"well, I guess you're off then!" 

The three teens stared dumfoundedly with their mouths agape as the old gates to the monastery slammed to a close. This was the only home they knew, 16 years of their lives had been spent there and there alone. The only times they had ever left the confines of their gated community was to hunt down wild demon beasts so that they could trade in the beast cores for allowance. Now they had to live out here? On their own?

They had no idea how the outside world worked. Sure, they had heard stories and read books about life outside but they had never mentally prepared themselves for the real thing. What we're they supposed to do now? Where we're they supposed to go? They aren't prepared for this! This is far too cruel!

"Uhhh, did we just get kicked out? Did one of you guys forget to pay our rent?" A brown haired young man with bright blue eyes was the first to break the silence. He wore an ordinary dark grey tunic and a disheveled pair of pants that inched down his leg into his silver plated boots. His hand resting on the sword at his side. He had short messy hair and an elegant yet handsome face that could woo any girl. His lean athletic figure slumped over in defeat.

"What the hell do you think Cao?" The next to speak up was a green eyed young woman. Her short bobbed hair bouncing as she half seriously half playfully stomped over to Cao and trapped him in a headlock. Her snow white skin and rose red lips were a stark contrast to her nearly obsidian black hair and black brocaded robe. For such a slender girl she certainly was powerful.

"Ack, cough Wu Feng, please, please, It was just a joke to lighten the mood! No need to get so upset wheeze ha ha! Brother Song please help me out here!" Cao Yu gasped for air as his face gradually reddened and his eyes seemingly popped out of his head, frantically motioning to a young man who was seemingly entranced by the map sprawled out in his lap. His bright blue eyes darting from side to side as he studied every inch of the map over and over again as if he was engraving every tiny detail into his mind. The only movement he made was to occasionlaly brush his long blonde hair behind his ear or to fiddle with a strange object in his hand.

After what seemed like an eternity he finally stood up, his muscles seemingly stretching his clothes to their absolute limit. He turned around and made his way over to Cao Yu and Wu Feng.

"Can't you guys just go without bickering for one day?" Brother Song asked exasperatedly "Wu Feng, please let go of Cao Yu. I've found out where to go from here. There's a town just about a month from here." 

"A month!" Wu Feng was shocked and loosened her grip on Cao Yu.

 Seeing his chance Cao Yu pulled away from Wu Feng and began rubbing his stiff neck. He looked at Brother Song with a sense of disbelief evident in his eyes. "Are you sure that's right Brother Song? Maybe you just got our location on the map wrong, We don't technically exist after all so we could be anywhere on there."

"I'm positive, Here you two can check for yourselves." Brother Song stretched open the map as Cao Yu and Wu Feng gathered around him to get a good look.

"So.. that mark on the map..." Cao Yu slowly spoke as he raised his finger to point at a smiley face that was several inches away from any other markings in the center of the map.

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"Yep. That's us." Brother Song sighed. "Nothing around us in every direction for several miles."

Cao Yu fought back the urge to try and break his way back into the monastery. "Oh.. That's...That's unfortunate." He stated.

"Are they messing with us!" Wu Feng yelled and kicked a nearby tree turning it into splinters "Couldn't they give us a few flying swords first or something before throwing us out in the middle of nowhere! Those ungrateful Old Fogeys! We've done everything they'e asked of us since birth and they don't even have the courtesy to give us a few divine swords to make our trip easier!" Wu Fengs continued kicking over trees until she had calmed down as Brother Song and Cao Yu waited to the side patiently. Knowing full well that when Wu Feng was angered the best option was to let her blow off some steam or have their masters restrain her and try to calm her down. After three to four more trees were murdered she took a deep breath and took a seat on an old tree stump.

"Are you guys ready to go? It's still early and we can make some progress if we get started now. Hell, I bet it won't even feel that long once we get into the swing of things. You're just still dealing with the fact that we're out on our own now but don't forget that we still have each other! With each others company time will fly!" Brother Song made a desperate attempt to lift their spirits.

Cao Yu and Wu Feng looked at each other as they both slowly started to smile "Yeah, This is no big deal!" They answered in unison. "We're level  300 Heroes! There's nothing we can't handle! We've even been taught by the greatest Mages and Cultivators that humanity has seen in millions of years!"

"Yeah! I dunno what's gotten into me, This is nothing! If I had gotten breakfast this morning I wouldn't be acting so defeated!" Cao Yu showed off his pearly white teeth and gave Brother Song a thumbs up

"Yeah, and this idiots bad jokes always put me in a bad mood! If he hadn't tried to crack such stupid jokes I would've handled this much better!" Wu Feng placed her hands on her hips and puffed her chest out as she looked at Cao Yu disdainfully. 

"Wait, You don't like my jokes?" Cao Yu teasingly asked as he put on the best pouting face he could and looked at the ground dejectedly.

"They're horrible!" Wu Feng exclaimed as she tried to hold back a smile.

Brother Song grinned and firmly placed his hands on both their shoulders "Now that's more like it!" He turned around and tossed a jade with multiple runes engraved into it onto the dirt path in front of the gates. After a while it slowly began to glow a deep shade of blue as it steadily began to hover 5 feet over the ground. "As long as we follow this rune we should get to the town closest to us with no problem. You guys got all your stuff together?"

"Yeah." "Yes!" Both Cao Yu and Wu Feng replied and began to follow closely behind Brother Song down the coiling path into the forest

----------------------------------------

"How do you think they're taking this?" A slender old man with a long white beard chuckled as he lifted a pot of tea and began drinking straight from the spout.

"Ohoho~ I bet they took it pretty hard at first. But I'm sure they got over it pretty quickly." An old woman sitting at a window played with a bird at the windowsill.

"Knowing Young Noble Song he probably managed to get the situation under control before it got out of hand. Besides, They've been friends for their entire lives I doubt they would take this too hard if they've got each other to rely on. Plus, the only thing they're probably worried about is the trip. Those kids love to laze around too much, this will be great excercise for them." An old man lying back in a cushioned chair said as he kicked his feet up on an ottoman.

"Did you manage to get them identification Old Man Fu?" The old woman asked the lazy old man

"Yeah, I pulled some strings with some old friends of mine. They should have some Imperial Passes in their pouches."

"Imperial Passes?" The thirsty old man asked inquesitively "You sure that's okay?"

"En, It wasn't that hard to get don't worry." 

"That's not what I meant, I was talking abou-"

"And while I was out getting their ID's I got you some tea, It should be finished by now. You like Yellow Tea right?"

"Yellow tea!? Thank you Old Man Fu I owe you one!" The frail old man disappeared in the blink of an eye and reappeared even faster with a new pot of tea in hand and began chugging