Developments

Half a month had already passed since the first waves of demonic attacks on the East Human Empire. The waves of demons will continuously spawn until spring comes. This means that for another 2 months or so, the human army would stay at the border to defend their land.

This also means that the strongest warriors of every village, town, and city would be absent. That would be the case except for some places like the Grand Capital and the ancestral grounds of the empire.

This resulted in weakening of the settlements but it is also determined to be the best method in dealing with the demons.

Banshees are generally not that strong so, Qi Gathering Realm experts would almost always suffice.

Unfortunately, this was not always the case. Iron Beast Village was such a case. They were so unlucky that a Queen Banshee set her eyes on it. As a result, Zhou Bing, who was a Foundation Realm expert died together with most of his retainers at that time just to get rid of the Queen Banshee.

Thankfully, the Wu twins managed to survive the attack and painstakingly held the village together as best as they could.

One should know that the human cultivators are known to have 8 realms of cultivation. These realms are the Mortal realm, True Qi realm, Qi gathering realm, Foundation Realm, Gas Core realm, Liquid Core, Solid Core, and the legendary Nascent soul Realm.

The Empire's average military strength would be at the Peak of Qi gathering realm while the prodigies are said to have the potential to reach higher realms. The Dukes are known to all be somewhere between the Gas Core Realm and Solid core realm.

The Emperor/King however is rumored to be at the Solid Core Realm. As for the Nascent Soul Realm, who knew? It would not be a legend for no reason.

Based on this, it could be said that your status is directly connected to strength. It does not matter what kind of strength it is as long as you can use it.

Strength from money, from troops, connections, talents and such are all kinds of respectable strength inside the Human empire. The King for example has his status and authority as his main strength.

There are all kinds of strengths. One's martial prowess is just the most basic one and at the same time the most revered of them all. After all, what can your money buy if you're dead?

This is exactly how Zhou Bing's ancestor built his village from scratch. He subdued the Iron Beast that resided in the Plateau where the village now stands.

That Iron Beast was at the 4 star strength which was already quite a strong entity in the Dawn Empire even before the demons came to invade. The beasts were categorized by stars numbering from 1-8. Each star corresponds to the human realms. The only difference is that the beasts have 10 minor realms instead of 9.

8-Star beasts were once known to roam freely in the dawn empire but since the war with the demons, their numbers dwindled. The cause was not known to Zhou Kai or his Father. This information is naturally kept by the Royal Family and their trusted aids.

Demons also have their own categorization based on strength but humans can't really rely on it. This is because the strongest demon they are fighting is just a low-ranked demon.

This demon is Baron Babanuki. He, a low-ranked demon, managed to wage war with the humans and actually seize half the Dawn Continent within 500 years. One has to take note that Babanuki fought inside the Human territory and won half of the pie.

If a low-ranked demon was already this terrifying, what about the higher ranked demons?

Zhou Kai naturally did not know about this. He is just an ignorant and irrelevant piece on the board. He couldn't even be considered as a piece. Maybe he was just a speck of dust.

At least for now that is.

In the village, he and Zhou Mei sparred everyday for 15 days now. Zhou Kai laid on the ground panting and sweating buckets. 'This Spar was intense!' He thought to himself.

These 15 days of relentless training were bountiful for him. He had gotten used to detection of life and Qi flow of Zhou Mei and the others. He could even see Wu Chun's.

Meanwhile, on the side, Zhou Mei also gasped for air. She was tired but managed to stay upright unlike Kai who laid on the ground without care. Unknown to Kai, Mei had different thoughts on the matter.

'Young master's Palm Art is profound. His combat prowess would easily put peak Mortal Realms to shame.' Zhou Mei was dumbfounded. With this kind of thinking, one would think that her background was not simple either. She herself was a peak mortal realm and yet she said this in her mind. She thought that normal peak mortal realms would be clapped by Kai then, how could she stand her ground against Kai?

During these 15 days, Kai requested for her guidance in the guise of spars. She naturally agreed to these. Their first spar was really pitiful in her eyes. Although Kai's stance was superb, it was not enough for her.

At first, she took it easy with Kai. She just continued to harass her young master just like the very first spar and hit him occasionally to make him used to the feeling of being hit but, just a few days of sparring, she was already surprised.

She felt that fighting Kai was becoming more and more draining. She felt that her Qi and stamina depleted more quickly whenever they fought. This was unknown to her. She simply had not experienced this before.

She did not pay any attention to this at first but it turned out to be just the tip of the iceberg. On top of the Palm Art, Zhou Mei noticed that Kai's body recovered faster than anyone she knew. It was like taking a healing pill. That kind of fast.

Kai's body was also supernaturally tough to damage. It was almost like hitting a hard piece of treated wood. She guessed that it was due to his perfect wood affinity. But still, the strangest thing is that Kai has no dantian.

This was the biggest surprise. The numerous fights made Zhou Mei certain that Kai has none but he can somehow still use Qi. What power was this?

'Despite having no dantian, Young Master is really at the 6th level of the Mortal realm. His body is also really tough and has regenerative properties. Just a few moments and he is already ready for another round of spar.' The thought of it just sent a sparkle in her eyes. She felt that Kai was a unique talent.

She lived for 80 years already. This village was not her origin and naturally, she witnessed numerous strange talents throughout her life but no one was like Kai. There were some who came close like the Royal Family who have strong bodies but still, they have Dantians.

It was only natural to be amazed by Kai's uniqueness. Demons and beasts also have their cores. Demons have the blood cores while beasts have the elemental crystals. So, how can Zhou Kai have none?

This was a really big mystery to Zhou Mei.

Mei was lost in her own thoughts and recovery of stamina and Qi when Kai suddenly closed his eyes and checked his progress though the mental dimension.

There, he saw that he now had improved his mastery over the 1st form of the Palm Art and the 2nd art. Kai was pleased.

'Life Seeler Strikes is improved to Proficient from Beginner while Greedy Bulwark is now also at the Proficient.'

In these 15 days of sparring with Mei, Kai focused on his palm Art and he discovered that he was a defensive fighter. He knew this due to his inclination to block attacks using the 2nd form instead of initiating an attack using the 1st form. He also improved on the 2nd form much easier than that of the first.

The 1st form is the Life Seeker Strikes. This form requires Kai to carefully observe the presence of life and Qi flow in the opponent then strike it to absorb it for himself. This will disrupt his opponents. Essentially it is inclined to be more offensive in nature.

The 2nd form — Greedy Bulwark however was more favored by Kai. Its concept was also to observe the flow of life and Qi but this time, he would use his palms to block attacks and then absorb the life and Qi present in the attack. For him, it was much easier.

Although the 1st form was undoubtedly more effective, it was useless if Kai could not perform it well. He was not very talented to begin with, so he just used what he was comfortable with.

Aside from the 1st and 2nd forms, he also unlocked the 3rd. It was called Gentle Remedy. Kai found it hard to practice due to its nature. It actually helps in the recovery of himself or the other party.

He just has to gently use Qi and give off life energy to heal or use Life energy to generate Qi. Furthermore, he can use his or other organism's Qi and life.

Kai liked it but was still a beginner at this. He just summarized that it was for healing and not killing.

With that, he checked other aspects of his mental dimension and then went out.

"Zhou Mei, it's sundown. This is enough for today, let's go back and rest. We do not know when danger will come for us." Kai said with worry.

Although these 15 days were peaceful and no Banshees were spotted, who could say that none will come later?

Everybody was on edge, especially Zhou Kai.

He was the sole reason why banshees would potentially find trouble here, so he was the one who was most worried. Together with this, he was of course, guilty.

He thought of temporarily leaving the village and seeking shelter for the winter months as this was actually a feasible strategy but he cannot.

He was the village chief and leaving your village unattended was tantamount to abandoning your family to die. Winter was not just a day. It was 3 months of cold and peril for his tiny village.

Kai cannot afford to do that. Another thing is that Chen suggested that he stayed as this would be advantageous in the long term.

Kai was discouraged to do so at first but he eventually agreed. This way, the village's unity would be tempered and improved. Another thing is that his subjects would have more faith in him. Although he technically invited some trouble, he showed that he put effort in defending his territory. This showed that he had confidence in himself and his village.

After all, who would trust a man who cannot trust himself? The answer is an Idiot or maybe a god.

As a man, his image and presence made the villagers feel safe and secure. This was important for a developing village.

Kai also believed that just like his father, he should not run. He should face his problems head on and fight. This was naive thinking but still a good start for a young cultivator.