When Uehara vanished from the two girl’s sight, Sakura looked at Chizuki with a worried expression.

“Chizuki-nee. W-why is Black-sama like this?”

She knew he was tough but this was now bordering on cruelty.

“Ever since you came to this island, have you ever seen a dangerous beasts?”

“No.”

Chizuki simply pointed in a direction.

“For the next fifty kilometres, you won’t find any dangerous chakra beasts because this whole area is Master’s territory.”

She grabbed Sakura’s hand.

“I want to show you the beasts master had to fight ever since he was a child.”

In an instant, they vanished. They appeared in a relatively quiet area. In front of them was an unnaturally large cave that had a height of two-hundred metres.

“Follow me and conceal your chakra.”

Sakura was a bit intimidated but she nodded.

“Yes.”

They walked inside and Sakura was shocked to find that the interior was actually five times as big. With a maximum height of one-kilometre, the interior was very spacious. Various glow stones lit up the area and Sakura nearly screamed when she saw what was in front of her. Chizuki took the liberty to explain.

“Master calls these beasts blood titans because of their red skin and unnatural desire to feast on everything alive.”

In front of them were hundreds of humanoids with dark red skin and yellow arms with absolutely no hair on their person. Their heights were between the ranges of forty to five-hundred metres tall. Most of them were lazying around while a few were munching on the bright blue glow stones on the walls.

“Follow me.”

They flew over the titans and they soon came to a grotto. In front of them was an eight-hundred metre tall muscled blood titan. It was sleeping alone by a corner and the simple action of it breathing slightly rattled the cave.

“W-what is that?”

“That is the overlord of the blood titans. Its territory is this whole mountain peninsula. Previously, its territory also included the forest region where master currently resides but after he defeated the titan overlord, it became his territory.”

Sakura was scared stiff at seeing the humungous titan in front of her.

“Black-sama had to fight…that?”

Chizuki calmly replied.

“Yes. Amongst many other things.”

After showing Sakura the blood titan overlord, she took her to every region all over the island. She took her to the plains where thousands of six-legged five-metre tall brown bears with sharp horns on their head were relaxing under the morning sun.

“These are bison bears. Their overlord was killed by master fourteen years ago. It was forty-metres tall.”

Without waiting for her answer, Chizuki vanished with her again. She introduced several different species including centipedes as long as buses. She ended her tour with eight-metre tall stag beetles that lived underground.

Appearing at the familiar clearing again, Chizuki pointed her finger at the area all around them.

“This entire forest region belongs to master. Ever since he was born, he has had to fight to survive. The beasts here wouldn’t show him mercy just because he was still a dragon cub.”

She looked at Sakura with a meaningful expression.

“If I told you that master is only nineteen-years old this year, would it clear some doubts for you?”

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

“Eh?!”

Sakura’s eyes widened in shock. She always assumed Uehara was some century year-old child with a very slow growth rate. Never would she have expected that the person she respects the most was very close to her age group.

“It’s true. Master is only three years older than you and four years younger than me, but he has more strength and determination than anyone we’ve ever seen. He’s had to fight all those beasts while he was still weaker than us. That’s why master hates weakness so much, especially from you.”

She held her shoulder.

“Master experienced much more tribulations than you at a younger age. That’s why when he sees you failing to overcome a single hurdle, he feels disgust and his favourability towards you decreases. He’s had to deal with encounters while putting his life on the line while you have to deal with an illusion of death. That’s the reason why he gets angry seeing you, who he believes has sufficient strength to overcome this hurdle, tremble.”

“Oh…”

Chizuki crouched down and fixed Sakura’s martial arts robe.

“But don’t be so sad. Master partially understands that you didn’t grow up under the same environment, but that can’t be your excuse. Right now, you have the best chance of opening the second path. So when master comes back, put on a brave face, control your chakra, calm your mind and follow master’s instructions.”

Wiping her teary smile, she smiled a bit.

“Y-yes. Chizuki-nee.”

Chizuki held both of Sakura’s cheeks and smiled like a loving mother.

“I can promise you with my life and soul that everything master does to you is for your own good, even if you won’t see it immediately. Once you grow up, you’ll naturally come to understand what I mean.”

Sakura lips trembled.

“Wah! Don’t hold me like I’m a child!”

Chizuki giggled.

“First open the second path. Then we’ll see if you’re still a child or not. Besides, you’re so cute~”

Sakura pouted.

“Hmph. Don’t call me cute.”

Chizuki placated her.

“Okay okay Sakura.”

She then stood up.

“Master will be here soon so go on and meditate. Remember to just treat it as a passing experience.”

“Yes, Chizuki-nee.”

Sakura was determined as she went to meditate by the tree again. As she crossed her legs and leaned against the trunk, she began to calm herself down. When the images of her death experience popped by, she did her best to view them from a bystander’s point of view. By throwing her away her fears, she finally managed to enter a meditative state.

When Uehara appeared, he threw a glance at Sakura. Seeing how her chakra was calm and her state of mind was tranquil, he turned his head towards Chizuki.

“You did well, Chizuki.”

Chizuki lowered her head.

“As I should, master.”

Uehara walked towards Sakura placed his hands on the sides of her head.

“You have already opened the first path of life. The second path of death is simple. Do you understand? Don’t speak. Just nod.”

A few seconds passed before Sakura nodded.

“Good. Just like how you understand life, you must understand death. You have already experienced what death is like. Keep recalling that experience while you move your chakra towards your heart.”

He felt her waver a bit.

“Focus. This is currently the fastest way to improve your strength. Your comprehension over the meaning of death is vital to unlocking the second path. Continue circling chakra around your heart and you should feel something akin to an itch there soon. Once you feel it, nod. Remember, keep replaying the memories of your death and analyse them crucially. Find the true meaning of death.”

While guiding her, Chizuki sent a voice transmission to his head.

{Master. Shouldn’t we give her advice?}

Uehara didn’t even look back as he replied.

{No. She needs to find her own path. The only thing we can do is give her the tools. As for the rest, she will have to figure it out herself.}

Minutes trickled by and soon, Sakura gave a nod, meaning she finally felt an itch in her heart.

“Good. Now keep circulating your chakra there while comprehending the true meaning of death. The more you can comprehend, the longer your path will be and the larger your increase in strength will be.”

Sakura continued to sink further in to her centuries of experience in the state of non-living. She kept repeating the experiences over and over again. Normally, this would’ve traumatised her but Uehara made sure to keep her calm at all times by using his chakra to reduce any stress she would feel.

Seeing how she was struggling, Uehara chose to give her some vague advice.

“When I taught you how to unlock the first path, you channeled chakra into your stomach. Your stomach produces the vitality for your whole body from what you consume. You heart contains the second path of death. It spreads vitality across your whole body but once it is injured, death is certain. Once your spirit departs from your body…”

He kept quiet after that.

[Death is all around us. But with death, there is life. You have to kill to consume and if you die, the earth will consume you to nourish itself. If you still can’t understand that life and death are intertwined, then I have failed in teaching you properly.]

Hours went by as Sakura continued to immerse herself in meditation. Her chakra and vitality were continuously getting stronger as well as her mental fortitude. Soon, Uehara had to use less and less chakra to keep her in a calm state until he was satisfied that he could remove his hands from the sides of her head.

He looked at Chizuki, a faint, unnoticeable smile on his face.

“Wake me up when she opens the second path.”

“Yes master.”

A black mist covered Uehara and soon, he turned into his dragon form. He jumped into Chizuki’s hands and nestled himself into her ample bosom, falling asleep instantly.

“Hehe~”

Chizuki let out a light giggle as she looked at Sakura while scratching Uehara’s sides.

“I told you master appreciates strength.”

(AN: Due to abrupt power outages, chapter update times may be irregular. As of currently, this will temporarily be the new update time until further notice.)