise and Jin had made initial contact. "If Yusuf and Ellie were in this condition, time is of the essence. I have to hurry!"
He pushed himself to move as fast as he could, his body straining.
He sprinted past the entrance, venturing deeper into the tunnel until it branched into three paths, forcing him to halt.
Staring at the three directions he could take, Al contemplated which one Cesar might have taken. Suddenly, a gust of wind struck his face, originating from the entrance on the right. Without hesitation, Al surged forward in the direction of the moving air.
In minutes, metal clashing against stone reached his ears. Mentally preparing himself for any situation, Al raised his twisted knife, ready to seize the element of surprise again.
"Hopefully, I can catch them off guard," Al whispered as he approached the exit, his eyes catching a luminous green glow from within. The wind grew stronger, but Al pressed on, his determination unwavering. In the blink of an eye, he entered a colossal chamber twice the size of the previous one.
On the edge of the cave, a fierce battle raged on.
Jin clutched his familial stone emblem, lying discarded on the ground. Near the unconscious Jin, Louise gripped her left arm while occasionally picking up rocks to aid Cesar, whose slim figure was locked in combat.
Cesar appeared battered but full of fighting spirit. His body soaring like a guided airplane propelled by an unseen wind.
The figure he was facing off against possessed an almost human-like appearance, but as Al closed in, he could see the dark fur that enveloped the figure's body.
The figure was dressed in a scholarly purple robe. "That must be the Dark Acolyte," Al concluded.
Cesar launched himself at the dark Acolyte. The strange being gathered a handful of rocks and tossed them upward, the stones transforming into panthers composed of shadows that attacked Cesar.
The shadowy panthers vanished upon impact, but their bites inflicted nerve-damaging blows. Cesar moved like the wind, systematically destroying one panther after another. Yet, one managed to slip past his defenses and strike from behind.
Just as its jaws closed in on Cesar's opened side, hurled a rock she had been holding. The stone shot off like a bullet fired from a gun. With deadly accuracy, she intercepted the panther, saving Cesar.
Seizing the opportunity, the dark acolyte completed an incantation, summoning two towering shadow apes, each standing 5 meters high. One was dispatched to engage Cesar head-on while the other remained stationed, guarding the dark acolyte.
Al stealthily entered the scene at this pivotal moment, his movements so fast that no one noticed.
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Al surged past Cesar, who was momentarily stunned by Al shooting past him. As he closed in on the dark acolyte, the guarding shadow ape attempted to seize him, only to be swiftly cleaved in half by Al's knife. Slicing through the shadow ape, Al stood directly before the dark acolyte, their eyes locked.
Suddenly, a boom shook the cave, and five runes blazed to life, encircling them in a pentagonal formation. In an instant, an army of shadows materialized, manifesting as viscous maws that mercilessly clamped down on Al.
Blood sprayed in all directions as he was abruptly and brutally immobilized. Louise's anguished cry filled the air as she frantically hurled rocks, desperately trying to free Al from the prison of jaws.
Cesar desperately mustered every ounce of strength, ruthlessly demolishing the encroaching panther that obstructed his path.
Al's lifeless body dropped to the ground, reduced to a grotesque pile of shattered bones and mangled flesh. The dark acolyte, amused by the sorrow that consumed its enemies, gave a perverse smile.
Driven by fury, Cesar attacked the dark acolyte directly, his spear guided by his Wind Will aimed squarely at his enemy's head. However, the dark acolyte countered, its hand transforming into the maw of a ferocious panther. It clamped down on Cesar's spear and thwarted his attack.
Acting on instinct, Cesar released his grip on his spear and relied instead on his Muay Thai training. He caught the creature off guard with lightning-fast jabs, followed by sharp elbows and explosive knees.
The dark acolyte did not anticipate a cultivator letting go of their etheric shell. Cultivators were hardly adept at close-quarters combat. The majority of cultivators it faced relied heavily on their etheric shells.
Cesar's relentless assault left the dark acolyte's face a battered, bloody mess.
Creating some distance, the dark acolyte, unsure of how to wield the spear and unwilling to let Cesar utilize it, flung the weapon as far away from the battle as possible.
It resorted to its most basic spell, conjuring a small wave of shadowy hands that propelled themselves toward Cesar.
Remarkably, Cesar's body seemed to manifest his Wind Will with as much potency as his etheric shell. The gusts of wind generated by his fists appeared even more formidable than the one his spear produced. The dark acolyte grew increasingly perplexed, and fear crept into its cold heart.
Suddenly, a tremor shook the cave as the acolyte, overcome by desperation, beckoned all the shadows within to converge upon it. Transforming before their eyes, it underwent a rapid metamorphosis.
Two heads sprouted from its neck. One of the heads resembled a devilish ape, and the other head a ferocious, roaring panther. It grew two more tails, and an extra set of limbs emerged. The dark acolyte's fur faded, exposing a deformed, expanding skeleton beneath.
Its heart split into two. However, before it could complete its transformation, Al burst forth, erupting from the creature's first heart. His emergence left him drenched in a showery display of blood.
"Cesar, catch!" Louise called out, throwing his spear toward him. Without hesitation, Cesar snatched it out of the air.
With a mighty heave, he unleashed a powerful and precise throw. The spear became a blur as it pierced through the creature's second heart, leaving nothing but a gaping hole in its wake.
The dark acolyte had met its demise, unleashing a torrent of swirling mist absorbed by Al and Cesar's etheric shells.
Al keenly observed as the ring absorbed the mist.
Cesar stared at Al in utter astonishment.
Meanwhile, Louise aided Jin in standing, equally amazed to witness Al's unexpected survival. Though Al appeared sickly and pale, he defied all odds by remaining alive after being broken like a toy by an army of shadowy maws.
"I told you my Stubborn Will comes in handy," Al reminded him, struggling to breathe.
They retraced their steps through the tunnel, regrouping with Yusuf and Ellie.
They returned to the 15th Blood Ring and the Center for Task and Merit Exchange.
After dividing the reward they earned from the task and bidding farewell, Romann rendezvoused with Cesar. Together, they watched the recorded events captured by Cesar's C-stone.
Time passed swiftly, marked by their diligent training under Romann's instruction.
It was an existence centered around studying the Red Book, dedicated breathwork, and meditating on the connection between their etheric shells and their Will.
Whenever the six encountered obstacles that stifled their progress, they sought out Romann, who showed up every other day.
As they spent more and more time together as a group, their efficiency in completing tasks soared, enabling them to merge personal tasks with their collective efforts. Their accumulation of merits exploded, providing them not only with the means to survive but also to thrive.
The two months Romann had committed to their training swiftly drew close.
On the final day together, Romann gathered the group, casting a contemplative gaze upon these six individuals he had grown to regard as his disciples. They would soon transition from his disciples to his younger brothers and sisters.
They might even find themselves competing against him, directly or indirectly. Yet, this was the natural course of events, an integral part of the journey every Recognized disciple of the God Leafs must go through.
"All of you face a crucial decision now: either remain a phantom seed under Cesar's leadership or venture down separate paths. Remember that your collective goal is to reach the mental domain as swiftly as possible. Being in the mental domain will increase your chances of qualifying for the 301st Mortal Rings Tournament. Some of the competition will possess 14 or even 50 years of cultivation ahead of you."
"Together, you can gather six times as many resources as opposed to being alone. This will provide you with an advantage over others. Whatever your choice is, I wish you luck, my students." Romann concluded his farewell.
Before leaving, he emphasized that if they managed to avoid dying, their paths with him would inevitably intersect again. His gaze lingered on Cesar, conveying a look of tenderness.
With that, Romann disappeared without a trace, as was his habit. Left in silence, the six of them exchanged glances. As unrecognized disciples, they were mere visitors to whatever Mortal Ring they lodged in. They had a degree of freedom but were also vulnerable to having their resources extracted.
Traditionally, it was customary for unrecognized disciples to journey through the various Mortal Rings of different God Leafs around the world. This practice fostered a global trading network between each God Leaf's Immortal and Mortal Rings. This was how treasures from the Evergreen Leaf, such as Ever-life stones, were found in the Mortal Rings of the Blood Leaf.