Inside a pagoda, an austere white-robed lady exclaimed in surprise.

“Elder?” Her underling wondered if his elder had some kind of epiphany.

“Go forth to investigate the remnant powerful demonic aurae in the Black Wolf Forest.”

After her underling left, she muttered, “My tracking marker on that young man vanished on the edge of the Bleak Mountains zone… Who would travel there? Do the bandits loitering in that area have some nefarious plans?”

She furrowed her eyebrows again in deep contemplation, wondering whether she should have apprehended that young man. However, she affirmed her decision-- the young man was still in the inner realm-- a mortal.

Even if she captured him, it was impossible for him to have knowledge of any truly valuable information. If he was truly allied with dark forces, it would be better to follow his trail. She closed her eyes. Simply because the result went wayward did not mean it was the wrong choice.

___________________________________________________________________________

Rein was drowning in his dreams, flailing in freezing cold water. As a child, he had once fallen into the pond in the center of the Hehr Mansion courtyard. That was a rather old nightmare of his, particularly since he had since learned how to swim.

Sputtering, Rein suddenly opened his eyes a smidge.

“Awake…?”, a grumpy voice growled.

“Doesn’t look like it at all, Master Yirn.”

Rein suddenly felt a huge wave of ice cold water blasting into his face that completely cleared his mind.

“I’m awake, damn it, I’m--” he gargled and spitted out some water, “ awake!”

He tried to move his arms but found himself tied to a chair, with his arms roped behind the back. He was confused-- that mysterious expert had powers beyond his imagination. Was there a need to tie him up?

As for attempting to use the teleportation skill, Rein did not even dare to try. As he looked up, he found himself inside a dim room with a few lanterns positioned in the corners to illuminate the interior. He would only be able to teleport to a location in sight-- a position inside this very room.

If he did so, he would automatically free himself from the chair he was currently tied to. He had discovered he had a degree of control of whether objects close to himself would be brought along through the black hole formed by his hands. Thus, he would be able to free himself if he did not bring the chair along with him on activating the teleportation magic. It was just that there was no point doing so with this ‘Master Yirn’ in front of him.

Rein took a more careful look around the room. It was rather simplistic. The furniture and the windows were all the same type of dark brown color, no doubt, made from the same type of wood, likely from the outer edges of the Bleak Mountains where the vegetation could grow.

The walls were light brown, likely made with some kind of mud bricks and rammed earth.

Sitting right in front of Rein was the man who had knocked him out. The man was in a slight crouch on a short stool. He looked to be in his thirties, but really, most advancers looked to be somewhere in this age due to their long, if not immortal lifespan. The behavior of this man showed that he was clearly an ancient being.

The man’s square face with a stubbled chin had a scowl that seemed to be permanent, as if complaining about all the troubles he has had to deal with throughout his long life.

His dark brown, murky green robes just further cemented the overall impression of the man as a bit of a grumpy old man.

“News?” The murky green man grumbled as he chewed on a blade of grass while playing with the odd compass that was originally in Rein’s possession.

A measured voice coming from behind Rein replied, “No signs so far of anyone who has physically tracked this young man, Master.”

“His possessions?”

“Master, just some random aurae buns, armament refinement tools, inscription tools, a Black Crow Sect token, and some random advancer books on fire related fist arts.”

“Hmmm…Leave us.”

“Yes, Master.” Rein heard the sound of a door opening then closing.

The man abruptly looked upwards from his low stool directly into Rein’s eyes.

Rein was surprised by the brightness within the grumpy man’s eyes. It was as if he was looking into an everlasting spark through an ancient history of time.

The grouchy man then looked down again, breaking apart this ‘spell’.

He placed his hands together, and the odd compass was crushed into dust between his palms.

“That damn dragon. He nearly dragged attention onto me! Good thing I disabled this tracking treasure. What did he say to you? Troublesome!”

Rein was partially curious as to who this master in front of him needed to hide from. But that's none of his business really, though he felt a slight concern on whether this ‘master’ had the strength to truly be of help to him.

He sighed in his heart. At this point in time, Rein’s body fully slumped on the chair. He was absolutely exhausted. Frankly, he felt defeated.

His voice, though youthful, was weary. “...Master, the dragon called Mystrygon gave it to me after I assisted in their… escape. To my knowledge, they were being hunted in some form or fashion for reasons unknown to me.”

Master Yirn remained silent as he crouched on the short stool, with his knee supporting his right elbow and his right fist propping up his chin, lost in thought.

After the time that it took for a cup of tea to turn cold, Master Yirn finally spoke again, his originally gruff voice now deep, awe-inspiring, and menacing at the same time.

“Master?!”

Master Yirn seemed to generally avoid speaking too many words. However, this single word echoed inside Rein’s very soul, and his limbs began trembling in fear. If not for the chair, he would have immediately crumpled onto the ground with limbs like noodles.

Perhaps he should not have defaulted to calling this man his ‘Master’, but in the depths of his heart, he saw this expert as his only hope.

He tried to ascertain this expert’s intentions, but when he looked up, he saw Master Yirn’s face inhumane, aloof. He then gazed into Master Yirn’s eyes, and found the whole surrounding room crumbling into mist.

Rein found himself back in the Hehr Mansion in the Golden Desert Town. Although he knew this was just an illusion, one caused by Master Yirn, he could not help but find his emotions in turmoil upon seeing this scene.

It was quite odd though, in that the Hehr Mansion looked more vibrant and polished-- perhaps effects of the illusion.

His parents and his brother Jein that he so dearly missed leisurely wandered toward Rein, and Rein, in his emotional state, ran forward in hopes of feeling their warm embrace again.

As he leapt forward to embrace his family, he suddenly felt pain in his abdomen. Looking down, he saw that his father and Jein illusion had each stabbed a dagger into his belly.

In confusion, he looked at his mother, who’s face now looked wooden and grayed like a corpse, as if indifferent to his existence.

Then the illusion shattered like glass, and Master Yirn appeared in front of him again inside the mudbrick room, one eyebrow raised with a mocking smile on his face.

Master Yirn’s provocative attitude was of a total another face to his previous grumpy then majestic presentation. The rapid transition between the different faces would shame any stage performer.

Rein was in disbelief. To think that this Master Yirn, by all accounts an ancient expert, would create an illusion in which his loved ones that he had recently lost would be used to attack him?!

He had thought that these ancient advancers, with their high standing, would be honorable. He clenched his fists, half-wishing he could punch this expert in front of him, but could only restrain himself because he knew this erratic figure definitely had powers beyond his imagination.

This action allowed Rein to discover that the ropes around his arms and ankles were loose, and he was no longer bound to the chair.

Displeased with Master Yirn, he immediately stood up and stepped toward the door of the mudbrick house, wanting to leave.

However, when he reached the door, he could not bring himself to step out of the mudbrick house.

Rein heard Master Yirn’s derisive voice from behind him.

“Leaving?”

Rein did his best to control and suppress his rising displeasure toward Master Yirn. He had realized something very important!

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Master Yirn was clearly a provocative person. The ancient expert had sent those three aurae bandits at him, waterfalled him with cold water to awaken him, then intentionally used an illusion to attack his mind.

He had to endure. He could not just leave! He needed learn of advancer magics and the world! Enduring the man’s dastardly acts and gaining knowledge would still be better than the eternal regret of not being able to avenge his parents and potentially rescue Jein!

Rein steeled his weary mind.

With that conviction, Rein turned around, kneeled down and gave Master Yirn banged his forehead against the ground, declaring, “Disciple greets Master!”

Throughout the whole sequence, he suppressed his dissatisfaction with the expert’s provocations and forced himself to pay Master Yirn respect.

A lengthy silence engulfed the mudbrick house, and the buzzing of a fly could be heard far across the room.

Eventually, Master Yirn’s voice sounded out again. His voice had returned to a grumpy and gruffy state.

“Talent is not uncommon. Background, a dime a dozen.”

Rein, with his forehead against the ground, now craned his neck as he peered up towards Master Yirn, who continued.

“To survive the advancer world? The answer’s here.” Master Yirn loudly tapped the side of his head. “Mentality.”

Then he clenched his fist and raised it up high. “And an enduring might.”

Master Yirn then stood up, not directly addressing whether Rein had become his disciple or not. Or perhaps it was of no importance to him.

The master reached forward with a clawed hand toward Rein’s abdomen, and he twisted his wrist mid-air as if opening an invisible door. A queasy feeling suffused Rein’s body, but he could not break free. Streams of a lustrous deep green, a sizzling red lightning, and a blackish-purple haze was sucked away from Rein’s gut.

“How curious… The draconic metamorphose bead you absorbed only gave you affinity with wood and lighting. How curious indeed…Dragons should at least have an affinity with the five common elements… unless…?” Master Yirn’s expression turned strange and he released Rein from his magical grip, lost in thought for a good ten heartbeats. He then began laughing uproariously, to the point where a tear even rolled down a corner of his right eye.

Rein froze in confusion, his ears booming with the expert’s deep laughter, unsure what to make of the expert’s reaction.

Mystrygon would know if it was not a draconic metamorphose bead. The dragon had confirmed that it was such a bead.

“So. This is fate.” Master Yirn calmed down and returned to a low squat stance. Master Yirn did not provide any explanation for his thoughts, and immediately began a demonstration.

“The inner realm--the human mortal:

Endless potential in mind,

Yet weak in body and spirit.

Calm one’s heart and emotions,

Stabilize the flow of the world’s aurae,

Uniformly remold the body without disrupting the balance.”

The color of Master Yirn’s muscles slightly bulged as his veins, visible to the naked eye, gained a silvery sheen of aurae.

“Fully transformed,

Body one with the aurae of the world,

Shake off the shackles of mortality!”

Master Yirn’s body increasingly emitted more silvery aurae, before finally, his whole body became completely suffused in a mist of this silver, and his skin wholly covered in a thin silvery layer.

He then walked up to a side of the room, and threw a single punch at the mudbrick wall. The silvery aurae flowed around Master Yirn’s fist as one, and as the fist moved towards the wall, Rein felt his face buffeted by gusts and his ears filled with the scream of compressed air.

Boom!

A complete hole was blasted through the mudbrick wall, and shattered mud pieces ricocheted off the ground, walls and ceiling as a hint of light leaked in through the gap.

Master Yirn turned around to face Rein again, back in a low squat stance while maintaining the silvery sheen across his whole body. The light flowing in from the hole in the wall casted Master Yirn, who now stood in front of the hole, in a domineering fashion.

“The shell of the demi-god:

Lacking mortal ties,

Lost in cause,

Find the creed within oneself,

Birth one’s path through the aurae of the world.”

Master Yirn’s aura grew, but the silvery layer covering his body became thinner. However, Rein could see that although the layer was thinner, it had also become more concentrated.

Furthermore,the silvery aurae around Master Yirn’s abdominal area began swirling like a whirlpool as if there was a central core gathering the aurae of the world.

“Concentrate your creed,

The center of the being.

A core true to oneself,

Burst forward and be a beacon to all beings in existence!”

Master Yirn then stepped forth and threw a punch into empty air. A concentrated silvery aurae fist projection burst forth and although it grew slightly dispersed as it flew, when it crashed into the opposite wall, the aurae fist still made another hole.

Boom!

Dust flew everywhere as the whole mudbrick building swayed and creaked.

This hole, compared to the one behind where Master Yirn was standing, was only slightly wider. It did, however, additionally create far-reaching cracks lining the exterior of the hole.

Rein swung his head back and forth comparing the two holes. He did not fully understand the mechanics behind either, but he was processing the display and comparing it to his past experiences.

That devilish beauty that kidnapped Jein was likely only in the shell advancer level of the demi-god realms, so she could not perform the ‘aurae projection’ type of attack.

On the other hand, Blacksmith Tiehr was an outer advancer, and could focus his aurae and throw out aurae projection fists, likely a common advancer art. His aurae was fiery red, whereas Master Yirn’s was silvery.

Master Yirn continued.

“The outer stage of the demi-god realms:

Strong and sure in one’s creed,

Yet ignorant of the external.

Reach out with the core,

Grasp nature.”

Master Yirn now hooked his fingers together while still maintaining the silvery sheen over his skin.

The chair that Rein was tied to suddenly flew into the air, and as it was dropping, an invisible arm caught the chair and flung it up again.

Rein reasoned that these must be the tendrils that he saw guiding the formation of that cross-realm teleportation portal for that dragon Mystrygon to escape through. He had managed to do that with the dragon’s assistance.

Without a powerful advancer’s assistance, Rein currently could not see the tendrils that were swinging the chair to and fro with his naked eyes.

A point of confusion was that Blacksmith Tiehr did not display this skill. Giving it a bit of thought, Rein realized that this was reasonable.

Blacksmith Tiehr had just reached the outer realm before being poisoned in the Dragon Realm. It was likely he never had the chance to gain experience within the outer realm and develop this skill.

Master Yirn resumed his majestic display. He was fully aware that Rein was putting two and two together inside his head.

"Master the self,

Comprehend the external,

Break free of the physical realm!”

Master Yirn now went into a cross-sitting posture with his palms placed together. However, he was not sitting on the ground, but rather sitting on air-- no-- floating in air.

On top of his head now sat a silvery shape that looked like a tiny newborn.

Rein had yet to interact with any advancer that had displayed this kind of power level. But based on small bits of information he had gleaned, he believed that silvery shape to be a formed soul that telekinetic advancers could use to control objects far and wide with a single thought.

“Telekinetic realm. One’s physical body, even if destroyed, can be reshaped with the soul that has imprinted the physical form.”

“Telekinetic realm of the demi-god realm:

The gatekeeper of godhood.

Though the soul perceives its creed,

And grasps the internal and external,

It lies lost in cause and effect.

Strengthen one’s will,

Transcend the realm.”

Rein patiently waited for Master Yirn to continue, but no sooner after he had the thought, he found his eyelids drooping.

He shook his head furiously while pinching the skin on the back of his hand as he berated himself for falling asleep during such an important demonstration.

But when he looked back up, he saw Master Yirn’s mocking smile again.

Master Yirn raised his right eyebrow. “You must be feeling down after your journey... so tired and fatigued in body and mind. Another day perhaps?”

Rein found himself agreeing. Yes, he thought. Of course, he needed a good rest…

He then tried to lie onto the ground, wanting to take a short rest. It would be fine to learn the rest tomorrow.

However, when he closed his eyes, he didn’t feel tired at all, and instead a burning impatience.

“Exhausted?” Master Yirn’s gruff voice sounded out again. “It’s impossible to be so easily exhausted with an important goal in mind. Do not give your enemies too much rest and time. They, too, will grow stronger with time.”

Rein found himself agreeing again. He inwardly berated himself. Yes, how could he just lie down? He needed to make as much progress as possible immediately!

It was then that Rein found it odd that Master Yirn was directly conversing with him using many words. He was sure that Master Yirn normally avoided too many words. Yet Master Yirn’s words were all true. He was truly exhausted and needed a bit of rest, yet he also wanted to…

Rein’s face turned white as a realization suddenly hit him. The telekinetic realm likely contained psychic abilities!

Master Yirn’s phrase echoed in Rein’s mind. ‘Grasp nature’. Did that also include grasping the nature of humans? For humans, like beasts, plants and all other beings are all part of nature?

It had to be. His current contradictory feelings had been grasped by Master Yirn who had taken hold of it and gained control of his mind.

Rein realized this was more or less a form of mental manipulation, a rather scary thing to face. It was to influence an individual without the individual realizing they were being influenced...

The baby soul on top of Master Yirn’s head gradually increased in size in its silvery aurae splendor.

“Rein. Golden Desert Town has been abandoned by the Minhr Nation.”

Rein narrowed his eyes as he thought of the meaning behind the words. He now understood that Master Yirn’s every word and action indirectly communicated some knowledge.

He noticed Master Yirn’s eyes seem to have a slight glow. This must mean that a telekinetic advancer is able to sense events far into the distance.

Master Yirn then raised his arm with the index and middle finger pointed forward. Out of nowhere, a longstaff flew forth and began spinning mid-air. Master Yirn had no need to move his hand to control the longstaff. He remained motionless as simply with his mind, he controlled the longstaff to repeatedly change its angle of spin and position in the air, before launching forth to puncture a hole in a third wall with a blunt crushing noise. The only remaining wall of this mudbrick hut unaffected was the one with the exit door.

Rein half-expected this building to collapse on itself sooner or later. However, he was too enthralled with Master Yirn’s display to put any serious thought into it.

No sooner had he thought that, the longstaff flew back into mid-air. The rapidly spinning longstaff made whipping noises and crushed the wooden beam supporting the roof.

At this point in time, the door creaked open and a middle-aged man peered his head in. His measured voice sounded out.

“Master! The…”

He caught sight of the spinning longstaff heading for the central beams as well as the large holes in three of the walls, and his tone immediately turned urgent.

“Master! The building won’t hold!”

He then leaped beside Rein, and immediately dragged Rein by the collar of his frontally knotted black outfit out through the doorway as the spinning longstaff thoroughly rammed through the central beams supporting the roof.