Sword Arts

Yaan really didn't want to speak with Elia. No, it would be more accurate to say that he didn't want to see her at all…

He tried to brush her off as quickly as possible, but she was simply too persistent, and she was apparently completely unable to sense his discomfort. As Elia continued to hang around him despite his repeated attempts to end the conversation, they ended up chatting for almost an entire hour. Every single second of this was painful for Yaan…he felt that he didn't deserve the company of such a sweet and naive girl.

"Sigh…she believes the story about the demonic beast, just like everyone else. The truth is that I killed 88 of the people in Zong Village, the rest escaped into the dark forest and died to the beasts in the forest." Yaan sighed as he trudged home by his lonesome.

"Hmm? You actually believe that the remaining children escaped into the dark forest?" Rui asked with a slight raise of her eyebrow.

"Huh? Well, that's what teacher said, so…"

"To think that you're still so naive. For every single one of the remaining children to escape into the forest, then for every single one of them to fall prey to demonic beasts…do you really believe that such a lucky coincidence exists in this world?"

"Lucky?" Yaan asked blankly. How exactly could that be considered lucky?

"Lucky for you. What do you think would happen if there were remaining witnesses? Obviously, your teacher killed them all to prevent suspicions from arising. I assumed that you knew this already, but it seems that you are more stupid than I thought."

Her words left Yaan feeling shaken.

"Teacher wouldn't…no, I suppose he might." Yaan muttered to himself, but then smiled bitterly and shook his head. Thinking about it logically, it was entirely possible that his teacher had killed the remaining children. Yaan just didn't want to believe that the gentle old man was capable of such horrific actions.

"Remember, you are just a child, your world view is too narrow and your judgement of others too shallow. Don't trust the empty facade that people show you on the surface. Anyone is capable of committing cruel acts if it allows them to reach their ambition."

Yaan nodded quietly, his mood ruined even further by this knowledge.

It was often like this with Rui. She had become something of a teacher to him, though not one who comforted him like Great Elder Wan. Instead of raising him with kindness and understanding, she was gradually killing off his childish ignorance by teaching him about the darker side of this world.

Yaan was slowly growing accustomed to this, and he found himself accepting what she said more and more easily. He wasn't sure how to feel about this…

The core sect became much more lively following the announcement of the inter-sect competition. Everyone became crazed in their cultivation, devoting almost all of their time to cultivation, or to practicing their combat abilities.

Combat prowess was extremely important for any cultivator. Whether it was proving yourself to the sect as a disciple, suppressing enemy threats as an elder, or simply increasing your own ability to survive in this world, combat ability was an aspect that should never be neglected.

Great Elder Wan increased the intensity of Yaan's training.

After ascending to the Qi Gathering Realm, Yaan had been focussed on refining Innate Qi from the Slaughter Aura of the prisoners he killed. However, the fiend race also needed to cultivate their physical bodies.

There were certain medicines that could be used cultivate the physical body. These medicines couldn't be used by ordinary Qi refining cultivators, instead, they were typically fed to tamed spirit beasts in order to build up their strength.

Consuming the body parts of demonic beasts and spirit beasts was also a crucial method used in body tempering. Killing and eating other beasts was the main method that the beasts used to increase their strength in the wild, but it was effective for any being cultivating its fleshly body.

For Great Elder Wan, this was the perfect solution. He could easily hunt a few demonic beasts from the dark forest without anybody noticing, removing the need for the medicinal pills and tinctures. This way, he wouldn't arouse suspicion when people questioned his need for those pills, since he had no tamed beast of his own.

Besides increasing his body's strength, his teacher also suggested that Yaan begin practising actual combat.

Qi Gathering Realm cultivators were unable to cast spells and rarely used expensive treasures, so they mainly fought by filling their bodies with Innate Qi to increase their strength and speed temporarily. This was the same method that Xinti had used whenever he beat down the kids in Zong Village, and also the method that Yaan would utilise for now.

However, Yaan also possessed a 1-Star demonic body, meaning that his actual abilities were similar to a Peak Qi Gathering Realm cultivator, despite only being at the mid stage himself!

His teacher started off by sparring with Yaan using ordinary swords. Yaan wielded the same sword that he had used to execute hundreds of prisoners, whilst Great Elder Wan chose a very ordinary steel sword.

Thud!

Yaan fell back and landed on his buttocks for the hundredth time that day.

"That's all for today. Spend the remainder of the day eating the demonic beast heart that I gave you earlier. Tomorrow, you will battle against an Early Qi Gathering Realm prisoner in peak condition. They will be unarmed, so don't worry too much."

Rubbing his butt in pain as he stood up, Yaan complained, voicing his doubts towards these training methods.

"Teacher, have I really learned anything? I've sparred against you every day for the past month, but the result is always the same! 100 defeats every single day, in around the same period of time!"

"That is only because I have been continually increasing my skill level, targeting different weak spots each time. The Agile Sword Art suits you well, Yaan, your progress has truly impressed me." Great Elder Wan praised him honestly.

He had only considered Yaan to be a vessel for his ambitions at first, thinking nothing of his talent towards cultivation. However, after witnessing Yaan's rapid progress in this sword art, he realised that Yaan possessed some real talent in the area of sword arts. This caused a strange feeling to well up in the elder's heart, a feeling that he forcefully suppressed and tried his best to ignore.

Sword arts were not spells, but martial arts which taught the user to utilise the essence of the sword. Similarly, there were spear arts, saber arts, bow arts and so on. It was common for cultivators to become well versed in the various martial arts in order to draw out the maximum potential from their treasures.

The power of sword arts could be seen from how Great Elder Wan was restricting his own cultivation, essentially becoming a mortal as he fought, yet still easily defeating Yaan who had access to his full cultivation. This 'simple' technique allowed him to overcome the cultivation boundary. Of course, Great Elder Wan's skill level was only attainable after accumulating many decades of experience.

The following day, Yaan found himself locked within the central hub of the third layer dungeon. This circular room which led to the various prison cells could actually function as a training area for the core disciples. This was training via bloodshed, a place where they could battle the prisoners to hone their combat abilities. It was an excellent way to gain real life experience in a carefully controlled environment.

Yaan looked down at the key in his hand and took a deep breath. The number '6' was written on the bronze handle. He looked around, then found the sixth door and made his way across.

Clink…

The lock clicked open, making Yaan hesitate for a moment. However, a look of resolve soon flashed through his eyes and his hesitation vanished without a trace. He lightly pushed the door and took three steps back, quickly raising his guard as he waited for the opponent to come out.

After a full minute passed by, Yaan couldn't help but wonder if the cell was actually empty. He leaned forwards to peer past the door, when suddenly, a figure shot out from the cell.

The prisoner was obviously trying to catch him off guard, but Yaan wasn't such an easy target. His heart lurched for a moment, but once his eyes locked onto the charging figure, he actually stepped towards his opponent and swiftly stabbed forwards with his sword in one hand. Yaan's body came to a halt as he faced the prisoner from a sideways angle, with his arm outstretched, and his sword through their neck.

"Damnit…" The man stared at him hatefully, choking out a single word, resulting in blood sputtering out from the hole in his throat. A moment later, the life faded from his eyes. Yaan retracted the blade, watching calmly as the lifeless body dropped to the floor.

After spending a few minutes refining the Slaughter Aura completely, Yaan reflected on this battle and left the room.

"What did you think, Yaan?" His teacher asked him expectantly after he opened the door and stepped outside. Yaan showed a pondering expression and remained silent for a few seconds, thinking about his response carefully.

"It was over so quickly. The battle lasted less than a few seconds. No, if you count the time that he spent waiting in the cell, then it was actually over a minute."

Great Elder Wan nodded, understanding his surprise.

"Indeed, combat between cultivators is extremely variable and unlike that between mortals. It can last for a full day or a single second, depending on the parties involved."

After Yaan and his teacher silently exited the dungeon and ascended to the main Punishment Hall above, Yaan flinched, catching sight of Elia on the other side of the room.

He paused for a moment, and considered pulling back and hiding in the stairway. But, in the end, when his teacher gave him a strange look, he sighed and continued onwards. When Elia spotted him and her expression lit up, he sighed to himself yet again. He watched as she waved to him excitedly and skipped across without a care for her surroundings…she was acting the same as always.

"Yaan! Oh…you were in the dungeon again?" She looked slightly uncomfortable, glancing back towards the Punishment Hall entrance and involuntarily shivering.

"Right." Yaan nodded his head, keeping his answer brief and his tone calm.

Dealing with Elia was giving him a headache. He felt strange whenever she sought him out, it was as if he had betrayed her and was continuing to deceive her every time they spoke. This deceitful feeling gave Yaan an unpleasant feeling, sometimes even making him feel slightly nauseated.

Rui told him that he needed to stop caring about things like this, but it was more difficult than she made it out to be. He couldn't so easily discard the sentiment that he felt towards this girl whom he grew up with, nor could he ignore the guilt in his heart regarding his crazed actions in Zong Village. Even if he wasn't in his right state of mind back then, it remained a fact that he had killed dozens of innocent children, including someone that he had once considered a friend.

Luckily, Great Elder Wan seemed to notice Yaan's unease.

"We need to begin your sword art practice, Yaan."

"Ah, sorry for interrupting, Great Elder Wan!" Elia exclaimed in embarrassment, getting flustered and awkwardly bowing her head when she remembered that she was supposed to pay her respects to the sect elders.

She watched as her old friend and his teacher disappeared down the mountain, her expression turning downcast after Yaan left.

"Just what happened to Yaan exactly? He's so much different than before… he's always so polite, but I feel like he became much colder…" She muttered to herself sadly.

As Yaan and his teacher departed from the more bustling region of the core sect, they happened to pass by the sect lord. Yaan bowed to the overbearing man, then followed after his teacher who had just nodded lightly in passing.

"Hmm? What's wrong, Elia?" The sect lord asked when he saw the young girl's unhidden depressed expression.

"It's Yaan…he's become more distant. And I really can't believe that he's killed so many prisoners…is he really the same boy I knew back in Lightstone Village?" She shared her pain openly with Sect Lord Shin, not holding back or showing any sort of caution.

Elia became the disciple of Elder Sun after entering the inner sect, but she was taken as the sect lord's second disciple after her unique constitution was discovered. Actually, this was the other reason that Yaan was avoiding her. Besides his guilt, he also couldn't help but despise her slightly for accepting that damned Elder Sun as her teacher! He knew that she probably didn't have much choice in the matter, but she didn't even seem to regard it as a big deal!

Her naivety and her willingness to become close to his hated enemy irritated Yaan to no end.

The sect lord glanced back at Yaan as he disappeared with Great Elder Wan. After the pair could no longer be seen, he looked back down at Elia thoughtfully.

'Compared to Yaan, she is much more child-like. No, she is certainly ordinary for her age, it is Yaan whom is the strange one.' Sect Lord Shin mused silently, before patting Elia's head and comforting her.

"Yaan has been through a lot. His technique and constitution both require him to develop a strong mindset. Killing the prisoners is necessary for his cultivation to progress steadily. He is simply devoted to the immortal way, Elia."

Hearing this excuse, Elia became silent. No matter what, she really couldn't understand why Yaan would want to fill his life with such horrible things. Even so, Yaan was her friend, and she didn't want to let him go.