The morning sun cast its rays upon the land. A gust of wind howled in the forest. The forest floor was littered with the bodies of the dead; countless bloodied and dirtied soldiers lay dead. The yellow and red of fallen leaves contrasted with their black armor and pale complexion.
"Those must be Li's men," Yuan said. "The bandits truly decimated his army."
Ping sighed. "Here it is the bandits who rule; the Imperial Court is far away and has no power. That is the fate of imperials when they try to assert control or antagonize the bandits..."
"I ain't afraid of them!" Harald exclaimed. "I will chop them to pieces with my axe."
Ping smiled. "No matter how good a warrior you are, you are no match for an army of battle-hardened bandits."
"Indeed. We should try to avoid them," Aaren said. "You claim to know this forest like the palm of your hand; do you know a route that can take us to the north without going through bandit territory?"
"I do know of one such route but..."
"But what?" Yuan asked.
"Well, no one goes through that route, and for good reason. It is known as the 'Path of the Elves'. It is said that in that part of the forest magical creatures reside. The most terrifying of them are the elves. According to legend, they have command of the internal energy that even immortals would find terrifying."
"I've never heard before that elves reside in the Great Forest. Nor did I know they really existed; I always thought that those were fairy tales."
"Well, not many people know about this legend; only those who have lived years in this forest have heard about it. As for the elves, it is most likely just a folk tale. No one has ever seen them. Personally, I do not believe in such stories. Most people though avoid going this route because those who do are never seen again; even those who do not believe in such legends are thus keen on avoiding this pathway."
"We will survive longer in that pathway than by going into bandit territory," Aaren said. "Show us the way."
"Really?" Ping said. He shivered in fear but forced a smile. "Well, if you insist..."
----------------------------------------
Xiao was lying his back on the wall and watching as Ya Yun was performing intricate sword maneuvers. The teenage boy had been an obedient and disciplined disciple. Although Xiao had no experience in teaching, he found it easy to train the boy as he followed all his instructions. Teaching took most of Xiao's day and was an exhausting task, but kept him from falling back to wine. Although he could waste his time with drinking when he had no responsibilities, now that he was responsible for this boy his consciousness did not allow him to do so anymore. His preoccupation with teaching also kept him from being reminded of his friend's death. When Yang Jing had died, Xiao had fallen apart; now he was rediscovering his old self.
"You have been a good instructor I see," Master Yi said.
Xiao turned around and saw his teacher. "Teacher, sorry for not greeting you properly. I hadn't noticed you."
Yun too stopped his practice upon seeing the Master and bowed in respect.
Yi laughed. "No worries, I came here unnoticed in purpose so I could see the results of your training. The boy has been instructed well. His sword technique is very good."
"Thank you for your praise," Xiao said. "I do not deserve such praise though; I am good as an instructor only because I have the honor of having you as my teacher."
Yi smiled. "You have found your old self. As for Yun, he has a great future ahead for himself. He has shown great skill and discipline. Such talent should be further cultivated so that a new generation of Mount Kunlun heroes can emerge. He is to become my disciple."
Yun, upon hearing this, bowed and began kowtowing before the Master. "Thank you, Master Yi!"
"Congratulations!" Xiao said.
"As for you," Yi said, "now that you have proven yourself as an instructor, I can trust you with another disciple. This time though, I will not take her from you no matter how talented she is. You will be the one instructing her all the way."
"Thank you, Teacher," Xiao said.
----------------------------------------
In the dense forest of bamboo trees, a myriad of leaves glistened brightly. The party made its way through the obscure pathway. The sound of their footsteps was the only sound that could be heard. Ping was leading them. The cold sweat on his face betrayed his anxiety.
"So much for the legend..." Hua said. "Nothing out of the ordinary has happened. It seems that the story about the elves is just a fairy tale."
"There may not really be elves," Ping said, "but do not get complacent. This place is dangerous."
Suddenly a cracking sound was heard.
"What was that?" Yuan asked.
At once, a hail of arrows descended upon them. Aaren waved her hand and formed an internal energy shield around the group, deflecting the arrows. Yet the shield quickly disintegrated as she could not maintain such a shield for too long. Suddenly an army of men clad in black charged from all directions; they were the Demonic Cult soldiers that the Demon of Doom had ordered to ambush Yuan and his allies.
Yuan and Hua unsheathed their swords and got ready to face the onslaught. Yuan lashed out with a foot, parried a sword, thrust his blade into a leg. His sword whipped out as fast as a snake. He cut them down as fast as they could come at him. Hua slashed at the enemies, cutting them down ruthlessly. She had killed more than ten swordsmen when a Demonic soldier armed with a spear tried to stab her. She parried the attack. The man attacked again and she ducked low, ramming her sword into the man's stomach. Her sword dripped blood. She cut down two more Demonic soldiers before the concerted effort of four of the attackers managed to halt her forward momentum, presenting a wall of blades. She used her internal energy to somersault, land behind them and slash at them with the ferocity of a tiger. She made short work of them.
Harald charged at the Demonic swordsmen with his axe. He parried and slashed, slashed and parried. His attacks were ferocious; he cut off legs, hands, stabbed his axe into chests. The Demonic swordsmen were being mercilessly massacred. As he was cutting down his enemies, a swordsman charged at Harald from behind. Harald turned just in time to block the swordsman's slash, but his axe wasn't straight – the sword slid right down the handle and cut into Harald's hand. He growled and grit his teeth. With one quick motion, he slashed his axe across the swordman's chest. With a swift move, he then beheaded the man.
Aaren was using her internal energy to send invincible waves of energy at the enemy, pushing them away before any of them could get close to her. All this time Ping was hiding behind Aaren and holding a knife in his hand. 'I pray to Gods that I survive this ordeal,' he thought. 'I will become a good man and never steal again.'
Despite their ferocious resistance, the Demonic swordsmen were slowly but steadily getting the upper hand due to their superior numbers. The party got surrounded and cornered by their enemies. The situation was becoming desperate as they faced walls of swords. Suddenly, a flash of lighting temporarily blinded them. When they could see again, all the Demonic swordsmen had been killed; their bodies showed marks of having been burned alive.
"What an impressive show of strength," Aaren said. "Whoever did this, has an ultimate mastery of internal energy."
"Who did this?" Yuan asked.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
"It was me," a voice was heard saying. Everyone turned around and saw five elves, two of them female and three male. They were all slender and graceful, with delicate features, fair complexion, and pointed ears. They were of average height with hair so blonde it was almost white.
Ping gaped. "I don't believe it..."
"Neither do I," Yuan said.
"You will have to follow us," one of the male elves said. He was wearing a long purple silk robe and seemed to be the leader. "I am Almar Qinnelis, Lord of Light. I can assure you that you will suffer no harm."
Yuan was hesitant for a moment but Aaren intervened. "We should follow them," Aaren said. "If they wanted us dead, they would have killed us already."
Yuan nodded in agreement. Then, he and the rest of the group followed the elves.
----------------------------------------
Xiao was waiting for the disciple Master Yi had assigned to him. Although he was happy that Yun had been taken under Yi's tutelage, he did feel a bit disappointed as he had gotten used to the boy. Now he would have to start all over again the process of training with another disciple. As he was thinking about all this, his new disciple walked into the room. She was only eighteen years old. She was of average height and slender. She had brown hair, hazel eyes, and light skin.
She slightly bowed before him and said, "Greetings Teacher. I am Xia Nuan, your new disciple."
Xiao smiled. "Nice to meet you," he said. "You need to understand that being a disciple of Mount Kunlun means that you have to be disciplined. Do not fool around; that's what I did in the past and why I was a failure. I am sure though that you will not disappoint me and that you will have a bright future ahead."
"I will do my best to follow all of your instructions."
"Good. The first lesson has to do with meditation. You need to learn how to cultivate Qi."
Xiao sat cross-legged and Nuan did the same. He recited Master Yi's instructions and showed her how to correctly breathe in order to draw in the Qi of the natural world. They meditated for a long time. Xiao was satisfied with Nuan; she had learned fast how to breathe in the correct way and how to cultivate Qi. He got up and said, "You are doing excellent."
"Thank for your praise," Nuan said. "I do not deserve it. I was just following your instructions." Nuan smiled. Her smile was warm, genuinely sweet but also shy. Xiao felt an unexpected warmth rushing through him. He couldn't explain why but he felt a deeper connection to her; it wasn't some kind of physical attraction nor had he known her long enough to have formed a bond with her, so he could not understand why he felt that way.
----------------------------------------
After about half an hour of walk, Almar and the other elves led the party into an underground complex. They walked through stone tunnels into a spacious room that was illuminated by torch fire. Strange hieroglyphics were carved on the walls; the scrip of the Elve language.
"I can sense the powerful aura of the medallion you carry," Almar said. "Stranger, you seem to be the One."
"The One?" Yuan wondered.
"Yes. I need to talk to you. In private."
The other elves bowed before Almar and then walked out of the room.
"You too," Almar said, pointing at Yuan's fellow travelers.
Ping, Harald, and Aaren walked out the room without saying a word but Hua refused to leave. "Why exactly do you want to be left alone with Yuan?" she asked. "I do not care much about him but he carries the Flaming Medallion."
"It's none of your business," Almar sternly said.
Hua humphed but walked out of the room. She knew that her skills were no match for Almar. He had shown what he could do when he killed all those Demonic swordsmen.
With everyone else gone, Almar could talk. "Stranger, although they call you Yuan, I can sense that this isn't your only name."
"That's true," Yuan replied. "In my previous life, I was known as Yang Jing. I have retained all memories of my past life. But... how did you know about this?"
Almar sighed. "We Elves are very talented at sensing other peoples' thoughts. It is both a gift and a curse." He paused for a moment. "I told you that you were the One. You must be confused about what that means."
"I am indeed confused," Yuan said.
"Let me first explain the history of my people; only then can you understand. Once upon a time, hundreds of thousands of years ago, the elves ruled a large part of this continent. Humans were not dominant, as they are now. The elves had a mastery of internal energy that even immortals admired. The Jade Emperor and the other Gods in Heavens treated my people with respect. Unfortunately, that was not enough. The elves had grown arrogant; our leaders aspired to have the Jade Emperor and the Gods to bow before our might. A million years ago, we allied with the Demonic Deity, a being of supreme power that tyrannized the Celestial Court. Ma Yuan, the God of War, destroyed the Demonic Deity with the Flaming Medallion that you now carry. With the defeat of that being, the Celestial Court punished my people; they used the forces of nature to destroy our cities and decimate our civilization. Only a few thousand elves remained. Two hundred thousand years later, Ye Guang took the mantle of Dark Lord and waged war against the Celestial Court with an army of undead. Wanting revenge, my people sided with him. After Yi Hong had slain him, the Celestial Court unleashed its full rage upon us. Only a few hundred elves remained. All remnants of our civilization were destroyed and our name became nothing more than a legend, considered to be merely a fairy tale. We were forced to hide in underground cities like this one."
"I am sorry for your people," Yuan said, "but what does this have to do with me?"
Almar smiled. "There is a prophecy among our people that one day the One will bring our people back above the ground. I believe you are that One."
"Me?"
"Yes. The shadow of war looms over the continent. Another celestial war seems to be coming. This time, we shall side with the Celestial Court against the Dark Lord and prove that we have learned from the mistakes of the past. I sense that you will play a vital role in that upcoming war; by helping you, we shall gain again the favor of the Gods in Heavens. That is why I believe you are the One: you give us a chance to redeem ourselves."
Almar handed Yuan a stone. The stone had bright hieroglyphics carved on it. "That is the 'Magic Stone'. You can use it to call for aid when you are in danger. In a matter of days at most, a group of elf warriors will come to your aid."
"Thank you," Yuan said. "I will do what I can to make sure that the aid of your people is acknowledged."
Almar smiled. "Good. By the way, I told you we elves have the ability to sense what people think. I can tell you what I sensed from your companions; the Swagen warrior is very loyal to you. The thief both admires and hates you. The young woman lied when she said that she doesn't care about you."
Yuan blushed a bit.
Almar laughed. "I see that you too care for her..." Then his tone got more serious. "As for the old woman, I couldn't sense her thoughts. I can tell you this though; she is most powerful. You must be cautious of her."
"I will be."
"You may now go. You mustn't waste any more time."
----------------------------------------
Xiao was holding two wooden swords in his hands. He threw one of them at Nuan.
"Your breathing technique is good," Xiao said, "but you need to practice your swordplay too."
"Yes Teacher," she said as she took hold of the sword. She grabbed it firmly.
"You must have practiced before swordplay," Xiao said, "but it is one thing to perform sword movements on your own and quite another to use them against a living enemy."
Nuan knew that; she wanted to perform well and not let down her teacher. So, she began formulating a strategy and thinking of what movements to use. She was lost in her thoughts.
"Always focus on where you are!" Xiao shouted and hit Nuan in the chest with his sword.
"Too slow", he said. "You must react faster!"
Nuan charged forward. The whooshing sound of the sword revealed the great strength put into the attack. Xiao effortlessly blocked the attack with his own sword but said, "Good! That was a good attack!"
'At last,' Nuan thought, 'I am becoming good at this'. Suddenly Xiao's sword hit her back and caused her to fall to the ground. "Focus on the battle!" Xiao barked. "Rule number one: always be on alert. You cannot predict what the enemy will do and when he will attack, so never let your guard down. If I was a real enemy, you would be dead by now."
Nuan attacked again, this time determined to not let her teacher down. She pretended to attack Xiao's head and midway retreated by a step and changed the direction of the sword to Xiao's chest. Xiao was, of course, able to see through this deception and quickly blocked Nuan's sword with his own, but he smiled. "You did well this time," he remarked. "However, you still have a lot to learn. Let me teach you a sword form called ''Wind Sword Style'. It is a sword form that focuses on swift attacks. It allows someone who is not very powerful to overpower the enemy with swiftness and speed instead of brute strength."
Xiao instructed Nuan on how to perform the sword form. She tried to follow his instructions. Her movements were swift and fast but somewhat clumsy. Despite her best efforts, she could not perform correctly the sword form.
"Your movements are fast but not accurate and are a bit clumsy. Let me show you how to perform correctly the sword form," Xiao said. He then stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her and holding her right hand to guide her. Her soft hair brushed his cheek. Nuan trembled. She could feel his warm breath. Her cheeks were suddenly pink like a spring rose, the blooming color so cute against her skin.
Xiao noticed and quickly distanced herself. "I showed you how to perform the sword form," he hurriedly said. "Now practice it on your own. We will continue the lesson tomorrow morning."
He then rushed out of the room.
----------------------------------------
Yuan and his companions walked out of the underground complex and continued their journey to the north. The day was coming to an end and the sky darkened.
"What did that elf said?" Hua finally asked after hours of silence.
"He assured me that they would aid me," Yuan replied. Remembering what Almar had said about Hua, Yuan felt somewhat awkward and forced a smile to hide his unease.
"That is our good fortune," Aaren said, intervening in the discussion. "We will need all help we can get. Our journey will become more dangerous from now on. The Demonic Cult will stop at nothing to get the medallion."
"At least we managed to survive their ambush," Ping said. "We have also avoided going into bandit territory. Soon we will be leaving behind the forest. In a day at most, we will be reaching the Desert of Death."
"That name doesn't promise an easy journey..." Harald said.
"Indeed," Ping replied. "I have never gone there myself but friends of mine who have, have never returned."