Dao Seekers and Heaven Combatants

Fang Yun was able to get a closer look at the strange person he found after entering the Inn. The thick-coated person at the reception of the Inn had a plain white mask on their face and covered their entire body as if they were at the northern regions of the Azure Sky Continent. It was only after hearing the person voice as they rented a room did he realise that the one under all that clothing was a woman.

His interest in this person didn't die down one bit because his sixth sense could 'feel' that there was a hint of the Dao of Ice in woman's Aura, yet even so, his Spiritual Perception sensed no spirituality surrounding her body. This meant that even though she didn't have Spiritual Channels, she was still able to use some kind of methods he used to integrate a Dao with her Heart Force.

He felt delightful that he was given the opportunity to meet someone like himself, a mortal martial artist that sought to break the Heavenly Restriction that shackled cultivation.

"Excuse me. Are you perhaps a martial artist?" He didn't have time to hesitate so he went up to the female martial artist and asked this question before she left to find her room. His voice was filled with a hint of admiration as he himself knew how hard it was to reach the level of integrating with a Dao.

The woman turned towards him and glanced at the Medical-Kit he held before trying to discern his motives for talking to her. He could tell just from the gaze of the white-masked woman that she was a very cautious individual.

"And so what if I am?" The white-masked woman asked with with a curious voice. The way she spoke was neither polite nor rude, but more like a average citizen of a regular second-rate citizen talking with an acquaintance.

She didn't have the mannerisms of someone from a Cultivator Clan and more like someone from a regular family. This made Fang Yun somewhat confused as he thought that mortal martial artists would also have Clans.

"My name is Fang Yun. I am a Medic and Martial Artist. The reason I asked was because I wanted to come into connect with other martial artists just like myself. After all, we are all people who train hard to cultivate our power despite our lack of talent for cultivation." Fang Yun introduced himself before revealing his intentions.

Perhaps this martial artist in front of him will be cautious of him and won't give him the information he's looking for, but he had to at least try to interact with her or else he'd miss the perfect opportunity to learn more about mortal martial artists of the Azure Sky Continent. The records Chu Rinyu passed onto him were from a long time ago and didn't tell him much about the current circumstances regarding how martial artists of today were living.

The woman's eyes sparkled as she saw him more favourably after he introduced himself in such a polite way. She wasn't one with low EQ and could tell that Fang Yun was being sincere in order to ease the mood. She was also surprised to learn that he was both a Medic and Martial Artist since most Medics were actually Cultivators.

This wasn't due to mortals having a lack of talents but because the recourses and strength needed to become a Medic was quite high. One could more easily become a doctor as long they followed the Medical Dao but becoming a Medic needed the power to survive in dangerous environments.

Medics were valuable because although Cultivators could use their Internal Qi to heal injuries. The rate of healing sometimes couldn't keep up with the damage inflicted to them. This is what causes most Nascent Forging stage Cultivators to die in the lands outside city's built by experts of humanity.

Just like when he first arrived to the Azure Sky Continent, the skills he had in temporarily mending his grave injuries is what saved him from dying.

"Are you a Dao Seeker or a Heaven Combatant?" She asked with curiosity while no longer showing the cautiousness she had before. Her words caused him to sink into confusion as he couldn't comprehend her meaning.

"I'm not really sure. I don't understand what those titles mean." As soon as the woman heard his words, she gave him a look of understanding before choosing to lead him to a quite table at the corner of the Inn's crowded bar.

Fang Yun didn't say a world and took a seat opposite her while thinking to himself about why she gave him such an 'understanding' gaze. The only possible conclusion he could think of was that she thought him to be a martial artist who didn't go out much.

"A Dao Seeking Martial Artist opens a path for others while a Heaven Combating Martial Artists defies their fate. You look inexperienced in these matters, so I'll give you a rough overview of the situation of martial artists. In return, can you team up with me so we can explore the nearby woods to earn some cash?" Oddly enough, he felt like the woman's whole demeanour took a one hundred and eighty degree turn as soon as she spoke. The feeling she gave right now was like like a calm and snowy day rather than a cruel storm. He didn't know what exactly won her over but he knew it had nothing to do with his handsome looks.

"That depends on the conditions" Fang Yun didn't outright deny her since he too was thinking about earning money through hunting Demonic Beasts. It may be a dangerous profession but no other job paid better than hunting. The dangerous environment of the Boundless Amazon that covers everywhere that doesn't have a human settlement will also be more suitable for him to train his martial arts.

"The Mercenary Union has a small branch just near here. All your need to do is fill out a form saying that you're going to become part of my team. Don't worry, I won't drag you into dangerous regions of the Boundless Amazon and will treat you well. Oh! Let me tell you before I forget: My name is Bai Lingyun and I'm a Dao Seeker just like you." He couldn't see her facial expression but he could feel that her Aura contained hints of mischief despite how she intricately merged the Dao of Ice into her Heart Force. If he hadn't reached the Perfection realm of his Heart Force, he might not have noticed that she was actually infinitely close to reaching the Perfection realm.

He didn't respond immediately but instead thought about the entire conversation up until now. Bai Lingyun seemed to be a cautious but lively individual, someone who was probably an adult. Even though he couldn't even see her hands, he could tell from just this short exchange that she was definitely many years older than him.

The reason he was hesitating so much was due to how sudden the proposal of teaming up to hunt Demonic Beasts was to him. Normally, the people you'd team up with to hunt Demonic Beasts would either be friends or family. Not many would just casually bring along other people they didn't even know well since backstabbing was something hunting teams mostly worried about.

"Okay." After taking his time to think it over, he made his choice and sighed as agreed to work with her. Although he could feel the Heart Force of others with his sixth sense, he couldn't see through a person's true nature with just his instincts alone. The inner layer of a person's Aura wasn't something that could be easily perceived by others. However, he had confidence in his own judgment and wasn't someone who was scared of being ambushed.

As a soldier and assassin in his previous life, there wasn't many people who could hide their ill-intentions or killing intent from him. Even before reaching the Perfection realm of his Heart Force, he was already used to using more than his strong sixth sense to judge others. After all, he had no 'true' comrades in that dark life.

"Great! Now let's start with a more in-depth explanation about what Dao Seekers and Heaven Combatants are to martial artists. Dao Seeking Martial Artists are considered... erm... 'pseudo-founders' of their mystic style of martial arts. Usually people like us are on par with Cultivators of the Nascent Forging stage and don't have the potential to reach the level of fighting those of the Internal Root stage.

The reason people like us are called 'pseudo-founders' is due to the fact that our mystic style of martial arts can only be considered complete when we reach the level of forging a Spiritual Artifact.

To most Dao Seekers, we are cultivating our mystic styles just so that we can pass them on to our successors until one of our family's gives birth to one who could be considered a Heaven Combatting Martial Artist. A martial artist who has the potential to reach the level of Internal Root stage Warriors.

As for Heaven Combatants themselves, a lot of them don't really have the courage to stand out. Their position in society is a little special since they can be considered both supernatural talents and wastes at the same time.

If they had been born with Spiritual Channels, they wouldn't have needed to put so much effort to reach the standards of Nascent Forging stage Warriors. This pressure weighed even more heavier when you consider how they may find their mystic styles of martial arts to not have the potential to reach the level beyond being able to fight those of the Internal Root stage.

Martial Artists are respected by Cultivators because we can teach them methods of combat they didn't even know existed. However, that doesn't mean they fear their capabilities. Even the weakest clan of Cultivators has a Core Formation stage Expert protecting it, so any Heaven Combatant who ends up offending a clan of Cultivators would end up dead.

Also, besides Dao Seeking Martial Artists, there are those who call themselves Dao Seeking 'Psychic Mages' instead. These people mostly train their Soul Foundation and are usually a part of big clans that have recourses and techniques to spare for them. If you ever meet a Psychic Mage in the future, make sure to beat the life out of them for me. I hate those hypocrites!" Towards the end of her explanation, Bai Lingyun let out her hatred towards 'Psychic Mages'.

From just her explanation alone, he learnt many things about the martial artists of the Azure Sky Continent. He also learned that Bai Lingyun had definitely altered Physique Force using the Dao of Ice because it made more sense for her to wear a thick-coat if that was the case. He didn't know much about Mortal Physiques, but he knew that those with Immortal Physiques were able to retain their appearance despite having integrated so intrinsically with their Dao of choice.

Immortal Physiques were said to be more stable and useful than Mortal Physiques, so it was only natural that Bai Lingyun would have noticeable changes to her body after merging her Physique Force with the Dao of Ice.

Now that he thought about it, didn't that mean that he accidentally gave Lou Meng an Immortal Physique! He couldn't believe he didn't realise it sooner...! He definitely had to increase Lou Meng's training regimen by tenfold in order to not waste his potential!

Outside the settlement's dome-like wall, Lou Meng felt a shiver down his back as he diligently improved his mastery over the Earth Step. He felt as if he somehow encountered bad luck...

"I have a few questions. Is it alright if we discuss about martial arts a little longer?" Fang Yun asked politely.

"Sure. Go ahead." Bai Lingyun seemed to already consider him a friend despite how recently they just met so she wasn't really bothered about discussing about martial arts in general. In fact, as a martial arts maniac, she rather enjoyed talking about techniques and theorising different ways to use existing combat techniques she made.

With that, the two of them stood out in the first floor of the Inn due to just how strange their combination looked. One person was a handsome youth with bright eyes while the other was a suspiciously masked woman that acted more like a man than anything else.