6 Chapter 6: A Month Later

Shades of orange and purple painted the sky and the sun was barely hanging onto the edge of the horizon. A light breeze traveled through the forest, shaking off some of the leaves which, with the passage of time, were becoming shades of red and yellow. On the riverside lay a filly that had her eyes closed and was taking slow, deep breaths. This filly was Weiyang who, over the past month, had been cultivating and overlooking Weizhe's training. Opening her eyes, she looked at the Weizhe, who calmly laid in the river. With the aid of the Thread Binding Vitality fruit Weizhe could practice longer each day, and the constant cycle of destruction and reconstruction significantly boosted the strength of his body. Weiyang estimated that with the current strength of his body Weizhe would have no issue battling a High Rank One beast in close combat, equivalent to a ninth layer Qi Refining cultivator.

This progress was tremendous, it should be known that most of their peers while also High Rank One beasts only had strength rivaling the seventh layer. Still Weiyang was worried. While Weizhe's body was certainly stronger, having no spiritual energy meant his mental development was far behind his peers. No matter how strong Weizhe's body may be, with his mind being only slightly above a beast's he was susceptible to traps. Weiyang, hoping to mend this flaw, sparred with Weizhe often to get him used to fighting shrewd adversaries. The effect of this training wasn't much but she figured even a marginal increase in his intelligence would be a significant factor towards his chances at winning.

Finishing his training, Weizhe stepped out the stream, showing his once more battered body, though the damage was no longer as severe as it had been when he had been training a month ago. Approaching Weiyang, he sat there and waited like a dog would for a treat. Giggling at the comical scene before her, Weiyang pulled a fruit out from a straw basket at her side before placing it in front of Weizhe. Weizhe happily scarfed down the fruit, allowing for the miraculous paste to surge throughout his body before expelling from his pores. Finishing training for the day, the two departed from the river banks towards the town.

Entering the town another familiar scene occurred where the residents would sneer at the sight of Weizhe and break into hushed conversations. Weizhe was mostly used to this treatment and thus didn't show much of a reaction beyond putting his head down; however, Weiyang fiercely glared back at those people. Picking up the pace and taking the lead, Weiyang forced Weizhe to walk faster, allowing for them to reach the compound sooner. In a foul mood, Weiyang bid Weizhe farewell and went home, once again leaving Weizhe to return home on his own. Safely reaching his house this time, Weizhe went in, ate some fruits that were left on a small wooden table, and then lied down and fell asleep.

The moon was now high in the starry sky, and a shadow was creeping into Weizhe's home. Greeting Zhilan, the shadow soon moved to a corner of the small home where Weizhe lay, and lowering its head it lightly shoved at his side.

"Wake up" a small, delicate voice whispered. Continuing it's prodding, the shadow eventually succeeded in waking Weizhe up, and he tilted his head in confusion as he looked at Weiyang who had come searching for him. "Since we likely won't be able to much time together in the coming days I was hoping to take this chance now at spending some time with him." These words were directed at Zhilan, who also was looking at Weiyang with a questioning gaze. It only took Zhilan a moment before she gave her approval.

With Weiyang taking the lead, they exited the compound. Navigating the dark, empty streets of the town they left, heading up the mountain. Weiyang waited until night to sneak out because the youth of the clan weren't typically allowed to head up the mountain. The ferocity of the river only increased as one moved up the mountain, and along with it so to did the strength of the inhabitants of the forest. While the Murky Whip Horse clan was certainly powerful their range of influence wasn't much outside the town. On the mountain there were two other clans with power equaling theirs: the Bone Chime Deer clan and the Rock Splitting Bear clan. The three clans kept each other in check assuring neither of the opposing two clans gained a lead, though the Murky Whip Horse clan did share cordial relations with the Bone Chime Deer. In fact, the young stag which had been a member of Weifan's group was a young master of the Bone Chime Deer clan. Despite this, there was still the Rock Splitting Bear clan to worry about. The Rock Splitting Bear clan was the youngest of the three clans, having only recently risen in the past century, however unlike the latter two clans it was a tribe of carnivorous beasts and so they held a natural advantage in terms of aggressiveness and strength. There were also powerful vagabond beasts which could give headaches to any of the three clans wandering the forests.

Eventually, the tilted terrain gradually plateaued. Slowing down, Weiyang broke past the tree line, followed by Weizhe, out into a small field. Weizhe's eyes shined brightly as he looked around, dumbfounded at the beautiful sight before them. The field had tall grass, not so much so that it was uncomfortable or itchy, but enough to where it was quite comfortable to lay in. The flowers, highlighted by the moonlight, shone with hues of purple and silver; however, what attracted the most attention was what was at the center of the field.

Because the land was level, water was able to pool at the center of the field instead of running down the mountainside. The lake at the center of the field was breathtaking. Under the night sky the lake was like a mirror, perfectly reflecting the stars in the sky, only ever so slightly warped by the ripples of the lake brought forth by the soft breeze. Taking in the sight, Weizhe was left in a daze, absentmindedly walking up to the lake to get a closer look. Weiyang silently observed at the side, giving an eye smile as she watched. Appreciating the stunning scenery, the two simply lay there at the perimeter of the lake, silently enjoying each other's company.

Turning to look at Weizhe, Weiyang's eyes had a gentle warmth to them, like the sun on a cool day. Many wondered why she was so protective of Weizhe, even risking her own reputation, but Weiyang recalled a couragous, young foal who had once tried to protect her. Sinking further into her memories, she recalled her childhood. Her parents were close to Weizhe's mother and uncle, Zhilan and Zhixin, treating each other as siblings. Due to the close relationship her parents had with Weizhe's family, they saw it fit to introduce her and her brother who was in fact Weidong, the escort sent to retrieve Weizhe, to him. At first they too treated Weizhe rather poorly upon finding out his condition, but Weiyang's mother was a kind and gentle woman who saw it fix their attitude. Often times her mother would take them out with her to gather food, hoping they'd become familiar with each other, however her endeavor proved fruitless as their attitudes remained unchanged.

Then, one day while out gathering food, they encountered a human cultivating in the river using it to strengthen his body. Perhaps it was greed, or maybe he was worried they would call for reinforcements, but the moment he spotted the group the human immediately charged towards them, heading straight towards Weiyang who was at the front at the time. She stood there, rooted to the ground in fear, until suddenly a blur appeared in front of her. It was Weizhe. Without any hesitation Weizhe charged in front of Weiyang, taking a powerful blow as a result; however, before the human could finish Weizhe her mother finally burst into action. Fighting the body cultivator, Weiyang's mother called behind her to warn them to run, to get help. They were young at the time, barely able to understand what she was telling them, but sensing how distressed she was they ran to get help regardless.

On that day, Weiyang's mother died. They were too late, when help arrived all that was left were the tattered corpses of her mother and the human, having taking him down with her. Still the imposing picture of Weizhe fearlessly standing before her in that moment of crisis had been firmly imprinted in her mind until she was as she is today, one of the few who care for him. Her father, however, did not take well to the death of their mother, placing the blame on Weizhe; afterall, she was only out collecting food with them so they could connect to Weizhe. His anger was only fueled more by what happened next. Soon after the events occurred, Weizhe began copying the methods of the human cultivator, using streams far down along the river to start. This was not of much concern to Weiyang though, regardless of how her father felt of Weizhe she would protect him. Shaking her head she snapped out of her reflective state of mind. Glancing at Weizhe, and seeing the shallow rise and fall of his body signifying he had fallen asleep, she silently chuckled. Unwilling to disturb his rest, she too fell asleep. Tomorrow was the day of the tournament.