After our talk atop the main hall, Mother and I jumped down and walked along the stone pathways towards the training hall. We could have leapt there, going from building to building, but we took our time. Neither of us were in any rush. On occasion, we passed by a servant who bowed at us before continuing on their way.
As we walked, I glanced up at the overcast sky. I expected it to snow again sometime soon. According to Lorelei and Corie, it snowed almost all the time in the Icefall Region during the winter. One year, they said that it snowed so much that it buried entire buildings. House Icefall, along with several of their retainers, had gone around digging people out of their houses. Ice wizards were handy during those kinds of situations.
At least we wouldn’t have to worry about that here at Sturm Hill. The experts hired by Father had taken all kinds of scenarios into account when they designed the place. Natural disasters, a magic beast attack, war, etc. Again, it had been well worth the expense to hire them.
We didn’t have to worry about snow, rain, and similar kinds of weather. Cold, on the other hand, was another matter.
“Mother,” I said, breaking the silence. “I’m going into seclusion soon.”
She nodded.
“I expected as much,” she said. “I’m surprised you haven’t already.”
“I had planned to a while ago,” I said. “But with everything going on, that idea fell to the wayside.”
At first, I had intended to go into seclusion right after Father, Kaylee, and Annabelle left, since I wanted to reach the Foundation Establishment stage as soon as possible. However, I kept putting it off since there was so much to do. Training our disciples, helping out with the Adventurers Guild, the expansion and renovation of Sturm Hill Hall, and so on. It seemed that I had inherited Father’s tendency to overwork. However, things had now settled down to the point where I could take the time off necessary to go into seclusion.
Sturm Hill was now a home worthy of Clan Sturm, so I didn’t have to worry about that anymore. With Mother and Grandfather Gabe around, I didn’t have to worry about my disciples either. They could teach Leroy, Lorelei, and Corie in my stead. As for the Adventurers Guild, I already discussed the matter with Guildmaster Sinclair.
Wizards also went into seclusion, especially when they were about to form a new Circle, so this sort of thing wasn’t an unusual occurrence. Since I wasn’t entirely sure when I would leave seclusion, I decided to just let my membership with the Adventurers Guild lapse and pay the fine to have it reinstated afterward.
I thought things would be awkward between us because of our conversation last time. After discussing the matter with Mother, we decided not to teach Guildmaster Sinclair about cultivation. Despite the obvious benefits of gaining a letter of introduction from her, they were outweighed by the risks. However, it didn’t seem to matter to Guildmaster Sinclair. As she said, she didn’t really need the “strange magic”.
Still, I was a bit disappointed. That letter of introduction would’ve made it much easier to make friends with House Griffin.
“Do you even need to go into seclusion?” Mother asked. “You’ve reached the peak of the Energy Condensation stage. Given your level of experience and knowledge, surely it wouldn’t be that difficult for you to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.”
Mother was right. It wouldn’t be that difficult for me to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage. Over the past few months, as we worked with the experts hired by Father to rebuild Sturm Hill, I kept up with cultivation. Thanks to the resources I received from Clan Sturm as part of my stipend, I progressed at a ridiculous rate. It didn’t take me long to reach the peak of the Energy Condensation stage weeks ahead of schedule.
My dantian went from a lake of mana, to a sea of mana, to an ocean of mana. I was just a step away from entering the Foundation Establishment stage. For first time cultivators, this step was the difference between the heavens and the earth. Many couldn’t make it. For me, it was simply one more step I needed to take in order to achieve immortality again and reach the heavens once more.
However, that wasn’t why I needed to go into seclusion. If I just wanted to reach the Foundation Establishment stage, I could do so without any trouble. It was a simple matter for me.
The reason why I needed to go into seclusion was so I could complete the divine storm dragon core within my dantian. Aurora and I were close to finishing it, though not as close as I would like. We worked diligently to get to this point, but it had taken longer than I expected or wanted. If I wanted to finish the divine storm dragon core and step into the Foundation Establishment stage before spring, I needed to focus all my efforts on it. Thus, I needed to go into seclusion.
“Yes, I do,” I told Mother. “It shouldn’t take me too long. Two months at the longest, but…Well, I’m worried about my disciples. I’m the one who introduced them to cultivation. Therefore, I’m responsible for what happens to them.”
Mother chuckled.
“Gabriel,” she said. “While your concern for your disciples is admirable, there is such a thing as taking it too far. They’re cultivators, not baby chicks. They can survive for a few months without your supervision. You don’t want to smother them and hinder their potential, do you?”
Mother had a point. Coddling a cultivator only led to problems in the long run. Teaching disciples required a fine balance between caring for and guiding one’s charges, and encouraging their independence. Unfortunately, I tended to go overboard with the former. That had been a problem for me, even as Immortal Celestial Thunder.
“Still,” I protested. “I worry about them.”
Mother shook her head.
“They’ll be fine,” she chided. “You don’t need to hold their hands for everything. They were perfectly fine before you came along. I’m sure they’ll be fine for a few months without you.” She gave me a sideways glance. “Don’t be such a worrywart. I’m sure Lady Annabelle would find that unattractive.”
Well, yes and no. While I sometimes fretted over nothing, back when I was Brandon Norwood, Annabelle found it both annoying and endearing. She teased me mercilessly over it.
“Fine,” I said with a huff. “I’ll stop. Just promise me that you’ll look after them.”
Mother rolled her eyes.
“I promise,” she said. “Though I think it’s unnecessary. They’re ahead of me in everything except wizardry, and I don’t see that changing any time soon. You taught them well.”
I grinned at that. Over the past few months, my personal disciples had progressed at a rate that almost matched mine. Each of them had already reached the fifth small realm of the Energy Condensation stage. This rate of advancement would have marked each of them as unparalleled geniuses back on Spirit Earth.
Going from forming their dantians to reaching the fifth small realm of the Energy Condensation stage within months was an incredible achievement. I was proud of them for all of their hard work. Unlike me, they weren’t reincarnated Immortals. Hell, they were even new to the concept of cultivation.
Not only that, but they had also reached the First Rank of their respective body cultivation techniques, boosting their physical prowess even further.
After the kerfuffle about Corie’s choice of body cultivation technique, Lorelei threw herself even more into her training. She stated that she would do everything in her power to protect her friends and family. For her, that meant getting as strong as possible in the shortest amount of time.
When I talked with her about it, I learned that Lorelei took Corie’s motivation to practice the Body of Poison technique as a sign that she was too weak to protect her loved ones. In Lorelei’s eyes, if she had been stronger, then her best friend wouldn’t have needed to make such a sacrifice. I tried to convince her otherwise, to no avail.
Lorelei also started splitting her time between training at Sturm Hill, and training with her mother. A little after Guildmaster Sinclair told me about her past, she did the same with her daughter. While Lorelei knew her mother was a powerful warrior, she hadn’t known that her mother had once been a champion fighter in House Griffin’s arena.
Realizing just how serious her daughter was about training, Guildmaster Sinclair didn’t hold back. More than once, Lorelei returned to Sturm Hill covered in bruises, but with a smile on her face.
Leroy dedicated himself to the sword. Like Lorelei, he took Corie’s decision to practice the Body of Poison technique as a sign that he needed to become stronger. Since he was a Second Circle wizard, he had even less reason to think like this than Lorelei, but that didn’t stop him from pushing against his limits time and time again.
He practiced the Celestial Sword fighting style long after everyone else finished training, honing his form to perfection. Most of the time he practiced alone, but sometimes he managed to rope someone else into sparring with him. In most cases, this person ended up being me.
Since I also practiced the Celestial Sword fighting style, I was the best person for him to test himself against. However, he fought against others as well, if only to get used to fighting a variety of opponents.
All this hard work and dedication paid off. While Leroy hadn’t grasped sword intent yet, and likely wouldn’t for a while, he caught a glimpse of the laws, principles, and mystical truths behind the sword. It was quite possible that he would be able to use sword intent either just before or just after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, which would put him ahead of most sword cultivators. Most of them learned to use sword intent when they reached the high Foundation Establishment stage.
Like her fellow disciples, Corie trained with an almost single-minded dedication. Like Leroy, she practiced with the bow for hours on end, long after the others finished training. Her speed, accuracy, and precision increased by the day. She even got the hang of the Spirit Arrow technique. While she hadn’t mastered it yet, it was just a matter of time before she did.
When she wasn’t practicing with her bow, Corie read every book about alchemy and medicine that she could get her hands on. More than once, I found her asleep in the library with a book in her hands. I wasn’t the only one either. Leroy started checking in on her, making sure that she took care of herself. When he found her asleep in the library, he would carry her to her room and put her to bed.
Corie also assisted me in the alchemy lab, to further her education even more. I also started holding one hour long lectures on Spirit Earth alchemy every day, just for her. Well, they were supposed to be just for her. Mother and Grandfather Gabe caught wind of this and started attending themselves. While I was still a novice when it came to Luminan alchemy, I was a master at Spirit Earth alchemy. Since Clan Leone focused on alchemy as well as combat, my lectures were of great benefit to them.
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Nights were difficult for Corie, since that was when she practiced her body cultivation technique. When she didn’t fall asleep in the library while reading, she drank poisons created by me, using them in conjunction with her special constitution in order to refine her body. Sometimes I supervised her during these sessions, but more often than not, Lorelei was the one who watched over her.
I also wrote up manuals for the few poison techniques that I did know, so that Corie could learn them and begin practicing them herself.
None of my disciples neglected their wizardry either. Each of them had formed at least one new thread, with Lorelei and Corie forming two. This was on top of everything else they had been doing. It turned out that the pills Grandfather Gabe had traded to us were also useful for wizards. After all, it was all mana in the end.
Suffice to say, I was proud of my disciples. Their hard work and dedication continued to amaze and impress me.
Mother and I soon reached the training hall and entered. It was warm inside, thanks to a magic circle that regulated the temperature inside. So much so that the two of us ended up shedding most of our winter clothing. While we could tolerate being a little overheated, there wasn’t any reason to put ourselves through that.
Within the main area of the training hall, several of our disciples were currently training and sparring. This was what most of them did when they weren’t busy with their respective duties to the Clan.
My personal disciples weren’t the only ones who had thrown themselves into their training. Over the past few months, each of the outer disciples managed to form their dantians, thereby becoming real cultivators. Each of them expressed joy and wonder as they did so. This joy was short-lived, however, since Grandfather Gabe increased the difficulty of their training as a result.
Considering his first training session with them involved him hanging them upside down from the trees and throwing knives at them to get them to dodge, I pitied their poor souls.
Still, Grandfather Gabe’s training had a positive effect on our Clan’s disciples, since they advanced in their cultivation at a decent speed. They didn’t progress as fast as me or my personal disciples, but they were certainly above average. Back on Spirit Earth, each of them would have been promoted to inner disciples based on the speed of their cultivation alone.
Once we had more disciples, we would do the same for them.
Their martial art skills also advanced at a steady rate, including the twins Cameron and Carina. While they focused more on spellcasting, under Grandfather Gabe’s tutelage, they honed their bodies so they wouldn’t be completely helpless in a physical fight.
I deserved some of the credit, of course. After all, I was the one who paired each outer disciple with the fighting style that best suited them. Training in the wrong fighting style might have slowed down their progress.
At the moment, there were three sparring matches going on within the training hall. The twins were fighting each other, slinging spells at one another, while Jace Bellamy faced off against Jack Neville. Each of them fought within large magic circles that acted as fighting arenas. The magic circles kept any spells and attacks thrown out by the participants from spilling out.
The twins were an even match with each other, with neither one having a definitive advantage. They knew each other too well, which made it easier to predict what the other would do. In fact, they were so in sync with each other, it almost looked like they were dancing with each other rather than fighting.
Jace and Jack, however, were an interesting match up. Jace had Earth and Air affinities, which gave him enhanced strength and speed when he used internal magic. This put him at a definite advantage. Even though I made sure to distribute my body enhancement technique to everyone, our Clan’s outer disciples favored internal magic since they were all in the Second Circle. At least, the ones with either Earth or Air magic, or both, did. Those without used the body enhancement technique instead.
Despite facing off against an opponent who was both faster and stronger than him, Jack held his own. He used his chains, we as well as his Metal magic, to harry and harass. He kept Jace off-balance, never giving the latter a chance to gain too much momentum. Jace used a hammer, but Jack never gave him a chance to properly wield it.
Still, I think Jace would win in the end. Jack could harry and harass all he wanted, but if he couldn’t deliver a finishing blow, he would just delay the inevitable. Maybe he was trying to tire Jace out and win that way, but I didn’t see that happening. Jace had too much stamina, thanks to his Earth magic.
The third match was between Lorelei and Corie. At first glance, this pairing seemed skewed in Lorelei’s favor, since the fighting arenas weren’t that large. This meant Corie didn’t have as much distance as she needed in order to properly use her bow. However, thanks to her Body of Poison body cultivation technique, and the poison techniques I taught her, it was a bit more even.
Earth Spikes erupted out of the ground beneath Corie’s feet. She leapt into the air, breathing out a cloud of purple noxious gas as she did so. Lorelei, who rushed forward to hit Corie as she was in midair, had to abort her charge. Corie took advantage of this and fired a few arrows at her friend. Lorelei shielded herself with an Earthen Rampart, before using a spell I hadn’t seen before.
She hit the Earthen Rampart with her fist, sending several small stones towards Corie. The latter dodged most of them, but a few hit her. I sucked in a breath when I saw this, and winced in sympathy. Those were going to leave bruises in the morning. Of course, if Lorelei hadn’t held back, more of them would have hit Corie.
“Interesting,” Mother commented. “Earth Bullet is a relatively rare spell. I’m surprised that Lorelei knows it.”
I glanced at her.
“Really?” I asked. “It doesn’t seem all that special to me.”
Mother nodded in Lorelei’s direction.
“Earth Bullet is like Earthen Rampart in that it ramps up in power, depending on the caster’s strength,” she explained. “At the highest levels, a single Earth Bullet is enough to destroy entire mountains. The spell might seem small and simple, but don’t underestimate it.” She gave me a sideways glance. “I wonder where she learned it.”
I shrugged.
“Don’t look at me,” I said. “I’m not an Earth wizard. I didn’t teach it to her.”
Though I had a pretty good idea as to who did. Being the Chosen of the Earth Goddess certainly had its perks.
Mother and I focused on the match between Lorelei and Corie again. However, by that point, it was already over. It ended in a tie, with Corie surrounded by several Earth Spikes while she aimed three arrows at Lorelei’s throat. The both of them were panting.
The other two matches remained ongoing, so Mother continued to watch them while I walked over to my disciples. The magic circle faded away as Lorelei and Corie called it a draw and walked out.
“Young master,” they said as I approached.
Both of them gave me slight bows. I nodded in return. When they rose, I noticed lingering traces of resentment in Lorelei’s eyes. While she had mostly forgiven me for my part in Corie’s choices, she hadn’t completely forgiven me. Considering that she had to watch her friend writhe in agony every night, I didn’t blame her for that. Still, in the end, it was Corie’s choice to practice the Body of Poison body cultivation technique.
“Well fought,” I said. “The both of you have definitely improved over these past few months. That said, there is plenty of room for further improvement.” I looked at Lorelei. “I know Corie is your best friend, and you don’t want to hurt her, but you can’t keep holding back when the two of you spar. If you keep doing that, it’ll develop into a bad habit.”
Corie gave her a sharp look.
“You were holding back?” she demanded.
Lorelei flushed and didn’t respond.
“Yes,” I answered in her stead. “When she used the Earth Bullet spell, she deliberately made it easier for you to dodge them. Otherwise, more of them would have hit you.”
“Lorrie!”
Lorelei scowled and looked away.
“I’m sorry, okay?” she said. “I just don’t like seeing you get hurt.”
“So it’s all right for you to get hurt, but not me?” Corie asked. “You look like hell whenever you come back after a training session with your mother. How do you think that makes me feel?”
Lorelei opened her mouth to protest, but I held up a hand to silence her.
“You’re doing the both of you a disservice by not treating your sparring sessions seriously,” I said in a gentle voice. “Not only that, but you’re insulting Corie and disrespecting her choices by doing so.”
“But it’s dangerous!”
“The world is a dangerous place,” I said. “That’s why practice and training is important. It helps you prepare for the trials and tribulations that lie ahead of you. In certain situations, excessive kindness can be just as harmful as deliberate malice.”
Corie scowled.
“I’m not made of glass, Lorrie,” she growled. “You can get a little rougher with me.”
Lorelei opened her mouth to protest, but Corie cut her off.
“If you keep doing this, I’ll find someone else to spar with. Don’t think I won’t.”
Lorelei’s expression fell at this and she slumped.
“I…I’m sorry,” she said.
Corie’s expression softened and she put a hand on her friend’s shoulder.
“I forgive you,” she said, before her expression hardened once more. “Just don’t do it again.”
Lorelei nodded.
“I won’t.”
“As for you, Corie,” I said, moving the conversation along. “Don’t be afraid to get in close. You’re an archer, but several of the poison techniques I taught are most effective when you get up close and personal. You’ll catch your opponents off guard if you do so.” I leaned in a little. “And don’t do what Lorelei did and hold back for fear of hurting your friend. The points I made earlier apply to you as well.”
Corie huffed and crossed her arms.
“Fine,” she said, before muttering under her breath. “I’ll need to make more antidote.”
“What brings you here?” Lorelei asked. “Something tells me that you aren’t here to just give us a few pointers.”
I nodded.
“You’re right,” I said. “I came here to tell the both of you that I’ll be going into seclusion soon. It won’t be for too long, two months at most, but I wanted to give you both a heads up.”
I would have to do the same for Leroy. Unlike Lorelei, he had already forgiven me for my part in Corie’s choices. Maybe it was because he better understood why Corie did what she did, or maybe because he hadn’t known Corie as long as Lorelei had. Regardless, our relationship had returned to what it had been before. I’ll admit, I felt more relieved by that than I had expected.
On a more positive note, it looked like Leroy had finally heeded my words. While it was the early stages yet, his relationship with Corie was taking a new turn. Whether or not things would work out between them remained to be seen. I hoped it did.
“Wait, what about my alchemy lessons?” Corie asked.
I chuckled at that.
“Don’t worry,” I said. “I wrote up a lesson plan for you. As long as you follow it and do the assignments, you’ll be fine. Don’t slack off. I’ll be checking your work when I come back.”
Not that there was any danger of that. Corie loved alchemy. In fact, she often pestered me to teach her more.
“And I haven’t forgotten about you or Leroy,” I said, turning to Lorelei. “I’ve left behind a few manuals for the both of you. They contain techniques that I believe the both of you are now ready for.”
Lorelei nodded, her eyes gleaming with excitement.
“What kinds of techniques?” she asked.
I chuckled at her enthusiasm.
“You’ll see soon enough,” I said. “I think you’ll like them.”
I gave them a few more pointers, before I headed off to find Leroy. After I talked with him and told him about my plans, I would head towards the meditation hall to go into seclusion.
As I left the training hall, the other two sparring matches concluded. The twins’ match ended in a draw by the looks of it, though neither one was willing to admit it. They continued to argue with each other, with both of them claiming that they had won while the other had lost.
Like I predicted, Jace won his bout with Jack. Despite the latter’s best efforts, he couldn’t land a finishing blow. One of Jack’s chains was in pieces, suggesting that he had detonated it the same way he had with me, during our game of Keep Away way back when. It looked like it hadn’t worked this time either. Mother talked with the two of them, giving them pointers.
An air of camaraderie filled the training hall. There didn’t seem to be any hard feelings between Jace and Jack, and the twins’ argument seemed good natured. As for Lorelei and Corie, they seemed to be working things out between them.
As I observed all this, a desire to protect everyone filled me. The world was a dangerous place. Sooner or later, someone or something would come along to threaten the haven we had built here. I would not let that happen. I would keep everyone safe. My family, my friends, our Clan’s disciples. Everyone.
However, in order to do that, I needed to become stronger. There was only so much I could do as an Energy Condensation cultivator; even one at the Second Circle and the Second Rank of body cultivation.
I marched out of the training hall, even more determined to finish the divine storm dragon core and reach the Foundation Establishment stage.