Azreal stands, staring at his Master, her expression serious and her gaze unbreaking, the question she asked ringing through his mind.

“If you have a cultivation method that allows the harmony of both body and soul, will you teach it to me?”

Azreal is stunned that his Master would consider discarding her cultivation base to restart her entire cultivation pathway. How many years has she worked tirelessly to reach her current level? Do those years mean nothing compared to the possibility of ascending to the next heaven more easily?

“Master, are you really okay with throwing away your cultivation base, your name, and position as a Pavilion Leader and Great Elder?” Azreal responds after a few minutes of silent contemplation.

“Yes, you fail to grasp the importance of ascending. The second heaven has resources beyond our imagination, and it only gets more impressive the more heavens you can move through. With my current cultivation method, it will take me another fifty years to ascend!” enthusiasm is clear in Elder Juhee’s voice.

Elder Lu scoffs at her words, “Fifty years? I’ve been cultivating for hundreds of years, and I am still stuck in the first heaven. The absurdity of complaining about fifty years! Youth truly is a blessing. Azreal, I would never discard my cultivation base. But Elder Juhee is much younger than I am, and it is not uncommon for generational talents to restart their cultivation pathway with a much higher rank method.”

Elder Juhee smiles at both her disciple and friend, “Well, can I? You can ask anything you want from me in return.”

“Master, I would happily teach you this method if I had the ability. You’ve saved my life, and I owe you. But I cannot teach you the technique as my comprehension of it is only minuscule; I haven’t even scratched the surface of my understanding, and I was lucky enough to inherit the knowledge innately. I couldn’t even show you the method apart from you watching me cultivate, which you’ve already done,” replies Azreal with a tinge of disappointment at his own inability.

Elder Juhee and Azreal’s eyes meet, “I trust you, Azreal. We can revisit this once your comprehension of the method increases,” says Elder Juhee.

“Thank you, Master. I will teach you once I comprehend the technique further,” replies Azreal, a truth in his words that reassures Elder Juhee. “Now, you have become quite strong, Azreal, but you know so little about this world, and even less about cultivation. It is truly strange that a talent like you has so little experience. The upcoming outer disciples' ascension competition has been brought forward and will start in two days' time,” says Elder Lu.

Elder Juhee, turning away from Azreal, looks towards the mountaintop again, imperceptible to anyone but herself. Ancestor Eranta is starting to listen to their conversation with great attention, hoping he can assist his little Juhee in ascending to the next realm with ease.

“Elder Lu, I was told that this competition wouldn’t be for a few months. Isn’t it early for the newest disciples to even be able to compete?” asks Azreal. “Your fight with the Crimson Fang was not the only oddity that has occurred in the last few months. You may not know this, but the Heavenly Root Sect is one of the top three Sects in the first heaven, alongside the Verdant Sword and the Skyward Blossom. Our position and power ranking is constantly changing. Outside of the three major Sects, there are countless smaller Sects. Do not let our heavenly ranking inflate your ego; the smaller Sects are just as dangerous if cornered,” says Elder Lu.

“Back to the topic, you’re trailing off, Elder Lu,” says Elder Juhee.

“Ah, apologies, I do love a good long-winded story. As I was saying, your encounter is not the only mission that escalated into an extremely dangerous encounter. There have been many reports from the two major Sects and a few local Sects reporting demonic monsters or evil cultivators which far surpass the expected strength of the missions given to the Sects,” says Elder Lu.

“Wait, were they all as dangerous as the Harbinger I stopped from birthing?” asks Azreal. “No, thankfully, most were of a lower scale, yet still wreaked havoc across the first heaven and, in particular, the Lower Plains,” replies Elder Juhee, her full attention back on Azreal.

“Azreal, the competition has been moved forward because we are gathering the most promising disciples within the first heavens and opening the doors to the Violet Sanctum. The Sanctum is a place of inheritance, the tomb of an immortal, or so we believe. The price for opening this tomb world is so high that every Sect that wishes to participate must pay a substantial price in gold or treasures per disciple. Additionally, the peak realm allowed inside the Violet Sanctum is peak Martial Adept and peak Soul Initiate, so you will have a chance of being able to enter with your strength,” says Elder Lu.

Azreal’s eyes light up with excitement, an unknown desire for exploration and facing the unknown begins to fill his mind and causes goosebumps to appear along his arms. “Calm yourself, Azreal, you still have to qualify for entry. Because of how dangerous the Violet Sanctum is, we only allow disciples to enter in teams of three to five, the competition in a similar format,” says Elder Lu, using his aura to calm Azreal’s mind.

“We will be calling all outer disciples who wish to partake in the competition to the Outer Meeting Hall, where those disciples will form teams and be explained the rules of the competition and the rewards given to those outstanding groups,” Elder Juhee chimes in.

A silence befalls the balcony, a few moments of a warm, enjoyable peace, the scenery of the Spirit Harmony Pavilion disciples going about their work, filling the vibrant alchemical herb garden with life.

“You can go now, Azreal, we will see each other tomorrow. Either rest or preemptively form your team, the choice is yours,” says Elder Juhee, breaking the silence.

“Go and see Darian, he came here to check on you multiple times over the last few days, offering any help he could. You should be able to find him at your Unbound Pavilion’s training grounds; he has chosen to enter Elder Juhee’s pavilion rather than mine,” says Elder Lu, the tinge of disappointment felt in his words.

“You’ve made a good friend in Darian, if he's anything like his father, he will be a true ally for you moving forward,” says Elder Lu, moving to the edge of the balcony, his hands behind his back and staring out to observe the disciples working diligently.

“Thank you, Master, Elder Lu. I will go and see him now,” says Azreal as he makes his way from the balcony, weaving his way through the web of hallways, finding himself being rejuvenated by the air he is breathing, regretfully finding his way out of Elder Lu’s sanctuary.

“Oh! Before you go, Azreal, I forgot to mention that the girl you saved from the cocoon, Xiara, wants to meet with you as well. She is eternally grateful you saved her life and wishes to thank you personally. I told her you will be at the training ground where Darian is this afternoon,” says Elder Lu.

“I will wait for her there,” replies Azreal, continuing to walk away.

Azreal, stepping out of Elder Lu’s sanctuary, breathes in, “The mountainside air is incredibly crisp and filled with ambient Qi, but it still feels dirty compared to the sanctuary…” Azreal mutters to himself as he stretches his body.

After inspecting his body and completing a couple of stretches, he is happy with his body's response; in fact, he feels his body has gotten both stronger and more flexible since his most recent breakthroughs. A wide grin appears on his face as he scans his status window again, this time investigating it in detail.

‘My stats increased massively over the two breakthroughs, my abilities are becoming more diverse, and I even managed to upgrade a second affinity. As terrible of an experience as fighting the Crimson Fang Orpald was, at least I have a lot to show for it,’ Azreal’s thoughts overtaking his mind once again as he walks towards the Unbound Pavilion’s training grounds without a care or thought in the world.

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Elder Lu’s sanctuary is located on the far side of the mountain, where the Sect has its most critical livestock and alchemical ingredients being cared for and harvested. This made the walk back to the training ground take longer than expected, and Azreal found himself hitching a ride on a ginormous wooden cart, larger than any bus he has seen back on earth. Being steered by an inner disciple, who was accompanied by a few outer disciples, Azreal was slightly surprised; the massive cart was being pulled by a single beast, what he assumed to be an Ox mixed with a horse. The outer disciples from the Spirit Heaven Pavilion smiled and happily agreed when Azreal asked if he could hitch a ride; the disciples were discussing some of the recent happenings within the Sect.

Azreal listened intently, hoping to pick up anything useful; he almost gave up on listening as they were discussing mundane things, such as one young master offending another young master, which sister disciple would talk to them, and so on. Azreal’s boredom set in before his ears pricked up, as the conversation suddenly turned interesting.

“Did you hear what happened between the Crimson Sword Pavilion’s Junai and that girl from the Ancient Dragon Restaurant? What was her name again, Bea or something?” said one of the male disciples.

“Oh, did Junai hurt another one? I heard he’s challenged anyone who he dislikes to a life and death duel and uses his grandfather's position as Pavilion Leader to force disciples into accepting,” said a female disciple, a dose of contempt in her voice.

“It’s different this time; he went there to ask her to become his woman! When she declined, I heard he made quite the scene. In a fit of rage at her denial, he slapped her and stormed out while screaming she’s trash just like her father, who is a chef rather than a cultivator,” a different female disciple chimed in.

“Someone needs to kill him; his grandfather will protect him while he is inside the Sect walls. If anyone catches him acting like that towards other Sects or powerful cultivators, it could bring ruin to all of us,” said the inner disciple with a firm tone.

Azreal’s blood was boiling at the thought of Junai having immunity for his actions within the Sect. His anger reached boiling point; the Qi in his body began to move extremely quickly, and arcs of lightning formed as his body began to exude Qi in an attempt to dull the anger.

The inner disciple, sensing the volatile Qi, turns to investigate, his eyes landing on Azreal who is producing an unexplainable pressure forcing the inner disciple to mobilise his Qi and surround himself or risk being overcome by the oppressive feeling radiating from Azreal.

The outer disciples notice their senior disciple activating his Qi and follow suit; well-trained disciples never doubt their superiors' actions while there is potentially danger. “Ugh,” The outer disciples collectively groan as the inexplicable pressure passes through their defences as if it never existed. A sense of ruin, everything they’ve built crumbling around them, each of them feeling terror towards an unknown future.

“Hey! Knock it off!” shouts the inner disciple, which startles Azreal from his train of thought. The pressure immediately releases, which allows the group of disciples to take a breath and get the massive cart and Ox under control.

Azreal, startled by his commanding voice and confused at why he was yelled at, gives the disciples glaring at him a quizzical look.

“What did I do?” asks Azreal, his tone carrying genuine confusion.

“What?” replies the inner disciple, ‘he has to know; he was radiating power beyond his level. That does not just happen,’ the inner disciple trying to comprehend the situation before giving up.

“Don’t worry about it; we are almost there,” said the inner disciple, who returns to his duties as driver.

Azreal, still confused, does not ask any more questions and focuses on his next plan. He looks towards his hands, which are still shaking, ‘Am I trembling in anger? Or am I trembling because after killing one of the Blood Tigers in real life, I did not even think twice in planning to end Junai’s life at the next chance I get?’ Azreal contemplates if he is still sane, the thought of taking someone’s life, even if this is a game world, should not come so easily; this world is too realistic, and Azreal knows that if his mentality towards violence and murder shifts so easily inside this world, he is not strong enough to stop it from following him back to earth.

‘A life and death duel it is, Junai; pray you’re stronger than the last time we met.’ Azreal’s thoughts solidify, a dark urge to purge his existence from the heavens rearing its head. Azreal, unaware that the gift he received from his mindscape contained more than a soulbound sword.

“This is our stop; you’ll have to walk from here,” said the inner disciple as he hopped off the cart and moved to feed the Ox and began to instruct the other disciples to carry out their duties.

“Thank you for the ride,” said Azreal, who did not get a reply from any of the disciples.

‘Odd, why are they ignoring me?’ Azreal internally questions.

Luckily, he was dropped off near the Unbound Pavilion’s grounds within the Sect, as they were very friendly with the Spirit Harmony Pavilion, due to Elder Lu and Elder Juhee’s strong friendship and mutual respect.

Azreal smiles as he recalls his last visit to the training grounds with Lin Xue, surprising him with a kiss on the cheek after she spent an hour cutting him down to the bone in the name of intense training. Azreal begins to walk the training grounds in an attempt to find Darian, noticing a lack of disciples and Elders training compared to when he walked the same grounds on the way to the Pavilion’s Headquarters.

The sound of a man shouting, followed by two heavy thuds, leads Azreal to locate Darian with ease. As Azreal rounds a corner into the training ground reserved for outer disciples, he spots Darian. The bulky brown-haired young man was currently engaging in hand-to-hand combat with an inner disciple of the Unbound Pavilion; their spar was more intense than Azreal expected.

The inner disciple, who Darian was sparring against, shared many of the same features as Darian. A bulky and tall stature, strong and defined jawline, brown hair with light blonde streaking through it, and sharing his dark brown eye colour.

Both men, wearing the indigo robes of the Unbound Pavilion, were using their fists to hammer their opponent's body. The sound of these fists, filled with raw power, resounded around the training ground. Darian grunted as a solid blow landed against his ribs, but he quickly retaliated with a flurry of strikes. His brother, or so Azreal assumed, stands slightly taller than Darian, wavered for a moment under the barrage before regaining his footing, deflecting the blows with deft movements of his arms. The two separated briefly, circling each other with their fists raised. Sweat glistened on their brows as laboured breaths escaped their lips. An intense look of determination burned in their matching brown eyes.

“Not bad; you’ve grown stronger, yet you're still miles from being enough to hurt me,” the inner disciple said through gritted teeth. “But you're still holding back against me.”

Darian smirked, as he mobilised his Qi. Azreal becomes increasingly shocked, the realisation that their earlier duel and combat prowess was nothing but their trained bodies.

A deep earthen yellow Qi erupts surrounding Darian, “You’ve done it! You glorious bastard!” his brother shouts with joy clear on his face. Channelling his Qi through his body and into his legs reinforcing his stomp with Qi, Darian kicked up a cloud of dust. His brother shielded his eyes for just a moment, which was all Darian needed, shot out of the dust cloud and punched towards his brother's shoulder.

Azreal notices a hint of disappointment in Darian’s face as his fist crashes against his brother's forearm guard with an earth-shattering force. The inner disciple skidded back, both arms stinging from deflecting the blow.

“That was a good hit, but you clearly just learnt this technique, is that why you called me to spar?” the inner disciple chided.

Recovering quickly, the inner disciple let out a similar earthen Qi, yet his was more abundant and the Qi had a glimmer as it attempted to manifest into the world through his will. Qi in the ambient area began to be infused with his own, causing the sparring ground to turn into his home ground. Azreal did not understand what this signified, but it made Darian double guess, the inner disciple before him was one step away from breaking into the Martial King realm.

Manifesting a domain is the main sign that you’ve reached the Martial King realm; it is said that one being the king within their domain and everyone within must kneel or die. Darian, not expecting his brother's cultivation to have skyrocketed since his last meeting, was decisively thrashed for the next few minutes before a final palm strike to the chest sent a shockwave outwards, the pressure reaching Azreal over ten feet away. Darian was launched out of the training ground, tumbling and sliding along the floor before coming to a stop. He was covered in bruises, but Azreal had never seen Darian smile so brightly, “Florian! You're so close to a breakthrough, why are you sparring with me instead of trying to break through?” asks Darian, jumping to his feet as if he wasn’t just sent flying.

“I have never missed a chance to spar with you, why would my breakthrough change anything? You’ve just gotten into the Sect! I should be asking why you're sparring with your older brother instead of chasing the skirts of the new maidens within the Sect,” Florian’s smile couldn’t be contained, his gaze one of brotherly antagonism.

“Pfft! There will be plenty of time for that when I am not dying to wolves; Dad would want me to become the strongest, I know it and I live to become stronger!” replied Darian, his confident smile infecting his brother whose eyes filled with loving antagonism softened.

“Darian, Dad would’ve been proud of you; you're strong for your age, but now's not the time for this conversation we have a guest…” said Florian, as he pointed to Azreal.