The Great Void

A few days later...

"And you're sure Hu Long will go along with all this?"

"It's worth a try. Brother Wang says he had a cordial relationship with Hu Long back when he was in Wandering Battle City, so he shouldn't suspect anything."

Han Qiuyue and another, nondescript disciple sat in the main office of the Justice Enforcement Hall, conversing in low voices as the other members bustled about their duties.

"The Nine Revolutions Maze is riddled with traps and formations. There would be nothing unusual about losing your way and getting stuck there for a few days," the plain-looking disciple went on. Han Qiuyue vaguely remembered his surname being Yao.

"Hmm, if he isn't there to register for the Inner Disciple competition in person, then there's nothing to be done," she muttered, nodding to herself with a slight smile, "Yes, if we can deny him the opportunity to show his worth, then the sect leader wouldn't have any excuse to give him a place for the mystic realm. Good idea, Disciple Yao."

Disciple Yao bowed slightly, accepting the compliment gracefully.

"I'm glad I could be of assistance, Senior Sister Han."

Han Qiuyue smiled in satisfaction, making a mental note to bump Disciple Yao up a few places when considering merit, in the future. Although he hadn't made any remarkable achievements in the years he'd been with the hall, she had a vague impression of him being punctual and hardworking.

Recently, it felt like Elder Jiang was very distracted while performing his duties, so this issue with Hu Long must be weighing heavily on his mind. Disciple Yao helping to alleviate that worry was a great achievement, in her eyes.

"See that it's done, then. If you perform well, this could be your chance to take a higher position within the hall."

"Thank you, Senior Sister Han. I will do my best!"

Disciple Yao rose from his seat, saluting Han Qiuyue before leaving the hall. As soon as he exited the building, however, his previously gentle expression turned cold, and he turned to another disciple who had been waiting for him outside.

"Go inform Wang Mang to get ready, and proceed with the plan."

The other disciple nodded, heading off to do Disciple Yao's bidding.

'With this, luring out Ryker will be child's play.'

This 'Disciple Yao', of course, was the Great Void spy Xia Qingge spoke with a few days prior. With the help of his network in the Dabang Sect, he'd already set up a few different plots to get Ryker out of hiding, but the one involving the Nine Revolutions Maze seemed to be the most promising.

'Hopefully, we can spin the whole thing to look like an accident, but it would still be worth it even if we lost a head or two in the ensuing investigation.'

Although he had already been a plant in the Dabang Sect for years, at this point, he didn't think it was a waste even if he had to sacrifice himself for this plan. Getting rid of the Great Void Sect's enemies was the greatest calling he could receive, in this life.

Hu Long wouldn't just become stuck in the maze. Though Xia Qingge specified that no permanent harm should come to him, there would be an 'accident' that endangered his life in such a way that Ryker would have no choice but to come running to help. Of course, there was always the chance that he wouldn't, but that's what contingencies were for, he supposed...

'Lady Xia is still too soft-hearted, despite having risen to command her own group of shadows.'

'Disciple Yao' thought leaving Hu Long alive was an unnecessary risk, but he could always silence him discreetly, after the fact.

'Hmph, you'll rue the day you made an enemy of the Great Void, Ryker!'

---

"Hah!"

"Hmph!"

Another morning, another sparring session. The villa echoed with the sound of Hu Long and Ryker's battle cries as they exchanged blows in the ring.

"Good! Looks like you're on your way to mastering the Whirling Leaf Footwork," Hu Long said after separating from their latest clash. He was unarmed except for a pair of leather arm guards, while Ryker was using a wooden practice sword.

"Heh, thanks. You were right, I think this Five Elements thing is really working!"

Ryker wiped the sweat off his brow, more from having to focus on his qi circulation than any physical exertion. With them sparring every day and night, Hu Long had suggested he try perfecting a simpler technique first, if he had one, so Ryker decided to try applying the Five Elements Theory to the Whirling Leaf Footwork. It didn't hurt that this was the one technique he'd learned on his own.

At first, he had a hard time understanding how to even circulate qi differently than what was described in the technique manual. However, after a lot of trial and error, he realized minor variations could be made while still being able to successfully perform the technique, and these minor variations would alter the technique's performance, as well.

For the Whirling Leaf Footwork, the circulation could be delayed or sped up very slightly, and this would manifest in an erratic tempo that was hard to predict. It also shared its root in the Wind element, focusing on the unpredictability of a passing breeze.

"Now that you've gotten to this point, try using the Whirling Leaf Footwork in conjunction with the Profound Wind Walking Technique," Hu Long said, fixing his stance, "Since the 'essence' of both techniques fall under the Wind element, it should be fairly simple."

"Well, easy for you to say," Ryker said with a smile, "But I'll give it a shot!"

The two of them rushed at each other once again, Ryker using the Profound Wind Walking Technique to close the distance quickly. As they were about to clash, though, he quickly switched up his qi and footwork, doing a quick stutter step to flank Hu Long on the right.

He instantly felt a pang of pain in his calves as he suffered a backlash, however, tumbling headlong into a dive. Hu Long, who anticipated such a flanking maneuver, paused just as he was about to throw a punch, smiling wryly as he watched Ryker sail past him.

It was only thanks to his fast reflexes that he just barely managed to block the kick Ryker threw out as he passed, getting pushed back as Ryker rolled back up to his feet a distance away.

"Phew. You're slow in learning qi techniques, but you're picking up on martial arts pretty quickly," he said with a smirk, shaking off his still tingling arm, "Or was that just a trick to make me let my guard down?"

"Uh, no. I actually stumbled there, hehe."

Ryker grinned as he rubbed at his calf, massaging the ache that lingered in his meridians(?).

"And am I slow, or are you too fast? It's only been a few days, y'know…"

"Hm? Those techniques are very basic. I've already mastered both, and I've just been watching you use them!"

Hu Long crossed his arms, tilting his head as if to ask 'what are you talking about?', while Ryker could only sigh in exasperation.

{Don't worry Ryker, Hu Long is just really talented when it comes to comprehending techniques! I think you're doing pretty good!}

[What she means is you're average, in terms of talent.]

{I didn't say that!!}

The voices of Bestie and Mini C filled his head as he got ready for another exchange. Caelus had finished his upgrades to the compad yesterday, giving it back to him with a whole host of new spells and features.

He'd been itching to try them out, but he had to admit that working on his fundamentals was more important, at the moment. Mini C would know when best to utilize them, in any case.

"Sir Ryker, Brother Hu Long! I'm here!"

Just as they were about to start again, a clear, cheery voice heralded the arrival of Cui Feng, who seemed to be getting more and more comfortable with treating Caelus's villa as her own.

Ryker and Hu Long looked up to greet her, only to notice a young man walking in beside her. He was a portly looking fellow with a friendly face, wearing the light blue robes typical of outer disciples.

"Little Hu Long, it's been a while!" the young man said, bowing slightly with a fist and palm salute. Hu Long looked confused for just a moment, before his face lit up in recognition.

"Brother Wang Mang? It really has been!"

Hu Long returned Wang Mang's salute, a slight smile on his face.

"Friend of yours?" Ryker asked, to which Hu Long nodded.

"Well, something like an older brother. He looked after me when I was younger, until he left to find a sect to join a few years ago. I didn't know you joined the Dabang Sect!"

"Haha, one of the elders took a fancy to my talent and recruited me while I was out traveling. I was also surprised when I found out you had joined, Little Hu, you sure have grown!"

The two youths exchanged pleasantries warmly, both of them catching up with what the other had been doing for the past few years. Cui Feng just went over to Ryker's side, handing him a steamer full of meat buns as she munched on one, herself.

"Thanks. So what's the deal with this guy?" Ryker said in a low voice as he took out a meat bun for himself.

"Not sure, he told me he was a friend of Hu Long and wanted to talk with him about something..."

"Ah, about that."

Wang Mang, overhearing Cui Feng and Ryker's hushed conversation, turned to them and bowed again, taking a shriveled herb out of his sleeves. Although the herb was withered, a strong spiritual energy emanated from it, enough that even Ryker, who was still working on honing his spiritual sense, could feel a slight ripple of power from the herb.

"I came today to ask if Hu Long would like to accompany me to the Nine Revolutions Maze to gather some spiritual herbs," Wang Mang explained, showing off the herb in his hands, "I gained some merit recently and was granted permission to lead a small team into the Maze. When I heard Little Brother Hu had become a disciple here, I knew I had to come offer him a spot."

Hu Long looked at the shriveled herb and nodded in appreciation, sensing the strong medicinal power held within.

"An Enlightenment Herb, huh? That's some pretty good stuff," he said. It was a spiritual herb that induced a calm, focused state that helped promote lateral thinking and learning, hence the name.

"And there are more herbs like this within the Nine Revolutions Maze?"

"Yes, and it also doubles as a training site. The Dabang Sect maintains the area frequently, so there shouldn't be too much danger, but the many traps and formations serve as good survival practice for those in the Golden Core realm and below."

The Nine Revolutions Maze was actually a rare case of a naturally occurring formation, the underlying Qi Veins and the natural terrain of the area overlapping perfectly to create a magical fog that messed with one's perception of time and direction. This made it the perfect place for natural treasures to grow, as well as a good place for cultivators to hide their own treasures.

Over the years, however, it came under control of the Dabang sect, who curated the location as a sort of training ground for less experienced disciples. They removed the most deadly traps and formations put in place by cultivators of the past, and left the rest as tests for the disciples to overcome. The natural treasures that grew there were also the perfect motivation and reward.

"Who knows, maybe we'll even find some hidden treasures from the past that have been overlooked!" Wang Mang said with a joyous laugh, his belly shaking.

"It does sound rather promising."

Hu Long rubbed his chin, deliberating over the invitation. On one hand, his stay with Sir Caelus and Ryker has improved his strength by leaps and bounds, so much so that he was reluctant to be away for even one day.

On the other hand... he really felt like a leech, right now! He knew Sir Caelus framed his participation as an 'experiment', but however one put it, he was mooching off of their resources without giving anything in return. If he was able to gather some rare herbs from the Nine Revolutions Maze, then he could at least pay them back a little bit.

"Okay, I'm in. When are we leaving?" Hu Long asked.

"Haha, good! We leave in two days, I'll come find you when it's time!"

With one last guffaw, Wang Mang turned and left the villa, leaving the rest of them to wrap up their training session.

"Are you sure about this, Brother Hu Long? The Inner Disciple competition's registration period is the day right after that…"

Cui Feng looked at Hu Long with worried eyes, mouth hidden behind her half eaten meat bun. She'd heard of many instances where disciples got lost in the maze for days on end.

"It's fine. If anything, I'll call Ryker to bail me out," he replied, holding up the emergency token Caelus had given him."I just have to break this, right?"

"Well, yeah, but…"

Ryker scratched his head, awkwardly looking towards the ceiling.

"Not sure how to say this, but… you know when we got attacked by that Steel-Backed thing?"

"Yeah?"

"That might have been because I got some beef with the Great Void Sect."

"... Oh."

Hu Long looked down in thought. The Great Void Sect? Considered the second-most powerful of the Great Sects?

Indeed, if that last time was an attempt on Ryker's life, then they would definitely know of his involvement with him. And if they were deciding that they wanted to now use him as bait…

"As a counterpoint, this could be a good opportunity."