Calm Before the Storm

"About time, I thought they would never leave."Above the Ancient Ironbark Timberland, two figures were standing in the sky, completely hidden from the world. Below them was a sea of green, and in the middle, a massive black spot of burnt wood and scorched earth. They watched the Cultivators of the Brilliant Sword Sect leave the area as they secretly observed from up high."Elder Li, do you think it is true what they said? Could there have really been someone who single-handedly destroyed the Nexus and then died to a lowly Disciple?"Elder Li stroked his beard slowly. "It is difficult to tell what the truth is without knowing the facts. And even though rumors often contain a grain of truth, they also get often distorted with each retelling, making the story seem more outlandish than it actually is."The two slowly descended on the invisible platform until they landed in the middle of the black spot. Elder Li's eyes then began to glow with powerful magic as he scanned the area, but his search came up empty.He shook his head as he spoke to his Disciple. "They were thorough. Any evidence of what might have happened was taken or destroyed. And any lingering Auras have long since dissipated. There is nothing here for us. What an utter waste of time."They walked among the remains of once mighty trees, now turned to ash. Blackened stumps covered the place for hundreds of meters in every direction."But the Nexus looked like it was destroyed from within. Could it have possibly been an inside job? An Elder who held a grudge within the Brilliant Sword Sect?""Not impossible, but highly unlikely. Brilliant Sword Sect does not specialize in Fire techniques. Whoever made this mess had to have powerful Fire Arts to destroy the mighty Ironbarks so utterly that nothing remained. If I didn't know any better, I would even suspect it was the work of a Dragon.""A Dragon? Here?""It would be odd, wouldn't it? That's why I can say for a fact it is not what happened. Dragon's flames leave a distinct mark of destruction, while this came from the center. A suicide attack, if I had to guess. And it most definitely wasn't-"Elder Li stopped talking and reached into one of his sleeves all of a sudden. He brought out a small golden disk and held it in his palm, just looking at it. His expression changed slightly a few times, after which he soundlessly put away the instrument and crossed his hands behind his back, looking at the sky."It is that time again already, huh?""Elder Li?""We'll continue some other time. Come, we are returning to the Sect, there is good news. A Beast Tide is nearly upon us.""A Beast Tide?" The Disciple looked at him sideways, not sure what the Elder meant."I'll explain on the way…" Elder Li's finger twitched, and the invisible platform reappeared beneath his feet, lifting him and his Disciple back into the air. Their figures then blurred, disappearing from view.***[Yo! What the fuck is that?]It was more than a week after making the Ether Blood Pills, and I was back out in the wild, looking at some disgusting four-legged creature the size of a large dog. It had gray fur, long and sharp front teeth, sharp claws on each of its almost human-looking fingers, and some sort of bony protrusions along its front limbs and upper back."It's the Belligerent Gnawler, a Giant Rat in the Spirit Accumulation Realm."[Nasty!] I kicked the beast away from me as it tried to gnaw at my ankles. [Why does it have a different name?]The old ghost mentally shrugged. "Honestly, no idea. My guess is probably because its appearance changes so much between Realms."[Makes sense.] I looked at the nasty rat that was at least three times the size of its less-developed cousins. [Now die!]When I focused my Soul Smite on the beast it just spasmed wildly and then tried to run away. I stopped it, of course."No, no. You need to focus your attack. You are going too wide."I took a moment to refocus my mind and tried again. I put the full force of my Soul behind it. [Die!]The Belligerent Gnawler spasmed again, clearly in pain, but the result was still unsatisfying."No, no, no! Don't increase the power, concentrate it! Zone in on the beast's soul and punch it! Pierce through it like a spear, don't just slap it around."I quietly sighed. Attacking the Soul directly was much more difficult than it appeared to be. Apparently, I was doing a Soul Smite all around me instead of focusing it on one being. So basically they received about 5% of my full power at the distance. And it was obviously more destructive up close."And you don't have to say anything, by the way. It's just like the rest of the Mystic Arts. Just focus your mind and do it!"[Alright, I get it! Stop nagging.]I did focus my mind, I really did. But I was too used to the Magic Eyes with which I could see all around me to concentrate on a single point. It was like trying to close a paper fan that had a strong spring keeping it open.Every time I pushed it would shrink and focus, but any disruption would immediately spring it back open and spread the power. It was extremely frustrating. I felt as if my Soul didn't want to cooperate. Maybe it was just hungry?I flicked my finger and a powerful Wind Blade cut the Gnawler clean in half, killing it instantly. Its Spirit Accumulation Soul was quickly absorbed into my body where it was pounced on by my own Soul.I had to exert considerable effort not to eat the old ghost at the same time."Fascinating! And you really don't experience any negative side effects? You don't lose yourself in the memories of the fallen? Your Soul doesn't hurt?"[No… The memories and personality get wiped as soon as I absorb it, and it actually feels quite nice.] I finished devouring the Soul of the Belligerent Gnawler and the impurities floated to the surface of my Soul."Is that… Why do the impurities come to the surface in big clumps? They should get mixed into your Soul. How do you do it?"[No idea.] I shrugged. [It just happens on its own.]"Hmm… If others could somehow learn this technique, Cultivation could become so much faster! Instead of spending days purifying a Soul inside a complicated formation…"[Wait, are you saying other people can also absorb foreign Souls?]"Of course, they can! What, you didn't think you were the only one, did you? Hah! Everybody can absorb Souls, there is just the question of purity. Personality, memories, and impurities have to be wiped out before absorbing the Soul Essence. Otherwise, they would create trouble for the Cultivator."So I wasn't all that special after all. That gave me something to think about. Everything I thought was unique about me, one after the other, turned out others could do as well. The only difference was how many abilities were in the same body, giving some unique results. But that just meant I had to work even harder if I wanted to reach my full potential.Still, I had to figure out this Soul Smite thingy. It shouldn't be that difficult.I saw a bird from the corner of my eye land on a nearby branch. I rapidly focused on it and sent a short pulse attack at it. It just fell down and didn't move anymore.[Hmm?]I lifted an eyebrow. That was odd. I located another bird, that one flying in the sky, and sent a Soul Smite pulse at it. Just like the first one it immediately stopped moving and fell down."Oh, hey! You did it, congratulations!"[I…] Finding another target, I focused my attack, building up power, and then attacked. The bird in the sky lost control of its body for a short moment, but then quickly regained it and flew away.I was at a loss for words. Short pulses were like an arrow while long powerful attacks seemed to work as a wide area cleave. I slowly exhaled and explained my discoveries to the old ghost."Ah? You were building up power before attacking? No wonder you had no control over the direction! That's for later levels, you are still too weak for powered-up attacks."[Seriously?] I really wanted to punch him in the face at that moment. I lost so much time just because he couldn't explain things properly.Whatever. At least I figured it out on my own.I turned the corpse of the Belligerent Gnawler into Essence and tossed the small sphere into my mouth. I was gradually growing stronger, but despite my best efforts, it still seemed like my strength was growing faster than my body's ability to fully utilize it.[I need stronger bones… and ligaments.] Muscle mass and strength outpaced ligament growth even outside the Cultivation environment, much less in here where I was just boosting my power day after day with Essence.I was worried stuff would just snap when I would try to exert too much power. It wouldn't be the first time I tore something."Well, what do you want me to do? I already told you: You need Golden Qi! Or you can train manually with Nascent Qi, that one is good too. It's just going to take more time."[Yeah, but I don't have the time! Tell me truthfully, if I was discovered as I am now, what would happen to me?]"Discovered? You mean by the Sect? Heh, they would probably dissect you to see what makes you tick. At the minimum, you would be held a prisoner so you could be observed."[And what are my chances to escape that fate if I was discovered?] I posed the important question."None. You got no chance. Even a Golden Core Cultivator could crush you single-handedly, much less an Elder in the Spirit Realm."[Exactly! That's why I need to either become invisible and forgotten by everyone or grow so incredibly fast that I gain the power to defend myself. And which thing do you think is more likely?]"Invisible, you? Hah, that's a good joke. I'm just waiting for a moment when you are going to make a mess and expose yourself. The pieces are already in place, now we just have to wait."[Talking about the White Minks? You do realize you will get exposed as soon as I do, right?]"Shit… I didn't think of that. We might need to do some extreme stuff after all."