The True Nature of this World

"Damnit, just where did he go?!" Great Elder Wan flew through the air with a deep frown plastered across his face. He tried to remain calm, but the anxiety in his heart couldn't be hidden from his gaze.

How was it that Yaan had managed to travel so far away?!

He left behind a tracking spell on Yaan's sword, but Yaan actually dropped this sword into the river and disappeared to who knows where. The elder was following the river downstream slowly, carefully scanning the water with a spell which utilised his eyes as he searched for any signs of Yaan's presence. He needed to be meticulous, otherwise, he could easily pass him by unnoticed.

The more time he spent searching, the stranger Great Elder Wan's mood became.

Now that Yaan was in danger, he came to realise that he had developed some degree of affection towards the child. No, in reality, he had subconsciously realised his feelings some time ago, but he was only now forced to face truth.

Great Elder Wan didn't feel good about this development at all, though. Originally, he only intended to use Yaan as a tool to further his own strength. He justified his deceit towards Yaan and the sect by telling himself that Yaan was a demon. He was an evil creature, a being that shouldn't be thought of in the same way as a human being.

The problem with this way of thinking, was that Great Elder Wan was not a follower of the demonic path. He was unable to act like a true demon, completely detaching himself from morality and doing despicable things for his own benefit.

After carefully raising Yaan and spending so long with him over these years, he ended up developing a real relationship with the boy. At this point, he felt true joy with each step of Yaan's progress! Watching as his disciple grew from a scared mortal child into a diligent cultivator, was genuinely fulfilling for the old man, who had always lacked any sort of family throughout his long life.

Discarding this relationship in order to further his own power…such an action would truly be something that only a demon would do. As such, Great Elder Wan felt a conflict forming within his heart, causing his mind to fill with uncertainty and confusion.

For mortals, inner turmoil was just a feeling, but for cultivators, it was a very serious matter, often referred to as a 'heart demon'. If he did not resolve this heart demon, then his cultivation would stagnate, or even deteriorate…

The pain that Great Elder Wan felt in his heart was only relieved upon finding Yaan.

After searching through the entire night, he spotted Yaan's small figure lying in a bush, hidden from view, and emitting an aura so weak that it made his heart lurch. It was obvious that Yaan was badly injured and thoroughly exhausted, to the extent that he would probably die without immediate assistance.

The elder waved his hand and pulled a bottle of medicine from his spatial ring, a ring with a separate micro-dimension contained within. Such rings were not common within the sect owing to the high value, but neither were they rare. Any decent elder or high ranking core disciple would be able to afford such a ring.

He carefully tipped the bottle, pouring three drops of faintly glowing blue liquid into Yaan's mouth. The sweet fluid slipped down Yaan's throat and the medicinal energy immediately showed its effect, spreading through his body and healing the worst of his wounds.

As for his exhaustion, that would only recover with rest.

Great Elder Wan sighed in relief. The look of confusion appeared on his face once again, before vanishing without a trace as he forcefully suppressed these feelings and cleared his mind.

He stepped onto a sword and held tightly onto Yaan in front, then flew back towards the sect with haste. Now that he had rescued Yaan, it was imperative for him to return to the sect. Yaan was now safe, but he still needed to deal with the escalating disaster.

**********

Yaan awoke later that evening. He actually felt strangely refreshed, and after examining his condition, he found that his injuries had all fully recovered.

After bringing him back to the core sect, Great Elder Wan left in a hurry, only having time to drop Yaan off at his home. Even though he was in a hurry though, the elder left Yaan with a spare robe to replace his tattered clothing.

Yaan was alone when he awoke. It took him some time to reorganise his thoughts, but before long, he was able to understand what had happened.

When he saw the spare robe draped over his chair, Yaan was able to roughly guess the series of events that had unfolded following his loss of conciseness. Anyway, he knew that the only person who would bother rescuing him was his teacher.

"Teacher really is considerate…" Yaan mumbled to himself, and unknowingly, a faint smile spread across his face.

Within the stone ring, Rui frowned. She had noticed the changes in Great Elder Wan's feelings towards Yaan, but she was not pleased with how much trust Yaan seemed to place in him.

In her opinion, Yaan's teacher was the biggest threat to his life. Even though his heart was beginning to change, this change was not significant enough for him to alter his plans. In all likelihood, he would still end up refining Yaan into a demon puppet.

Thinking this, she decided to remind him of the cruel nature of this world.

"Yaan, remember that in this world, nobody acts without some goal in mind. Do not become too attached to this sect; you are an imposter here, and it is impossible for you to hide your true nature forever."

Yaan sighed at Rui's reminder, but he did not respond to her. She often said things like this, so he had grown accustomed to it.

He stood up and changed into the fresh crimson robe, then exited his home calmly.

"Disciple Yaan!"

He was greeted by a man in a lighter red robe. It was not made from silk like Yaan's robe, but was made from a cheaper, less lavish fabric. Yaan glanced at his attire and recognised it as the clothing worn by core sect servants.

The servant bowed towards Yaan, then lifted his head, but kept his posture subservient as he spoke.

"I am here on Great Elder Wan's instructions. The great elder ordered me to remain here until you woke up. He said that once you regained consciousness, I must inform you of the current situation. The sect is in a bit of a panic right now, so it would be best if we leave for the Grand Hall as we talk."

Yaan raised an eyebrow in curiosity, since he did not yet know what was going on. He was still clueless regarding the recent escalation in the beast tide, and he did not know…that many disciples had died.

Yaan nodded and agreed to follow the servant to the Grand Hall.

On the way, the servant explained about how the Thunder Sword School was also experiencing a beast tide. He also mentioned in a grave tone that many sect members had lost their lives.

Yaan thought back to his series of unlucky encounters. He realised that it was no coincidence that he had been attacked by a Rank 2 gorilla, before encountering an entire herd of Rank 1 and 2 demonic bulls.

After they arrived at the meeting hall, the servant bowed deeply once again, then departed. Almost immediately after Yaan turned away, he heard a familiar voice calling out to him.

"Y-Yaan!" Elia exclaimed, drawing the attention of Findi who stood by her side. After nodding to Findi, Yaan made his way across to the clearly agitated young girl, intending to ask her about the state of their group. Based on Elia's current expression, a bad premonition was growing within his heart…

When Elia saw Yaan's grim expression, she immediately burst into tears.

"Yaan, Boln, he, he, he died! He was killed by a Rank 3 beast, we barely made it out ourselves!"

Yaan's eyes widened in shock.

Boln, the most powerful Innate Qi Realm cultivator in the sect, had actually…died? Someone so powerful and renowned, had died, just like that? This…how could this be possible?

How could the sect let something like this happen?

Yaan moved his gaze away from Elia, before settling on Kaila, who was sat nearby on the floor, slumped back against a tree. She stared blankly into space, her eyes devoid of any emotion. Clearly, Boln's death was a huge blow to her mentally.

Elia was crying, Kaila was broken and Findi also looked pained. As the central pillar of their group, Boln's death devastated them all.

Yaan thought back to the first time he had met Boln. The young man was full of smiles, approaching him with a friendly attitude and making Yaan feel slightly more welcome in this unfamiliar place. Whilst he wouldn't exactly call Boln a close friend, he was one of the few people that Yaan actually liked in this place.

He had always told himself that he would not become attached to his 'fellow sect members'. He was only using this sect to grow stronger, right? He only cared about revenge, he didn't care about these people from the sect that he hated so much…right?

"Why…again…?!" Yaan's face twitched in pain and anger. He tried to stay calm, but the sadness he felt from Boln's death was unexpectedly strong.

He tried his best to keep his distance, to remain emotionally detached from everyone, but in the end, it was impossible for him. On top of that, Boln was the person that he had grown closest to, aside from his teacher.

Why was it that the people close to him kept dying?! Was he cursed? Was this somehow his fault…?

When Rui saw Yaan's distorted expression, which continually flickered between a variety of confused emotions, she decided to…take advantage of this, to show him the truth of this cruel world.

"Yaan, you are misunderstanding here…suffering is the true nature of this world. You are not unlucky for witnessing so much death, that is simply the way of the world. This beast tide is a level above what I had originally predicted, it is entirely possible that this entire sect will be demolished. It is possible that everyone you know will die, nobody will escape. This…is only a normal occurrence."

Rui's words were like splash of cold water, instantly awakening Yaan from his dazed stupor. The pain in his heart was still strong as Boln's cheery face flashed through his mind, and whilst it was still difficult to believe…

Yaan was no ordinary child, this was not his first encounter with death and suffering. Compared to witnessing his family being senselessly slaughtered before his very eyes, he definitely wouldn't become distraught and disillusioned with the world again over just this.

Still though, the light in Yaan's eyes darkened by a barely noticeable amount. His expression became less emotional and more detached, showing his resilience and the loss of his naivety.

As Rui said, life and death was the true nature of the world. To take your life and safety for granted was foolish…nothing was guaranteed, and everything could change in heartbeat.

"How are the elders fairing against the beasts?" Yaan recovered his demeanour and turned to Findi, deciding to change the topic. He did not want to dwell on Boln's death any longer…he didn't want to think about it.

"The elders are pushing back, slowly whittling their numbers down. That said, our losses are already enormous…apparently 13 core sect disciples lost their lives." Findi sighed and shook his head regretfully.

This beast tide took such a sudden turn, shocking the young disciples and tearing them out of their delusions of pride, honour and glory.

What good was glory if you were dead?

This reality was something that all cultivators eventually realised with age, but the disciples in the Heavenly Path Sect had been sobered from their delusions much earlier than most.

Many people realised that things had become far too dangerous. They decided that they absolutely wouldn't return to the frontlines of the Northern wilderness.

"They're saying that we should stay within the core sect for now, until the elders return and announce any further plans." Findi finished.

"I see." Yaan nodded. "Then…I'm going to go cultivate."

"Wh- Yaan, how can you cultivate right now?!" Elia cried out, stunned when she saw Yaan turning away and leaving.

"What about Boln? He actually died, yet you…" She trailed off, realising that she had raised her voice and said something unnecessary.

Yaan stopped, turned around, then stared Elia dead in the eyes. She shivered slightly, instinctively taking a step back. Her eyes widened when she met Yaan's gaze, and for a brief instant, she felt like she was not staring into a young boy's eyes, but into the abyss itself…

For the first time since leaving Lightstone Village, Yaan spoke honestly and seriously to his childhood friend.

"Boln is dead, but we are alive. If we don't work to become stronger, then we will also die. Wake up, Elia."

Elia was frozen in place, dazedly mulling over his words.

Kaila finally looked up and stared at Yaan deeply. She got to her feet, then unexpectedly, the girl bowed to him. When she raised her head, she chuckled sadly when she saw Yaan's confused expression.

"Little Yaan…thank you. You're right, we can't just sit around feeling sorry for ourselves. We need to survive. I need to survive, or else, Boln's child will fall with me. For Boln, his legacy and his unborn child, I must live on."

Elia, Yaan and Findi all stared at Kaila, once again feeling shocked to the core.

Kaila was pregnant? If she knew that she was pregnant, then why was she out fighting beasts everyday?!

When she saw their expressions, Kaila knew what they were thinking. She laughed bitterly, then looked up at the sky as she spoke.

"I only found out recently, I was scared, I didn't even tell Boln…haha, to think I was actually afraid of something like this. It seems so stupid now…"