CHAPTER 152: A BUNCH OF ROCKS

The aravan of workers stopped near the inding site. Though there were signs that people had settled there once upon a time but was now abandoned.

Shan hopped off his carriage and showed Wang Ton and Wam the mine entrance. “And here it is, the mine you’ve bought.”

“It looks good.” Wang Ton bowed. “Thank you Master Shan.”

“You Wangs are quite a strange bunch.” Shan said as he returned the bow. Ï wish you good luck.”

Shan got back to his carriage and made his way back to town.

Zen turned around and looked at the opening for the mine. “I don’t understand, why did you buy this?” Zen said. “The mine seems to be tapped out, meaning you just bought a bunch of rocks.”

“Sir,” one of the workers said, “Do you wish us to start our journey down? Lookif we can find any more deposits?”

“Not yet.” Wang Ton said. “Set up camp, get comfortable. I’ll tell you where we start digging tomorrow.”

“Aye sir.” The man said before returning to the other workers and relaying Ton’s message.

Ton began walking forward. “Come.”

Zen followed him.

They went around the opening and climbed up the mountain that still formed part of the mine. They walked through the woods that had grown around. He touched his storage stone and his long pole hammer appeared in his arm.

Wang Ton swung down and hit the earth. He removed the dislodged rocks and pointed. “What do you see?”

“I don’t know.” Zen said. “More rocks?”

“Focus on the colour.” He said.

“They are brown.” Zen said. “What’s that line of black?”

“That is a veing of Black Iron.” Ton said.

“How far does this stretch?” Zen said in shock.

“Quite a ways.” He said. “There is a rich deposit of Black Iron. I discovered it a long time ago but before I could bring it to anyone’s attention, I had to leave little did I know that decades later I would own this place.”

“How did you find this out?” Zen said.

“I used to be a miner in this place.” He said. “When I was chased out of Leaping Cricket I had to find a job to support myself. This is where we will start digging.”

3 days passed. The miners accumulated a lot of black iron. On some days, Zen and Ton would even help in the digging.

Zen and Shibi came back to camp late at night to find Wang Ton waiting for them.

“Zen, be prepared, we’re going out.” He said.

“O-Okay,” Zen said. He tried to look energetic but he was exhausted. He had spent the whole night using the Half Step Wolf Cultivation and he was tired.

He followed his father away from the camp and deeper into the woods. They walked until the moon bega to sink in the horizon and the sun came up.

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“Where are we going?” Zen said.

“A place where my cultivation went to a whole other level.”

They climbed uup a slopped hill. Zen felt a sensation through his skin

“This place,” Zen said. “The mana is thicker.”

“Let’s keep going.” Ton said.

Zen kept following. Ahead, there was a wall, green with moss that had grown over it.

Wang Ton reached out and parted the wall with his hand. Zen realised that it was meant to look like a wall being overgrown by moss. It was actually just thick moss that looked like a wall. His father entered the moss and Zen followed him beyond the moss wall.

Beyond the moss wall was a pond with a few shrubs growing around it.

“Well, this is disappointing.” Ton said.

“What’s wrong?” Zen said in confusion. The place was magnificent. The air was thick with mana, more than twice the mana that would accumulate at the top of the mountains at Goixi Academy.

“There used to be a thick presence of elemental energy here when I first stumbled across this place.” Ton said. “It must take more than decades to accumulate the amount I first stumbled upon. Well anyways, it’s a good a place as any to start meditating.”

Ton began to disrobe.

“What are you doing?”

“Cultivating is easier at the epicentre. Where the energy gathers the most.” He said. “That would be in the pond.”

“I guess that’s true.” Zen also began taking off his clothes.

Minutes later they were sitting in the lake, as naked as the day they were born. Ton sat on one side, deep in meditation cultivation while Zen and Shibi sat on the other side with Shibi looking serine while Zen… not so much.

Zen’s grunting and irregular breathing brought Ton out from his cultivation.

Zen was brought out of his meditation and saw Ton looking at him. He instantly felt embarrassed.

“Seems you have something on your mind?”

“I can’t remember the last time I didn’t have anything on my mind.” He said. “How did you know.”

“Meditation Cultivation deals with the psyche.” Ton said. “If your psyche had no calm, it will reflect when you meditate. Like the surface of this pond. The pond represents your body and my hand, your soul.” His hand hovered over the water surface. “If your soul is calm, than the pond will be relaxed but if your soul is unsettled…” he slammed his hand in the pond, sending ripples out. “It shows when you cultivate. So what is the latest thing on your mind, Wang Zen?”

The conversation felt awkward to Zen. This was probably the most he had said to him in one sitting in a very long time.

“It’s… not an easy question to ask.” Zen closed his eyes. It made him feel better to ask the question he was about to without seeing Ton. “After you ran away from Leaping Cricket Town, you came back. You got stronger than ame back. It doesn’t seem very honourable. Wouldn’t it have been… more honourable to stay away.”

“Last time you said I had no honour.” Ton said. “And that is what it boild down to. I betrayed a person who I look up to, who was like an older brother to me. When I came back, I insulted him but it wasn’t to insult him, I deceived him but it wasn’t to deceive him. I came back to serve him, to atone for what I did and if I needed to spend the rest of my life behind a mask to do that, than I did not mind.”

“Oh,” Zen said.

“Of course when he found me out, he should have killed me.” He said. “Instead he showed me mercy and I had to build a new life outside the only thing I’ve ever know, outside Leaping Cricket. Now, enough of my past, I brought you here to help in your cultivation. You are embarrassingly weak.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.” Zen said under hs breath.

Wang Ton exited the pond cave. He saw Wang Zen leaping into the air. While in the air, his foot was swirling with ki before it vanished, leaving Zen falling on his face. He grumbled as he got up, spitting out grass. He looked to the side and saw Ton.

“You’ve been watching me?”

“I heard a lot of grunting and falling.” Ton said. “Thought I’d come out and see what’s up.”

“I’m trying to learn Meteor Kick.” Zen said. “I stopped practicing it so long ago and thought I’d improve my Blitz Fist before I I tyr to learn Meteor Kick.”

“So you followed my advice.” Wang Ton said.

Zen kept silent, getting up again.

“You seem to collect all these offensive ki techniques.” Wang Ton said. “You’ll mostly likely not use these techniques if you ever unlock your elemental powers which can give you more powerful, long range offensive abailities.”

“In the second period at the academy, we may be taught a defensive technique.” Zen said. “And aren’t ki techniques suppose to be offensive. How can you win a fight otherwise?”

“I used to think like that too until I met someone who changed my mind.” Ton said. “You might have seen him around Goixi Academy, he’s name is Lu Daomeng.”

“Yeah,” Zen said with a sly smile, “I know him.”

“Lu Daomeng and his people believe every technique, be it ki, elemental or celestial energy is meant to be functional not offensive.” Ton said.

“Yeah… I guess that makes sense,” Zen lied.

“How about I teach you a ki technique?” Ton said. “It is not offensive but it is one that I use even this day.”

Zen’s interest was peeked. “Yeah! I’d like that.”

Ton smiled. “Good, the name of the technique is Mock Level.”