Pursuit

*Things like sexism and racism are purely for worldbuilding and to make it more realistic. Thank you for your understanding.*

Qing Fang circled the area of Tai Forest close to Tai Village. If the rogue entered the forest from the village, he would obviously enter from the closest point. If he didn't, then Qing Fang would have to go deeper into the forest to find traces.

The ground was scattered with fallen leaves, new and old, as well as large ariel roots from the massive trees. Many creatures called this luscious forest home but with Qing Fang prowling around, they had all hidden away.

Despite the many trip hazards, Qing Fang leisurely ran at a pace of 200 kilometres per hour.

While scouting, he was thinking about the information he gathered from studying the souls of those women.

He thought that using human essence to control others should be using the power of his 'more unlocked' soul to directly suppress and control the soul of his opponent. The risk of danger from this method should come from the fact that his and many other cultivators' souls aren't 'unlocked' so they don't have full control and are prone to accidents. An unlocked soul is when you have completely deciphered your own 'human essence' or soul. Cultivators usually achieve this at stage 7 and get the ability divine sense. Qing Fang guessed that Stage 7 cultivators could control the souls of others using their own 'unlocked' soul without fearing danger like him.

Qing Fang decided to classify those that had divine sense as people with unlocked souls and those who didn't as people with sealed souls.

Qing Fang currently had a sealed soul due to insufficient cultivation and comprehension ability. Thinking on this, he wondered if there was ever a case of a mortal unlocking their soul by completely relying on comprehension ability.

'No matter. If they are the same stage as me, they'll fall.' Even if others had an advantage, Qing Fang was confident in his battle strength.

Circling a new area, he turned his thoughts to the revelation about the confirmed existence of immortals and gods.

'If I'm right, then mortals should have a fundamentally inferior soul to immortals. Unlocked or not, since immortals use the soul as the basis of cultivation then there should be some sort of qualitative transformation that allows this at the start. If I tried to cultivate my soul now, I have a feeling that it's physically not possible. Since the goal of mortal cultivation is an immortal body through strengthening, then immortal cultivation should be to achieve an immortal soul, right?' Right now, despite having little information and having to guess, Qing Fang simply didn't need to know at this stage in cultivation. Even in the Mortal Realm, he was a weakling. Too many people could easily kill him. Even his sister could. This was also the reason why he had to hide his true nature behind a mask of aloofness. He decided that when he got to the peak, he could do whatever he wanted with no one to stop him.

He liked the idea of freedom. Who were the Clan to shackle him just because a certain woman birthed him? Surely he should have the right to leave the Clan and go elsewhere? No, he didn't. He would be labelled as a rogue and hunted like the very person he is searching for right now.

Back to his previous thoughts, he referred to the famous saying once again. 'Gods create life? What does that mean?' Qing Fang had no clue.

Suddenly he snapped out of his thoughts and turned his attention to an inconspicuous patch of ground.

'This smell...' Qing Fang smiled mysteriously. He had found the first trace of the rogue.

Walking over, he moved the soil aside to reveal, about one meter down, a pile of bones. The bones were still glistening from having flesh on them recently. Aside from the bones, there was a lump of purple flesh that stunk. This is what gave away the smell.

From body cultivation, all of Qing Fang's senses were strengthened so he could smell this as easily as hanging a pile of shit directly under a mortal's nose.

Producing the pungent smell was the digestive system of, from what the bones looked like, a jaguar? From it's size it wasn't a mortal beast and just a regular jaguar. Mortal beats, immortal beasts, god beasts. They were animals that had embarked upon the road of cultivation. Usually, beats had higher combat power than human cultivators of the same stage due to their body structure that was adapted for hunting and fighting before cultivation. However, they had less spirituality due to less intelligence. This results in the extent of their abilities, aside from body strengthening, from cultivation to be lower than that of humans.

For example, from cultivating Water path, Qing Fang could conjure, shape and control water at will. This was his ability. For a same-stage Water path beast, their ability would be lower than Qing Fang regarding this.

As his cultivation increases, the amount conjured, strength and power of Qing Fang's water would be strengthened tremendously. As you go higher, the gap between Stages becomes a heavenly chasm that not even the strongest warriors could traverse. For example, there are monstrous geniuses that could fight with Stage 6s while being Stage 5. However, between Stage 6 and 7? Even the weakest Stage 7 could kill the strongest Stage 6 with a flick of his wrist. Between Stage 7 and 8, the gap was even wider. This was why every force madly recruited Stage 8 cultivators. As for Stage 9? They could destroy a small planet with their power. Killing countless cultivators is no different. However, they rarely emerge and are hailed as legends even after their deaths.

Qing Fang looked at the pile of stinking shit. At Stage 3, cultivators could eat nearly every part of an animal, including the digestive system. However, many people preferred not to as it was filled with shit and no one wanted to literally eat shit.

Qing Fang was currently about a day into the forest. The rogue definitely could've travelled further without eating. He likely stored the processed meat of the jaguar so he didn't have to stop again for a while. Since Stage 3 cultivators could go seven days without food, sleep or water, the next time the rogue would stop to sleep is five days and the next time he would stop to eat is about a month.

Noting the location of the bones, Qing Fang searched for the second trace.

Half a day later, he found it. Drawing a line from the bones to the trace he just found, Qing Fang now had the direction the rogue was travelling in.

Now, it was a pursuit.

...

Qing Li Guan rushed through the forest at his fastest speeds. He knew he was already likely being tracked due to the timing of his escape. He thinks that it would be another few days until they found his direction and started their pursuit. By then, he would already be inside Song City, one of the many cities surrounding Tai forest. Once he was inside a city, hiding would be countless times easier.

Little did he know, his tracker already found his direction and was rapidly gaining. This was because Qing Fang found that the rogue's direction joined a river half a day after starting his pursuit. As a Water path cultivator, Qing Fang could control the water to increase his movement speed by ten times. Although he could conjure a wave on land and ride it, he would soon be physically exhausted. However, if he was in water, instead of conjuring and controlling the wave, he only had to control it. With the former, Qing Fang would be lucky if he could last five hours without collapsing. With the latter, he could go for four days straight. The only limit to using one's ability is the exhaustion it puts on the body. When they increase stages, cultivators always welcome the increased endurance as it dramatically increases their fighting duration.

Unaware to his impending doom, Qing Li Guan travelled along the river at a fast pace. Though, not fast compared to Qing Fang.

When he reached the city, he would easily be able to fit in due to his wealth. Aside to the gold coin he gave to his good friend Mo Wang, Qing Li Guan still had seven left. He was classed as very rich even among Stage 6 cultivators while being Stage 3. However, these gold coins were not his own, but were the money he stole from his father's safe before fleeing.

...

In fact, Qing Li Guan's status was extraordinary. He was the first son of the head of the Li family within Qing Clan. Qing Clan had many bloodlines aside from the main one and they were classed as 'families.' Li family was one of the more influential among the families as the head was a powerful Stage 6 elder, Qing Li Shan. He was one of the higher elders and was very close to the Patriarch of Qing Clan.

Wanting to increases ties between himself and the Patriarch, elder Qing Li Shan proposed an arranged marriage between his first son, Li Guan, and the Patriarch's second daughter. This proposal was agreed to by the Patriarch. Qing Li Guan was a handsome youth with Stage 3 Earth path cultivation at the age of nineteen. It can be seen that he has above average talent. Aside from this, his second daughter was also nineteen, Stage 3 and a rebellious spirit. She was always causing trouble and needed a handsome man to bring her down to earth. Although, elder Li Shan's tactics were plain for him to see, the Patriarch didn't mind. Li Shan was a successful businessman and was very rich for a Stage 6 cultivator. Having more ties between them was good for the unity of the Clan.

But, of course, something had to go wrong. The spoiled brat Li Guan wouldn't listen to his honourable father's commands on the basis that he loved another woman. Not missing out on this opportunity to increase ties with the Patriarch, elder Li Shan took his son's little girlfriend 'out of the picture.' Staging it as a missing person case, he pacified his mourning son and, while he was depressed, managed to convince him to marry the Patriarch's daughter.

However, one night when he was listlessly strolling around their estate, Li Guan heard his father talking with the internal affairs hall elder. It was this elder's duty, among others, to police the Clan and bring anyone to justice.

Curious, Li Guan took a risk and tried to listen in on their conversation. When he did, he couldn't stop the anger and hate boiling up inside of him.

He heard his father being blackmailed by the internal affairs elder.

The internal affairs elder's subordinates were investigating the many murders of Clansmen until he was notified of a very important matter. Apparently, the murder of a nineteen-year-old girl, who was also part of the Clan, led back to elder Qing Li Shan. Personally investigating, the internal affairs elder learnt all about the arranged marriage between elder Li Shan and the Patriarch.

Wanting benefits but not wanting to make an enemy out of elder Li Shan, instead of exposing his deeds and compromising the marriage, he took to blackmail.

From this deal, the internal affairs hall elder wanted a very expensive Wind path resource. It contained a large fragment of the Law of Wind and would be very beneficial to his Stage 6 cultivation.

Indignant but helpless, elder Li Shan agreed. However, Li Guan was even more helpless. After leaning his father killed his lover from the conversation, he wanted to kill his father but knew he would only be imprisoned if he tried. So, he sought to injure him in the form of robbing his money. Li Guan knew his father was heavily consumed by business and had a huge sum of money.

Thus, after his father and the internal affairs elder left, he snook into the study, opened the safe and stole the grand sum of eight gold coins. He knew the combination for the safe from spying on his father many years ago. Before, he had no intention to use it, but now...

After taking the money, Qing Li Guan fled to Tai Village where he stayed for two weeks before he was discovered. Now, he was fleeing to Song City to lose his pursuers.

When elder Li Shan discovered that his money, as well as his son, had disappeared, he feared the worst. He knew his son has lost all his filial loyalty and couldn't be used. Although he did love his son, he hated him for jeopardising his entire fortune. His wife, other sons and daughters all relied on his income to keep their lifestyle and status. Didn't his son think of that?

So, without telling his wife, he sent his men after his son as well as posting a mission to hunt a 'rogue' in the internal affairs hall. He was planning to kill this unfilial son of his. Although the arranged marriage wouldn't be able to go ahead if he killed his son, getting rid of someone like Li Guan was more important. He could possibly expose his actions and shake his position of elder. If the Patriarch heard the he killed a Clansmen for the arranged marriage, he wouldn't confide in him so much anymore. Elder Li Shan couldn't let that happen. Many of his business deals relied on the relationship he had with the Patriarch. From this, it could be seen that Li Guan could potentially cause the downfall of the whole Li family of he wasn't snuffed out quickly.

Because of this, Qing Fang had been played for a fool. It didn't say the identity of the rogue on his mission but mentioned the gender, appearance and cultivation. If he really did kill the 'rogue' and retrieved the fortune he held, it would promptly be taken off of his hands by elder Li Shan. Elder Li Shan was already notified that a youth named Qing Fang was the one who accepted the mission he posted. When he returned to Qingshan City, elder Li Shan would search him for the money. If it was not on him, he would be tortured for the location of it. However, Qing Fang was unknowing about this at the moment.

...

Running along the river with still a couple days of travel before he reached Song City, Qing Li Guan was positive he could make it.

If the circumstances become dire, he could always seek asylum with another elder that resides within Song City in exchange for the information he held about his father. The internal competition within the Clan was very fierce so he didn't doubt that we would be handed over to his father if he did seek safety with an elder.

However it was at this moment that he heard a sound come from behind him.

Turning around and seeing a huge wave crashing toward him with a speed ten times of his own, he was dumbfounded.

'How can they be here already!?'

When Li Guan fled into the forest, he suspected it would be a whole day before his trackers showed up to Tai Village. Then, it would take them at least 2 days to find his traces. Since a few cities, aside from Song City, were surrounding Tai forest, they still had to find his traces and couldn't just choose a city and pursue along that trail. In actuality, the subordinates elder Li Shan had personally sent did this and each headed to a city. However, they had insufficient personnel and could only miss a few. Luckily, Song City was among those that they missed.

From this, he would be three days ahead of his pursuers if they took the time to find his traces. It took three days to travel to Song City and unless his pursuers were many times faster than him, they would never catch up. Due to this, he escaped through a forest environment to obstruct their speed. However, seeing the wave, he knew he had missed a factor.

'Fuck!! How could I be so stupid!? Why did I have to travel along a fucking river!?' He knew now that Water path cultivators would be easily able to catch up. Li Guan had travelled along the river so he didn't have to stop to find water, but he had shot himself in the foot. However, he was still confused. Even if they were very fast, it took three days and a few hours to reach Song City and he was three days ahead. Surely he would still make it even if they were many times faster than him, right?

Wrong. Qing Fang had undertaken missions like these many times and was an expert in tracking. Instead of the two days Li Guan suspected it would take him, it only took Qing Fang half a day to find his direction. Thus, after arriving a day after Li Guan fled, he travelled along the river for one and a half days before he caught up.

Deciding to stop thinking about how they found him, Li Guan turned and fled into the forest to take away his pursuer's advantage of travelling on water.

...

Travelling for one and a half days, Qing Fang was starting to feel the fatigue. According to his previous calculations, he could travel for four days along the river, however, that was the absolute maximum before he collapsed. He would still ache a bit after keeping it up for over a day.

However, his eyes suddenly focused as he saw a white-robed, sandy-haired and quite handsome figure running in front of him. The figure was running close to 200 kilometers per hour so it was definitely a cultivator and his target, the rogue.

Attracted by the noise of the wave he was riding, the rogue turned around and saw him. After that, he immediately stopped running along the river and charged into the forest at a high speed.

Glad to finally get off of the river, Qing Fang controlled the wave to throw himself to shore. Falling from a height of fifteen meters to the ground, Qing Fang wasn't fazed and hit the floor before running at his fastest speeds toward the rogue. The sand of the shore of the river was thrown into the air upon contact and formed a sandy mist that Qing Fang charged out of at a speed of over 300 kilometers per hour.

As well as being eager to complete his mission, Qing Fang had another reason he was chasing the rogue with such fervour. He wondered how many more gold coins the rogue had if he could casually give one away to the foolish mortal Mo Wang.

Breaking the forest floor with every step, Qing Fang caught up with the rogue. Qing Fang was faster than him. It seems that Qing Fang's peak Stage 3 strength was higher. He guessed from his speed that the rogue had middle Stage 3 cultivation.

The rogue saw that Qing Fang was quickly shrinking the distance and stopped running. The rogue turned to face his pursuer before the earth beneath Qing Fang's feet grabbed onto him. Quickly conjuring jets of water to break them, Qing Fang continued running before stopping ten meters apart and coming face-to-face with the rogue.

With a scary glint in his eyes, he studied his opponent before him.

'Stage 3, Earth path. Young, about nineteen. Good battle stance, quite experienced. Enemy environment, be wary of the ground.' Qing Fang analysed all he could just from the appearance of the rogue. He could tell that the rogue was no stranger to fighting. It even looked as though he had been professionally trained.

Even though Qing Li Guan was a true young master, if he showed no talent in combat or even refused to learn, he would be quickly killed by his own father. This world did not tolerate arrogant weaklings.

'It doesn't matter. He will still fall.' His lips slowly curling into a grin, Qing Fang rushed toward the rogue.