Chapter 2: Parting Ways

Blacky wasn’t too surprised after hearing his teacher say that he was going out on a mission.

This was one of the few times Old Man Black left for over a week which caused him to be curious.

“Hahaha. This mission is higher ranked. The only reason they allowed me on this mission is cause I've reached the seventh level of the Spiritual Warrior Stage.” Old Man Black explained a few matters regarding his mission.

“This time I’ll be working with a small group, this mission is very important as it involves slaying an Elemental Warrior.” Old Man Blacks voice appeared a lot more serious after mentioning this.

“Elemental Warrior?” Blacky spoke out in astonishment.

Old Man Black nodded revealing a faint blood thirsty grin. “Hehehe, the target is a younger generation member of the Grand Tree Sect.”

Blacky once again couldn’t help feeling slightly stunned.

Old Man Black was generally similar to a coward. Rarely would he ever take risks. Unfortunately he had deep hatred for the Grand Tree Sect. Now that such an opportunity had arrived he surely wouldn't miss out.

“A younger generation member of the Grand Tree Sect who reached the Elemental Warrior Stage, this can be considered a fairly mighty figure even within the Grand Tree Sect.. Hehehe unfortunately this fellow offended one of his seniors. He was forced on a mission which dispatched him from the Sect. He should be coming near the vicinity of Tifili Village soon.” Old Man Black looked at Blacky then sighed.

“The brats from the three Sects are all extremely talented. They are given all types of resources to cultivate from their Sects. Most embark on the cultivation path before the young age of twelve, if one doesn’t manage to step into the Spiritual Warrior Stage before they turn thirteen they’ll be expelled from the Sect..” Old Man Black spoke about these affairs with great knowledge, after all he was once expelled for that exact reason.

“But the people from the village said it’s futile to cultivate before the age of twenty.” Blacky said with some hesitation.

“How can those from the village understand what happens in those great Sects? Keep in mind they have heritages that last throughout thousands of years, being passed on from one generation to another. It’s no surprise that they’ve made it so far. Forget Tifili Village not even the Denus Empire can compare to the Sects like the Grand Tree Sect.” Old Man Black sighed.

“At this time none of this should be of concern to you. Instead you should focus on improving your strength during the time I'm gone. The Village Chief has announced a small competition regarding the younger generation of Tifili Village. He’s invited many from the nearby villages to join in on this competition.” Old Man Black spoke sternly his slightly emotionless eyes looked at Blacky in front of him.

“But it’s not just average villagers who will show up, now with the news of the Village Chiefs breakthrough many strong factions will be coming in hopes of recruiting him into their factions this event will definitely be very grand.. Most importantly the reward should be quite well in quality.” Old Man Black began to chuckle, stating his motives for asking Blacky to join the competition.

Blacky smiled weakly, since his teacher told him that he would compete in the competition he naturally wouldn’t decline. After all it was considered a safe event where one wasn't allowed to cripple or kill their opponent. Most importantly the Village Chief would hand out a treasure to the winner, even Blacky couldn’t help get excited at the thought of obtaining a treasure from a level four Elemental Warrior.

Old Man Black took a glance at Blackys shady expression and snorted. “Pfft, you think your current self has any chance to get the authorization to compete in the tournament? Only those under the age of twenty one with the strength of a Spiritual Warrior can compete in the tournament.” Old Man Blacky snapped.

Blacky’s head was lowered, after a moment of thought he said “Then how will I compete for the treasure..”

In the Tifili Village those at the Spiritual Warrior Stage were all considered experts within the village. Rarely any of them were younger than twenty five years old, those who reached this stage under twenty were considered peerless geniuses within the village.

Old Man Black looked at the skinny young boy in front of him who appeared to be experiencing heartache.

“Brat I’ve trained you for the past fifteen years for no reason? Although I can’t exactly tell how well your talent regarding cultivation is you can more or less be considered not bad..” Old Man Black said with a slight sense of pride, he had raised this boy in boredom. Originally he didn’t care much about him, but as time passed he slowly began considering him to be his one and only student, comparable to a son.

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Old Man Black stood up and walked to a certain part of the cave. He re-entered the room he had just left. He reappeared with a satchel in his hand made out of special animal hide.

Old Man Black unenthusiastically tossed the satchel towards Blacky.

“Brat here’s some good stuff I stole from the Grand Tree Sect. I got this after hearing they were going to expel me hehe.. Also you’ll find information regarding the Bounty Hunter Association within as well.” Old Man Black looked at Blacky strictly, he was not the type to repeat his words twice.

Blacky couldn’t help but immediately open the satchel in front of him. Afterwards he pulled out a fairly large book which appeared to be like a tome. The cover was completely black with only the words Spiritual Warrior written on top of the heavy book.

Old Man Black smiled while he looked at Blacky excitedly flipping through a few of the pages.

“After I leave you should first read through the book of Spiritual Warriors, it was specially made for novices like you to aid in building a foundation. It also has basic information about Martial Techniques and some treasures." Old Man Black spoke up disturbing Blacky.

"I’ve written down some notes over the years which you can read and learn off of yourself..Hehehe, of course don’t forget to have that pill afterwards. Even if it’s a failed product there’s a fifty percent chance it will help you breakthrough to the Spiritual Warrior Stage at the age of fifteen.” Old Man Black continued to guide Blacky, he laughed slightly when he mentioned the pill.

Blacky nodded his head then he reached into the satchel again. He pulled out four pieces of paper which he examined momentarily. There was some information about a hidden bounty hunter orginisation in the Tifili Village.

Old Man Black looked on “After you’ve done all that you can sign up to join the Bounty Hunter Association there is a small branch within Tifili Village. I’ve already informed them of some matters and have marked out their location. Just hand those papers to Eryx, then take on a mission while I’m gone.”

Old Man Black looked at Blacky, who was nodding his head continuously. “Well then brat that’s all. Don’t forget three months later I’ll return.. If you dare slack off this old man shall expel you as my student. Also don’t dare tarnish this old man’s reputation otherwise you’ll regret it!”

After saying that, Old Man Black swiftly turned around and walked to the exit of the cave. He took a deep breath and leaped out with his hands behind his back.

Blacky shot up to his feet then rushed out of the cave. He looked down from what appeared to be a cliff, about ten meters high. Currently Old Man Black stood on the floor with cracks beneath him. This ten meter drop was nothing at all to a late stage Spiritual Warrior.

Blacky glanced at a nearby tree then ran towards it. He leaped up and landed on one of the tree's branches. Blacky's movements were incredibly nimble, he landed on the branch which was too fragile to hold his weight. Without much effort he grabbed onto the branch and swang back and forth. He then jumped down and appeared near Old Man Black.

Old Man Black turned back and took a glance at Blacky, who managed to get down silently. Blacky descended down the tree with out touching any of the leaves, showing off his skill.

Blacky bowed towards Old Man Black. Old Man Black didn’t care much about farewells, but Blacky still wished to sendoff his teacher respectfully.

“Blacky will work hard to become a strong Spiritual Warrior before we next meet teacher.” Blacky spoke faintly.

“Hmmph! Hmpph! Naturally you will work hard, if you don’t reach the Spiritual Warrior Stage then you can just go and work as a farmer instead, don’t waste this old man’s precious time.” Old Man Black spoke coldly while he turned around and began to creep away. Back faced towards Blacky a satisfied smile appeared on his old face moments later.

Blacky smiled faintly after hearing Old Man Blacks words, not seeming too effected by them. Blacky watched till Old Man Black disappeared into the darkness. Returning to the cave he decided to read the book that was called Spiritual Warrior.

Two days passed by and Blacky was still within the dark cave. Holy light shined up in the sky and into the entrance of the cave.

Blacky only paused his reading to rest and eat. He was entirely focused on reading the book in his hands. Finally Blacky sighed and closed the book and shook his head bitterly.

“According to this book the Spiritual Warrior Stage is about training the human body past its limits. One gathers natural energy from within the world into one’s body then refines it slowly.” Blacky currently had a much better understanding on the Spiritual Warrior Stage.

“The entire book only has one meditation technique. Old Man Black actually thought me this three years ago.. Ever since then I’ve used that mediation technique everyday but..” Blacky felt slightly bitter as he sighed.

According to the book those who didn’t reach the Spiritual Warrior Stage within a year were considered talentless. The average age of the user of the meditation technique was between five and ten. It was only natural for Blacky to feel dejected, he was not a Spiritual Warrior yet.

Of course there was far more than just a meditation technique. There was a information about medical pills and so called heavenly treasures which could be used to boost ones cultivation or fighting strength.

Old Man Black had written notes on the side of a few pages, where he went into more detail on some specific subjects. For instance, there was an explanation on refining pills. Some were meant to simply be swallowed, while others required more special methods. In the end it all depended on what type of pill one had.

As Blacky thought of this a little box appeared in his hand.. There was a smelly brownish pill inside.

“Even though teacher said this pill was a failed product. Pills can only be created by mighty Elemental Stage Warriors just that alone proves that the value of this pill is incredibly high. It would be impossible to buy this with the gold currency the village uses.” Blacky looked at the pill with some anticipation. if he could successfully refine this pill he could perhaps reach the Spiritual Warrior Stage!