Going Away to Break Through!

Eric led a hectic life for the last two months. He was traveling from one city to another like a pill merchant. He had to constantly look over his shoulder for enemies and bandits. Always selling a simple amount of pills not to get noticed. So he was constantly on the edge. A slight noise from behind could agitate him.

He could take a breath, only after he sold all the pills in his stash. That was six days ago. After that, he came back to New Green city. Tomorrow was the last day of the two-months period. So he went to the shipyard to buy two quotas to leave the planet as his master requested.

For mortals, a cultivator ship was a foreign and mysterious flying object used by cultivators to travel. But to cultivators, it was nothing but another means of transportation. Every city had a shipyard. Even the furthest parts of the galaxy had cultivator space ships. But their quality variated according to the wealth that part of the galaxy held.

For example, a rural area of the mid-plane of the mortal realm like Ruby 86 galaxy only had common merchant ships. Most of them were second-hand and decommissioned ships were thrown away from the kingdom. Even those were sold in the second-hand market for astronomical prices which a mortal could never afford.

Only stellar kingdoms were able to afford the cost and maintenance price of a cultivator spaceship grade higher than common grade. A common merchant family shouldn't even dream of acquiring such a ship, not even a decommissioned one. Because other than wealth ownership such a ship was a display of status. None of them wanted to acquire something that arose the animosity of noble families of the kingdom.

With nearly ten thousand galaxies within the mid-plane of the mortal realm, it was harder for cultivators to travel from one place to another without ships. Specially cultivators whose cultivation was lower than Martial Emperor Realm. Once a cultivator became a Martial Emperor they could travel through space using spatial travel. But that was also limited to cultivators who specialize in space laws. Therefore, almost all of the cultivators use cultivator space ships to travel the cosmos.

Teleportation circles were also another method of travel that could only be seen in the high plane of the mortal realm. Mid-plane simply did not have the resources to sustain such a costly method of transportation. Each and every kingdom or empire tried that found itself bleeding wealth.

After buying the quotas Eric visited the tavern to calm his nerves. He went to a corner and ordered a pint of beer. He enjoyed it for a while but was rudely interrupted by a dirty-looking man who smelled like hard liquor.

"Oi, are you the one who saw my kid go into the forest?" The dirty man inquired.

Eric was puzzled for a moment before he realized the man was talking about Kayson. So he guessed this dirty man who looked like a drunkard probably Kayson's uncle. As he investigated before starting his journey he knew almost all the information about the dirty-looking man. Maybe except where he came from.

And all of that information matched the man perfectly. Unclean and unshaved face, uncombed hair, heavy liquor smell, and uncultured way of communication confirmed that information more.

Even though Eric realized what the dirty man inquiring about, he did not imply it immediately. He acted as if he didn't remember the incident. Giving the impression that the incident was insignificant to him.

"What kid?"

"That little bastard Kayson. He went into the jungle nearly two months ago but never returned. No one saw him. But people said Eric saw a kid going into the jungle. So is it true?"

"Oh, you were asking about that. Yes, I saw a kid going into the deep parts of the jungle. He looked injured that time. But it was not my business, so I let him go. That could be the kid you searching for."

Then the dirty man asked about the appearance of the kid. And after Eric's description, he instantly recognized Kayson.

"Son of bitch! I have told that stubborn bastard not to go into the deep jungle. Now, what will happen to my income?" He shouted and muttered something and walked away without even excusing.

Eric was surprised by the way he talked about Kayson as he was just an income source for the man. It really was not a good environment for a kid to grow up in. He couldn't imagine what kind of hardships his new master had to go through when he was younger. He wondered how many of those unpleasant experiences caused him to change into the person was today. After that, he lost his appetite. So he went home and took a good rest.

The next day he got up early morning. He didn't want to annoy his eccentric young master. It took him a few hours to reach the small hill where the tunnel entrance was situated. As he neared the place he saw a cloud of smoke rising and smelled a fragrance of grilling flesh. After he came near the hill he saw his young master was leisurely laying under a tree's shadow. Near him, a huge creature was grilling on a fire.

What amazed him was the aura surrounding the youngster. The last time he met Kayson, his aura gave off a mysterious vibe. But now it was also filled with something new, Power!

Hearing Eric approach Kayson slowly straighten up. "You're back! How's the task I gave you?" He didn't wait and straight went a question.

"Everything completed as you said. No one noticed me. I was sure of that." Eric said hurriedly.

"Good. Sit down. The meal is still on its way."

There was an awkward silence for a few minutes. Eric wanted to know more and communicate more with Kayson but he didn't know how to initiate. Kayson didn't seem awkward at all; he had already found comfort within the uncomfortable silence.

While trying to find a way to start the conversation, Eric noticed something that looked like an old blanket. He jumped at the chance to start a dialogue.

"What is this?"

Eric tried to pick it up and was amazed by its weight. Then he understood. The thing he thought of as an old blanket is not cloth at all. It was a hide of a high level spirit beast. After examining it a while he questioned Kayson.

"Where did you find it?"

"Find it? Plucked from a tree of course." He answered full of sarcasm. "Dummy, I hunted it myself. Is it hard to believe?"

"You…? How could…?!?" It was then Eric observed him carefully. He suddenly froze.

"Ninth level of elementary realm!!? H..How?"

When Eric last saw him, he was only a third level elementary realm cultivator. Within two months he managed to advance six levels, within the whole kingdom only a few geniuses ever achieved that.

"Oh, it's nothing much. Few good herbs and good knowledge of cultivation could achieve this. Put that thing aside. That reminds me, how long were you stuck in the seventh level?"

Eric looked ashamed. The kid he looked down upon become strong within a duration of a few months while he was stuck at the same place.

"Nearly seven months." But the next question embarrassed him more.

"Hmm… What grade is your spirit root?"

"It's... hmm... third level Die rank." Eric muffed through his gritted teeth.

"Really too low."

Eric looked down in sourness. His mind went far into the past. He remembered how his younger self went to the inspection hall with his friends. How disappointed he was to find his spirit grade root. Only he and Ovin were unlucky enough to be limited to this planet. The other two friends of his group had already gone to explore the vast world he could never set his foot in.

Now again, he felt the same sourness he felt that day. He realized his talent might not be enough to catch the attention of this mysterious youth. Another rejection. He sighed.

"Yes. It is low. That is the fate I'm born with." He uttered in defeat.

"Fate? Pff… Hahaha…" Kayson started to laugh like a maniac. Which made Eric frightened. He laughed like this for a while.

Actually, Kayson was thinking about what to do with Eric. His spirit root was as low as it can get. If he wanted to level him up, he had to use a lot of resources and effort on him. As he was deciding to abandon him, Eric said the word 'fate'. The same word he despised and hated when he was a weakling. The way Eric said it remembered Kayson how he also was used to blaming fate. It made him laugh.

"If it's your fate. Let's change it. Let me ask you, do you want to become powerful? Do you want to break the shackles of fate, and become great?"

Kayson asked suddenly. His sharp eyes fixed on Eric's. An unmovable determination mixed with ruthlessness was hidden in his eyes. Determined enough to move the heavens, ruthless enough to slaughter the gods. One look was enough to make Eric forget breathing. Eric just nodded in a daze.

"But it won't be easy. There's no way to cultivate higher realms without a high-grade spirit root. So we have to find a way to get a high-grade spirit root. Whether fusing with a new one or upgrading the existing one. To you, the first one is more suitable."

"But… that's a taboo."

"Tch… you commoners may think it is a taboo. But in the high realm, it happens all the time. Specially by a group of people called Fate Devourers. A nasty bunch." Kayson furrowed his brows in disgust.

Then he continued. "You have nothing to worry about. Just follow me and I'll take care of everything. But be aware, that the process is hard and painful. It's hard to say whether you survive or not."

Eric nodded firmly. If he could become strong, he was willing to go through any pain no matter what.

He ate the grilled alligator fish in silence. Before leaving they visited the cave again and took out some pill containers. They covered the entrance to the best of their abilities before heading toward the New Green city's shipyard.

After the recent conversation, Eric was more than willing to follow Kayson. He was enthusiastic to leave this desolate planet for good.

"Master are we going to leave this planet forever?"

"Oh no. How can we leave here? There are so many things to acquire from here. You may think this is how every planet is. But believe me, most of them are not calm like this. Blood baths and schemes are everywhere. So we need to collect everything and get ready before reaching those bloody waters."

"So we leaving the planet for…?"

"To breakthrough of course!"

Eric was puzzled. If Kayson wanted to break through, he could do it there. What was the need for going away? So he inquired about it from Kayson.

"The commotion will be too much. It'll be hard to remain anonymous at that time. Don't think about it much. You'll understand it later."

Eric couldn't ask anything more than that.