Screams echoed in the hallway of the third floor, the sounds of rapid footsteps drumming against the descending steps of the staircase became louder and louder as it approached the downstairs lobby. Frantic and panicking, people rushed from the stairway exit and out the front door of the inn complaining in fright that a ghost has taken refuge on the third floor, swearing to the Holy Matriarch that they will never again in this lifetime visit this place.
Customers drenched in sweat, eyes wild with fear, some even half dressed jumped in their carriages and escaped without paying their outstanding fees or collecting their belongings from the inn as if their lives depended on being as far away as possible from here .
The puzzled and scared look of the black bearded manager could not be hidden as he ordered some stable boys to go up and have a look not daring to go himself. The people complaining were not bumpkins they were nobles passing through the province headed to the capital and not just one but a group had the same experience, the manager had to take note, as silly as it sounded he had to take some form of action.
The two stable boys dressed in black robes trimmed with white lining at the sides made their way carefully onto the third floor, beads of sweat ran down their foreheads as they tip-toed shoulder to shoulder through the long empty hallway, each wishing the other would take the lead. Shafts of sunlight knifed through the open doors of the abandoned rooms creating yellow spots of sunshine on the white walls opposite. They could hear the muffled sounds of people outside going about their daily duties and wished they were the ones on the other side of these walls, they popped their heads around the frames of the open doors, eyes darting back and forth confirming nothing suspicious before they moved on. The process continued until the boys reached the end of the corridor and breathed a sigh of relief. They wanted to leave as quick as possible and was about to make their way back to report to the manager who had stayed at the foot of the stairs on the second floor.
Screams of terror suddenly exited from both youth's throat, unexpectedly they had helplessly floated up to right beneath the ceiling flailing their arms and legs like young pigeons pushed from a nest high up a tree, their arms and legs knocking against the ceiling and the terrible shrill screams made the manager at the foot of the stairs wash in cold sweat, he wasn't about to go up and risk his life for a couple stable boys.
He turned and ran down the stairs, descending two stairs with each step and disappeared out the front door as quick as a 6th layer xiantian wind elemental expert. After a short while the youths gently floated down to the floor again but before they could flee a couple steps, in terror they floated up to the ceiling once more kicking and screaming again.
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Situated below this stretch of corridor was Hartley's and Zhi Ruo's room. Hartley sat eyes closed and crossed legged on the floor, his body was bright blue from neck to toe, faint white wisps of steam, almost translucent, wriggled around his entire body. During the process of assimilating with the blue star fragment: Hartley had evolved from having blue lights wrapped around his hand when he threw a punch, at the next level his skin would turn a dull shade of blue while emitting tendrils of smoke-like white steam and now Hartley's skin was bright blue with faint white wisps of steam, barely visible dancing close to his body but didn't rise upwards as it did before.
Hartley had now entered the 6th layer of the xiantian realm. A seventeen year old boy more than half way to being a saint realm expert, if others could see Hartleys cultivation level right now there would be shock through the entire country of Aidonia.
Zhi Ruo had taken Qin Li and the four escorts shopping leaving Hartley to rest and cultivate. Rewinding and reliving the battle he had with the cloaked man in his mind, he had unexpectedly found enlightenment during this session while meticulously analyzing his mistakes and the moves he should have used.
He wasn't aware of what was going on outside at the moment. He breathed slowly and every time he inhaled every piece of furniture around him in the room would float up to about ceiling height like the two stable boys above him and every time he exhaled everything would gently come to rest on the floor again. It continued like this for another fifteen minutes before Hartley opened his blue eyes.
A blue flash lighted up the room and disappeared like a lightning flash. Hartley's skin turned back to normal, only now his usually tanned skin was pale white and could rival a female who had been pampered her whole life, even the black burn scar on the width of his back had disappeared without a trace, it was as if Hartley was a new man. He hadn't noticed it yet and stood still not aware what had taken place outside. The stable boys, finally released from their roller coaster ride ran wide eyed without stopping, occasionally looking over their shoulders glancing at the piece of corridor in terror like that part of building was possessed.
One hour later the manager returned with around six people following and the two stable boys still trembling leading the way, word had spread about the happenings on the third floor of the inn, so by this time a crowd had gathered on the first floor some people on the higher floors had also come to the first floor scared that what happened on the third floor would also happen on the higher floors, even though no one was completely sure about what had happened.
The man behind the black bearded manager, dressed in a fine lily-white silk robe swaggered through the crowd. "make way, that is an elder of the Hagley Martial School," people whispered. The elder was a middle aged man, short and slim his face was clean shaven but he had long raven-black hair wrapped in a bun on the top of his head secured with a gold hair pin in the shape of a dragon. He led the students behind him dressed in black robes, towards the third floor and disappeared from sight along with the manager.