The world flew past him as he ran as fast as he could on the high-speed lane.
He would much rather have taken to the skies, but the entire city was a no-fly zone and there were massive formations that would stop him the moment he reached a certain height.
He’d seen videos of it working in real time and decided he never wanted to experience it.
His spirits lifted as he blasted past someone also using the lane. Spending a few minutes in Origin, the birthplace of the Fifth and now the capital city of the Republic, made him truly appreciate Lasvania.
This was the seat of power in what passed for a medium sized state on this realm. Yet very few people around him felt like they were even close to Lisa’s level. Most of them were Neophytes, and Journeyman, with what felt like the occasional Adept. He had even come across Great Lords!
Being able to sense people’s cultivation was also something he missed. He didn’t realise how much he took it for granted until he got to Lasvania, where he couldn’t sense the cultivation of most people.
Though the urge to spread out his senses was strong, he kept it in check. He tried to focus on his more mundane senses to see if he was being followed. He knew there was likely no reason to be paranoid, but he was going against Lisa’s wishes, so he had to be cautious.
His plan was not elaborate. He had memorised the way to the nearest Fifth Haven before he left Lasvania. It would take some time, since he couldn’t use a portal, but his tracks would be covered better.
He followed the internal map of the city his neural processor showed him, taking the fastest routes. It was a useful feature. Better than the pathfinding treasures on Xenus for sure.
Even with the advanced navigation, it still took him 20 minutes to get to the outskirts of the city. The high rises, which seemed to be a staple of cities in the realm, gave way to smaller houses.
Unlike some of the residential areas he passed, it was clear that these buildings were not spatially expanded. It was easily the poorest area he had come across so far.
It was all relative poverty, of course, as even these streets could pass as upper class on Xenus, both with how well maintained they were, and in the quality of the houses.
Though they were likely useless, he put on his most powerful stealth rings from Xenus, just in case. He would very much have preferred an upgraded one from Lasvania, but even a cursory glance at the prices told him that it would be far out of reach until he became a citizen.
He crossed the border without issue, much to his relief, and made his way through the grasslands that made up much of the region.
He relaxed a little when the city was no longer visible in the distance. As impossible as it seemed, he had successfully escaped from under their watch.
Or so he thought.
* * *
Yeller stared at the retreating form of her newest client with just a hint of mirth from her vantage point on the balcony of their suite. That changed to a small smile when he left the city’s line of sight and tension drained from his soldiers. Almost like he thought himself protected from her watch by something as trivial as line of sight.
What a nonsensical idea.
“He’s left the city,” she reported to Lisa, who was meditating in her own room. “Another exact prediction.”
“Not unexpected. He does not have nearly enough existence to surprise OMNI.” the girl spoke offhandedly, not even bothering to move from her position.
Not that such trivialities as distance and walls mattered to Yeller. Besides, of the very small list of Students who could get away with being rude to someone as decorated as her, the Shining Star stood at the top.
“Do you want me to tail him physically, or remotely,” she deferred the choice to the girl, as she was still the one in charge of their mission.
“I believe OMNI recommended remote tracking until he enters the Haven, then physical trailing afterwards,” her answer came without hesitation. “They suspect the weight of the Fifth could interfere with your signal.”
Smart, she thought. Though she expected nothing less from OMNI.
“Understood. OMNI’s way it is. “
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
She went back to watching the boy, then with the frustration of someone experiencing something for the umpteenth time, she cursed loudly.
“Damn trouble loving Ascendants!”
* * *
Xiao Lee felt strangely exposed as he cut through the air in a blur, the enchantments on his new clothes preventing a sonic boom from ripping through the air.
One of the biggest issues he had found when he was making plans was how much he stood out. Though he could not change his fair skin or shift his facial structure, there was something that could at least make him stand out less.
So, he found himself wearing the sleeveless vests and baggy trousers that was preferred by most men in the Fifth’s Republic.
Even after wearing arm length gloves, he still felt very underdressed. He would have to put on a cloak when he touched down. At least that was an accepted style of dressing.
Up ahead, the silhouette of a small city became visible in the distance. Though the city had an entrance to the Haven, he had no intention of going through it.
He would go around the city instead, using one of the many back doors spread around the region.
He had wondered why there were so many uncontrolled entrances when he was researching the Haven. Surely such an important place would warrant tight monitoring.
His reasoning had left him stumped on how he could get in.
Until he met the Prime Minister.
He had no idea when the Fifth touched him or for what reason. It was something he would have to look into, he knew. He’d rather not have deities trying to claim him without his knowledge.
For now, though, it worked in his favour. A touch from the Fifth was the only thing he needed to get to enter the Haven.
He briefly wondered if he was being led into a trap. Maybe the Prime Minister wanted him there for some reason. That was far-fetched thought, though. Besides, the potential risk was part of what would help his cultivation.
No risk, no reward,
As much as he wanted to minimize risk, he did not become the youngest ascendant in history by living a comfortable life.
It took him a little more searching than he would have liked but eventually he found one of the entrances he was looking for.
There was no other person around as far as he could see, something he was thankful for. He stared at the entrance for a moment.
It was cleverly concealed, and he might have missed it if he was not actively searching. Thankfully, the guides he had read told him to be watchful for any qi fluctuations.
He touched down softly and put on a cloak, making sure his face was concealed. The cloak was made on Xenus, so its enchantment would not hold for long, but it was the best he had.
The first thing he noticed when he stepped through the barrier was the difference in qi quality. The qi he felt was nearly as pure as what he had gotten used to in Lasvania, which was a big step up from the comparatively meagre qi he felt around the entire region.
Apart from the qi, there was nothing particularly special about his environment, though he knew that was likely to change the farther he went.
True enough, the grass started giving way to shrubs and taller plants before he got far.
He was deep inside the forest when he found his first treasure.
On one of the trees was an unassuming fruit, that seemed no different from all the other fruits on the tree.
To the untrained eye at least.
Lee was an old hand at searching for treasures. So, he felt immediately that it was different from the others surrounding it.
He picked a small knife from his storage ring and threw it at the fruit. It froze just before it hit, held in place by a sudden rush of qi from the tree’s roots. Acid shot out of the trunk and dissolved the knife within seconds.
Just as he expected.
Trees with valuable fruit always had an instinctual reaction when something attempted to take their produce. Unfortunately for them, it was very easily bypassed by anyone who knew what they were doing. He even had a technique that made it effortless.
Lightning claw!
A three fingered claw made entirely of lightning plucked the fruit from its position. He felt the tree try to freeze it and fail, unable to take control of his qi. The acid, likewise, did no harm to what was essentially just a claw made of qi.
He examined the fruit in his hand with all his senses but couldn’t figure out what it did. The only thing he could verify was that it was important. He almost put it in his storage ring before remembering his neural processor. It would likely have some information on it,
Sure enough, it identified the fruit the moment he scanned it.
The fruit was native to the Havens, and its primary effect was deepening connection to the Fifth. It was unsurprisingly, named, Fifth’s Gift and was highly sought after among the small population of elites who were touched by their deity,
He had no intention of using it himself, of course. The last thing he needed was opening himself up even more to a self-proclaimed god he barely knew.
Still, it could be valuable, so he kept it in his ring. He could sell it to one of the Fifth touched, at the very least.
He was about to continue going when he heard loud noises that sounded like fighting. Fights usually indicated the presence of treasure nearby, which was too good to pass on.
He soon caught sight of the people responsible for the noise. There were two people, a man and woman who were clearly Fifth Republic citizens, battling what looked like a giant wolf that was hopping in and out of space with enough agility that following it was a chore.
They were all Neophytes from what he could sense, much to his relief.
He couldn’t find anything precious around, which meant they had it in their storage or the fight was not caused by treasure.
The wolf put up a fight for a few moments, but it didn’t stand a chance. The woman, who wielded battle qi, overpowered it again and again until it couldn’t stand up anymore. He could feel a hint of something greater in her qi that acted as a force multiplier and made her hits much more effective.
He was beginning to see why being touched by the Fifth was considered valuable. He had a good sense for judging power and was sure she would have lost to the wolf if she fought completely with her own power. Instead, the wolf fell after being completely unable to defend itself.
He stared at them, considering whether he should reveal himself, when the decision was taken out of his hands. The woman turned her head and stared directly at him despite his attempts at stealth.
He walked forward in resignation. Since he was already spotted, he started thinking about how to introduce himself when the woman did something completely unexpected.
She lunged at him.