When Arbor stepped out of his cave he noticed a handful of small children between the ages of eight and twelve. All of them were hiding behind rocks. At the sight of him walking out they quickly scurried away. Arbor chuckled, then chose one kid at random and began chasing them. Within seconds he tapped a boy on the head and said out loud “one!”

Gusts of gentle wind were caused by the speed Arbor used to chase down the kids who were attempting to flee. No more than a minute later he tagged the fourteenth child before making his way to the spring at the center of the cave.

“This young chap sure is lively. I hope he can give these children something to look forward to.”

“Sadly, they have known nothing but this cave their entire lives. They need the change of pace”

The elderly folk in the cave noticed the commotion caused by the younger crowd and started talking amongst one another. They studied the young boy who appeared no older than eleven. They trust Elder Janet, but how could they not be apprehensive towards this newcomer? He hasn’t even hit puberty yet!

A couple minutes passed as the children started to gather around Arbor who was constructing a wooden pillar with unknown writings and drawings on it. These drawings are of humans in different poses. When the last child arrived Arbor stopped what he was doing and turned around to the children sitting down before him.

The first thing he noticed was that there were more eyes on him than just the twenty-eight. Hundreds of people were staring intently at him. This made him slightly nervous as he has never been on the teaching side of things. Kids? Easy. Adults who are more comprehensive? Not easy. Could he just tell them what to do and not explain anything? Or does he actually have to make a structured lesson out of it? Now that the elderly are watching he has to show his worth!

“Mister, I have a question.” An eight year old girl spoke in a hushed tone.

Oh thank Haoshe, he thought. “What is your name? And what is your question?”

“Um… my name is Daph. and where are you from?” Daph asked.

“I come from a place far away from here,” Arbor started before getting interrupted.

“Is it always dark there also? My mom and dad say that we cant go outside because there are bad people outside who want to hurt us.” Daph mumbled.

“No, it is not always dark. What your parents said,” he began again before someone else spoke.

“Why is your hair green?” a boy questioned.

“Do you have any snacks?” Another child asked. “I don't like fish.”

“What are those people doing on that wall?”

“Do you want to be my friend?”

“I heard you have a pet. Where is he?”

The few children under the age of ten started rambling off questions one after another. Arbor patiently took the time to answer all of them. What none of the children realized is that he made himself a seat during the Q&A session. When he finally got a few seconds to breathe he sneaked in a question for them. “Who wants to see something cool?”

Excited exclamations came from the crowd. Abor stood up and put his hands out to the side. A layer of wood began covering his body like a set of armor. His movements had no restrictions from the armor. Of course this is because the wood is also part of him, like a second layer of skin.

Every set of eyes watching Arbor widened . The adults’ eyes lit up because of the hope that Arbor represents. The only way to describe how the children viewed this is how the kids reacted.

“SO COOL!” “HE’S A DEMON, RUN!!” “WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM”

Arbor quickly made his armor disappear. The kids hesitantly watched him. Daph took a step up to him and asked how he just did that. He began to explain to the children what a cultivator is. During the speech he demonstrated the different abilities that he possesses. The children became completely fascinated by what he was able to do. During the lesson he explained that if they wanted to leave the cave and see the outside world that they would have to become strong cultivators. In order to do this they are going to have to work hard.

The excitement of the mythical abilities that the kids could potentially possess overshadowed the hard work that Arbor told them. The kids started playing pretend as if they were already cultivators, imagining different possibilities that they could do.

…

One week later. Same location, at the lakeside.

Three out of the twenty children were still standing. Arbor had started off by having them practicing tai chi. After Arbors' demonstration the week prior, six more kids had joined. These were all older children from the ages of twelve to fifteen. The three that are left standing are from the later group.

With the limited space and resources he needed to get creative. The first few days were normal tai chi. On the third day Arbor had made each of them weights out of wood to hold in their hands. The fifth day he increased the size of the weights of those who could stand it. The seventh day some of the kids wore a wooden vest. These workouts lasted just an hour at a time, three times a day. After each session Arbor would help them recover by putting in the smallest amount of essence into their bodies.

In between arbor taught them all the general knowledge that he had learned from his own elder brothers and sisters back in the forest. This past week had made him miss them dearly. He started reminiscing on the years he had spent with them. He sadly looked up towards the sky

…

Divine Realm.

“We have been over this before. We can’t do anything until he is in one of the sovereign realms.” Thalli instilled once again into volcan.

“I still don't understand why we can’t send an avatar.” Volcan grumbled.

“At our strength our souls have fused with the heavenly dao. If we forcefully strip our comprehension of the dao from the split off soul, it will die. Why is it so hard for you to comprehend?” Sol chimed in.

“Why not have some babies with me? We will be able to send them to help in a few years time.” Volcan chortled.

“First off we are unable to pinpoint the exact realm that Arbor is in. Thus we would have to have 3125 kids in order to get at least one kid to him. Second, have you had that much to drink for you to think that I would let you touch me in a romantic way?” Thalli darted back. “And third, fuck off!” Thalli kicked Volcan in the crotch, sending him hundreds of feet away.

“Veon is probably doing that exactly.” Pona stated.

“Having kids?” Telum asked.

“Do you boys think with anything other than your muscles and weapons?” Pona chimed in from the side. “How many underlings do you think Veon has? He has probably already figured out that he is no longer in this realm. Just like lord Haoshe, Arbor is his natural bane. He can sense him anywhere as long as they are in the same realm. Thus, Veon has probably sent squadrons of warriors to each realm to search for Arbor.”

The group of four fell silent.

A short moment of silence was broken by Volcan when he got back to the group, “How long until Haoshe is able to locate him?”

“He said that due to the distance and variety of locations of those realms he is only able to check a couple a day. He could find him any day or in a few years. It all depends on luck and fate.” Thalli clarified.

“This could be a blessing in disguise for him.” Tellum became the center of attention. “As you know my journey from down there wasn't the easiest. It will temper him too. He was taught well so he should be fine.”

…

Two months later.

By now all the group of trainees has grown to include all of the kids from ages five to fifteen. The number reached twenty-four. Due to the living conditions most people choose to not have kids. The nighttime atmosphere over the past two months would suggest that this ideology has changed.

During these two months Arbor has succeeded in engrossing the vines throughout the camp. Some have reached the outside and began growing by themselves. This was within Arbor expectations. He hypothesized that anything he created could take root with enough time. Arbor could sense the air quality in the cave has improved slightly, by two percent.

In addition, there had been no calls of distress from Eos and his new friend. Therefore, Arbor assumed that the two were hunting happily. In the nearby vicinity. Given the two’s speed, he has no worries of them getting stuck in a situation that they couldn't escape from.

Arbor hasn't been idle during these two months either. He has felt his cultivation grow the ever so smallest amount.

The strength of the children had increased. The older children had seen the most significant increase. Although they were still far away from breaking that barrier to become a cultivator.

At the end of this night's training session, a fourteen year old boy a head taller than Abor stood up. “I want to learn how to fight. When can I learn?”

“Why not. You want to fight Mesal? Come on then.” Arbor stood up from the dinner table and gestured for Mesal to join him.

Arbor drew a circle around himself and gestured for Mesal to make the first move. Mesal ran at the younger boy at full speed. He punched with his right arm to which Arbor moved slightly to his left. With his left hand he slightly tapped Mesal on the back, sending him tumbling forward.

Mesal got up and adjusted his body to give a kick towards Arbor with his left right leg. Arbor caught the kick with his right hand and jabbed directly behind his knee before throwing his leg away, causing Mesal to spin around before falling.

“Anyone else want to have a go? If you can get me to move out of this circle we can add it into the training. Only in groups of three. It's up to you to decide who your groups are.”

The groups split into groups by age. Dalph, Lyra, and Thorne; Elessar, Seraphina, and Garrick; Elowen, Draven, and Isolde; Asher, Evelina, and Ragnar; Orion, Lysandra, and Kaelen; Soren, Rowena, and Thaddeus; Elara, Alaric, and Maia; Mesal, Celestia, and Kieran.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Only three groups attacked Arbor as the rest were slightly too young for fighting. Only fifteen minutes went by before all three teams were bruised and beaten. On the side the other five teams had their jaws drop. They witnessed Arbor move in ways to avoid attacks from different angles. With Arbor's deceiving appearance, the audience watched a seemingly ten year old boy bully a bunch of kids from thirteen to fifteen years old.

In order to even the playing field for the recruits, Arbor did not use any essence while fighting. Pure technique. Granted he did spend time under the tutelage of one of the strongest fighters of the Divine Universe. For this reason he had an unfair advantage from the beginning.

…

One year later.

Two beasts are in a stand off against a demon at the periphery of the mountain. Thirteen tentacles with red eyeballs protrude out from its body. It has four arms and four legs. Its torso was positioned in the middle and has the ability to rotate in a complete circle. Its body is slightly larger than a miniature horse. It is covered with black scales. Blood is dripping from wounds all over its body.

Eos and Zypher aren't looking any better either. The battle is taking a momentary pause at the moment to give both parties a chance to analyze their fight plan. Eos eyes shifted once before looking at Zypher. Eos took the initiative to dart at the demon across from him. He swiped his right paw which got caught by two of the enemy's arms. Zyphyr circled around Eos where she took the low ground to bite one of its legs. She actually bit the leg off!

The demon took this opportunity to launch an attack with its two free hands at Eos! Magically those first were stopped by a plank of wood that appeared out of thin air. From the side Arbor came crashing through the air with a flying double kick that landed right on the creature's body, sending it tumbling on the ground.

The momentary lapse of action gave Arbor just enough time to share some of his essence with Eos and Zephyr. This helped stop the bleeding. The wounds did not show any signs of healing. Arbor took the initiative to attack the demon again. He swept from left to right with his staff. The demon caught it and countered with his own attack with his two fists. Arbor dodge and create a diversion with flower petals and leaves to limit the vision of the numerous eyes. Arbor's left hand still held onto the staff while his right hand reached out, creating a bundle of vines wrap around the demon's tentacle like eyes. Easily enough the eyes became tied together.

The demon made a quick decision to leave as it dashed away in the opposite direct of its enemies. It let out a high pitched cry as it ran. Arbor clenched his teeth and gave chase. Within fifteen seconds he caught it, and finished it off with a stab through its body. He took control of the vines that tied it and dragged it back to Eos and Zypher where six teenaged kids suddenly appeared.

"Make haste children. Back to the cave. We don't know if it has friends in the vicinity." The party of nine quickly headed back up the mountain.

Back inside the cave that is now infected with green vines, wood, and small flowers. Over the past three years Arbor had discovered that he was able to conjure insignificant flowers from the vines. Given that the vines were rooted. Additionally, he noted something odd during his cultivation efforts. He wasn't able to tell if he had gotten to the point of a bottle neck or if he didn't have any.

During his own training back with his seniors he learned about the different cultivation methods that people experience depending on what category of dantain they awaken. The conclusion he came to is that he wont have any bottlenecks until he gets to certain stages to break through to the next realm. Unlike some people whose realms get broken down in separate smaller realms. A common parallel example of this is people who awaken dantains that involve swords. Their realm is directly related to the depth of the sword qi that they comprehend and the strength of their physical bodies. In conclusion, like anything in nature that will continuously grow, he doesn't need to directly cultivate. Although it will speed up the advancement.

Of course, there have been advancements of Arbor's trainees also in their past three years. The six that had accompanied him on his excursion to rescue Eos and Zypher had all broken through the Qi Gathering stage within the past month. These six are only one step away from stepping into the world of cultivators! This is due to Eos and Zypher's hunting. The digesting of qi in the meat that they ate aided their progress.

After dissecting the demon, cooking, and distributing the demon to the two beasts and the kids, Arbor went to Janet to discuss his recent worry.

"Eos has hinted at the increase of demon activity in the area over the past few months. I fear that they will take note of the general area that they are disappearing in and search the are extensively."

"This is all because of you. We lived here peacefully for years until you arrived. It all started with you destroying that ogre mine."

Arbor sighed before replying, "You are right. I am hoping to search for a safe haven on the opposite side of the mountain range. With your permission I plan on taking Zypher and the six who have advanced recently."

"No. We need them here in case anything happens." Janet retorted. Gramps sitting next to her in his own chair shook his head also. These two have gotten close in the past few years.

"If you want them to grow they need to leave this place. This place is a box." Arbor sighed before continuing. "Let me take three."

"What assurances are you going to leave for us? With the threat outside growing we need extra security here and you need to supply it. You know that the lives of my people come before everything. While no one here could stop you from abandoning us, I know it would weigh on you if anything happened to us in your absence." Janet said sternly.

Arbor's mind raced for a few minutes. "I should be able to securely shut the entrance so that they won't be able to find or enter it."

"If they find it, couldn't they just start digging?" Russ questioned Arbor.

"I should be able to cover the entrance and lock the cover. In theory, they could walk right over it and not notice it."

Russ and Janet looked at eachother with an uncertain look. "What do you mean by 'should' and 'in theory'."

"To be honest, I was only taught the basics and never got around to that much practice."

"If you can prove that you can do it then I'll allow you to take three kids with you."

Arbor nodded before taking his leave.

One day later

After thinking about how to tackle his problem for a few minutes a light went on in Arbor head. Back on earth, if someone wanted a program to work then they had to formulate a programming language for it. Could that work here? Similar to alchemy that he learned, you had to use the correct ingredients to neutralize the side effects of the main ingredient. Would the same principal work with formations? During his class sessions he only grazed the basics of formations like how to start a fire. Nothing remotely in the realm of how to construct an illusion.

One month later Arbor called Janet and Russ over to his cavern for a meeting. To the elderly couple's surprise, his usual wooden door was replaced by a surreal wall of stone. They both put their hands on it and found that it felt real! Upon further inspection it also blended in with the surrounding walls.

Arbor suddenly walked out of the wall with a big grin as if it never existed! "Will this work?"

"Its rather impressive. Do it at the entrance and you have a deal." Janet nodded.

Outside the cave entrance Russ commented, "It even took into account the small rock face. It has all aspects of snow. How are we able to get back in? I'm essentially standing a few feet in the air here."

Arbor tossed him a small rock and said, "This is the key."

When Gramps caught it he suddenly fell through the snow and appeared buried from his thighs up in snow.

"I have a few more. Holding the key will only allow that person to pass through. You should be safe from any prying eyes and any level of strength. Given the snowfall here it should be covered naturally in a few days." Arbor punched the formation as hard as he could. No change to the area happened besides some snow getting displaced.

Over the next two weeks Arbor made preparations for his departure. He left notes on how to correctly circulate qi throughout the body. How could he not leave the best cultivation techniques? Just like how each individual will have a different dantain, the way they need to circulate qi to open the dantain. Going against the natural flow of the body will cause disruption or even qi divisating and ending up crippled. Thus, each person had to carefully test out what technique will work for them before fully committing to it. In addition, he confirmed that he would be back in one to two months.

A small bit of snow started towards the upper half quarter of the mountain to shuffle. Eventually a thick piece of wood shot out from under the snow. After two weeks of digging, Arbor had finally mined through the other side of the mountain! Some time later, Arbor set up another formation before being seen off by Janet and Russ.

The first thing the party of five did was take a deep breath of fresh air. The group of four individuals and a wingless gryphon are walking down the side of a mountain. Arbor donned his original outfit that he had lent to Gramps a few years ago. The three tagalongs were able to resist the cold weather to a certain degree thanks to them being able to circulate qi throughout their bodies. During the trek down Arbor reiterated the rules that the three needed to follow. They don't do anything unless Arbor tells them to. He couldn't afford for any of them to get hurt, or worse, die.

Some time later the party of five reached the foot of the mountain. A sparse overgrown forest created them. As far as the eye could see, no settlements, no structures, no signs of life are in site.

"How does it feel to get out of the cave? Go ahead and stretch your legs, take in the fresh air. Try to keep track of each other while out there." Arbor released the three and nodded at Eos at the same time.

"Why does it feel like you are treating us as dogs?" Mesal retorted.

"Because you're only at the qi circulation realm… fucking Scrub." Arbor teased before he dashed into the woods. Eos took off in another direction.

Mesal, Celestia, and Keiran all shrugged their shoulders before taking off in their own direction. Each of them noticed almost immediately that they were unable to find Eos nor Arbor. It was as if they had disappeared!

The trio was shifting through the forest. They could still see each other and only allowed a distance of one hundred feet in between each of them. Mesal and Celestia are running on the ground, ducking under the low branches, and jumping over the shrubbery. Keiran had actually started to jump to and from some of the branches, taking the high ground.

Just when Keiran stepped on the branch it broke! From the last fifteen minutes he developed a good judgment of the size of the branch that was needed to support his weight. He chose this specific one because it was an arms width around. Even smaller ones that he had jumped off stayed in tact. This caused him to fall five feet and tumble on the ground. Kerian rolled a couple times before he gathered himself. Brushed his clothes off and started running again.

At the same time as Keiran’s mishap, Mesal and Celestia also had similar troubles. Mesal and Celestia both had a leg sized stick sent flying towards them! Neither of them were able to react in time. While this did not harm either of them, they still felt the brunt of the force. Mesal was quick to recover and grouped up with Celestia.

“Keiran get over here. I think we were just attacked.” Celestia called out.

When Keiran arrived he asked, “What do you mean you were attacked? I don't see anyone.”

“Could it have been Arbor? I don't see him anywhere. He doesn't actually want to kill us does he?” Celestia asked.

“If that is his goal he would have done it years ago. Its either not him or its someone else.” Mesal answers.

“He would have warned us if he found anyone. It wouldn’t make sense for him to not inform us. I have no doubt that it's him.” Keiran added.

“He’s testing us.” Cel finished.

“Then let's give it to him.” Mesal confirmed.

Celestia and Keiran both looked at him suspiciously.

“I’d rather you not.”

The trio jumped in freight. While they conversed Arbro had slowly descended from above them like spiderman with the help of his vines.

“When you are in unfamiliar territory you really should be aware of your surroundings. Just saying.” Arbor chimed in before dropping to the ground. “Keiran I broke that branch with an arrow when you were just two jumps away from it. Masel, your feet are heavy when you run. You sound like an elephant. You sound like an elephant. Celeste, you are simply too slow.”

The three of them looked at Arbor and nodded. They all seemed to contemplate Arbor's comments for a second.

Mesal took his shoes off and said, “Elephant? Is it my shoes?”

“Your agility is awful.” Keiran chimed in.

“I know you don’t have any discipline in this area. But this is all the more reason to train.” Arbor spoke. “Your main goal is to locate a safe area for a new settlement, while your second goal is to not get caught by Eos and I.”

“Where is Eo-” Celestia started before getting interrupted.

Eos’s eight foot tall body plopped down next to her causing her to jump.

“I told you to be aware of your surroundings. Let's go.”

Over the next three weeks the group of prey searched for a new safe haven. Eventually they found a nearby river that flowed down from the mountain. The group stayed for a couple of days to make sure that there was a decent amount of food that they could harvest from it. After surveying the surroundings and not finding any nearby threats Arbor chose this place as their new home. The difficult part is that it is a couple days hike from their current home. He is worried that some of the older residents might not be able to make it on their own.

During the next couple days Arbor and gang continued to search the area, while Eos hunted any wild animals he could catch. Which was anything his eagle eyes could see.