The first round of killing (2)

By the time Ed turned to them, he only saw them retreating. He had taken note of every killing intent before entering the battlefield; there was no way he was going to let them escape.

But of course, his arrogance was only so great. Those he handled were spirit-picking and early spirit-awakening stage cultivators. He had not attacked any of the factions or even the top ten. He was content with walking his way to the top. This battle would last for one day. But from what he heard people say, time inside the battlefield was much slower than outside.

He could see that the top ten had all left and the faction leaders too. He too did not waste time. He had fought many people, and there were none willing to fight anymore. Seeing that many of the newcomers around him were scared stiff, he left too.

He decided to travel east. Where he was going, he was not sure. The dry land had a few hill-like structures around. He found himself travelling for the entire day, without seeing anybody. As the sun started to set, he found a spot between two hills, carved a cave with his sword and closed himself in.

Sitting in the dark, he could still see quite well. This was nothing compared to the total darkness of his first night in the Baju Valley. He analysed his fights so far. As far as he was concerned, those he had killed could not be considered veteran fighters. They did not fight with their head, they just swung their weapons. He wished to meet a fighter that he could fight for a long period of time.

But he knew he was not ready for them yet. He had confidence in his ability to kill them. With his heightened senses, he could see their weakness very quickly. But he did not wish to kill them. When he meets such a fighter, he wants to savour every moment and learn as he fights them. He wishes to fight them for as long as possible.

He understood that he was a long way from being able to draw out the fight. He had not learnt to control his physical strength yet. When he fought, he found himself exerting too much force and killing the opponent instantly. At this rate, he would really not learn anything.

But he understood even more that the only way he could learn to precisely control his strength was to fight day and night. He felt he would come to do it with instinct.

Cultivators were here not only because it was compulsory to participate every month, but because the battlefield is rumoured to have treasures. He had heard much talk about this. It was also a place to gain more resources. The top ten would just kill a few people to get their cultivation caves. But the factions would kill to get more resources. There were many people in their faction so they loved the newcomers. Ed sat still till morning came, only then did he step outside. He came out of his makeshift cave and came face to face with familiar faces.

"You," the girl before him hissed while the boy beside her smiled at Ed. They were Autumn Bloom and Ku Nam. He had met them at the gates of the great spill.

"Nice spot! Would you like to join us?" Ku Nam asked with a smile. Ed noticed that there were three more people with them; two boys and a girl. They all looked to be around the same age.

"No, why should we take him with us?" Autumn Bloom refused as though Ed had begged to join them.

"Be nice. We are all from outside the demon lands. We should be nicer," the boy said. He was probably a little older than Autumn Bloom but looked younger than Ed, so it was odd seeing him act like an old man.

"I'm sorry, I like to walk alone," Ed answered. He had no intention of staying to talk.

"We are even being nice and you still have the mind to reject?" Autumn Bloom said and Ed looked at her curiously. This girl must have some personality problems. Was she not the one that said she did not want him to join? He ignored her and turned to Ku Nam.

"It seems people are trying to stay out of the way, do you know where people would generally be?" Ed asked. He was hunting people. He wanted a good fight. And only people could give it to him.

"What? You want to go looking for people?" Autumn bloom asked in shock.