Chapter 6 - Confrontation

"Ah, how refreshing!" Shu cried as he and the general rode on white tigers with single golden horns on their foreheads.

"Are you that glad to be on the road, Shu?" the general laughed.

"Yes. Riding tiger magical beasts and roaming the world, how awesome is this?" Shu sighed with awe. "Where did you get these tigers anyway?"

"Ah, the emperor gave them to us. When I reported what happened, as well as your future spirit form being the beast spirit White Ocean Tiger, His Imperial Majesty felt that riding these tigers was appropriate. Besides, Shu, you are his son," the general answered. "Make no mistake, these tigers are not our magical beasts. You see those black and silver collars on their necks? Those are special magical items. Putting them on a magical beast, no matter the strength, makes them absolutely obedient to their master and prevents them from harming you in any way. We have been declared as their masters, so the rule pertains to us. A Practitioner can have up to three magical beasts, but it is too early for you, young master. I am also ordered to prevent you from having one."

"Eh? Why?" Shu asked, startled.

"Every member of the main imperial bloodline is a direct descendant of the Great Ancestor. He will bestow upon you your first magical beast. It is a known fact that the very first magical beast will be the one closest to you and the one most people will associate you with. Don't worry. While the tiger you ride can die, it does not die permanently because of the collar. It is not your magical beast and can be brought to life, by your command, after two days. As long as you live, the tiger beast cannot die a permanent death. That is its payment for wearing the collar," the general said.

"That's great. If my Spirit Pulse is that of a White Ocean Tiger, I should have a magical beast tiger," Shu laughed as he patted the tiger's side as the tigers walked down the road. "So where are we headed?"

"This path takes us to Wightwood Forest. Inside the forest, there are many magical beasts of low spirit energy levels. They will be good practice for you. Life-or-death battles will naturally increase one's strength exponentially. It is a known fact that a person is capable of performing superhuman feats when their life is at stake and at Death's door. You can train your Phantasmal Sky technique as you chase the magical beasts. The forest is also rich in spirit energy at its heart. There is an ample-sized lake there. It is the perfect place to practice your Eclipse Indestructible Body technique and cultivate. We will stay there for a month before moving on. Every place we find suitable, we will stay for a month before moving on," the general answered.

"Cool. We can explore cool places just by passing them by," Shu grinned.

"Remember, Shu, you are the descendant of the Great Ancestor and your Spirit Pulse is a demonic red. That means your body is pure. You should have the innate ability that makes us demon ancestors. The reason why the Golden Earth Fiends are a feared race is that they have the innate ability to steal the spirit energy of another Practitioner. No matter where one runs or hides, they cannot cloak their Spirit Pulse from a Golden Earth Fiend," the general said. "If someone threatens to kill you, take the spirit energy from their body. Even normal humans and life forms have spirit energy. It is just so faint that they can't even detect or use it. If you take their spirit energy away, they end up worse than a cripple. Remember to use your ability. All you need to do is think, and a purple energy will cover your hand and drain their spirit energy. You must be as close as five feet for it to work. My mother's great-great-grandfather also had the ability. It should serve you well as the ultimate punishment and trump card."

"Whoa. A little excessive, but taking it means I get stronger too, right? Sweet," Shu said. "So do we head straight to the forest?"

"No. There is a town in front of the forest. We'll stop by there first. Then we'll head to the forest. We don't need to head to the town, but you should see it. There's always something fun going on," the general said. "Besides, it will be our last chance to eat normal food before spending a month in the forest. Like the forest, the name of the town is Wightwood Town. You get to see what a town in your empire is like without them stopping to bow to you as you walk by."

After nearly five hours on the road, the town was in sight. Thanks to the collars' effects, the two tigers could be shrunk to the size of kittens. The general stored his tiger in his storage bag while Shu put the now kitten-sized magical beast on his head. The tiger seemed happy not to be stored in the bag and purred as it rested on his head. The horn was barely visible and was just an inch long.

Shu and the general walked through the market area of the town. Shu happily bought a large bowl full of dumplings and ate them as they walked through the market. No one bothered them too much, as the general looked too intimidating. The two looked like scholars, so people respected them and gave them way. The general decided that they should eat at the local restaurant, and Shu agreed, still feeling hungry as he fed the last dumpling to the tiger.

As they entered the restaurant, many people glanced at them. It was rare to see two scholars in such a town close to a forest of magical beasts. The host smiled warmly and welcomed them, allowing them to sit at a table on the second-floor balcony overlooking the first floor. The general could sense some Practitioners and mages in the restaurant. They all occupied a table that also overlooked the first floor and seemed to be at the first stage and the mage equivalent. Only one of the Practitioners was above the first stage, a middle-aged man at the seventh stage of Spirit Shaman. That man clearly had no talent at his age to continue further. He doubted the man had stopped cultivating like the general. Only a fool would stop cultivating if he had the talent and was not a member of an army.

Five Practitioners with three mages. What could cause so many people to travel together? At his eighth stage of Spirit Shaman, they were no threat, so he decided to ignore them. They must be passing through. He had received no reports of anything unusual in the Wightwood Forest besides the high spirit energy. All of them, save for the man at the seventh stage, were undoubtedly below the age of thirteen. Meng Ce suspected that they had just awakened their Spirit Pulse and had been scouted by an academy due to a noble background. It was the only deduction that would make sense.

"Prince Shu," the general whispered. "There are five Practitioners and three mages sitting around a table nearby. If trouble occurs in the restaurant, let them handle it. Don't reveal your clan name. Just call yourself my junior scholar."

"Alright. Hopefully, something does happen. I'm eager to see how they would fight," Shu wondered.

"Only one of them is not a newly awakened Practitioner like you. It is the man chaperoning them. I believe they will know basic spirit techniques, but no elemental techniques. As for the three mages, the spells they could use now would be as strong as a fist, at best," the general sighed as he shook his head.

"Aw. That's too bad. Oh well. I'll have to settle it then," Shu grinned as another host came and gave them the restaurant menu and two bowls of sliced egg soup. The general noticed Shu put the crimson ring on his left hand while he wore the bracelet on his right arm.

"What are you doing? Should you need to use the Dragon Monkey Bracelet, it would not suit your sword arm," the general whispered as they made their order.

"Let's just say that I am ambidextrous," Shu said silently. Shu's body might have some instincts to use the right hand, but the spirit's memories were of a left-handed person. Rain Slayer was adjusted on his back as he placed the white tiger on the empty chair to his left. Rain Slayer's blade was black and cerulean and resembled a katana. It was a good thing that the cross-guard was not that long and barely two inches longer than the blade. There was an irregular pattern on the blade if one looked closely.

"You're ambidextrous? Still, you should keep using your right hand. Most people fight with their fighting style primarily using right-handed stances," the general said.

"I'll be fine," Shu said as he stared at the first floor. "It seems that I'll be showing that to you soon. It seems this restaurant will become quite rowdy."

The general's eyes widened and turned to face the door. He could hear a girl screaming while several men appeared to be cursing at her and following her to the restaurant. He didn't know how Shu could detect them before him, but he secretly praised Shu. That meant Shu was sensitive to spirit energy and would serve him well in detecting and avoiding dangers.

Meanwhile, the others also heard the screams. The middle-aged man and the seven kids who accompanied him all wore the same azure robes with white seams. He was a recruiter who had gone to pick up talented prospects, with four of the seven being from common backgrounds but with enormous talent. He noticed the two scholars also looking toward the direction of the screams and observed them.

One was a young boy around the age of ten, like the seven kids, with shining golden eyes and black hair with some

strands of cerulean. He sensed a Spirit Pulse in the young scholar and realized he was a Practitioner. The older man was even more powerful than him and the children. The scholar also had black hair but with brown eyes. Both had a lean, muscular build. He saw the white tiger magical beast and saw a collar and a shining gold horn just a little longer than the fur on its forehead. These were no ordinary scholars. Just who were they and why would they come to this town?

"Master Gillian, the screams and curses are getting closer," the only female mage of the group whispered.

"Those pigs. What do they think they are doing? Are the town's guards not doing anything at all?" the only other female asked. She was the cousin of the other girl, and they were both nobles from out of the country on their way back to the academy.

"You see these things all the time. Most likely, the people chasing her are Practitioners. What can the guards do? Most guards are not Practitioners. If you are a Practitioner without a background, you either join a sect, get kidnapped and forcibly join an evil sect, or join the army of a nation. Practitioners can't afford to do what they want. They aren't mages," one of the two mage boys, obviously a noble, remarked. "It's not their fault. They would just add to the number of meaningless deaths people see every day."

"We need to see the strength of her pursuers first," Gillian said as he saw the little scholar take out a scroll and read leisurely, as if waiting for them to arrive. "You are all people who will join the preparatory academy of my school before becoming of age, thirteen, and joining the academy as an official student. I can't allow you to be harmed and ruin your potential. If they come here, we will observe their strength and make our move if the scholars don't."

"What? Scholars?" they asked and looked back to see the two scholars in white robes.

"Are they Practitioners?" the noble boy asked.

"Yes. The older scholar is even more powerful than I am. I don't know their true identities, but the young scholar must also be a noble like you. If you look closely, that is no ordinary tiger cub next to him on that chair. It is wearing a special magical collar and has a tiny golden horn on its forehead. It must have been shrunk to avoid making it look out of the ordinary," Gillian said as the seven looked at the boy.

"What are you doing, Shu?" Meng Ce asked as Shu was reading a scroll.

"I'm waiting for them to arrive. I like reading, so I might as well read one of the volumes I took with me from the imperial vault. There were so many cool books there. Some scrolls even had stories inside them. I just had to take some," Shu smiled as he unrolled more of the scroll to continue his reading. "It seems I have caught the attention of the people you mentioned. They already figured out we aren't ordinary scholars. It seems I should have put my magical beast in my storage bag. Too late now."

"Get over here! Stop running!" many men cried as a girl burst into the restaurant. She was about Shu's age and was wearing a pink robe with white seams. Tears streamed down her face as she fell onto the floor and looked back in terror. Fifteen men chuckled menacingly as they walked into the room. They each wore black robes with an image of a white dragon on their backs. They bore identical curved swords and completely barred the entrance of the restaurant.

"Finally! We cornered you, little girl," the leader with a scar down his neck growled. "Your daddy is a long way away. I don't have the skill to kill him, and he left me a little present on my neck as he spared my life. The fool! Did he think I would not want revenge? He's just a man."

"G-get away from me!" the girl cried.

"Oh no, I'm not. You see, I'm gonna have a little fun with you first. When my boys and I are done, we're gonna cut that pretty little neck and stick it on a pike in front of your house. Then, that bastard will know who did it and regret ever crossing me."

"The leader seems to be at the beginning stage of the second stage of Spirit Shaman cultivation," the general murmured. "A bandit group pretending to be a sect. His men have no Spirit Pulse."

"So I can kill them?" Shu asked as he stared up from his scroll.

"Yes. He seems more of the physical type of fighter. I doubt he has soul-targeting spirit techniques. Bandits usually don't know any spirit techniques, as most don't come from powerful clans. Don't use your sword or any of your spirit techniques. Just use pure spirit energy to augment your body," the general advised. "It would be prudent to steal his Spirit Pulse with your innate, demonic ability, but there are witnesses here. You can't do it from as far as five feet. You must block people's vision with his body when you use it. Your power cannot break his defenses and neither can his, but you have the advantage. Kill him before he uses any techniques, if he has any."

"Alright," Shu said as he jumped down and landed on the first floor while the people from the other group were about to assist the girl.

"Master Gillian, the young scholar jumped down," one of them said.

"Don't join him. This is an opportunity to discern his identity," Master Gillian ordered.

"And the winds calmed under the light of the goddess. Her smile made the demons weep and ended the sorrows of the men of humanity's armies," Shu said aloud as he read his scroll. "The demons scurried away in fear, and the goddess became humanity's salvation. They looked upon her face and were at peace. ---The Legend of the Flower Goddess."

"Who the fuck are you? Get away, brat. Get him, men!" the leader of the bandits shouted.

"And so it begins," Shu said softly as he rolled up the scroll, tied it, and covered it with his spirit energy.

The people in the restaurant couldn't bear to look and averted their eyes. They heard a scream but were surprised at the deepness of the voice. They looked back and saw that it was one of the bandits. There was a deep impression on his chest. His bones were caved in, and he was dead. Two of the bandits shouted and slashed at Shu with their swords. Shu merely glanced at them and deflected their blades with his scroll. As their swords were deflected toward the ground, their balance was disrupted as they leaned too far forward. Shu spun around and hit the left side of one bandit's head with the scroll, killing him with the spirit-energy-enforced scroll.

"Is that the best you can do? I expected more from Practitioner pretenders," Shu said as he snapped the neck of the second bandit and stared at the right hand that did the deed. "It seems that Practitioners really do reign supreme against ordinary people. It was too easy. I killed someone. I should feel something, but they wanted to rape a girl. Could it be that my disgust for their intentions numbed the guilt? Interesting."

"All of you, get him!" the leader shouted at the remaining eleven henchmen while he stayed back. "We'll mount both their heads on pikes. He's just a scholar!"

"Come. Attack me and know despair," Shu said softly as he stretched his arms.

The people stared at him incredulously as he did not defend himself or run away as the bandits charged at him. Their eyes widened in shock as they heard a loud clang when one of the bandit swords struck Shu's body. A white energy pulsed around the point of impact. The man's strike did not even blow Shu back. The bandits struck and slashed, but Shu just stayed there, his arms stretched with the right palm facing the sky while his grip on the scroll in his left hand was loose and relaxed.

"A spirit technique!" the leader spat. "That scholar is a Practitioner!"

"And the goddess stared back at the eyes of humanity and held out her hand over them. They knelt as they thought they were receiving her blessing. How could they know that she was about to slay them? For she was not a goddess at all, but a queen of a demon lord. They cried out in despair as they were slain. The demons looked back and rejoiced as they realized who she was. They had won and their race did not die for humans blindly tried to wipe them out for being what they are. They were fools. All fools---The Legend of the Flower Goddess," Shu said as he opened the scroll and continued reading as he continued to be assaulted by the bandits. "They are just like you. All fools."

Shu put the scroll in his storage bag and began attacking the bandits. When outnumbered, find the weakest one and defeat him as fast as possible. The others will overestimate your strength and falter. Shu attacked the weakest to the strongest, always kicking with his legs while grabbing with his hands. No matter how desperate their strikes, the bandits could not hurt him. They could only cry in pain when it was their turn to die.

The general nodded as these were excellent training partners to numb the guilt from killing. It is natural that one would forget the guilt if they saw someone being attacked or killed. They would see the attacker as a monster and sometimes go too far in stopping them. Did it matter? No, because after the deed was done, they would ask the victim if he or she was alright and try to find help; leaving the criminal for dead or letting his body rot as all thought of the criminal left their minds. After all, who would feel guilty for hurting and killing a rapist if the victim was crying and needed help after the deed was done? In the end, they would feel that the rapist deserved what he got and assume a scenario that would avoid making them feel guilt.

"You! You!" the bandit leader roared as Shu stared at him. "You killed my men! You cocky little cunt! I'll kill you! I'll dismember your body and only your head will be the only way people will recognize you!"

"Obviously. Most people recognize others by their faces. How stupid are you?" Shu sighed as he shrugged and shook his head in disappointment. "I was going to let whoever came here live, but then I heard the situation and decided to kill you all. Your men are dead. It's time you join them."

"You can't beat me! I am at the second stage!" the bandit leader roared and drew his Practitioner weapon. "You wanna be a hero! Dream on, runt! I'll kill you!"

"Come and try," Shu said as spirit energy flowed all over his body.

As the bandit leader drew his arm back to swing his sword down, Shu leapt forward. The sudden movement startled the bandit, who could block it and rashly covered his chest with his free arm. Shu had trained with soldiers and had picked up several basic techniques. He also had fragments of his past life. Shu did not punch the man in the chest but grabbed the wrist instead and twisted it. The bandit cried out involuntarily as Shu twisted the man's wrist and held the arm behind the bandit's back. With the bandit's body shielding Shu from the view of the people on the second floor, Shu's right hand was wrapped with purple energy as it went into the bandit's body and absorbed the Spirit Pulse. His hand left the body, and there was no blood or mark on the bandit's back. Shu had successfully taken the man's spirit energy and augmented his own.

"You..." the bandit cried in fear as his face grew gaunt. "How...?"

"Thanks for the meal," Shu said silently as he let go of the wrist and grabbed the top part of the man's head with his left hand while he held the chin with his right hand. The people in the restaurant closed their eyes or averted their gazes as Shu pulled his arms back, breaking the neck and killing the bandit. Shu spat on the floor in disgust and patted his robes to straighten the wrinkles. No one in the restaurant dared to make a noise as he lazily checked the storage bag of the bandit leader and looted it accordingly. Then he smiled at the girl who had fallen and helped her to her feet. He collected all the storage bags of the bandits and gave them all to her, including the leader's storage bag.

"I apologize for the excessive display. I am only a young scholar with an interesting background. You should go home now. Be sure to stay in the company of people you trust and not travel alone anymore. You've seen the ugly side of men, but remember this: your father and most other men are not as ignorant and perverted as these fools. Do not let this incident traumatize you. You were not violated, so there is no excuse for you to brood on this further," Shu said, trying to act like a wise scholar just like the actors in some wuxia shows he watched. Wuxia? Another term he did not remember well. He had read xianxia novels too. Xia meant hero, right? Shu sighed as he wished he had found a body sooner and retained more of his memories.

"Thank you," the girl cried as she shook his hand repeatedly. "Thank you. Thank you."

Shu sighed as he watched her go and gave some gold coins to the owner of the restaurant, apologizing for the mess and interruption of his business. The owner quickly thanked him, as most people don't even pay for the damages or disposal of the bodies. Gillian and his recruits stared at Shu as he joined Meng Ce. Meng Ce had already eaten his food while Shu fought, as if it were the main attraction of the restaurant. Shu sighed and waited for his food to be sent again, as Meng Ce had given his share to his tiger. He patted the kitten tiger and took out his scroll to read once more.

Gillian decided it was safe now to talk to the two scholars. He knew they were dangerous, but he and his recruits were not their targets. He wanted to converse with them to discern their identities and discover more about where they were going and their intentions. He looked at the noble boy mage from earlier, and the boy nodded and walked over to Shu and Meng Ce.