Testing limits

It was now night within Brave's Man Graveyard. Inside the abode there soundly sleeping was May who had been totally drained from the previous fight.

Sitting a distance away in his meditative stance was Taf with his eyes closed. Beside him were a few shattered cores that had been drained dry during this period of cultivation.

Within his body, he saw affinity qi gushing forth toward his dantian that was greedily devoured. It suddenly stopped as though it had its required fill. As this had occurred Taf's eyes slowly opened.

" Qi condensation stage 7.., huh"

He stated after assessing his development so far. His eyes then turned to see May that was resting so soundly. A smile grew on his face as he saw her sweetly covered within her blanket.

" I guess today has worked out well after all. This was a good personal trial for her, battling those two eagles without my interface. Sometimes you can be taught the theory but unless you put into the practice, it becomes useless"

He then laid on his back looking through the transparent roof on the abode. Above he could see sprinkles of drizzle and the red clouds reading themselves for a downpour of rain.

" I wonder how they are doing in Marvel City right now. Is old man Ming up to his same shameless antics? Then having to be berating by Mrs Ming."

Taf smiled as he thought of those he cared for that were left behind.

" How about little Sue..? She should have had that baby by now .., huh. I can just imagine baby Tesa being really excited about becoming a big sis.

There's also May's parents and Senior Grace. I'm guessing they are worried sick at the moment too"

Inside Taf had to admit that though he felt great becoming stronger, as well as the sense of fulfilment he had gained in these adventures. He barely missed the time spent with his loved ones, Since leaving Marvel City it has been seven months.

" Sigh is this what it means to cultivate? Having to forgo your mortal connections on the road, in order to search for the peak. Wouldn't this life then be bland in nature...?

This basically contradicts everything I stand for. These ties and bonds are what made me who I am. They are what provides that added drive propelling me forward.

Since this is the case I'll need to journey back soon. There is no way I'm letting this world consume all of my time. Allowing my mind to forget where I was moulded."

Taf spoke to himself while staring on the roof that sheltered against the downpour of rain through the night.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Morning came, which saw the pair of May and Taf mounting the large red feather eagle they nicknamed Hammerhead.

After been firmly in place an order was given by Taf for hammerhead to ascend into the red-lit skies. Holding firmly behind Taf was May who eyed the lands below.

" Time for the hunt. Through my connection with hammerhead, his eyes are now mine. Using these eyes as well as your, these prey will have nowhere in which they can hide."

Taf stated as they soared through the skies prying below at the lush filled terrain.

" I have to say, I do indeed like this plan of yours Taf. I dare say this might be even more effective compared to our previously drawn plans.

So should we target the lower level demon beasts, clearing the terrain abit or do we go for the prize kills?"

An excited May eagerly asked after pondering a bit.

" Hmmm.., let's get rid of those demon beasts below the 7th stage first. Then we target those above after perfecting our hunting techniques"

After thinking it through for a couple seconds, Taf then went on to respond. Through Hammerheads eyes he then scoured the lands as his eyes were greeted by hundreds of varying beasts.

How sad was it they were unaware that above in the skies, greedy eyes were prying at them as nothing more than treasured cores.

" You lot will be given the privilege of being the first preys to be hunted".

Taf stated as he saw a set of white-nose monkeys within the trees.

" May seems your luck is better than mine. Below are some white nose monkeys. What do you think..."

He uttered to May while keeping a close eye on his knew found targets.

" I think my bow and arrow techniques need more work. So Taf these lot will be mine. You'll have to find your own..."

May joked as her eyespotted twenty white monkeys nimbly moving from limb to limb.

" Ladies first I always say..., this one has always been a gentleman of sorts"

A coy response was given by Taf as he smiled.

" Always the charmer..."

Soon Hammerhead lowered its altitude as May slowly parted from Taf, she then nocked her bronze bow and arrow before calling out internally.

☆ Elemental Art (Air) Eye of an Eagle☆

A white nose monkey with red fur could be seen gleefully swinging from a tree limb. Its excitement was due to having finally successfully courting a similar demon beast at the 4th qi demon beast stage.

" Aren't you a lucky little fellow. How great is it to die with a smile on your face"

May stated before.., swish!!!!

An arrow pierced it so accurately it could be said it felt no pain and its last memory the joy it felt. The other white nose monkeys were startled by the sudden turn of events. As they stared upwards they saw a huge red feathered eagle with a pair of teens on its back.

Soon they started to swing from limb to limb in order to forgo their impending doom. Alas, it was too late as they were showered by blue tipped arrows that pierce one after the other.

Soon the set of twenty monkeys were no more as Taf harvested their cores one by one. Then allowing them to slowly descend within the ground for an eternal slumber.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Like this, the pair of May and Taf with Hammerhead as their mount hunted demon beasts.

Three months went by as the harvesting of cores became a daily chore. The two had now in their possession 420 cores. A majority of which were creatures below the 8th demon beast stage.

During these months just as Draconian Alestar had stated the area was condensed each month. This had caused a multitude of stronger demon beasts to charge forth.

So far the couple has at most fought those beasts at the 8th demon beast stage. There were some challenging fights that had occurred during the three month period. However, working as a team the couple had overcome them.

In one battle they had to content against a pack of purple striped hyenas numbering 20. The average strength has to be at the 6th qi demon beast stage with the strongest at the 8th. Their inherent art was a form of darkness which made them the perfect hunters.

They would disappear when attacked by arrows which ended up being useless. When shrouded in darkness they then would pounce of out nowhere. Taf, however, countered this by having hammerhead being his additional eyes in the skies.

Whenever they were about to attack he would warn May in advance. Like this, they fought for a while until the pair got quite used to the pack of hyenas. Seeing their flaws and then exploiting them perfectly.

After the fight had become drawn out, the pair combined their light techniques which illuminated the entire area.

This forced the creatures to content with the couple without the use of their inherent art. The battle then became a foregone conclusion as May's arrow became effective and Taf's hammer now had visible targets.

Soon those hyenae were added to the core collection they had gathered. When doing a survey of the demon beast Taf's finding was quite intriguing.

The majority of the beasts hunted in packs with a few loners. This was perfect for them both who wanted wrack up the number of cores quickly.

" Taf with these 400+ cores, breaking through to 8th and even the 9th qi condensation for you will be but a breeze."

May spoke as they flew through the skies on hammerhead's back.

" Yes, it will be indeed but rushing as we were told before might not be for the best. So I think I might wait a while before attempting a breakthrough.

I want to test my limits you can say also. What fun will it be too hastily breakthrough during this trial? I want to contend against those beasts at the 9th stage as I am now.

During this time it will give you a bit of time to use your affinity stone to also arrive at the 7th stage as well. Which should be soon based on your progress, Let's both test our limits."

Taf smiled as he found his new target. A creature at the 9th qi demon beast stage.