The days turned to weeks and the weeks turned into months. Before I knew it, three months passed by in the blink of an eye. During those three months, I focused exclusively on training and cultivation. At dawn and dusk, I practiced mental refining using the Song of Dawn and Dusk technique. Unlike qi refining or physical refining, mental refining wasn’t divided into realms; there weren’t any bottlenecks to deal with. As long as I diligently meditated, my mind would grow stronger and stronger over time.
In the mornings, I cultivated using the Soul of Divine Fire technique. After forming my dantian with divine fire qi, I no longer felt any pain while in the meditation chamber. The heat from the Earth Fire still felt uncomfortable, and I had to stay a certain distance away from it, but I had no problems otherwise. Compared to the feeling of burning alive I experienced before forming my dantian, it was a definite improvement.
Thanks to the abundance of divine fire qi, I managed to break through to the second small realm of the Qi Condensation stage within those three months. While it would’ve taken a cultivator with heavenly spirit roots half as much time, I felt pretty happy with my speed. However, it wasn’t fast enough for me to participate in the upcoming entrance exam for the Dawn and Dusk Sect. According to Astra, I needed to at least be in late Qi Condensation or the physical refining equivalent.
For qi refining and physical refining, each large realm was divided into seven smaller realms that were grouped into four broad categories. The first two were early, the next two were mid, and the two after that were late. The seventh small realm of each large realm was the peak of that large realm, and considered half a step into the next one. While reaching the first few small realms for each large realm was relatively easy to reach, the last few were much more difficult.
With my cultivation speed, reaching late Qi Condensation in less than a year was impossible. For someone with heavenly spirit roots, it would have just barely been possible, but not for someone like me. If I had just relied on qi refining, I wouldn’t have been able to participate in the upcoming entrance exam. However, I wasn’t just a qi refiner.
A week after I started training in the Frenzied Fiend fighting style, I started physical refining with the Asura Crucible Body technique. Practicing this particular technique required a cultivator to temper and refine their body with flames formed from demonic qi. While the process was simple, it was quite painful. However, thanks to my experiences enduring the divine fire qi, I could handle it.
To facilitate this, Astra set up a second meditation chamber for me, one for demonic qi. She placed it closer to the base of the mountain, to take advantage of the abundant demonic qi within the purplish-black mist. It took some work on her part, since she needed to draw the purplish-black mist into the meditation chamber without allowing anything else in. However, she managed in the end.
To my surprise, I found that I had a much higher aptitude for physical refining than qi refining. So much so that it took me mere days to break through to the physical refining equivalent of Qi Condensation. I felt both elation at this, as well as a small measure of disappointment. When compared to how much time and trouble it took to become a qi refiner, becoming a physical refiner with such ease felt somewhat anticlimactic.
When I told Astra about this, she didn’t believe me at first. However, after she examined me, she was left dumbfounded. After all, it was much more difficult to practice physical refining than qi refining. At least, it was supposed to be.
Part of it was my demonkin nature. While humans and other creatures could practice the Asura Crucible Body technique, it was created for demons or those with demonic heritage. This gave the latter a significant advantage when cultivating with this technique. However, that didn’t explain everything. Astra and my other older sisters all practiced the Asura Crucible Body technique, but their cultivation speed with it was much slower than mine.
After thinking about it some more, Astra and I came to the conclusion my speed was in part due to me being a divine demon. See, while I used mostly demonic qi while cultivating with the Asura Crucible Body technique, I also used a small amount of divine fire qi. Since I used a small amount of demonic qi to form my dantian, I figured that I also needed to use some divine fire qi when using my demonic physical refining technique.
Necessary or not, this seemed to have sped up my progress with physical refinement. My speed was equivalent to someone with heavenly spirit roots practicing qi refining. After realizing this, I jumped around with joy. This meant that it was maybe possible, just maybe, for me to participate in the entrance exam for the Dawn and Dusk Sect. Astra felt no end of both amusement and exasperation at this.
I spent my afternoons practicing physical refinement as well as practicing martial arts. Given my aptitude with physical refinement, I was going to use martial arts more often than mystic arts. To give me more versatility, Astra also taught me two other fighting styles: the Subduing Palm fighting style and the Disrupting Finger fighting style.
At first I didn’t think much of the latter fighting style, and asked Astra what was the point of using one’s fingers in combat. She answered me by sealing my movements with a few swift movements, jabbing my acupoints with fingers. It took me close to an hour to recover. During that hour, Astra lectured me on the many ways one could disable or even kill an opponent with a few well placed strikes.
Astra also taught me a few basic mystic arts. While I couldn’t use demonic spells and such, I could use orthodox ones without issue. This included the Fireball spell and the Fire Serpent spell, which almost all Fire cultivators learned. However, she also taught me mystic arts that could be used in conjunction with my martial arts: Fire Fist, Fire Palm, and Fire Finger. As their names suggested, one created a fist, a palm, or a finger out of Fire qi with these mystic arts.
Given my low cultivation base, my mystic arts were pathetically weak and I couldn’t use too many of them before running out of qi. Using my divine fire qi to increase their power didn’t work, since they weren’t divine mystic arts. However, they increased my arsenal and allowed me to attack from a distance, which made them worth using.
Unfortunately, Astra couldn’t teach me any divine mystic arts. As a demonic cultivator, she didn’t know any. Neither did she have any manuals that she could give me so I could learn them on my own. If she tried to get some from the Dawn and Dusk Sect’s manual pavilion, it would arouse suspicion, something we both wanted to avoid.
This led me to wonder how she got her hands on the manual for the Soul of Divine Fire technique. As a top-tier cultivation technique, it was more valuable than any mystic art. I even asked her about it, but Astra deflected and refused to answer. Since it didn’t matter to me all that much, I stopped questioning her about it.
In the evenings, Astra and I spent time together. Sometimes this involved a lesson or lecture about cultivation, but most of the time we just talked. She told me about her life in the Dawn and Dusk Sect, as well as any misadventures she got up to with Big Sis Estelle. The two of them were close in age, just a few years apart, so they spent a lot of time together growing up. Big Sis Sidra, on the other hand, had already been several centuries old by that point, so she was closer to a second mother to them than a sister.
In return, I told Astra about the time I spent with Lucius. He was the only one of my kin who I held in high regard, aside from my father of course. I couldn’t care less about the rest. While Lucius couldn’t spend all that much time together, thanks to my uncle, the time we did spend together was precious to me.
I missed Lucius, and felt guilty whenever I thought about him. From his point of view, I just disappeared from Mt. Wind Dance without any warning. Knowing him, he would’ve searched high and low for me. He was the only one of my kin who cared about my wellbeing, and my disappearance would have worried him.
I thought about asking Astra to deliver a message to Lucius, letting him know that I was fine, but I refrained. It was too risky. I didn’t want my uncle or any of my other kin to find out about it. What if they came after me? Arrogant and narcissistic of me perhaps, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
Neither did I want to ask Astra to sneak back into Mt. Wind Dance. After my disappearance, my kin would have corrected any flaws in their defenses, and I didn’t want my big sis to come to harm while performing a personal errand for me.
However, I couldn’t keep silent forever. Nor did I want to. With that in mind, I promised myself to send Lucius a message after I joined the Dawn and Dusk Sect. By that point, there wouldn’t be anything that my kin could do to me. Not only would I be a disciple of the Dawn and Dusk Sect, but I would also have my family on my side.
This just made me even more determined to participate in the upcoming entrance exam. The sooner I joined the Dawn and Dusk Sect, the better.
Fortunately for me, I soon gained another teacher who could help me achieve that goal.
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It happened one day while I practiced martial arts in the training hall. While I had achieved some proficiency with the Frenzied Fiend fighting style, as well as the Subduing Palm and Disrupting Fingers fighting styles, I hadn’t even come close to mastering them. And so I trained everyday, practicing the stances for each fighting style and sparring with Astra on occasion.
I even started to incorporate some of the moves from the Dancing Wind Blade fighting style into my personal fighting style. While I intended to do this with the Frenzied Fiend fighting style, I found that it was a better fit for the Disrupting Fingers fighting style. After all, both styles focused on delivering critical strikes to one’s opponents. All I had to do was use my fingers instead of a sword.
It wasn’t a perfect fit, so it took some trial and error on my part to make it work. Still, I found it enjoyable. Even my failures didn’t disappoint me too much. And I hadn’t given up on merging the Dancing Wind Blade fight style with the Frenzied Fiend fighting style, though it took much more work on my part given the differences between the two.
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I had just finished performing a series of stances that incorporated several of my different fighting styles, when I heard clapping coming from the entrance to the training hall.
“A bit rough,” a man’s voice said. “But it has potential.”
I whirled around to find a stranger standing at the threshold to the training hall. The stranger was tall, with pale skin and short blonde hair. At first, I thought he was one of my kin from Clan Wind Dance, but then dismissed the notion. This man, while handsome, displayed none of the delicate beauty that all of my kin shared. His eyes were also amber, not sky blue. He wore a set of expensive white robes trimmed with gold and carried a spear in his hands. Even at a glance, I could tell that this spear was a powerful magical treasure. It was made from bone and had strange characters carved into it.
I also couldn’t read his aura. Astra once told me that if I couldn’t read someone’s aura, they either knew how to conceal it or they were several large realms above me in cultivation. Regardless, it was best to be careful around such people. I supposed that this man could have been mortal, but I doubted it. We were in the Black Mist Mountains, and several powerful arrays protected Astra’s old immortal cave. Only a cultivator could have gotten in.
He also knew how to avoid being noticed. Even without my spirit sense, I should have heard this man’s approach yet I hadn’t. Yes, I was focused on my training earlier, but my enhanced senses should have picked up on his presence, yet they hadn’t. Taking everything in account, it was clear to me that this man was dangerous and not to be underestimated.
“Who are you?” I demanded, taking a stance. “And how did you get in here?”
Despite my words, I panicked on the inside. Astra had left a few days ago to perform some errands for the Dawn and Dusk Sect. While she was due back today, I didn’t know when she would return. Without her, I had no confidence in defeating this man given the disparity in our strengths; unless he was a Qi Condensation cultivator who could hide his aura.
If that was the case, then maybe I had a chance. Maybe. In the past three months, I had reached the second small realm in physical refining and was well on my way towards reaching the third. As long as he wasn’t too far above me in power, then I had a chance at defeating him. If nothing else, I could always try to escape. However, if this man was above the Qi Condensation realm, then my chances of victory or escape were much slimmer.
“Hmm,” the strange man said, pretending to look thoughtful. “See, I came here looking for Astra. Imagine my surprise when I find a stranger here instead.” He gave me a sharp smile. “So the better question is, who are you?”
I narrowed my eyes at him.
“I asked you first,” I said. Unwise of me perhaps, but better than giving in to this intruder. “Tell me who you are, or I’ll make you regret it.”
My words caught the intruder off guard because his eyes widened by a fraction, before he started laughing. This lasted for a while, and by the end he was in tears. My cheeks flushed with embarrassment, but I maintained my stance.
“It’s been a while since someone at your level threatened me,” he said, wiping the tears from his eyes. “How bold of you. Foolish, but bold. You’re out of your depths here.”
The man gave me another smile, a softer one this time, as he revealed his cultivation. I felt the blood drain from my face. Golden Core. He was at the same level as Astra and my uncle. Any hope of defeating this man or escaping from him died right then and there. The difference in strength between us was like the difference between heaven and earth. He could kill me with little effort on his part. My only chance at survival was to stall for time and hope Astra arrived soon.
“However, you have nothing to fear from me,” the intruder said. “Given your presence in her old immortal cave, it’s clear that you’re someone important to Astra.” He pursed his lips in thought. “A disciple, perhaps? Given the martial arts I saw you practicing earlier, that makes the most sense. And she is long overdue for one.” His eyes narrowed. “That said, your appearance…”
The intruder trailed off as he studied me. Moments later, his eyes widened.
“Wait, are you Little Demon?” he asked in an incredulous tone.
I started when he called me by the nickname Astra sometimes used for me.
“That can’t be,” the intruder continued. “From what I know, you’re supposed to be with Cultivator Connor in that backwater province where his clan is located. What was it called again? Myriad Rivers. That was it. Clan Wind Dance in the Myriad Rivers Province.” He tilted his head to the side. “Huh. If you’re here…”
The intruder trailed off once more, before he started laughing again.
“Oh, ancestors,” he said. “Astra, you absolute madwoman. I can’t believe this. Vice Hall Master Sidra is going to be furious when she learns about this.” He grinned. “I can’t wait to see her expression.”
I stared at the intruder in confusion. From his words, I gathered that he was familiar with Astra. Not only that, but it sounded like the two of them were close. He called Astra by her name, and knew that this place was her old immortal cave. Whatever their relationship was, it wasn’t shallow. For some reason, I felt uneasy about that.
However, what confused me the most was that it sounded like this man knew about me. He called me by the nickname Astra used for me, and it sounded like he knew Big Sis Sidra. He even knew about the agreement my parents made with each other regarding my upbringing, which I didn’t think anyone outside of my family would know about.
“Who are you?” I asked, bewildered.
Despite my confusion, I remained vigilant. While I no longer thought that my life was in danger, it didn’t hurt to remain cautious. I would continue treating this man as an intruder until Astra returned and confirmed that she knew him.
“My name is-…” the intruder started to say but then stopped. “Hold on one moment.”
Before I could respond, the man leapt into the training hall to avoid Astra’s sneak attack. I hadn’t even noticed her until now. Black qi coated Astra’s hands, and her eyes blazed with fury. Despite this, the man looked amused rather than alarmed.
After that, they disappeared from my sight. They hadn’t left the training, but rather they moved too fast for me to follow. I caught the occasional glimpse of them as they fought and exchanged furious blows with each other. Rage twisted Astra’s face while the intruder maintained his amused expression. Despite this, the two must have held back. Otherwise the training hall, and myself, would have been destroyed within the first exchange. The two of them fought in complete silence, since I also heard nothing despite witnessing their exchanges.
Moments later, the two of them ended up on the floor with the intruder laying on his back and Astra on top of him. Her arms flanked his head, with her claws digging into the stone floor. The bone spear lay on the ground next to the intruder.
“What are you doing here, Raphael?” Astra growled, baring her teeth. She leaned in close until their faces were inches apart.
“You’ve been avoiding me,” he said, giving her a flat look contrary to the amused expression he wore earlier. “You kept running away whenever I tried to see you. When I noticed how often you kept coming back to this place, I came here so we could finally talk things out. Imagine my surprise when I discovered your little brother instead of you.” He grinned at her. “You’ve done something rather naughty, Astra.”
Astra snarled at him, and I heard stone cracking as she dug her claws deeper into the floor.
“He is none of your concern,” she said. “Leave him out of this.”
“How can I? I knew you were upset about what happened, but I didn’t think you’d go this far to spite your sister. Vice Hall Master Sidra isn’t going to be happy when she hears about this.”
What were they talking about?
“Excuse me?” I asked.
Neither one of them seemed to have heard me.
“That isn’t why I brought Little Demon here,” Astra said. She sat up straight and pointed a finger right at his face. “And the reason why I’ve been avoiding you is because you’re just as much to blame for this situation as Big Sis Sidra.”
The man’s stopped grinning and glared at Astra.
“That’s not fair,” he said. “It was my father’s decision, not mine.”
“Excuse me,” I said, speaking a little louder than before.
“Please,” Astra said with a scoff. “As if you put up any resistance.”
The man gave her bewildered look.
“Why would I? We were going to marr-…”
“Hey!” I shouted.
The two of them looked at me and blinked, as if they had forgotten I was there.
“What is going on here?” I demanded.
The two of them glanced at one another, before they disentangled from each other and stood up. I glared at Astra while the intruder picked up his bone spear.
“Who is that man, and why does he know so much about me?” I turned my glare towards the intruder. “And what exactly is your relationship with my sister? You two sounded like you were in the middle of a lovers’ quarrel.”
Astra coughed and looked away, an embarrassed expression on her face. The intruder crossed his arms and smirked at her.
“Yes, Astra,” he said, sounding smug. “Who am I? Go on. Tell him.”
Astra scowled at him, before facing me and sighing.
“He’s…” She paused with a pained look on her face. “He’s my betrothed. The two of us are engaged to be married.”
I blinked at her in surprise. It took me several moments to recover my composure.
“Engaged?!” I asked. “You never said that you were engaged!”
For some reason, that intensified my uneasiness from earlier.
“That’s not all, is it?” the man asked Astra. “Does he know about your ongoing feud with Vice Hall Master Sidra?”
“Quiet,” Astra hissed. “I told you, that wasn’t why I brought him here.”
Still in shock by the knowledge that my older sister was engaged to this man, I almost missed that part.
“Wait, you’re feuding with Big Sis Sidra?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at her.
“It’s not a feud,” Astra said. “It’s more of an ongoing argument between myself and Big Sis Sidra.”
The intruder raised an eyebrow at her.
“Isn’t that what a feud is?” he asked.
“Of course not,” Astra scoffed. “There hasn’t been nearly enough bloodshed. If this were an actual feud, Big Sis Sidra would have already broken all of my limbs.”
The intruder and I both blinked at her.
“I see,” the intruder said in a dry tone. “I forgot whose daughter you were. Your family’s standards differ from everyone else’s.”
Astra snorted, but otherwise didn’t respond. I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose.
“Can someone explain to me what is going on?” I asked. I opened my eyes. “Why are you feuding with Big Sis Sidra? What does it have to do with me? More importantly, what does it have to do with your engagement?”
The intruder gave me a puzzled look for a brief moment, before understanding lit up his eyes and his amused expression returned. I ignored him and focused on Astra.
“Let us go somewhere else,” Astra said with a sigh. “It’s a long story, and this isn’t the place to tell it.”
I wanted to press Astra for answers now, but I remained patient and held my tongue. The intruder and I followed my older sister as she led us out of the training hall.